Terminal device and method

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium. The first terminal device receives a sidelink configuration including a first setting for packet duplication for at least one SL RB from a first network device. The first terminal device determines a set of activated RLC entities associated with a PDCP entity for the SL RB based at least on the first setting, and transmits a set of PDCP packet duplications to a second terminal device via the set of activated RLC entities. In this way, packet duplication for sidelink transmission can be appropriately supported.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and in particular, to a communication method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for packet replication in sidelink transmission.

Background Art

[0002] New Radio (NR) sidelink communication is an access stratum (AS) function that enables communication between two or more neighboring user equipments (UEs) without passing through a network node while using NR technology. Considering the safety requirements of services for vehicles in sidelink communication, improving the reliability of sidelink data and reducing latency are one of the important goals. Packet replication is an efficient way to improve the reliability of sidelink transmission and improve latency performance. However, packet replication in sidelink transmission is not yet complete and needs further development.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] Generally, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for packet replication in sidelink transmission.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes, at a first terminal device, receiving, from a first network device, a sidelink configuration including a first setting of packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer; determining, based at least on the first setting, a set of activated radio link control (RLC) entities associated with a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity for the sidelink radio bearer; and transmitting, via the set of activated RLC entities, a set of PDCP packet duplications to a second terminal device.

[0005] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes, at a second terminal device, receiving, via a sidelink between the second terminal device and the first terminal device, a second setting of packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer; and transmitting information about the second setting to a second network device.

[0006] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes, at a first network device, transmitting a sidelink configuration including a first setting of packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer to a first terminal device.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes, at a second network device, receiving information about a second setting of packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer from the second terminal device; and transmitting at least one of a third setting of packet duplication for a transmission side or a fourth setting of packet duplication for a reception side to the second terminal device.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a processor configured to cause the device to execute the method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present disclosure.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable medium storing instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed on at least one processor, the at least one processor is caused to execute a method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present disclosure.

[0010] Other features of the present disclosure should be readily understood through the following description.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011] By describing some embodiments of the present disclosure in more detail in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure should become clearer.

[0012]

Figure 1A

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Figure 1F

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Figure 1G

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[0025] Throughout all the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

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

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

[0028] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having a wireless or wired communication function. Examples of terminal devices include user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, vehicle-mounted devices for V2X communication (where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure / network), devices of spacecraft or aircraft in non-terrestrial networks (NTN) including High Altitude Platforms (HAP) and satellites that include Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Extended Reality (XR) devices including different types of reality such as Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), Virtual Reality (VR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are generally known as drones and are aircraft that do not require a human pilot, devices on high speed trains (HSTs), imaging devices such as digital cameras, sensors, gaming devices, music storage / playback devices, or Internet devices that enable wireless / wired Internet access and browsing, etc., but are not limited thereto.The "terminal device" can further have a multicast / broadcast function and support public safety, mission-critical, V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast delivery, IPTV, smart TV, wireless services, wireless software delivery, group communication, and IoT applications. Also, one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), known as multi-SIM, may be incorporated. The term "terminal device" can be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber equipment, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device.

[0029] The term "network device" refers to a device capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage with which a terminal device can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, Node B (NodeB or NB), Evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), transmission reception point (TRP), remote radio unit (RRU), radio head (RH), remote radio head (RRH), IAB node, femto node, low-power nodes such as pico nodes, Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS), etc.

[0030] The terminal device or network device may have an artificial intelligence (Al) or machine learning function. Generally, it includes a model that can learn from a large number of data collected for a specific function and be used to predict some information.

[0031] The terminal device or network device may function in a plurality of frequency ranges, such as, for example, FR1 (410 MHz to 7125 MHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz to 71 GHz), a frequency band higher than 100 GHz, terahertz (THz), etc. Further, it can function in licensed / unlicensed / shared spectrum. The terminal device may have multiple connections with the network device in a scenario of multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) application. The terminal device or network device can function in full-duplex, flexible-duplex, and cross-division duplex modes.

[0032] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be executed in test devices such as, for example, signal generators, signal analyzers, spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, test terminal devices, test network devices, channel emulators, etc.

[0033] In some embodiments, the terminal device may be connected to a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a master node, and the other may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs). In some embodiments, the first network device may be a first RAT device, and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In some embodiments, the first RAT device is an eNB, and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information related to different RATs may be transmitted from at least one of the first network device or the second network device to the terminal device. In some embodiments, the first information may be transmitted from the first network device to the terminal device, and the second information may be directly transmitted from the second network device to the terminal device or transmitted via the first network device. In some embodiments, information related to the settings of the terminal device set by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. Information related to the re - settings of the terminal device set by the second network device may be directly transmitted from the second network device to the terminal device or transmitted via the first network device.

[0034] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "comprising" and variations thereof are to be construed as an open-ended term meaning "including, but not limited to". The term "based on" is to be construed as "at least partially based on". The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" are to be construed as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" is to be construed as "at least one other embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. may refer to different objects or the same object. There may be other explicit and implicit definitions included in the following content.

[0035] In some examples, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as "optimal", "lowest", "highest", "minimum", "maximum", etc. Such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection is possible from among a plurality of functional alternatives being used, and it will be understood that such a selection need not be superior, smaller, higher, or more preferable than other selections.

[0036] In the context of the present disclosure, the term "packet duplication" may be used interchangeably with "PDCP duplication" or "PDCP packet duplication". The term "carrier" may also be referred to as "cell" or "serving cell".

[0037] Generally, the improvement of sidelink data rate is motivated by applications such as the sharing of sensor information (e.g., video) between vehicles performing highly automated driving. In the case of commercial use, data rates beyond what is possible may be required. The improvement of data rate can be achieved by supporting sidelink carrier aggregation. On the other hand, considering the requirements for service safety for vehicles, improving the reliability of sidelink data and reducing latency are also one of the important goals. Packet duplication is an efficient way to improve the reliability of sidelink transmission and improve latency performance.

[0038] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication solution that supports packet duplication for sidelink transmission. In this solution, a first terminal device acting as a side that initiates sidelink communication receives a sidelink setting including a setting of packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer. The first terminal device determines a set of activated RLC entities associated with a PDCP entity for the sidelink radio bearer based at least on the setting, and transmits a set of PDCP packet duplications to a second terminal device as a peer party of the sidelink communication via the set of activated RLC entities. In this way, packet duplication for sidelink transmission can be appropriately supported.

[0039] The principle and implementation of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Example of a communication network

[0040] FIG. 1A shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication network 100A in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1A, the communication network 100A may include terminal devices 110 and 120, and network devices 130 and 140. The network devices 130 and 140 provide respective cells 131 and 141 to provide services to the terminal devices.

[0041] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is located in the cell 131 and receives services from the network device 130. The terminal device 120 is located in the cell 141 and receives services from the network device 140.

[0042] It should be understood that the number of devices and cells in FIG. 1A is shown for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation to the present disclosure. The communication network 100A may include any suitable number of network devices and / or terminal devices and / or cells suitable for implementing the implementation of the present disclosure.

[0043] In some embodiments, the terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110 or 120) and the network device (e.g., network device 130 or 140) may communicate with each other via a channel such as a wireless communication channel in the air interface (e.g., Uu interface). The wireless communication channel may include a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical random-access channel (PRACH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Of course, any other suitable channel is also possible.

[0044] In some embodiments, any two of the terminal devices (e.g., terminal devices 110, 120) may communicate with each other via a sidelink channel in the sidelink interface (e.g., PC5 interface). The sidelink channel may include a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH). Of course, any other suitable channel is also possible.

[0045] In some embodiments, the network devices 130, 140 may be different network devices. In some embodiments, the network devices 130, 140 may be the same network device.

[0046] In some embodiments, the terminal devices 110, 120 may communicate with each other by one or more carriers (not shown) for sidelink. In some embodiments where the terminal devices 110, 120 communicate with each other by a plurality of carriers for sidelink, one of the plurality of carriers for sidelink may be provided as a primary carrier for sidelink, and the remaining one or more carriers for sidelink may be provided as secondary carriers for sidelink. For example, the primary carrier may always be activated, and the secondary carrier may be activated as needed. As another example, the wireless link monitoring of the sidelink may be performed on the primary carrier.

[0047] Communication in the communication network 100A may conform to any suitable standard, including, but not limited to, the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), new radio (NR), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), machine type communication (MTC), etc. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented according to any generation of communication protocol known currently or developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced Network, or sixth generation (6G) network.

[0048] Communication between a terminal device and a network device within the communication network 100A may be performed in accordance with the protocol stacks of the user plane and the control plane. Generally speaking, in the case of a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device), there are a plurality of entities for a plurality of network protocol layers within the protocol stack, and they can be set to perform corresponding processing on data or signaling transmitted from and received by the communication device. FIG. 1B shows a schematic diagram 100B of network protocol layer entities that can be established for a user plane protocol stack in a device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the sake of explanation, hereinafter, the terminal device 110 will be taken as an example of a terminal device, and the network device 130 will be taken as an example of a network device for explanation.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 1B, each of the terminal device 110 and the network device 130 may include an L1 layer entity, that is, a physical (PHY) layer entity (also referred to as a PHY entity), and one or more entities of upper layers (L2 layer and L3 layer, that is, higher layers). The one or more entities of the upper layers include an entity of a media access control (MAC) layer (also referred to as a MAC entity), an entity of an RLC layer (also referred to as an RLC entity), an entity of a PDCP layer (also referred to as a PDCP entity), and an entity of a service data application protocol (SDAP) layer (also referred to as an SDAP entity, established in networks of 5G and above generations).

[0050] Figure 1C shows a schematic diagram 100C illustrating network protocol layer entities that can be established for a control plane protocol stack in an apparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1C, each of the terminal device 110 and the network device 130 may include an L1 layer entity, i.e., a PHY layer entity (also referred to as a PHY entity), and one or more entities of the upper layers (L2 layer and L3 layer). The one or more entities of the upper layers include a MAC layer entity (also referred to as a MAC entity), an RLC layer entity (also referred to as an RLC entity), a PDCP layer entity (also referred to as a PDCP entity), and an RRC layer entity (also referred to as an RRC entity). The RRC layer can also be referred to as an access stratum (AS) layer, and thus the RRC entity can also be referred to as an AS entity. As shown in Figure 1C, the terminal device 110 can also include a non-access stratum (NAS) layer entity (also referred to as a NAS entity). The NAS layer on the network side is not located within the network device but is located within a core network (CN, not shown). In some cases, these entities are in a stack structure.

[0051] Generally, the channel between the RRC layer and the PDCP layer is called a radio bearer. At least one data radio bearer (DRB) for carrying data plane data and at least one signaling radio bearer (SRB) for carrying control plane data may be configured for a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110 or 120).

[0052] Communication between terminal devices within the communication network 100A may be executed in accordance with a control plane protocol stack. FIG. 1D shows a schematic diagram 100D of a user plane protocol stack for STCH that can implement some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the sake of explanation, the following description will be made using the terminal devices 110 and 120 as examples of terminal devices.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 1D, each of the terminal devices 110 and 120 may include an L1 layer entity, i.e., a PHY layer entity (also referred to as a PHY entity), and one or more entities of upper layers (L2 layer and L3 layer, i.e., higher layers). The one or more entities of the upper layers include an MAC layer entity (also referred to as an MAC entity), an RLC layer entity (also referred to as an RLC entity), a PDCP layer entity (also referred to as a PDCP entity), and an SDAP layer entity (also referred to as an SDAP entity, which is established in 5G and higher generation networks).

[0054] FIG. 1E shows a schematic diagram 100E of a control plane protocol stack of an SCCH for PC5-RRC that can implement some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the sake of explanation, the following description will be made using the terminal devices 110 and 120 as examples of terminal devices.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 1E, each of the terminal devices 110 and 120 may include an L1 layer entity, i.e., a PHY layer entity (also referred to as a PHY entity), and one or more entities of upper layers (L2 layer and L3 layer, i.e., higher layers). The one or more entities of the upper layers include an MAC layer entity (also referred to as an MAC entity), an RLC layer entity (also referred to as an RLC entity), a PDCP layer entity (also referred to as a PDCP entity), and a PC5-RRC layer entity (also referred to as a PC5-RRC entity).

[0056] In some embodiments, the RRC entity and the PC5-RRC entity in the terminal device may be the same entity (e.g., a logical entity). Of course, the RRC entity and the PC5-RRC entity may also be different entities (e.g., logical entities). In some embodiments, the RRC layer and the PC5-RRC layer in the terminal device may be implemented as the same layer. Of course, the RRC layer and the PC5-RRC layer may also be implemented as different layers.

[0057] FIG. 1F shows a schematic diagram 100F of a control plane protocol stack for SCCH for PC5-S that can implement some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1F, each of the terminal devices 110 and 120 may include an entity of the L1 layer, that is, an entity of the PHY layer (also referred to as a PHY entity), and one or more entities of the upper layers (L2 layer and L3 layer). One or more entities of the upper layer may include an entity of the MAC layer (also referred to as a MAC entity), an entity of the RLC layer (also referred to as an RLC entity), an entity of the PDCP layer (also referred to as a PDCP entity), and an entity of the PC5-S layer (also referred to as a PC5-S entity).

[0058] Generally, the PC5-RRC layer may manage the PC5 RRC connection, and the PC5-S layer may manage the PC5 unicast link. The channel between the PC5-RRC layer and the PDCP layer is called a sidelink radio bearer (SL RB). At least one sidelink DRB (SL DRB) for carrying data plane data and at least one sidelink SRB (SL SRB) for carrying control plane data may be configured in the terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110 or 120).

[0059] For each unicast PC5 RRC connection, one SL SRB (e.g., SL-SRB0) is used to send one or more PC5-S messages before PC5-S security is established. One SL SRB (e.g., SL-SRB1) is used to send one or more PC5-S messages and establish PC5-S security. After PC5-S security is established, one SL SRB (e.g., SL-SRB2) is used to send one or more protected PC5-S messages. One SL SRB (e.g., SL-SRB3) is used to send protected PC5-RRC signaling, which is used to send PC5-RRC signaling only after PC5-S security is established.

[0060] Figure 1G shows a schematic diagram 100G of the activation or deactivation of packet duplication that can implement some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1G, when packet duplication is activated or set for a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110) that is the start side of sidelink communication, PDCP packets from the PDCP entity of terminal device 110 may be repeatedly sent to a plurality of RLC entities of terminal device 110 (in this example, only two RLC entities 151 and 152 are shown for illustration) via each RLC bearer or channel. The PDCP entity may be associated with a Quality of Service (QoS) flow. The RLC entities in the plurality of RLC entities may correspond to different logical channels having their respective logical channel identities (LCIDs). The PDCP packets may be sent via the logical channel to another terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) as a peer party of sidelink communication. The RLC entities 161 and 162 of terminal device 120 may send the received PDCP packets to the PDCP entity of terminal device 120 associated with the QoS flow.

[0061] When packet duplication is deactivated or not configured for the terminal device 110, a single RLC entity (e.g., RLC entity 151) of the terminal device 110 serves each RLC bearer or channel. The PDCP entity may be associated with a QoS flow. The PDCP packets may be transmitted to the terminal device 120 via a logical channel corresponding to the RLC entity. The RLC entity 161 of the terminal device 120 may send the received PDCP packets to the PDCP entity of the terminal device 120 associated with the QoS flow.

[0062] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication solution that supports packet duplication for sidelink transmission. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, packet duplication may be applied to broadcast, groupcast, and unicast of sidelink transmission. Packet duplication for sidelink transmission may be applied to terminal devices in a connected state, an inactive state, and an idle state. Packet duplication may be supported for SL DRB for user plane data and SL SRB for control plane data. The SL SRB may be at least one of SL SRB0, SL SRB1, SL SRB2, or SL SRB3. Packet duplication by two or more RLC entities may be supported.

[0063] For the sake of explanation, more detailed content of this solution will be described with reference to FIG. 2. Exemplary implementation of packet duplication for sidelink transmission

[0064] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a communication process 200 for packet duplication in sidelink transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, process 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1A. Process 200 may involve the terminal devices 110, 120, and network devices 130, 140 shown in FIG. 1A. It is assumed that the network device 130 provides a serving cell (e.g., cell 131) to the terminal device 110. The network device 140 provides a serving cell (e.g., cell 141) to the terminal device 120. Packet Duplication Setup

[0065] As shown in FIG. 2, the network device 130 transmits (210) a sidelink setup including a setup for packet duplication (also referred to as the first setup for convenience in this specification) for at least one SL RB to the terminal device 110.

[0066] In some embodiments, the network device 130 may transmit the sidelink setup via system information. In some embodiments, the network device 130 may transmit the sidelink setup via an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0067] In some embodiments, the SL RB in at least one SL RB may be an SL DRB. In some embodiments, the SL RB in at least one SL RB may be an SL SRB.

[0068] In some embodiments, the first setup may include a set of carriers associated with the logical channel of the SL RB when packet duplication is activated. In other words, the first setup may include a set of carriers associated with or permitted for the logical channel of the SL RB when packet duplication is activated.

[0069] In some embodiments, the first configuration may include a threshold (hereinafter also referred to as the first threshold for convenience) used to determine the number of activated RLC entities within a set of activated RLC entities. In some embodiments, the first threshold may be associated with the QoS parameters of the PDCP packets. In some embodiments, the first threshold may be associated with the sidelink reference signal receiving power (SL RSRP) of the carrier. In some embodiments, the first threshold may be associated with both the QoS parameters of the PDCP packets and the SL RSRP of the carrier. It should be understood that the first threshold may adopt any other suitable format.

[0070] In some embodiments where the SL RB is the SL SRB, the first configuration may include a set of LCIDs of logical channels used for packet duplication. Alternatively, the set of LCIDs may be hard-coded in the specification. That is, one or more specific LCIDs may be reserved as the IDs of the logical channels of the RLC entities for the duplicate transmission of one SL SRB.

[0071] In some embodiments, the first configuration may include information about the sidelink primary carrier. In other words, the network device 120 may transmit to the terminal device 110 information about which carrier is the sidelink primary carrier.

[0072] In some embodiments, the first configuration may include an indication indicating the activation of packet duplication. In some embodiments, the first configuration may include an indication indicating which RLC entities are activated.

[0073] It should be understood that the first configuration may include any combination of the above information and any other suitable information.

[0074] In some embodiments, the first setting may be pre - set in the terminal device 110 and may be used when the terminal device 110 is out of coverage. Packet Duplication Setting Request

[0075] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the network device 130 may receive (205) from the terminal device 110 a message requesting packet duplication for one destination or a sidelink QoS flow. In response to the message, the network device 130 may send the first setting. For example, based on the requested information, the network device 130 may determine whether to set packet duplication for the terminal device 110 and provide an appropriate setting.

[0076] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 in a connected state may send a message requesting a packet duplication setting to the network device 130. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may set in the message an indication of a packet duplication request or the number of RLC entities requested, the identity of the related destination, or the identity of the sidelink QoS flow. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may send a SidelinkUEInformationNR message, or any other appropriate message, to request packet duplication.

[0077] In this way, the network can receive the latest information of sidelink transmissions from the sidelink terminal device and set packet duplication for the sidelink terminal device. Settings between UEs

[0078] In some embodiments where sidelink transmission is unicast, upon receiving the first setting, the terminal device 110 may transmit to the terminal device 120 a setting for packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer (hereinafter also referred to as the second setting for convenience) via the sidelink between the terminal device 110 and the terminal device 120 (220). In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit the second setting to the terminal device 120 by means of a PC5 RRC message, such as an RRCReconfigurationSidelink message or any other suitable message.

[0079] In some embodiments, the SL RB in at least one SL RB may include an SL DRB. In some embodiments, the SL RB in at least one SL RB may include an SL SRB.

[0080] In some embodiments, the second setting may include an indication indicating the activation of packet duplication. In some embodiments, the second setting may include an indication indicating which RLC entity is activated.

[0081] In some embodiments, the second setting may include the number of secondary RLC entities associated with the SL RB. In other words, the second setting may include the number of additional RLC entities associated with the SL RB. In some embodiments, the second setting may include the total number of RLC entities associated with the SL RB.

[0082] In some embodiments, the second setting may include a set of RLC settings for a set of secondary RLC entities. The secondary RLC entity can also be referred to as an additional RLC entity.

[0083] In some embodiments, the second configuration may include a set of LCIDs of logical channels used for a set of secondary RLC entities for packet duplication.

[0084] In some embodiments, the second configuration may include a set of carriers associated with an SL RB when packet duplication is activated.

[0085] In some embodiments, the second configuration may include a threshold (for convenience, also referred to herein as the second threshold). The threshold is used to trigger the terminal device 120 to send an indication to the terminal device 110 indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication.

[0086] It should be understood that the second configuration may include any combination of the above information and any other appropriate information.

[0087] In some embodiments, in the case of broadcast and groupcast sidelink transmissions, the LCIDs of the secondary or additional RLC entities may be hard-coded in the specification. That is, for duplicate transmission of one SL DRB used for broadcast and groupcast, one or more specific LCIDs are reserved as the logical channel IDs of the RLC entity. Reporting of Packet Duplication

[0088] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, when receiving the second configuration, the terminal device 120 may send the information of the second configuration to the network device 140 (230). In other words, the terminal device 120 may send the packet duplication information to the network device 140. For example, the terminal device 120 may send the information of the second configuration in a SidelinkUEInformationNR message or any other appropriate message.

[0089] In some embodiments, the information of the second setting may include the number of secondary RLC entities associated with the SL RB. In some embodiments, the information of the second setting may include the total number of RLC entities associated with the SL RB. In some embodiments, the information of the second setting may include a set of LCIDs of logical channels used for a set of secondary RLC entities for packet duplication. In some embodiments, the information of the second setting may include a set of carriers associated with the SL RB when packet duplication is activated. In some embodiments, the information of the second setting may include a second threshold. The second threshold is used to trigger the terminal device 120 to send an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication to the terminal device 110. In some embodiments, the information of the second setting may include an instruction indicating activation of packet duplication for the SL RB. In some embodiments, the information of the second setting may include an instruction indicating which RLC entity is activated. It should be understood that the information of the second setting may include all or part of the content of the second setting.

[0090] The network device 140 may transmit the packet duplication setting to the terminal device 120 based on the information of the second setting reported from the terminal device 120 (240). In some embodiments, for example, in the case of bidirectional traffic (e.g., RLC acknowledgement mode (AM)), the network device 140 may transmit the packet duplication setting on the transmission (Tx) side (for convenience, also referred to as the third setting in this specification). In some embodiments, the network device 140 may transmit the packet duplication setting on the reception (Rx) side (for convenience, also referred to as the fourth setting in this specification). In some embodiments, the fourth setting may include a second threshold. The second threshold is used to trigger the terminal device 120 to send an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication to the terminal device 110.

[0091] In some embodiments, the network device 140 may transmit both the third setting and the fourth setting.

[0092] For example, the network device 140 may determine whether to set packet duplication for the terminal device 120 based on the reported information of the second setting and provide an appropriate setting. Determination of Activated RLC Entities

[0093] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, based on at least the first setting, the terminal device 110 determines a set of activated RLC entities associated with the PDCP entity for the SL RB (250). In some embodiments, the SL RB may be an SL DRB. In some embodiments, the SL RB may be an SL SRB.

[0094] If all RLC entities associated with the PDCP entity of SL RB are always activated, unnecessary redundant transmissions may occur, which may increase the possibility of channel congestion and UE power consumption. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, by determining a set of activated RLC entities, packet duplication in the RLC entity can be activated only when necessary, saving the use of radio resources in the sidelink and saving UE power.

[0095] In some embodiments, the set of activated RLC entities may be a subgroup of all configured RLC entities. In some embodiments, the set of activated RLC entities may be all configured RLC entities. In some embodiments, the number of RLC entities within the set of activated RLC entities may be any suitable integer, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, or a value greater than that.

[0096] In some embodiments, packet duplication using all RLC entities, once configured, is always activated for the SL SRB.

[0097] In some embodiments, the mapping between the RLC entity / logical channel and the sidelink carrier may depend on the UE implementation. In some embodiments, the mapping between the RLC entity / logical channel and the sidelink carrier may be based on the configured carriers permitted for each logical channel.

[0098] For illustration purposes, some exemplary embodiments of determining a set of activated RLC entities will be described in relation to Embodiments 1 to 4. Embodiment 1

[0099] In this embodiment, the terminal device 110 may determine a set of activated RLC entities from the RLC entities configured for packet duplication based on the QoS parameters of the PDCP packets (251).

[0100] In some embodiments, the QoS parameters may be associated with the reliability requirements of the PDCP packets. In some embodiments, the QoS parameters may be the delay requirements of the PDCP packets.

[0101] In some embodiments, when the value of the QoS parameter is below the threshold of the QoS parameter value, the terminal device 110 may determine that the RLC entity configured for packet duplication is activated. When the value of the QoS parameter is below the threshold of the QoS parameter value, the terminal device 110 may determine that a predetermined number of RLC entities are activated.

[0102] In some embodiments, the threshold of the QoS parameter value may be set by the network device 130 in, for example, the system information or the RRC reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the threshold of the QoS parameter value may be pre-set in the terminal device 110. For example, the threshold of the QoS parameter value may be set as the first threshold as described above or pre-set. Embodiment 2

[0103] In this embodiment, the terminal device 110 may determine a set of activated RLC entities from the RLC entities configured for packet duplication based on the SL RSRP of the sidelink carrier (252).

[0104] In some embodiments, the carrier may be the carrier having the highest SL RSRP among the carriers of the terminal device 110. In some embodiments, the carrier may be the primary carrier.

[0105] In some embodiments, the SL RSRP may be measured by the terminal device 110 itself. In some embodiments, the SL RSRP may be measured based on the feedback of the measurement results from the terminal device 120.

[0106] In some embodiments, when the SL RSRP of a carrier is lower than the threshold RSRP, the terminal device 110 may determine that the RLC entity set for packet duplication is activated. When the SL RSRP of a carrier is lower than the threshold RSRP, the terminal device 110 may determine that a predetermined number of RLC entities are activated.

[0107] In some embodiments, the threshold RSRP may be set by the network device 130 in, for example, system information or an RRC reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the threshold RSRP may be pre-set in the terminal device 110. For example, the threshold RSRP may be set as the first threshold as described above, or may be pre-set. Embodiment 3

[0108] In this embodiment, the terminal device 110 receives (253) an instruction from the network device 130 indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication, and may determine (253’) a set of activated RLC entities based on the instruction.

[0109] In some embodiments, the instruction may be carried in system information. In some embodiments, the instruction may be carried in an RRC message. In some embodiments, the instruction may be carried in a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0110] In some embodiments, the indication may include the identity of the SL RB in the air interface. For example, the identity of the SL RB may be the SLRB Uu ConfigIndex. Of course, any other suitable form is also possible.

[0111] In some embodiments, the indication may include a bit indicating whether packet duplication is activated or deactivated for the SL RB. For example, 1 / true may mean that packet duplication is activated, and 0 / false may mean that packet duplication is deactivated. As another example, 1 / true may mean that packet duplication is deactivated, and 0 / false may mean that packet duplication is activated.

[0112] In some embodiments, the indication may include a bitmap indicating whether each RLC entity is activated or deactivated for the SL RB. Each bit in the bitmap is associated with the RLC bearer configuration of one of the RLC entities for packet duplication. In other words, the index of each bit is determined by the ascending order of the indices of the RLC bearer configurations of all the RLC entities for packet duplication.

[0113] For example, if the bit is 1 / true, it means that the associated RLC entity is activated for packet duplication. If the bit is 0 / false, it means that the associated RLC entity is deactivated for packet duplication. As another example, if the bit is 1 / true, it means that the associated RLC entity is deactivated for packet duplication. If the bit is 0 / false, it means that the associated RLC entity is activated for packet duplication.

[0114] In some embodiments where the indication is carried in a MAC CE, the size of the MAC CE may be 2 bytes. Embodiment 4

[0115] In this embodiment, the terminal device 110 receives (254) an indication from the terminal device 120 indicating activation or deactivation of an RLC entity for packet duplication, and may determine (254’) a set of activated RLC entities based on the indication.

[0116] In some embodiments, the indication may be carried in a PC5 RRC message. For example, the PC5 RRC message may be an RRCReconfigurationSidelink message or any other suitable message. In some embodiments, the indication may be carried in a MAC CE.

[0117] In some embodiments, the indication may include the identity of the SL RB in the sidelink interface. For example, the identity of the SL RB may be the SLRB PC5 ConfigIndex. Of course, any other suitable form is also possible.

[0118] In some embodiments, the indication may include a bit indicating whether packet duplication is activated or deactivated for the SL RB. For example, 1 / true may mean that packet duplication is activated, and 0 / false may mean that packet duplication is deactivated. As another example, 1 / true may mean that packet duplication is deactivated, and 0 / false may mean that packet duplication is activated.

[0119] In some embodiments, the indication may include a bitmap indicating whether each RLC entity is activated or deactivated for the SL RB. Each bit in the bitmap is associated with the LCID of one of the RLC entities for packet duplication. In other words, the index of each bit is determined by the ascending order of the LCIDs of all the RLC entities for packet duplication.

[0120] For example, if the bit is 1 / true, it means that the associated RLC entity is activated for packet duplication. If the bit is 0 / false, it means that the associated RLC entity is deactivated for packet duplication. As another example, if the bit is 1 / true, it means that the associated RLC entity is deactivated for packet duplication. If the bit is 0 / false, it means that the associated RLC entity is activated for packet duplication.

[0121] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may send an indication to the terminal device 110 based on the implementation of the UE. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may send an indication to the terminal device 110 when a condition is met.

[0122] In some embodiments, when the QoS performance of the SL RB is worse than the threshold performance, the terminal device 120 may send an instruction to activate the RLC entity for packet duplication. In some embodiments, when the QoS performance of the SL RB is better than the threshold performance, the terminal device 120 may send an instruction to deactivate the RLC entity for packet duplication. In some embodiments, the QoS performance may be a reliability performance such as a packet error rate. For example, when reception failures of a predetermined number of packets occur, the terminal device 120 may send an instruction to activate the RLC entity for packet duplication. Otherwise, the terminal device 120 may send an instruction to deactivate the RLC entity for packet duplication. This is merely an example and is not intended to be limiting.

[0123] In some embodiments, the threshold performance may be set by the terminal device 110. For example, the threshold performance may be set as the second threshold in the second setting described above. In some embodiments, the threshold performance may be set by the network device 140. For example, the threshold performance may be set as the second threshold in the fourth setting described above.

[0124] In some embodiments, when the sidelink channel state is worse than the threshold state, the terminal device 120 may send an instruction to activate the RLC entity for packet duplication. In some embodiments, when the sidelink channel state is better than the threshold state, the terminal device 120 may send an instruction to deactivate the RLC entity for packet duplication.

[0125] In some embodiments, the channel state may be determined based on the SL RSRP. In some embodiments, the channel state may be determined based on the Channel Busy Ratio (CBR). Of course, any other suitable method is also possible.

[0126] In some embodiments, the state of the threshold may be set by the terminal device 110. For example, the state of the threshold may be set as the second threshold in the second setting described above. In some embodiments, the state of the threshold may be set by the network device 140. For example, the state of the threshold may be set as the second threshold in the fourth setting described above.

[0127] Referring to FIG. 2, when a set of activated RLC entities is determined, the terminal device 110 transmits a set of PDCP packet replicas to the terminal device 120 via the set of activated RLC entities (260).

[0128] The process 200 can appropriately support packet replication for sidelink transmission. Exemplary implementation of a method

[0129] Corresponding to the above content, embodiments of the present disclosure provide communication methods implemented by a terminal device and a network device. These methods will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

[0130] In the context of the present disclosure, the first terminal device may refer to the start side of sidelink communication, and the second terminal device may refer to the peer party of sidelink communication. The first network device may refer to the network device that provides services to the first terminal device, and the second network device may refer to the network device that provides services to the second terminal device. The first network device and the second network device may be the same device or different devices.

[0131] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary communication method 300 implemented in a first terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 300 may be executed on a terminal device 110 as shown in FIG. 1A. For the purpose of discussion, method 300 will be described below with reference to FIG. 1A. Method 300 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and it should be understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0132] In block 310, a first terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110) receives a sidelink configuration including a first setting for packet duplication for at least one SL RB from a first network device (e.g., network device 130).

[0133] In some embodiments, the first setting may include at least one of a set of carriers associated with the logical channel of the SL RB when packet duplication is activated, a first threshold used to determine the number of activated RLC entities within a set of activated RLC entities, a set of identities of logical channels used for packet duplication, or information on the sidelink primary carrier.

[0134] In some embodiments, the SL RB is an SL SRB or an SL DRB. In some embodiments, the first threshold is associated with at least one of the QoS parameter of the PDCP packet or the SL RSRP of the sidelink carrier.

[0135] In block 320, the terminal device 110 determines a set of activated RLC entities associated with the PDCP entity for the SL RB based at least on the first setting.

[0136] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine a set of activated RLC entities from the RLC entities configured for packet duplication based on the QoS parameters of the PDCP packets. In some embodiments, when the value of the QoS parameter is less than the threshold value of the QoS parameter value, the terminal device 110 may determine that the RLC entity configured for packet duplication is activated. When the value of the QoS parameter is less than the threshold value of the QoS parameter value, the terminal device 110 may determine that a predetermined number of RLC entities are activated.

[0137] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine a set of activated RLC entities from the RLC entities configured for packet duplication based on the SL RSRP of the carrier. In some embodiments, the carrier may be the carrier having the highest SL RSRP among the carriers of the terminal device 110. In some embodiments, the carrier may be the primary carrier.

[0138] In some embodiments, when the SL RSRP of the carrier is less than the threshold RSRP, the terminal device 110 may determine that the RLC entity configured for packet duplication is activated. When the SL RSRP of the carrier is less than the threshold RSRP, the terminal device 110 may determine that a predetermined number of RLC entities are activated.

[0139] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive, from the network device 130, an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of an RLC entity for packet duplication, and determine a set of activated RLC entities based on the instruction. In some embodiments, the instruction may include at least one of an identity of an SL RB in the air interface, a bit indicating whether packet duplication is activated or deactivated for the SL RB, or a bitmap indicating whether each RLC entity is activated or deactivated for the SL RB. Each bit in the bitmap is associated with an RLC bearer setting of one of the RLC entities for packet duplication.

[0140] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive, from the terminal device 120, an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of an RLC entity for packet duplication, and determine a set of activated RLC entities based on the instruction. In some embodiments, the instruction may include at least one of an identity of a side link radio bearer in the side link interface, a bit indicating whether packet duplication is activated or deactivated for the SL RB, or a bitmap indicating whether each RLC entity is activated or deactivated for the SL RB. Each bit in the bitmap is associated with an LCID of one of the RLC entities for packet duplication.

[0141] In block 330, the terminal device 110 transmits a set of PDCP packet duplications to a second terminal device (e.g., the terminal device 120) via the set of activated RLC entities.

[0142] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit, to the terminal device 120, a second setting for packet duplication for at least one SL RB via a sidelink between the terminal device 110 and the terminal device 120.

[0143] In some embodiments, the second setting may include at least one of the number of secondary RLC entities associated with the SL RB, a set of RLC settings for the set of secondary RLC entities, a set of identities of logical channels used for the set of secondary RLC entities for packet duplication, a set of carriers associated with the SL RB when packet duplication is activated, or a second threshold used to trigger the terminal device 120 to transmit, to the terminal device 110, an indication indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication.

[0144] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit, to the network device 130, a message requesting packet duplication for one destination or sidelink QoS flow.

[0145] By method 300, the terminal device can perform packet duplication for sidelink transmission based on the packet duplication setting.

[0146] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary communication method 400 implemented by a second terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 400 may be executed by the terminal device 120 as shown in FIG. 1A. For the purpose of discussion, method 400 will be described below with reference to FIG. 1A. It should be understood that method 400 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0147] As shown in FIG. 4, in block 410, the second terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) may receive a second setting for packet duplication for at least one SL RB via a sidelink between the terminal device 120 and the first terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110).

[0148] In block 420, the terminal device 120 may transmit the information of the second setting to a second network device (e.g., network device 140).

[0149] In some embodiments, the information of the second setting may include at least one of the number of secondary RLC entities associated with the SL RB, a set of identities of logical channels used for the set of secondary RLC entities for packet duplication, a set of carriers associated with the SL RB when packet duplication is activated, or a second threshold used to trigger the terminal device 120 to send an indication to the terminal device 110 indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication.

[0150] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may receive at least one of a third setting for transmission - side packet duplication and a fourth setting for reception - side packet duplication from the network device 140. In some embodiments, the fourth setting may include a second threshold. The second threshold is used to trigger the terminal device 120 to send an indication to the terminal device 110 indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication.

[0151] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may send an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet replication to the terminal device 110. In some embodiments, the instruction may include at least one of the identity of the SL RB in the sidelink interface, a bit indicating whether packet replication is activated or deactivated for the SL RB, or a bitmap indicating whether each RLC entity is activated or deactivated for the SL RB. Each bit in the bitmap is associated with the LCID of one of the RLC entities for packet replication.

[0152] In some embodiments, when the QoS performance of the SL RB is worse than the threshold performance, the terminal device 120 may send an instruction indicating activation of the RLC entity for packet replication. When the QoS performance of the SL RB is better than the threshold performance, the terminal device 120 may send an instruction indicating deactivation of the RLC entity for packet replication.

[0153] In some embodiments, when the sidelink channel state is worse than the threshold state, the terminal device 120 may send an instruction indicating activation of the RLC entity for packet replication. When the sidelink channel state is better than the threshold state, the terminal device 120 may send an instruction indicating deactivation of the RLC entity for packet replication.

[0154] According to method 400, the terminal device can perform packet replication for sidelink reception based on the packet replication setting.

[0155] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary communication method 500 implemented by a first network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 500 may be executed by network device 130 as shown in FIG. 1A. For purposes of discussion, method 500 will be described below with reference to FIG. 1A. Method 500 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and it should be understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0156] In block 510, a first network device (e.g., network device 130) transmits a sidelink configuration including a first setting for packet duplication for at least one SL RB to a first terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110).

[0157] In some embodiments, the first setting may include at least one of a set of carriers associated with the logical channel of the SL RB when packet duplication is activated, a first threshold used to determine the number of activated RLC entities within a set of activated RLC entities, a set of identities of logical channels used for packet duplication, or information on the sidelink primary carrier.

[0158] In some embodiments, the SL RB is an SL SRB or an SL DRB.

[0159] In some embodiments, the first threshold is associated with at least one of the QoS parameter of the PDCP packet or the SL RSRP of the carrier.

[0160] In some embodiments, the network device 130 may send an instruction to the terminal device 110 indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication. In some embodiments, the instruction may include at least one of an identity of the SL RB in the air interface, a bit indicating whether packet duplication is activated or deactivated for the SL RB, or a bitmap indicating whether each RLC entity is activated or deactivated for the SL RB. Each bit in the bitmap is associated with an RLC bearer setting of one of the RLC entities for packet duplication.

[0161] In some embodiments, the network device 130 may receive, from the terminal device 110, a message requesting packet duplication for one destination or a sidelink QoS flow.

[0162] By method 500, the network device can configure packet duplication for sidelink transmission.

[0163] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary communication method 600 implemented in a second network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 600 may be executed in a network device 140 as shown in FIG. 1A. For the purpose of discussion, method 600 will be described below with reference to FIG. 1A. It should be understood that method 600 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0164] As shown in FIG. 6, in block 610, the second network device (e.g., network device 140) may receive, from the second terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120), information on a second configuration of packet duplication for at least one SL RB.

[0165] In some embodiments, the information of the second setting may include at least one of the number of secondary RLC entities associated with the SL RB, the set of identities of logical channels used for the set of secondary RLC entities for packet duplication, the set of carriers associated with the SL RB when packet duplication is activated, or the second threshold used to trigger the terminal device 120 to send an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication to the first terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110).

[0166] In block 620, the network device 140 sends at least one of the third setting of transmission - side packet duplication or the fourth setting of reception - side packet duplication to the terminal device 120.

[0167] In some embodiments, the fourth setting may include the second threshold. The second threshold is used to trigger the terminal device 120 to send an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication to the terminal device 110.

[0168] By method 600, the network device can set packet duplication for side - link reception and transmission.

[0169] It should be understood that the operations of methods 300 - 600 are similar to those described in relation to FIG. 2, and for the sake of brevity, other details are not repeated here. Exemplary implementation of devices and apparatuses

[0170] FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 700 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus 700 can be considered as a further exemplary implementation of the terminal device 110, or the network device 120, or the network device 130 shown in FIG. 1A. Therefore, the apparatus 700 can be implemented in the terminal device 110, or the network device 120 or the network device 130, or at least as a part thereof.

[0171] As shown in the figure, the apparatus 700 includes a processor 710, a memory 720 coupled to the processor 710, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 740 coupled to the processor 710, and a communication interface connected to the TX / RX 740. The memory 710 stores at least a part of the program 730. The TX / RX 740 is for two-way communication. The TX / RX 740 has at least one antenna for facilitating communication, but in practice, the access node described in the present application may have a plurality of antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communicating with other network elements, for example, the X2 / Xn interface for two-way communication between eNBs / gNBs, the S1 / NG interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) / SGW / UPF and an eNB / gNB, the Un interface for communication between an eNB / gNB and a relay node (RN), or the Uu interface for communication between an eNB / gNB and a terminal device.

[0172] The program 730 is regarded as including program instructions, and when the program is executed by the associated processor 710, as discussed with reference to FIGS. 1A - 6 herein, it enables the device 700 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware that is executable by the processor 710 of the device 700. The processor 710 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Also, the combination of the processor 710 and the memory 720 may constitute a processing means 750 suitable for implementing each embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0173] The memory 720 may be of any type suitable for a local technical network and may be implemented by any appropriate data storage technology (examples include, but are not limited to, computer-readable non-transitory storage media, semiconductor-based storage devices, magnetic storage devices and systems, optical storage devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory, etc.). Although only one memory 720 is shown in the device 700, multiple physically different memory modules may be installed in the device 700. The processor 710 may be of any type suitable for a local technical network and may include, for example, but is not limited to, a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and one or more processors based on a multi-core processor configuration. The device 700 may have multiple processors, for example, an application-specific integrated circuit chip that is temporally dependent on a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0174] In some embodiments, the first terminal device receives a sidelink configuration including a first setting of packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer from a first network device, determines a set of activated RLC entities associated with a PDCP entity for the sidelink radio bearer based at least on the first setting, and includes circuitry configured to transmit a set of PDCP packet duplications to a second terminal device via the set of activated RLC entities.

[0175] In some embodiments, the second terminal device includes circuitry configured to receive a second setting of packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer via a sidelink between the second terminal device and the first terminal device and transmit information on the second setting to a second network device.

[0176] In some embodiments, the first network device includes circuitry configured to transmit a sidelink configuration including a first setting of packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer to the first terminal device.

[0177] In some embodiments, the second network device includes circuitry configured to receive information on a second setting of packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer from the second terminal device and transmit at least one of a third setting of packet duplication on the transmission side and a fourth setting of packet duplication on the reception side to the second terminal device.

[0178] As used herein, the term "circuit" may mean a hardware circuit and / or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. For example, a circuit may be a combination of an analog hardware circuit and / or a digital hardware circuit and software / firmware. As a further example, a circuit may be any portion of a hardware processor with software, such as a digital signal processor, software, and memory that cooperate to provide various functions to a device such as a terminal device or a network device. In yet another example, a circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software / firmware for operation but may not have software present when not required for operation. As used herein, the term "circuit" encompasses merely a hardware circuit or processor, or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor, and its (or their) associated software and / or firmware implementation.

[0179] In summary, embodiments of the present disclosure can provide the following solutions.

[0180] In one solution, a communication method includes, at a first terminal device, receiving, from a first network device, a sidelink configuration including a first setting for packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer; determining, based at least on the first setting, a set of activated radio link control (RLC) entities associated with a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity for the sidelink radio bearer; and transmitting, via the set of activated RLC entities, a set of PDCP packet duplications to a second terminal device.

[0181] In some embodiments, the first configuration includes at least one of a set of carriers associated with a logical channel of a sidelink radio bearer when packet duplication is activated, a first threshold used to determine the number of activated RLC entities within a set of activated RLC entities, a set of identities of logical channels used for packet duplication, or information on a sidelink primary carrier.

[0182] In some embodiments, the sidelink radio bearer is a sidelink signaling radio bearer or a sidelink data radio bearer.

[0183] In some embodiments, the first threshold is associated with at least one of a service quality (QoS) parameter of PDCP packets or a sidelink reference signal receiving power (SL RSRP) of a carrier.

[0184] In some embodiments, the method described above further includes transmitting, via a sidelink between a first terminal device and a second terminal device, a second configuration of packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer to the second terminal device.

[0185] In some embodiments, the second configuration includes at least one of the number of secondary RLC entities associated with the sidelink radio bearer, a set of RLC configurations for the set of secondary RLC entities, a set of identities of logical channels used for the set of secondary RLC entities for packet duplication, a set of carriers associated with the sidelink radio bearer when packet duplication is activated, or a second threshold used to trigger the second terminal device to transmit an indication to the first terminal device indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication.

[0186] In some embodiments, the above method includes determining a set of activated RLC entities from the RLC entities configured for packet duplication based on the quality of service (QoS) parameters of the PDCP packets, or determining a set of activated RLC entities from the RLC entities configured for packet duplication based on at least one of the side link reference signal received power (SL RSRP) of the sidelink carrier.

[0187] In some embodiments, the above method includes determining a set of activated RLC entities based on the QoS parameters by determining that the RLC entity configured for packet duplication is activated according to the determination that the value of the QoS parameter is below the threshold value of the QoS parameter value, or determining that a predetermined number of RLC entities are activated according to the determination that the value of the QoS parameter is below the threshold value of the QoS parameter value.

[0188] In some embodiments, the carrier is the carrier having the highest SL RSRP among the carriers of the first terminal device, or the carrier is the primary carrier. In such embodiments, the above method includes determining a set of activated RLC entities based on the SL RSRP of the carrier by determining that the RLC entity configured for packet duplication is activated according to the determination that the SL RSRP of the carrier is below the threshold RSRP, or determining that a predetermined number of RLC entities are activated according to the determination that the SL RSRP of the carrier is below the threshold RSRP.

[0189] In some embodiments, the above method includes determining a set of activated RLC entities by receiving, from a first network device, an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of an RLC entity for packet replication, and determining the set of activated RLC entities based on the instruction. In some embodiments, the instruction includes at least one of an identity of a sidelink radio bearer at an air interface, a bit indicating whether packet replication is activated or deactivated for the sidelink radio bearer, or a bitmap indicating whether each RLC entity is activated or deactivated for the sidelink radio bearer. Each bit in the bitmap is associated with an RLC bearer configuration of one of the RLC entities for packet replication.

[0190] In some embodiments, the above method includes determining a set of activated RLC entities, and determining the set of activated RLC entities includes receiving, from a second terminal device, an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of an RLC entity for packet replication, and determining the set of activated RLC entities based on the instruction. In some embodiments, the instruction includes at least one of an identity of a sidelink radio bearer at a sidelink interface, a bit indicating whether packet replication is activated or deactivated for the sidelink radio bearer, or a bitmap indicating whether each RLC entity is activated or deactivated for the sidelink radio bearer. Each bit in the bitmap is associated with a logical channel identity (LCID) of one of the RLC entities for packet replication.

[0191] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting, to a first network device, a message that requests packet duplication for one destination or for a sidelink service quality (QoS) flow.

[0192] In another solution, the communication method includes, at a second terminal device, receiving, via a sidelink between the second terminal device and the first terminal device, a second setting for packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer, and transmitting information about the second setting to a second network device.

[0193] In some embodiments, the information about the second setting includes at least one of the number of secondary RLC entities associated with the sidelink radio bearer, a set of identities of logical channels used for a set of secondary RLC entities for packet duplication, a set of carriers associated with the sidelink radio bearer when packet duplication is activated, or a second threshold used to trigger the second terminal device to transmit to the first terminal device an indication indicating activation or deactivation of an RLC entity for packet duplication.

[0194] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, from a second network device, at least one of a third setting for packet duplication on a transmission side and a fourth setting for packet duplication on a reception side.

[0195] In some embodiments, the fourth setting includes a second threshold. The second threshold is used to trigger the second terminal device to transmit to the first terminal device an indication indicating activation or deactivation of an RLC entity for packet duplication.

[0196] In some embodiments, the above method further includes transmitting an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of an RLC entity for packet replication to a first terminal device. In some embodiments, the instruction includes at least one of an identity of a sidelink radio bearer in a sidelink interface, a bit indicating whether packet replication is activated or deactivated for the sidelink radio bearer, or a bitmap indicating whether each RLC entity is activated or deactivated for the sidelink radio bearer. Each bit in the bitmap is associated with a logical channel identity (LCID) of one of the RLC entities for packet replication.

[0197] In some embodiments, the above method includes transmitting an instruction by transmitting an instruction indicating activation of an RLC entity for packet replication according to a determination that the QoS performance of the sidelink radio bearer is worse than a threshold performance, or transmitting an instruction indicating deactivation of an RLC entity for packet replication according to a determination that the QoS performance of the sidelink radio bearer is better than a threshold performance.

[0198] In some embodiments, the above method includes transmitting an instruction by transmitting an instruction indicating activation of an RLC entity for packet replication according to a determination that the channel state of the sidelink is worse than a threshold state, or transmitting an instruction indicating deactivation of an RLC entity for packet replication according to a determination that the channel state of the sidelink is better than a threshold state.

[0199] In another solution, the communication method includes transmitting, in a first network device, a sidelink configuration including a first setting of packet replication for at least one sidelink radio bearer to a first terminal device.

[0200] In some embodiments, the first configuration includes at least one of a set of carriers associated with a logical channel of a sidelink radio bearer when packet duplication is activated, a first threshold used to determine the number of activated RLC entities within a set of activated RLC entities, a set of identities of logical channels used for packet duplication, or information on a sidelink primary carrier.

[0201] In some embodiments, the sidelink radio bearer is a sidelink signaling radio bearer or a sidelink data radio bearer.

[0202] In some embodiments, the first threshold is associated with at least one of a quality of service (QoS) parameter of PDCP packets or a sidelink reference signal received power (SL RSRP) of a carrier.

[0203] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting, to a first terminal device, an indication indicating activation or deactivation of an RLC entity for packet duplication. In some embodiments, the indication includes at least one of an identity of a sidelink radio bearer in an air interface, a bit indicating whether packet duplication is activated or deactivated for the sidelink radio bearer, or a bitmap indicating whether each RLC entity is activated or deactivated for the sidelink radio bearer. Each bit in the bitmap is associated with an RLC bearer configuration of one of the RLC entities for packet duplication.

[0204] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, from the first terminal device, a message requesting packet duplication for one destination or a sidelink quality of service (QoS) flow.

[0205] In another solution, the communication method includes, at a second network device, receiving, from a second terminal device, information on a second setting of packet duplication for at least one sidelink radio bearer, and transmitting to the second terminal device at least one of a third setting of packet duplication on the transmission side or a fourth setting of packet duplication on the reception side.

[0206] In some embodiments, the information on the second setting includes at least one of the number of secondary RLC entities associated with the sidelink radio bearer, the set of identities of logical channels used for the set of secondary RLC entities for packet duplication, the set of carriers associated with the sidelink radio bearer when packet duplication is activated, or a second threshold used to trigger the second terminal device to send an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication to the first terminal device.

[0207] In some embodiments, the fourth setting includes a second threshold. The second threshold is used to trigger the second terminal device to send an instruction indicating activation or deactivation of the RLC entity for packet duplication to the first terminal device.

[0208] In another solution, the communication device includes a processor configured to cause the device to execute any of the methods summarized as above.

[0209] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented by hardware, and other aspects may be implemented by firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, a microprocessor, or other computing device. Various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or by some other pictorial representation, and the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented, for example, by hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or combinations thereof, but are not limited thereto.

[0210] The present disclosure further provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules. The instructions are executed on a device on a target physical processor or virtual processor, and perform the processes or methods described above with reference to FIGS. 1A to 6, for example. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of program modules may be combined or divided among program modules as needed. The machine-readable instructions of program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located on both local and remote storage media.

[0211] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure may be described in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or a controller of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing devices. When the program code is executed by the processor or the controller, the functions / operations defined in the flowchart and / or block diagram are implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, executed as an independent software package, partially executed on a machine and partially executed on a remote machine, or entirely executed on a remote machine or server.

[0212] The above-mentioned program code may be embodied on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that includes or stores a program used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine-readable storage medium include electrical connections including one or more wires, portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0213] Note that although the operations have been described in a particular order, it should not be understood that these operations are required to be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or that all of the operations shown are required to obtain a desired result. In some situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although the foregoing discussion includes some specific implementation details, these are not limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather explanations of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Some features described in the context of individual embodiments may be implemented in combination in one embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of one embodiment may be implemented separately in a plurality of embodiments or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0214] Although the present disclosure has been described in terms of words specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined by the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method executed by a first terminal device, comprising: receiving, from a network device, first sidelink configuration information associated with packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) replication; transmitting, to a second terminal device, second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication, wherein the second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication includes configuration information associated with additional sidelink radio link control (RLC) for a signaling radio bearer (SRB) or a data radio bearer (DRB); a method.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication further includes a logical channel identity for sidelink packet replication. The method according to claim 1.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first terminal device transmits the second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication to the second terminal device via an RRCReconfigurationSidelink message, and the RRCReconfigurationSidelink message is a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) message. The method according to claim 1.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication is for a sidelink DRB. The method according to claim 1.

5. A method executed by a second terminal device, comprising: receiving, from a first terminal device, second sidelink configuration information associated with packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) replication. The second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication includes configuration information associated with additional sidelink radio link control (RLC) for a sidelink signaling radio bearer (SRB) or a data radio bearer (DRB). Method. **Claim 6** The second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication further includes a logical channel identity for sidelink packet replication. The method according to claim 5. **Claim 7** The second terminal device receives, via an RRCReconfigurationSidelink message, the second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication from the first terminal device, and the RRCReconfigurationSidelink message is a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) message. The method according to claim 5. **Claim 8** Means for receiving, from a network device, first sidelink configuration information associated with packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) replication; Means for transmitting second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication to a second terminal device, The second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication includes configuration information associated with additional sidelink radio link control (RLC) for a sidelink signaling radio bearer (SRB) or a data radio bearer (DRB). First terminal device. **Claim 9** The second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication further includes a logical channel identity for sidelink packet replication. The first terminal device according to claim 8. **Claim 10** The first terminal device transmits the second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication to the second terminal device via an RRCRecoveryConfigurationSidelink message, and the RRCRecoveryConfigurationSidelink message is a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) message. The first terminal device according to claim 8.

11. The first sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication is for a sidelink DRB. The first terminal device according to claim 8.

12. Means for receiving, from a first terminal device, second sidelink configuration information associated with packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) replication. The second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication includes configuration information associated with additional sidelink radio link control (RLC) for a sidelink signaling radio bearer (SRB) or a data radio bearer (DRB). The second terminal device.

13. The second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication further includes a logical channel identity for sidelink packet replication. The second terminal device according to claim 12.

14. The second terminal device receives the second sidelink configuration information associated with the PDCP replication from the first terminal device via an RRCRecoveryConfigurationSidelink message, and the RRCRecoveryConfigurationSidelink message is a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) message. The second terminal device according to claim 12.

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