Delayed reporting

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to equipment, a method, a device and a computer readable storage medium for delayed reporting of extended reality (XR) or similar services. The method includes, in response to detecting that at least one of a delay information report (DIR) or a buffer status report (BSR) is triggered, determining at least one of: if the BSR is triggered, whether the DIR is to be reported, or if the DIR is triggered, whether the BSR is to be reported; and based on the determination, determining information related to the cached data to be reported; and sending a report of the information to the network device.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to devices, methods, apparatuses, computer readable storage media for delay reporting for extended reality (XR) or similar mobile services. BACKGROUND

[0002] Mobile services such as XR are expected to contribute more and more traffic to the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) network, which can have some requirements for low latency and high reliability. Therefore, an enhanced work item to specify support for XR services has been studied, and delay reporting of buffer data is one of the important targets in the study. SUMMARY

[0003] In a first aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: in response to detecting that at least one of a delay information report (DIR) or a buffer status report (BSR) is triggered, determine at least one of: whether the DIR is to be reported if the BSR is triggered, or whether the BSR is to be reported if the DIR is triggered; and based on the determination, determine information related to buffer data to be reported; and send a report of the information to a network device.

[0004] In a second aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a terminal device, a report of information related to buffer data to be reported, the information being determined by the terminal device based on a determination of at least one of: whether the DIR is to be reported if the BSR is triggered, or whether the BSR is to be reported if the DIR is triggered.

[0005] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method comprises: in response to detecting, at a terminal device, that at least one of a DIR or a BSR is triggered, determining at least one of: whether the DIR is to be reported if the BSR is triggered, or whether the BSR is to be reported if the DIR is triggered; and based on the determination, determining information related to buffer data to be reported; and sending a report of the information to a network device.

[0006] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method comprises: receiving, at a network device and from a terminal device, a report of information related to buffer data to be reported, the information being determined by the terminal device based on a determination of at least one of: whether the DIR is to be reported if the BSR is triggered, or whether the BSR is to be reported if the DIR is triggered.

[0007] In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for determining, in response to detecting that at least one of a DIR or a BSR is triggered, at least one of: whether a DIR is to be reported if a BSR is triggered, or whether a BSR is to be reported if a DIR is triggered; and means for determining information related to the buffered data to be reported based on the determination; and means for transmitting a report of the information to a network device.

[0008] In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from a terminal device, a report of information related to the buffered data to be reported, the information determined by the terminal device based on a determination of at least one of: whether a DIR is to be reported if a BSR is triggered, or whether a BSR is to be reported if a DIR is triggered.

[0009] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program, which, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to carry out the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

[0010] Other features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of embodiments of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] Embodiments of the present disclosure are presented by way of example, and their advantages over the background art will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0012] Figure 1 An example environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown; Figure 2 Signaling diagrams illustrating examples of procedures in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0013] Figure 3 Flow diagrams of example methods for delay reporting for XR or similar services in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0014] Figure 4 Flow diagrams of example methods for delay reporting for XR or similar services in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0015] Figure 5 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; and Figure 6 A block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0016] In all the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals may denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The principles of this disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0018] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein may have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0019] References to "an embodiment," "embodiment," "example embodiment," etc., in this disclosure indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment needs to include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Additionally, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is believed that, whether explicitly described or not, its influence in conjunction with other embodiments affects such feature, structure, or characteristic within the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0020] It should be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0021] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, wherein a list of two or more elements combined with “and” or “or” means at least one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0022] As used herein, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the “responding to A” execution step does not indicate that the step is executed immediately after “A” occurs, and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0023] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” “having,” “containing,” and / or “comprising” as used herein specify the presence of the described features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0024] As used in this application, the term "circuit" may refer to one or more of the following: (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as analog and / or digital circuit implementation only) and (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) A combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and (ii) Any part of a hardware processor (including multiple digital signal processors, software, and memory, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions), and (c) (Multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or portions of (multiple) microprocessors, which require software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but may be absent when not required for operation.

[0025] This definition of "circuit" applies to all uses of the term included in any claim of this application. As another example, as used herein, the term "circuit" also covers only hardware circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or portions thereof and their accompanying software and / or firmware implementations. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term "circuit" also covers baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0026] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Enhanced Machine-Type Communication (eMTC), etc. Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G), sixth-generation (6G) communication protocols and / or any other currently known or future-developed protocols. Embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to a variety of communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that can implement this disclosure. The scope of this disclosure should not be construed as limited to the aforementioned systems.

[0027] As used herein, the terms “network equipment,” “radio network equipment,” and / or “radio access network equipment” refer to a node in a communication network through which terminal equipment accesses the network and receives services. Network equipment can refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also known as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femtosecond or picosecond), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-terrestrial network equipment (such as satellite network equipment, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, and geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellites), spacecraft network equipment, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a low Earth orbit (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). In some other example embodiments, part or all of the radio access network equipment may be included on an NTN vehicle in the air or in space.

[0028] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices can include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. Terminal equipment may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) portion of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal equipment," "communication equipment," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" are used interchangeably.

[0029] As used herein, the terms “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” can refer to any resource used to perform communication, such as communication between a terminal device and a network device, including time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, spatial-domain resources, code-domain resources, or any other resources capable of communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated otherwise, resources in the frequency and time domains will be used as examples of transmission resources used to describe some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. Note that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0030] Figure 1 An example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the communication network 100 may include a terminal device 110. In the following text, the terminal device 110 may also be referred to as a UE.

[0031] The communication network 100 may also include a network device 120. Hereinafter, the network device 120 may also be referred to as a gNB. The terminal device 110 may communicate with the network device 120.

[0032] It should be understood that Figure 1The number of network devices and terminal devices shown is given for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation. Communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices.

[0033] In some example embodiments, the link from network device 120 to terminal device 110 may be referred to as a downlink (DL), while the link from terminal device 110 to network device 120 may be referred to as an uplink (UL). In the DL, network device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and terminal device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In the UL, terminal device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and network device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0034] Communication in communication network 100 can be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol(s), including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), fifth-generation (5G), and sixth-generation (6G), wireless local area network communication protocols such as IEEE 802.11, and / or any other currently known or future-developed protocols. Furthermore, communication can utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Extended OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other currently known or future-developed technologies.

[0035] Regarding one aspect of latency reporting, to enhance the scheduling of uplink resources for XR, latency knowledge of cached data includes remaining time and distinguishing how much data is cached and how much latency. Whether latency information is reported as part of a Cache Status Report (BSR) or as a new Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) will be determined. Furthermore, how to ensure the up-to-dateness of latency information, considering factors such as scheduling and transmission delays, needs further discussion.

[0036] As discussed, for XR awareness, protocol data unit (PDU) sets and data bursts can be introduced, and therefore whether this will affect the reporting of cached data in the uplink.

[0037] If the amount of cached data needs to be reported, the existing BSR framework may be sufficient: The amount of cached data for each type of PDU set (or group) can be reflected in the logical channel group (LCG) as long as one logical channel (LCH) is configured for each type of PDU set (e.g., an LCH for the comfort zone video tiles, an LCH for the peripheral zone video tiles, and an LCH for audio frames).

[0038] As long as each LCH belongs to an LCG, the size of the data burst will be reflected in the total amount of cached data in the BSR.

[0039] However, if latency information is to be reflected in the BSR, then the different sets of PDUs with different latency budgets that are cached should be reflected in the BSR.

[0040] Three approaches have been proposed for handling latency information: reporting the latency and the data cached for that latency; reporting only the shortest latency or not reporting the remaining time; and indicating only the amount of data with remaining time below a configured threshold.

[0041] In addition, for aspects of BSR triggering based on data arrival and BSR retransmission (retx) / periodic timer, the following conditions are specified: The BSR should be triggered if any of the following events occur for the activated cell group: - For logical channels belonging to LCG, UL data becomes available to the MAC entity; and or - This UL data belongs to a logical channel with a higher priority than any logical channel belonging to any LCG, including any logical channel with available UL data; or - None of the logical channels belonging to the LCG contain any available UL data.

[0042] In this case, the BSR will be referred to as the "regular BSR" below; - When a UL resource is allocated and the number of padding bits is equal to or greater than the Cache Status Report (MAC) CE plus the size of its subheading, the BSR is referred to as the "Padding BSR" below. The -retxBSR- timer expires, and at least one logical channel belonging to the LCG includes UL data. In this case, the BSR is referred to as "regular BSR" below. -When the periodic BSR-timer expires, the BSR will be referred to as "periodic BSR" in the following text. How delay / remaining time information is reported remains open, for example, whether it is included as part of BSR MAC CE or reported separately, and how it operates for reports triggered by delay information and reports triggered by data arrival.

[0043] Reporting both the BS and latency information to every LCG, or even to each LCG with different latency information at a finer granularity, could result in excessive overhead, especially considering normal, non-congestion conditions: the network will schedule data quickly enough to avoid reaching the threshold remaining time. In other words, the latency information reported in the DIR can be needed only when some data in the radio protocol requires special processing.

[0044] Therefore, this disclosure proposes a solution for XR or other suitable services. In this solution, if at least one of DIR or BSR is triggered at terminal device 110, terminal device 110 determines at least one of the following: whether DIR will be reported if BSR is triggered, or whether BSR will be reported if DIR is triggered, and based on the determination, determines information related to cached data to be reported; then terminal device 110 sends a report of the information to network device 120.

[0045] Based on this scheme, a mechanism for how to report DIR and / or BSR is proposed, and the terminal device 110 can flexibly determine which cached data should be reported, while minimizing overhead and still allowing useful latency information to be reported.

[0046] It should be understood that the term "DIR" used below can also be referred to as a delay status report, remaining time report, etc., which reports the time that data has been in the cache, or the remaining time before the data is discarded or exceeds its delay budget.

[0047] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0048] Now for reference Figure 2 This illustrates signaling diagram 200 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown, signaling diagram 200 involves terminal device 110 and network device 120. For discussion purposes, refer to... Figure 1 To describe signaling diagram 200. Even Figure 1 Only a single terminal device 110 is shown in the text, but it should be understood that multiple terminal devices may exist to perform similar operations as described below with respect to terminal device 110.

[0049] like Figure 2As shown, terminal device 110 can determine (202) whether a DIR and / or BSR is triggered. For example, if terminal device 110 detects that at least one logical channel group (LCG) has cached data with a remaining time below a threshold, terminal device 110 can determine that a DIR is about to be triggered. If terminal device 110 detects that higher priority data has arrived, and / or a related timer associated with the cached data has expired (e.g., retxBSR-timer), terminal device 110 can determine that a BSR is about to be triggered.

[0050] When terminal device 110 determines that (204) DIR is triggered, terminal device 110 can determine whether BSR should be triggered, that is, whether BSR should be reported if there is cached data to be reported in BSR.

[0051] In an embodiment, if terminal device 110 determines that there is sufficient space in the transport block (TB) to include both the DIR and the BSR, terminal device 110 can determine that the BSR will also be triggered. In this case, terminal device 110 can generate both the DIR and the BSR.

[0052] In some example embodiments, if there is not sufficient space in the UL authorization to include both the DIR and the BSR, the DIR is prioritized. Terminal device 110 may report a truncated DIR (e.g., with a different Logical Channel Identifier (LCID)) to indicate that the cached data is greater than the amount indicated by the cached state (BS) value in the DIR.

[0053] As an alternative, if terminal device 110 determines that cached data of at least one LCG to be reported in the BSR is not included in the DIR, terminal device 110 may determine that the BSR should be reported. The BSR may also report cached data of at least one LCG not included in the DIR. Alternatively, if terminal device 110 determines that cached data of at least one LCG should be reported, the terminal device reports first cached data in the DIR and second cached data in the BSR. To ensure efficient reporting and avoid overlap in reporting, the reported first cached data does not include the reported second cached data.

[0054] In other words, when the BS reported in the DIR indicates all available data for the LCG, the BS for the LCG may be omitted in the BSR. This means that when the DIR and BSR are received in the same transport block, a BSR indicating that there is no cached data for the LCG implies that there is indeed no cached data when there is no DIR for that LCG.

[0055] It is possible that terminal device 110 can determine whether the BS value of terminal device 110 has changed since the previous BSR was reported. If terminal device 110 determines that the BS value of terminal device 110 has changed since the previous BSR was reported, terminal device 110 can determine that a BSR is about to be reported.

[0056] In situations described above, such as if the DIR does not include an LCG, a BSR can be triggered because the latency in the LCG is higher than the threshold remaining time, or the LCG is not configured for latency reporting. A BSR can also be triggered if the cached state of the LCG reported in the DIR only reflects the amount of data below the threshold remaining time. The LCG may have more cached data, and this needs to be reflected in the BSR.

[0057] Additionally or alternatively, the state of cached data in the BSR may also include cached data in the DIR.

[0058] It should be understood that cached data in the DIR can be included in the state of cached data in the BSR or excluded from the state of cached data in the BSR. Both scenarios apply to network devices.

[0059] In some other example embodiments, since a DIR is triggered whenever there is cached data with a remaining time lower than a given threshold remaining time, terminal device 110 can omit the DIR if all data in the cache has a remaining time higher than the given threshold remaining time. That is, if terminal device 110 only reports a BSR, network device 120 can recognize that all data in the cache has a remaining time higher than the given threshold remaining time.

[0060] It should be understood that the reported DIR and BSR can be indicated in the same Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) or in a separate MAC CE. Terminal device 110 can determine which part of the information will be reported. Alternatively, if both DIR and BSR will be reported, different bitmaps in the same MAC CE can be used to indicate whether the DIR for LCG is included.

[0061] The DIR can include various information related to cached data, as described below. Generally, the remaining time and the amount of data corresponding to that remaining time, or the amount of data with a remaining time below a threshold, can be indicated.

[0062] In this embodiment, only the shortest remaining time and its corresponding data volume can be reported in DIR.

[0063] As an alternative, the shortest remaining time and all data with a corresponding remaining time below the threshold are reported. That is, the reported cached data may not necessarily have the same remaining time.

[0064] Alternatively, only LCGs with remaining time below the threshold remaining time are reported, while other LCGs with remaining time above the threshold remaining time may be omitted from the DIR.

[0065] After determining that a DIR and / or BSR has been triggered and that cached data is to be reported, terminal device 110 may report (206) the status of the cached data to network device 120.

[0066] In this way, terminal device 110 can flexibly determine which cached data should be reported, while minimizing overhead and still allowing useful latency information to be reported.

[0067] Figure 3 A flowchart is shown of an example method 300 for delay reporting of XR or similar services according to some example embodiments of this disclosure. Method 300 can be implemented in, for example... Figure 1 This is implemented in the device shown (terminal device 110). For discussion purposes, reference will be made to... Figure 1 Description method 300.

[0068] At 310, if terminal device 110 detects that at least one of DIR or BSR is triggered, then at 320, terminal device 110 determines at least one of the following: whether DIR will be reported if BSR is triggered, or whether BSR will be reported if DIR is triggered.

[0069] At 330, terminal device 110 determines, based on the determination, information related to the cached data to be reported.

[0070] At point 340, terminal device 110 sends a report of information to network device 120.

[0071] In some example embodiments, if terminal device 110 detects that a DIR has been triggered and there is sufficient space in the transport block for reporting, terminal device 110 determines that both BSR and DIR will be reported.

[0072] In some example embodiments, if terminal device 110 detects that a DIR has been triggered and that buffered data for at least one logical channel that is to be reported in a BSR is not included in the DIR, terminal device 110 determines that a BSR is to be reported.

[0073] In some example embodiments, if terminal device 110 detects that a DIR has been triggered, and if the state of cached data at the terminal device has changed after a previous BSR has been reported, terminal device 110 determines that the BSR will be reported along with the DIR.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the cached data reported in the BSR does not include the cached data reported in the DIR.

[0075] In some example embodiments, if terminal device 110 detects that a DIR has been triggered and there is insufficient space in the transport block to report both the DIR and the BSR, terminal device 110 may generate a truncated DIR, wherein the data cached in the truncated DIR indicates that the amount indicated in the truncated DIR is greater than the amount indicated in the truncated DIR.

[0076] In some example embodiments, the BSR and DIR are associated with the same Media Access Control (MAC) control element CE, or with a separate MAC CE.

[0077] In some example embodiments, BSR and DIR are indicated by separate bitmaps, which are used to indicate at least one corresponding logical channel group (LCG) reported in the same MAC CE.

[0078] In some example embodiments, DIR may indicate one of the following: a first threshold remaining time and the amount of cached data with the first threshold remaining time, or the amount of cached data with less than the first threshold remaining time.

[0079] In some example embodiments, the DIR includes cached data having a remaining time higher than a first threshold remaining time and lower than a second threshold remaining time, wherein the second threshold remaining time is greater than the first threshold remaining time.

[0080] In some example embodiments, if the data cached in the device has a remaining time that is higher than the threshold remaining time, the terminal device 110 may omit the DIR.

[0081] In some example embodiments, only at least one logical channel group (LCG) with a remaining time below a threshold is reported in the DIR.

[0082] Figure 4 A flowchart is shown of an example method 400 for delay reporting of XR or similar services according to some example embodiments of this disclosure. Method 400 can be implemented as follows: Figure 1 This is implemented in the device shown (network device 120). For discussion purposes, reference will be made to... Figure 1 Description method 400.

[0083] At 410, network device 120 receives a report from terminal device regarding information related to cached data to be reported, the information being determined by terminal device based on at least one of the following: whether DIR will be reported if BSR is triggered, or whether BSR will be reported if DIR is triggered.

[0084] In some example embodiments, if network device 120 determines that only BSR is received, network device 120 may determine that the cached data at the terminal device is higher than the threshold remaining time.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the means capable of performing method 300 (e.g., implemented at terminal device 110) may include components for performing corresponding steps of method 300. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit or software module.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes components for determining, in response to detecting that at least one of a DIR or a BSR is triggered, whether the DIR will be reported, or whether the BSR will be reported if the BSR is triggered; and components for determining, based on the determination, information related to cached data to be reported; and components for sending a report of the information to a network device.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may also include components for determining that both the BSR and the DIR will be reported in response to the detection that a DIR has been triggered and that there is sufficient space in the transport block for reporting.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include a component for determining that a BSR will be reported in response to detecting that a DIR has been triggered and that buffered data of at least one logical channel to be reported in the BSR is not included in the DIR.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may also include a component for determining, in response to detecting that a DIR has been triggered, that a BSR will be reported along with a DIR if the state of cached data at the apparatus has changed since a previous BSR was reported.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the cached data reported in the BSR does not include the cached data reported in the DIR.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include a component for generating a truncated DIR in response to detecting that a DIR has been triggered and that there is insufficient space in the transport block to report both the DIR and the BSR, wherein the truncated DIR indicates that the data cached in the apparatus is greater than the amount indicated in the truncated DIR.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the BSR and DIR are associated with the same Media Access Control (MAC) control element CE, or with a separate MAC CE.

[0093] In some example embodiments, BSR and DIR are indicated by separate bitmaps, which are used to indicate at least one corresponding logical channel group (LCG) reported in the same MAC CE.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the DIR indicates one of the following: the remaining time of a first threshold and the amount of cached data having the remaining time of the first threshold, or the amount of cached data having less than the remaining time of the first threshold.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the DIR includes cached data having a remaining time higher than a first threshold remaining time and lower than a second threshold remaining time, wherein the second threshold remaining time is greater than the first threshold remaining time.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may also include a component for omitting the DIR if the data cached in the apparatus has a remaining time that is higher than a threshold remaining time.

[0097] In some example embodiments, only at least one logical channel group (LCG) with remaining time below a threshold is reported in the DIR.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the means capable of performing method 400 (e.g., implemented at network device 120) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 400. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit or software module.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes a component for receiving a report from a terminal device relating to cached data to be reported, the information being determined by the terminal device based on at least one of the following: whether a DIR will be reported if a BSR is triggered, or whether a BSR will be reported if a DIR is triggered.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may also include a component for determining, if it is determined that only BSR is received, that the cached data at the terminal device is above a threshold for the remaining time.

[0101] Figure 5 This is a simplified block diagram of a device 500 suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 500 can be provided to implement a communication device, for example, Figure 1The terminal device 110 or network device 120 shown. As shown, device 500 includes one or more processors 510, one or more memories 520 coupled to processor 510, and one or more communication modules 540 coupled to processor 510.

[0102] Communication module 540 is used for bidirectional communication. Communication module 540 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface can represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, communication module 540 may include at least one antenna.

[0103] As a non-limiting example, processor 510 can be any type suitable for a local technology network and can include one or more of the following: general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), and processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 500 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent on a clock of a synchronous main processor.

[0104] Memory 520 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 524, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), optical disc, laser disc, and other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 522 and other volatile memories that will not persist during power-off periods.

[0105] Computer program 530 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by an associated processor 510. The instructions of program 530 may include instructions for performing operations / actions of some example embodiments of this disclosure. Program 530 may be stored in memory, such as ROM 524. Processor 510 can perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 530 into RAM 522.

[0106] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by means of program 530, enabling device 500 to perform as described in the reference. Figures 2 to 4 Any process discussed in this disclosure. Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may also be implemented in hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0107] In some example embodiments, program 530 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in device 500 (such as in memory 520) or other storage devices accessible to device 500. Device 500 may load program 530 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 522 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" refers to a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not tactile), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0108] Figure 6 An example of a computer-readable medium 600, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD, or other optical storage disc, is shown. A program 530 is stored on the computer-readable medium 600.

[0109] Generally, the various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while others may be implemented in firmware or software executable by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0110] Some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in a program module that executes in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to perform any of the methods described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular task or implement a particular abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functionality of a program module can be combined or split among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions for a program module can execute within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program module can reside on both local and remote storage media.

[0111] The program code used to perform the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when executed by the processor or controller, the program code enables the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0112] In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0113] Computer-readable media can be computer-readable signal media or computer-readable storage media. Computer-readable media can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media will include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0114] Furthermore, although operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the specific order shown or in a sequential order, or that all shown operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, certain features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated otherwise, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0115] Although this disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as exemplary forms for implementing the claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: In response to the detection that at least one of a Delay Information Report (DIR) or a Cache Status Report (BSR) is triggered, determine at least one of the following: If the BSR is triggered, will the DIR be reported, or If the DIR is triggered, should the BSR be reported? as well as Based on the determination, information related to the cached data to be reported is determined; as well as A report that sends the information to network devices.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus causes: In response to the detection that the DIR has been triggered and there is sufficient space in the transport block for reporting, it is determined that both the BSR and the DIR will be reported.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the apparatus causes: In response to the detection that the DIR is triggered, and that buffered data for at least one logical channel that is to be reported in the BSR is not included in the DIR, it is determined that the BSR will be reported.

4. The apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus causes: In response to the detection that the DIR has been triggered, if the state of the cached data at the device has changed after a previous BSR has been reported, it is determined that the BSR will be reported along with the DIR.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the cached data reported in the BSR does not include the cached data reported in the DIR.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus causes: In response to the detection that the DIR is triggered and that there is insufficient space in the transport block to report both the DIR and the BSR, a truncated DIR is generated, the truncated DIR indicating that the data cached in the device is greater than the amount indicated in the truncated DIR.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the BSR and the DIR are associated with the same Media Access Control (MAC) control element CE, or with a separate MAC CE.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the BSR and the DIR are indicated by a separate bitmap for indicating at least one corresponding logical channel group (LCG) reported in the same MAC CE.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the DIR indicates one of the following: The remaining time of the first threshold and the amount of cached data with the remaining time of the first threshold, or The amount of cached data remaining below the first threshold for the remaining time.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the DIR includes cached data having a remaining time higher than the first threshold remaining time and lower than the second threshold remaining time, and wherein the second threshold remaining time is greater than the first threshold remaining time.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus causes: If the data cached in the device has a remaining time higher than the threshold remaining time, the DIR is omitted.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one logical channel group (LCG) with a remaining time below a threshold time is reported only in the DIR.

13. An apparatus comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: A report received from a terminal device relating to cached data to be reported, the information being determined by the terminal device based on at least one of the following: If the BSR is triggered, will the DIR be reported, or If the DIR is triggered, will the BSR be reported? 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus further causes: If it is determined that only BSR is received, it is determined that the cached data at the terminal device is higher than the threshold remaining time.

15. A method comprising: In response to the detection that at least one of DIR or BSR is triggered at the terminal device, at least one of the following is determined: If the BSR is triggered, will the DIR be reported, or If the DIR is triggered, should the BSR be reported? as well as Based on the determination, information related to the cached data to be reported is determined; as well as A report that sends the information to network devices.

16. A method comprising: A report received at a network device from a terminal device regarding information related to cached data to be reported, the information being determined by the terminal device based on at least one of the following: whether the DIR will be reported if the BSR is triggered, or whether the BSR will be reported if the DIR is triggered.

17. An apparatus comprising: A component for determining at least one of the following in response to the detection that at least one of DIR or BSR is triggered: If the BSR is triggered, will the DIR be reported, or If the DIR is triggered, should the BSR be reported? as well as A component for determining, based on the determination, information related to the cached data to be reported; as well as A component for sending reports of the information to network devices.

18. An apparatus comprising: A means for sending information related to the operating architecture type of a terminal device to a terminal device, wherein the terminal device is served by a primary cell and at least one secondary cell in in-band operation.

19. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the method of claim 15 or claim 16.

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