Radio access network (RAN) enhancements for unequal error protection (UEP)

Abstract

A method for wireless communication by a wireless device includes receiving a first sequence of bits and a second sequence of bits from an upper layer of a wireless communication protocol stack. The first bit sequence is assigned a first class and the second bit sequence is assigned a second class. The second bit sequence is included in the same medium access control (MAC) packet data unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence. The method also includes processing the first bit sequence at a physical layer using a first quality of service (QoS) level, and processing the second bit sequence using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level.

Description

[0001] Cross - reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 974,390, filed on October 26, 2022, entitled "RADIO ACCESS NETWORK (RAN) ENHANCEMENT FOR UNEQUAL ERROR PROTECTION (UEP)", the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical field

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to radio access network (RAN) enhancements for unequal error protection (UEP). Background art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. A typical wireless communication system may employ a multiple access technology capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single - carrier frequency division multiple access (SC - FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD - SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE / Advanced LTE is an enhanced set of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard released by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Narrowband (NB) Internet of Things (IoT) and enhanced machine - type communication (eMTC) are enhanced sets of LTE for machine - type communication.

[0005] A wireless communication network may include multiple base stations (BSs) that can support communication with multiple user equipments (UEs). A user equipment (UE) may communicate with a base station (BS) via a downlink and an uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the BS to the UE, while the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the BS. As will be described in more detail, a BS may be referred to as a Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), gNB, access point (AP), radio head, transmit and receive point (TRP), New Radio (NR) BS, 5G Node B, etc.

[0006] The above multiple access techniques have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user equipments to communicate at the urban, national, regional, and even global levels. New Radio (NR), which may also be referred to as 5G, is an enhanced set of the LTE mobile standard released by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). NR is designed to better integrate with other open standards by improving spectral efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing services, leveraging new spectrums, and using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing with Cyclic Prefix (CP-OFDM) on the downlink (DL), and CP-OFDM and / or SC-FDM (e.g., also referred to as Discrete Fourier Transform Spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink (UL), as well as supporting beamforming, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation, so as to better support mobile broadband Internet access. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In aspects of the present disclosure, a method for wireless communication by a wireless device includes receiving a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence from an upper layer of a wireless communication protocol stack. The first bit sequence is assigned a first class, and the second bit sequence is assigned a second class. The second bit sequence is included in the same Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence. The method further includes processing the first bit sequence at a physical layer using a first Quality of Service (QoS) level, and processing the second bit sequence using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level.

[0008] Other aspects of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus. The apparatus has a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The processors are configured to receive a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence from an upper layer of a wireless communication protocol stack. The first bit sequence is assigned a first class, and the second bit sequence is assigned a second class. The second bit sequence is included in the same Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence. The processors are further configured to process the first bit sequence at a physical layer using a first Quality of Service (QoS) level, and process the second bit sequence using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level.

[0009] Other aspects of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus. The apparatus includes components for receiving a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence from an upper layer of a wireless communication protocol stack. The first bit sequence is assigned a first class, and the second bit sequence is assigned a second class. The second bit sequence is included in the same media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence. The apparatus also includes components for processing the first bit sequence at a physical layer using a first quality of service (QoS) level and for processing the second bit sequence using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level.

[0010] Aspects generally include methods, apparatuses, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, wireless communication devices, and processing systems, as generally described with reference to the figures and the description and as illustrated in the figures and the description.

[0011] The features and technical advantages of examples in accordance with the present disclosure have been outlined rather broadly above so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described. The disclosed concepts and specific examples may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the disclosed concepts, both as to their organization and operation methods, as well as associated advantages, will be better understood by considering the following description in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Each of the figures provided in the accompanying drawings is for the purpose of illustration and description and is not a definition of the limitations of the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] For a more detailed understanding of the features of the present disclosure, reference may be made to the aspects, some of which are illustrated in the figures. It should be noted, however, that the figures illustrate only some aspects of the present disclosure and should not be considered as limiting its scope, as the description may admit other equivalent aspects. The same reference numerals in different figures may identify the same or similar elements.

[0013] Figure 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a wireless communication network in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of communication between a base station and a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example decomposed base station architecture in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an end-to-end desired channel model in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating a protocol stack for a user equipment (UE) and an integrated base station in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating a protocol stack for a decomposed base station in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a protocol stack for a dual connectivity deployment in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating different processing for different packet classes in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 9 and Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating the interaction between protocol layers for data classification in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 11A and Figure 11B is a block diagram illustrating the division of a media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) into code blocks in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 12 is a timing diagram illustrating an explicit indication for retransmission in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 13 is a timing diagram illustrating an implicit indication for retransmission in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating repetition in a layer 2 (L2) header in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating cyclic redundancy check (CRC) information in a layer 2 (L2) header in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 16 is a block diagram illustrating media access control (MAC) determination of data types in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 17 is a block diagram illustrating logical channel restrictions corresponding to control and user data in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example process, such as performed by a wireless device, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[0030] Aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings, those skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the present disclosure, whether implemented independently of or in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, a device may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth. Additionally, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods practiced using other structures, functionality, or structures and functionality in addition to or as a supplement to the aspects of the present disclosure set forth. It should be understood that any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0031] Certain aspects of a telecommunications system will now be presented with reference to various devices and techniques. These devices and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0032] Note that while aspects may be described using terms typically associated with 5G and later generation wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure may be applied in other generation-based communication systems such as and including 3G and / or 4G technologies.

[0033] A decoder / encoder (codec) encodes and decodes a data stream. It is desirable to improve the codec performance of wireless communication to enhance signal quality. Unequal error protection (UEP) is a solution for improving codec performance. When using unequal error protection, different bits may be treated in different ways such that a small fraction of the bits will be more protected in the physical layer (PHY), and most of the bits will be less protected, thereby increasing the errors associated with the less protected bits. Assuming that only some bits in a transport block (e.g., a media access control (MAC) packet data unit (PDU)) will switch from 0 to 1 or vice versa due to poor signal quality or some other problem, the decoder in the receiver can still utilize the other bits. Thus, multiple bitstreams may be created, each stream receiving a different level of error protection. Additionally, an indication of whether the packet has been correctly received may be passed to the decoder. In one example, the header + class A bits are designated to be 100% accurate end-to-end. Class B bits and class C bits do not require 100% accuracy.

[0034] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, information including restrictions of Class A packets, Class B packets, and Class C packets is transferred from an encoder to the 3GPP stack. In some aspects, entities in the protocol layer add metadata for each packet class. The physical layer (PHY) (e.g., L1) may apply different processing to bit sequences of different classes. More specifically, different L1 quality of service (QoS) processing may be applied to different parts of the MAC sub-PDU. Different physical layer (L1) processing for different classes may be implemented using different cyclic redundancy check (CRC) attachment information, different modulation and coding schemes (MCS), different repetition counts, or other techniques.

[0035] Aspects of the present disclosure address how the physical layer can know information about classified data. In the prior art, generally, the lower layer does not know the structure and content of the service data unit (SDU) submitted by the upper layer. To notify the physical layer of the classification of the data received from the upper layer, length information and class information may be conveyed. In a first option, when receiving an SDU from the upper layer, the physical layer receives explicit information from the upper layer. This explicit information may be length information, e.g., the end bit position and start bit position of Class A data or Class B data in the sub-MAC PDU or MAC PDU. In a second option, the physical layer examines the content of each SDU from the upper layer.

[0036] The lengths of Class A data and Class B data may be variable. Aspects of the present disclosure introduce techniques for synchronizing the code block sizes of Class A and Class B data between a transmitter and a receiver. In some aspects of the present disclosure, the transmitter indicates the code block sizes of Class A and / or Class B packets. In other aspects, the content of the MAC PDU is deterministic.

[0037] Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) is a technique in which a receiver requests retransmission of a transport block that has not been correctly decoded. Since downlink HARQ is asynchronous in New Radio (NR), if the CRC fails, the user equipment (UE) should know when to deliver the received bit sequence to the upper layer. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the UE stops waiting for HARQ retransmission based on an explicit indication. If the MAC entity receives an indication for a HARQ process and the transport block has not been successfully decoded, the MAC entity delivers the bit sequence (and / or soft bit information) to the upper layer. In other aspects, implicit detection is used. If the MAC entity receives a transport block and the transport block has not been successfully decoded, the MAC entity delivers the bit sequence (and / or soft bit information) to the upper layer after a certain period of time. This certain period of time may be counted by a timer.

[0038] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, the techniques described (such as receiving a bit sequence and processing the bit sequence using different quality of service (QoS) levels) can increase spectrum utilization. Spectrum utilization can be improved by using as much of the received bit sequence as possible rather than discarding it, while protecting the data from errors by using different levels of processing.

[0039] Figure 1 FIG. 100 is a diagram illustrating a network 100 in which aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced. Network 100 may be a 5G or NR network, or some other wireless network (such as, for example, an LTE network). Wireless network 100 may include multiple BSs 110 (shown as BS110a, BS110b, BS110c, and BS110d) and other network entities. A BS is an entity that communicates with user equipment (UE), and may also be referred to as a base station, NR BS, Node B, gNB, 5G Node B, access point, transmit and receive point (TRP), network node, network entity, etc. A base station may be implemented as an aggregated base station, a disaggregated base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a sidelink node, etc. A base station may be implemented in an aggregated or monolithic base station architecture, or alternatively, in a disaggregated base station architecture, and may include one or more of a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (non RT) RIC.

[0040] Each BS may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, depending on the context in which the term is used, the term “cell” may refer to the coverage area of a BS and / or the BS subsystem serving that coverage area.

[0041] A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and / or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., with a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs having a service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs having a service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In Figure 1In the example shown, BS110a can be a macro BS for macro cell 102a, BS110b can be a pico BS for pico cell 102b, and BS110c can be a femto BS for femto cell 102c. The BS can support one or more (e.g., three) cells. The terms "eNB", "base station", "NR BS", "gNB", "AP", "Node B", "5G NB", "TRP", and "cell" can be used interchangeably.

[0042] In some aspects, the cell does not need to be stationary, and the geographical area of the cell can move according to the position of the mobile BS. In some aspects, the BS can use any suitable transport network and interconnect with each other and / or with one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces (such as direct physical connections, virtual networks, etc.).

[0043] The wireless network 100 can also include relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) and forward the transmission of the data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station can also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In Figure 1 the example shown, the relay station 110d can communicate with the macro BS110a and the UE 120d to facilitate communication between the BS110a and the UE 120d. The relay station can also be referred to as a relay BS, a relay base station, a relay, etc.

[0044] The wireless network 100 can be a heterogeneous network including different types of BSs (e.g., macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relay BSs, etc.). These different types of BSs can have different transmission power levels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro BS can have a high transmission power level (e.g., 5 watts to 40 watts), while pico BSs, femto BSs, and relay BSs can have lower transmission power levels (e.g., 0.1 watt to 2 watts).

[0045] For example, the BS110 (shown as BS110a, BS110b, BS110c, and BS110d) and the core network 130 can exchange communications via a backhaul link 132 (e.g., S1, etc.). The base stations 110 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the core network 130) via other backhaul links (e.g., X2, etc.).

[0046] The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC), which may include at least one mobility management entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may be a control node that processes signaling between the UE 120 and the EPC. All user IP packets may be relayed through the S-GW, which may itself be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The P-GW may be connected to the IP services of the network operator. The operator's IP services may include the Internet, intranet, IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), and packet switched (PS) streaming services.

[0047] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, IP connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. One or more of the base station 110 or access node controller (ANC) may interface with the core network 130 via a backhaul link 132 (e.g., S1, S2, etc.), and may perform radio configuration and scheduling for communication with the UE 120. In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity or base station 110 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers), or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., base station 110).

[0048] UEs 120 (e.g., 120a, 120b, 120c) may be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. The UE may also be referred to as an access terminal, terminal, mobile station, subscriber unit, station, etc. The UE may be a cellular phone (e.g., smartphone), personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless modem, wireless communication device, handheld device, laptop computer, cordless phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, tablet computer, camera, gaming device, netbook, smartbook, ultrabook, medical device or equipment, biometric sensor / device, wearable device (smartwatch, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet)), entertainment device (e.g., music or video device or satellite radio), component or sensor of a vehicle, smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via wireless or wired media.

[0049] One or more UEs 120 may establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session for a network slice. In some cases, the UE 120 may select a network slice based on an application or a subscribed service. By having different network slices for different applications or subscribed services, the UE 120 may improve its resource utilization in the wireless network 100 while also meeting the performance specifications of the various applications of the UE 120. In some cases, the network slice used by the UE 120 may be served by an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) associated with one or both of the base station 110 or the core network 130 ( Figure 1 not shown in the figure). Additionally, the session management of the network slice may be performed by an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0050] The UE 120 may include Unequal Error Protection (UEP) modules 138, 140. For simplicity, only one UE 120d and one base station 110 are shown as including the UEP modules 138, 140. The UEP modules 138, 140 may receive a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence from an upper layer of the wireless communication protocol stack. The first bit sequence is assigned a first class, and the second bit sequence is assigned a second class. The second bit sequence is included in the same Medium Access Control (MAC) Packet Data Unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence. The UEP modules 138, 140 may also process the first bit sequence at the physical layer using a first Quality of Service (QoS) level and process the second bit sequence using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level.

[0051] Some UEs may be considered Machine Type Communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) UEs. For example, MTC and eMTC UEs include robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc. that may communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node may provide connectivity to or from a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link, for example. Some UEs may be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices and / or may be implemented as NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) devices. Some UEs may be considered Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). The UE 120 may be included in a housing that houses components of the UE 120, such as processor components, memory components, etc.

[0052] Generally speaking, any number of wireless networks can be deployed in a given geographical area. Each wireless network can support a specific radio access technology (RAT) and can operate on one or more frequencies. The RAT can also be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface, etc. The frequency can also be referred to as a carrier, a frequency channel, etc. Each frequency in a given geographical area can support a single RAT to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, an NR or 5G RAT network can be deployed.

[0053] In some aspects, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UEs 120a and 120e) can communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., communicate with each other without using the base station 110 as an intermediate device). For example, the UE 120 can communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which can include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, etc.), a mesh network, and so on. In such a case, the UE 120 can perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations described elsewhere herein that are performed by the base station 110. For example, the base station 110 can configure the UE 120 via downlink control information (DCI), radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), or via system information (e.g., system information block (SIB)).

[0054] As pointed out above, Figure 1 is provided merely as an example. Other examples may be different from the example described with reference to Figure 1 the example.

[0055] Figure 2 A block diagram of a design 200 of a base station 110 and a UE 120 is shown, and the base station and the UE can be Figure 1 one of the base stations in Figure 1 and one of the UEs in

[0056] At base station 110, transmit processor 220 may receive data for one or more UEs from data source 212, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for a UE at least in part based on a channel quality indicator (CQI) received from each UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) data for the UE at least in part based on the MCS selected for each UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. A lower MCS reduces throughput but increases transmission reliability. Transmit processor 220 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource allocation information (SRPI), etc.) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, etc.), and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). Transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MOD) 232a through 232t. Each modulator 232 may process the corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The T downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be transmitted via T antennas 234a through 234t, respectively. According to various aspects described in more detail below, position coding may be utilized to generate synchronization signals to convey additional information.

[0057] At the UE 120, antennas 252a through 252r may receive downlink signals from the base station 110 and / or other base stations, and may provide the received signals to demodulators (DEMOD) 254a through 254r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, down-convert, and digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain the received symbols. The MIMO detector 256 may obtain the received symbols from all R demodulators 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols (if applicable), and provide the detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide the decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260, and provide the decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The channel processor may determine the reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), channel quality indicator (CQI), etc. In some aspects, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in a housing.

[0058] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 264 may receive data from the data source 262, as well as control information (e.g., for reporting including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.) from the controller / processor 280, and process the data and control information. The transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 266 (if applicable), further processed by the modulators 254a through 254r (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 110. At the base station 110, the uplink signals from the UE 120 and other UEs may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the demodulator 254, detected by the MIMO detector 236 (if applicable), and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain the decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239, and provide the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240. The base station 110 may include a communication unit 244 and communicate with the core network 130 via the communication unit 244. The core network 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292.

[0059] The controller / processor 240 of the base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2Any other component may perform one or more techniques associated with unequal error protection, as described in more detail elsewhere. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2 Any other component may perform or direct operations of processes such as, for example Figure 18 the processes described and / or other processes as described. The memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for the base station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. The scheduler 246 may schedule the UE for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0060] In some aspects, the UE 120 and / or the base station 110 may include components for receiving, components for processing, components for transmitting, components for detecting, and components for determining. Such components may include one or more components of the UE 120 or the base station 110 described in conjunction with Figure 2 the UE 120 or the base station 110.

[0061] As noted above, Figure 2 is provided merely as an example. Other examples may be different from the examples described with reference to Figure 2 the examples described.

[0062] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G New Radio (NR) system) may be arranged in various ways with various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system or network, network nodes, network entities, mobility elements of the network, radio access network (RAN) nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or network equipment (such as a base station (BS)) or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functions may be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a BS (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR BS, 5G NB, access point (AP), transmit and receive point (TRP), or cell, etc.) may be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as a stand-alone BS or monolithic BS) or a disaggregated base station.

[0063] A converged base station can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A split base station can be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some aspects, a CU can be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs can be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, can be geographically or virtually distributed among one or more other RAN nodes. A DU can be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU can also be implemented as a virtual unit (e.g., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU)).

[0064] Base station type operations or network designs can consider the aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, split base stations can be used in integrated access backhaul (IAB) networks, open radio access networks (O-RANs, such as network configurations advocated by the O-RAN Alliance), or virtualized radio access networks (vRANs, also known as cloud radio access networks (C-RANs)). Splitting can include distributing functions across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as virtualizing the function of at least one unit, which can enable flexibility in network design. The various units of a split base station or a split RAN architecture can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0065] Figure 3 A diagram illustrating an example split base station 300 architecture is shown. The split base station 300 architecture can include one or more central units (CUs) 310, which can communicate directly with the core network 320 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 320 through one or more split base station units, such as a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 325 via an E2 link, or a non-real-time (non RT) RIC 315 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 305, or both. The CU 310 can communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 330 via a respective midhaul link, such as an F1 interface. The DU 330 can communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 340 via a respective fronthaul link. The RU 340 can communicate with a respective UE 120 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some embodiments, the UE 120 can be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 340.

[0066] Each of these units (e.g., CU 310, DU 330, RU 340, and the near RT RIC 325, non-RT RIC 315, and SMO framework 305) can include one or more interfaces, or can be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units or the associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interfaces of these units can be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. For example, the units can include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium. Additionally, the unit can include a wireless interface that can include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) configured to receive or transmit signals, or both, to one or more of the other units via a wireless transmission medium.

[0067] In some aspects, the CU 310 can host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions can include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function can be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 310. The CU 310 can be configured to handle user plane functionality (e.g., central unit - user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (e.g., central unit - control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the CU 310 can be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP units can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface (such as the E1 interface). As needed, the CU 310 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 330 for network control and signaling.

[0068] The DU 330 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 340. In some aspects, the DU 330 may host one or more of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, and demodulation, etc.) at least partially depending on a functional split (such as the functional split defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)). In some aspects, the DU 330 may also host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 330 or with control functions hosted by the CU 310.

[0069] Lower layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 340. In some deployments, the RUs 340 controlled by the DU 330 may correspond to logical nodes that host RF processing functions or low PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.) or both at least partially based on a functional split (such as a lower layer functional split). In such an architecture, the RUs 340 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 120. In some embodiments, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of the control plane and user plane communication with the RUs 340 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 330. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the implementation of the DU 330 and the CU 310 in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0070] The SMO framework 305 can be configured to support the RAN deployment and provisioning of both non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 can be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which can be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as the O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 can be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as the Open Cloud (O-cloud) 390) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as the O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, the CU 310, DU 330, RU 340, and the Near RT RIC 325. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 305 can communicate with the hardware aspects of 4G RAN, such as the Open eNB (O-eNB) 311, via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 305 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 340 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 305 may also include a Non-RT RIC 315 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 305.

[0071] The Non-RT RIC 315 can be configured to include logical functions that can enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the Near RT RIC 325. The Non-RT RIC 315 can be coupled to or communicate with the Near RT RIC 325 (such as via the A1 interface). The Near RT RIC 325 can be configured to include logical functions that can enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions on an interface (such as via the E2 interface) that connects one or more CUs 310, one or more DUs 330, or both, and the O-eNB 311 to the Near RT RIC 325.

[0072] In some specific implementations, to generate the AI / ML models to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 325, the non-RT RIC 315 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information can be utilized by the near-RT RIC 325 and can be received from non-network data sources or from network functions at the SMO framework 305 or the non-RT RIC 315. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 315 or the near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to tune the RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 315 may monitor the long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ an AI / ML model to perform corrective actions via the SMO framework 305 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0073] A decoder / encoder (codec) encodes and decodes a data stream. It is desirable to improve the codec performance of wireless communication to enhance the signal quality. Unequal error protection (UEP) is a solution for improving the codec performance. When using unequal error protection, different bits can be processed in different ways such that a small fraction of bits will be more protected in the physical layer (PHY), and most of the bits will be less protected. The less protected bits may be more error-prone than the protected bits. Assuming that only some bits in a transport block (e.g., a media access control (MAC) packet data unit (PDU)) will flip from 0 to 1 or vice versa due to poor signal quality or some other problem, the decoder on the receiver side can still utilize the other bits. Thus, multiple bitstreams can be created, each receiving a different level of error protection. Additionally, an indication of whether the packet has been correctly received can be passed to the decoder.

[0074] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an end-to-end desired channel model according to aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 4 the example, an encoder 400 processes bits 402 for transmission to a decoder 401. In this example, the header + class A bits are designated to be 100% accurate end-to-end. The class B bits and class C bits do not require 100% accuracy. Thus, the decoder can receive the metadata 404, 406 for these class B bits and class C bits. The metadata 404, 406 can include the expected bit error rate (BER) for these bits or, if error detection is available, can include whether these bits are correct. The metadata 404, 406 can also include the mean, variance, and / or log-likelihood ratio (LLR) for each of these bits. It should be noted that although three classes of packets are discussed, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any number of two or more classes can be envisioned.

[0075] In the current 3GPP protocol stack, all bits are mapped to a single Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data Unit (SDU). The granularity provided by a single PDCP SDU is insufficient to distinguish Quality of Service (QoS) for the encoder output. In other words, either the entire packet is lost or nothing is lost. When using this protocol stack, Class B bits and Class C bits may be meaningless.

[0076] An alternative approach specifies that the encoder generates three packets: one packet for the header + Class A data, one packet for Class B data, and one packet for Class C data. However, this approach creates additional headers in all protocol stack layers. In other words, the header + Class A packet includes a Real-Time Transport Protocol / User Datagram Protocol / Internet Protocol (RTP / UDP / IP) header, the Class B packet includes its own RTP / UDP / IP header, and the Class C packet also includes its own RTP / UDP / IP header. Such an approach is not feasible for low-rate codecs. Additionally, this approach has the problem of not allowing error bits to pass through.

[0077] According to aspects of the present disclosure, information including the limitations of Class A packets, Class B packets, and Class C packets is passed from the encoder to the 3GPP stack. This information can be passed using signaling (e.g., the parameters of the encoder can be configured via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling). Alternatively, the RTP / UDP / IP header can be used. According to aspects of the present disclosure, entities in the protocol layer add metadata for each packet class. This metadata can indicate whether a packet is lost, the error percentage, the quality, etc. An example of quality is described with reference to the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) used to transmit the bit sequence. If the MCS is conservative, higher quality can be achieved.

[0078] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a protocol stack architecture for implementing unequal error protection. The protocol stack of the present disclosure enables interaction between the current 3GPP protocol stack and the upper layers of the protocol stack, and also provides access to the Layer 1 / Layer 2 (L1 / L2) protocols in the 3GPP protocol stack.

[0079] Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating a protocol stack for a User Equipment (UE) and an integrated base station according to aspects of the present disclosure. As seen in the example of Figure 5 The new protocol 502 communicates with the layers of the current 3GPP protocol stack 504. For example, the new protocol 502 communicates with the L1, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and upper layers of the 3GPP protocol stack 504.

[0080] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating a protocol stack for a distributed base station according to aspects of the present disclosure. As seen in Figure 6As can be seen in the example of, two components 600, 602 of the new protocol communicate with the layers of the 3GPP protocol stacks 604, 606 split between a distributed unit (DU) and a central unit (CU). For example, the first component 600 of the new protocol communicates with the L1 layer, MAC layer, and RLC layer of the first part 604 of the 3GPP protocol stack, and the second component 602 of the new protocol communicates with the PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and upper layers of the second part 606 of the 3GPP protocol stack.

[0081] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a protocol stack for dual connectivity deployment according to aspects of the present disclosure. As in Figure 7 the example of, three components 700, 702, 704 of the new protocol communicate with the layers of the 3GPP protocol stack, which are split according to a dual connectivity deployment. For example, the first component 700 of the new protocol communicates with the L1, MAC layer, and RLC layer of the first connectivity element 707, and the second component 702 of the new protocol communicates with the L1, MAC layer, and RLC layer of the second connectivity element 708. The third component 704 of the new protocol communicates with the PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and upper layers of the central component 706 in this dual connectivity deployment.

[0082] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the physical layer PHY (e.g., L1) applies different processing to bit sequences of different classes. More specifically, aspects of the present disclosure apply different L1 QoS processing to different parts of the MAC sub-PDU. For simplicity, classes A and B are used in the following description, but more than two classes can be envisioned.

[0083] The MAC PDU of a voice packet consists of multiple parts. If the elements associated with the voice packet are corrupted, the voice packet may be incorrectly processed at the receiver. These elements can be designated as class A elements. Examples of class A elements of a voice packet include L2 headers (e.g., MAC, RLC, PDCP, and SDAP headers), control information for each sublayer in L2 (e.g., media access control - control element (MAC CE) and control PDU), IP / UDP / RTP headers (or robust header compression (ROHC) headers), and RTP payload headers. The less critical data carried in class B elements includes the RTP payload, rather than the RTP payload header.

[0084] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating different processing for different packet classes according to aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 8In the example of, the type A data of the MAC PDU 802 includes a MAC header, an RLC header, a PDCP header, an IP / UDP / RTP header, and an RTP payload header. The type B data in the MAC PDU 802 includes the payload. Different cyclic redundancy check (CRC) additional information, different modulation and coding schemes (MCS), different repetition times, or other techniques can be used for different types of physical layer (L1) processing. Data classification can occur at the code block level or the transport block (TB) level. For headers, the code block level is a more desirable option. For control information, different MAC PDUs can be used. Therefore, both the code block level and the transport level can be applied. In Figure 8 the example of, data classification occurs at the level of the code block 806. That is, the type A data and the type B data can be passed from the transport block 804 to the code block 806, where the data is partitioned such that different L1 processing is applied to the type A data and the type B data. In Figure 8 the example of, since the data is too long for a single type A code block, the type A data is partitioned into two code blocks 806-1 and 806-2. The type B data is included in the third code block (806-3).

[0085] Aspects of the present disclosure address how the physical layer can know information about classified data. In the prior art, generally, the lower layer does not know the structure and content of the SDU submitted by the upper layer. To notify the physical layer of the classification of the data received from the upper layer, length information and class information can be conveyed.

[0086] In the first option, when receiving an SDU from the upper layer, the physical layer receives explicit information from the upper layer. This explicit information can be length information, for example, the end bit position and the start bit position of the type A data or the type B data in a sub-MAC PDU or a MAC PDU. Length information can be provided for each MAC sub-PDU, or for the resulting MAC PDU when multiple MAC sub-PDUs are concatenated. Additional information can also be received, such as the logical channel (LCH) identification of the bit, whether the bit is a control bit or a data bit, and what the transport channel of the bit is. For control information (e.g., MAC CE, control PDU), since all bits are classified as type A, the explicit information can be an example of the control information or a fixed value (e.g., 00000000 or 11111111 when the length of the information is eight bits).

[0087] In the second option, the physical layer examines the content of each SDU from the upper layer. This option assumes that the physical layer knows in advance the structure of the upper layer protocol.

[0088] Figure 9is a block diagram illustrating the interaction between protocol layers for data classification according to aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 9 's example, there is a single MAC SDU and no MAC CE. For ease of illustration, Class B data is not shown in Figure 9 . According to aspects of the present disclosure, when submitting a PDU, each layer indicates bit position information to its lower layer. On the network side with CU-DU split (as seen in Figure 3 ), this information can be carried together with the PDU through the F1 interface.

[0089] In Figure 9 's example, the upper layer 900 sends a PDU with Class A data to the SDAP layer 902. The upper layer 900 also sends the bit position information of the Class A data. For example, bits 0 to bit X can be indicated as Class A data. Then, the SDAP layer 902 generates an SDAP SDU and submits it to the PDCP layer 904 together with the SDAP header (H). In addition to the Class A data from the upper layer PDU, the SDAP header is also Class A data. The bit position information indicates that the Class A data is bits 0 to bit X and the bits corresponding to the SDAP header length.

[0090] Then, the PDCP layer 904 generates a PDCP SDU and submits it to the RLC layer 906 together with the PDCP header. In addition to the Class A data received from the SDAP layer 902, the PDCP header is also Class A data. The bit position information indicates that the Class A data is bits 0 to bit X plus the bits corresponding to the SDAP header length and the PDCP header length. The RLC layer 906 generates an RLC SDU and submits it to the MAC layer 908 together with the RLC header. In addition to the Class A data received from the PDCP layer 904, the RLC header is also Class A data. The bit position information indicates that the Class A data is bits 0 to bit X and the bits corresponding to the SDAP header length, the PDCP header length, and the RLC header length. The MAC layer 908 generates a MAC SDU and submits it to the physical layer (L1) 910 together with the MAC sub-header. In addition to the Class A data received from the RLC layer 906, the MAC sub-header is also Class A data. The bit position information indicates that the Class A data is bits 0 to bit X and the bits corresponding to the SDAP header length, the PDCP header length, the RLC header length, and the MAC sub-header length.

[0091] Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating the interaction between protocol layers for data classification according to aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 10 's example, there is a MAC CE and two MAC SDUs.

[0092] As Figure 10As shown in the example of , the upper layer 1000 sends two PDUs with Class A data and Class B data to the SDAP layer 1002. The upper layer 1000 also sends the bit position information of the Class A data and the Class B data. Then, the SDAP layer 1002 generates two SDAP SDUs and submits them together with the SDAP header (H) of each SDAP PDU to the PDCP layer 1004. In addition to the Class A data from the upper layer PDU, the SDAP header is also Class A data. Then, the PDCP layer 1004 generates PDCP SDUs and submits them together with the PDCP header to the RLC layer 1006. In addition to the Class A data received from the SDAP layer 1002, the PDCP header is also Class A data. The RLC layer 1006 generates RLC SDUs and submits them together with the RLC header to the MAC layer 1008. In addition to the Class A data received from the PDCP layer 1004, the RLC header is also Class A data.

[0093] In Figure 10 the example of , the MAC layer 1008 generates a MAC SDU and a MAC header based on the data received from the RLC layer 1006. The MAC layer 1008 multiplexes the MAC SDU, the MAC CE, and the MAC header into a MAC PDU. The MAC layer 1008 submits the MAC PDU to the physical layer (L1) (1010a, 1010b). In addition to any Class A data received from the RLC layer 1006, the MAC header and the MAC CE are also Class A data.

[0094] Figure 10 Two options for presenting the bit position information are shown in . In the first option, the bit position data received at the physical layer 1010a includes the length 1012 of the MAC CE of the Class A data, the length 1014 of the header of the first SDU, and the length 1016 of the header of the second SDU. The lengths 1014 of the Class B data from the first SDU and 1020 of the Class B data from the second SDU are also provided. In the second option, the bit position data received at the physical layer 1010b includes the length of the MAC CE plus the length 1022 of the first header of the first SDU of the Class A data. That is, the length information can cover the lengths of both the MAC CE and the header of the first MAC SDU. The bit position data also includes the length 1024 of the second header of the Class A data of the second SDU. The lengths 1026 of the Class B data from the first SDU and 1028 of the Class B data from the second SDU are also provided.

[0095] Figure 11A and Figure 11B are block diagrams illustrating the division of a media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) into code blocks according to aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 11A andFigure 11B In the example of, the MAC layer 1102, 1110 multiplexes the MAC SDU, MAC CE, and MAC header into the MAC PDU.

[0096] As Figure 11A shown in the example of, the MAC layer 1102 submits the MAC PDU to the physical layer 1104, which divides the type A data and type B data into five code blocks (CB#1, CB#2, CB#3, CB#4, CB#5). Each code block is also associated with a header (H) to indicate the length of the corresponding code block. In Figure 11A the example of, three code blocks (CB#1, CB#2, CB#4) are created for type A data. Two code blocks (CB#3, CB#5) are created for type B data.

[0097] In Figure 11B the example of, the MAC layer 1110 submits the MAC PDU to the physical layer 1106, which divides the type A data and type B data into two code blocks (CB#1, CB#2). Each code block is also associated with a header (H) to indicate how the data is multiplexed within the code block. For example, the header indicates which bits correspond to the MAC CE, which bits correspond to the header of the first SDU, and which bits correspond to the header of the second SDU. In Figure 11B the example of, one code block (CB#1) is created for all type A data, and one code block (CB#2) is created for all type B data.

[0098] The lengths of type A data and type B data can be variable. Aspects of the present disclosure introduce techniques for synchronizing the code block sizes of type A and type B data between a transmitter and a receiver. The size of type A data is variable because certain control information (such as MAC CE and control PDU) may or may not be present depending on the MAC layer and / or other layer states. Additionally, depending on the robust header compression (ROHC) state (e.g., whether a full header or a compressed header is used), the ROHC header size is variable. The number of MAC CE and sub-PDUs multiplexed in the MAC PDU is variable. The variation may also occur because the length of the RTP payload header is selected by the upper layer, and the packet sizes can be different. For example, voice packets or silence insertion descriptor (SID) packets can have different sizes.

[0099] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the transmitter indicates the code block sizes of type A and / or type B packets. For example, the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can be used to indicate the size for downlink communication, and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) can indicate the size for uplink communication.

[0100] In other respects, the content of the MAC PDU is deterministic. If the content and the MAC header length are deterministic, then the code block size of class A and / or class B data is naturally deterministic. For uplink communication, the UE receives multiple grants. The size of each grant corresponds to the assumed total size of the MAC PDU, which includes the ROHC header size, the MAC header size, the packet size, the number of multiplexed packets, etc. The network can indicate whether control information can be multiplexed in the MAC PDU. Therefore, since the network indicates which headers are in the MAC PDU, the receiver knows in advance which code blocks contain class A data and which code blocks contain class B data. This information can also be preconfigured. When the uplink data becomes available for transmission, the UE can use the uplink grant with the corresponding size to construct the MAC PDU. Otherwise, if the uplink grant is not available, the UE skips the transmission and triggers a scheduling request.

[0101] Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) is a technique in which the receiver requests retransmission of a transport block that has not been correctly decoded. Since downlink HARQ is asynchronous in New Radio (NR), the UE should know when to deliver the received bit sequence to the upper layer if the CRC fails (e.g., the bit sequence has not been successfully decoded). According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the UE stops waiting for HARQ retransmission based on an explicit indication. If the MAC entity receives an indication for a HARQ process and the transport block has not been successfully decoded, the MAC entity delivers the bit sequence (and / or soft bit information) to the upper layer. The indication can be a newly defined indication for the same HARQ process or a new data indicator (NDI) for a handover, etc. Radio resource control (RRC) signaling can configure the number of downlink HARQ retransmissions that the UE needs to undertake.

[0102] Figure 12 is a timing diagram illustrating an explicit indication for retransmission according to aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 12In the example, the base station (e.g., gNB) timeline 1210 and the UE timeline 1220 are shown. At time t1, the base station transmits an initial transmission (Tx) of Class B data to the UE. Since this transmission is not successfully decoded and no explicit delivery instruction is received, the UE retains the information in a buffer at its physical layer or any equivalent layer. At time t2, the base station transmits a first retransmission (Rx) of Class B data to the UE. Since this retransmission is not successfully decoded and no explicit delivery instruction is received, the UE retains the information in a buffer at its physical layer or any equivalent layer. At time t3, the base station transmits a second retransmission of Class B data to the UE. Since this retransmission is still not successfully decoded and no explicit delivery instruction is received, the UE retains the information in a buffer at its physical layer or any equivalent layer. At time t4, the base station transmits a final retransmission of Class B data to the UE. Regardless of whether this retransmission is successfully decoded, the UE delivers the information in the buffer at its physical layer (or any equivalent layer) to the upper layer. The delivery occurs because at time t4, the base station also instructs the UE to deliver the data to the upper layer regardless of whether an error occurs when decoding this retransmission.

[0103] In other aspects, implicit detection is used. If the MAC entity receives a transport block and this transport block is not successfully decoded, then the MAC entity delivers the bit sequence (and / or soft bit information) to the upper layer after a certain period of time. This certain period of time can be counted by a timer. The timer can be started when a new transport block for the HARQ process is received, or it can be started (or restarted) each time data for the HARQ process is received. This option can be implemented by a timer such as drx-RetransmissionTimer. In the implicit detection option, the timer can be applied only to unprotected data. Therefore, the UE should know, for example, based on an indication from the network (such as downlink control information (DCI)), which received transport block it should apply this implicit detection to, or the network can configure some HARQ processes semi-statically. It should be noted that both the implicit option and the explicit option can be applied simultaneously. If the MAC PDU is mapped to multiple code blocks with different classes (e.g., Class A code block (MAC header) and Class B code block (the remainder)), if the Class A code block is not successfully decoded, the Class B code block should not be delivered to the upper layer because the MAC PDU cannot be reassembled without the Class A data. In some aspects, the lower layer can indicate to the upper layer whether the code block is successfully decoded or not successfully decoded.

[0104] Figure 13 is a timing diagram illustrating an implicit indication for retransmission according to aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 13In the example, a base station (e.g., gNB) timeline 1310 and a UE timeline 1320 are shown. At time t1, the base station transmits an initial transmission (Tx) of Class B data to the UE. Since this transmission is not successfully decoded, the UE retains the information in a buffer at its physical layer and starts a timer. At time t2, the base station transmits a first retransmission (Rx) of Class B data to the UE. Since this retransmission is not successfully decoded and the timer has not expired, the UE retains the information in a buffer at its physical layer. At time t3, the base station transmits a second retransmission of Class B data to the UE. Since this retransmission is still not successfully decoded and the timer has not expired, the UE retains the information in a buffer at its physical layer. At time t4, the base station transmits a final retransmission of Class B data to the UE. Since this retransmission is still not successfully decoded and the timer has not expired, the UE retains the information in a buffer at its physical layer. At time t5, the timer expires. Accordingly, the UE delivers the information in the buffer at its physical layer to the upper layer. The delivery occurs due to the expiration of the timer regardless of whether an error occurs when decoding the retransmission.

[0105] Redundancy in the second layer (L2) header will now be described. As previously mentioned, the physical layer can check for errors in Class A data. According to aspects of the present disclosure, error checking can also occur or independently occur in the second layer (L2). For example, an error may be detected at the L2 level.

[0106] In these aspects, the PDCP header can be repeated in the PDCP PDU. Accordingly, the receiver processes the PDCP PDU only when the header portion is confirmed by checking for consistency. Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating repetition in the second layer (L2) header according to aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 14 the example, the PDCP PDU 1400 includes a PDCP header 1402 and a payload 1406. A repetition 1404 of the first PDCP header 1402 is also included in the PDCP PDU 1400. Accordingly, the receiver processes the PDCP PDU only when the PDCP header 1402 matches the repetition 1404.

[0107] In other aspects, a CRC is included in the PDCP header. The receiver processes the PDCP PDU only when the header portion is confirmed by CRC checking. Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating cyclic redundancy check (CRC) information in the second layer (L2) header according to aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 15In the example, the PDCP PDU 1500 includes a PDCP header 1502 and a payload 1506. The PDCP header 1502 also includes CRC information 1504. Therefore, the receiver processes the PDCP PDU 1500 only when the header part is confirmed by CRC check. Although the PDCP header has been described with reference to Figure 14 and Figure 15 this disclosure is not limited thereto. These techniques are also applicable to other layer 2 entities, such as SDAP, RLC, and MAC entities.

[0108] According to aspects of the present disclosure, control data (C) and user data (U) can be identified based on a logical channel (LCH). Previously, classes of bit sequences within the same MAC sub-PDU and across different MAC sub-PDUs were described for L1 determination. When viewed across different MAC sub-PDUs, the MAC layer can also determine the data class. In addition to the above L1 options, these aspects can also be applied.

[0109] Figure 16 is a block diagram illustrating medium access control (MAC) determination of data types according to aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 16 the example, for ease of illustration, the upper layer is not shown. The SDAP layer 1602 generates control PDUs and data PDUs. The SDAP layer 1602 indicates to the PDCP layer 1604 whether each PDU is control data or user data. The PDCP layer 1604 generates data PDUs based on the information received from the SDAP layer 1602. The PDCP layer 1604 also generates headers in the control PDUs. The PDCP layer 1604 passes its control PDUs and data PDUs to the RLC layer 1606, and the RLC layer 1606 uses these PDUs to generate data PDUs. The RLC layer 1606 also generates RLC headers in its control PDUs. The RLC layer 1606 passes its data PDUs and control PDUs, along with information indicating whether each PDU is for data or for control, to the MAC layer 1608. The MAC layer 1608 uses this information to create a MAC PDU 1610 for class A packets and a MAC PDU 1612 that includes both class A packets and class B packets. In addition to the previously described L1 options, MAC layer classification can also be applied.

[0110] Currently, data mapping restrictions are implemented as logical channel priority (LCP) restrictions. According to aspects of the present disclosure, control / user (C / U) restrictions can be identified through LCP restrictions. In these aspects, control data and user data are mapped on separate logical channels, where control data is more important (e.g., class A packets), while user data is less important (e.g., class B packets). Control data and user data can be divided at the RLC layer because the same SDAP, PDCP, and RLC entities terminate data and control.

[0111] On the transmitter side, the RLC layer maps the RLC PDU to the corresponding logical channel based on this information. For example, the RLC entity in the UE can be configured with multiple logical channels and logical channel restrictions. The SDAP layer and the PDCP layer submit the packet together with an indication of whether the packet is more important or less important to the RLC layer. The RLC layer submits each PDU to the MAC layer in the corresponding logical channel. That is, more important PDUs (e.g., control data) are routed via the logical channel associated with the more important packet, while less important PDUs (e.g., user data) are routed via the logical channel associated with the less important packet.

[0112] The MAC layer performs data mapping based on logical channel priority restrictions such that packets received via different logical channels are placed in different MAC PDUs to allow different processing at the physical layer. The logical channel priority restrictions can be lifted by an indication from the network via an RLC control PDU or a MAC CE. For downlink transmission, the F1 interface can be employed. The same principle can be applied to uplink communication, but the CU passes data with a new indication of whether the packet is important via the F1 interface.

[0113] Figure 17 is a block diagram illustrating logical channel restrictions corresponding to control and user data according to aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 17 the example, the RLC layer 1706 routes to the MAC layer 1708, routes class A packets into sub-PDUs associated with the first logical channel (LCHA), and routes class B packets into sub-PDUs associated with a separate logical channel (LCH B). Thus, the MAC layer 1708 can place class A packets (e.g., control data) in the first MAC PDU 1710 and class B packets (e.g., user data) in the second MAC PDU 1712 without knowing which packets are class A data or class B data. Instead, the MAC layer 1708 knows that packets routed via the first logical channel (LCH A) are more important than packets routed via the second logical channel (LCH B).

[0114] As pointed out above, Figures 4 to 17 is provided merely as an example. Other examples may be different from the example described with reference to Figures 4 to 17 the example.

[0115] Figure 18is a flowchart illustrating an example process 1800, such as may be performed by a wireless device, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process 1800 is an example of radio access network (RAN) enhancements for unequal error protection (UEP). Operations of process 1800 may be implemented by UE 120 or network device 110.

[0116] At block 1802, a wireless device receives a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence from an upper layer of a wireless communication protocol stack. The first bit sequence is assigned a first class, and the second bit sequence is assigned a second class. The second bit sequence is included in the same media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence. For example, a wireless device (e.g., using antennas 234, 252, DEMOD / MOD 232, 254, MIMO detector 236, 256, receive processor 238, 258, controller / processor 240, 280, and memories 242, 282, etc.) may receive the sequences. In some aspects, the wireless device receives an indication of the classification of the first bit sequence from the upper layer. The indication may include length information associated with the first class.

[0117] At block 1804, the wireless device processes the first bit sequence at the physical layer using a first quality of service (QoS) level. For example, a wireless device (e.g., using controller / processor 240, 280, and memories 242, 282, etc.) may process the first bit sequence. In some aspects, the wireless device detects an error in the first bit sequence at the MAC layer. In other aspects, the wireless device determines the classification of the first bit sequence at the MAC layer. In yet other aspects, the wireless device sends an indication of the decoding result of the first bit sequence to the upper layer.

[0118] At block 1806, the wireless device processes the second bit sequence at the physical layer using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level. For example, a UE (e.g., using controller / processor 240, 280, and memories 242, 282, etc.) may process the second bit sequence.

[0119] In terms of examples

[0120] Aspect 1: A method for wireless communication by a wireless device, the method comprising: receiving a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence from an upper layer of a wireless communication protocol stack, the first bit sequence being assigned a first class, and the second bit sequence being assigned a second class and being included in the same media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence; processing the first bit sequence at the physical layer using a first quality of service (QoS) level; and processing the second bit sequence at the physical layer using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level.

[0121] Aspect 2: The method according to aspect 1, the method further comprising receiving an indication of the classification of the first bit sequence from the upper layer.

[0122] Aspect 3: The method according to aspect 2 or 2, wherein the indication includes length information associated with the first class.

[0123] Aspect 4: The method according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method further comprising sending an indication of length information of at least one of the first bit sequence or the second bit sequence.

[0124] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the content of the MAC PDU is predetermined.

[0125] Aspect 6: The method according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method further comprising receiving an indication for a HARQ process, the indication triggering delivery to the upper layer of a transport block that contains the first bit sequence and that was not successfully decoded.

[0126] Aspect 7: The method according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method further comprising, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, sending to the upper layer a transport block that contains the first bit sequence and that was not successfully decoded.

[0127] Aspect 8: The method according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method further comprising detecting an error in the first bit sequence at the MAC layer.

[0128] Aspect 9: The method according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method further comprising determining the classification of the first bit sequence at the MAC layer.

[0129] Aspect 10: The method according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method further comprising sending an indication of the decoding result of the first bit sequence to the upper layer.

[0130] Aspect 11: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence from an upper layer of a wireless communication protocol stack, the first bit sequence being assigned a first class and the second bit sequence being assigned a second class and being included in the same medium access control (MAC) packet data unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence; process the first bit sequence at a physical layer using a first quality of service (QoS) level; and process the second bit sequence at the physical layer using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level.

[0131] Aspect 12: The apparatus according to aspect 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive an indication of the classification of the first bit sequence from the upper layer.

[0132] Aspect 13: The apparatus according to aspect 11 or 12, wherein the indication includes length information associated with the first class.

[0133] Aspect 14: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 11 to 13, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send an indication of the length information of at least one of the first bit sequence or the second bit sequence.

[0134] Aspect 15: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 11 to 14, wherein the content of the MAC PDU is predetermined.

[0135] Aspect 16: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 11 to 15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive an indication for a HARQ process, the indication triggering the delivery to the upper layer of a transport block containing the first bit sequence that has not been successfully decoded.

[0136] Aspect 17: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 11 to 16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, a transport block containing the first bit sequence that has not been successfully decoded to the upper layer.

[0137] Aspect 18: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 11 to 17, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to detect an error in the first bit sequence at the MAC layer.

[0138] Aspect 19: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 11 to 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the classification of the first bit sequence at the MAC layer.

[0139] Aspect 20: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 11 to 19, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send an indication of the decoding result of the first bit sequence to the upper layer.

[0140] Aspect 21: An apparatus for wireless communication by a wireless device, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence from an upper layer of a wireless communication protocol stack, the first bit sequence being assigned a first class, and the second bit sequence being assigned a second class and being included in the same media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence; means for processing the first bit sequence at a physical layer using a first quality of service (QoS) level; and means for processing the second bit sequence at the physical layer using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level.

[0141] Aspect 22: The apparatus according to aspect 21, the apparatus further comprising means for receiving an indication of the classification of the first bit sequence from the upper layer.

[0142] Aspect 23: The apparatus according to aspect 21 or 22, wherein the indication includes length information associated with the first class.

[0143] Aspect 24: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 21 to 23, the apparatus further comprising means for transmitting an indication of length information for at least one of the first bit sequence or the second bit sequence.

[0144] Aspect 25: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 21 to 24, wherein the content of the MAC PDU is predetermined.

[0145] Aspect 26: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 21 to 25, the apparatus further comprising means for receiving an indication for a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process, the indication triggering delivery to the upper layer of a transport block containing the first bit sequence that has not been successfully decoded.

[0146] Aspect 27: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 21 to 26, the apparatus further comprising means for transmitting, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, a transport block containing the first bit sequence that has not been successfully decoded to the upper layer.

[0147] Aspect 28: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 21 to 27, the apparatus further comprising means for detecting an error in the first bit sequence at the MAC layer.

[0148] Aspect 29: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 21 to 28, the apparatus further comprising means for determining the classification of the first bit sequence at the MAC layer.

[0149] Aspect 30: The apparatus according to any one of aspects 21 to 29, the apparatus further comprising means for transmitting an indication of the decoding result of the first bit sequence to the upper layer.

[0150] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations can be made in light of the above disclosure, or can be obtained from practice of the aspects.

[0151] As used, the term "component" is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software. As used, a processor is implemented using hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software.

[0152] Some aspects are described in connection with thresholds. As used, depending on the context, meeting a threshold can mean that a value is greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, etc.

[0153] It will be apparent that the described systems and / or methods can be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specific control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods does not limit the aspects. Thus, having described the operation and performance of these systems and / or methods without reference to specific software code, it should be understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement these systems and / or methods based at least in part on this description.

[0154] Although specific combinations of features are set forth in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of the aspects. In fact, many of these features can be combined in ways not specifically set forth in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of the aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. The phrase "at least one" in reference to a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including a single member. By way of example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, and a - b - c, as well as any combination having multiple of the same element (e.g., a - a, a - a - a, a - a - b, a - a - c, a - b - b, a - c - c, b - b, b - b - b, b - b - c, c - c, and c - c - c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0155] The elements, acts, or instructions used should not be construed as critical or essential unless expressly described as such. Additionally, as used herein, the articles "a" and "an" are intended to include one or more and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." Further, as used herein, the terms "set" and "group" are intended to include one or more (e.g., related items, unrelated items, combinations of related and unrelated items, etc.) and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." If only one item is intended to be referred to, the phrase "only one" or similar language will be used. Additionally, as used herein, the term "having" and the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "at least partially based on" unless otherwise expressly stated.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a wireless device, the method comprising: receiving, from an upper layer of a wireless communication protocol stack, a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, the first bit sequence being assigned a first class, and the second bit sequence being assigned a second class and being included in the same media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence; processing the first bit sequence at a physical layer using a first quality of service (QoS) level; and processing the second bit sequence at the physical layer using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level.

2. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising receiving an indication of the classification of the first bit sequence from the upper layer.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the indication includes length information associated with the first class.

4. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising sending an indication of length information of at least one of the first bit sequence or the second bit sequence.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the content of the MAC PDU is predetermined.

6. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising receiving an indication for a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process, the indication triggering delivery to the upper layer of an unsuccessfully decoded transport block containing the first bit sequence.

7. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, sending to the upper layer an unsuccessfully decoded transport block containing the first bit sequence.

8. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising detecting an error in the first bit sequence at a MAC layer.

9. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising determining the classification of the first bit sequence at a MAC layer.

10. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising sending an indication of a decoding result of the first bit sequence to the upper layer.

11. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured to: receive, from an upper layer of a wireless communication protocol stack, a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, the first bit sequence being assigned a first class, and the second bit sequence being assigned a second class and being included in the same media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence; process the first bit sequence at a physical layer using a first quality of service (QoS) level; and process the second bit sequence at the physical layer using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive an indication of the classification of the first bit sequence from the upper layer.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the indication includes length information associated with the first class.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send an indication of length information of at least one of the first bit sequence or the second bit sequence.

15. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the content of the MAC PDU is pre-determined.

16. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive an indication for a HARQ process, the indication triggering delivery to the upper layer of a transport block that has not been successfully decoded and contains the first bit sequence.

17. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send to the upper layer a transport block that has not been successfully decoded and contains the first bit sequence after a pre-determined period of time has elapsed.

18. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to detect an error in the first bit sequence at the MAC layer.

19. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a classification of the first bit sequence at the MAC layer.

20. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send an indication of a decoding result of the first bit sequence to the upper layer.

21. An apparatus for wireless communication by a wireless device, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence from an upper layer of a wireless communication protocol stack, the first bit sequence being assigned a first class and the second bit sequence being assigned a second class and being included in the same media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) as the first bit sequence; means for processing the first bit sequence at a physical layer using a first quality of service (QoS) level; and means for processing the second bit sequence at the physical layer using a second QoS level different from the first QoS level.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21, the apparatus further comprising means for receiving an indication of a classification of the first bit sequence from the upper layer.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the indication includes length information associated with the first class.

24. The apparatus according to claim 21, the apparatus further comprising means for sending an indication of length information of at least one of the first bit sequence or the second bit sequence.

25. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the content of the MAC PDU is pre-determined.

26. The apparatus according to claim 21, the apparatus further comprising means for receiving an indication for a HARQ process, the indication triggering delivery to the upper layer of a transport block that has not been successfully decoded and contains the first bit sequence.

27. The apparatus according to claim 21, the apparatus further comprising means for sending to the upper layer a transport block that has not been successfully decoded and contains the first bit sequence after a pre-determined period of time has elapsed.

28. The apparatus according to claim 21, further comprising means for detecting an error in the first bit sequence at the MAC layer.

29. The apparatus according to claim 21, further comprising means for determining a classification of the first bit sequence at the MAC layer.

30. The apparatus according to claim 21, further comprising means for sending an indication of a decoding result of the first bit sequence to the upper layer.

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