Techniques for logical channel priority adjustment based on cross-packet dependencies

Abstract

The application relates to devices and components including apparatuses, systems, and methods for adjusting logical channel priority and / or routing of packets based on cross-packet dependencies.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 19 / 326,527, filed September 11, 2025, entitled “TECHNOLOGIES FOR LOGICAL CHANNEL PRIORITY ADJUSTMENT BASED ON CROSS-PACKET DEPENDENCY,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 706,512, filed October 11, 2024, entitled “TECHNOLOGIES FOR LOGICAL CHANNEL PRIORITY ADJUSTMENT BASED ON CROSS-PACKET DEPENDENCY,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates generally to communication networks, and more specifically to techniques for adjusting logical channel priorities based on cross-packet dependencies. Background Technology

[0004] The 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) Technical Specifications (TS) define the standards for wireless networks. These TS describe various aspects involving the signaling of services through systems containing wireless networks. Attached Figure Description

[0005] Figure 1 Examples of network environments based on some implementation schemes are provided.

[0006] Figure 2 Examples of protocol data unit (PDU) sets according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0007] Figure 3 An example of PDU collection being discarded according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0008] Figure 4 Examples of logically prioritized channels configured according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0009] Figure 5 Examples of PDU sets with packets submitted to a primary radio link control (RLC) entity or a secondary RLC entity are illustrated according to some implementation schemes.

[0010] Figure 6Example processes based on some implementation schemes are illustrated.

[0011] Figure 7 The operational flow / algorithm structure according to some implementation schemes is illustrated.

[0012] Figure 8 Another operational flow / algorithm structure based on some implementation schemes is illustrated.

[0013] Figure 9 Examples of user equipment based on some implementation schemes are shown.

[0014] Figure 10 Examples of network devices based on some implementation schemes are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, specific details, such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, and techniques, are set forth for illustrative and non-limiting purposes to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of the various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples departing from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods have been omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of this document, the phrases “A / B” and “A or B” refer to (A), (B), or (A and B); and the phrase “based on A” means “at least partially based on A,” for example, it can be “based solely on A” or it can be “partially based on A.”

[0016] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0017] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a hardware component configured to provide the described functionality. Hardware components may include electronic circuitry, logic circuitry, processors (shared, dedicated, or grouped) or memories (shared, dedicated, or grouped), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable devices (FPDs) (e.g., field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), structured ASICs, or programmable system-on-a-chip (SoCs)), or digital signal processors (DSPs). In some embodiments, the circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or combinations of circuits used in electrical or electronic systems) and program code for executing the functionality. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuit.

[0018] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" means, is part of, or includes a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuit" may also refer to an application processor, baseband processor, central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit, single-core processor, dual-core processor, triple-core processor, quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional procedures).

[0019] As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" can refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as buses, I / O interfaces, peripheral component interfaces, and network interface cards.

[0020] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to equipment having radio communication capabilities that allow a user to access network resources within a communication network. The term "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous with and may be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, or reconfigurable mobile device. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can include any type of wireless / wired equipment or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0021] As used herein, the term "computer system" means any type of interconnected electronic device, computer device, or component thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" can refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to each other. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" can refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to each other and configured to share computing resources or network resources.

[0022] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a specific device, such as computer equipment, mechanical equipment, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU utilization, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or utilization, power, input / output operations, port or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory utilization, storage, network, database, and application or workload units. "Hardware resource" can refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by physical hardware components. "Virtualized resource" can refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by virtualization infrastructure to an application, device, or system. The terms "network resource" or "communication resource" can refer to resources accessible by a computer device / system via a communication network. The term "system resource" can refer to any kind of shared entity providing a service and can include computing or network resources. System resources can be considered as a coherent set of functions, network data objects, or services accessible through a server, wherein such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and can be clearly identified.

[0023] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium used to transmit data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent with "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," or any other similar term indicating a means or medium through which data is transmitted. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices used for transmitting and receiving information.

[0024] As used in this article, the terms "instantiate" and "instantiate" refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to the concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0025] The term "connection" can refer to an established signaling relationship between two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0026] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as a networked computer, network hardware, network equipment, network node, or virtualized network function.

[0027] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual content of an information element, or the data element that contains that content. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0028] Figure 1 A network environment 100 according to some implementation schemes is illustrated. Network environment 100 may include user equipment (UE) 104 communicatively coupled to a base station 108 of a radio access network (RAN) 110. UE 104 and base station 108 may communicate via a 3GPPTS-compatible air interface, such as an interface defining a fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) system or higher. Base station 108 may provide user plane and control plane protocol termination to UE 104.

[0029] In some implementations, UE 104 and base station 108 may establish a data radio bearer (DRB) to support data transmission over a wireless link between the two nodes. In one example, these DRBs may be used for services from extended reality (XR) applications that contain large amounts of data conveying real and virtual images and audio for presentation to a user.

[0030] Network environment 100 may also include core network 112. For example, core network 112 may include a 5th generation core network (5GC) or a newer generation core network. Core network 112 may be coupled to base station 108 via fiber optic or wireless backhaul. Core network 112 may provide functions to UE 104 via base station 108. These functions may include managing subscriber profile information, subscriber location, service authentication, or handover of voice and data sessions.

[0031] Core network 112 may include a User Plane Function (UPF) 116, which provides routing and forwarding of user plane packets between base station 108 and external data network 120. Base station 108 can receive uplink packets from UE 104 via DRB and can send uplink packets to UPF 116 via General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol-User Plane (GTP-U) tunnel. UPF 116 can remove packet headers and forward these packets to external data network 120. UPF 116 can map downlink packets from external data network to a specific Quality of Service (QoS) flow belonging to a specific PDU session before forwarding them to base station 108. Base station 108 can map the traffic to the appropriate DRB for delivery to UE 104.

[0032] Network environment 100 may also include external data network 120. External data network 120 may include a system of interconnecting nodes that facilitate data transmission between UE 104 and various application servers and other service providers. Base station 108 and core network 112 may route application data between UE 104 and external data network 120 or application servers. These application servers host web applications, cloud storage, and multimedia streaming services that communicate with UE 104 via standardized protocols and interfaces defined by 3GPP, thereby ensuring secure and efficient data exchange.

[0033] This document describes operations performed by devices (e.g., UE 104, base station 108, and / or devices of core network 112) that can be performed wholly, substantially, or partially by processing circuitry implemented on the devices. Additionally, this document describes operations performed by the “network” that can be performed by devices of RAN 110 (e.g., base station 108), devices of core network 112, and / or components thereof.

[0034] The implementation described herein provides a technique for adjusting the LCH priority of packets with cross-packet dependencies buffered in different logical channels (LCHs). The implementation enables timely delivery of cross-correlated packets, thereby improving performance and / or user experience.

[0035] UE 104 may include an application layer that generates application services to be transmitted to another device via network environment 100. In some implementations, the application layer may have XR applications that generate extended reality (XR, e.g., virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), etc.) services. However, implementations are not limited to XR use cases.

[0036] For XR and other services, the application layer can generate data packets, also known as Protocol Data Units (PDUs). Individual PDUs can be Internet Protocol (IP) packets or non-IP packets. In some cases, the application layer can generate sets of PDUs, where each set includes one or more PDUs. In examples, PDU sets can be as defined in 3GPP TS 23.501 v19.1.0 (2024-09-24) and / or future 3GPP TS. Packets in a PDU set can carry a payload of a single information element generated by the application layer. In examples, the information element can be a frame or video slice for XR services, such as those defined in 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 26.926 v18.2.0 (2024-03-26). In some implementations, the application layer at the destination node may require all PDUs in the PDU set to allow the application layer to recover some or all of the information elements. In other implementations, the application layer at the destination node can recover some or all of the information elements even if some PDUs in the PDU set are lost.

[0037] Figure 2 Examples of PDU sets based on some implementation schemes are shown. For example, Figure 2 Multiple groups 204a to 204g (e.g., groups #1 to #7) are illustrated. Groups 204a to 204e (e.g., groups #1 to #5) may be included in a first PDU set 208. Groups 204f and 204g (e.g., groups #6 and #7) may be included in a second PDU set 212.

[0038] In some implementations, the data generated by the application layer of UE 104 may include multimodal data. Multimodal data may include input data from different kinds of devices / sensors or output data to different kinds of destinations (e.g., one or more UEs) required for the same task or application. Multimodal data may include more than one monomodal data (e.g., one type of data), and there may be strong dependencies between each monomodal data associated with the multimodal data.

[0039] The PDU set can be provided to the transmitter of UE 104, which is configured to execute the communication protocol stack, for example, Figure 7The communication protocol stack 736 facilitates communication via network environment 100. The transmitter implements Layer 2 (L2) and Layer 1 (L1) functionality. At the L2 level, the transmitter may include the Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. At the L1 level, the transmitter may include the Physical (PHY) layer. In short, the SDAP layer manages QoS flow processing between the QoS flow and the DRB. The PDCP layer manages robust header (de)compression and security between the DRB and RLC channels. The RLC layer manages (re)segmentation and error correction via Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) between logical channels and RLC channels. The MAC layer manages scheduling / priority processing, (de)multiplexing, and Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes between logical channels and transport channels. The PHY layer manages the processing of physical data and control channels.

[0040] Packets received by a layer from a higher layer can be called Service Data Units (SDUs) of that layer. Packets sent by that layer to lower layers are called PDUs of that layer. For example, packets received by the PDCP layer from the SDAP layer are called PDCP SDUs, and packets sent by the PDCP layer to the RLC layer are called PDPC PDUs. In this sense, packets can be called SDUs or PDUs, depending on the layer's perspective. Therefore, a set of PDUs can be called SDAP PDUs or PDCP SDUs. Furthermore, SDAP PDUs can include information from application layer PDUs, and thus, the concept of a PDU set can be applied to various protocol layers.

[0041] In some implementations, core network 112 may provide information to RAN 110 to assist in processing QoS flows and PDUs. This information may be consistent with the information described in 3GPP TS 23.501 Section 5.7 (e.g., Section 5.7.7 related to PDU set QoS parameters) and / or 3GPP TR 23.700-60 v18.0.0 (2022-12-21). This information may include semi-static information for both uplink and downlink, PDU set QoS parameters, and dynamic information for downlink.

[0042] Semi-static information for both uplink and downlink can be provided via the control plane (Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP)). This information may include the periodicity of uplink and downlink traffic for QoS flows via Time-Sensitive Communication Auxiliary Information (TSCAI) / Time-Sensitive Communication Auxiliary Container (TSCAC); and traffic jitter information (e.g., jitter range) associated with each periodicity of the QoS flow.

[0043] The QoS parameters for this PDU set can include the PDU set error rate (PSER), which defines the upper limit on the rate at which the sender of the link layer protocol has processed the PDU set, but the corresponding receiver has failed to successfully deliver the PDU set to the upper layer. See, for example, Section 5.7.7.3 of 3GPP TS23.501. In some cases, a PDU set can be considered successfully delivered when all PDUs in the set are successfully delivered. In other cases, other definitions of successful delivery may be made.

[0044] The PDU set QoS parameter may also include the PDU set delay budget (PSDB), which defines the time between the reception of the first PDU in the PDU set and the successful delivery of the last arriving PDU. See, for example, Section 5.7.7.2 of 3GPP TS 23.501. In various implementations, the PSDB may be an optional parameter.

[0045] The PDU set QoS parameter may also include a PDU set integration processing indicator (PSIHI) to indicate whether the application layer requires all PDUs in the PDU set. See, for example, Section 5.7.7.4 of 3GPP TS 23.501. If the application layer requires all PDUs in the PDU set, the transmitter does not need to continue transmitting each PDU if at least one PDU in the corresponding PDU set has been discarded. Therefore, this provides an opportunity to improve resource efficiency by avoiding unnecessary transmissions.

[0046] Dynamic information may be provided by the user plane (e.g., the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) - User Plane (GTP-U) header). This information may include, for example: PDU set sequence number (SN); PDU set size (in bytes); PDU SNs within the PDU set; end PDU indication within the PDU set; PDU set importance (PSI); and / or end-of-burst indication in the header of the last PDU in the data burst.

[0047] PDU set importance (PSI) can be used to identify the relative importance of a PDU set compared to other PDU sets within the same QoS flow. In some implementations, the transmitting device may employ PSI-based SDU dropping. For example, the UE may be configured by the network to initiate different drop timers (e.g., discardTimer and discardTimerLowImportance) for packets belonging to PDU sets with different importance levels.

[0048] Each PDCP SDU maintains its own drop timer. This may also be the case for PDCP SDUs belonging to the same PDU set. PDCP SDUs belonging to the same PDU set do not necessarily arrive at the same time. This could be due to uplink (UL) jitter, for example, in tethered use cases, where packets experience different jitter before reaching the UE. Therefore, each PDCP SDU may have different remaining time, even if they belong to the same PDU set.

[0049] In some implementations, the transmitting device may employ PDU set-based discarding. For example, a gNB may configure PDU set-based discarding based on PSIHIQoS parameters. In some implementations, PDU set-based discarding may be configured for each PDCP entity. This PDU set-based discarding may be similar to the discarding described in 3GPP TR 38.835 v18.0.1 (2023-04-05). For example, in some cases, a threshold number of PDUs in the PDU set may be required for the receiving application layer to use information elements. This threshold number may be one or more. If PDU set-based discarding is configured, and the transmitting device determines, for example, that the number of lost / discarded PDUs in the PDU set exceeds the threshold number, the transmitting device may discard the remaining PDUs in the PDU set without transmitting them to free up radio resources. In some implementations, a PDU loss / discard may be determined if a PDU is not successfully transmitted before the PDU discard timer expires. PDUs may be discarded as described herein or for other reasons, such as a PDU depending on another lost PDU.

[0050] Therefore, by using PDU set discarding, when one (or more) packets in the PDU set are lost / discarded, the transmitting device (e.g., UE) may discard all packets in the PDU set, even if the discard timers for other packets are still running. Figure 3 An example of PDU set discarding according to some implementation schemes is illustrated. PDU set 304 may include groups 308a to 308c. Figure 3 As shown at position 312, packet 308b of PDU set 304 can be discarded. (See also...) Figure 3 As shown at position 316, based on the PDU set being discarded, the UE can discard packets 308a and 308c based on the fact that packet 308b has been discarded.

[0051] Therefore, dependencies may exist between groups within the same PDU set. Such cross-group dependencies may also exist in other cases. For example, groups belonging to different PDU sets may depend on each other based on correlations between PDU sets. In another example, groups belonging to different service flows may depend on each other based on multimodal correlations.

[0052] In some cases, delay-aware scheduling can be applied to reduce packet drop. For example, if the network knows that the remaining time before a PDU is dropped is short, it can consider the delivery of that PDU urgent, and the network can perform timely resource allocation to ensure that the PDU is sent on time. This reduces the number of packets that need to be dropped, and thus improves the user experience.

[0053] Delay Status Report (DSR) may include an uplink MAC control element (CE) that enables the UE to report the explicit remaining time (per logical channel group (LCG)) until expiration of a discarded timer and the associated amount of data. If no DSR is triggered for an LCH / LCG, a new DSR may be triggered for the LCH / LCG when the shortest remaining time for buffered data in the uplink is less than a configured remaining time threshold. One or more thresholds can be configured for each LCG for DSR triggering purposes. If PDU set discarding is configured, the amount of data to be reported in the DSR is calculated based on the size of the complete remaining PDUs in the PDU set (if any PDU in the PDU set is associated with a remaining time below the threshold). In some cases, single delay information per LCG may be supported as a baseline for the DSR. The remaining time (e.g., the shortest remaining time in the LCG) can be explicitly reported in the DSR. It is anticipated that in Release 19 3GPP TS, DSR enhancements with multiple remaining time thresholds configured for LCH / LCG will be introduced, enabling the UE to report more comprehensive buffer delay status information.

[0054] While such feedback allows the network to perform delay-aware scheduling, it does not guarantee faster delivery of urgent packets. For example, if the network deems the remaining time too short, it may choose to skip scheduling. Therefore, this type of information only helps the network make more informed decisions regarding radio resource management.

[0055] Version 19 of the 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) may require the use of delay / deadline information to enhance XR data delivery to support uplink (UL) scheduling. These enhancements enable high XR capacity while meeting latency requirements and / or avoiding excessive delays in PDU delivery.

[0056] Logical Channel Priority (LCP) is a process performed by the MAC layer to allocate data from one or more LCHs to radio resources for transmission based on parameters such as priorities configured for each LCH. Various LCP enhancements can be based on buffer delay. For example, delay-aware LCP enhancements can be used to address the problem of data with short remaining time being delayed due to data from other LCHs lacking delay-critical data. Compared to DSR, such enhancements represent a more proactive mechanism that the UE can apply to minimize UL packet drop. For delay-aware LCP enhancements, LCH priorities can be overridden / adjusted based on delay / deadline information. This can be achieved by using one or more additional priorities configured for LCHs that have or may have delay-critical data. If LCH priorities are adjusted, the adjusted priorities can be applied to all data within the LCH, or only to delay-critical data within the LCH. Delay-aware LCP mechanisms can be configured in a semi-static manner. Triggering these delay-aware LCP mechanisms may not require dynamic indication. In some cases, the use of delay-aware LCP mechanisms may not prevent non-delay-critical data from using UL clearance. Data considered critical to delay for the purpose of a delay-aware LCP mechanism can be based on a remaining time threshold used for DSR, or it can be a separate remaining time threshold.

[0057] In various implementations, the LCH can be configured with multiple LCH priorities. For example, Figure 4 An LCH 400 with two LCH priorities is shown, according to some implementation schemes. In some implementations, the network may provide configuration information to the UE via RRC signaling, for example, to configure the LCH priorities semi-statically.

[0058] In some implementations, the configured priorities may include a first priority 404 (e.g., the default LCH priority level) and a second priority 408 (e.g., an additional or elevated LCH priority level). For example, LCH 400 may have a first priority 404 (e.g., the default priority) in its default state when all packets in the LCH 400's buffer have a remaining time until they are dropped (e.g., the remaining time until the corresponding drop timer expires) greater than a threshold. The UE may switch the priority level of LCH 400 to a second priority 408 (e.g., an additional or elevated LCH priority level) based on a condition. This condition may include, for example, that at least one packet in the LCH 400's buffer has a remaining time less than a threshold. Such LCH priority adaptation may occur even before receiving uplink (UL) clearance. This avoids dynamic adaptation during the LCP procedure, thereby reducing complexity. When the condition is no longer met (e.g., there are no more packets in the LCH 400's buffer with a remaining time less than the threshold), the UE may switch the priority back to the first priority 404.

[0059] In some implementations, a PDCP entity may be associated with multiple RLC entities used for bearer splitting. For example, a PDCP may have one primary RLC entity and at least one secondary RLC entity. Using bearer splitting, when the uplink data volume exceeds a threshold (e.g., ul-DataSplitThreshold), each PDCP PDU can be submitted to either the primary or secondary RLC. The two RLC entities used for bearer splitting correspond to different logical channels in the MAC layer.

[0060] In some cases, packets from a PDU set may have cross-packet dependencies (e.g., PDU set dropping is configured), and packets from a PDU set may be submitted to either the primary RLC entity or the secondary RLC entity. A PDU set may contain one or more packets with remaining time less than (or equal to) a remaining time threshold and one or more packets with remaining time greater than the remaining time threshold. If LCH priority adjustment is based solely on remaining time, only LCHs buffering packets with remaining time less than (or equal to) the threshold will have their priorities adjusted. However, all packets belonging to the same PDU set (e.g., buffered on any LCH within the LCH) should be sent quickly due to their cross-packet dependencies.

[0061] Figure 5 An example is shown of a PDU set 504 having packets 508a to 508h submitted to PDCP 512. PDCP 512 may split packets 508a to 508h between a first RLC 516a (e.g., a primary RLC) and a second RLC 516b (e.g., a secondary RLC). For example, as... Figure 5As shown in the figure, packets 508a to 508d can be submitted to the first RLC 516a, and packets 508e to 508h can be submitted to the second RLC 516b. The first RLC 516a can be associated with the first LCH 520a, and the second RLC 516b can be associated with the second LCH 520b.

[0062] In the example, the remaining time of a subset of at least one of the groups 508a to 508h may be equal to or less than the threshold. For example, as Figure 5 As shown, the remaining time for packets 508a and 508b (submitted to the first RLC 516a) is equal to or less than the threshold, while the remaining time for packets 508c to 508e is greater than the threshold. Therefore, only LCH 520a corresponding to the first RLC 516a will be buffered with packets that meet the LCH priority adjustment criteria (e.g., based on the remaining time until they are discarded). In conventional operation, even if the second LCH 520b corresponding to the secondary RLC 516b also buffers packets belonging to the set of PDUs that should be sent urgently, the second LCH may not be able to be adjusted.

[0063] The embodiments described herein provide techniques for adjusting LCH priority for packets with cross-packet dependencies buffered in different logical channels. While the embodiments are described primarily with reference to the UE, these embodiments may additionally or alternatively be implemented by another transmitting device, such as equipment of a base station (e.g., base station 108), a core network (e.g., core network 112), an external data network (e.g., external data network 120), or components thereof.

[0064] For example, the first LCH can be configured with LCH priority adjustment (e.g., configured with a first priority (such as a default priority) and a second priority (such as an additional or elevated priority)). The second priority can be a higher priority than the first priority. The priority level of the first LCH can be adjusted from the first priority to the second priority based on at least one triggering condition.

[0065] In one example, the triggering condition may include the first LCH already using an additional priority (e.g., the priority has been adjusted). In another example, the triggering condition may include any (e.g., at least one) PDCPSDU in the buffer of the first LCH having less than (e.g., or equal to) a remaining time threshold until its discard timer expires.

[0066] In some implementations, at least one first PDCP SDU in the buffer of the first LCH may be associated with at least one second PDCP SDU in the buffer of the second LCH, and the triggering condition may be based on at least one second PDCP SDU and / or the second LCH. For example, the triggering condition may include at least one second PDCP SDU in the buffer of the second LCH satisfying the condition for LCH priority adjustment (e.g., the remaining time of the second PDCP SDU is less than a remaining time threshold). Reference Figure 5 Consider an example where packets 508a and 508b buffered in LCH 520a meet the conditions for LCH priority adjustment because the remaining time before they are discarded is less than a threshold. The priority of LCH 520a can be increased to a second priority based on packets 508a and / or 508b. Similarly, if at least one of the packets 508e to 508h buffered in LCH 520b is associated with packets 508a and / or 508b, the priority of LCH 520b can be increased to a second priority based on this association.

[0067] In another example, the triggering condition may include the second LCH's priority being adjusted to a second priority (e.g., an additional or elevated priority). For example, the second LCH's priority might have been elevated based on the related PDCP SDU and / or another PDCPSDU meeting the conditions for LCH priority adjustment (e.g., the remaining time until discard is less than a remaining time threshold). Reference Figure 5 Consider another example. The priority of LCH 520a may be raised to the second priority based on the fact that group 508a and / or 508b meet the conditions for LCH priority adjustment. The priority of LCH 520b may be raised to the second priority based on the association between LCH 520b and LCH 520a.

[0068] Therefore, the triggering condition can be based on the relevant PDCP SDU and / or on the second LCH (e.g., regardless of the relevant PDCP SDU). A triggering condition based on the second LCH is easier to implement than one based on the relevant PDCP SDU, but it is not optimal.

[0069] In some implementations, triggering conditions may be applied relative to the relevant PDCP SDUs buffered in the second LCH and / or based on the second LCH itself, based on the DRB being configured to drop a set of PDUs. For example, triggering conditions may not be used when a set of PDUs is not configured to drop.

[0070] When the priority of the first LCH is promoted to the second priority, that priority may fall back to the first priority (e.g., the default priority) based on at least one fallback condition. For example, a fallback condition may include at least one second PDCP SDU in the second LCH buffer (e.g., associated with at least one first PDCP SDU in the first LCH buffer) being dropped. In another example, a fallback condition may include the second LCH falling back to its default priority. In yet another example, a fallback condition may include at least one first PDCP SDU in the first LCH buffer (e.g., triggering a priority adjustment to the second priority) being sent or dropped. In yet another example, a fallback condition may include no other PDCP SDU in the first LCH buffer satisfying the LCH priority adjustment condition.

[0071] Figure 6 Example process 600 according to some implementation schemes is illustrated. Process 600 may be performed by a transmitting entity (e.g., a UE (such as UE 104) and / or network equipment (such as base station 108, equipment of core network 112, and / or equipment of external data network 120) or components thereof. Process 600 may be performed for a first LCH that is configured with LCH priority adjustment (e.g., configured with a first priority (such as default priority) and a second priority (such as elevated or additional priority)).

[0072] At 604, process 600 may include determining whether any (e.g., at least one) PDCPSDU in the buffer of the first LCH satisfies a remaining time threshold. If yes, then at 608, process 600 may include switching the priority of the first LCH from the default priority to an additional priority (e.g., an elevated priority). If no, then at 612, process 600 may include determining whether any PDCP SDU in the buffer is associated with another PDCP SDU in the buffer of the second LCH that satisfies a certain condition. This condition may be, for example, that the other PDCP SDU satisfies a remaining time threshold (e.g., the remaining time until discard is less than the remaining time threshold) and / or that the second LCH has been adjusted to an additional priority of the second LCH. If the determination at 612 is yes, then process 600 may include switching the priority of the LCH from the default priority to an additional priority (e.g., at 608 of process 600). If the determination at 612 is no, then process 600 may include not switching the priority of the LCH from the default priority to an additional priority at 616.

[0073] The following are sample updates to 3GPP TS 38.321 (e.g., for Rel-19) (underlined text indicates new content):

[0074] If the LCH is configured with additional priority, the MAC entity should target each logical channel as follows:

[0075] 1> If the running PDCP has not yet been sent in any MAC PDU among all PDCP SDUs for the logical channel buffer. discardTimer At least one of the remaining values ​​becomes lower than logicalChannelRemainingTimeThres hold ;as well as

[0076] 1> If any PDCP SDU for a logical channel buffer is related to another PDCP for another logical channel buffer SDU (the PDCP of the other PDCP SDU) discardTimer The remaining value becomes lower than logicalChannelRemainingT imeThreshold ) belong to the same PDU set; and

[0077] 1> If the logical channel's priority is not set to additional priority:

[0078] 2> Set the priority of the logical channel to an additional priority.

[0079] In some implementations, PDCP rerouting rules based on packet dependencies (e.g., correlation) may be employed. For example, the rule may enforce how the PDCP entity performs packet rerouting for split bearers when the data volume exceeds an uplink data splitting threshold (e.g., ul-DataSplitThreshold). In some implementations, the rule may specify that related packets are submitted to the same RLC entity (e.g., and therefore they will be buffered for the same logical channel).

[0080] For example, according to this rule, if PDU set dropping is configured for DRB, then even when the data volume exceeds the uplink data splitting threshold (e.g., ul-DataSplitThreshold), all packets belonging to the same PDU set can be submitted to the primary RLC entity or the secondary RLC entity.

[0081] In some implementations, when PDCP rerouting rules are applied, techniques for adjusting LCH priorities based on relevant SDUs in other LCHs may not be necessary.

[0082] Figure 7 An operational flow / algorithm structure 700 according to some implementation schemes is illustrated. The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may be implemented by a transmitting entity (e.g., a UE (such as UE 104) and / or a network device (such as a base station 108, a device of the core network 112 and / or a device of the external data network 120)) or its components (e.g., baseband circuitry 904 and / or 1004).

[0083] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may include, at 704, identifying the correlation between a first PDCP SDU of the first LCH and a second PDCP SDU of the second LCH, wherein the first LCH is configured with a first priority and a second priority, and wherein the second priority is a higher priority than the first priority. In the example, the first PDCP SDU and the second PDCP SDU may be correlated based on being included in the same PDU set, based on inter-PDU set correlation, and / or based on multimodal correlation.

[0084] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include determining at 708 that the second PDCP SDU or the second LCH meets the conditions for LCH priority adjustment. In an example, this condition includes that the remaining time of the second PDCP SDU before it is discarded is less than a remaining time threshold. In some implementations, the UE may receive configuration information from the network to indicate the remaining time threshold. In another example, this condition includes that the priority of the second LCH has been adjusted to an elevated priority.

[0085] The operation process / algorithm structure 700 may also include adjusting the priority of the first LCH to the second priority at 712 based on the determination and the identifier.

[0086] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include, at 716, adjusting the priority of the first LCH to a second priority to output a first PDCP SDU for transmission. For example, the transmitting device may allocate the first PDCP SDU from the first LCH to radio resources for transmission based on the second priority.

[0087] In one example, the transmitting device may adjust the priority of the first LCH from second priority to first priority based on determining that the second PDCP SDU has been discarded. In another example, the transmitting device may adjust the priority of the first LCH from second priority to first priority based on determining that the first PDCP SDU has been sent or discarded.

[0088] In one example, the first LCH can be associated with the main RLC entity of the PDCP entity, and the second LCH can be associated with the secondary RLC entity of the PDCP entity. In another example, the first LCH can be associated with the secondary RLC entity, and the second LCH can be associated with the main RLC entity.

[0089] Figure 8 Another operational flow / algorithm structure 800 according to some implementation schemes is illustrated. The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may be implemented by a transmitting entity (e.g., a UE (such as UE 104) and / or network equipment (such as base station 108, equipment of core network 112 and / or equipment of external data network 120)) or its components (e.g., baseband circuitry 904 and / or 1004).

[0090] The operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may include identifying multiple interrelated groups at the PDCP entity at 804. In the example, multiple interrelated groups may belong to the same PDU set, multiple interdependent PDU sets, or multiple interdependent multimodal service flows.

[0091] The operation process / algorithm structure 800 may also include determining at 808 that the amount of data exceeds the data splitting threshold so that, in addition to activating the main RLC entity, the auxiliary RLC entity is also activated.

[0092] The operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may further include, at 812, submitting all interrelated packets from the identified multiple interrelated packets from the PDCP entity to either the primary RLC entity or the secondary RLC entity based on routing rules. In the example, the transmitting entity may also store all interrelated packets from the identified multiple interrelated packets in the transmit buffer of the logical channel associated with the primary or secondary RLC entity for transmission. In another example, the transmitting entity may determine that the remaining time before discarding a first packet among the identified multiple interrelated packets is less than a remaining time threshold. The transmitting entity may then raise the priority of the logical channel from a first priority to a second priority based on the determination that the remaining time before discarding the first packet is less than the remaining time threshold.

[0093] Figure 9 UE 900 is illustrated according to some implementation schemes. UE 900 may be similar to UE 104 and is substantially interchangeable with it.

[0094] UE 900 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as, for example, mobile phones, computers, tablets, industrial wireless sensors (e.g., microphones, carbon dioxide sensors, pressure sensors, humidity sensors, thermometers, motion sensors, accelerometers, laser scanners, fluid level sensors, inventory sensors, voltmeters / ammeters, or actuators), video surveillance / monitoring devices (e.g., cameras or camcorders), wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches), or Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

[0095] UE 900 may include a processor 904, RF interface circuitry 908, memory / storage device 912, user interface 916, sensor 920, drive circuitry 922, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 924, antenna 926, and battery 928. The components of UE 900 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of such integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logic components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, at least one processor 904 may include RF interface circuitry 908. Figure 9The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of some of the components in the UE 900. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other specific implementations.

[0096] The components of UE 900 can be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 932, which can represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmit line, trace, or optical connector, allowing various circuit components (on common or different chips or chipsets) to interact with each other.

[0097] Processor 904 may include processor circuitry, such as, for example, baseband processor circuitry (BB) 904A, central processing unit circuitry (CPU) 904B, and graphics processing unit circuitry (GPU) 904C. Processor 904 may include any type of circuitry or processor circuitry that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions from memory / storage 912, such as program code, software modules, or functional procedures, to cause UE 900 to perform LCH priority translation as described herein. Processor 904 may also include interface circuitry 904D to enable communication, such as communicatively coupling the processor circuitry to one or more other components of UE 900.

[0098] In some implementations, the baseband processor 904A can access the communication protocol stack 936 in the memory / storage device 912 to communicate over a 3GPP-compliant network. Generally, the baseband processor 904A can access the communication protocol stack 936 to perform user plane functions at the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, and PDU layers; and control plane functions at the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and NAS layers. In some implementations, PHY layer operations may additionally / optionally be performed by components of the RF interface circuitry 908.

[0099] The baseband processor 904A can generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in 3GPP-compliant networks. In some implementations, the waveforms used for NR can be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and Discrete Fourier Transform Extended OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0100] The memory / storage device 912 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions (e.g., a communication protocol stack 936) that can be executed by one or more processors in processor 904 to cause UE 900 to perform various LCH priority transitions as described herein.

[0101] The memory / storage device 912 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that can be distributed throughout the UE 900. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage devices 912 may be located on the processor 904 itself (e.g., the memory / storage device 912 may be part of a chipset corresponding to the baseband processor 904A), while other memory / storage devices 912 are located external to the processor 904 but are accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage device 912 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0102] RF interface circuitry 908 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM) that allows UE 900 to communicate with other devices via a radio access network. RF interface circuitry 908 may include various components arranged in the transmit or receive path. These components may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuitry, and control circuitry.

[0103] In the receiving path, the RFEM can receive the radiated signal from the air interface via antenna 926 and continue to filter and amplify the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). This signal can be provided to the receiver of the transceiver, which downconverts the RF signal into a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of processor 904.

[0104] In the transmission path, the transceiver's transmitter up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM can then amplify the RF signal using a power amplifier before it is radiated across the air interface via antenna 926.

[0105] In various implementations, the RF interface circuit 908 can be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0106] Antenna 926 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves for propagation through the air and to convert received radio waves back into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged in one or more antenna panels. Antenna 926 may have omnidirectional, directional, or combinations thereof antenna panels to enable beamforming and multiple-input multiple-output communication. Antenna 926 may include a microstrip antenna, patch antenna, phased array antenna, or a printed antenna fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards. Antenna 926 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band, including bands in FR1 or FR2.

[0107] User interface 916 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable users to interact with UE 900. User interface 916 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual components for accepting input, particularly including one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, keypad, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, microphone, scanner, or headset, etc. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual components for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). Output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, particularly including one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary status indicators such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs (e.g., display devices or touchscreens such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, and projectors)), wherein the output of characters, graphics, and multimedia objects, etc., is generated or produced by the operation of UE 900.

[0108] Sensor 920 may include devices, modules, or subsystems designed to detect events or changes in its environment and transmit information about the detected events (sensor data) to other devices, modules, or subsystems. Examples of such sensors include: inertial measurement units including accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) including 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless aperture sensors); light detection and ranging sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiation detectors); depth sensors; ambient light sensors; ultrasonic transceivers; and microphones or other similar audio capture devices.

[0109] The driving circuitry 922 may include software and hardware elements that operate to control specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 900. The driving circuitry 922 may include various drivers that allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may exist within or be connected to the UE 900. For example, the driving circuitry 922 may include a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touchscreen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of a sensor 920 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor 920, a driver for obtaining actuator positions of electromechanical components or controlling and allowing access to electromechanical components, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0110] The PMIC 924 manages the power supplied to various components of the UE 900. Specifically, relative to the processor 904, the PMIC 924 controls power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0111] Battery 928 can power UE 900, but in some examples, UE 900 may be installed and deployed in a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to the power grid. Battery 928 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, battery 928 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0112] Figure 10 A network device 1000 according to some implementation schemes is illustrated. The network device 1000 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with base station 108.

[0113] Network device 1000 may include processor 1004, RF interface circuit 1008 (if implemented as a base station), core network (CN) interface circuit 1014, memory / storage device circuit 1012 and antenna structure 1026.

[0114] The components of network device 1000 can be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1028.

[0115] The processor 1004, RF interface circuit 1008, memory / storage device circuit 1012 (including communication protocol stack 1010), antenna structure 1026, and interconnect 1028 can be similar to those relative to... Figure 9 Similar named elements are shown and described.

[0116] Processor 1004 may include processor circuitry, such as, for example, baseband processor circuitry (BB) 1004A, central processing unit circuitry (CPU) 1004B, and graphics processing unit circuitry (GPU) 1004C. Processor 1004 may include any type of circuitry or processor circuitry that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from memory / storage device circuitry 1012) to configure network device 1000 as described herein for the UE. Processor 1004 may also include interface circuitry 1004D to communicatively couple the processor circuitry to one or more other components of network device 1000.

[0117] The CN interface circuit 1014 can provide connectivity to a core network (e.g., a 5GC using a 5G core network (5GC) compatible network interface protocol (such as Carrier Ethernet) or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity can be provided to / from network device 1000 via fiber optic or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit 1014 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs to communicate using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuit 1014 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0118] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0119] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the Embodiments section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more examples below. As another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, or network element described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more embodiments described in the Embodiments section below. Example

[0120] Further exemplary implementations are provided in the following sections.

[0121] Example 1 includes a method comprising: associating a first Protocol Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data Unit (SDU) identifying a first logical channel (LCH) with a second PDCP SDU of a second LCH, wherein the first LCH is configured with a first priority and a second priority, and wherein the second priority is a higher priority than the first priority; determining that the second PDCP SDU satisfies the conditions for LCH priority adjustment; adjusting the priority of the first LCH to the second priority based on the determination and the identification; and outputting the first PDCP SDU for transmission based on the adjustment of the priority of the first LCH to the second priority.

[0122] Example 2 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the second PDCPSDU is associated with the first PDCP SDU based on being included in the same set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs).

[0123] Example 3 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the second PDCPSDU is associated with the first PDCP SDU based on inter-set correlation or multimodal correlation of protocol data units (PDUs).

[0124] Example 4 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment of this document, wherein the condition includes that the remaining time of the second PDCP SDU until it is discarded is less than a remaining time threshold.

[0125] Example 5 includes the method according to Example 4 or some other embodiment herein, the method further including receiving configuration information from the network to indicate the remaining time threshold.

[0126] Example 6 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, the method further including adjusting the priority of the first LCH from the second priority to the first priority based on determining that the second PDCP SDU has been discarded.

[0127] Example 7 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, the method further including adjusting the priority of the first LCH from the second priority to the first priority based on determining that the first PDCP SDU has been sent or dropped.

[0128] Example 8 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, the method further including allocating the first PDCP SDU from the first LCH to radio resources for transmission based on the second priority.

[0129] Example 9 includes the method according to Example 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the first LCH is associated with the primary radio link control (RLC) entity of the PDCP entity and the second LCH is associated with the secondary RLC entity of the PDCP entity.

[0130] Example 10 includes an apparatus comprising processor circuitry for performing the following operations: storing a first Protocol Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data Unit (SDU) in a first buffer of a first Logical Channel (LCH) for transmission, wherein the first LCH is configured with a first default priority and a first additional priority; identifying a correlation between the first PDCP SDU and a second PDCP SDU, wherein the second PDCP SDU is stored in a second buffer of the second LCH; determining that the second PDCP SDU satisfies a condition for LCH priority adjustment, or that the priority of the second LCH has been adjusted to a second additional priority configured for the second LCH; adjusting the priority of the first LCH to the first additional priority based on the determination and the correlation; and outputting the first PDCP SDU for transmission based on the first additional priority. In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include interface circuitry coupled to the processor circuitry to enable communication.

[0131] Example 11 includes the apparatus according to Example 10 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the correlation includes the first PDCP SDU and the second PDCP SDU being included in the same set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs).

[0132] Example 12 includes the apparatus according to Example 10 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the correlation includes correlation between sets of Protocol Data Units (PDUs) or multimodal correlation.

[0133] Example 13 includes the apparatus according to Example 10 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the determination includes determining that the second PDCP SDU satisfies the condition of the LCH priority adjustment, wherein the condition includes that the remaining time of the second PDCP SDU until it is discarded is less than a remaining time threshold.

[0134] Example 14 includes the apparatus according to Example 10 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the determination includes determining that the priority of the second LCH has been adjusted to the second additional priority.

[0135] Example 15 includes the apparatus according to Example 10 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to adjust the priority of the first LCH from the first additional priority to the first default priority based on: determining that the second PDCP SDU has been discarded; determining that the priority of the second LCH has been adjusted from the second additional priority to the second default priority; or determining that the first PDCP SDU has been sent or discarded.

[0136] Example 16 includes the apparatus according to Example 10 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the first LCH is associated with the primary radio link control (RLC) entity of the PDCP entity and the second LCH is associated with the secondary RLC entity of the PDCP entity.

[0137] Example 17 includes one or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause processor circuitry to: identify a plurality of cross-correlated packets at a Protocol Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity; determine that the amount of data exceeds a data splitting threshold to activate a secondary RLC entity in addition to activating a primary Radio Link Control (RLC) entity; and, based on routing rules, submit all cross-correlated packets from the PDCP entity to either the primary RLC entity or the secondary RLC entity.

[0138] Example 18 includes one or more computer-readable media according to Example 17 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the plurality of interrelated packets belong to the same set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs), a plurality of interdependent PDU sets, or a plurality of interdependent multimodal service flows.

[0139] Example 19 includes one or more computer-readable media according to Example 17 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor circuitry to: store all of the identified plurality of cross-correlation packets in a transmit buffer of a logical channel associated with the primary RLC entity or the secondary RLC entity for transmission.

[0140] Example 20 includes one or more computer-readable media according to Example 19 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor circuitry to: determine that the remaining time until the first packet of a plurality of identified cross-correlation packets is less than a remaining time threshold; and based on the determination that the remaining time until the first packet is less than the remaining time threshold, raise the priority of the logical channel from a first priority to a second priority.

[0141] Example 21 includes a method comprising: storing a first Protocol Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data Unit (SDU) in a first buffer of a first Logical Channel (LCH) for transmission, wherein the first LCH is configured with a first default priority and a first additional priority; identifying a second PDCP SDU associated with the first PDCP SDU, wherein the second PDCP SDU is stored in a second buffer of the second LCH; determining that the second PDCP SDU satisfies the conditions for LCH priority adjustment, or that the priority of the second LCH has been adjusted to a second additional priority configured for the second LCH; and based on the determination, adjusting the priority of the first LCH to the first additional priority.

[0142] Example 22 includes the method according to Example 21 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the second PDCP SDU is associated with the first PDCP SDU based on being included in the same set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs).

[0143] Example 23 includes the method according to Example 21 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the second PDCP SDU is correlated with the first PDCP SDU based on inter-set correlation or multimodal correlation of PDUs.

[0144] Example 24 includes the method according to Example 21 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the determination includes determining that the second PDCP SDU satisfies the condition of the LCH priority adjustment, wherein the condition includes that the remaining time of the second PDCP SDU until it is discarded is less than a remaining time threshold.

[0145] Example 25 includes the method according to Example 21 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the determination includes determining that the priority of the second LCH has been adjusted to the second additional priority.

[0146] Example 26 includes the method according to Example 21 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising adjusting the priority of the first LCH from the first additional priority to the first default priority based on: determining that the second PDCP SDU has been discarded; determining that the priority of the second LCH has been adjusted from the second additional priority to the second default priority; or determining that the first PDCP SDU has been sent or discarded.

[0147] Example 27 includes the method according to Example 21 or some other embodiment herein, the method further including allocating the first PDCP SDU from the first LCH to radio resources for transmission based on the first additional priority.

[0148] Example 28 includes the method according to Example 21 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the first LCH is associated with the primary radio link control (RLC) entity of the PDCP entity and the second LCH is associated with the secondary RLC entity of the PDCP entity.

[0149] Example 29 includes a method comprising: identifying a plurality of cross-correlation packets at a Protocol Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity; determining that the amount of data exceeds a data splitting threshold to activate a secondary RLC entity in addition to activating a primary Radio Link Control (RLC) entity; and submitting all cross-correlation packets of the identified plurality of cross-correlation packets to either the primary RLC entity or the secondary RLC entity.

[0150] Example 30 includes the method according to Example 29 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the plurality of interrelated groups belong to the same PDU set, a plurality of interdependent PDU sets, or a plurality of interdependent multimodal service flows.

[0151] Example 31 includes the method according to Example 29 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: storing all cross-correlation packets of the identified plurality of cross-correlation packets in a transmit buffer of a logical channel associated with the primary RLC entity or the secondary RLC entity for transmission.

[0152] Example 32 includes the method according to Example 31 or some other embodiment of this document, the method further comprising: determining that the remaining time until the first packet of the identified plurality of cross-correlation packets is less than a remaining time threshold; and adjusting the priority of the logical channel from a default priority to an additional priority based on the determination that the remaining time until the first packet is less than the remaining time threshold.

[0153] Another embodiment may include an apparatus comprising one or more elements for performing the methods described or associated with any of Embodiments 1 to 32 or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0154] Another embodiment may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of the methods described or associated with any of Embodiments 1 to 32 or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0155] Another embodiment may include an apparatus comprising one or more elements for performing the methods described or associated with any of Embodiments 1 to 32 or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0156] Another embodiment may include the methods, techniques or processes described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 32 or any part or component thereof.

[0157] Another embodiment may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the methods, techniques, or processes described or associated with any one or more of embodiments 1 to 32.

[0158] Another embodiment may include signals described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 32 or any part or component thereof.

[0159] Another embodiment may include datagrams, information elements, packets, frames, segments, PDUs, or messages described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 32 or any part or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0160] Another embodiment may include a data-encoded signal described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 32 or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0161] Another embodiment may include signals encoded as datagrams, IEs, packets, frames, segments, PDUs, or messages as described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 32 or any part or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0162] Another embodiment may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform the methods, techniques or processes described or associated with any one or more of embodiments 1 to 32.

[0163] Another embodiment may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element will cause the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described or associated with any one or a portion thereof according to Embodiments 1 to 32.

[0164] Another embodiment may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0165] Another embodiment may include a method for communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0166] Another embodiment may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0167] Another embodiment may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0168] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the embodiments described above may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. In view of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations may be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0169] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully understood. It is intended that the following claims be construed as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method, the method comprising: A first Protocol Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data Unit (SDU) identifying a first logical channel (LCH) is associated with a second PDCP SDU of a second LCH, wherein the first LCH is configured with a first priority and a second priority, and wherein the second priority is a higher priority than the first priority; Determine that the second PDCP SDU meets the conditions for LCH priority adjustment; Based on the determination and the identifier, the priority of the first LCH is adjusted to the second priority; as well as Based on the adjustment of the priority of the first LCH to the second priority, the first PDCPSDU is output for transmission.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second PDCP SDU is associated with the first PDCP SDU based on being included in the same set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second PDCP SDU is correlated with the first PDCP SDU based on the correlation between protocol data unit (PDU) sets or multimodal correlation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition includes the remaining time until the second PDCP SDU is discarded being less than a remaining time threshold.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising receiving configuration information from the network to indicate the remaining time threshold.

6. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising adjusting the priority of the first LCH from the second priority to the first priority based on determining that the second PDCP SDU has been discarded.

7. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising adjusting the priority of the first LCH from the second priority to the first priority based on determining that the first PDCP SDU has been sent or discarded.

8. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising allocating the first PDCP SDU from the first LCH to radio resources for transmission based on the second priority.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first LCH is associated with the primary radio link control (RLC) entity of the PDCP entity and the second LCH is associated with the secondary RLC entity of the PDCP entity.

10. An apparatus comprising processor circuitry for performing the following operations: The first Protocol Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data Unit (SDU) is stored in a first buffer of the first Logical Channel (LCH) for transmission, wherein the first LCH is configured with a first default priority and a first additional priority; Identify the correlation between the first PDCP SDU and the second PDCP SDU, wherein the second PDCP SDU is stored in the second buffer of the second LCH; Determine that the second PDCP SDU meets the conditions for LCH priority adjustment, or that the priority of the second LCH has been adjusted to the second additional priority configured for the second LCH; Based on the determination and the correlation, the priority of the first LCH is adjusted to the first additional priority; as well as The first PDCP SDU is output based on the first additional priority for transmission.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the correlation includes the first PDCP SDU and the second PDCP SDU being included in the same set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs).

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the correlation includes correlation between sets of protocol data units (PDUs) or multimodal correlation.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the determination includes determining that the second PDCP SDU satisfies the condition of the LCH priority adjustment, wherein the condition includes that the remaining time of the second PDCP SDU until it is discarded is less than a remaining time threshold.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the determination includes determining that the priority of the second LCH has been adjusted to the second additional priority.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to adjust the priority of the first LCH from the first additional priority to the first default priority based on: It has been determined that the second PDCP SDU has been discarded; It has been determined that the priority of the second LCH has been adjusted from the second additional priority to the second default priority; or Determine whether the first PDCP SDU has been sent or discarded.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first LCH is associated with the primary radio link control (RLC) entity of the PDCP entity and the second LCH is associated with the secondary RLC entity of the PDCP entity.

17. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause processor circuitry to: Multiple interrelated groups are identified at the Protocol Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity; The data volume was determined to exceed the data splitting threshold, thus activating both the primary Radio Link Control (RLC) entity and the secondary RLC entity; and Based on routing rules, all cross-correlated packets among the identified cross-correlated packets are submitted from the PDCP entity to either the primary RLC entity or the secondary RLC entity.

18. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 17, wherein the plurality of interrelated packets belong to the same set of protocol data units (PDUs), a plurality of interdependent PDU sets, or a plurality of interdependent multimodal service flows.

19. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor circuitry to: All cross-correlation packets identified are stored in the transmit buffer of the logical channel associated with the primary RLC entity or the secondary RLC entity for transmission.

20. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 19, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor circuitry to: Determine that the remaining time until the first of the identified cross-correlation groups is discarded is less than a remaining time threshold; and The priority of the logical channel is increased from the first priority to the second priority based on the determination that the remaining time until the first packet is discarded is less than the remaining time threshold.

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