Cache status report triggering

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to buffer status report triggering. In one aspect, a terminal device receives, from a network device, configuration information indicating that a buffer status report (BSR) is to be triggered when a buffer status of a logical channel (LCH) or a logical channel group (LCG) becomes null. The terminal device also determines that the cache state of the LCH or LCG becomes null based on the received configuration information and for each LCH or LCG, and triggers transmission of the BSR to the network device. By implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is no need to have an explicit data burst end indication, and the BSR may be always relied on.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The example embodiments relate generally to the field of communications, and more particularly to a terminal device, a network device, a method, an apparatus, and a computer readable storage medium for triggering a buffer status report. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the communication technology, the status of data stored in a buffer of a terminal device, such as a user equipment (UE), can be reported to a network device, such as a gNB, in order to ensure that radio resources are allocated to each terminal device. The report is reported to the gNB in the form of a buffer status report (BSR). In the 5G system, logical channels (LCHs) are set to have different priorities.

[0003] The LCHs are divided into different logical channel groups (LCGs). The BSR is reported by a UE group. Since the BSR is important reference information for the gNB to perform reasonable radio resource scheduling for the UE, various types and transmission rules of the BSR are specified. According to an event triggering the BSR, the BSR is divided into a regular buffer status report, a periodic buffer status report, and a padding buffer status report. SUMMARY

[0004] Generally, the example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a terminal device, a network device, a method, an apparatus, and a computer readable storage medium for triggering a buffer status report. For example, the solution provided by the example embodiments of the present disclosure can ensure that there is no need to have an explicit data burst end indication, and the BSR can always be relied on.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device can include at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: receive, from a network device, configuration information indicating that a buffer status report (BSR) is to be triggered when a buffer status of a logical channel (LCH) or a logical channel group (LCG) becomes empty; and based on the received configuration information and determining that the buffer status of the LCH or the LCG becomes empty for each LCH or LCG, trigger transmission of the BSR to the network device.

[0006] In a second aspect, a network device is provided. The network device can include at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: send, to a terminal device, configuration information indicating that a buffer status report (BSR) is to be triggered when a buffer status of a logical channel (LCH) or a logical channel group (LCG) becomes empty, wherein the triggering is for each LCH or LCG; and receive, from the terminal device, the BSR triggered by the terminal device when the buffer status of the LCH or the LCG becomes empty.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method can comprise: receiving, at a terminal device and from a network device, configuration information indicating that a BSR will be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty; and triggering, at the terminal device, transmission of a BSR to the network device based on the received configuration information and determining that the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty for each LCH or LCG.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method can comprise: transmitting, at a network device and to a terminal device, configuration information indicating that a BSR will be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty, wherein the triggering is for each LCH or LCG; and receiving, at the network device and from the terminal device, the BSR triggered by the terminal device when the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus can comprise: means for receiving, at a terminal device and from a network device, configuration information indicating that a BSR will be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty; and means for triggering, at the terminal device, transmission of a BSR to the network device based on the received configuration information and determining that the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty for each LCH or LCG.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus can comprise: means for transmitting, at a network device and to a terminal device, configuration information indicating that a BSR will be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty, wherein the triggering is for each LCH or LCG; and means for receiving, at the network device and from the terminal device, the BSR triggered by the terminal device when the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the third or fourth aspect is provided.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least: receive, from a network device, configuration information indicating that a BSR will be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty; and trigger transmission of a BSR to the network device based on the received configuration information and determining that the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty for each LCH or LCG.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a computer program is provided, the computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, to a terminal device, configuration information indicating that a BSR is to be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty, wherein the triggering is per LCH or LCG; and receive, from the terminal device, the BSR triggered by the terminal device when the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device can comprise: receiving circuitry configured to receive, from a network device, configuration information indicating that a BSR is to be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty; and triggering circuitry configured to trigger transmission of the BSR to the network device based on the received configuration information and a determination that the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty per LCH or LCG.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, a network device is provided. The network device can comprise: transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to a terminal device, configuration information indicating that a BSR is to be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty, wherein the triggering is per LCH or LCG; and receiving circuitry configured to receive, from the terminal device, the BSR triggered by the terminal device when the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty.

[0016] It is to be understood that the Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used in limiting the scope of the disclosure. Other features, details, and advantages of the disclosure will become BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular architectures, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the embodiments can be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known methods, techniques, etc. are not set forth in order to not unnecessarily obscure the

[0018] Figure 1 FIGURE 1 illustrates an example network environment in which example embodiments of the disclosure can be implemented;

[0019] Figure 2 FIGURE 2 illustrates an example signaling procedure for buffer status reporting triggering according to some example embodiments of the disclosure;

[0020] Figure 3 FIGURE 3 illustrates an example signaling procedure for importance threshold based buffer status reporting triggering according to some example embodiments of the disclosure;

[0021] Figure 4 FIGURE 4 illustrates an example flow diagram of a procedure for buffer status reporting triggering according to some example embodiments of the disclosure;

[0022] Figure 5 FIG. 6 illustrates another example flow diagram of a procedure for a buffer status report trigger, in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 6 FIG. 7 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0024] Figure 7 FIG. 8 illustrates an example block diagram of an example computer readable medium, in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] In the various drawings, like or similar elements are referred to with like or similar reference numerals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and help to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0027] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0028] Reference within this disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure, but not necessarily every embodiment of the disclosure. Furthermore, this

[0029] It should be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. can be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element without departing from the scope of the example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated terms.

[0030] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "having," "includes" and / or "including" when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. As used herein, "at least one of " and "one or more of " cover and include any and all combinations and sub-combinations of the elements in the list.

[0031] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" can refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processors); and (c) hardware circuit(s) themselves, as well as any portions of hardware circuit(s) whether those portions are wholly within one device or distributed over multiple devices.

[0032] The definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation that includes both hardware and software elements, or portions thereof, and includes hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., in those embodiments that specifically exclude software and / or firmware), as well as software- only implementations (e.g., in those embodiments that specifically exclude hardware and / or firmware). As used herein, the term "circuitry" also covers, for this application and any claims thereof, at least one integrated circuit (or portions thereof) that is a part of a larger integrated circuit (or portions thereof), whether that larger integrated circuit is a part of a larger component, whether that larger component is a part of a larger equipment, and whether that larger equipment is a part of a larger network.

[0033] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network that follows any suitable communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Further, the communication between terminal devices and network devices in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to, Third Generation (3G), Fourth Generation (4G), 4.5G, Fifth Generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or the above. Embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied in various communication systems. In view of the rapid development in communications, it is of course also possible that future types of communication technologies and systems emerge, which can embody the present disclosure. It should not be considered as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the above-mentioned systems.

[0034] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which terminal devices access the network and receive services from the network. Depending on the terminology used, the network device can refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), e.g., a NodeB (or NB), an Evolved NodeB (or eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also known as gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, a low power node (such as a femto, pico, etc.).

[0035] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example, and without limitation, a terminal device can also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). A terminal device can include, but is not limited to, a mobile telephone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device, such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback appliance, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain environments), consumer electronics, commercial appliances, relays, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "communication device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" can be used interchangeably.

[0036] As used herein, the term "resource," "transmission resource," "resource block," "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink (UL) resource," or "downlink (DL) resource" can refer to any resource used to perform communication, such as a resource in a time domain, a resource in a frequency domain, a resource in a spatial domain, a resource in a code domain, a resource in a combination of more than one domain, or any other resource that enables communication, etc. In the following, a resource in a time domain, such as a subframe, will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0037] As discussed above, with respect to triggering BSR, after completing the study on extended reality (XR) (see TR 38.835), the RAN has agreed to a work item for specifying enhancements for support of XR services (see RP-230786). Part of the work item includes implementing decisions made by SA2. Recent agreements from SA2 have been recorded in TS 23.501. Among the traffic assistance information that can be provided by the 5G core network (5GC) to the NG RAN, there is an indication of the end of data burst, which helps to save power and resources. RAN2 is now discussing whether such an indication is also needed in the uplink.

[0038] For downlink, TS 23.501 specifies that in downlink, an indication of the end of data burst can be provided by the 5GC to the gNB. This is shown in Table 1. Table 1

[0039] For uplink, it is proposed in R2-2302513 to introduce an uplink burst end indication by the UE. This is shown in Table 2. Table 2

[0040] For uplink, it is also proposed in R2-2302938 to introduce an empty buffer MAC CE that can be sent by the XR UE after detecting the end of data burst and the buffer of all LCGs of the UE is empty. This is shown in Table 3. Table 3

[0041] TS 38.321 (and its predecessor 36.321) specifies that when the UE has nothing to send, a padding BSR is sent. This is shown in Table 4. Table 4

[0042] Therefore, according to what is already specified in 38.321, the implicit indication of the end of data burst would be the occurrence of a padding BSR. However, if there are other logical channels with data to send, the padding can not occur. In that case, it is not possible to rely on the occurrence of a padding BSR to detect the end of data burst, and explicit signaling as proposed by Table 2 would be needed. This is also the issue that Table 3 does not identify.

[0043] Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for introducing a new BSR trigger. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a terminal device receives configuration information from a network device, the configuration information indicating that a BSR is to be triggered when a buffer status of a LCH or LCG becomes empty. The terminal device further determines, based on the received configuration information and for each LCH or LCG, that the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty, triggers transmission of the BSR to the network device. It should be appreciated that the above-mentioned process steps can work together, partially together, or independently from each other in the flow of operations described in the following section. The example embodiments for buffer status report trigger as provided in the present disclosure can ensure that there is no need for explicit data burst end indication, and the BSR can always be relied on.

[0044] For illustrative purposes, the following will refer to Figures 1-7The principles and example embodiments of the present disclosure are described for buffer status report triggering. However, it should be noted that these embodiments are given to enable those skilled in the art to understand the inventive concept of the present disclosure and implement the solution as set forth herein, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application in any way.

[0045] Reference is made to Figure 1 which illustrates an example network environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The network environment 100, which can be part of a communication network, includes a terminal device 102 and a network device 104.

[0046] As Figure 1 illustrated in

[0047] Reference is made to Figure 2 which illustrates an example signaling procedure for buffer status report triggering according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Reference will be made to Figure 1 Description Figure 2 .

[0048] As Figure 2 shown in

[0049] The terminal device 102 determines (208) for each LCH or LCG that the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty. Based on the received configuration information (206) and the determination (208), the terminal device 102 triggers (210) transmission of a BSR (214) to the network device 104. The network device 104 receives (212) the BSR (214) triggered by the terminal device 102 when the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty.

[0050] In some example embodiments, the BSR 214 can be a regular BSR. In some example embodiments, the triggering 210 can be explicitly configured by the network device 104 via RRC signaling, e.g., for logical channels carrying quality of service (QoS) flows enabled by 5GC with PDU set based QoS handling. By implementing Figure 2In some example embodiments, the BSR can be triggered when the buffer status of at least one LCH or LCG becomes empty. In some example embodiments, the BSR can be triggered when the buffer status of at least one LCH or LCG becomes empty and the data burst is not explicitly indicated. In some example embodiments, the BSR can always be relied upon, as shown in the example embodiments in FIG. 3.

[0051] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 can have multiple LCHs or LCGs. The monitoring, triggering, and BSR (214) reporting can be per LCH or LCG. This means that one LCH or one LCG can run empty and trigger a BSR while another LCH or another LCG still contains data.

[0052] Reference is made to FIG. 4, which illustrates an example signaling procedure for importance threshold based buffer status reporting triggering, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Reference will be made to Figure 3 Description Figure 1 Description Figure 3 .

[0053] Figure 3 The scenario in FIG. 3 describes the introduction of an additional importance threshold. As shown in FIG. 3, the network device 104 can transmit (304) configuration information (306) to the terminal device 102. In some example embodiments, the configuration information (306) can indicate that a BSR will be triggered when the buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty. The terminal device 102 can receive (302) the configuration information (306) from the network device 104. Figure 3

[0054] The network device 104 can also transmit (310) a threshold (312) for the LCH or LCG, which indicates an importance of at least one PDU set in the buffer of the terminal device 102. The terminal device 102 can receive (308) the threshold (312) from the network device 104. In some example embodiments, the configuration information (306) can indicate that a BSR will be triggered based on the buffer status of data above the threshold (312) indicating an importance for the LCH or LCG.

[0055] The terminal device 102 can determine (314) that the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty for each LCH or LCG. In some example embodiments, based on the received configuration information (306), the determination (314), and the threshold (312), the terminal device 102 can trigger (316) transmission of a BSR (320) to the network device 104. The BSR (320) can include a first buffer status value. The first buffer status value can be for the buffer status of at least one PDU set having an importance above the threshold for the LCH or LCG. The network device 104 can receive (318) the BSR (320) from the terminal device 102. In some example embodiments, the first buffer status value can indicate a total buffer status.

[0056] ​In some example embodiments, the first buffer status value can be reported for the LCH / LCG in case the buffer of the terminal device 102 contains PDU sets of importance higher than a threshold value, and regardless of whether the buffer contains PDU sets of importance lower than the threshold value. In some example embodiments, it can also apply to the entire LCH or LCG. In this case, the assumption can be that the presence of some PDU sets of "high" importance buffered is important, while how much (as a fraction of the total number of that LCH / LCG) can not be important.

[0057] In some example embodiments, the first buffer status value of zero can be reported for the LCH or LCG in case the buffer contains no PDU or PDU sets. By receiving the first buffer status value of zero, the network device 104 can infer that there is no remaining PDU set or PDU for the LCH or LCG. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 can provide the data burst end indication to the network device 104 by sending a BSR (320) indicating that the buffer status of the LCH or LCG is empty. Thus, the BSR also acts as the data burst end, avoiding the need to send a separate data burst end indication.

[0058] In some example embodiments, based on the received configuration information (306), the determination (314), and the threshold value (312), the terminal device 102 can further trigger (322) the transmission of a BSR (326) to the network device 104. The BSR (326) can include a second buffer status value. The second buffer status value can be for the buffer status of at least one PDU set of importance lower than the threshold value for the LCH or LCG. The network device 104 can receive (324) the BSR (326) from the terminal device 102.

[0059] In some example embodiments, the first and second BSRs (320 and 326) can be reported separately. For example, via two medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs). In some example embodiments, at least one of the first and second BSRs (320 and 326) can indicate for each LCG whether the buffer status reported for the LCG contains data of high importance PDU sets (higher than the threshold value), or only data of low importance PDU sets (lower than the threshold value). Based on the indication, the network device 104 can know whether there is still high importance data remaining in the buffer for the LCG.

[0060] In some example embodiments, the buffer status value of zero can be reported for the LCH or LCG in case the buffer contains no PDU or PDU sets. By receiving the buffer status value of zero, the network device 104 can infer that there is no remaining PDU set or PDU for the LCH or LCG.

[0061] By implementing the example embodiments shown in Figure 3 The importance threshold value can be configured such that the empty BSR can tell the network device 104 that there is no set of PDUs in the buffer of the terminal device 102 with importance higher than the threshold value for the LCH and / or LCG.

[0062] Reference is made to Figure 4 which illustrates an example flowchart 400 of a procedure of buffer status reporting triggering according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Reference will be made to Figure 1 described Figure 4 .

[0063] At 402, the terminal device 102 receives configuration information from the network device 104. The configuration information indicates that a buffer status report (BSR) will be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty. At 404, the terminal device 102 triggers transmission of a BSR to the network device based on the received configuration information and based on determining that the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty for each LCH or LCG. In some example embodiments, the configuration information can be transmitted via RRC signaling.

[0064] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 can receive a threshold value for an LCH or LCG from the network device 104. The threshold value can indicate an importance of at least one set of PDUs in the buffer of the terminal device 102. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 can report a BSR to the network device 104. The BSR can comprise a first buffer status value of a buffer status of at least one set of PDUs with importance higher than the threshold value for the LCH or LCG. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 can provide an end of data burst indication to the network device 104 by transmitting a BSR indicating that the buffer status of the LCH or LCG is empty. In some example embodiments, the BSR can be a first BSR, and the terminal device 102 can report a second BSR to the network device 104. The second BSR can comprise a second buffer status value of a buffer status of at least one set of PDUs with importance lower than the threshold value for the LCH or LCG.

[0065] In some example embodiments, the second buffer status value can further indicate an absence of remaining sets of PDUs or PDUs for the LCH or LCG. In some example embodiments, the first BSR and the second BSR can be reported via two MAC CEs respectively. In some example embodiments, at least one of the first BSR and the second BSR can indicate for each LCG whether the buffer status reported for the LCG contains data of at least one set of high importance PDUs higher than the threshold value, or contains data of at least one set of low importance PDUs lower than the threshold value.

[0066] In some example embodiments, one BSR can be reported and for each LCG it can be indicated whether the buffer status includes high importance data or not. In this case, there can be no separate buffer status indication for high or low importance data, the buffer status can be for all data. For example, for each LCG it can be indicated whether the buffer status reported for the LCG contains data of a high importance PDU set (above a threshold) or only data of a low importance PDU set (below a threshold). Based on the indication, the network device 104 can know whether there is still high importance data remaining in the buffer for the LCG.

[0067] Reference is made to Figure 5 which illustrates another example flowchart of a procedure 500 of buffer status reporting triggering according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Reference is made to Figure 1 Description Figure 5 .

[0068] At 502, the network device 104 sends configuration information to the terminal device 102. The configuration information indicates that a buffer status report (BSR) will be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty. At 504, the network device 104 receives the BSR from the terminal device 102. The BSR is triggered by the terminal device 102 when the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty. The triggering is per LCH or LCG. In some example embodiments, the network device 104 can send the configuration information to the terminal device 102 via RRC signaling.

[0069] In some example embodiments, the network device 104 can send a threshold to the terminal device 102. The threshold can indicate an importance of at least one PDU set in a buffer of the terminal device 102 for an LCH or LCG. In some example embodiments, the network device 104 can receive a BSR from the terminal device 102. The BSR can include a first buffer status value of a buffer status for at least one PDU set whose importance is higher than the threshold for the LCH or LCG.

[0070] In some example embodiments, the network device 104 can receive a data burst end indication from the terminal device 104 by receiving a BSR indicating that a buffer status of an LCH or LCG is empty. In some example embodiments, the BSR can be a first BSR and the network device 104 can receive a second BSR from the terminal device 102. The second BSR can include a second buffer status value of a buffer status for at least one PDU set whose importance is lower than the threshold for the LCH or LCG.

[0071] In some example embodiments, the second buffer status value can also indicate that there is no remaining set of PDUs or PDU for the LCH or LCG. In some example embodiments, the first BSR and the second BSR can be received via two MAC CEs respectively. In some example embodiments, at least one of the first BSR and the second BSR can indicate for each LCG whether the buffer status reported for the LCG contains data of at least one set of high importance PDUs above a threshold, or contains data of at least one set of low importance PDUs below a threshold.

[0072] In some example embodiments, one BSR can be reported and for each LCG can indicate whether the buffer status includes high importance data. In this case, there can not be separate buffer status indication for high or low importance data, the buffer status can be for all data. For example, for each LCG can indicate whether the buffer status reported for the LCG contains data of at least one set of high importance PDUs (above a threshold), or contains only data of at least one set of low importance PDUs (below a threshold). Based on the indication, the network device 104 can know whether there is still high importance data remaining in the buffer for the LCG.

[0073] By implementing the method 400 and / or 500, it can be ensured that there is no need to have explicit data burst end indication, and the BSR can always be relied on.

[0074] In some example embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., the terminal device 102) capable of performing the method 400 can include means for performing each of the steps of the method 400. The means can be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means can be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

[0075] In some example embodiments, an apparatus can include means for receiving, at a terminal device and from a network device, configuration information indicating that a BSR is to be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty; and means for triggering, at the terminal device, transmission of the BSR to the network device based on the received configuration information and determining that the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty for each LCH or LCG.

[0076] In some example embodiments, an apparatus can include means for receiving, from a network device, a threshold for an LCH or LCG, the threshold indicating an importance of at least one set of PDUs in a buffer of the terminal device.

[0077] In some example embodiments, the apparatus can comprise means for reporting, to the network device and based on the threshold, a BSR comprising a first buffer status value for a buffer status of at least one PDU set whose importance is higher than the threshold for the LCH or LCG.

[0078] In some example embodiments, the apparatus can comprise means for providing, to the network device, an indication of an end of data burst by transmitting a BSR indicating that a buffer status of the LCH or LCG is empty.

[0079] In some example embodiments, the BSR can be a first BSR, and the apparatus can comprise means for reporting, to the network device and based on the threshold, a second BSR comprising a second buffer status value for a buffer status of at least one PDU set whose importance is lower than the threshold for the LCH or LCG.

[0080] In some example embodiments, the second buffer status value can further indicate an absence of remaining PDU sets or PDUs for the LCH or LCG. In some example embodiments, the first BSR and the second BSR can be reported via two MAC CEs, respectively. In some example embodiments, the configuration information can be transmitted via RRC signaling.

[0081] In some example embodiments, at least one of the first BSR and the second BSR can be indicated for each LCG: whether the buffer status reported for the LCG contains data of at least one high importance PDU set that is higher than the threshold, or whether it contains data of at least one low importance PDU set that is lower than the threshold.

[0082] In some example embodiments, the apparatus can further comprise means for performing other steps in some example embodiments of the method 400. In some example embodiments, the means comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform.

[0083] In some example embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., the network device 104) capable of performing the method 500 can include means for performing the various steps of the method 500. This means can be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means can be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

[0084] In some example embodiments, an apparatus can comprise: means for transmitting, to a terminal device, configuration information indicating that a BSR is to be triggered when a buffer status of an LCH or LCG becomes empty, wherein the triggering is per LCH or LCG; and means for receiving, at a network device and from the terminal device, the BSR triggered by the terminal device when the buffer status of the LCH or LCG becomes empty.

[0085] In some example embodiments, an apparatus can comprise: means for transmitting, to a terminal device, a threshold for an LCH or LCG, the threshold indicating an importance of at least one PDU set in a buffer of the terminal device.

[0086] In some example embodiments, an apparatus can comprise: means for receiving, from a terminal device, a BSR including a first buffer status value for a buffer status of at least one PDU set having an importance higher than a threshold for an LCH or LCG.

[0087] In some example embodiments, an apparatus can comprise: means for receiving, from a terminal device, an end of data burst indication to a network device by receiving a BSR indicating a buffer status of an LCH or LCG is empty.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the BSR can be a first BSR, and the apparatus can comprise: means for receiving, from a terminal device, a second BSR including a second buffer status value for a buffer status of at least one PDU set having an importance lower than a threshold for an LCH or LCG.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the second buffer status value can further indicate an absence of remaining PDU sets or PDUs for the LCH or LCG. In some example embodiments, the apparatus can comprise: means for receiving, from a terminal device, the first BSR and the second BSR via two MAC CEs, respectively. In some example embodiments, the apparatus can comprise: means for transmitting, to a terminal device, configuration information via RRC signaling.

[0090] In some example embodiments, at least one of the first BSR and the second BSR can be indicated per LCG: whether the buffer status reported for the LCG contains data of at least one high importance PDU set higher than a threshold, or whether the buffer status contains data of at least one low importance PDU set lower than the threshold.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the apparatus can also include means for performing other steps in some example embodiments of the method 500. In some example embodiments, the means include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the above-described procedures are performed on a radio link control (RLC) layer. The BSR trigger can be in a MAC layer. The functionality of the RLC layer is specified in more detail in 3GPP specifications. The LCHs and LCGs can be channels of the RLC layer.

[0093] Reference is made to Figure 6 which illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 600 can be provided to implement a communication device, such as the terminal device 102 as shown in Figure 1 The device 600 includes, as shown, one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 which can be coupled to the processor(s) 610, and one or more communication modules 640 which can be coupled to the processor(s) 610.

[0094] The communication module 640 is for bidirectional communication. The communication module 640 has at least one antenna for facilitating communication. The communication interface can represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as a communication interface which can be wireless or wired to other network elements, or a software-based interface for communication.

[0095] The processor(s) 610 can be of any type suitable to the local technical network and can include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), and processors based on multi-core processor architectures, as non-limiting examples. The device 600 can have multiple processors 610 such as a dedicated integrated circuit chip that is time-slaved to a clock that is synchronized with a master processor.

[0096] The memory 620 can include one or more non-transitory memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-transitory memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memories (ROMs) 624, electrically programmable read only memories (EPROMs), flash memories, hard disks, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), and other magnetic and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memories (RAMs) 622 and other volatile memories that do not maintain data bits over a duration of power loss.

[0097] The computer program 630 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 610. The program 630 can be stored in the ROM 624. The processor 610 can perform any suitable action and processing by loading the program 630 into the RAM 622.

[0098] Embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented with a program so that the device 600 can perform any process of the present disclosure as discussed with reference to Figures 2 to 5 Embodiments of the present disclosure can also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the program 630 can be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, which can be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or in another storage device accessible by the device 600. The device 600 can load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium into the RAM 622 for execution. The computer-readable medium can include any type of tangible non-transitory memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, a hard disk, a CD, a DVD, and the like. Figure 7 An example of a computer-readable medium 700 in the form of a CD or DVD is shown. The computer-readable medium has the program 630 stored thereon.

[0100] In general, the various embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware or special-purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while other aspects can be implemented in

[0101] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product, tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, executed by devices at a target real or virtual processor to perform processes as described above with reference to Figure 4 or Figure 5The methods 400 or 500 described. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0102] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, causes the machine to perform the functions / operations described in the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams. The program code can be entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0103] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or related data can be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, and the like.

[0104] The computer readable medium can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. As the term is used herein, the term "non-transitory" is limiting to the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) and not to the data stored thereon (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0105] Moreover, although operations have been described in a particular, sequential order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the perfect order described, or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous. Likewise, while a number of specific implementation details have been included for the purpose of providing a thorough description of various embodiments, these details are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, but rather are included as being illustrative of specific ways to implement the subject matter. Descriptions of single implementation should not be interpreted as favoring this embodiment over others. Rather, the goal is to describe various embodiments in enough detail to enable one skilled in the art to understand them, in order to facilitate the understanding of the subject matter. In this regard, certain features can have been presented in terms of examples showing specific configurations and details. The description has been presented in the form of specific examples, but it will be appreciated that the scope of the disclosure is not limited to the specific examples described. Rather, the scope of the disclosure is broadly commensurate with the scope of the appended claims. Modifications can be made to the disclosed embodiments and still be within the scope of the disclosure. For example, the various features described herein can be combined in any combination. Other embodiments can be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, which is intended to be broadly interpreted, and the novel arrangements are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims.

[0106] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: Receive configuration information from the network device, the configuration information indicating that when the buffer state of the logical channel (LCH) or logical channel group (LCG) becomes empty, the buffer state report (BSR) will be triggered. as well as Based on the received configuration information and the determination that the cache state of each LCH or LCG becomes empty, the transmission of the BSR to the network device is triggered.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: A threshold is received from the network device for the LCH or LCG, the threshold indicating the importance of at least one set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs) in the cache of the terminal device.

3. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: The network device is informed of the BSR and the BSR is reported based on the threshold, the BSR comprising: A first cache state value for the cache state of the at least one PDU set whose importance is higher than the threshold for the LCH or the LCG.

4. The terminal device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the terminal device provides a data burst end indication to the network device by sending a BSR indicating that the buffer state of the LCH or the LCG is empty.

5. The terminal device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the BSR is a first BSR, and the terminal device is further configured to: The network device is informed and a second BSR is reported based on the threshold, the second BSR comprising: A second cache state value for the cache state of at least one PDU set whose importance is lower than the threshold for the LCH or LCG.

6. The terminal device according to claim 5, wherein the second cache state value further indicates that there is no remaining set of PDUs or PDUs for the LCH or the LCG.

7. The terminal device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the first BSR and the second BSR are reported via two Media Access Control (MAC) control units (CEs).

8. The terminal device according to any one of claims 5-7, wherein at least one of the first BSR and the second BSR is indicated for each LCG whether the cache state reported for the LCG contains data of at least one high-importance PDU set above the threshold, or whether it contains data of at least one low-importance PDU set below the threshold.

9. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the configuration information is transmitted via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

10. A network device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to at least: Send configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information indicating that when the buffer state of a logical channel (LCH) or logical channel group (LCG) becomes empty, a buffer state report (BSR) will be triggered, wherein the triggering is for each LCH or LCG; as well as The terminal device receives a BSR triggered by the terminal device when the cache state of the LCH or LCG becomes empty.

11. The network device of claim 10, wherein the network device is configured to: A threshold for the LCH or LCG is sent to the terminal device, the threshold indicating the importance of at least one set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs) in the cache of the terminal device.

12. The network device of claim 11, wherein the network device is further configured to: The BSR is received from the terminal device, the BSR comprising: A first cache state value for the cache state of the at least one PDU set whose importance is higher than the threshold for the LCH or the LCG.

13. The network device according to any one of claims 10-12, wherein the network device is further configured to: By receiving the BSR indicating that the buffer state of the LCH or the LCG is empty, the terminal device receives a data burst end indication to the network device.

14. The network device according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the BSR is a first BSR, and the network device is further configured such that: Receive a second BSR from the terminal device, the second BSR including: A second cache state value for the cache state of at least one PDU set whose importance is lower than the threshold for the LCH or LCG.

15. The network device of claim 14, wherein the second cache state value further indicates that there is no remaining set of PDUs or PDUs for the LCH or the LCG.

16. The network device according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the network device is further configured to: The terminal device receives the first BSR and the second BSR via two Media Access Control (MAC) control units (CEs).

17. The network device according to any one of claims 14-16, wherein at least one of the first BSR and the second BSR is instructed for each LCG whether the cache state reported for the LCG contains data of at least one high-importance PDU set above the threshold, or whether it contains data of at least one low-importance PDU set below the threshold.

18. The network device according to any one of claims 10-17, wherein the network device is further configured to: The configuration information is sent to the terminal device via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

19. A method comprising: At the terminal device and from the network device, configuration information is received, which indicates that when the buffer state of the logical channel LCH or logical channel group LCG becomes empty, the buffer state report BSR will be triggered. as well as Based on the received configuration information and the determination that the cache state of each LCH or LCG becomes empty, the transmission of the BSR to the network device is triggered at the terminal device.

20. A method comprising: At the network device and to the terminal device, configuration information is sent, which indicates that when the buffer state of a logical channel (LCH) or logical channel group (LCG) becomes empty, a buffer state report (BSR) will be triggered, wherein the triggering is for each LCH or LCG. as well as The BSR is received at the network device and from the terminal device when the cache state of the LCH or LCG becomes empty, triggered by the terminal device.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising: The program instructions used to cause the device to execute at least the method according to claim 19 or 20.

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