Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving data in communication system

Abstract

A method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving data in a communication system are provided. The method executed by a first node comprises the following steps: receiving a first message from a second node, wherein the first message comprises first information about relevance of a quality of service (QoS) flow; receiving, from a third node, second information about an association of a set of protocol data units (PDUs); and performing transmission of the associated PDU set based on the first information and the second information. The present invention provides enhanced data transmission and reception methods.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication technologies, and more particularly, to methods and apparatuses for sending and receiving data in a communication system. Background Art

[0002] In order to meet the increasing demand for wireless data communication services since the deployment of 4G communication systems, efforts have been made to develop improved 5G or pre-5G communication systems. Therefore, 5G or pre-5G communication systems are also referred to as "ultra 4G networks" or "post-LTE systems".

[0003] Wireless communication is one of the most successful innovations in modern history. Recently, the number of subscribers to wireless communication services has exceeded 5 billion and is continuing to grow rapidly. Due to the increasing popularity of smart phones and other mobile data devices (e.g., tablet computers, laptop computers, netbooks, e-book readers, and machine-type devices) among consumers and enterprises, the demand for wireless data services is growing rapidly. To meet the high growth of mobile data services and support new applications and deployments, it is crucial to improve the efficiency and coverage of wireless interfaces. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system. The method includes: receiving a first message from a second node, the first message including first information about the association of a quality of service (QoS) flow; receiving second information about the association of a protocol data unit (PDU) set from a third node; and based on the first information and the second information, performing the transmission of the associated PDU set.

[0005] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the associated PDU set has the same second information.

[0006] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the first information includes at least one of the following: information of a QoS flow associated with the QoS flow; information indicating the association of the QoS flow.

[0007] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the associated QoS flows have the same first information.

[0008] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the information of the QoS flow associated with the QoS flow includes a list of QoS flows associated with the QoS flow.

[0009] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the first message includes at least one of the following: a PDU session resource establishment request message or a PDU session resource modification request message.

[0010] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the first message further includes third information about the data, or receives third information about the data from a fourth node, where the third information includes one or more of the following: the transmission period or transmission interval of the data; the size of the data; the packet delay budget (PDB) or the PDU set delay budget (PSDB); the data rate; the remaining PDB or remaining PSDB; or the data type.

[0011] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, performing the transmission of an associated PDU set based on the first information and the second information includes: determining an associated PDU set within a first time threshold based on the first information and the second information; and transmitting the associated PDU set based on a second time threshold.

[0012] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the first time threshold and / or the second time threshold is included in the first message.

[0013] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the method further includes: receiving eighth information about the discard of a QoS flow, where the eighth information includes at least one of the following: information based on the discard of a PDU set; or information based on the discard of a QoS flow.

[0014] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the method further includes: sending a fourteenth message to a second RAN node, where the fourteenth message includes information about whether the first node supports PDU set QoS handling; and / or receiving a fifteenth message from the second RAN node, where the fifteenth message includes information about whether the second RAN node supports PDU set QoS handling.

[0015] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the method further includes: sending ninth information about the correspondence between a QoS flow and a logical channel to a fourth node; sending tenth information about the configured grant resources corresponding to the logical channel to the fourth node; and receiving data on the QoS flow from the fourth node based on the ninth information and the tenth information.

[0016] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, different QoS flows correspond to different logical channels, and receiving data on the QoS flow from the fourth node based on the ninth information and the tenth information includes: for the first QoS flow in the QoS flows, receiving data on the first QoS flow from the fourth node in the configured grant resources of the first logical channel corresponding to the first QoS flow.

[0017] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, after receiving data on the first QoS flow from the fourth node, when there are remaining configured grant resources corresponding to the first logical channel, the remaining configured grant resources are used for retransmitting data on other QoS flows in the QoS flows.

[0018] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the tenth information includes at least one of the following: multiple configured grant resources associated with the logical channel, priority information associated with the multiple configured grant resources; wherein, data on the QoS flow is received based on the priorities of the multiple configured grant resources.

[0019] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, if the importance of the first QoS flow in the QoS flows is higher than that of the second QoS flow and the remaining PDB or PSDB is less than the third time threshold, the configured grant resources of the second QoS flow are preferentially used for retransmitting data on the first QoS flow.

[0020] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the method further includes sending information indicating the third time threshold to the fourth node.

[0021] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the method further includes: monitoring that the channel quality is lower than the first threshold; sending the eleventh information to the fourth node, the eleventh information indicating that the channel quality is lower than the first threshold or indicating that the fourth node reports the remaining PDB or PSDB; and receiving newly transmitted data and / or the reported remaining PDB or PSDB from the fourth node.

[0022] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the method further includes: when the fourth node monitors that the channel quality is lower than the first threshold, receiving newly transmitted data and / or the reported remaining PDB or PSDB from the fourth node.

[0023] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the method further includes: sending twelfth information to a fourth node, the twelfth information instructing the fourth node to report the remaining PDB or PSDB when the channel quality is lower than a first threshold and the remaining PDB or PSDB is lower than a second threshold; and receiving, when the fourth node monitors that the channel quality is lower than the first threshold and the remaining PDB or PSDB is lower than the second threshold, the remaining PDB or PSDB reported by the fourth node.

[0024] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the first node is a radio access network (RAN) node (e.g., a base station).

[0025] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the second node and / or the third node is a core network node (e.g., 5GC). For example, the second node is a session management function (SMF) entity. For example, the third node is a user plane function (UPF) entity.

[0026] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above, for example, the fourth node is a user equipment (UE).

[0027] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a second node in a wireless communication system. The method includes: determining first information regarding the association of quality of service (QoS) flows; and sending a first message to a first node, the first message including the first information, wherein the first information is used for the first node to perform the transmission of an associated protocol data unit (PDU) set, and the transmission of the associated PDU set is further based on second information regarding the association of the PDU set.

[0028] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the associated PDU set has the same second information.

[0029] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the first information includes at least one of the following: information of a QoS flow associated with the QoS flow; information indicating the association of the QoS flow.

[0030] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the associated QoS flows have the same first information.

[0031] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the information of the QoS flow associated with the QoS flow includes a list of QoS flows associated with the QoS flow.

[0032] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the first message includes at least one of the following: a PDU session resource establishment request message or a PDU session resource modification request message.

[0033] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the second information is included in the header of the PDU set.

[0034] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the first message further includes third information about the data, where the third information includes one or more of the following: the transmission period or transmission interval of the data; the size of the data; packet delay budget (PDB) or PDU set delay budget (PSDB); data rate; remaining PDB or remaining PSDB; or data type.

[0035] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the associated PDU set is the PDU set associated in the first time threshold, where the associated PDU set is sent by the first node based on the second time threshold.

[0036] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the method further includes: sending the first time threshold and / or the second time threshold to the first node.

[0037] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the method further includes: sending eighth information about the discard of the QoS flow to the first node, where the eighth information includes at least one of the following: information based on the discard of the PDU set; or information based on the discard of the QoS flow.

[0038] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, determining the first information about the association of the QoS flow includes receiving policy and charging control (PCC) rule information from the fifth node, and the first information is included in the PCC rule information.

[0039] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the first node is a radio access network (RAN) node (e.g., a base station).

[0040] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the second node and / or the third node is a core network node (e.g., 5GC). For example, the second node is a session management function (SMF) entity. For example, the third node is a user plane function (UPF) entity.

[0041] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above, for example, the fifth node is a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity.

[0042] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a method performed by a third node in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes: sending second information about the association of a set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs) to a first node; and receiving an uplink PDU set from the first node, where the second information is used by the first node to perform the transmission of the associated PDU set, and the transmission of the associated PDU set is further based on first information about the association of Quality of Service (QoS) flows.

[0043] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the third node described above, for example, the associated PDU set has the same second information.

[0044] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the third node described above, for example, the first information includes at least one of the following: information about QoS flows associated with the QoS flow; information indicating the association of the QoS flow.

[0045] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the third node described above, for example, the associated QoS flows have the same first information.

[0046] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the third node described above, for example, the information about the QoS flow associated with the QoS flow includes a list of QoS flows associated with the QoS flow.

[0047] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the third node described above, for example, the second information is included in the header of the PDU set.

[0048] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the third node described above, for example, the associated PDU set is the associated PDU set within a first time threshold, where the associated PDU set is sent by the first node based on a second time threshold.

[0049] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the third node described above, for example, the method further includes: receiving the first time threshold and / or the second time threshold from a second node; and sending the first time threshold and / or the second time threshold to the first node.

[0050] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the third node described above, for example, the first node is a Radio Access Network (RAN) node (e.g., a base station).

[0051] In connection with one or more aspects of the method performed by the third node described above, for example, the second node and / or the third node is a core network node (e.g., 5GC). For example, the second node is a session management function (SMF) entity. For example, the third node is a user plane function (UPF) entity.

[0052] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a method performed by a fourth node in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes: receiving, from a first node, an associated set of protocol data units (PDUs); and sending, to the first node, an uplink PDU set, wherein the associated PDU set is sent by the first node based on first information regarding the association of quality of service (QoS) flows and second information regarding the association of the PDU set.

[0053] In connection with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the associated PDU set has the same second information.

[0054] In connection with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the first information includes at least one of the following: information of a QoS flow associated with the QoS flow; information indicating the association of the QoS flow.

[0055] In connection with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, associated QoS flows have the same first information.

[0056] In connection with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the information of the QoS flow associated with the QoS flow includes a list of QoS flows associated with the QoS flow.

[0057] In connection with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the second information is included in the header of the PDU set.

[0058] In connection with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the method further includes sending, to the first node, third information regarding the data, wherein the third information includes one or more of the following: the transmission period or transmission interval of the data; the size of the data; packet delay budget (PDB) or PDU set delay budget (PSDB); data rate; remaining PDB or remaining PSDB; or data type.

[0059] In connection with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the associated PDU set is the associated PDU set within a first time threshold, wherein the associated PDU set is sent by the first node based on a second time threshold.

[0060] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the method further includes: receiving, from the first node, ninth information about the correspondence between a QoS flow and a logical channel; receiving, from the first node, tenth information about the configured grant resources corresponding to the logical channel; and based on the ninth information and the tenth information, sending data on the QoS flow to the first node.

[0061] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, different QoS flows correspond to different logical channels, and wherein sending data on the QoS flow to the first node based on the ninth information and the tenth information includes: for a first QoS flow among the QoS flows, sending data on the first QoS flow to the first node in the configured grant resources of a first logical channel corresponding to the first QoS flow.

[0062] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, after sending data on the first QoS flow to the first node, if there are remaining configured grant resources corresponding to the first logical channel, the remaining configured grant resources are used for retransmission of data on other QoS flows among the QoS flows.

[0063] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the tenth information includes at least one of the following: a plurality of configured grant resources associated with the logical channel, priority information associated with the plurality of configured grant resources; wherein data on the QoS flow is received based on the priority of the plurality of configured grant resources.

[0064] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, if the importance of a first QoS flow among the QoS flows is higher than that of a second QoS flow and the remaining PDB or PSDB is less than a third time threshold, the configured grant resources of the second QoS flow are preferentially used for retransmission of data on the first QoS flow.

[0065] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the method further includes receiving, from the first node, information indicating the third time threshold.

[0066] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the method further includes: receiving, from the first node, eleventh information, the eleventh information indicating that the channel quality is lower than a first threshold or indicating that the fourth node reports the remaining PDB or PSDB; and sending new data and / or reporting the remaining PDB or PSDB to the first node.

[0067] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the first node is a radio access network (RAN) node (e.g., a base station).

[0068] In combination with one or more aspects of the method performed by the fourth node described above, for example, the fourth node is a user equipment (UE).

[0069] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a first node in a wireless communication system is further provided. The first node includes: a transceiver; and one or more processors, coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above.

[0070] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a second node in a wireless communication system is further provided. The base station includes: a transceiver; and one or more processors, coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above.

[0071] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a third node in a wireless communication system is further provided. The first node includes: a transceiver; and one or more processors, coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above.

[0072] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a fourth node in a wireless communication system is further provided. The base station includes: a transceiver; and one or more processors, coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above.

[0073] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is further provided, on which one or more computer programs are stored, wherein when the one or more computer programs are executed by one or more processors, one or more aspects of the method performed by the first node described above can be implemented.

[0074] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is further provided, on which one or more computer programs are stored, wherein when the one or more computer programs are executed by one or more processors, one or more aspects of the method performed by the second node described above can be implemented.

[0075] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is further provided, on which one or more computer programs are stored, wherein when the one or more computer programs are executed by one or more processors, one or more aspects of the method performed by the third node described above can be implemented.

[0076] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, there is also provided a computer-readable storage medium having one or more computer programs stored thereon, wherein when the one or more computer programs are executed by one or more processors, one or more aspects of the method executed by the fourth node described above can be implemented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0077] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below only relate to some embodiments of the present disclosure and are not a limitation to the present disclosure. In the drawings:

[0078] Figure 1 An exemplary system architecture 100 showing the evolution of the system architecture (SAE) is shown;

[0079] Figure 2 An exemplary system architecture 200 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0080] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the configuration of a distributed unit and a central unit of a base station according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0081] Figure 4 An example showing that an intra-coded picture frame (I frame for short) and a predictive-coded picture frame (P frame for short) in video data transmission according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure form a group of picture frames (GOP, group of pictures) is shown;

[0082] Figure 5 An example showing a field of view (FOV) picture and a non-FOV picture in video data transmission according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0083] Figure 6 An example showing the transmission method and scenario of a protocol data unit set (PDU set) having relevance and different data types according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0084] Figure 7 A flowchart showing the establishment of a PDU session according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0085] Figure 8 An example showing the synchronization of PDU sets associated with different QoS flows according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0086] Figure 9Shows an example of packet loss of an associated set of PDUs on different QoS flows according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0087] Figure 10 Shows an example of data on different QoS flows configuring corresponding CG resources according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0088] Figure 11 and 12 Shows an example of data applying corresponding CG resources on different QoS flows according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0089] Figure 13 Shows an example of a method for a UE to retransmit uplink data according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0090] Figure 14 Shows an example of information on whether inter - cell interaction supports PDU set QoS handling according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0091] Figure 15 Shows a flowchart of a method performed by a first node (e.g., a RAN node, such as a base station) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0092] Figure 16 Shows a flowchart of a method performed by a second node (e.g., an SMF) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0093] Figure 17 Shows a flowchart of a method performed by a third node (e.g., a UPF) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0094] Figure 18 Shows a flowchart of a method performed by a fourth node (e.g., a UE) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0095] Figure 19 Is a block diagram of a configuration of a first node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0096] Figure 20 Is a block diagram of a configuration of a second node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0097] Figure 21 Is a block diagram of a configuration of a third node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0098] Figure 22 Is a block diagram of a configuration of a fourth node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed implementation

[0099] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparently, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the described embodiments of the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0100] Before proceeding with the description of the following specific embodiments, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The term "coupled" and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether or not these elements are in physical contact with each other. The terms "send," "receive," and "communicate" and their derivatives cover both direct and indirect communication. The terms "include" and "comprise" and their derivatives mean including but not limited to. The term "or" is inclusive and means and / or. The phrase "associated with" and its derivatives mean including, included within, connected to, interconnected with, containing, contained in, connected to or coupled with, capable of communicating with, cooperating with, interlacing, juxtaposing, proximate to, bound to or bound with, having, having the attributes of, having a relationship with or being related to, etc. The term "controller" means any device, system, or part thereof that controls at least one operation. Such a controller may be implemented in hardware, or in a combination of hardware and software and / or firmware. The functions associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed locally or remotely. The phrase "at least one of" when used with a list of items means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used and only one item in the list may be required. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C. For example, "at least one of A, B, or C" includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C.

[0101] In addition, the various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each formed from computer-readable program code and embodied in a computer-readable medium. The terms "application" and "program" refer to one or more computer programs, software components, instruction sets, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or portions thereof suitable for implementation in appropriate computer-readable program code. The phrase "computer-readable program code" includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The phrase "computer-readable medium" includes any type of medium that can be accessed by a computer, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), hard disk drives, compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), or any other type of memory. A "non-transitory" computer-readable medium excludes wired, wireless, optical, or other communication links that transmit transitory electrical signals or other signals. Non-transitory computer-readable media include media that can permanently store data and media that can store and later rewrite data, such as rewritable optical discs or erasable memory devices.

[0102] The terms used herein to describe embodiments of the present disclosure are not intended to limit and / or define the scope of embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, unless otherwise defined, technical terms or scientific terms used in the present disclosure should have the ordinary meaning as understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which embodiments of the present disclosure pertain.

[0103] It should be understood that the "first", "second", and similar terms used in the present disclosure do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, singular forms such as "a", "an", or "the" also do not denote a quantity limitation, but rather indicate the presence of at least one. For example, a reference to a "component surface" includes a reference to one or more such surfaces.

[0104] As used herein, any reference to "an example" or "examples", "an embodiment" or "embodiments" means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The phrases "in an embodiment" or "in an example" that appear in different places in the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0105] As used herein, "a part of" something means "at least some of" that something, and thus may mean less than all or all of that something. Thus, "a part of" something includes the entire thing as a special case, i.e., the entire thing is an example of a part of something.

[0106] As used herein, the term "set" means one or more. Thus, a set of items can be a single item or a set of two or more items.

[0107] In the present disclosure, for determining whether a particular condition is met, expressions such as "greater than" or "less than" are used as examples, and expressions such as "greater than or equal to" or "less than or equal to" are also applicable and not excluded. For example, a condition defined by "greater than or equal to" can be replaced by "greater than" (or vice versa), a condition defined by "less than or equal to" can be replaced by "less than" (or vice versa), and so on.

[0108] It will be further understood that terms such as "comprising" or "including" and the like mean that the element or thing appearing before the word encompasses the elements or things listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or things. Terms such as "connected" or "coupled" and the like are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "Upper", "lower", "left", "right", etc. are only used to indicate relative positional relationships, and when the absolute position of the object being described changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0109] The various embodiments discussed below for describing the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are for illustration only and should not be construed in any way as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure can be implemented in any suitably arranged wireless communication system. For example, although the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be directed to LTE and 5G communication systems, those skilled in the art can understand that, without substantially departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the main points of the present disclosure can also be applied to other communication systems with similar technical backgrounds and channel formats with slight modifications. The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems. For example, the communication system can include a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, a general packet radio service (GPRS), a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a fifth generation (5G) system, or a new radio (NR), etc. In addition, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to future-oriented communication technologies.

[0110] Next, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the same reference numerals in different drawings will be used to refer to the same elements that have been described.

[0111] The text and the drawings are provided only as examples to assist the reader in understanding the present disclosure. They are not intended and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Although certain embodiments and examples have been provided, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the content disclosed herein that changes can be made to the illustrated embodiments and examples without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0112] The following discussion Figures 1 to 3 and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are for illustration only and should not be construed in any way as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure can be implemented in any appropriately arranged system or device.

[0113] Figure 1 is an exemplary system architecture 100 of System Architecture Evolution (SAE). The User Equipment (UE) 101 is a terminal device for receiving data. The Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) 102 is a radio access network that includes macro base stations (eNodeB / NodeB) that provide an access wireless network interface for the UE. The Mobility Management Entity (MME) 103 is responsible for managing the mobility context, session context, and security information of the UE. The Serving Gateway (SGW) 104 mainly provides user plane functions, and the MME 103 and SGW 104 may be in the same physical entity. The Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) 105 is responsible for functions such as charging and lawful interception, and may also be in the same physical entity as the SGW 104. The Policy and Charging Rules Function entity (PCRF) 106 provides Quality of Service (QoS) policies and charging guidelines. The Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 108 is a network node device in the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) that provides routing for data transmission. The Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 109 is the home home subsystem of the UE and is responsible for protecting user information including the current location of the user equipment, the address of the serving node, user security information, and the packet data context of the user equipment.

[0114] Figure 2 is an exemplary system architecture 200 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Other embodiments of the system architecture 200 can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0115] The User Equipment (UE) 201 is a terminal device for receiving data. The Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) 202 is a radio access network that includes base stations (gNB or eNB connected to the 5G Core Network (CN) 5GC, and the eNB connected to the 5GC is also called ng-gNB) that provide an access wireless network interface for the UE. The Access and Mobility Management Function entity (AMF) 203 is responsible for managing the mobility context and security information of the UE. The User Plane Function entity (UPF) 204 mainly provides user plane functions. The Session Management Function entity SMF 205 is responsible for session management. The Data Network (DN) 206 includes services such as those of the operator, access to the Internet, and third-party services.

[0116] In the NR system, in order to support network function virtualization, more efficient resource management and scheduling, the base station (gNB / ng-eNB) providing the wireless network interface for the terminal (UE) can be further divided into a central unit (CU) (e.g., gNB-CU / ng-eNB-CU (gNB central unit / ng-eNB central unit)) and a distributed unit (DU) (e.g., gNB-DU / ng-eNB-DU (gNB distributed unit / ng-eNB distributed unit)), as shown in (a) of Figure 3 as shown.

[0117] The gNB-CU has radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP: Service Data Adaptation Protocol), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocol layers, etc. The ng-eNB-CU has the RRC layer and the PDCP layer. The gNB-DU / ng-eNB-DU has radio link control protocol (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, and physical (PHY) layer, etc. The standardized open interface between the gNB-CU and the gNB-DU is F1, and the standardized open interface between the ng-eNB-CU and the ng-eNB-DU is W1. The F1 interface is divided into a control plane F1-C and a user plane F1-U. The transport network layer of F1-C is based on Internet protocol (IP) transport. In order to transmit signaling more reliably, the stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) protocol is added on top of IP. The protocol at the application layer can be F1AP. SCTP can provide reliable application layer message transmission. The transport layer of F1-U is the user datagram protocol (UDP) / IP, and GTP-U (general packet radio service (GPRS) tunnel protocol user plane) is used on top of UDP / IP to carry user plane protocol data units (PDUs).

[0118] Furthermore, for the gNB-CU, as Figure 3As shown in (b) therein, the gNB-CU may include a gNB-CU-CP (control plane part of the central unit of the base station) and a gNB-CU-UP (user plane part of the central unit of the base station). The gNB-CU-CP contains the functions of the control plane of the base station and has RRC and PDCP protocol layers. The gNB-CU-UP contains the functions of the user plane of the base station and has SDAP and PDCP protocol layers. The standardized public interface between the gNB-CU-CP and the gNB-CU-UP is E1, and the protocol can be E1AP. The interface between the control plane part of the central unit of the base station and the distributed unit of the base station is the F1-C interface, that is, the control plane interface of F1. The interface between the user plane part of the central unit of the base station and the distributed unit of the base station is the F1-U interface, that is, the user plane interface of F1.

[0119] In addition, in the NR system, the base station that provides the E-UTRA user plane and control plane for accessing the 5G core network is called an ng-eNB. To support virtualization, such a base station (ng-eNB) can also be further divided into a central unit ng-eNB-CU (gNB central unit / ng-eNB central unit) and a distributed unit ng-eNB-DU (gNB distributed unit / ng-eNB distributed unit) (simply referred to as CU and DU in the embodiments of the present disclosure), as Figure 3 shown in (c) therein. The ng-eNB-CU has an RRC layer and a PDCP layer. The gNB-DU / ng-eNB-DU has a radio link control protocol (RLC), a media access control (MAC) layer, a physical layer, etc. The standardized public interface between the ng-eNB-CU and the ng-eNB-DU is W1. The W1 interface can be divided into a control plane W1-C and a user plane W1-U. The transport network layer of W1-C is based on IP transport. To transmit signaling more reliably, the SCTP protocol is added on top of IP. The protocol of the application layer can be W1AP. The transport layer of W1-U is UDP / IP, and GTP-U is on top of UDP / IP for carrying user plane protocol data units PDU.

[0120] Continuing to refer to Figure 3 , for the NR base station, the radio protocol of the next-generation mobile communication system may include PDCP, RLC, and MAC. The main functions of PDCP may include some of the following functions:

[0121] - Header compression and decompression: only ROHC

[0122] - Transmission of user data

[0123] - In-order delivery of upper layer protocol data units (PDU)

[0124] - Out-of-order delivery of upper layer PDUs

[0125] - PDCP PDU reordering for reception

[0126] - Duplicate detection of lower layer SDUs

[0127] - Retransmission of PDCP SDUs

[0128] - Encryption and decryption

[0129] - Timer-based SDU discard in the uplink

[0130] The reordering function of the PDCP device refers to the function of reordering the PDCP PDUs received from the lower layer based on the PDCP sequence number (SN), and may include the function of sending data to the upper layer in the reordered order, the function of sending data without considering the order, the function of reordering the sequence and recording the lost PDCP PDUs, the function of providing a status report on the lost PDCP PDUs to the sending side, and the function of requesting retransmission of the lost PDCP PDUs.

[0131] The main functions of the RLC may include some of the following functions:

[0132] - Transmission of upper layer PDUs

[0133] - In-order delivery of upper layer PDUs

[0134] - Out-of-order delivery of upper layer PDUs

[0135] - Error correction by ARQ

[0136] - Concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs

[0137] - Re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs

[0138] - Reordering of RLC data PDUs

[0139] - Duplicate detection

[0140] - Protocol error detection

[0141] - RLC SDU discard

[0142] - RLC reconstruction

[0143] The in-sequence delivery function of the RLC device refers to the function of sending the RLC SDUs received from the lower layer to the upper layer in the reception sequence, and may include: the function of reassembling and sending multiple RLC SDUs if an RLC SDU is initially segmented into multiple RLC SDUs and received; the function of reordering the received RLC PDUs based on the RLC sequence number (SN) or PDCP SN; the function of reordering the sequence and recording the lost RLC PDUs; the function of providing a status report on the lost RLC PDUs to the sending side; and the function of requesting retransmission of the lost RLC PDUs.

[0144] The out-of-sequence delivery function of the RLC device refers to the function of directly sending the RLC SDUs received from the lower layer to the upper layer without considering the order, and may include: the function of reassembling multiple RLC SDUs and sending them; and the function of storing the RLC SN or PDCP SN of the received RLC PDUs, reordering the sequence, and recording the lost RLC PDUs.

[0145] The MAC may be connected to multiple RLC layer devices configured in a UE, and the main functions of the MAC may include some of the following functions:

[0146] - Mapping between logical channels and transport channels

[0147] - Multiplexing / demultiplexing of MAC SDUs

[0148] - Scheduling information reporting

[0149] - Error correction via HARQ

[0150] - Priority handling between logical channels of a UE

[0151] - Priority handling between UEs via dynamic scheduling

[0152] - MBMS service identification

[0153] - Transmission format selection

[0154] - Padding

[0155] The PHY layer may perform operations of channel encoding and modulation on the upper layer data, generating the upper layer data into OFDM symbols, sending the OFDM symbols via a radio channel, or demodulating and channel decoding the OFDM symbols received via a radio channel, and delivering the OFDM symbols to the upper layer.

[0156] The example of the radio protocol architecture of the NR system described above can also be applied to the UE.

[0157] Communication technologies have increasingly faster transmission speeds, so they can provide users with more types of communication services. Extended Reality (XR) services are regarded as key application services that drive the development of communication technologies and can be, for example, the general term for the three major service types of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR). XR services have high requirements for both transmission speed and latency, so more network resources are needed to support the normal operation of the services. At the same time, due to the portability of XR devices, the size of the battery is greatly restricted, and how to reduce energy consumption has also become a significant challenge. Therefore, in order to improve the user experience of XR users, more in-depth research needs to be carried out on aspects such as reducing power consumption, increasing network capacity, and enhancing XR perception.

[0158] Currently, the concept of a PDU set is proposed. For example, a PDU set can be applied to the XR field. A PDU set can be composed of one or more PDUs. A PDU set can be a slice of a service. For example, a PDU set can be a frame or a video slice in an XR service. A PDU set is only mapped to one QoS flow, and / or all PDU set-related parameters on one QoS flow (for example, QoS-related parameters of the PDU set, which can be referred to as PDU set QoS parameters or simply QoS parameters in the embodiments of the present disclosure), such as PDU set delay budget (PSDB), PDU set error rate (PSER), and / or PDU set integrated handling indication (PSIHI) are the same. Different PDU sets can have different degrees of importance (or significance), and / or different PDU sets on the same QoS flow can have different degrees of importance. For example, a parameter related to the importance of the PDU set (which can be referred to as PDU set importance (PSI) in the embodiments of the present disclosure) can be used to represent or indicate the degree of importance (or significance) of the PDU set. For example, the value of PSI can be 'high','medium', or 'low', indicating relatively high importance, medium importance, and relatively low importance respectively; or for another example, the value of PSI can be 0 - N (where N can be a positive integer such as 7), indicating importance from low to high (or from high to low). PSI can be informed to the RAN by the UPF through the GTP-U header, for example. When network congestion occurs in the RAN, the corresponding PDU set can be discarded according to the value of PSI (for example, some PDU sets with smaller PSI values are discarded) to relieve or solve the network congestion in this way. For example, the PDU set QoS parameters can be determined by a network element such as a policy control function (PCF), for example, according to service-related information provided by an application function (AF), and the PDU set QoS parameters are sent to the SMF as part of a policy and charging control (PCC) rule, and the SMF then sends this parameter to the RAN as part of a QoS profile. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the RAN can include a base station, such as a gNB.

[0159] Figure 4Shows an example of a group of pictures (GOP) consisting of an intra-coded picture (abbreviated as I-frame) and a predictive-coded picture (abbreviated as P-frame) in video data transmission according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0160] A typical video data transmission method in XR services includes transmitting video picture frames in the form of I-frames and P-frames, such as Figure 4 shown. When the UE receives an I-frame, the UE can decode only through the data of the I-frame and present the picture of this frame to the user; the P-frame is a forward reference frame. Generally, the data volume of the P-frame is smaller than that of the I-frame, and what is transmitted is the difference from the previous I / P frame. Therefore, it may be necessary to refer to the data information of the previous frame to obtain the final picture data of the current P-frame, and it may not be possible to decode only through the data of the current P-frame. Generally, 1 I-frame and n (for example, n is a positive integer) P-frames form a group of pictures (GOP), and the UE or the RAN transmits the uplink and downlink picture frames in this GOP manner. Another typical video transmission method is to transmit video pictures in the form of the field of view (FOV) and non-FOV. The FOV can be, for example, the field of view that a user can see when wearing an XR headset device. The non-FOV can be, for example, a panoramic view corresponding to the field of view seen by the current user (for example, a panoramic view of 180 or 360 degrees). The resolution of the FOV picture is generally higher than that of the non-FOV. The purpose of transmitting the FOV and non-FOV simultaneously can be to prevent black edges from appearing at the edge of the field of view when the user turns their head. The reason for the lower resolution of the non-FOV is to reduce the data volume of data transmission, thereby reducing the network burden. Figure 5 Shows an example of FOV pictures and non-FOV pictures in video data transmission according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, it can be seen that the I-frame is more important than the P-frame, and the FOV data is more important than the non-FOV data; the P-frame is related to the previous I-frame or P-frame because the previous frame is required for decoding; the FOV and non-FOV are also related because the FOV and non-FOV need to correspond one by one. For different types of data, because of their different degrees of importance, the required QoS parameters should also be different when transmitting. A more reasonable way is to transmit different types of data with different degrees of importance through different QoSs, and they can be processed separately according to different QoS parameters.

[0161] Current data transmission does not consider the correlation between data units (e.g., PDU or set of PDUs). For some services (e.g., XR service), this may lead to a relatively large latency in data transmission, thus affecting the user experience. Therefore, an enhanced data transmission method is needed to perform data unit (e.g., PDU or set of PDUs) transmission and / or congestion control and / or synchronization control while considering the correlation between data units (e.g., PDU or set of PDUs).

[0162] According to different data types, there may be multiple example transmission methods and scenarios for sets of PDUs (PDU set, PS) with correlation (associated), and the further processing of sets of PDUs with correlation remains to be further improved.

[0163] The correlation between two or more sets of PDUs may mean that two or more sets of PDUs are associated with each other. Examples of correlation can be referred to the following description. Figure 6 Examples of the transmission methods and scenarios of sets of PDUs with correlation and different data types according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure are shown. It will be understood that the description in combination with Figure 6 is only an example, and there may be other transmission methods and scenarios for multiple sets of PDUs with correlation.

[0164] Scenario 1: PDU set 1 and PDU set 2 are two different PDU sets of the same frame.

[0165] Scenario 2: PDU set 1 is an I frame and PDU set 2 is the next P frame.

[0166] Scenario 3: PDU set 1 is of video data type, PDU set 2 is of audio data type; PDU set 3 is of pose / haptic data type.

[0167] Scenario 4: PDU set 1 is FOV data and PDU set 2 is non-FOV data.

[0168] According to Figure 6 it can be seen that sets of PDUs with correlation but different data types in Scenarios 1, 3, and 4 need to be transmitted simultaneously, while sets of PDUs with different data types in Scenario 2 need to be transmitted according to the time sequence. At this time, the network needs to synchronize different sets of PDUs transmitted simultaneously. Since different PDU sets in Scenario 1 form the same frame, they have the same PDU set QoS parameters; while sets of PDUs with different data types in Scenarios 2, 3, and 4 have different importance levels, so sets of PDUs with different data types in these scenarios can be transmitted through different QoS flows.

[0169] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method and apparatus for transmitting a set of PDUs of different data types through different QoS flows are provided.

[0170] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method and apparatus for a RAN (e.g., a base station) to obtain the association of a set of PDUs are provided.

[0171] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method and apparatus for a RAN (e.g., a base station) to synchronize different sets of PDUs that need to be transmitted simultaneously are provided.

[0172] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method and apparatus for a RAN to process a set of PDUs in a multiple modal flow when network congestion occurs are provided. For example, when network congestion occurs, the RAN (e.g., a base station) may discard the set of PDUs in the multiple modal flow.

[0173] It should be noted that although the scenarios to which the embodiments of the present disclosure are applied may be described by taking XR services as an example, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto and can be applied to communication systems of similar services.

[0174] Before introducing the specific content, some assumptions and definitions of the embodiments of the present disclosure are given below.

[0175] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the message names are only examples, and other message names can also be used. In addition, a message for indicating / notifying information / information element (IE) may refer to a message including the information / information element (IE), or the information / information element itself. For example, a message for indicating / notifying information / information element (IE) can be used interchangeably with the information / information element (IE).

[0176] The "first", "second", etc. included in the message names of the embodiments of the present disclosure are only examples of the messages and do not represent the execution order.

[0177] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the detailed description of steps irrelevant to the embodiments of the present disclosure may be omitted.

[0178] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the steps in each process may be executed in combination with each other or separately. The execution steps of each process are only examples and do not exclude other possible execution orders.

[0179] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station may be a 5G base station (such as a gNB, ng-eNB). Alternatively, the base station may also be a 4G base station (such as an eNB), a 6G base station, or other types of access nodes.

[0180] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmission of data refers to, for example, the reception and / or sending of data.

[0181] When different sets of PDUs with a correlation are transmitted through different QoS flows, if the RAN (e.g., a base station) knows that there is a correlation between the two QoS flows, the RAN can process all the sets of PDUs on that QoS flow in a per-QoS-flow manner. For example, in Scenario 4, when the sets of PDUs corresponding to the FOV and non-FOV are transmitted through different QoS flows, if the network experiences severe congestion, the RAN can directly discard all the sets of PDUs on the non-FOV to quickly relieve network congestion. Therefore, the RAN needs to know whether there is a correlation between different QoS flows. The following describes a method for the RAN (e.g., a base station) to obtain the correlation of sets of PDUs according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0182] For ease of description, an example of the PDU session establishment process is first introduced. Figure 7 FIG. shows a flowchart of PDU session establishment according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0183] Refer to Figure 7 , in operation S710, the UE may send a PDU session establishment request to the AMF. For example, the PDU session resource establishment request is used to request the establishment of a data channel. In operation S720, the AMF may send a PDU session resource setup request to the RAN (e.g., a base station, such as a gNB). In operation S730, the RAN (e.g., a base station, such as a gNB) may send an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration) to the UE. In operation S740, the UE may establish (one or more) data radio bearers (DRBs), for example, based on the received RRC reconfiguration message. In operation S750, the UE may send an RRC reconfiguration complete message (e.g., RRCReconfigurationComplete) to the RAN (e.g., a base station, such as a gNB). In operation S760, the RAN (e.g., a base station, such as a gNB) may send a PDU session resource setup response to the AMF. After the PDU session resources are established, user plane data may be communicated between the UE and the RAN (e.g., a base station, such as a gNB), and / or between the RAN (e.g., a base station, such as a gNB) and the UPF.

[0184] In some embodiments, a RAN (e.g., a base station, such as a gNB) may receive, for example, a first message from a core network (e.g., 5GC), and the first message may be used to indicate / inform the association between QoS flows. For example, the SMF may send the first message to the AMF via the NG interface, and the AMF may then send the first message to the RAN.

[0185] · The first message may be used to indicate to the RAN the association between QoS flows, such as which QoS flows are associated, or which QoS flows are associated with a certain QoS, or one or more associated QoS flows, or one or more QoS flows associated with a certain QoS flow. The first message may be a list including the QFI (QoS flow identifier) of one or more associated QoS flows. For example, the list may include one or more QFIs (the QFIs of one or more QoS flows) to indicate that a certain QFI (for the convenience of description, it may be referred to as the first QFI) is associated with one or more QFIs in the list, that is, the QoS flow with the first QFI is associated with one or more QoS flows with one or more QFIs in the list. The QFI may also have an association indication index (similar to the association indication index of a PDU set). Multiple QFIs with the same association indication index value are associated. For example, the first message may include information on QoS flows associated with a QoS flow and / or information indicating the association of QoS flows.

[0186] · The first message may be referred to, for example, as an associated QoS flow list, or any other suitable name, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

[0187] · The first message can be sent to the RAN via a newly defined NGAP message or an existing NGAP message. Embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this. For example, the first message can be added to a PDU session resource establishment request or a PDU session resource modify request. Table 1 shows an example of a QoS flow establishment request list in the first message according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, as shown in Table 1, the QoS flow establishment request message may include a QoS flow identifier (e.g., the identifier of the first QoS flow described above) and a list indicating one or more QoS flows associated with the QoS flow having this QoS flow identifier (e.g., the first QoS flow described above), where the list includes the identifiers (QFI) of the one or more QoS flows. In Table 1, "maxnoofQoSFlows" indicates the maximum number of QoS flows. The QoS flow establishment request message may also include a packet loss type. The packet loss type may include "partial packet loss", "complete packet loss", "no packet loss", "packet loss based on the priority of the QoS flow", "packet loss based on PSI", etc. Details of the packet loss method can refer to the method for the RAN to discard associated PDU sets on different QoSs described later.

[0188] · When the RAN receives the first message, it can know which QFIs (e.g., the identifier of the first QoS flow described above) are associated with other QFIs.

[0189] [Table 1]

[0190]

[0191] After the RAN knows which QoS flows are associated, it also needs to know which PDU sets among these associated QoS flows are associated (i.e., have a relationship). When the network congestion is not very severe (e.g., the network congestion level is less than the congestion threshold; for example, a parameter indicating the network congestion level (such as the packet loss rate, etc.) is less than a certain threshold), the RAN can discard only a part of the PDU sets to relieve network congestion, rather than discarding all the PDU sets on the QoS flow. Figure 6Taking Scenario 4 as an example, in which the FOV data and non-FOV data are transmitted through a QoS flow with QFI1 (which can be used interchangeably with QFI1) and a QoS flow with QFI2 (which can be used interchangeably with QFI2), respectively. The PDU set 1 and PDU set 2 in QFI1 are associated with the PDU set 4 and PDU set 3 in QFI2, respectively. When the network is congested but not severely, it is not necessary for the RAN to discard all the PDU sets in QFI2, and only the PDU set 4 needs to be discarded. If the congestion is alleviated after discarding the PDU set 4, both the PDU set 2 and PDU set 3 can be sent to the UE. Therefore, the RAN needs to know the association between different PDU sets in different QoS flows.

[0192] In some embodiments, a PDU set sequence number (SN) associated with the PDU set can be added to the header of a certain PDU set to indicate / notify the association. Table 2 shows an example of indicating associated PDU sets according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Table 2, the PDU set header may include an importance level, the SN of the PDU set, the SN of the PDUs within the PDU set, a start flag of the PDU set (only valid for the first PDU of the PDU set), and the SN of the associated PDU set. As a specific example, when the PDU set 1 is associated with the PDU sets 2 and 3, the SNs of the PDU sets 2 and 3 need to be added to the header of the PDU set 1. At the same time, the SNs of the PDU sets 1 and 3 also need to be added to the header of the PDU set 2, and the SNs of the PDU sets 2 and 1 need to be added to the header of the PDU set 3. If the number of associated PDU sets is large, the signaling overhead of each PDU set header may become large.

[0193] [Table 2]

[0194]

[0195] In some embodiments, a second message can be added to the header of a certain PDU set to indicate / notify the RAN that the PDU set is associated with (multiple) other PDU sets. In this way, the signaling overhead can be reduced. For example, one or more of the following methods can be adopted.

[0196] · The second message can be added / included in the PDU set header. This second message can be, for example, called a dependency indication index, or any other suitable name, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this. The second message can be an integer, for example, an integer with a value range between 0 and n. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the value range, nor the value of the maximum n. A schematic diagram is shown in Table 3.

[0197] · The second message can be used to indicate to the RAN that for different PDU sets in different QFIs, if the correlation indication index values in the PDU sets are the same, then these PDU sets are correlated.

[0198] As shown in the example in Table 4, PDU set 1 and PDU set 2 are transmitted through QFI1, and PDU set 3 and PDU set 4 are transmitted through QFI2. Since the value of the correlation indication index in the header of PDU set 1 in QFI1 is 1, which is the same as the value of the correlation indication index in the header of PDU set 4 in QFI2, PDU set 1 and PDU set 4 are correlated; similarly, PDU set 2 and PDU set 3 are correlated.

[0199] · When the second message is included / carried in the header of a PDU set, the RAN can consider that the PDU set has associated (multiple) other PDU sets; when the second message is not included / carried in the PDU set header, the RAN can consider that the PDU set has no associated (multiple) other PDU sets.

[0200] · Alternatively, when the value of the second message in the PDU set header is a certain specific value, the RAN considers that the PDU set has no associated (multiple) other PDU sets; when the value of the second message is not a certain specific value, the RAN considers that the PDU set has associated (multiple) other PDU sets. This specific value can be 0 or other values, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

[0201] [Table 3]

[0202]

[0203]

[0204] [Table 4]

[0205] PDU Set SN QFI Relevance Indication Index PS1 1 1 PS2 1 3 PS3 2 3 PS4 2 1

[0206] The above describes the method for the RAN to obtain the correlation between QoS flows and the correlation between PDU sets according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The RAN can perform resource allocation and data scheduling based on the obtained correlation between QoS flows and / or the correlation between PDU sets, so that the correlated QoS flows and / or the correlated PDU sets in the correlated QoS flows can reach the UE simultaneously, thereby achieving the purpose of data synchronization. When the network is congested, packet loss processing can also be performed according to the correlation between data, thereby alleviating network congestion while minimizing the impact on the UE service quality..

[0207] Different sets of PDUs may have different service characteristics. For example, in XR services, different types of data have different service characteristics. As shown in Scenario 3, the service characteristics of video, audio, and pose type data are different, as shown in Tables 5 - 8. In a multi-modal stream, video, audio, and pose / haptic type data are transmitted through different QoS streams respectively. If the RAN knows the service characteristics (such as period or data size) of these data types, it is more conducive to the RAN for data scheduling and resource allocation of different types of data. For example, after knowing the period, the RAN can achieve the purpose of synchronization of related data through data scheduling. For another example, after knowing the data size, the RAN can configure different SPS / CG resource configurations for different types of data transmission. Therefore, the RAN needs to know the service characteristics of different data types in different QoS streams.

[0208] Table 5: Video service cycle of I-frames and P-frames corresponding to different frames per second (FPS)

[0209] FPS Period (ms) 30 33.33 60 16.67 90 11.11 120 8.3

[0210] Table 6: Parameters of video / data services

[0211]

[0212] Table 7: Parameters of video / data periodic services

[0213]

[0214] Table 8: Statistical parameters of UL management / control services

[0215]

[0216] In some embodiments, the UE may inform the RAN of the service characteristics of different data types through a third message.

[0217] · The third message can be an RRC message or other messages; it can be a newly defined message or an existing message reused, which is not limited here.

[0218] · The third message may include a QFI, and information related to at least one of the following: the data transmission period or transmission interval of the data transmitted through the QFI, the size of the data, the requirements for the packet delay budget (PDB) or PSDB, the data rate, the remaining PDB or remaining PSDB, the data type, and / or the like. For example, the PDB may define the upper bound for the time that a packet may be delayed between the transmitting end and the receiving end (e.g., the RAN and the UE).

[0219] · The UE may send the third message to the RAN through a UE assistance information message (e.g., the UE Assistance Information message). It may also be sent to the RAN through other messages, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not make any limitations.

[0220] In some embodiments, the SMF may inform the RAN of the service characteristics of different data types through a fourth message. For example, the SMF may send information indicating the service characteristics of different data types to the RAN through the fourth message.

[0221] · The fourth message may be an NGAP message, a newly defined message, or an existing message may be reused, and no limitations are made here.

[0222] · The fourth message (e.g., the information indicating the service characteristics of different data types) may include a QFI, and information related to at least one of the following: the data transmission period or transmission interval of the data transmitted through the QFI, the size of the data, the requirements for the PDB or PSDB, the data rate, the remaining PDB or remaining PSDB, the data type, and / or the like.

[0223] · The SMF may send the fourth message to the RAN via a PDU session resource establishment request or a PDU session resource modification request. It may also send the fourth message to the RAN via other messages, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not make any limitations. When the SMF sends it via a PDU session resource establishment request or a PDU session resource modification request, it may be sent to the RAN together with information related to the QoS flow association (for example, the above-mentioned first message or the information indicated / included therein, or the second message or the information indicated / included therein). Table 9 shows an example of the QoS flow establishment request list in the fourth message according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Table 9, the QoS flow establishment request may include one or more of a QoS flow identifier, QoS flow level QoS parameters, data period, data size, and data rate. In Table 9, "maxnoofQoSFlows" indicates the maximum number of QoS flows.

[0224] [Table 9]

[0225]

[0226] The method for the RAN to obtain the service characteristics of different data types in different QoS flows according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is described above. After the RAN obtains the service characteristics of the data type, it can perform data scheduling and resource allocation for different types of data, achieve the purpose of synchronizing related data through data scheduling, and can configure different SPS / CG resource configurations for different types of data transmission, etc.

[0227] Since the associated PDU sets are transmitted through different QoS flows, there may be a time difference when the associated PDU sets arrive at the RAN from the UPF. If only indicating whether the current PDU set is associated with other PDU sets (for example, through the above-mentioned second message), it may not be known which PDU sets the PDU set is associated with. In this case, there is a problem that the RAN sends the PDU set to the UE without receiving all the associated PDU sets. Another problem is that the UE may sometimes only be able to successfully decode after receiving all the associated PDU sets (for example, in order to present an image to the user), so the most ideal state is that the UE can receive all the associated PDU sets simultaneously. Therefore, it is necessary to let the RAN perform synchronous scheduling on the associated PDU sets and send them to the UE.

[0228] In some embodiments, the UPF may send all the associated PDU sets to the RAN within a predetermined time range, and then let the RAN send all the PDU sets to the UE within a predetermined time range. For example, it may be implemented through one or more of the following.

[0229] ·Set a first time threshold (e.g., a timer), i.e., timer1. The first time threshold (timer1) can indicate the time for the UPF to send an associated PDU set to the RAN (e.g., a time period (e.g., starting from the start of sending the first PDU set), a time difference (e.g., the (maximum) time difference between the sending of the first PDU set and the sending of the last PDU set), or a maximum time).

[0230] For example, the UPF sends an associated PDU set to the RAN during this first time threshold. The UPF needs to send all associated PDU sets to the RAN before the timer1 time threshold expires (e.g., before the timer1 time threshold has elapsed). If the time for the UPF to send an associated PDU set to the RAN is longer than the first time threshold (i.e., the timer1 time threshold has elapsed or the timer1 time threshold has timed out), the UPF may no longer send the associated PDU set or there are no associated PDU sets to send.

[0231] ·The RAN also needs to know this timer1. The RAN will receive all associated PDU sets during the timer1 time. If the timer1 times out (e.g., after the timer1 has elapsed), even if the RAN receives an association indication index value (i.e., the value of the second message) in the header of a PDU set that is the same as the association indication index value in the header of the PDU sets received within the timer1, the RAN will not consider the two PDU sets to be associated.

[0232] ·Set a second time threshold (e.g., a timer), i.e., timer2. The second time threshold (timer2) can indicate the time for the RAN to send an associated PDU set to the UE (e.g., a time period (e.g., starting from the start of sending the first PDU set), a time difference (e.g., the (maximum) time difference between the sending of the first PDU set and the sending of the last PDU set), or a maximum time). For example, the RAN sends an associated PDU set to the UE during this second time threshold. The RAN needs to send all associated PDU sets to the UE before the timer2 time threshold expires. If the time for the RAN to send an associated PDU set to the UE is longer than the second time threshold (i.e., the timer2 time threshold has elapsed or the timer2 time threshold has timed out), the RAN may no longer send the associated PDU set or there are no associated PDU sets to send. If the UE receives all associated PDU sets within the timer2 time, it can be considered that all associated PDU sets are received synchronously or simultaneously.

[0233] · Timer1 and timer2 can be determined (e.g., generated) by the SMF. The SMF can inform the UPF of timer1 by sending a fifth message on the NG interface. The SMF can inform the RAN of timer2 by sending a sixth message on the NG interface. Since there is no direct network interface between the SMF and the RAN, the SMF can first inform the AMF or the UPF of timer1 and / or timer2, and then the AMF or the UPF can send timer1 and / or timer2 to the RAN. The AMF can also inform the UE of timer2 through a seventh message. After knowing the timer2, the UE can also determine whether all associated PDU sets have been received. The fifth message and the sixth message can be newly defined messages or can reuse existing messages. For example, the fifth message and the sixth message can be added to the PDU session resource establishment request or the PDU session resource modification request. Embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

[0234] · Timer2 can also be determined (e.g., generated) by the UE. The UE can inform the RAN of timer2 through an eighth message. The eighth message can be an RRC message, or can be other messages, or can be a newly defined message, or can reuse existing messages, which is not limited here. For example, one way can be to add the eighth message to the UE assistance information message (e.g., UE Assistance Information message) and send it to the RAN. Examples of synchronizing associated PDU sets on different QoS flows will be described in conjunction with Figure 8 the description of different QoS flows.

[0235] The method for the UE and the RAN to perform downlink communication considering the QoS flow association and / or the PDU set association is described above. This method can be similarly applied to the uplink communication between the UE and the RAN. In some embodiments, the UE may send an associated PDU set to the RAN based on information related to the QoS flow association. For example, the UE may send an associated PDU set to the RAN based on a time threshold (timer2'). When the time for sending the associated PDU set to the RAN is longer than this time threshold (i.e., the timer2' time threshold has elapsed or the timer2' time threshold has timed out), the UE may no longer send the associated PDU set to the RAN. Alternatively, when the time for the RAN to receive the associated PDU set from the UE is longer than this time threshold (i.e., the timer2' time threshold has elapsed or the timer2' time threshold has timed out), the RAN may no longer receive the associated PDU set from the UE. If the RAN receives all the associated PDU sets within the timer2' time, it can be considered that all the associated PDU sets are received synchronously or simultaneously. Similar to timer2, timer2' can be determined (e.g., generated) by the SMF. Alternatively, timer2' can be determined by the UE or the RAN.

[0236] Figure 8 An example of synchronizing associated PDU sets on different QoS flows according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0237] Refer to Figure 8 , during a first time threshold (timer1), the UPF sends associated PDU sets to the RAN, including PDU sets PS1 and PS2. The PDU sets PS1 and PS2 are on QoS flows QFI1 and QFI3 respectively. During a second time threshold (timer2), the RAN sends associated PDU sets to the UE, including PDU sets PS1 and PS2. After the UE receives all the associated PDU sets PS1 and PS2, it can decode the associated PDU sets PS1 and PS2 to obtain decoded information (e.g., decoded image).

[0238] The method for the RAN to synchronously transmit associated PDU sets on different QoSs according to an exemplary implementation of the present disclosure is described above. Through this method, it can be ensured that the UE receives all the associated PDU sets simultaneously. For example, when the transmitted data is image data, this method can reduce the latency of image presentation, ensure the continuity of video playback, and improve the user experience.

[0239] When network congestion occurs, since only one QoS flow is currently supported for transmission, the RAN can perform packet loss based on the PSI values of different PDU sets in the QoS flow. However, when multi-modal flows are applied to communication services (e.g., XR services), it is necessary to consider how to use PSI to perform packet loss on associated PDU sets across multiple QoS flows. For example, the PSI value corresponding to the PDU set for transmitting the FOV may be lower than the PSI value corresponding to the PDU set for transmitting non-FOV. If packet loss is performed solely based on the PSI value, the PDU set on the FOV will be discarded, which is unreasonable.

[0240] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure propose a method for the RAN to discard associated PDU sets on different QoSs.

[0241] In some embodiments, the SMF can indicate the packet loss method supported by the corresponding QoS flow of the RAN. The RAN can perform packet loss processing on each QoS flow in the manner indicated by the SMF. For example, in each QoS flow, different PDU sets in the same QoS flow can be packet-lossed according to the PSI of the PDU set (e.g., in the order of increasing PSI). As an example, for PDU sets in the same QoS flow, first discard the PDU set with a lower PSI (PSI value), and then discard the PDU set with a higher PSI (PSI value). One or more of the following methods can be adopted.

[0242] · The SMF sends a ninth message through the NG interface. The ninth message can indicate the packet loss method for each QoS flow of the RAN. The ninth message can be a newly defined message or can reuse an existing message, which is not limited here. For example, the ninth message can be added to the PDU session resource establishment request or the PDU session resource modification request and sent to the RAN. Table 10 below shows an example of the QoS flow establishment request list in the ninth message according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Table 10, the QoS flow establishment request can include one or more of a QoS flow identifier, QoS flow level QoS parameters, an associated QoS flow list, and a discard type. In Table 10, "maxnoofQoSFlows" indicates the maximum number of QoS flows.

[0243] · The packet loss modes can include partial packet loss, full packet loss, no packet loss, or packet loss based on the priority of the QoS flow, or packet loss based on the PSI threshold. The packet loss modes supported by each QoS flow can be the same or different. Each QoS flow can support only one packet loss mode, or multiple packet loss modes simultaneously. For example, depending on the service characteristics of the QoS flow, each QoS flow can support only one packet loss mode, or multiple packet loss modes. As shown in Table 10, "partial" in the discard type entry indicates partial packet loss, "full" indicates full packet loss, "no discard"

[0244] indicates no packet loss, "priority of QoS flow based" indicates packet loss based on the priority of the QoS flow, and "PSI based" indicates packet loss based on the PSI threshold.

[0245] n Partial packet loss: The RAN can discard a part of the data packets or PDU sets in the QoS flow.

[0246] n Full packet loss: The RAN can discard all the data packets or PDU sets in the QoS flow.

[0247] n No packet loss: The RAN cannot discard or tries not to discard the data packets or PDU sets in the QoS flow.

[0248] n Packet loss based on the priority of the QoS flow: The QoS flow with a lower priority is discarded first (with priority) relative to the QoS flow with a higher priority. For example, the data packets or PDU sets in the QoS flow with a lower priority are discarded first. If the network congestion cannot be alleviated after discarding the QoS flow with a lower priority, then the data packets or PDU sets in the QoS flow with a higher priority are discarded.

[0249] Packet loss based on the PSI threshold: Set the corresponding PSI threshold for each QoS flow, and determine the data packets to be discarded based on the PSI threshold of each QoS flow. For the set of PDUs in each QoS flow, the set of PDUs with a PSI lower than the PSI threshold is discarded first (with priority) relative to the set of PDUs with a PSI higher than the PSI threshold. For example, in the case where there are two QoS flows QFI1 and QFI2, set the corresponding threshold Threshold1 for QFI1 and the corresponding threshold Threshold2 for QFI2. When network congestion occurs, for each QoS flow, the set of PDUs with a PSI less than the corresponding threshold is preferentially discarded, that is, the set of PDUs with an importance lower than this threshold is preferentially discarded. For example, the value of PSI can be 1 - n (n can be an integer greater than 1), where a PSI value of 1 indicates that the corresponding set of PDUs has the lowest importance, that is, the corresponding set of PDUs is the least important; a PSI value of n indicates that the corresponding set of PDUs has the highest importance, that is, the corresponding set of PDUs is the most important). This will be combined with Figure 9 An example of a method for discarding associated sets of PDUs on different QoSs.

[0250] [Table 10]

[0251]

[0252] Figure 9 Shows an example of packet loss of associated sets of PDUs on different QoS flows according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Refer to Figure 9 , the sets of PDUs PS1 and PS2 are transmitted through QFI1, and the sets of PDUs PS3 and PS4 are transmitted through QFI2. When the RAN needs to send these sets of PDUs to the UE, network congestion may occur. If the packet loss method supported by QFI1 is no packet loss and the packet loss method supported by QFI2 is partial packet loss, the RAN can discard the set of PDUs 4 with a smaller PSI according to the PSI (Option 1); if the packet loss method supported by QFI1 is no packet loss and the packet loss method supported by QFI2 is full packet loss, the RAN can discard all the sets of PDUs in QFI2 (Option 2); and / or when the congestion level is not very serious, the RAN can also perform partial packet loss on the set of PDUs on QFI2 according to the situation of the base station itself instead of choosing the full packet loss method.

[0253] One or more aspects of the method for discarding associated sets of PDUs on different QoSs described above can be combined in any suitable way with one or more aspects of the above method for synchronizing associated sets of PDUs on different QoS flows. For example, one or more of the following methods can be adopted.

[0254] - When discarding one of the PDU sets in multiple QoS flows that need to be synchronized (e.g., the above-mentioned QFI1 and QFI3) without affecting the normal decoding of another PDU set,

[0255] n If the packet loss mode is partial packet loss, the PDU set with lower importance (lower PSI) can be discarded. In this case, the associated PDU set no longer needs to be synchronized;

[0256] n If the packet loss mode is no packet loss, the associated PDU set cannot be discarded, and synchronization is still required at this time.

[0257] - When discarding one of the PDU sets in multiple QoS flows that need to be synchronized (e.g., the above-mentioned QFI1 and QFI3) affects the normal decoding of another PDU set,

[0258] n If the packet loss mode is partial packet loss, the associated PDU set is not discarded first. If no discard is finally performed, synchronous transmission is still required; if discard is needed, all associated PDU sets will be discarded;

[0259] n If the packet loss mode is no packet loss, the associated PDU set cannot be discarded,

[0260] Synchronization is still required at this time.

[0261] The above combination methods are only examples and can be combined in any suitable way.

[0262] The data transmission of XR services generally has periodicity. As shown in Tables 5 - 8, different types of data can have different transmission periods. For periodically transmitted data, the network can configure semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) / configured grant (CG) (SPS / CG configuration) for it, that is, configure fixed periodic time-frequency domain resources, which can reduce the signaling overhead of the network for scheduling the UE. Because different types of data have different transmission periods, an intuitive approach is to separately configure the corresponding SPS / CG for different types of data on different QoS flows. As Figure 10 shown, the data on the first QoS flow (QFI1) is configured with the first CG (CG1), and the data on the second QoS flow (QFI2) is configured with the second CG (CG2). However, this method may cause the following problems.

[0263] - When data on multiple QoS flows (e.g., QFI1 and QFI2) is mapped to the same logical channel (LCH), if there is some data that needs to be retransmitted after the UE finishes sending data on the resources of CG1 through QFI1, it may preempt the resources of CG2. The reason is that after the network allocates UL grants to the UE, there are not many restrictions on how the UE applies the UL grants. So if the retransmitted data on QFI1 occupies the resources of CG2, it will affect the transmission of newly transmitted data on QFI2, resulting in the inability to send the newly transmitted data.

[0264] - When data on multiple QoS flows (e.g., QFI1 and QFI2) is mapped to different LCHs, and the priority of the LCH corresponding to QFI1 is higher than the priority of the LCH corresponding to QFI2, there will also be a situation where the retransmitted data on QFI1 occupies the resources of CG2, resulting in the inability to send the newly transmitted data on QFI2.

[0265] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure propose a method for a RAN to configure SPS / CG for multi-modal flows. The method may include one or more of the following:

[0266] · The RAN sends a tenth message to the UE. The tenth message indicates the correspondence between the QoS flow and the LCH for uplink transmission (e.g., when the UE sends uplink data). After receiving the tenth message, the UE transmits the data on different QoS flows through the corresponding LCHs respectively. The tenth message may be an RRC message, or may be other messages, or may be newly defined messages, or may reuse existing messages, which is not limited here. For example, the tenth message may be added to an RRC establishment message (e.g., RRCsetup message) or an RRC reconfiguration (e.g., RRCReconfiguration message) and sent to the UE.

[0267] · When the RAN configures LCH configuration information (e.g., LogicalChannelConfig) for the UE, it restricts the data on the corresponding LCH to be transmitted uplink using the indicated CG resources in the LCH configuration information (e.g., in the allowed CG list (e.g., allowedCG-list) in LogicalChannelConfig). For example, the LCH configuration information (e.g., LogicalChannelConfig) may include information indicating the CG resources for the uplink transmission of data on each LCH. The data on a certain LCH can only be transmitted using the resources of the CG corresponding to the LCH indicated in the LCH configuration information. The RAN may include the LCH configuration information and the tenth message in the same RRC message and send it to the UE, or may send them to the UE through different RRC messages respectively, which is not limited here.

[0268] ·Reference Figure 11 and 12 For example, after the UE receives the tenth message, it determines that the data on QFI1 is to be transmitted through the first LCH (LCH1), and the data on QFI2 is to be transmitted through the second LCH (LCH2); after the UE receives the LCH configuration information (e.g., LogicalChannelConfig), the UE can determine, based on the information in the LCH configuration information indicating the CG resources for the uplink transmission of the data on each LCH, that the data on LCH1 can only be transmitted through CG1, and the data on LCH2 can only be transmitted through CG2. In this way, the data on QFI1 and QFI2 can be transmitted through the resources of CG1 and CG2 respectively, without the situation of resource preemption between each other.

[0269] If there are remaining resources after transmitting the data in QFI2 through the resources of CG2, the remaining resources can also be used to transmit the data that needs to be retransmitted in QFI1, so as to improve the resource utilization efficiency.

[0270] In one implementation:

[0271] ·When the RAN configures the LCH configuration information (e.g., LogicalChannelConfig) for the UE, it indicates in the LCH configuration information (e.g., in the allowedCG-list in LogicalChannelConfig) that the data on the corresponding LCH uses the indicated CG resources for uplink data transmission according to a certain priority.

[0272] ·Reference Figure 11 and 12 For example, after the UE receives the tenth message, it determines that the data on QFI1 is to be transmitted through LCH1, and the data on QFI2 is to be transmitted through LCH2; after the UE receives the LCH configuration information (e.g., LogicalChannelConfig), the UE can determine, based on the information in the LCH configuration information indicating the CG resources for the uplink transmission of the data on each LCH, that the data on both LCH1 and LCH2 can be transmitted through CG1 and CG2. The CG1 resources can be preferentially used for the data on LCH1, and if there are remaining CG1 resources after transmitting the data on LCH1, the remaining CG1 resources can be used for the data on LCH2; similarly, the CG2 resources can be preferentially used for the data on LCH2, and if there are remaining CG2 resources after transmitting the data on LCH2, the remaining CG2 resources can be used for the data on LCH1.

[0273] · The priority of a CG can be determined by the order of the CG indices listed in the LCH configuration information (e.g., the allowedCG-list in LogicalChannelConfig). The priority of a CG can correspond to the CG index in the LCH configuration information (e.g., the magnitude of the CG index). For example, a smaller CG index indicates a lower priority for the corresponding CG, and a larger CG index indicates a higher priority for the corresponding CG. As another example, a smaller CG index indicates a higher priority for the corresponding CG, and a larger CG index indicates a lower priority for the corresponding CG. As a specific example, when configuring LCH1, allowedCG-list: SEQUENCE(CG1, CG2); when configuring LCH2, allowedCG-list: SEQUENCE(CG2, CG1).

[0274] If the data to be retransmitted in QFI1 is more important than the newly transmitted data in QFI2, and if the data to be retransmitted in QFI1 does not preempt the CG2 resources, then when the corresponding PDB / PSDB times out, the CG2 resources can be preferentially used to transmit the data to be retransmitted in QFI1. In one implementation:

[0275] · The RAN can send a third time threshold to the UE through the tenth message. If the retransmitted data in QFI1 is more important (e.g., compared to other QFIs) and the remaining PDB / PSDB is less than this third time threshold, the resources of CG2 can be preferentially used for the transmission of the data to be retransmitted in QFI1.

[0276] It should be noted that the method for configuring SPS / CG for multi-modal flows described above can be combined in any suitable manner with one or more aspects of the above method for discarding PDU sets associated with different QoSs and / or with one or more aspects of the above method for synchronizing PDU sets associated with different QoS flows.

[0277] The method by which the RAN configures SPS / CG for multi-modal flows according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure has been described above. Through this method, the situation where data of different modal flows preempt resources from each other can be avoided, thereby ensuring the transmission of data on each modal flow. In addition, the resource utilization efficiency is improved by setting the configuration grant priority.

[0278] When the UE sends uplink data, it is possible that the RAN fails to successfully receive the uplink data packet sent by the UE. The main reason is that the surrounding radio network environment deteriorates (for example, parameters related to the radio network environment (such as channel quality parameters, such as received signal strength indication (RSSI), channel quality indicator (CQI), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) / signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR), reference signal power (RSRP), reference signal quality (RSRQ), etc.) are lower than the threshold). At this time, the RAN needs to re-schedule the UE to re-transmit the uplink data. However, some service data (such as XR data transmission) has corresponding PDB / PSDB requirements. If the corresponding data is not transmitted within the PDB / PSDB time, the data becomes useless. If the RAN does not know the remaining PDB / PSDB of the re-transmitted data, the RAN may not allocate uplink resources to the UE in time for the UE to re-transmit. To ensure that the UE can send the re-transmitted data to the RAN in time, one or more of the following methods M1 - M3 can be adopted.

[0279] Method M1 may include:

[0280] · When the RAN senses that the surrounding radio network environment deteriorates (for example, parameters related to the radio network environment monitored by the RAN (such as channel quality parameters) are lower than the threshold), the RAN sends the eleventh message to the UE. The eleventh message can be used to notify the UE that the surrounding radio network environment has deteriorated and / or notify the UE to report the remaining PDB / PSDB;

[0281] · After receiving the eleventh message, the UE sends the newly transmitted data on the corresponding CG resource and carries the remaining PDB / PSDB of the corresponding data. After the RAN knows the remaining PDB / PSDB, it can allocate uplink resources to the UE in time for the UE to re-transmit the failed part of the data.

[0282] Method M2 may include:

[0283] · When the UE senses that the surrounding radio network environment deteriorates (for example, parameters related to the radio network environment monitored by the UE (such as channel quality parameters) are lower than the first threshold), the UE sends the newly transmitted data on the corresponding CG resource and carries the remaining PDB / PSDB of the corresponding data. For example, the first threshold can be configured for the UE by the RAN through the twelfth message.

[0284] · After the RAN knows the remaining PDB / PSDB, it can allocate uplink resources to the UE in time for the UE to re-transmit the failed part of the data.

[0285] Method M3 may include:

[0286] ·RAN sends the thirteenth message to the UE. The thirteenth message may include information indicating that when the surrounding wireless network environment deteriorates (e.g., the uplink channel quality is lower than the first threshold) and the remaining PDB / PSDB is lower than the second threshold, the UE reports the corresponding remaining PDB / PSDB of its uplink data to the RAN. The thirteenth message may carry the first threshold and / or the second threshold. Alternatively, the first threshold may be configured for the UE by the RAN through the twelfth message.

[0287] ·After receiving the thirteenth message, if the UE senses that the surrounding wireless network environment deteriorates (e.g., the uplink channel quality is lower than the first threshold) and the remaining PDB / PSDB of the uplink data is lower than the second threshold, the UE reports the corresponding remaining PDB / PSDB of its uplink data to the RAN.

[0288] Figure 13 A schematic diagram showing the above methods M1 - M3 is presented. Each of the eleventh message, the twelfth message, and the thirteenth message may be an RRC message or other messages, may be a newly defined message, or may reuse existing messages. Embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

[0289] The method for uplink data retransmission according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is described above. Through this method, when uplink data is lost, the network can timely configure uplink resources for the retransmitted data of the UE, ensuring the normal transmission of uplink data and thus enhancing the user experience.

[0290] PDU set QoS parameters, such as PSDB, PSER, and / or PSIHI, can be determined. For example, the PDU set QoS parameters can be determined by a network element such as a PCF. As an example, the PDU set QoS parameters are determined by the PCF based on the service-related information provided by the AF, and the PDU set QoS parameters are sent to the SMF as part of a PCC rule. The SMF then sends the PDU set QoS parameters to the RAN as part of a QoS profile. The RAN can decide / determine whether to accept the PDU set QoS parameters (whether the PDU set QoS parameters are acceptable) and reply to the SMF with acceptance or rejection. When the UE performs a cell handover, the target cell also sends indication information to the SMF to indicate to the SMF whether the target cell supports PDU set QoS handling (for example, whether it supports handling QoS flows based on PDU set QoS parameters; or for another example, whether it supports the transmission of QoS flows with PDU set QoS parameters). In fact, however, PDU set QoS handling is a requirement proposed by the AF, and the PDU set QoS parameters are generated by the PCF. Therefore, the AF and the core network hope that the base station can support PDU set QoS handling. When the UE performs a cell handover, it is better for the source cell to know which neighboring cells support PDU set QoS handling, so that the source cell can hand over the UE to a target cell that supports PDU set QoS handling to meet the requirements of the AF and the core network.

[0291] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure propose a method for interacting information on whether PDU set QoS handling is supported between cells. For example, during the establishment process of the Xn interface between cells, it is possible to interact with each other on whether PDU set QoS handling is supported.

[0292] Figure 14 A schematic diagram showing a method for interacting information on whether PDU set QoS handling is supported between cells according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0293] Refer to Figure 14 , in step S1410, the source cell sends an Xn setup request message to the neighboring cell, which carries / includes a fourteenth message for indicating / notifying the neighboring cell whether the source cell supports PDU set QoS handling.

[0294] Continue to refer to Figure 14 , in step S1420, after receiving the Xn setup request message, the neighboring cell replies to the source cell with an Xn setup response message, which carries / includes a fifteenth message for indicating / notifying the source cell whether the neighboring cell supports PDU set QoS handling.

[0295] The above description presents a method for interacting between cells to exchange information on whether PDU session QoS handling is supported. Through this method, the source cell can know which nearby cells support PDU session QoS handling. When performing a cell handover for a UE, the UE can be preferentially handed over to a target cell that supports PDU session QoS handling to meet the service requirements of the AF and the core network.

[0296] Figure 15 FIG. 1500 is a flowchart of a method performed by a first node (e.g., a RAN, such as a base station) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0297] Referring Figure 15 , in operation S1510, the first node receives a first message from a second node, where the first message includes first information regarding the correlation of QoS flows.

[0298] Next, in operation S1520, the first node receives second information regarding the correlation of PDU sessions from a third node.

[0299] Next, in operation S1530, the first node performs the transmission of associated PDU sessions based on the first information and the second information.

[0300] In some embodiments, one or more of operations S1510 to S1530 may be performed based on the methods described according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., the embodiments described in conjunction with Figures 1 - 14 ).

[0301] In some embodiments, method 1500 may omit one or more of operations S1510 to S1530, or may include additional operations, e.g., operations that may be performed by a RAN node as described according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., the embodiments described in conjunction with Figures 1 - 14 ).

[0302] Figure 16 FIG. 1600 is a flowchart of a method performed by a second node (e.g., an SMF) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0303] Referring Figure 16 , in operation S1610, the second node determines first information regarding the correlation of QoS flows.

[0304] Next, in operation S1620, the second node sends a first message to the first node, where the first message includes the first information. The first information is used by the first node to perform the transmission of associated PDU sessions, where the transmission of the associated PDU sessions is further based on second information regarding the correlation of PDU sessions.

[0305] In some embodiments, one or more of operations S1610 to S1620 may be performed based on the methods described according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., the embodiments described in connection with Figures 1 - 14 the described embodiments).

[0306] In some embodiments, method 1600 may omit one or more of operations S1610 to S1620, or may include additional operations, e.g., operations that may be performed by a CN node or network element / function (e.g., SMF) as described according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., the embodiments described in connection with Figures 1 - 14 the described embodiments).

[0307] Figure 17 A flowchart of method 1700 performed by a third node (e.g., UPF) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0308] Referring to Figure 17 , in operation S1710, the third node sends second information regarding the association of a PDU set to the first node. The second information is used by the first node to perform the transmission of the associated PDU set, wherein the transmission of the associated PDU set is further based on first information regarding the association of QoS flows.

[0309] Next, in operation S1720, the third node receives an uplink PDU set from the first node.

[0310] In some embodiments, one or more of operations S1710 to S1720 may be performed based on the methods described according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., the embodiments described in connection with Figures 1 - 14 the described embodiments).

[0311] In some embodiments, method 1700 may omit one or more of operations S1710 to S1720, or may include additional operations, e.g., operations that may be performed by a CN node or network element / function (e.g., UPF) as described according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., the embodiments described in connection with Figures 1 - 14 the described embodiments).

[0312] Figure 18 A flowchart of method 1800 performed by a fourth node (e.g., UE) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0313] Referring to Figure 18 , in operation S1810, the fourth node receives an associated PDU set from the first node. The associated PDU set is sent by the first node based on first information regarding the association of QoS flows and second information regarding the association of the PDU set.

[0314] Next, in operation S1820, the fourth node sends an uplink PDU set to the first node.

[0315] In some embodiments, one or more of operations S1810 to S1820 may be performed based on the methods described according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., the embodiments described in conjunction with Figures 1 - 14 the embodiments described).

[0316] In some embodiments, method 1800 may omit one or more of operations S1810 to S1820, or may include additional operations, e.g., operations that may be performed by a UE according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., the embodiments described in conjunction with Figures 1 - 14 the embodiments described).

[0317] Figure 19 is a block diagram of the configuration of a first node (e.g., a RAN node, such as a base station) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0318] Referring to Figure 19 , the first node includes a transceiver 1910, a controller 1920, and a memory 1930. The controller 1920 may refer to a circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or at least one processor. The transceiver 1910, the controller 1920, and the memory 1930 are configured to perform the operations that can be performed by a RAN node as described above (e.g., in the exemplary embodiments described in reference to Figures 1 - 18 the described exemplary embodiments). Although the transceiver 1910, the controller 1920, and the memory 1930 are shown as separate entities, they may be implemented as a single entity, such as a single chip. Alternatively, the transceiver 1910, the controller 1920, and the memory 1930 may be electrically connected or coupled to each other.

[0319] The transceiver 1910 may send signals to other network entities (e.g., UEs or CN nodes) and receive signals from other network entities.

[0320] The controller 1920 may control the first node to perform functions according to one of the various exemplary embodiments described above.

[0321] In some exemplary embodiments, the operations of the first node may be implemented using the memory 1930 that stores the corresponding program code. Specifically, the first node may be equipped with the memory 1930 to store the program code for implementing the desired operations. To perform the desired operations, the controller 1920 may read and execute the program code stored in the memory 1930 by using at least one processor or a central processing unit (CPU).

[0322] Figure 20 is a block diagram of the configuration of a second node (e.g., an SMF) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0323] Reference Figure 20 , the second node includes a transceiver 2010, a controller 2020, and a memory 2030. The controller 2020 may refer to a circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or at least one processor. The transceiver 2010, the controller 2020, and the memory 2030 are configured to perform the operations described above (e.g., in the exemplary embodiments described with reference to Figures 1 - 18 the exemplary embodiments described) that can be performed by a CN node or a network element / function (e.g., SMF). Although the transceiver 2010, the controller 2020, and the memory 2030 are shown as separate entities, they may be implemented as a single entity, such as a single chip. Alternatively, the transceiver 2010, the controller 2020, and the memory 2030 may be electrically connected or coupled to each other.

[0324] The transceiver 2010 may send signals to other network entities (e.g., UPF) and receive signals from other network entities (e.g., UPF).

[0325] The controller 2020 may control the second node to perform functions according to one of the various exemplary embodiments described above.

[0326] In some exemplary embodiments, the operations of the second node may be implemented using a memory 2530 that stores corresponding program code. Specifically, the second node may be equipped with a memory 2530 to store the program code for implementing the desired operations. To perform the desired operations, the controller 2520 may read and execute the program code stored in the memory 2530 by using at least one processor or a central processing unit (CPU).

[0327] Figure 21 is a block diagram of the configuration of a third node (e.g., UPF) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0328] Reference Figure 21 , the third node includes a transceiver 2110, a controller 2120, and a memory 2130. The controller 2120 may refer to a circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or at least one processor. The transceiver 2110, the controller 2120, and the memory 2130 are configured to perform the operations described above (e.g., in the exemplary embodiments described with reference to Figures 1 - 18 the exemplary embodiments described) that can be performed by a CN node or a network element / function (e.g., UPF). Although the transceiver 2110, the controller 2120, and the memory 2130 are shown as separate entities, they may be implemented as a single entity, such as a single chip. Alternatively, the transceiver 2110, the controller 2120, and the memory 2130 may be electrically connected or coupled to each other.

[0329] The transceiver 2110 can send signals to other network entities (e.g., base stations or SMFs) and receive signals from other network entities (e.g., base stations or SMFs).

[0330] The controller 2120 can control the third node to perform the functions according to one of the various exemplary embodiments described above.

[0331] In some exemplary embodiments, the operations of the third node can be implemented using a memory 2130 that stores corresponding program code. Specifically, the third node can be equipped with a memory 2130 to store the program code for implementing the desired operations. To execute the desired operations, the controller 2120 can read and execute the program code stored in the memory 2130 by using at least one processor or central processing unit (CPU).

[0332] Figure 22 is a block diagram of the configuration of a fourth node (e.g., UE) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0333] Reference Figure 22 , the fourth node includes a transceiver 2210, a controller 2220, and a memory 2230. The controller 2220 can refer to a circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or at least one processor. The transceiver 2210, the controller 2220, and the memory 2230 are configured to perform the operations that can be executed by the UE described above (e.g., in the exemplary embodiments described with reference to Figures 1 - 18 ). Although the transceiver 2210, the controller 2220, and the memory 2230 are shown as separate entities, they can be implemented as a single entity, such as a single chip. Alternatively, the transceiver 2210, the controller 2220, and the memory 2230 can be electrically connected or coupled to each other.

[0334] The transceiver 2210 can send signals to other network entities (e.g., RAN nodes or CN nodes) and receive signals from other network entities (e.g., RAN nodes or CN nodes).

[0335] The controller 2220 can control the fourth node to perform the functions according to one of the various exemplary embodiments described above.

[0336] In some exemplary embodiments, the operations of the fourth node can be implemented using a memory 2230 that stores corresponding program code. Specifically, the fourth node can be equipped with a memory 2230 to store the program code for implementing the desired operations. To execute the desired operations, the controller 2220 can read and execute the program code stored in the memory 2230 by using at least one processor or central processing unit (CPU).

[0337] Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described illustrative embodiments are described herein and are not intended to be limiting. It should be understood that any two or more of the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in any combination. In addition, other embodiments can be utilized and other changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the invention of the present disclosure, as generally described herein and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a variety of different configurations, all of which are contemplated herein.

[0338] Those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and steps described in this application can be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are described above in terms of their functional sets. Whether such a functional set is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. The skilled person can implement the described functional sets in different ways for each particular application, but such design decisions should not be construed as causing a departure from the scope of this application.

[0339] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in this application can be implemented or executed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gates or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0340] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in this application can be embodied directly in hardware, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software modules can reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read from and write to the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium can be integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a communication device (e.g., a terminal or a base station). In an alternative, the processor and the storage medium can reside as discrete components in a communication device (e.g., a terminal or a base station).

[0341] In one or more exemplary designs, the functions can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. The computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, the latter including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0342] The above description is only a demonstration implementation manner of the present invention, rather than being used to limit the protection scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention is determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first node in a communication system, comprising: Receiving a first message from a second node, the first message including first information about the correlation of a Quality of Service (QoS) flow; Receiving second information about the correlation of a set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs) from a third node; And Based on the first information and the second information, performing the transmission of the associated set of PDUs.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The associated set of PDUs has the same second information.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first information includes at least one of the following: Information of the QoS flow associated with the QoS flow; Information indicating the correlation of the QoS flow.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, The associated QoS flows have the same first information.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein The information of the QoS flow associated with the QoS flow includes a list of QoS flows associated with the QoS flow.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first message includes at least one of the following: a PDU session resource establishment request message or a PDU session resource modification request message.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The second information is included in the header of the set of PDUs.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first message further includes third information about the data, or receives third information about the data from a fourth node, wherein the third information includes one or more of the following: the transmission period or transmission interval of the data; the size of the data; the Packet Delay Budget (PDB) or the PDU Set Delay Budget (PSDB); the data rate; the remaining PDB or remaining PSDB; or the data type.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein Performing the transmission of the associated set of PDUs based on the first information and the second information includes: Based on the first information and the second information, determining the associated set of PDUs within a first time threshold; and Based on a second time threshold, sending the associated set of PDUs.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first time threshold and / or the second time threshold are included in the first message.

11. The method according to claim 1 further comprises: Receiving eighth information about the discard of the QoS flow, wherein the eighth information includes at least one of the following: information based on the discard of the set of PDUs; or information based on the discard of the QoS flow.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Sending a fourteenth message to a second RAN node, the fourteenth message including information about whether the first node supports PDU set QoS handling; And / or Receiving a fifteenth message from the second RAN node, the fifteenth message including information about whether the second RAN node supports PDU set QoS handling.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Sending ninth information about the correspondence between the QoS flow and the logical channel to a fourth node; Sending tenth information about the configured grant resources corresponding to the logical channel to a fourth node; Based on the ninth information and the tenth information, receiving the data on the QoS flow from the fourth node.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein Different QoS flows correspond to different logical channels. Among them, receiving data on the QoS flow from the fourth node based on the ninth information and the tenth information includes: for a first QoS flow in the QoS flow, receiving data on the first QoS flow from the fourth node in the configured grant resources of a first logical channel corresponding to the first QoS flow.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, After receiving data on the first QoS flow from the fourth node, when there are remaining configured grant resources corresponding to the first logical channel, the remaining configured grant resources are used for retransmission of data on other QoS flows in the QoS flow.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The tenth information includes at least one of the following: multiple configured grant resources associated with the logical channel, priority information associated with the multiple configured grant resources; Among them, data on the QoS flow is received based on the priorities of the multiple configured grant resources.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein, If the importance of a first QoS flow in the QoS flow is higher than that of a second QoS flow and the remaining PDB or PSDB is less than a third time threshold, the configured grant resources of the second QoS flow are preferentially used for retransmitting data on the first QoS flow.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising sending information indicating the third time threshold to the fourth node.

19. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Monitoring that the channel quality is lower than a first threshold; Sending an eleventh information to the fourth node, the eleventh information indicating that the channel quality is lower than the first threshold or indicating that the fourth node reports the remaining PDB or PSDB; and Receiving newly transmitted data and / or the reported remaining PDB or PSDB from the fourth node.

20. A first node in a communication system, comprising: A transceiver; And One or more processors, coupled to the transceiver and configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-19.

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