Aggregation link establishment and communication between radio bearer and user device layer entities - Patents.com

Abstract

This document generally relates to establishing an aggregation link between layer entities of two user devices and communicating data packets over the aggregation link. One user device can function as a primary user device that performs transmission with a radio access node. The other user device can function as a secondary user device that communicates data packets between the radio access node and the primary user device for transmission. The radio access node can communicate data packets between a protocol stack configuration of the primary user device and a protocol stack configuration of the secondary user device for transmission.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Technical Field This document is generally directed to aggregation links for wireless communications between user devices. [Background technology]

[0002] background New Radio (NR) supports various types of user devices, examples of which include mobile devices, wearable devices, customer premises equipment, vehicular devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These different types of user devices have different capabilities, and some types may not be able to support high performance capabilities, such as transmission power, bandwidth, data rate, or uplink coverage. Thus, a way for user devices to communicate at higher data rates than their otherwise dictated performance capabilities may be desirable. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] This document relates to methods, systems, apparatus, and devices for wireless communication. In some implementations, a method for wireless communication includes establishing, with a first user device, an aggregation link between a first layer entity of the first user device and a second layer entity of a second user device, and communicating, with the first user device, data packets with the second user device via the aggregation link.

[0004] In another implementation, a method for wireless communication includes communicating a data packet between a first layer entity of a first protocol stack configuration of a radio access node and a second layer entity of a second protocol stack configuration of the radio access node, where the first protocol stack configuration is for a first user device and the second protocol stack configuration is for a second user device, the data packet being for transmission between the radio access node and the first user device, and communicating the data packet with the second user device using the second protocol stack configuration.

[0005] In some other implementations, a device, such as a network device, is disclosed. The device may include one or more processors and one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to read computer code from the one or more memories to perform any one of the methods described above.

[0006] In yet some other implementations, a computer program product is disclosed. The computer program product may include a non-transitory computer-readable program medium having computer code stored thereon, the computer code, when executed by one or more processors, causing the one or more processors to perform any one of the methods described above.

[0007] These and other aspects and their implementations are described in more detail in the drawings, description, and claims. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0009] [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an example of a protocol stack for a communication node.

[0010] [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an example protocol stack configuration for a primary user device, a secondary user device, and a wireless access node.

[0011] [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a second example of a protocol stack configuration for a primary user device, a secondary user device, and a wireless access node.

[0012] [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a third example of a protocol stack configuration for a primary user device, a secondary user device, and a wireless access node.

[0013] [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a fourth example protocol stack configuration for a primary user device, a secondary user device, and a wireless access node.

[0014] [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a fifth example protocol stack configuration for a primary user device, a secondary user device, and a wireless access node.

[0015] [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a sixth example of a protocol stack configuration for a primary user device, a secondary user device, and a wireless access node.

[0016] [Figure 9] FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a method for wireless communication.

[0017] [Figure 10] FIG. 10 illustrates a flow chart of an example method for wireless communication. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Detailed Description This specification describes various embodiments of systems, apparatus, devices, and methods for wireless communication including aggregation links between user devices. Such apparatus, systems, and / or methods can enable higher data rates and / or greater reliability for a primary user device and / or enable communication between a primary user device and a network even when the primary user device is out of network coverage.

[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary wireless communication system 100 including multiple communication nodes (or simply nodes) configured to wirelessly communicate with each other. In general, the communication nodes include at least one user device 102 and at least one radio access node 104. The exemplary wireless communication system 100 of FIG. 1 is illustrated as including two user devices 102, including a first user device 102(1) and a second user device 102(2), and one radio access node 104. However, various other examples of wireless communication systems 100 including any of various combinations of user devices 102 and radio access nodes 104 include two or more user devices 102 without a radio access node 104, only one user device 102 and only one radio access node 104, only one user device 102 and two or more radio access nodes 104, two or more user devices 102 and one or more radio access nodes 104, or two or more radio access nodes 104 without a user device 102.

[0020] In general, a user device as described herein, such as user device 102, may include a single electronic device or apparatus or multiple electronic devices or apparatuses (e.g., a network of electronic devices or apparatuses) that can communicate wirelessly over a network. A user device may include or otherwise be referred to as a user terminal, user terminal device, or user equipment (UE). Additionally, a user device may be or include, but is not limited to, a mobile device (such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a smart watch, a tablet, a laptop computer, a vehicle or other vessel (such as, by way of non-limiting example, a human, motor, or engine-powered vehicle or other vessel, such as an automobile, an airplane, a train, a boat, or a bicycle) or a fixed or stationary device (such as, by way of non-limiting example, an appliance, other relatively heavy device including the Internet of Things (IoT), or a desktop computer or other computing device that is not typically moved for long periods of time, such as a computing device used in a commercial or industrial environment). In various embodiments, the user device 102 may include a transceiver circuit 106 coupled to an antenna 108 for wireless communication with the wireless access node 104. The transceiver circuitry 106 may also be coupled to a processor 110, which may be coupled to a memory 112 or other storage device. The memory 112 may store instructions or code that, when read and executed by the processor 110, cause the processor 110 to perform various of the methods described herein.

[0021] Additionally, in general, a radio access node as described herein, such as the radio access node 104, may include a single electronic device or apparatus, or multiple electronic devices or apparatuses (e.g., a network of electronic devices or apparatuses), and may include one or more base stations or other wireless network access points that may communicate wirelessly with one or more user devices and / or one or more other radio access nodes 104 over a network. For example, the radio access node 104 may comprise a 4G LTE base station, a 5G NR base station, a 5G central unit base station, a 5G distributed unit base station, a next generation node B (gNB), an enhanced node B (eNB), or other similar or next generation (e.g., 6G) base station, in various embodiments. The radio access node 104 may include a transceiver circuit 114 coupled to an antenna 116, which may include an antenna tower 118 in various manners, for conducting wireless communication with a user device 102 or another radio access node 104. The transceiver circuit 114 may also be coupled to one or more processors 120, which may be coupled to a memory 122 or other storage device. The memory 122 may store instructions or code that, when read and executed by the processor 120, causes the processor 120 to implement one or more of the methods described herein.

[0022] In various embodiments, two communication nodes in the wireless system 100, such as a user device 102 and a radio access node 104, two user devices 102 without a radio access node 104, or two radio access nodes 104 without a user device 102, may be configured to wirelessly communicate with each other in or over a mobile network and / or radio access network in accordance with one or more standards and / or specifications. In general, the standards and / or specifications may define rules or procedures by which the communication nodes may wirelessly communicate, which in various embodiments may include those for communicating in millimeter (mm) wave bands and / or with multi-antenna schemes and beamforming capabilities. Additionally or alternatively, the standards and / or specifications may define radio access and / or cellular technologies, such as, by way of non-limiting examples, Fourth Generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE), Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR), or New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U).

[0023] Furthermore, in the wireless system 100, the communication nodes are configured to wirelessly communicate signals with each other. In general, communication in the wireless system 100 between two communication nodes can be or include transmission or reception, and generally both occur simultaneously, depending on the perspective of the particular node in the communication. For example, for a given communication between a first node and a second node, where the first node is transmitting a signal to the second node and the second node is receiving a signal from the first node, the first node may be referred to as a source or transmitting node or device, the second node may be referred to as a destination or receiving node or device, and the communication may be considered as a transmission for the first node and a reception for the second node. Of course, since the communication nodes in the wireless system 100 can transmit and receive signals, a single communication node can be both a transmitting / source node and a receiving / destination node at the same time, or can switch between a source / transmitting node and a destination / receiving node.

[0024] Also, a particular signal may be characterized or defined as either an uplink (UL) signal, a downlink (DL) signal, or a sidelink (SL) signal. An uplink signal is a signal transmitted from a user device 102 to a radio access node 104. A downlink signal is a signal transmitted from a radio access node 104 to a user device 102. A sidelink signal is a signal transmitted from one user device 102 to another user device 102 or from one radio access node 104 to another radio access node 104. Also, for sidelink transmission, the first / source user device 102 transmits the sidelink signal directly to the second / destination user device 102 without forwarding the sidelink signal to the radio access node 104.

[0025] Furthermore, as used herein, a direct connection or link over which two user devices 102 communicate (transmit and receive) sidelink signals is referred to as an aggregation link. When two user devices 102 establish an aggregation link with each other, the two user devices 102 can directly communicate or exchange data or other information between them by communicating one or more sidelink signals over or through the aggregation link.

[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example protocol stack 200 of multiple layer entities or modules of a communication node (e.g., user device 102 or wireless access node 104), including a physical layer (PHY) entity or module (also referred to herein simply as a PHY layer, PHY module, or PHY entity) 202, a medium access control (MAC) layer entity or module (also referred to herein simply as a MAC layer, MAC module, or MAC entity) 204, a radio link control (RLC) layer entity or module (also referred to herein simply as an RLC layer, RLC entity, or RLC module) 206, a packaged data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer entity or module (also referred to herein simply as a PDCP layer, PDCP entity, or PDCP module) 208, and a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) / radio resource control (RRC) layer entity or module (also referred to herein simply as an SDAP / RRC layer, SDAP / RRC entity, or SDAP / RRC module) 210.

[0027] In general, as used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "layer," "entity," and "module," used alone or in combination with each other, for one or more components of a communication node, may be electronic devices, such as electronic circuits, including hardware or a combination of hardware and software. In various embodiments, a module or entity may be implemented using a portion, component, or one or more of the components of the communication node of FIG. 1, including the processor 110 / 120, memory 112 / 122, transceiver circuitry 106 / 114, or antenna 108 / 116. For example, the processor 110 / 120 may perform the functions of the module or entity, such as when executing computer code stored in the memory 112 / 116. Furthermore, in various embodiments, the functions performed by the module or entity may be defined by one or more standards or protocols, such as 5GNR.

[0028] 2. Additionally, the layer entities 202-210 of FIG. 2 may be higher (or upper) and lower layers relative to one another, in which case the PHY layer entity 202 is the lowest layer of the layer entities 202-210, the MAC layer entity 204 is higher than the PHY layer entity 202 and lower than the other layer entities 206-210, the RLC layer entity 206 is higher than the PHY layer entity and the MAC layer entities 202, 204 and lower than the PDCP layer entity and the SDAP / RRC layer entities 208, 210, and the PDCP layer entity 208 is higher than the PHY, MAC, and RRC layer entities 202-206 and lower than the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210, which is the highest layer entity of the layer entities 202-210 shown in FIG. 2. In various embodiments, the communication nodes of system 100 may include fewer or more modules and / or layer entities than those shown in FIG.

[0029] 2 may perform various functions and communicate with each other, such as by communicating signals, messages, or data packets to each other to transmit and receive data packets. The PHY layer entity or module 202 may perform various functions, including encoding and decoding transport blocks transmitted to or received from another communication node, modulating and demodulating data according to any of a variety of modulation schemes or types, such as, by way of non-limiting examples, quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), channel estimation on received data to determine channel state information on one or more channels over which the communication node receives signals, and signal recovery of different signals that the transmitting communication node may transmit over multiple antenna elements.

[0030] The MAC layer entity or module 204 may perform or process logical channel multiplexing and demultiplexing, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmission, and scheduling related functions, including allocation of uplink and downlink resources in both frequency and time domains. Additionally, the MAC layer entity or module 204 may determine a transport format that specifies how a transport block should be transmitted. The transport format may specify the transport block size, coding and modulation mode, and antenna mapping. By varying the parameters of the transport format, the MAC layer entity or module 204 may result in different data rates. The MAC layer entity or module 204 may also control the distribution of data from a flow across different component carriers or cells for carrier aggregation.

[0031] The RLC layer entity or module 206 may perform segmentation of service data units (SDUs) into protocol data units (PDUs) of appropriate size. In various embodiments, data entities to and from higher protocol layers or modules are referred to as SDUs, and corresponding data entities to and from lower protocol layers or modules are referred to as PDUs. The RLC layer entity or module 206 may also perform retransmission management, including monitoring sequence numbers in PDUs to identify missing PDUs. Additionally, the RLC layer entity or module 206 may communicate status reports to enable retransmission of missing PDUs. The RLC layer entity or module 206 may also be configured to identify errors due to noise or channel variations.

[0032] The PDCP layer entity or module 208 can perform functions including, but not limited to, Internet Protocol (IP) header compression and decompression, encryption and decryption, integrity protection, retransmission management, in-sequence delivery, duplicate elimination, dual connectivity, and handover functions.

[0033] The SDAP / RRC layer entity or module 210 may perform functions designated for an SDAP layer entity or module, including mapping traffic from a quality of service (QoS) flow to an appropriate data radio bearer (DRB), and / or may perform functions designated for an RRC layer entity or module, including determining and / or controlling the determination of a configuration for two communication nodes to communicate with each other, and configuring the lower layer entities or modules 202-208 according to the determined configuration. In some embodiments, the SDAP / RRC layer entity or module 210 may perform the functions of an SDAP layer entity and the functions of an RRC layer entity. In other embodiments, the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210 may perform the functions of an SDAP layer entity but not the functions of an RRC layer entity, or may perform the functions of an RRC layer entity but not the SDAP layer entity. In at least some of these embodiments, the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210 is an SDAP layer entity that performs the functions of an SDAP layer entity for a configuration in which the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210 is part of a data radio bearer (DRB) or is an RRC layer entity that performs the functions of an RRC layer entity for a configuration in which the SDAP / RRC layer entity is part of a signaling radio bearer (SRB). In yet other embodiments, the communication node may organize or configure the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210 into two separate layer entities, including an SDAP layer entity and an RRC layer entity.

[0034] Further, in various embodiments, a communication node may have a protocol stack configuration that describes or identifies the layer entities of the communication node. The protocol stack may also describe or identify how the layer entities are organized or configured with respect to one or more radio bearers (RBs) of the communication node. Generally, in a communication node, a radio bearer includes at least one layer entity. In at least some embodiments, the at least one layer entity may include one or more layers above a MAC layer entity. Also, multiple radio bearers of the same communication node may have the same type of layer entity. For example, multiple radio bearers of a communication node may each have an RLC layer entity. Also, in some embodiments, two radio bearers of a communication node may have one or more different layer entities from each other. For example, one radio bearer may include an SDAP layer entity and another radio bearer may or may not include an RRC layer entity. Further, in various embodiments, two user devices configured to communicate with each other may have the same or different protocol stack configurations.

[0035] Additionally, in various embodiments, a radio access node may have a protocol stack configuration for each user device with which it is configured to communicate. The protocol stack configuration of the radio access node for a given user device may match the protocol stack configuration of the given user device, or at least a portion of the protocol stack configuration of the given user device.

[0036] Furthermore, as described in further detail below, two user devices may establish an aggregation link with each other. The aggregation link may be between radio bearers of the two user devices and / or between two layer entities of the two user devices. The radio bearers over which the user devices establish an aggregation link are called aggregation radio bearers. Also, the aggregation radio bearers used by the two communication nodes to establish the aggregation link may be referred to as being associated with each other. This association may be set by the radio access node. For example, the radio access node may determine the radio bearers of the two user devices with which to establish an aggregation link, and the radio bearers are aggregation radio bearers associated with each other. Additionally or alternatively, two radio bearers of or that are part of the same user device may be associated with each other. Such two associated radio bearers of the same user device may be configured to communicate data packets with each other. Additionally or alternatively, two user devices may establish an aggregation link between layer entities. For example, two user devices may establish an aggregation link between a first layer entity of a first user device and a second layer entity of a second user device. The two layer entities used by the two communication nodes to establish the aggregation link may be referred to as being associated with each other. This association may be set by the radio access node in various embodiments. Also, in some embodiments, one layer entity of one user device is a PDCP layer entity and the other layer entity of the other user device is an RLC layer entity. In other embodiments, both layer entities are PDCP layer entities. In yet other embodiments, both layer entities are PHY layer entities. Moreover, in at least some embodiments, the layer entities over which the aggregation link is established are part of respective aggregated radio bearers.Additionally or alternatively, two layer entities of the same user device, or two layer entities that are part of the same user device, may be associated with each other, and such associated layer entities of the same user device may be configured to communicate data packets with each other.

[0037] Also, the two user devices that establish an aggregation link may take the role of a primary user device and a secondary user device. The secondary user device forwards data for the primary user device. In the case of an uplink transmission, the secondary user device may receive data from the primary user device via the aggregation link and then forward the received data to the radio access node. In the case of a downlink transmission, the secondary user device may receive data from the radio access node and then forward the received data to the primary user device via the aggregation link. In the case of a sidelink transmission, the secondary user device may receive data from the primary user device via the aggregation link and then forward the received data to the third UE, or the secondary UE may receive data from the third UE and then forward the received data to the primary user device via the aggregation link. In various embodiments, there may be multiple secondary user devices, and the primary user device simultaneously establishes multiple aggregation links with each of the multiple secondary user devices. In other embodiments, there may be multiple primary user devices, such that the secondary user device simultaneously establishes multiple aggregation links with each of the multiple primary user devices. Furthermore, in various embodiments, a user device may be (take on the role of) both a primary user device and a secondary user device simultaneously.

[0038] 3-8 illustrate various exemplary protocol stack configurations for a first user device 102(1), a second user device 102(2), and a radio access node 104 configured to communicate with each other. FIGs. 3-8 also illustrate an aggregation link established between associated layer entities and / or aggregation radio bearers of the two user devices 102(1), 102(1). Additionally, each of FIGs. 3-8 illustrates an uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) path through particular layer entities of the first and second user devices 102(1), 102(2) and the radio access node 104. The radio access node 104 also includes two protocol stack configurations 302, including a first protocol stack configuration 302(1) for or corresponding to the first user device 102(1) and a second protocol stack configuration 302(2) for or corresponding to the second user device 102(2). Additionally, as described in further detail below, in the embodiments of Figures 3-8, the first user device 102(1) serves as a primary user device and the second user device 102(2) serves as a secondary user device. In this regard, the first user device 102(1) may also be referred to as the primary user device 102(1) and the second user device 102(2) may also be referred to as the secondary user device 102(2). Additionally, as shown in each of Figures 3-8, each of the UL and DL paths terminates at a protocol stack configuration of the first user device 102(1) and a first protocol stack configuration of the first user device 302(1) of the wireless access node 104 and extends through a second protocol stack configuration 302(2) of the wireless access node and a protocol stack configuration of the second user device 102(2).

[0039] With particular reference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, each of the primary user device 102(1) and the secondary user device 102(2) includes two radio bearers (RBs) 304, 306. Specifically, the primary user device 102(1) includes a first RB 304(U1) and a second RB 306(U1). Similarly, the secondary user device 102(2) includes a first RB 304(U2) and a second RB 306(U2). Correspondingly, the first protocol stack configuration 302(1) and the second protocol stack configuration 302(2) of the wireless access node 104 each include two RBs 304, 306. The first protocol stack configuration 302(1) includes a first RB 304(N1) and a second RB 306(N1), and the second protocol stack configuration 302(2) includes a first RB 304(N2) and a second RB 306(N2).

[0040] Further, the primary and secondary user devices 102(1), 102(2) each include a PHY layer entity 202 and a MAC layer entity 204. The primary user device 102(1) includes a PHY layer entity 202(U1) and a MAC layer entity 204(U1), and the secondary user device 102(2) includes a PHY layer entity 202(U2) and a MAC layer entity 204(U2). Correspondingly, the first protocol stack configuration 302(1) and the second protocol stack configuration 302(2) of the wireless access node 104 each include a PHY layer entity 202 and a MAC layer entity 204. The first protocol stack configuration 302(1) includes a PHY layer entity 202(N1) and a MAC layer entity 204(N1), and the second protocol stack configuration 302(2) includes a PHY layer entity 202(N2) and a MAC layer entity 204(N2).

[0041] Further, with respect to the primary user device 102(1), the first RB 304(U1) and the second RB 306(U1) each include a respective RLC layer entity 206(U11), 206(U12), a respective PDCP layer entity 208(U11), 208(U12), and a respective SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U11), 210(U12). Correspondingly, for the first protocol stack configuration 302(1), the first and second RBs 304(N1), 306(N1) include respective RLC layer entities 206(N11), 206(N12), PDCP layer entities 208(N11), 208(N12), and SDAP / RRC layer entities 210(N11), 210(N12) that match the protocol stack configurations of the first and second RBs 304(U1), 304(U2) of the primary user device 102(1).

[0042] With respect to the secondary user device 102(2), the first RB 304(U2) includes an RLC layer entity 206(U21), a PDCP layer entity 208(U21), and an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U21). Also, the second RB 306(U2) includes only an RLC layer entity 206(U22). That is, it is not configured with a PDCP layer entity 208 or an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210. Correspondingly, in the second protocol stack configuration 302(2), the first RB 304(N2) includes an RLC layer entity 206(N21), a PDCP layer entity 208(N21), and an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(N21), and the second RB 306(N2) includes an RLC layer entity 206(N22) but is not configured with a PDCP layer entity or an SDAP / RRC layer entity.

[0043] Furthermore, for the primary user device 102(1), the first RB 304(U1) is used for "normal" transmissions, i.e., uplink and downlink transmissions between the primary user device 102(1) and the radio access node 104 without using the second user device 102(2). The second RB 306(U1) is an aggregation RB used to establish an aggregation link with the second user device 102(2). Similarly, for the secondary user device 102(2), the second RB 304(U2) is used for "normal" transmissions, i.e., uplink and downlink transmissions between the secondary user device 102(2) and the radio access node 104. The second RB 306(U2) is an aggregation RB used to establish an aggregation link with the primary user device 102(1). Thus, in at least some embodiments, the second RBs 306(U1), 306(U2) may be associated with each other. Further, the radio access node 104 may be configured to associate the second aggregation RBs 306(U1), 306(U2) with each other. Additionally or alternatively, in various embodiments of the configuration of FIG. 3, the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) is associated with the RLC layer entity 206(U22). This association allows the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the secondary user device 102(2) to provide services to the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the primary user device 102(1).

[0044] 3, primary user device 102(1) and secondary user device 102(2) establish an aggregation link between PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of primary user device 102(1) and RLC layer entity 206(U22) of secondary user device 102(2). Thus, logically, PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of primary user device 102(1) is connected to RLC layer entity 206(U22) of secondary user device 102(2).

[0045] The primary and secondary user devices 102(1), 102(2) may be configured to communicate data packets with each other via an aggregation link. That is, via the aggregation link, the primary user device 102(1) can transmit data packets to the secondary user device 102(2) and / or the secondary user device 102(2) can transmit data packets to the primary user device 102(1). As described in further detail below, the aggregation link may include one or more data tunnels through which data packets are communicated. In some embodiments, including embodiments in which the primary user device 102(1) and the secondary user device 102(2) each include more than one aggregation RB, the primary user device 102(1) and the secondary user device 102(2) can establish multiple data tunnels for packet transmission. Each data tunnel may correspond to a pair of associated aggregation RBs, where one associated aggregation RB of the pair is at primary user device 102(1) and the other associated aggregation RB of the pair is at secondary user device 102(2). The primary and secondary user devices 102(1), 102(2) may then transmit data packets over the corresponding data tunnel in the aggregation link.

[0046] Further, in various embodiments, the data tunnel may be identified by a data tunnel index. In some embodiments, each data packet transmitted on a given data tunnel includes, indicates, and / or is labeled with the data tunnel index of the given data tunnel. The data packet may be transmitted with the data tunnel index. For example, the data tunnel index may be part of the header of the data packet. As an example, the primary and secondary user devices 102(1), 102(2) may establish a first data tunnel 1 having a first data tunnel index 1 for an aggregation link between the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) and the RLC layer entity 206(U22). Correspondingly, the data tunnel index 1 is communicated along with the data packet between the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) and the RLC layer entity (U22).

[0047] Additionally or alternatively, for a given data packet transmitted on a data tunnel of an aggregation link between a source aggregation RB and a target aggregation RB, the given data packet may be identified, indicated, and / or labeled by a source RB index of the source aggregation RB or a target RB index of the target aggregation RB. The data packet may be transmitted with the source RB index or the target RB index. For example, the source RB index or the target RB index may be part of the header of the data packet. For example, for a given data packet transmitted from a PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the primary user device 102(1) to an RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the secondary user device 102(2), the second RB 306(U1) is the source aggregation RB and the second RB 306(U2) is the target aggregation RB. The data packet may be transmitted with an index of the source aggregation RB 306 (U1) and / or an index of the target aggregation RB 306 (U2).

[0048] Furthermore, each data packet transmitted on the data tunnel may be identified by a packet index. The data packet may be transmitted with its packet index. In various embodiments, the packet index may be part of the header of the data packet. Thus, a given data packet may be transmitted with its packet index and at least one of a data tunnel index, a source aggregation RB index, or a target aggregation RB index.

[0049] In the radio access node 104 (network side), the second RBs 306(N1), 306(N2) are associated with each other. Additionally or alternatively, the PDCP layer entity 208(N12) of the first protocol stack configuration 302(1) for the primary user device 102(1) is associated with the RLC layer entity 206(N22) of the second protocol stack configuration 302(2) for the secondary user device 102(2).

[0050] FIG 4 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a protocol stack configuration of primary user device 102(1), secondary user device 102(2), and wireless access node 104. The embodiment illustrated in FIG 4 is similar to the embodiment illustrated in FIG 3, except that second RB 306(U2) of secondary user device 102(2) also includes a PDCP layer entity 208(U22) and an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U22). Correspondingly, second RB 306(N2) of second protocol stack configuration 302(2) includes a PDCP layer entity 208(N22) and an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(N22).

[0051] FIG. 5 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a protocol stack configuration of a primary user device 102(1), a secondary user device 102(2), and a radio access node 104. The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 is similar to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. However, the second RB 306(U2) of the secondary user device 102(2) is configured with an RLC layer entity 206(U22) and a PDCP layer entity 208(U22), but is not configured with an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210. Correspondingly, the second RB 206(N2) of the radio access node 104 is configured with an RLC layer entity 206(N22) and a PDCP layer entity 208(N22), but is not configured with an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210.

[0052] Also, in the configuration of Figure 5, primary user device 102(1) and secondary user device 102(2) establish an aggregation link between their respective PDCP layer entities, i.e., between PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of primary user device 102(1) and PDCP layer entity 208(U22) of secondary user device 102(2). PDCP layer entity 208(U12) may also be referred to as primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12), and PDCP layer entity 208(U22) may also be referred to as secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U12). Correspondingly, radio access node 104 may establish a connection or association between the PDCP layer entities of protocol stack configurations 302(1), 302(2) as shown in Figure 5.

[0053] 5, data packets communicated between the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12) and the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) may be identified, indicated, and / or labeled by a source PDCP layer entity index or a target PDCP layer entity index. For transmission of a data packet from the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12) to the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22), the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12) is the source PDCP layer entity having the source PDCP entity index, and the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) is the target PDCP layer entity having the target PDCP entity index. Furthermore, in the case of transmission of a data packet from the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) to the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12), the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) is a source PDCP layer entity having a source PDCP entity index, and the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) is a target PDCP layer entity having a target PDCP entity index.

[0054] FIG 6 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a protocol stack configuration of primary user device 102(1), secondary user device 102(2), and radio access node 104. The embodiment illustrated in FIG 6 is similar to the embodiment illustrated in FIG 5, except that the second RB 306(U2) of secondary user device 102(2) also includes an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U22). Correspondingly, the second RB 306(N2) of second protocol stack configuration 302(2) includes an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(N22).

[0055] FIG. 7 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a protocol stack configuration of the primary user device 102(1), the secondary user device 102(2), and the radio access node 104. The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 is similar to that illustrated in FIG. 3-FIG. 6, except that each of the primary and secondary user devices 102(1), 102(2) includes an additional third RB 308(U1), 308(U2). The primary user device 102(1) can use the first RB 304(U1) and the second RB 306(U1) for "normal" transmission, i.e., uplink and downlink transmission with the radio access node 104. Similarly, the secondary user device 102(2) can use the first and second RB 304(U2), 306(U2) for "normal" transmission, i.e., uplink and downlink transmission with the radio access node 104. Additionally, third RBs 308(U1), 308(U2) may be associated with each other for communications between primary user device 102(1) and secondary user device 102(2). The third RBs 308(U1), 308(U2) may include respective RLC layer entities 206(U13), 206(U23) and respective PDCP layer entities 208(U13), 208(U23).

[0056] 7, each of the primary user device 102(1) and the secondary user device 102(2) includes two PHY layer entities 202 and two MAC layer entities 204. In the case of the primary user device 102(1), the first and second RBs 304(U1), 306(U1) are configured to communicate with the first PHY layer entity 202(U11) and the MAC layer entity 204(U11), and the third RB 308(U1) is configured to communicate with the second PHY layer entity 202(U12) and the MAC layer entity 204(U12). Similarly, for the secondary user device 102(2), the first RB 304(U2) and the second RB 306(U2) are configured to communicate with the first PHY layer entity 202(U21) and the second MAC layer entity 204(U21), and the third RB 308(U2) is configured to communicate with the second PHY layer entity 202(U22) and the second MAC layer entity 204(U22).

[0057] Additionally, the second RB 306(U1) may be configured to be associated with a third RB 308(U1) in the primary user device 102(1). Similarly, the second RB 306(U2) may be configured to be associated with a third RB 308(U2) in the secondary user device 102(2). In at least some embodiments, the association may be configured by the radio access node 104.

[0058] Also, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, primary user device 102(1) and secondary user device 102(2) may establish aggregation links between their respective PHY layer entities 202(U12), 202(U22), or between their respective MAC layer entities 204(U12), 204(U22), their respective RLC layer entities 206(U13), 206(U23), or their respective PDCP layer entities 208(U13), 208(U23), as indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 7.

[0059] Figure 8 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a protocol stack configuration of primary user device 102(1), secondary user device 102(2), and radio access node 104. The embodiment illustrated in Figure 8 is similar to the embodiment illustrated in Figure 7, except that the third RBs 308(U1), 308(U2) are not configured with respective PDCP layer entities 208(U13), 208(U23), and the second RB 306(U2) of secondary user device 102(2) is configured with SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U21).

[0060] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a method 900 for wireless communication. The method 900 is described with reference to first and second user devices 102(1), 102(2) configured as primary and secondary user devices, respectively, and a radio access node 104. At block 902, the first and second user devices 102(1), 102(2) may establish an aggregation link between a first layer entity of the first user device 102(1) and a second layer entity of the second user device 102(2). In some embodiments, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first layer entity of the first user device 102(1) is a PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) and the second layer entity of the second user device 102(2) is an RLC layer entity 206 (U22). In other embodiments, such as those shown in Figures 5 and 6, the first and second layer entities are PDCP layer entities 208(U12), 208(U22). In yet other embodiments, such as those shown in Figures 7 and 8, the first and second layer entities are PHY layer entity 202, MAC layer entity 204, or RLC layer entity 206.

[0061] At block 904, the first and second user devices 102(1), 102(2) can communicate one or more data packets over the aggregation link. For example, a first layer entity of the first user device 102(1) can transmit one or more data packets to a second layer entity of the second user device 102(2) over the aggregation link. Alternatively, a second layer entity of the second user device 102(2) can transmit one or more data packets to a first layer entity of the first user device 102(1) over the aggregation link.

[0062] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a method 1000 for wireless communication. The method 1000 is described with reference to a wireless access node 104, further comprising a first user device 102(1) configured as a primary user device and a second user device 102(2) configured as a secondary user device. In block 1002, a first layer entity of a first protocol stack configuration 302(1) of the wireless access node 104 may communicate with a second layer entity of a second protocol stack configuration 302(2) of the wireless access node 104. In some embodiments, the first layer entity is a PDCP layer entity (e.g., the PDCP layer entity 208(N12)) and the second layer entity is an RLC layer entity (e.g., the RLC layer entity 206(N22)). In other embodiments, the first layer entity and the second layer entity are both PDCP layer entities (e.g., the PDCP layer entity 208(N12) and the PDCP layer entity 208(N22)). At block 1004, the second protocol stack configuration 302 can communicate data packets with the secondary user device 102(2).

[0063] The data packets communicated in method 1000 may be for transmission between the radio access node 104 and the primary user device 102(1). In some embodiments, the transmission is a downlink transmission. In such embodiments, block 1002 may be performed before block 1004. In block 1002, a first layer entity of the first protocol stack configuration 302(1) may deliver the data packet to a second layer entity of the second protocol stack configuration 302(2). In block 1004, the second protocol stack configuration 302(2) may transmit the data packet to the secondary user device 102(2). In other embodiments, the transmission is an uplink transmission. In such embodiments, block 1004 may be performed before block 1002. In block 1004, the second protocol stack configuration 302(2) receives the data packet from the second user device 102(2). In block 1002 (performed after block 1004), a second layer entity of the second protocol stack configuration 302(2) delivers a data packet to a first layer entity of the first protocol stack configuration 302(1).

[0064] Various embodiments of the method 900 and method 1000 will now be described with particular reference to the protocol stack configurations of FIGS.

[0065] 3, for embodiments in which the communication at block 904 is for uplink transmission, the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the primary user device 102(1) can deliver the data packets as PDCP protocol data units (PDUs) to either the RLC layer entity 206(U12) of the primary user device 102(1) or the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the secondary user device 102(2) over the aggregation link. If the primary user device 102(1) is configured for PDCP replication, the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the primary user device 102(1) can deliver the PDCP PDUs to both the RLC layer entity 206(U12) of the primary user device 102(1) and the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the secondary user device 102(2) over the aggregation link. If there is no RLC layer entity of aggregation RB 306(U1) in primary user device 102(1), the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) in aggregation RB 306(U1) in primary user device 102(1) can deliver all data packets (PDCP PDUs) to the RLC layer entity 206(U22) in secondary user device 102(2) via the aggregation link.

[0066] When the secondary user device 102(2) receives the data packet over the aggregation link, the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the second user device 102(2) may regard the data packet as a PDCP PDU. Also, when the secondary user device 102(2) receives the data packet over a data tunnel in the aggregation link, the secondary user device 102(2) delivers the data packet to the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the second aggregation RB 306(U2), where the data tunnel corresponds to the second aggregation RB 306(U2).

[0067] In addition, in various embodiments of block 904 for the configuration of FIG. 3, the secondary user device 102(2) may receive the data packet over the aggregated link. If the data packet is labeled with a target radio bearer index, the data packet is delivered to an RLC layer entity of a radio bearer having the target radio bearer index. For example, if the data packet is labeled with a target radio bearer index of the second RB 306 (U2), the secondary user device 102(2) delivers the data packet to the RLC layer entity 206 (U22). The RLC layer entity receiving the data packet may perform a corresponding operation upon receiving the PDCP PDU.

[0068] Additionally, for embodiments in which data packets are received from the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the primary user device 102(1), the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the secondary user device 102(2) may feed back an indication of good delivery status to the associated PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the primary user device 102(1). The good delivery status indicates whether the data packet was successfully received or not. For example, in various embodiments, a particular data packet delivered from the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the secondary user device 102(1) to the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the primary user device 102(1) may indicate a packet index and a bitmap. The bitmap may include multiple digits. The number of digits may correspond to a particular number in the set of data packets, and there is a one-to-one correspondence or mapping between the digits and the data packets. Each digit may indicate whether the corresponding data packet was successfully received or not. The packet index may indicate the first data packet or the starting data packet of the set of data packets. In various embodiments, for a given digit, a bit value of "1" indicates that the corresponding data packet was delivered successfully, and a bit value of "0" indicates that the corresponding data packet was delivered unsuccessfully. To illustrate, assume that a particular packet exhibits packet index 103 and bitmap "11110011", which indicates that data packets having indexes 103, 104, 105, 106, 109, and 110 were delivered successfully, and data packets having indexes 107 and 108 were delivered unsuccessfully.

[0069] Furthermore, in various embodiments, for a data packet delivered to the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the secondary user device 102(1), the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the primary user device 102(1) can instruct the RLC layer entity 208(U22) to discard the data packet. For example, the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the primary user device 102(1) can send a specific packet to the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the secondary user device 102(2) indicating whether the data packet should be discarded. The specific packet can indicate one or more indices of one or more data packets to be discarded by the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the secondary user device 102(2).

[0070] Additionally, for downlink transmission, the secondary user device 102(2) may receive data from the radio access node 104, as in block 1004. Upon receiving the data packet, the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the second aggregation RB 306(U2) in the secondary user device 102(2) may process the data packet. After processing, the RLC layer entity 206(U22) may deliver the data packet, including an RLC PDU or an RLC service data unit (SDU), to the primary user device 102(1) via the aggregation link. For example, the RLC layer entity 206(U22) delivers the RLC PDU or RLC SDU to the associated PDCP layer entity 208(U12) via a corresponding data tunnel. In some embodiments, the delivered data packet (RLC PDU or RLC SDU) is labeled by a data tunnel index and a packet index in its packet header. In another embodiment, a delivered data packet (RLC PDU or RLC SDU) is labeled with a source or target radio bearer index and a packet index in its packet header.

[0071] In some embodiments, the RLC layer entity 206(U12) may not be included in the second aggregation RB 306(U1) of the primary user device 102(1). However, the second aggregation RB 306(U1) may include a PDCP layer entity 208(U12) and an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U12). Thus, the second RB 306(N1) in the radio access node 104 (i.e., on the network side) of the first protocol stack configuration 302(1) includes the PDCP layer entity 208(N12) and the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(N12). Correspondingly, the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) can deliver all PDCP PDUs to the RLC layer entity 206(U22) of the secondary user device 102(2) via the aggregation link. Similarly, the PDCP layer entity 208 (N12) on the network side delivers all PDCP PDUs to the RLC layer entity 206 (N22) of the second protocol stack configuration 302(2).

[0072] With respect to the embodiment of FIG. 4, PDCP layer entity 208(U12) is connected to RLC layer entity 206(U22) via an aggregation link. In addition, RLC layer entity 206(U22) is connected to both PDCP layer entity 208(U22) of secondary user device 102(2) and PDCP layer entity 208(U22) of primary user device 102(1). Thus, when RLC layer entity 206(U22) receives a data packet from PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of primary user device 102(1) or PDCP layer entity 208(U22) of secondary user device 102(2), the data packet may indicate or be labeled with an index used to indicate the PDCP layer entity (PDCP layer entity 208(U12) or PDCP layer entity 208(U22)) from which the packet is received, as included in a field within a header of the data packet. A first value (e.g., a value of “1”) indicates that the PDCP entity of the data packet is PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of primary user device 102(1), and a second value (e.g., a value of “0”) indicates that the PDCP entity of the data packet is PDCP layer entity 208(U22) of secondary user device 102(2). Correspondingly, if the data packet is from PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of primary user device 102(1), the value of the index or field is set to the first “1” value of the packet, and if the packet is from PDCP layer entity 208(U22) of secondary user device 102(2), the value of the index or field is set to the second “0” value of the packet.When the RLC layer entity 206 (U22) of the secondary user device 102 (2) receives a data packet from the (lower) MAC layer entity 204 (U2), if the packet has its index or field set to a first "1" value, the packet is delivered to the PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) after processing, and if the packet has its index or field set to a second "0" value, the packet is delivered to the PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) after processing. On the network side, the data packet received by the RLC layer entity 206 (N22) may be similarly labeled with an index or field indicating the PDCP layer entity 208 (N12) of the first protocol stack configuration or the PDCP layer entity 208 (N22) of the second protocol stack configuration, and the RLC layer entity 206 (N22) can route the data packet to the PDCP layer entity 208 (N22) or the PDCP layer entity 208 (N12) accordingly.

[0073] 5 embodiment, packets delivered from the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) to the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) may be indicated or labeled by the primary PDCP entity index as the source radio bearer index or may be indicated or labeled by the secondary PDCP entity index as the target radio bearer index. In addition, packets delivered from the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) to the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) may be indicated or labeled by the secondary PDCP entity index as the source radio bearer index or may be indicated or labeled by the primary PDCP entity index as the target radio bearer index.

[0074] In the primary user device 102(1), when the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12) receives a PDCP SDU from an upper layer (SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U12)), the PDCP SDU may be delivered from the primary PDCP entity 208(U12) to the secondary PDCP entity 208(U22) via an aggregation link. A count value may be assigned by the primary PDCP entity 208(U12) for the PDCP PDU. The assigned count value may be delivered from the primary PDCP entity 208(U12) to the secondary PDCP entity 208(U22) together with the PDCP SDU.

[0075] In the secondary user device 102(2), when the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) receives the PDCP SDU and the count value from the primary PDCP entity 208(U12), the received PDCP SDU is seen by the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) as that PDCP SDU for further processing. The secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) may use the received count value to perform at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption. After processing, the output data packet may be delivered from the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) to a lower layer entity (e.g., the RLC layer entity 206(U22)). The secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) may not need to maintain a state variable TX_NEXT indicating the count value of the next PDCP SDU to be transmitted.

[0076] Also, in the secondary user device 102(2), when the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) receives a PDCP PDU from a lower layer entity (e.g., the RLC layer entity 206(U22)), the PDCP PDU may be processed by the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22). After processing, the output packet is a PDCP SDU. The count value corresponding to the PDCP SDU may be determined by the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22). If the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) is configured with a state variable RX_DELIV, the count value is determined by the sequence number (PDCP SN) of the received PDCP PDU and the state variable RX_DELIV. Furthermore, the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) may discard the PDCP SDU if the count value corresponding to the PDCP SDU is smaller than the RX_DELIV value. The variable RX_DELIV indicates that the count value of the first PDCP SDU has not been delivered to the upper layer and is still waiting.

[0077] Furthermore, the PDCP SDU and the corresponding count value may be delivered from the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) to the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) instead of being discarded, such as in response to the count value being equal to or greater than the state variable RX_DELIV. The secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) may first process the PDCP SDU, such as by performing at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption based on the count value, and then deliver the PDCP SDU to the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12). In response, the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) may deliver the received PDCP SDU to an upper layer (e.g., the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210 (U12)). The primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) may update its state variable using the received count value.

[0078] Also, if the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) does not have the state variable RX_DELIV, the count value may be determined by the sequence number PDCP SN and the HPN value of the received PDCP PDU. For example, count = [HFN, PDCP SN]. The HPN value is delivered by the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) to the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22). The PDCP SDUs and the corresponding count value may be delivered from the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) to the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12). The primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) may perform an action according to the received count value, including discarding the PDCP SDU or delivering the received PDCP SDU to an upper layer (e.g., the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210).

[0079] In another embodiment, in the primary user device 102(1), when the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12) receives a PDCP SDU from an upper layer (e.g., SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U12)), the PDCP SDU is processed by the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12). After processing, the output packet is a PDCP PDU, and the PDCP PDU can be delivered from the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12) to the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) via an aggregation link. In the secondary user device 102(2), when the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) receives a PDCP PDU from the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12), the received PDCP PDU is seen by the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) as the PDCP SDU for further processing. The processing includes at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption. Header compression may not be required for the PDCP SDUs in the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22). After processing, the output packets are delivered from the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) to a lower layer (e.g., the RLC layer entity 206 (U22)).

[0080] When the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) receives a PDCP PDU from a lower layer (e.g., the RLC layer entity 206 (U22)), the PDCP PDU is processed by the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22). The processing includes at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption. Header decompression may not be required for PDCP PDUs in the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22). After processing, the output packet is a PDCP SDU. The PDCP PDU may be delivered from the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) to the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) via an aggregation link. In the primary user device 102 (1), from the perspective of the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12), the received PDCP SDU is seen by the primary PDCP entity 208 (U12) as that PDCP PDU for further processing. After processing, the output packets are delivered from the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) to an upper layer (eg, the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210 (U12)).

[0081] In some embodiments, the RLC layer entity may not be included in the second aggregation RB 306(U1) of the primary user device 102(1). However, the second aggregation RB 306(U1) may include a PDCP layer entity 208(U21) and an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U12). Thus, the second RB 306(N1) of the first protocol stack configuration 302(1) of the radio access node 104 includes a PDCP layer entity 208(N12) and an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(N12). For such an embodiment, the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12) can deliver all PDCP PDUs or PDCP SDUs to the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) over the aggregation link. Similarly, on the network side, the PDCP layer entity 208 (N12) may deliver all PDCP PDUs or PDCP SDUs to the PDCP layer entity 208 (N22), such as in block 1002.

[0082] With respect to the embodiment of FIG. 6, the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12) is connected to the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22). Correspondingly, the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) is connected to both the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12) and the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U22) of the secondary user device 102(2). When the secondary PDCP layer entity 208(U22) receives a packet from the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12) or the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U22), the packet may be labeled with a field or index, such as in the header of the packet, that is used to indicate the source entity of the packet. The value of the field or index may include a first "1" value indicating that the source entity of the packet is the primary PDCP layer entity 208(U12) or a second "0" value indicating that the source entity of the packet is the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U22). Correspondingly, if the packet is from the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12), the value of the field or index is set to a first "1" value in the packet, and if the packet is from the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210 (U22), the value of the field or index is set to a second "0" value in the packet. When the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) receives a packet from the lower layer (the RLC layer entity 206 (U22)), the secondary PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) can deliver the packet to the primary PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) if the field is set to the first "1" value after processing, and can deliver the packet to the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210 (U22) if the field is set to the second "0" value after processing.Similarly, on the network side, when the PDCP layer entity 208 (N22) receives a packet from the RLC layer entity 206 (N22), the PDCP layer entity 208 (N22) can deliver the packet to either the PDCP layer entity 206 (N12) or the SDAP / RRC layer 210 (N22) depending on whether the index or field of the packet has a first "1" value or a second "0" value.

[0083] With respect to the embodiment of FIG. 7, when the PDCP layer entity 208(U13) of the third aggregation RB 308(U1) receives a PDCP PDU from a lower layer (e.g., the RLC layer entity 206(U13)), the PDCP PDU is processed by the PDCP layer entity 208(U13). The processing includes at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption. After processing, the output packet is a PDCP SDU that is delivered from the PDCP layer entity 208(U13) to the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the second RB 306(U1).

[0084] Furthermore, if the PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) of the second RB 306 (U1) may receive a PDCP SDU from the PDCP layer entity 208 (U13), the PDCP SDU may be regarded as a PDCP PDU for the PDCP layer entity 208 (U12) of the second RB 306 (U1) to process. The processing includes at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption. After processing, the output packet is the PDCP SDU that is delivered to the upper layer (e.g., the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210 (U12)).

[0085] Furthermore, if the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the second RB 306(U1) receives a PDCP SDU from an upper layer (e.g., the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U12)), the PDCP SDU is processed by the PDCP layer entity 208(U12). The processing includes at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption. After processing, the output packet is a PDCP PDU delivered from the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) to the PDCP layer entity 208(U13) of the third RB 308(U1). If the PDCP layer entity 208(U13) of the third RB 308(U1) may receive a PDCP SDU from the PDCP layer entity 208(U12), the PDCP SDU may be regarded as a PDCP PDU for the PDCP layer entity 208(U13) of the third RB 308(U1) to process. The processing includes at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption. After processing, the output packet is a PDCP SDU that is delivered to a lower layer (eg, the RLC layer entity 206 (U13)).

[0086] In the secondary user device 102(2), when the PDCP layer entity 208(U23) of the third aggregation RB 308(U2) receives a PDCP PDU from a lower layer entity (e.g., the RLC layer entity 206(U23)), the PDCP PDU may be processed by the PDCP layer entity 208(U23) of the third aggregation RB 308(U2). The processing includes at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption. After processing, the output packet is a PDCP SDU that is delivered from the PDCP layer entity 208(U23) of the third aggregation RB 308(U2) to the PDCP layer entity 208(U22) of the second RB 206(U2). From the PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) of the second RB 306 (U2), the received PDCP SDU is viewed by the PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) as that SDU for further processing. The processing includes at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption. After processing, the output packet is the PDCP PDU that is delivered from the PDCP layer entity 208 (U22) of the second RB 306 (U2) to a lower layer entity (e.g., the RLC layer entity 206 (U22)).

[0087] Also, in the secondary user device 102(2), when the PDCP layer entity 206(U22) of the second RB 306(U2) receives a PDCP PDU from a lower layer entity (e.g., the RLC layer entity 206(U22)), the PDCP PDU is processed by the PDCP layer entity 208(U22) of the second RB 306(U2). The processing includes at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption. After processing, the output packet is a PDCP SDU that is delivered from the PDCP layer entity 206(U22) of the second RB 306(U2) to the PDCP layer entity 208(U23) of the third aggregation RB 308(U2). From the PDCP layer entity 208 (U23) of the third aggregation RB 308 (U2), the received PDCP SDU is viewed by the PDCP layer entity 208 (U23) as that SDU for further processing. The processing includes at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption. After processing, the output packet is the PDCP PDU delivered from the PDCP layer entity 208 (U23) of the third aggregation RB 308 (U2) radio bearer to a lower layer entity (e.g., the RLC layer entity 206 (U23)).

[0088] In some embodiments, the second RB 306(U1) of the primary user device 102(1) may include a PDCP layer entity 208(U12) and an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(U12), but does not include an RLC layer entity 206(U12). Correspondingly, the second RB 306(N1) of the first protocol stack configuration 302(1) may include a PDCP layer entity 208(N12) and an SDAP / RRC layer entity 210(N12), but does not include an RLC layer entity 206(N12). In these embodiments, the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the second RB 306(U1) delivers all PDCP PDUs to the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the third aggregation RB 308(U1). Similarly, on the network side, the PDCP layer entity 208 (N12) can deliver all PDCP PDUs to the PDCP layer entity 208 (N22) of the second protocol stack configuration 302 (2).

[0089] With respect to the embodiment of Figure 8, the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the second RB 306(U1) may deliver the PDCP PDU to the RLC layer entity 206(U13) of the third aggregation RB 308(U1). The PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the second RB 306(U1) may instruct the RLC layer entity 206(U13) of the third aggregation RB 308(U1) to discard the PDCP PDU delivered from the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) to the RLC layer entity 206(U13).

[0090] For the PDCP PDUs delivered from the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) to the RLC layer entity 206, the RLC layer entity 206(U13) can indicate successful delivery to the PDCP layer entity 208(U12). When the RLC layer entity 206(U13) receives the PDCP PDUs from the PDCP layer entity 208(U12), the RLC layer entity 206(U13) performs further processing according to the configuration of the third RB 308(U1). Furthermore, the RLC layer entity 206(U13) of the third aggregation RB 308(U1) can deliver all RLC PDUs or RLC SDUs to the PDCP layer entity 208(U12) of the second RB 306(U1).

[0091] In the secondary user device 102(2), the second RB 306(U2) is associated with a third aggregation RB 308(U2). Thus, the PDCP layer entity 208(U21) of the second RB 306(U2) is connected to the RLC layer entity 206(U23) of the third aggregation RB 308(U2). Furthermore, the RLC layer entity 206(U23) of the third aggregation RB 308(U2) delivers the RLC SDU to the PDCP layer entity 208(U21) of the second RB 306(U2). From the perspective of the PDCP layer entity 208(U21), the received RLC SDU is considered as that PDCP SDU for further processing. The processing includes at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption.

[0092] After processing, the output packet is a PDCP PDU, which is delivered to the RLC layer entity 206(U21). The PDCP layer entity 208(U21) may also process the packet received from the RLC layer entity 206(U21) according to the configuration of the second RB 306(U2). The processing includes at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption. After processing, the output packet is delivered from the PDCP layer entity 208(U21) to the RLC layer entity 206(U23) of the third aggregation RB 208(U2). When the RLC layer entity 206(U23) of the third aggregation RB 308(U2) receives the packet from the PDCP layer entity 208(U21) of the second RB 306(U2), it processes the packet according to the configuration of the third aggregation RB 308(U2).

[0093] On the network side, when the PDCP layer entity 208 (N12) of the second RB 306 (N2) of the first protocol stack configuration 302 (1) receives a packet from an upper layer (e.g., SDAP / RRC layer entity 210 (N12)), it can process the received packet and then deliver it to the PDCP layer entity 208 (N22) of the second RB 306 (N2) of the second protocol stack configuration. From the perspective of the PDCP layer entity 208 (N22), the received packet is considered as a PDU for further processing. After processing, the packet is delivered to a lower layer (e.g., RLC layer entity 206 (N22)). When the PDCP layer entity 206 (N22) receives a packet from a lower layer (e.g., RLC layer entity 206 (N22)), it processes the received packet and then delivers it to the PDCP layer entity 208 (N12) of the first protocol stack configuration. From the perspective of the PDCP layer entity 208 (N12), the received packet is considered its PDCP PDU for further processing, after which the packet is delivered to the upper layer (e.g., the SDAP / RRC layer entity 210).

[0094] Other example methods, including those that combine one or more of the blocks or operations of method 900 and / or method 1000, are possible.

[0095] The above description and the accompanying drawings provide specific exemplary embodiments and implementations. However, the described subject matter may be embodied in various different forms, and therefore, it is intended that the subject matter encompassed or claimed be construed as not being limited to any exemplary embodiment described herein. A reasonably broad scope of subject matter as described or encompassed in the claims is intended. Among other things, for example, the subject matter may be embodied as a method, device, component, system, or non-transitory computer-readable medium for storing computer code. Thus, the embodiments may take the form of, for example, hardware, software, firmware, storage medium, or any combination thereof. For example, the method embodiments described above may be implemented by a component, device, or system including a memory and a processor by executing computer code stored in the memory.

[0096] Throughout this specification and the claims, terms may have subtle meanings that are suggested or implied in the context beyond the meaning explicitly stated. Similarly, the phrase "in one embodiment / implementation" as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the phrase "in another embodiment / implementation" as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. For example, the subject matter described in the claims is intended to include combinations of the example embodiments in whole or in part.

[0097] Generally, terms may be understood at least in part from their use in context. For example, terms such as "and," "or," or "and / or" as used herein may include various meanings that may depend at least in part on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, "or" when used to relate a list such as A, B, or C is intended to mean A, B, and C, which are used herein in an inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, which are used herein in an exclusive sense. Furthermore, the term "one or more" as used herein may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense, or may be used to describe a combination of features, structures, or characteristics in a plural sense, depending at least in part on the context. Similarly, terms such as "a," "an," or "the" may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a plural usage, depending at least in part on the context. Furthermore, the term "based on" may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey an exclusive set of factors, and instead may allow for the existence of additional factors not necessarily explicitly described, depending at least in part on the context.

[0098] References to features, advantages, or similar language throughout this specification do not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized by the solution should or are included in any single implementation thereof. Rather, language referring to features and advantages is understood to mean that the particular feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the solution. Thus, descriptions of features and advantages throughout this specification, and similar language, may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

[0099] Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the solution may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art in light of the description herein, the solution may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the solution. The subject matter of the present disclosure may also relate to or include, among other aspects, the following aspects:

[0100] A first aspect includes a method for wireless communication including establishing, with a first user device, an aggregation link between a first layer entity of the first user device and a second layer entity of a second user device, and communicating, with the first user device, data packets with the second user device via the aggregation link.

[0101] A second aspect includes the first aspect and further includes that the first layer entity includes a Package Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer entity and the second layer entity includes a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer entity.

[0102] A third aspect includes the second aspect and further includes that the data packet is for uplink transmission between the first user device and the radio access node, and communicating the data packet with the second user device over the aggregation link includes transmitting the data packet from a PDCP layer entity of the first user device to an RLC layer entity of the second user device.

[0103] A fourth aspect includes the third aspect and further includes receiving, using a PDCP layer entity of the first user device, a feedback message from an RLC layer entity of the second user device, wherein the feedback message indicates good delivery status of the data packet.

[0104] A fifth aspect includes the fourth aspect and further includes that the feedback message includes a bitmap indicating a plurality of good delivery statuses, each of the delivery statuses relating to a respective one of a plurality of data packets delivered from the PDCP layer entity of the first user device to the RLC layer entity of the second user device.

[0105] A sixth aspect includes any of the third to fifth aspects and further includes using a PDCP layer entity of the first user device to instruct an RLC layer entity of the second user device to discard data packets delivered from the PDCP layer entity of the first user device to an RLC layer entity of the second user device.

[0106] A seventh aspect includes any of the second to sixth aspects and further includes: the data packet is for downlink transmission between the first user device and the radio access node; and communicating the data packet with the second user device over the aggregation link includes receiving the data packet from an RLC layer entity of the second user device using a PDCP layer entity of the first user device.

[0107] An eighth aspect includes any of the second to seventh aspects and further includes: an RLC layer entity of the second user device is connected to the PDCP layer entity of the first user device via an aggregation link and is also connected to the PDCP layer entity of the second user device; and the data packet includes an index indicating whether the data packet is from the PDCP layer entity of the first user device rather than the PDCP layer entity of the second user device or should be delivered to the PDCP layer entity of the first user device.

[0108] A ninth aspect includes the first aspect and further includes that the first layer entity includes a first Package Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer entity and the second layer entity includes a second PDCP layer entity.

[0109] A tenth aspect includes the ninth aspect and further includes assigning, using the first PDCP layer entity, a count value for the data packet, and communicating the data packet includes delivering, using the first PDCP layer entity of the first user device, the data packet with the count value to a second PDCP layer entity of the second user device.

[0110] An eleventh aspect includes the tenth aspect and further includes processing the data packet by performing at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption based on the count value using a second PDCP layer entity of the second user device, and transmitting the data packet after processing to a radio link control (RLC) layer entity of the second user device using the second PDCP layer entity of the second user device.

[0111] A twelfth aspect includes the ninth aspect and further includes receiving, using a second PDCP layer entity of the second user device, a data packet from a radio link control (RLC) layer entity of the second user device, determining, using the second PDCP layer entity of the second user device, a count value in the data packet, and delivering, using the second PDCP layer entity, the data packet to the first PDCP layer entity of the first user device or discarding the data packet based on the count value.

[0112] A thirteenth aspect includes the twelfth aspect and further includes that the second PDCP layer entity has a state variable RX_DELIV, and determining the count value is based on a sequence number of the data packet and the state variable RX_DELIV.

[0113] A fourteenth aspect includes the thirteenth aspect and further includes: determining, with the second PDCP layer entity, to discard the data packet in response to the count value being less than the value of the state value RX_DELIV; and delivering, with the second PDCP layer entity, the data packet and the count value to the first PDCP layer entity after performing at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption based on the count value in response to the count value being greater than or equal to the value of the state value RX_DELIV.

[0114] A fifteenth aspect includes the fourteenth aspect and further includes using the first PDCP layer entity to deliver the data packet to a layer entity of the first user device that is higher than the first PDCP layer entity or to discard the data packet based on the count value.

[0115] A sixteenth aspect includes the ninth aspect and further includes receiving, using a first PDCP layer entity, a data packet from a layer entity of the first user device that is higher than the first PDCP layer entity; and processing, using the first PDCP layer entity, the data packet, the processing including at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption; and communicating the data packet includes delivering the data packet to a second PDCP layer entity after processing the data packet using the first PDCP layer entity.

[0116] A seventeenth aspect includes the ninth aspect and further includes receiving, using a second PDCP layer entity, a data packet from the first PDCP layer entity; processing, using the second PDCP layer entity, the data packet, where the processing includes at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption; and delivering, using the second PDCP layer entity, the data packet to a radio link control (RLC) layer entity of the second user device after processing the data packet.

[0117] An eighteenth aspect includes the ninth aspect and further includes receiving a data packet from a radio link control (RLC) layer entity of the second user device using a second PDCP layer entity; and processing the data packet using the second PDCP layer entity, the processing including at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption; and communicating the data packet includes delivering the data packet to the first PDCP layer entity after processing the data packet using the second PDCP layer entity.

[0118] A nineteenth aspect includes the ninth aspect and further includes that communicating the data packet with the second user device via the aggregation link includes receiving, using a first PDCP layer entity, the data packet from the second PDCP layer entity, processing the data packet using the first PDCP layer entity, the processing including at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption, and delivering the data packet to a layer entity of the first user device above the first PDCP layer entity after processing the data packet using the first PDCP layer entity.

[0119] A twentieth aspect includes the ninth aspect and further includes: a second PDCP layer entity is connected to the first PDCP layer entity of the first user device via an aggregation link and is also connected to an upper layer entity of the second user device that is higher than the second PDCP layer entity, and the data packet includes an index indicating whether the data packet is from the first PDCP layer entity rather than the upper layer entity or should be delivered to the first PDCP layer entity.

[0120] A twenty-first aspect includes the first aspect and further includes a first Package Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer entity of the first user device being associated with a second PDCP layer entity of the first user device or a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer entity of the first user device, or a radio bearer of the first PDCP layer entity of the first user device being associated with a radio bearer of the second PDCP layer entity of the first user device or a radio bearer of the RLC layer entity of the first user device.

[0121] A twenty-second aspect includes the twenty-first aspect and further includes receiving a data packet from an RLC layer entity of the first user device using a first PDCP layer entity; processing the data packet using the first PDCP layer entity of the first user device, the processing including at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption; delivering the data packet to a second PDCP layer entity of the first user device after processing the data packet using the first PDCP layer entity of the first user device; processing the data packet using the second PDCP layer entity of the first user device after receiving the data packet from the first PDCP layer entity of the first user device, the processing including at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption; and delivering the data packet to an upper layer entity of the first user device that is in a higher layer than the second PDCP layer entity of the first user device after processing the data packet using the second PDCP layer entity of the first user device.

[0122] A twenty-third aspect includes the twenty-first aspect and further includes receiving, with a second PDCP layer entity of the first user device, a data packet from an upper layer entity of the first user device that is at a higher layer than the second PDCP layer entity of the first user device; processing the data packet with the second PDCP layer entity of the first user device, the processing including at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption; delivering the data packet to the first PDCP layer entity of the first user device after processing the data packet with the second PDCP layer entity of the first user device; processing the data packet after receiving the data packet from the second PDCP layer entity of the first user device, with the first PDCP layer entity of the first user device, the processing including at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption; and delivering the data packet to an RLC layer entity of the first user device with the first PDCP layer entity of the first user device.

[0123] A twenty-fourth aspect includes the first aspect and further includes a first Package Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer entity of the second user device being associated with a second PDCP layer entity of the second user device or an RLC layer entity of the second user device, or a radio bearer of the first PDCP layer entity of the second user device being associated with a radio bearer of the second PDCP layer entity of the second user device or a radio bearer of the RLC layer entity of the second user device.

[0124] A twenty-fifth aspect includes the twenty-fourth aspect, and further includes: receiving a data packet from a first radio link control (RLC) layer entity of the second user device using a first PDCP layer entity of the second user device; processing with the first PDCP layer entity of the second user device, the processing including at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption; delivering the data packet to a second PDCP layer entity of the second user device after processing the data packet using the first PDCP layer entity of the second user device; processing the data packet after receiving the data packet from the first PDCP layer entity of the first user device using the second PDCP layer entity of the second user device, the processing including at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption; and delivering the data packet to a second RLC layer of the second user device after processing the data packet using the second PDCP layer entity of the second user device.

[0125] A twenty-sixth aspect includes the first aspect and further includes communicating data packets between a Package Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer entity of a first radio bearer of the first user device and a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer entity of a second radio bearer of the first user device.

[0126] A twenty-seventh aspect includes the twenty-sixth aspect and further includes instructing, using the PDCP layer entity, the RLC layer entity to discard the data packet.

[0127] A twenty-eighth aspect includes any of the twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh aspects and further includes using an RLC layer to indicate successful delivery of the data packet to a PDCP layer entity.

[0128] A twenty-ninth aspect includes the first aspect and further includes communicating data packets between a first Radio Link Control (RLC) layer entity of a first radio bearer of the second user device and a Packaged Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer entity of a second radio bearer of the second user device, and communicating data packets between a PDCP layer entity of the second radio bearer of the second user device and a second RLC layer entity of the second radio bearer of the second user device.

[0129] A 30th aspect includes the 29th aspect and further includes processing the data packet using a PDCP layer entity of a second radio bearer of the second user device, the processing including at least one of header compression, integrity protection, or encryption; communicating the data packet between the first RLC layer entity and the PDCP layer entity includes receiving the data packet from the first RLC layer entity of the first radio bearer of the second user device using the PDCP layer entity of the second radio bearer of the second user device; and communicating the data packet between the PDCP layer entity and the second RLC layer entity includes delivering the data packet to the second RLC layer entity of the second radio bearer of the second user device after processing the data packet using the PDCP layer entity of the second radio bearer of the second user device.

[0130] A thirty-first aspect includes the twenty-ninth aspect and further includes processing the data packet using a PDCP layer entity of a second radio bearer of the second user device, the processing including at least one of header decompression, integrity verification, or decryption; communicating the data packet between the PDCP layer entity and the second RLC layer entity includes receiving the data packet from the second RLC layer entity of the second radio bearer of the second user device using the PDCP layer entity of the second radio bearer of the second user device; and communicating the data packet between the first RLC layer entity and the PDCP layer entity includes delivering the data packet to the first RLC layer entity of the first radio bearer of the second user device after processing the data packet using the PDCP layer entity of the second radio bearer of the second user device.

[0131] A thirty-second aspect includes any of the first to thirty-first aspects and further includes that the data packet corresponds to an uplink transmission or a downlink transmission between the first user device and the radio access node.

[0132] A thirty-third aspect includes any of the first, second, or ninth to thirty-first aspects and further includes that the data packet corresponds to a sidelink transmission between the first user device and a third user device.

[0133] A thirty-fourth aspect includes any of the first to thirty-third aspects and further includes the first layer entity being part of a first aggregated radio bearer of a first user device and the second layer entity being part of a second aggregated radio bearer of a second user device.

[0134] A thirty-fifth aspect includes any of the first to thirty-fourth aspects and further includes that communicating the data packet with the second user device via the aggregation link includes communicating the data packet in a data tunnel of the aggregation link.

[0135] A thirty-sixth aspect includes the thirty-fifth aspect and further includes that the data packet indicates a data tunnel index for the data tunnel.

[0136] A thirty-seventh aspect includes the thirty-sixth aspect and further includes that the data tunnel includes one of a plurality of data tunnels of an aggregation link.

[0137] A thirty-eighth aspect includes the thirty-seventh aspect and further includes that one of the plurality of data tunnels is associated with a first layer entity of the first user device or a second layer entity of the second user device.

[0138] A thirty-ninth aspect includes any of the thirty-fifth to thirty-eighth aspects and further includes that the data packet indicates a source radio bearer index of the source radio bearer or a destination radio bearer index of the destination radio bearer.

[0139] A fortieth aspect includes any of the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, or thirty-eighth aspects, further wherein the data tunnel includes only one data tunnel.

[0140] A forty-first aspect includes a method for wireless communication including communicating data packets between a first layer entity of a first protocol stack configuration of a radio access node and a second layer entity of a second protocol stack configuration of the radio access node, where the first protocol stack configuration is for a first user device and the second protocol stack configuration is for a second user device, the data packets being for transmission between the radio access node and the first user device, and communicating the data packets with the second user device using the second protocol stack configuration.

[0141] A forty-second aspect includes the forty-first aspect and further includes that the first layer entity includes a Package Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer entity and the second layer entity includes a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer entity.

[0142] A forty-third aspect includes the forty-first aspect and further includes that the first layer entity includes a first Package Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer entity and the second layer entity includes a second PDCP layer entity.

[0143] A 44th aspect includes any of aspects 41 to 43 and further includes: the transmission includes an uplink transmission between the radio access node and the first user device, and wherein communicating the data packet with the second user device using the second protocol stack configuration includes receiving the data packet from the second user device using the second protocol stack configuration.

[0144] A 45th aspect includes any of aspects 41 to 43 and further includes: the transmission includes a downlink transmission between the radio access node and the first user device; and communicating the data packet with the second user device using the second protocol stack configuration includes transmitting the data packet to the second user device using the second protocol stack configuration.

[0145] A forty-sixth aspect includes a wireless communications apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, the processor configured to read code from the memory to implement any of the first to forty-fifth aspects.

[0146] A forty-seventh aspect includes a computer program product comprising a computer-readable program medium containing code stored thereon, the code, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to implement any of the first to forty-fifth aspects.

[0147] In addition to the features mentioned in each of the independent aspects listed above, some examples may exhibit optional features mentioned in dependent aspects and / or disclosed and illustrated in the above description, either alone or in combination.

Claims

1. 1. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: establishing, with a first user device, an aggregation link between a first layer entity of the first user device and a second layer entity of a second user device; using the first user device to communicate data packets with the second user device over the aggregation link, the first layer entity including a Package Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer entity and the second layer entity including a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer entity; A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data packet is for uplink transmission between the first user device and a radio access node, and communicating the data packet with the second user device over the aggregation link includes transmitting the data packet from the PDCP layer entity of the first user device to the RLC layer entity of the second user device.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, using the PDCP layer entity of the first user device, a feedback message from the RLC layer entity of the second user device, the feedback message indicating successful delivery of the data packet.

4. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: using the PDCP layer entity of the first user device to instruct the RLC layer entity of the second user device to discard the data packet delivered from the PDCP layer entity of the first user device to the RLC layer entity of the second user device.

5. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data packet is for downlink transmission between the first user device and a radio access node, and communicating the data packet with the second user device over the aggregation link includes receiving the data packet from the RLC layer entity of the second user device using the PDCP layer entity of the first user device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data packet corresponds to an uplink or downlink transmission between the first user device and a radio access node.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data packet corresponds to a sidelink transmission between the first user device and a third user device.

8. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first layer entity is part of a first aggregated radio bearer of the first user device and the second layer entity is part of a second aggregated radio bearer of the second user device.

9. A wireless communication device comprising a processor and a memory, the processor configured to read a code from the memory and to perform a method according to any of claims 1 to 8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium having code stored thereon, the code which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

11. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: establishing, with a second user device, an aggregation link between a second layer entity of the second user device and a first layer entity of the first user device; using the second user device to communicate data packets with the first user device over the aggregation link, the second layer entity including a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer entity and the first layer entity including a Packaged Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer entity; A method comprising:

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the data packet is for uplink transmission between the first user device and a radio access node, and communicating the data packet with the first user device via the aggregation link includes receiving the data packet from the PDCP layer entity of the first user device using the RLC layer entity of the second user device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting a feedback message to the PDCP layer entity of the first user device using the RLC layer entity of the second user device, the feedback message indicating good delivery status of the data packets.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving, using the RLC layer of the second user device, an instruction from the PDCP layer entity of the first user device, the instruction indicating to discard the data packet delivered from the PDCP layer entity of the first user device to the RLC layer entity of the second user device.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the data packet is for downlink transmission between the first user device and a radio access node, and communicating the data packet with the first user device via the aggregation link includes transmitting the data packet to the PDCP layer entity of the first user device using the RLC layer entity of the second user device.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the data packet corresponds to an uplink or downlink transmission between the first user device and a radio access node.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the data packet corresponds to a sidelink transmission between the first user device and a third user device.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the first layer entity is part of a first aggregation radio bearer of the first user device, and the second layer entity is part of a second aggregation radio bearer of the second user device.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the data packet indicates a source radio bearer index of a source radio bearer or a destination radio bearer index of a destination radio bearer.

20. A wireless communication device comprising a processor and a memory, the processor configured to read code from the memory and to perform a method according to any one of claims 11 to 19.

21. A computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium having code stored thereon, the code which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform a method according to any one of claims 11 to 19.

Images