Network Slicing for Sidelink Devices

Abstract

A system and method of network slicing for a sidelink device, the method including establishing a sidelink connection with a second UE (104). The method includes receiving a first request for a network slice of a physical network (106) from the second UE (104) via the sidelink connection (119). The method includes, in response to receiving the first request for the network slice, sending a first message to the physical network via a first network slice between the first UE (102) and the physical network (106) to request the physical network to establish a second network slice communicatively coupling the second UE (104) to the physical network (106) via the sidelink connection (119).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to systems and methods for network slicing for sidelink devices. [Background technology]

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) is currently in the process of specifying a new air interface called 5G New Radio (5G NR), as well as the Next Generation Packet Core Network (NG-CN or NGC). The 5G NR architecture has three components: 5G Radio Access Network (5G-RAN), 5G Core Network (5GC), and User Equipment (UE). To facilitate the enablement of different data services and requirements, 3GPP 5G NR cellular networks support network slicing, allowing multiplexing of independent virtualized logical networks over the same physical network infrastructure.

[0003] As data and bandwidth allocations to end users increase, wireless tethering via a sidelink connection has become a more viable and useful option for accessing the Internet over a cellular network, however, tethering technologies are typically not configured to take advantage of recent advances in cellular networks.

[0004] One such advancement is network slicing, which allows customization of network services based on the requirements of different use cases. Services offered by 3GPP 5G NR cellular networks can be implemented using network slices, which are instantiated and managed by a network management system of the 5G NR network. A network slice defines a service class for a cellular network and can be considered as an end-to-end logical network spanning multiple parts of the cellular network. Each network slice provides a quality of service tailored to the use case associated with the network slice, such as low latency, guaranteed bandwidth, support for Internet of Things (IoT) devices with long battery life, and others. Also, a network slice can have dedicated resources in a single network operator's cellular network or across multiple network operators' cellular networks. An end-to-end network slice includes a Radio Access Network (RAN) slice and / or a Core Network (CN) slice. Thus, network slicing provides isolation of RAN and core resources to support guaranteed service levels for devices and services. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Through wireless or wired tethering techniques, even devices that may not have the hardware and / or software resources to establish a connection with a cellular network can access a cellular network through another device. For example, a second UE device, such as a wearable device (e.g., a watch, a headset, a wireless earphone, a fitness tracker, a blood pressure monitor, etc.) or a non-wearable device (e.g., a tablet, a notebook computer, etc.), may not be able to connect to a cellular network because the second UE device lacks the hardware and / or software resources to connect to the cellular network. Examples include the currently available cellular network being outside the radio frequency (RF) range capabilities of the second UE device, or the current battery power of the second UE device being low. However, the second UE device can establish a sidelink connection with the first UE device (e.g., a smartphone) via a sidelink interface (e.g., PC5, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.), and the first UE device can establish a connection with the cellular network via its cellular air interface (sometimes referred to as the "Uu interface"). A sidelink connection enables a second UE device (sometimes referred to as a "sidelink UE device") to access the services of a cellular network through the network connection of a first UE device (sometimes referred to as a "host UE device").

[0006] Therefore, there is an opportunity to develop new slicing scenarios that accommodate the dynamic connectivity of a wide variety of sidelink UE devices, providing support for consistent Quality of Service (QoS) performance across the wireless sidelink and Uu interfaces of the sidelink UE devices and the host UE device. Users also benefit from improved capacity of the cellular network to support an increasing number of sidelink UE devices that indirectly connect to the cellular network.

[0007] Aspects of the present disclosure address these and other shortcomings by implementing network slicing for sidelink UE devices. As discussed in more detail below, a sidelink UE device (e.g., a wearable device or a non-wearable device) negotiates with a host UE device (e.g., a smartphone) to establish a sidelink channel (e.g., PC5, Bluetooth, WiFi) between the host UE device and the sidelink UE device. The host UE device connects to a cellular network via a first network slice using its Uu interface either before or after establishing the sidelink channel. The host UE device receives a request for a network slice of the cellular network from the sidelink UE device via the sidelink channel. In response, the host UE device sends a request to the cellular network via the first network slice (i.e., via the network slice of the host UE device) to request the cellular network to establish a second network slice for the sidelink UE device. The cellular network establishes a second network slice as an end-to-end connection from the cellular network to the sidelink UE device, where a first part of the connection is between the cellular network and the host UE device via a cellular air interface of the host UE device and a second part of the connection is between the host UE device and the sidelink UE device via a sidelink channel. In this configuration, the host UE device and the cellular network communicate with each other via the second network slice, and the host UE device acts as an intermediary and redirects (e.g., forwards) messages it receives via the second network slice towards the sidelink UE device.

[0008] The cellular network may establish the second network slice of the sidelink UE device (passing through the cellular air interface and the sidelink channel of the host UE device) as a separate network slice having slice resources that are separate from the first network slice for the host UE device. In this embodiment, the second network slice of the sidelink UE device reduces the number of network slices available to the host UE device because the cellular network limits the host UE device to a maximum number of network slices (e.g., 8). Alternatively, the cellular network may establish the second network slice for the sidelink UE device as a sub-slice of the first network slice for the host UE device. Because the cellular network does not limit the number of sub-slices available per network slice, establishing the network slice as a sub-slice may increase the capacity of the host UE device to mediate sidelink UE devices.

[0009] In another aspect, the sidelink UE device determines a timing of modification of a set of network slices for the sidelink UE device to change from a network slice that uses a sidelink connection to another network slice that does not use a sidelink connection. For example, the sidelink UE device may detect (e.g., via a received signal strength indicator (RSSI)) that a signal strength of a sidelink channel between the sidelink UE device and the host UE device is weak or becoming weak. In response, the sidelink UE device may send a request to the host UE device via the sidelink channel, the request being to modify a set of network slices for the sidelink UE device to change from (a) a network slice that uses a sidelink connection to (b) another network slice that does not use a sidelink connection. In response to receiving the request from the sidelink UE device, the host UE device may send (1) a request to move control plane messages of the second network slice to the third network slice and / or (2) a request to remove the sidelink connection from the user plane of the second network slice to the cellular network. In this manner, the third network slice connects the sidelink UE device to the cellular network via the cellular air interface of the sidelink UE device and without using a sidelink channel.

[0010] The described embodiments and their advantages will be best understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are not intended to limit any changes in form and detail that may be made to the described embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the described embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example environment for implementing separate network slices for a host UE device 102 and a sidelink wireless device 104, in accordance with some embodiments. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example method for implementing separate network slices for the host UE device 102 and the sidelink wireless device 104 of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example environment for implementing a network slice for a host UE device 102 and a sub-slice of the network slice for a sidelink wireless device 104 in accordance with some embodiments. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example method for implementing a network slice for a host UE device 102 of FIG. 3 and a sub-slice of the network slice for a sidelink communications device 104, in accordance with some embodiments. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example environment for modifying a set of network slices for a sidelink UE device 104 to change from a network slice that uses sidelink connections to another network slice that does not use sidelink connections, in accordance with some embodiments. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example method for modifying a set of network slices for a sidelink UE device 104 of FIG. 5 to change from a network slice that uses sidelink connectivity to another network slice that does not use sidelink connectivity, in accordance with some embodiments. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example device diagram of a UE device or communications device, according to some embodiments. [Figure 8] 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for implementing network slicing by a host UE device, according to some embodiments. [Figure 9]1 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for implementing network slicing by a host UE device, according to some embodiments. [Figure 10] 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for implementing network slicing by a sidelink wireless device 104, according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] For ease of explanation, the following techniques are described in an exemplary context in which one or more UE devices and the RAN implement one or more radio access technologies (RATs) including at least a fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) standard (e.g., 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 15, 3GPP Release 16, etc.) (hereinafter, "5G NR" or "5G NR standard"). However, the present disclosure is not limited to networks employing a 5G NR RAT configuration; rather, the techniques described herein may be applied to any combination of different RATs employed by UE devices and RANs. Additionally, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and context described herein; rather, the techniques described herein may be applied to any network environment in which a host UE device implements network slicing for sidelink UE devices.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example environment for implementing separate network slices for a host UE device 102 and a sidelink wireless device 104, according to some embodiments. The environment 100 includes a cellular network 106, a UE device 102 (sometimes referred to as a “host UE device 102”), and a wireless device 104 (sometimes referred to as a “sidelink UE device 104” or a “sidelink wireless device 104”). The present disclosure is not limited to cellular networks, and the techniques described herein apply to other types of wireless communication systems. The cellular network 106 includes a radio access network (RAN) 108 and a core network 110. The environment 100 includes an external network 120, such as the Internet or a public switched telephone network (PSTN), coupled to the cellular network 106 via the core network 110. The cellular network 106 may include additional components not shown in FIG. 1.

[0014] Each of the UE devices 102, 104 may represent any of a variety of electronic devices capable of wired and / or wireless communication, such as a smartphone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, a headset, a wireless earphone, a fitness tracker, a blood pressure monitor, smart jewelry, smart clothing, smart glasses, etc.), an automobile or other vehicle employing wireless communication services (e.g., for navigation, providing entertainment services, in-vehicle mobile hotspots, etc.), a gaming device, a media device, an IoT device (e.g., a sensor node, a controller / actuator node, or a combination thereof), and another device capable of wired and / or wireless communication. Depending on whether the sidelink device 104 has a wireless sidelink interface (see FIGS. 1, 3, and 5) with or without a Uu interface (see FIG. 5), the communication device 104 may be referred to as a wireless communication device or a UE device.

[0015] The RAN 108 is accessible, for example, using a 5G NR RAT and is accessible to at least the core network 110. The RAN 108 implementing the 5G NR RAT may be referred to as a 5G NR RAN or an NR RAN. One example of the core network 110 in a 5G cellular network is a 5th Generation Core (5GC) network.

[0016] Each RAN 108 includes one or more base stations 112 (denoted as "gNB" in FIG. 1) operable to wirelessly communicate with UE devices 102, 104 within signal range. The base stations 112 may be implemented as integrated gNB base stations or as distributed base stations having a central unit (CU) and one or more distributed units (DU), and optionally one or more remote units (RU). Regardless of the base station architecture, each base station 112 supports at least one "cell" of coverage for the RAN 108. The base stations 112 may define a macro cell, a micro cell, a small cell, a pico cell, etc., or any combination thereof. Consistent with the terminology used in the 5G NR standard, base stations implementing the 5G NR RAT are referred to herein as "5G NodeB" or "gNB." The base station operates as an "air interface" to establish radio frequency (RF) wireless communication links (e.g., upstream or uplink to the CN, downstream or downlink to the UE) with the UE devices 102, 104, and may be implemented as any suitable type of wireless communication link. These wireless communication links then serve as a data path (including control information) between the UE devices 102, 104 and the core network 110 coupled to one or more of the external networks 120 to provide various services to the UE devices 102, 104. Examples of these services include voice or data services over a packet-switched network, messaging services such as Simple Messaging Service (SMS) or Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), delivery of audio, video, or multimedia content, presence services, and the like. Multiple wireless communication links from multiple base stations 112 may be configured for coordinated multipoint (CoMP) communication with the UE devices 102, 104. The base station may aggregate multiple wireless communication links into carrier aggregation to provide higher data rates to the UE devices 102, 104. A base station can configure multiple wireless communication links for single-RAT or multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC).

[0017] The core network 110 establishes one or more network slices 118 of the cellular network 106, e.g., network slice 118-1 (depicted in FIG. 1 as “network slice 1”), network slice 118-2 (depicted in FIG. 1 as “network slice 2”), network slice 118-3 (depicted in FIG. 1 as “network slice 3”), and network slice 118-4 (depicted in FIG. 1 as “network slice 4”). Each network slice 118 provides isolation of the RAN and core resources of the cellular network 106 to support guaranteed service levels for devices and services. In this manner, each network slice 118 is separate from the other network slices 118 of the cellular network 106. The network slice 118 communicatively couples the UE device 102 and / or the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via one or more wireless communication links, thereby enabling the UE device 102 and / or the UE device 104 to access the RAN and core resources of the network slice 118 via the corresponding links. As used herein, a wireless communication link (or simply a “link”) may correspond to a set of wireless communication links, such as one or more of an upstream data link, an upstream control link, a downstream data link, or a downstream control link. As shown in FIG. 1, the network slice 118 may be extended into the external network 120 to connect the UE device 102 and / or the UE device 104 in the external network 120 to the cellular network 106.

[0018] Examples of network slices 118 include network slices configured for 5G NR enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), 5G ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), 5G NR massive machine type communications (mMTC), massive Internet of Things (MIoT), etc. The cellular network 106 may support any number and combination of network slices 118, including those not shown in FIG.

[0019] For each network slice, the core network 110 defines a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) to uniquely identify the network slice. The S-NSSAI of a network slice includes two components: SST (slice / service type) and an optional SD (slice distinguisher).

[0020] The UE device 102 includes an air interface 114 (depicted in FIG. 1 as “Uu interface 114”) that enables the UE device to communicate with the cellular network 106 via one or more network slices 118 that the cellular network 106 establishes for the UE device 102. The air interface may include an antenna, an RF modem, an RF radio, and / or multiple channels or ports, etc.

[0021] UE device 102 includes a sidelink interface 115 (depicted in FIG. 1 as “SL interface 115”), and UE device 104 includes a sidelink interface 117 (depicted in FIG. 1 as “SL interface 117”). The sidelink interfaces enable UE devices 102, 104 to communicate directly with each other using wired connection technologies (e.g., a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection) and / or wireless connection technologies (e.g., PC5, Bluetooth (BT), Zigbee, WiFi, Near Field Communication (NFC)).

[0022] Still referring to FIG. 1 , the UE device 102 and the wireless device 104 may negotiate over the SL interfaces 115, 117 to establish a sidelink connection 119 between the UE device 102 and the UE device 104. For example, the UE device 104 may transmit (e.g., send) a message to the UE device 102 over the sidelink connection to request the UE device 104 to establish a sidelink connection between the UE device 102 and the UE device 104. In response, the UE device 102 may establish the sidelink connection between the UE device 102 and the UE device 104 and transmit a message to the UE device 104 indicating the establishment of the sidelink connection. In some embodiments, the UE device 102 may initiate the sidelink connection between the UE device 102 and the UE device 104.

[0023] The UE device 102 sends a message via its Uu interface 114 to the cellular network 106 (sometimes referred to as a “physical network”) to request the cellular network 106 to establish a network slice. The network slice communicatively couples the UE device 102 to the cellular network 106. As an example, in response to receiving the request, the cellular network 106 establishes a network slice 118-1 (sometimes referred to as a “first network slice”) to communicatively couple the UE device 102 to the cellular network 106 over link 1 via the air interface connection 113-1.

[0024] The UE device 104 sends a message to the UE device 102 over the sidelink interface to request a network slice from the cellular network 106. The UE device 102 determines to request the cellular network 106 to establish a network slice for the UE device 104 as a separate network slice (e.g., a network slice that is separate from the network slice established for the UE device 102) based on the request from the UE device 104. The request from the UE device 104 includes information (e.g., a bit) indicating that the UE device 104 is requesting a separate network slice (as opposed to a network sub-slice), a device type identifier of the UE device 104 (e.g., smart watch), and / or a bandwidth requirement associated with the UE device 104.

[0025] A data flow through a network slice (e.g., network slice 118-1) is associated with a first set of quality of service (QoS) parameters, and a data flow through a network slice (e.g., network slice 118-2) is associated with a second set of QoS parameters. In some cases, the first QoS parameters are different from the second QoS parameters. In other cases, the first QoS parameters and the second QoS parameters are the same.

[0026] The UE device 102 sends a message to the cellular network 106 via the network slice 118-1 of the UE device 102 to request the cellular network 106 to establish a separate network slice (e.g., a network slice that is separate from the network slice established for the UE device 102). The separate network slice communicatively couples the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via a sidelink connection. In response to receiving the request, the cellular network 106 establishes the network slice 118-2 (sometimes referred to as a “second network slice”) to communicatively couple the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106, with the UE device 102 acting as an intermediary device. In other words, the network slice 118-2 is an end-to-end connection (shown as “link 2” in FIG. 1) between the cellular network 106 and the UE device 104, a first part of the end-to-end connection being between the cellular network 106 and the UE device 102 via the air interface connection 113-2, and a second part of the end-to-end connection being between the UE device 102 and the UE device 104 via the sidelink connection 119.

[0027] The cellular network 106 sends a message to the UE device 102 indicating that the cellular network 106 has established the network slice 118-2 for the UE device 104. The message includes an S-NSSAI that uniquely identifies the network slice 118-2. The UE device 102 sends the message including the S-NSSAI to the UE device 104 over a sidelink connection.

[0028] The cellular network 106 and the UE device 102 communicate with each other using Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling. The NAS is the highest layer of the control plane between the UE device 102 and the RAN 108. The main functions of the protocols that are part of the NAS are to support the mobility of the UE device 102 and to support session management procedures that establish and maintain IP connectivity with the UE device 102. Referring to FIG. 1, the UE device 102 receives a first message (e.g., a NAS message) from the cellular network 106, where the first message is associated with a network slice (e.g., the network slice 118-1) for the UE device 102. The UE device 102 receives a second message (e.g., a NAS message) from the cellular network 106, where the second message is associated with a network slice (e.g., the network slice 118-2) for the UE device 104. The first message and the second message are associated with a control plane message or a user plane message, respectively.

[0029] The UE device 102 selects (e.g., filters) received messages (e.g., NAS messages) associated with and / or directed to the UE device 104. The UE device 102 redirects (e.g., forwards, relays) the selected messages (e.g., the second messages) to the UE device 104 over the sidelink connection 119 without redirecting other messages (e.g., the first message) to the UE device 104.

[0030] The set of network slices for a UE device (e.g., UE device 102, UE device 104) may be modified (e.g., changed) at any time while the UE device is registered with the cellular network 106, and may be initiated by the cellular network 106, by the UE device 102, or by the wireless device 104 under certain conditions, as described below.

[0031] The cellular network 106 may change the set of network slice(s) in which the UE device is registered and provide the UE device with a new registration area and / or allowed NSSAI based on local policy, subscription changes, and / or UE mobility and / or UE distributed data classification, or operational reasons (e.g., a network slice instance becomes unavailable or unable to support the service experience of the network slice, or a new network slice instance may be provided by the Network Data Analysis Function (NWDAF)). The network may change the mapping of allowed NSSAI to Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) HPLMN S-NSSAI for each access type in which the UE device is registered. Additionally, the cellular network 106 may provide the configured NSSAI, associated mapping information, and rejected S-NSSAI for the serving public land mobile network (PLMN). The cellular network 106 may make such changes across each access type during the registration procedure or may trigger a notification towards the UE device of the network slice change using the UE configuration update procedure. The AMF provides to the UE device (1) an indication that an acknowledgement from the UE device is required, (2) the configured NSSAI (if required), rejected S-NSSAI(s) (if required) and Tracking Area Identification (TAI) list for the serving PLMN, and (3) the new allowed NSSAI (if applicable) with associated mapping of allowed NSSAIs for each access type, unless the AMF is unable to determine the new allowed NSSAI (e.g., all S-NSSAIs of the old allowed NSSAI have been removed from the subscribed S-NSSAIs).

[0032] 2 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example method for implementing separate network slices for the host UE device 102 and the sidelink wireless device 104 of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments. The environment 200 includes the UE device 102, the UE device 104, and the cellular network 106 of FIG. 1. In operation 280, the UE device 102 establishes a network slice in accordance with operations 202 and 204. In operation 202, the UE device 102 transmits a message (labeled “Slice Establishment Request” in FIG. 2) over the Uu interface 114 to the cellular network 106 to request the cellular network 106 to establish a network slice for communicatively coupling the UE device 102 to the cellular network 106.

[0033] The slice establishment request in operation 202 includes a registration request type, a 5GS mobile identity, a non-current native NAS key set identifier, a 5G mobility management (5GMM) capability, a UE security capability, a requested NSSAI, a last visited registered TAI, a s1 UE network capability, an uplink data status, a protocol data unit (PDU) session status, a terminal initiated connection dedicated (MICO) indication, a UE status, an additional globally unique temporary identifier (GUTI), an allowed PDU session status, a UE usage configuration, a requested discontinuous reception (DRX) parameter, an evolved packet system (EPS) NAS message container, a local area data network (LADN) indication, a payload container type, a payload container, a network slicing indication, a 5GS update type, a NAS message container, and / or an EPS bearer context status.

[0034] In operation 204, the cellular network 106 establishes a network slice 118-1 to communicatively couple the UE device 102 to the cellular network 106 over link 1. The cellular network 106 sends a message (labeled “Slice Establishment Accept” in FIG. 2 ) over the Uu interface 114. The slice establishment acceptance in operation 204 includes an extended protocol discriminator, security header type, spare half octet, registration accept message identification information, 5GS registration result, 5G-GUTI, equivalent PLMN, TAI list, allowed NSSAI, rejected NSSAI, configured NSSAI, 5GS network capability support, PDU session status, PDU session reactivation result, PDU session reactivation result error cause, LADN information, MICO indication, network slicing indication, service area list, T3512 value, non-3GPP deregistration timer value, T3502 value, emergency number list, extended emergency number list, SOR transparent container, and / or EAP message.

[0035] In operation 285, the UE device 102 establishes a network slice according to operations 206, 208, 210, 212, and 214. In operation 206, the UE device 104 sends a message (labeled "slice establishment request" in FIG. 2) to the UE device 102 over the sidelink connection (e.g., over the SL interface 115, 117) to request a network slice from the cellular network 106. The slice establishment request in operation 206 includes QoS characteristics and / or sidelink connection characteristics (e.g., delay, data rate, packet loss rate).

[0036] In operation 208, the UE device 104 sends a message (labeled "slice establishment request" in FIG. 2) to the cellular network 106 via the network slice 118-1 of the UE device 102 to request the cellular network 106 to establish a separate network slice (e.g., a network slice that is separate from the network slice 118-1) that communicatively couples the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via a sidelink connection. The slice establishment request 208 in operation 208 includes content from the message received by the UE device 102 in operation 206. In some embodiments, operations 202 and 204 are performed after operations 206 and 208.

[0037] At operation 210, the cellular network 106 allocates resources of the cellular network 106 for the network slice 118-2 when physical network resources are available to configure the network slice as requested. If the cellular network 106 determines that physical network resources are not available to configure the network slice as requested, then the cellular network 106 sends a message (not shown in FIG. 2 ) indicating that the cellular network 106 denies the request.

[0038] The cellular network 106 establishes network slice 118-2 as an end-to-end connection between the cellular network 106 and the UE device 104, where a first part of the end-to-end connection (shown as "Link 2" in FIG. 1) is between the cellular network 106 and the UE device 102 via the Uu interface 114, and a second part of the end-to-end connection is between the UE device 102 and the UE device 104 via a sidelink connection.

[0039] At operation 212, the cellular network 106 sends a message (labeled “slice establishment accept” in FIG. 2 ) to the UE device indicating that the network slice 118-2 has been established for the UE device 104. The slice establishment accept at operation 212 includes a first set of information indicating that the slice terminates at the UE 104 and / or a second set of information indicating that the slice has a sidelink connection as part of the end-to-end connection between the cellular network 106 and the UE device 104.

[0040] At operation 214, the UE device 102 sends a message (labeled “slice establishment accept” in FIG. 2 ) to the UE device 104 indicating that the network slice 118-2 has been established for the UE device 104. The slice establishment accept at operation 214 includes content from the message received by the UE device 102 at operation 212.

[0041] It is understood that the blocks of method 200 may be performed in a different order than presented, that not all of the blocks of method 200 may be performed, and that the blocks may be combined with other methods presented herein. For example, operation 280 may be followed (or preceded) by either operation 285 or operation 485 of FIG. 4. As another example, operation 280 may precede operation 285, which may then be followed by operation 601 of FIG. 6 (a control plane / user plane (CP / UP) message filtering and forwarding procedure), which may then be followed by operation 633 of FIG. 6 (e.g., a slice modification procedure). As another example, operation 280 may precede operation 485 of FIG. 4, which may then be followed by operation 601 of FIG. 6, which may then be followed by operation 633 of FIG. 6.

[0042] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example environment for implementing a network slice for a host UE device 102 and a sub-slice of the network slice for a sidelink UE device 104 of Figure 1, in accordance with some embodiments. Elements with the same reference numbers as in Figure 1 refer to the same or similar features, and Figure 3 illustrates how a network slice may be divided into network sub-slices.

[0043] In other words, instead of configuring a separate slice for the UE device 104 according to FIG. 1, the core network 110 may establish one or more network sub-slices of an existing network slice. For example, the core network 110 may establish a network sub-slice 118-1a of the network slice 118-1 (shown in FIG. 1 as “network sub-slice 1”) and / or a network sub-slice 118-1b of the network slice 118-1 (shown in FIG. 1 as “network sub-slice 2”). Because network slices (and network sub-slices) consume network resources, the core network 110 establishes network slices only in response to receiving a request from a user device. For this reason, if the network slices or network sub-slices shown in FIG. 3 are never reserved for a user device, the core network 110 does not establish static network slices and these network slices should be ignored. In an embodiment with less network resource limitations, the core network 110 may establish static network slices and static network sub-slices.

[0044] Each network sub-slice of a network slice provides further isolation of the RAN and core resources of the cellular network 106 to support guaranteed service levels for devices and services. In this manner, each network sub-slice is distinct from other network sub-slices within the same slice and distinct from other network slices of the cellular network 106. That is, a slice may have multiple sub-slices, each of which may have its own service level and QoS that is less burdensome than the service level and QoS of the slice and may be distinct from other sub-slices of the same slice. A network sub-slice communicatively couples the UE device 102 and / or the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via one or more wireless communication links (e.g., upstream link, downstream link) to enable the UE device 102 and / or the UE device 104 to access the RAN and core resources of the network sub-slice 118 via the corresponding link. Establishing a network slice with sub-slices increases the capacity of the UE device 102 to mediate the UE device 104, since the cellular network 106 does not limit the number of network sub-slices available per each network slice.

[0045] For each network subslice (e.g., network subslice 118-1a, network subslice 118-1b), the core network 110 defines a single network subslice selection assistance information (S-NSSSAI) to uniquely identify the network subslice and the network slice (sometimes referred to as a "parent network slice") associated with the network subslice. The S-NSSSAI of a network subslice includes three components: SST (slice / service type) and SS ID (subslice identifier). For example, for network subslice 118-1, the core network 110 may define an S-NSSSAI that includes an SST that uniquely identifies network subslice 118-1 and an SS ID that uniquely identifies network subslice 118-1a.

[0046] A network sub-slice (e.g., network sub-slice 118-1a, network sub-slice 118-1b) may be associated with a peak data rate associated with its parent network slice (e.g., network slice 118-1). For example, the peak data rate of a network sub-slice may be lower than the peak data rate of its parent network slice. A network sub-slice may be associated with a user experience metric (e.g., data throughput, delay budget, packet error rate) associated with its parent network slice. In some embodiments, a network sub-slice is associated with a latency associated with its parent network slice. For example, the latency of a network sub-slice may be higher than the latency of its parent network slice. A network sub-slice may be associated with a mobility metric (e.g., data interruption time, mobility impairment) associated with its parent network slice.

[0047] In some embodiments, a data flow through a network sub-slice (e.g., network sub-slice 118-1a) is associated with a first set of quality of service (QoS) parameters, and a data flow through a network sub-slice (e.g., network sub-slice 118-1b) is associated with a second set of QoS parameters. In some embodiments, the first QoS parameter is different from the second QoS parameter. For example, the first QoS parameter may be greater than the second QoS parameter, or the second QoS parameter may be greater than the first QoS parameter. In some embodiments, the first QoS parameter and the second QoS parameter are the same.

[0048] Still referring to FIG. 3, the UE device 104 sends a message to the UE device 102 via the sidelink interface to request a network slice of the cellular network 106. The UE device 102 determines, based on the request from the UE device 104, to request the cellular network 106 to establish a network sub-slice (instead of a separate network slice) for the UE device 104. The UE device 102 sends a message to the cellular network 106 via the Uu interface 114 to request the cellular network 106 to establish a network sub-slice (instead of a separate network slice as shown in FIGS. 1-2) to communicatively couple the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106. In response to receiving the request, the cellular network 106 establishes the network sub-slice 118-1a to communicatively couple the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106, with the UE device 102 acting as an intermediary device. In other words, network sub-slice 118-1a is an end-to-end connection between the cellular network 106 and the UE device 104, with a first part of the end-to-end connection (shown as "link 2" in FIG. 3) being between the cellular network 106 and the UE device 102 via the UE interface 114, and a second part of the end-to-end connection being between the UE device 102 and the UE device 104 via a sidelink connection.

[0049] The cellular network 106 sends a message to the UE device 102 indicating that the network sub-slice 118-1a has been established for the UE device 104. The message includes an S-NSSAI that uniquely identifies the network sub-slice 118-1a. The UE device 102 sends the message including the S-NSSAI to the UE device 104 over the sidelink connection. The UE device 104 uses the S-NSSAI to send the message to the cellular network 106 via the network sub-slice 118-1a.

[0050] 4 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example method for implementing a network slice for the host UE device 102 and a sub-slice of the network slice for the sidelink UE wireless 104 of FIG. 3, according to some embodiments. The environment 400 includes the UE device 102, the UE device 104, and the cellular network 106 of FIG.

[0051] As described with reference to FIG. 2, at operation 280, the UE device 102 establishes a network slice according to operations 202 and 204. In operation 485, the UE device 102 establishes a network sub-slice (instead of a network slice) according to operations 406, 408, 410, 412, and 414. In operation 406, the UE device 104 sends a message (labeled "Sub-slice Establishment Request" in FIG. 4) to the UE device 102 via a sidelink connection (e.g., over the SL interface 115, 117) to request a network sub-slice of the cellular network 106. The slice establishment request in operation 406 includes QoS characteristics and / or sidelink connection characteristics (e.g., delay, data rate, packet loss rate).

[0052] In operation 408, the UE device 104 sends a message (labeled "Subslice Establishment Request" in FIG. 4) to the cellular network 106 via the network subslice 118-1a of the UE device 102 to request the cellular network 106 to establish a network subslice that communicatively couples the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via a sidelink connection. In some embodiments, operations 402 and 404 occur after operations 406 and 408. The subslice establishment request in operation 408 includes QoS characteristics and / or sidelink connection characteristics (e.g., delay, data rate, packet loss rate).

[0053] In operation 410, the cellular network 106 allocates cellular network 106 resources for network sub-slice 118-1a when physical network resources are available to configure the network sub-slice as requested. If the cellular network 106 determines that physical network resources are not available to configure the network sub-slice as requested, then the cellular network 106 sends a message (not shown in FIG. 4) indicating that the cellular network 106 denies the request.

[0054] The cellular network 106 establishes network sub-slice 118-1a as an end-to-end (shown as "link 2" in FIG. 3) connection between the cellular network 106 and the UE device 104, with a first portion of the end-to-end connection being between the cellular network 106 and the UE device 102 via an air interface connection 113-1, and a second portion of the end-to-end connection being between the UE device 102 and the UE device 104 via a sidelink connection 119.

[0055] At operation 412, the cellular network 106 sends a message (labeled “Subslice Establishment Accept” in FIG. 4 ) to the UE device 102 indicating that the network subslice 118-1a has been established for the UE device 104. The subslice establishment accept at operation 412 includes information indicating that the subslice terminates at the UE 104.

[0056] At operation 414, the UE device 102 sends a message (labeled “Subslice Establishment Accept” in FIG. 4 ) to the UE device 104 indicating that the network subslice 118-1a has been established for the UE device 104. The subslice establishment accept at operation 414 includes information indicating that the subslice terminates at the UE 104.

[0057] 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example environment for modifying a set of network slices for a sidelink UE device 104 to change from a network slice that uses a sidelink connection to another network slice that does not use a sidelink connection, in accordance with some embodiments. Elements with the same reference numbers as previously described refer to the same or similar features, and FIG. 5 illustrates that the wireless device 104 includes an air interface 116 for communicating directly with the cellular network 106 when the ability of the UE device 104 to communicate with the cellular network 106 over the sidelink connection 119 is degraded.

[0058] After establishing network slices for each of the UE device 102 (e.g., according to operation 280 of FIG. 2 ) and the UE device 104 (e.g., according to operation 285 of FIG. 2 for a separate slice embodiment or operation 485 of FIG. 4 for a sub-slice embodiment), the UE device 104 determines timing of modification of the set of network slices (e.g., network slice 118-2 of FIG. 1 ) for the UE device 104 to change from a network slice that uses a sidelink connection to another network slice that does not use a sidelink connection based on a change in characteristics (e.g., signal strength, QoS, packet error rate, latency, and / or peak data rate requirements) of the sidelink connection. For example, the UE device 104 may detect (e.g., via RSSI, RSRP, SINR, etc.) that the signal strength of the sidelink connection between the UE device 102 and the UE device 104 is below a predetermined threshold, indicating that the signal is weak or fading. In response, the UE device 102 sends a message to the UE device 102 via a sidelink channel to request modification of a set of network slices (e.g., network slice 118-2) for the UE device 104 to change from the network slice 118-2 using the sidelink connection to another network slice that does not use the sidelink connection. In response to receiving the request from the UE device 104, the UE device 102 sends a message to the cellular network 106 to request modification of a set of network slices (e.g., network slice 118-2) for the UE device 104 to change from the network slice 118-2 using the sidelink connection to another network slice that does not use the sidelink connection. The cellular network 106 establishes a network slice 118-4 for the UE device 104, which couples the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via link 3 via the air interface connection 113-3 and without using the sidelink connection.

[0059] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a request from the UE device 104, the UE device 102 sends a message to the cellular network 106 to request modification of a set of network slices for the UE device 104 to remove the sidelink connection but maintain the same (e.g., current) network slice for the UE device 104. In response to receiving the request, the cellular network 106 moves the control plane of the network slice 118-2 to modify the user plane of the network slice 118-2 to remove the sidelink connection, where the network slice 118-2 couples the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via link 4. As shown in FIG. 5, link 4 couples the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via the air interface (e.g., Uu interface 116) of the UE device 104 without using a sidelink connection. The cellular network 106 decides whether to create the network slice 118-3 or the network slice 118-4 by evaluating the quality of the sidelink connection and the ability of the sidelink connection to meet the QoS / service level requirements of the UE device 104.

[0060] Although Figure 5 shows the core network 110 establishing network slice 118-2 to communicatively couple the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via link 2 and a sidelink connection, the core network 110 may instead establish a network sub-slice (e.g., network sub-slice 118-1a in Figure 3) to communicatively couple the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via a link (e.g., link 2 in Figure 3). The core network 110 may modify the set of network slices for the sidelink UE device 104 to change from a network sub-slice that uses a sidelink connection to another network slice that does not use a sidelink connection, following the description of Figure 5 above, but in terms of network sub-slice instead of separate network slices.

[0061] FIG. 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example method of modifying a set of network slices for the sidelink UE device 104 of FIG. 5 to change from a network slice using sidelink connectivity to another network slice not using sidelink connectivity, according to some embodiments. The environment 600 includes the UE device 102, the UE device 104, and the cellular network 106 of FIG. 5. In operation 601, the UE device 102 performs a control plane / user plane (CP / UP) message filtering and forwarding procedure according to operations 602-615. In operation 602, the cellular network 106 transmits a first control plane message to the UE device 102, the first control plane message being destined for the network slice 118-1. In operation 603, the cellular network 106 transmits a second control plane message to the UE device 102, the second control plane message being destined for the network slice 118-2. At operation 605, the UE device 102 filters out the second control plane message destined for the network slice 118-2. At operation 607, the UE device 102 determines that the cellular network 106 has established the network slice 118-2 for the UE device 104 and forwards the second control plane message to the UE device 104 via the sidelink connection.

[0062] In operation 609, the cellular network 106 transmits a first user plane message to the UE device 102, the first user plane message being destined for the network slice 118-1. In operation 609-1 (not shown in FIG. 6), the UE device 102 determines that the cellular network 106 has established the network slice 118-1 for the UE device 102 and prevents the first user plane message from being forwarded to the UE device 104. In operation 611, the cellular network 106 transmits a second user plane message to the UE device 102, the second user plane message being destined for the network slice 118-2. In operation 613, the UE device 102 determines that the cellular network 106 has established the network slice 118-2 for the UE device 104 and forwards the second user plane message to the UE device 104 via the sidelink connection.

[0063] At operation 614, the UE device 104 sends a third message (e.g., user plane or control plane) to the UE device 102. The third message indicates that the third message is intended for the cellular network 106. At operation 615, the UE device 102 forwards the third message to the cellular network 106 via the network slice 118-2.

[0064] In operation 616, the UE device 104 detects that a signal associated with the sidelink connection is weak or weakening based on signal strength indicators such as SS-RSRP (synchronization signal-reference signal received power), CSI-RSRP, NR-RSSI (new radio-received signal strength indicator), CSI-RSSI, SS-RSRQ (synchronization signal-reference signal received quality), CSI-RSRQ, SS-SINR (synchronization signal-signal to interference and noise ratio), CSI-SINR, RSSI, RSRP, and SINR. In operation 633, the UE device 104 performs a slice modification procedure according to operations 617-624. In operation 617, the UE device 104 transmits a message (labeled "Slice Modification Request" in FIG. 6) to the UE device 102 to request modification of a set of network slices (e.g., network slice 118-2) for the UE device 104 to change from a network slice that uses the sidelink connection to another network slice that does not use the sidelink connection. In operation 618, the UE device 102 sends a message (labeled "NAS Registration Request" in FIG. 6) to the cellular network 106 to request modification of the set of network slices for the UE device 104 to change from a network slice that uses sidelink connectivity to another network slice that does not use sidelink connectivity. In operation 620, the cellular network 106 communicatively couples the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via link 3 of FIG. 5 and without using a sidelink channel by allocating cellular network 106 resources for the control plane and user plane of the network slice 118-2.

[0065] At operation 622, the cellular network 106 sends a message to the UE device 102, the message indicating a control plane and user plane configuration update of the network slice 118-2 to remove the sidelink connection. At operation 624, the UE device 102 sends a message to the UE device 104, the message indicating a control plane and user plane configuration update of the network slice 118-2 to remove the sidelink connection.

[0066] At operation 626, the cellular network 106 transmits a control plane message to the UE device 104 via the network slice 118-2 over link 3, thereby communicatively coupling the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 over link 3 of FIG. 5 and without using a sidelink channel. At operation 628, the cellular network 106 transmits a user plane message to the UE device 104 via the network slice 118-2 over link 3. At operation 630, the UE device 104 transmits a control plane message to the cellular network 106 via the network slice 118-2 over link 3. At operation 632, the UE device 104 transmits a user plane message to the cellular network 106 via the network slice 118-2 over link 3.

[0067] Meanwhile, network slice 1 continues to provide the same class of service to UE device 102. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example device diagram 700 of a UE device 702 (e.g., UE device 102, UE device 104) according to some embodiments. The device diagram 700 illustrates a UE device that can implement various aspects of a network slice of a cellular network. The UE device 702 may include additional functionality and interfaces that are omitted from FIG. 7 for clarity. The UE device 702 includes an antenna 701, a radio frequency (RF) front end 704, and one or more RF transceivers 706 (e.g., a 3GPP fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE) transceiver 706-1 and a 5G NR transceiver 706-2) for communicating with a base station 112 in the RAN 108 of FIG. 1, such as a 5G RAN and / or an E-UTRAN. One antenna array may be used for cellular signaling and (optionally) another antenna array may be used for wireless communication over a sidelink connection. The UE device 702 (e.g., UE device 102) includes one or more additional transceivers 706-3, such as a local wireless network transceiver, to communicate with other UE devices 702 (e.g., UE device 104), such as those in a wirelessly tethered configuration with the UE device 702, via one or more local wireless networks (e.g., WLAN, Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), Personal Area Network (PAN), Wireless Fidelity Direct (Wi-Fi-Direct), IEEE 802.15.4, ZigBee, Thread, mm-Wave, etc.). The RF front end 704 couples or connects the LTE transceiver 706-1, 5G NR transceiver 706-2, and the local wireless network transceiver 706-3 to the antenna 701 to facilitate various types of wireless communications.

[0068] The antenna 701 of the UE device 702 includes an array of multiple antennas configured similarly or differently from one another. The antenna 701 and the RF front end 704 may be tuned and / or tunable to one or more frequency bands, such as frequency bands defined by 3GPP LTE, 3GPP 5G NR, IEEE WMAN, or other communications standards. The antenna 701, the RF front end 704, the LTE transceiver 706-1, the 5G NR transceiver 706-2, and / or the local wireless network transceiver 706-3 are configured to support beamforming (e.g., analog, digital, or hybrid) or in-phase and quadrature (I / Q) operations (e.g., I / Q modulation or demodulation operations) for transmitting and receiving communications with the base station 112. By way of example, the antenna 701 and the RF front end 704 operate in sub-gigahertz bands, sub-6 GHz bands, and / or above 6 GHz bands defined by 3GPP LTE, 3GPP 5G NR, or other communications standards.

[0069] Using at least a portion of the antennas 701, the UE device 702 can form a steered or unsteered beam, a wide or narrow beam, or a beam shaped (e.g., as a hemisphere, cube, fan, cone, or cylinder). The transmit antenna(s) may have an unsteered omnidirectional radiation pattern or may be capable of generating a wide steerable beam.

[0070] The UE device 702 includes one or more sensors 708 implemented to detect various characteristics such as temperature, power supply, power usage, battery status, etc. The sensors 708 may include any one or combination of temperature sensors, thermistors, battery sensors, and power usage sensors. The UE device 702 uses the various characteristics to determine whether the UE device 702 has the capability to connect to the cellular network 106 over its air interface or whether the UE device 702 only has sufficient resources (e.g., battery power, etc.) to connect to the cellular network 106 using a sidelink connection to another UE device.

[0071] The UE device 702 also includes at least one processor 710 and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium 712 (CRM 712). The computer-readable storage medium described herein does not include a propagated signal. The CRM 712 includes any suitable memory or storage device, such as random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or flash memory, that can be used to store device data 714 of the UE device 702. The device data 714 includes, for example, user data, multimedia data, beamforming codebooks, applications, and / or the operating system of the UE device 702, which are executable by the processor 710 to enable user plane communications, control plane signaling, and user interaction with the UE device 702.

[0072] The CRM 712 includes a communications manager 716. Alternatively, or in addition, the communications manager 716 is implemented in whole or in part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the UE device 702. The communications manager 716 configures the RF front end 704, the LTE transceiver 706-1, the 5G NR transceiver 706-2, and / or the local wireless network transceiver 706-3 to perform one or more wireless communications operations.

[0073] The CRM 712 further includes a tethering manager 718 and a tethering client 720. Alternatively or additionally, one or more of these components are, at least in some embodiments, implemented in whole or in part as hardware logic or circuitry that is integrated with or separate from other components of the UE device 702. The tethering manager 718 configures the RF front end 704, the transceiver(s) 706, the processor 710, and / or other components of the UE device 702 to implement the techniques described herein with respect to the UE device 102. The tethering client 720 configures the RF front end 704, the transceiver(s) 706, the processor 710, and / or other components of the UE device 702 to implement the techniques described herein with respect to the UE device 104. The tethering manager 718 and the tethering client 720 enable the UE device 702 to establish a connection with a cellular network through another device using wireless or wired tethering techniques.

[0074] 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for implementing network slicing by a host UE device, according to some embodiments. Method 800 is performed by processing logic including hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, processor, processing device, central processing unit (CPU), system on chip (SoC), etc.), software (e.g., instructions and / or applications executing / running on a processing device), firmware (e.g., microcode), or a combination thereof. Method 800 is performed by a host UE device, such as host UE device 102.

[0075] 8, method 800 illustrates example functions that may be used by various embodiments. Although certain functional blocks ("blocks") are disclosed in method 800, such blocks are examples; that is, embodiments are well suited to performing various other blocks or variations of blocks described in method 800. It is understood that the blocks of method 800 may be performed in an order different from that presented, and that not all of the blocks of method 800 may be performed.

[0076] 8, the method 800 includes block 802 of sending a message to the cellular network 106 to request the cellular network 106 to establish a network slice for the UE device 102. The method 800 includes block 804 of receiving a message from the cellular network 106, the message indicating that the cellular network 106 has established a first network slice (e.g., network slice 118-1 of FIG. 1) for communicatively coupling the UE device 102 to the cellular network 106. The method 800 includes block 805 of establishing a sidelink channel between the UE device 102 and the UE device 104.

[0077] The method 800 includes a block 806 of receiving a message from the UE device 104 via the sidelink connection, the message being a request for a network slice for the UE device 104. The method 800 includes a block 808 of sending a message to the cellular network 106 requesting the cellular network 106 to establish a second network slice for communicatively coupling the UE device 102 to the cellular network 106 via the sidelink connection. The method 800 includes a block 812 of receiving a message from the cellular network 106, the message indicating that the cellular network 106 has established a second network slice (e.g., the network slice 118-2 of FIG. 1 or the network sub-slice 118-1a of FIG. 3) for communicatively coupling the UE device 104 to the cellular network 106 via the sidelink connection. The method 800 includes a block 814 of sending a message to the UE device 104, the message indicating that the cellular network 106 has established the second network slice for the UE device 104.

[0078] 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for implementing network slicing by a host UE device, according to some embodiments. Method 900 is performed by processing logic including hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, processor, processing device, central processing unit (CPU), system on chip (SoC), etc.), software (e.g., instructions and / or applications executing / running on a processing device), firmware (e.g., microcode), or a combination thereof. Method 900 is performed by a host UE device, such as host UE device 102.

[0079] 9, method 900 illustrates example functions that may be used by various embodiments. Although certain functional blocks ("blocks") are disclosed in method 900, such blocks are examples; that is, embodiments are well suited to perform various other blocks or variations of blocks described in method 900. It is understood that the blocks of method 900 may be performed in an order different from that presented, and that not all of the blocks of method 900 may be performed.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 9, the method 900 includes a block 901 for performing a control plane / user plane (CP / UP) message filtering and forwarding procedure according to operations 902-915. The method 900 includes a block 902 for receiving a first control plane message, the first control plane message being destined for a first network slice of the UE device 102. The method 900 includes a block 903 for receiving a second control plane message, the second control plane message being destined for a second network slice of the UE device 104. The method 900 includes a block 905 for filtering out the second control plane message destined for the second network slice. The method 900 includes a block 907 for determining that the cellular network 106 has established a second network slice for the UE device 104 and forwarding the second control plane message to the UE device 104 via a sidelink connection.

[0081] The method 900 includes a block 909 of receiving a first user plane message destined for a first network slice from the cellular network 106. The method 900 includes a block 909-1 of determining that the cellular network 106 has established the first network slice for the UE device 102 and preventing the first user plane message from being forwarded to the UE device 104.

[0082] The method 900 includes a block 911 of receiving a second user plane message destined for a second network slice from the cellular network 106. The method 900 includes a block 913 of determining that the cellular network 106 has established a second network slice for the UE device 104 and forwarding the second user plane message to the UE device 104 via a sidelink connection.

[0083] The method 900 includes a block 914 of receiving a third message (e.g., user plane or control plane) from the UE device 104, the third message being destined for the cellular network 106. The method 900 includes a block 915 of forwarding the third message to the cellular network 106 via the second network slice.

[0084] The method 900 includes block 933 of performing a slice modification procedure according to operations 917-924. The method 900 includes block 917 of receiving a message from the UE device 104, the message requesting modification of a set of network slices for the UE device 104 to change from a network slice that uses sidelink connectivity to another network slice that does not use sidelink connectivity. The method 900 includes block 918 of sending a message to the cellular network 106 requesting modification of a set of network slices for the UE device 104 to change from a network slice that uses sidelink connectivity to another network slice that does not use sidelink connectivity.

[0085] The method 900 includes block 922 of receiving a message from the cellular network 106, the message indicating a control plane and user plane configuration update of the second network slice to remove the sidelink connection. The method 900 includes block 924 of sending a message to the UE device 104, the message indicating a control plane and user plane configuration update of the second network slice to remove the sidelink connection.

[0086] 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for implementing network slicing by a sidelink wireless device 104, according to some embodiments. Method 1000 is performed by processing logic including hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, processor, processing device, central processing unit (CPU), system on chip (SoC), etc.), software (e.g., instructions and / or applications executing / running on a processing device), firmware (e.g., microcode), or a combination thereof. Method 900 is performed by a sideline wireless device, such as a sidelink UE device 104.

[0087] 10, method 1000 illustrates example functions that may be used by various embodiments. Although certain functional blocks ("blocks") are disclosed in method 1000, such blocks are examples; that is, embodiments are well suited to performing various other blocks or variations of blocks described in method 1000. It is understood that the blocks of method 1000 may be performed in an order different from that presented, and that not all of the blocks of method 1000 may be performed.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 10, the method 1000 includes block 1001, which performs a control plane / user plane (CP / UP) message filtering and forwarding procedure according to operations 1007-1014. The method 1000 includes block 1007, which receives a control plane message from the cellular network 106 via the sidelink connection. The method 1000 includes block 1013, which receives a user plane message from the cellular network 106 via the sidelink connection. The method 1000 includes block 1014, which sends a message (e.g., user plane or control plane) to the UE device 102 via the sidelink connection to cause the UE device 102 to forward the message to the cellular network 106 via a second network slice.

[0089] The method 1000 includes block 1033 for performing a slice modification procedure according to operations 1017 and 1022. The method 1000 includes block 1017 for sending a message to the UE device 102, causing the UE device 102 to send a request to the cellular network 106 for modification of a set of network slices for the UE device 104 to change from a network slice that uses sidelink connectivity to another network slice that does not use sidelink connectivity. The method 1000 includes block 1022 for receiving a message from the UE device 102 indicating a control plane and user plane configuration update of the second network slice to remove the sidelink connection.

[0090] Unless otherwise specified, terms such as "establishing," "receiving," "transmitting," and the like refer to actions and processes performed or implemented by a computing device that manipulates data represented as physical (electronic) quantities in the registers and memory of the computing device into other data that are similarly represented as physical quantities in the memory or registers of the computing device, or other such information storage, transmission, or display device. Also, as used herein, terms such as "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like are intended as labels to distinguish different elements and do not necessarily imply an ordering according to their numerical designations.

[0091] The embodiments described herein also relate to apparatus for performing the operations described herein. The apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or may comprise a general-purpose computing device selectively programmed by a computer program stored in the computing device. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium.

[0092] The methods and illustrative embodiments described herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used in accordance with the teachings described herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems is set forth in the description above.

[0093] The above description is intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments, it will be recognized that the present disclosure is not limited to the described embodiments. The scope of the present disclosure should be determined with reference to the following claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

[0094] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is to be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and / or "including," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. Thus, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0095] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions / acts shown may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two figures shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending on the functions / acts involved.

[0096] Although method acts are described in a particular order, other acts may occur between the acts described, the acts described may be arranged to occur at slightly different times, or the acts described may be distributed across a system that enables the process acts to occur at various intervals relative to the process.

[0097] Various units, circuits, or other components may be described or claimed as being "configured to" or "configurable to" perform a task or tasks. In this context, the phrase "configured to" or "configurable to" is used to imply structure by indicating that the unit / circuit / component includes structure (e.g., a circuit) that performs a task or tasks during operation. In this manner, a unit / circuit / component may be said to be configured to perform a task or to be configurable to perform a task even when the specified unit / circuit / component is not currently operating (e.g., not turned on). A unit / circuit / component used with the language "configured to" or "configurable to" includes hardware - e.g., circuits, memory that stores program instructions executable to perform operations, etc. It is expressly intended that a statement that a unit / circuit / component is "configured to" perform one or more tasks or "configurable to" perform one or more tasks does not cite 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, for that unit / circuit / component. Additionally, "configured to" or "configurable to" can include a general structure (e.g., a general circuit) that is operated by software and / or firmware (e.g., software running an FPGA or a general purpose processor) to operate in a manner that is capable of performing the task(s) in question. "Configured to" can also include adapting a manufacturing process (e.g., a semiconductor manufacturing facility) to produce devices (e.g., integrated circuits) that perform or are adapted to perform one or more tasks. It is expressly intended that "configurable to" does not apply to blank media, unprogrammed processors, or unprogrammed general purpose computers, or to unprogrammed programmable logic devices, programmable gate arrays, or other unprogrammed devices, unless accompanied by a programmed medium that confers the unprogrammed device the ability to be configured to perform the disclosed function(s).

[0098] The foregoing description has been described with reference to specific embodiments for purposes of illustration. However, the above illustrative description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments have been chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments and their practical application, and thereby enable those skilled in the art to best utilize the embodiments and various modifications as may be suitable for the particular use contemplated. Thus, the present embodiments should be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the disclosure is not limited to the details described herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0099] In the following, several embodiments are disclosed by way of examples. Example 1: A method by a first user equipment (UE), comprising: establishing a sidelink connection with a second UE; receiving a first request for a network slice of a physical network from the second UE via the sidelink connection; in response to receiving the first request for the network slice, sending a first message to the physical network via a first network slice between the first UE and the physical network to request the physical network to establish a second network slice communicatively coupling the second UE to the physical network via the sidelink connection; The method comprising:

[0100] Example 2: The method of example 1, wherein the first request includes information indicating at least one of a quality of service (QoS) characteristic or a sidelink connection characteristic. Example 3. The method of example 2, wherein the sidelink connection characteristics include information indicative of at least one of a delay of the sidelink connection, a data rate of the sidelink connection, or a packet loss rate of the sidelink connection.

[0101] Example 4. The method of example 1, wherein the first request includes an indication regarding the second network slice. Example 5. Determining, based on the indication, whether to request the physical network to establish the second network slice as a separate network slice from the first network slice or as a sub-slice of the first network slice; The method of Example 4, further comprising:

[0102] Example 6. Based on the indication, sending the first message to the physical network via the first network slice to request the network to establish the second network slice for the second UE as a network slice separate from the first network slice; The method of Example 4 or 5, further comprising:

[0103] Example 7. A method as described in any of Examples 4 to 6, wherein the indication includes an indicator of preference for the separate network slice. Example 8. The method of any of Examples 4 to 7, wherein the indicator is single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI).

[0104] Example 9. Based on the indicator, sending the first message to the physical network via the first network slice to request the physical network to establish the second network slice for the second UE as a sub-slice of the first network slice; The method of Example 4 or 5, further comprising:

[0105] Example 10. The method of any one of Examples 4, 5 or 9, wherein the indication includes an indicator of a preference for the sub-slice. Example 11. The method of any one of Examples 4, 5, 9 or 10, wherein the indicator is the absence of single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI).

[0106] Example 12. The method of any of Examples 4-11, wherein the indication includes an indicator of a device type identifier. Example 13. A method as described in any of Examples 2-4 or 9-12, wherein the indication is associated with at least one of a peak data rate not exceeding a peak data rate of the first network slice, a user experience metric not exceeding a user experience metric of the first network slice, a latency not exceeding a latency of the first network slice, or a mobility metric associated with the first network slice.

[0107] Example 14. A method as described in any of Examples 1 to 13, wherein the first network slice supports a first quality of service (QoS) flow and the second network slice supports a second QoS flow.

[0108] Example 15. The method of any of Examples 1-14, wherein the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow use the same set of parameters or different sets of parameters.

[0109] Example 16. Receiving a second request to release the second UE from the second network slice via the sidelink connection; sending a second message via the first network slice to request the physical network to modify the second network slice to release the second UE from the second network slice; The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 15, further comprising:

[0110] Example 17. Receiving a third request to modify a set of network slices for the second UE from the second UE via the sidelink connection; sending a third message to the physical network via the first network slice to request the physical network to modify a set of network slices for the second UE and to request the physical network to establish a third network slice communicatively coupling the second UE to the physical network via the sidelink connection; The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 16, further comprising:

[0111] Example 18. Receiving a first non-access stratum message associated with the first network slice and a second non-access stratum message associated with the second network slice from the physical network; redirecting the second non-access stratum message to the second UE via the sidelink connection without redirecting the first non-access stratum message to the second UE; The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 17, further comprising:

[0112] Example 19. The method of example 18, wherein the first non-access stratum message and the second non-access stratum message are associated with a control plane message or a user plane message, respectively.

[0113] Example 20. Receiving a second request from the second UE via the sidelink connection to modify a set of network slices for the second UE to change from the second network slice using the sidelink connection to a third network slice not using the sidelink connection; sending a third message to the physical network via the first network slice to request the physical network to modify a set of network slices for the second UE from the second network slice that uses the sidelink connection to the third network slice that does not use the sidelink connection; The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 19, further comprising:

[0114] Example 21 The third message is: (a) a request to move a control plane of the second network slice to the third network slice; or (b) a request to delete the sidelink connection from a user plane of the second network slice; and The method of example 20, further comprising:

[0115] Example 22. Receiving a fourth message from the physical network via the second network slice, the fourth message including a configuration update including configuration information of the third network slice; transmitting, via the sidelink connection to the second UE, the configuration information for the second UE to use when communicating with the physical network via the third network slice; The method of Example 20 or 21, further comprising:

[0116] Example 23. The method of any of Examples 20 or 22, wherein the third network slice is a separate network slice from the first network slice. Example 24. The method of any of Examples 20 or 22, wherein the third network slice communicatively couples the second UE to the physical network via an air interface of the second UE without using the sidelink connection.

[0117] Example 25. A method by a second user equipment (UE), comprising: establishing a sidelink connection with a first UE; sending a first request for a network slice of the physical network to the first UE via the sidelink connection; receiving, from the first UE via the sidelink connection, an indication of a second network slice communicatively coupling the second UE to the physical network via the sidelink connection; The method comprising:

[0118] Example 26. Measuring parameters related to the sidelink connection; determining a timing of modification of a set of network slices for the second UE to change from the second network slice using the sidelink connection to another network slice not using the sidelink connection based on the parameters associated with the sidelink connection; sending, to the first UE via the sidelink connection, a second request to modify the set of network slices for the second UE from the second network slice using the sidelink connection to another network slice not using the sidelink connection; receiving, from the first UE via the sidelink connection, an indication that the network has established a third network slice for the second UE, the third network slice connecting the second UE to the network via an air interface of the second UE; The method of Example 25, further comprising:

[0119] Example 27. The method of example 26, wherein the parameters include at least one of a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) value, or a signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) value.

[0120] Example 28. Sending a third request to move the control plane of the second network slice to the third network slice; or sending a third request to delete the sidelink connection from a user plane of the second network slice; The method of Example 26, further comprising:

[0121] Example 29. The method of Example 26, wherein the third network slice is a network slice separate from the first network slice or a sub-slice of the first network slice.

[0122] Example 30. The method of Example 26, wherein the third network slice communicatively couples the second UE to the physical network via an air interface of the second UE without using the sidelink connection.

[0123] Example 31. One or more radio frequency (RF) modems; a processor connected to the one or more RF modems; At least one memory storing executable instructions, the executable instructions operating the processor or at least one of the one or more RF modems to perform a method according to any one of Examples 1 to 30; A user equipment (UE).

Claims

1. A method by a first user equipment (UE) (102), comprising: receiving (806) a first request for a first network slice of the physical network (106) from a second UE (104) via a sidelink connection (119); sending (808) a second request to the physical network via the first network slice to establish a second network slice communicatively coupling the second UE (104) to the physical network (106) via the sidelink connection (119); A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first request includes an indication regarding the second network slice, the indication specifying at least one of a Quality of Service (QoS) characteristic or a sidelink connection characteristic, the sidelink connection characteristic including at least one of a delay of the sidelink connection, a data rate of the sidelink connection, or a packet loss rate of the sidelink connection.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: determining, based on the indication, whether to request the physical network to establish the second network slice as a network slice separate from the first network slice or as a sub-slice of the first network slice, the sub-slice of the first network slice being separate from other network sub-slices within the first network slice and separate from other network slices of the physical network.

4. 4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: based on the indication, sending a first message to the physical network via the first network slice to request the network to establish the second network slice for the second UE as a network slice separate from the first network slice.

5. 4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: based on the indication, sending a first message to the physical network via the first network slice to request the physical network to establish the second network slice for the second UE as a sub-slice of the first network slice.

6. The method of any one of claims 2 to 4 or 5, wherein the indication is associated with at least one of a peak data rate not exceeding a peak data rate of the first network slice, a user experience metric not exceeding a user experience metric of the first network slice, a latency not exceeding a latency of the first network slice, or a mobility metric associated with the first network slice.

7. receiving a third request to release the second UE from the second network slice via the sidelink connection; sending a second message via the first network slice to request the physical network to modify the second network slice to release the second UE from the second network slice; The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising:

8. receiving a fourth request from the second UE via the sidelink connection to modify a set of network slices for the second UE; sending a third message to the physical network via the first network slice to request the physical network to modify a set of network slices for the second UE and to request the physical network to establish a third network slice communicatively coupling the second UE to the physical network via the sidelink connection; The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:

9. receiving a fifth request from the second UE via the sidelink connection to modify a set of network slices for the second UE from the second network slice using the sidelink connection to a third network slice not using the sidelink connection; sending a third message to the physical network via the first network slice, requesting the physical network to modify a set of network slices for the second UE from the second network slice using the sidelink connection to the third network slice not using the sidelink connection, the third network slice communicatively coupling the second UE to the physical network over an air interface of the second UE without using the sidelink connection; The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising:

10. The third message includes: (a) a request to move a control plane of the second network slice to the third network slice; or (b) a request to delete the sidelink connection from a user plane of the second network slice; and The method of claim 9 further comprising:

11. receiving a fourth message from the physical network via the second network slice, the fourth message including a configuration update including configuration information of the third network slice; transmitting, to the second UE via the sidelink connection, the configuration information for the second UE to use when communicating with the physical network via the third network slice; The method of claim 9 or 10, further comprising:

12. A method by a second user equipment (UE) (104), comprising: sending (206) a first request for a first network slice of a physical network to a first UE via a sidelink connection; receiving (214) from the first UE (102) via the sidelink connection an indication of a second network slice communicatively coupling the second UE to the physical network via the sidelink connection; A method comprising:

13. measuring a parameter associated with the sidelink connection; and determining a timing of modification of a set of network slices for the second UE to change from the second network slice using the sidelink connection to another network slice not using the sidelink connection based on the parameters associated with the sidelink connection; sending, to the first UE via the sidelink connection, a second request to modify the set of network slices for the second UE from the second network slice using the sidelink connection to another network slice not using the sidelink connection; receiving an indication from the first UE via the sidelink connection that the network has established a third network slice for the second UE, the third network slice connecting the second UE to the network via an air interface of the second UE; the parameters include at least one of a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) value, or a signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) value; The method of claim 12.

14. sending a third request to move a control plane of the second network slice to the third network slice; or sending a third request to delete the sidelink connection from a user plane of the second network slice; The method of claim 13 further comprising:

15. one or more radio frequency (RF) modems (706-1, 706-2); a processor (710) coupled to said one or more RF modems (706-1, 706-2); at least one memory (712) storing executable instructions, the executable instructions operating the processor (710) or at least one of the one or more RF modems to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 14; A user equipment (UE) (702).

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