Apparatus, method, and medium for dual connectivity communications

Abstract

The embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a device, a method, and an apparatus for dual connectivity (DC) communication. In this embodiment, a terminal device determines activation or deactivation of an SCG of the terminal device. Then, the terminal device flushes one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell of the terminal device based on at least the determination of activation or deactivation of the SCG. In this way, the performance of the DC communication system can be improved.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to an apparatus, method, and computer-readable storage medium for dual connectivity (DC) communication. [Background technology]

[0002] With the development of technology, it is now possible to improve UE throughput by utilizing radio resources in multiple carriers, for example, through carrier aggregation (CA) and / or dual connectivity technologies. Taking DC communication as an example, a UE can simultaneously transmit and receive data over multiple component carriers from two cell groups, such as a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary cell group (SCG), via a master eNodeB (MN) and a secondary eNodeB (SN). Furthermore, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) technology is a mechanism for improving the success rate of data transmission. For data packet combining, one or more HARQ buffers are configured for one or more HARQ processes.

[0003] In Release 17 (TS 38.300), deactivation of the SCG is supported, which allows for optimized HARQ buffer management. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Generally, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device, a method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium for DC communication.

[0005] In a first aspect, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least determine activation or deactivation of an SCG of the apparatus. The apparatus is further configured to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with a primary secondary cell (PS cell) of the apparatus based on the determination of at least the activation or deactivation of the SCG.

[0006] In a second aspect, an apparatus is provided comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive, from a terminal device, information related to at least one of a capability to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a Primary Timing Advance Group (PTAG) for the terminal device is running, or to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided, in which a terminal device determines activation or deactivation of an SCG of the terminal device, and then flushes one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell of the terminal device based on at least the determination of activation or deactivation of the SCG.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided in which a network device receives, from a terminal device, information related to at least one of a capability to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a PTAG for the terminal device is running, or to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising: means for determining activation or deactivation of an SCG of the apparatus; and means for flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the apparatus based on at least the determination of the activation or deactivation of the SCG.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means for receiving, from a terminal device, information related to at least one of a capability of flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a PTAG for the terminal device is running, or flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the medium including program instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least determine activation or deactivation of an SCG of the apparatus, and flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the apparatus based on at least the determination of activation or deactivation of the SCG.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, program instructions recorded on a non-transitory computer-readable medium are provided that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least receive, from a terminal device, information related to a capability of at least one of flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a PTAG for the terminal device is running, or flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least determine activation or deactivation of an SCG of the apparatus, The apparatus is further adapted to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the apparatus based on the determination of at least activation or deactivation of the SCG.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a computer program is provided that includes instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to receive, from a terminal device, information relating to at least one of the following capabilities: flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a PTAG for the terminal device is running; or flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising: a determination circuit configured to determine activation or deactivation of an SCG of the terminal device; and a flush circuit configured to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the terminal device based on at least the determination of activation or deactivation of the SCG.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising: a receiving circuit configured to receive, from a terminal device, information related to at least one of a capability of flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer of a PTAG for the terminal device is running, or flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG.

[0017] It should be understood that the Abstract of this specification is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the embodiments of this specification, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of this specification. Other features of this specification will be readily apparent from the following description. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] Some embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network environment in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a signaling process for DC communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a method performed in a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method performed in a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified block diagram example of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 6 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer-readable medium according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar components. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to several examples. These examples are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, but are provided for illustrative purposes only to aid those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0020] Unless otherwise defined, in the following description and claims, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this specification belongs.

[0021] References herein to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," and the like indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not all embodiments necessarily include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, these expressions do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is understood by those skilled in the art that the effect of that feature, structure, or characteristic on other embodiments may be present, whether or not explicitly stated.

[0022] Although terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish between elements. For example, calling a first element a second element, and similarly calling a second element a first element, would not depart from the scope of the embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" encompasses any combination of one or more of the listed terms.

[0023] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Furthermore, it should be understood that the terms "comprise," "comprising," "have," "having," "include," and / or "comprising" as used herein identify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof. As used herein, "at least one of: " and "at least any of: " and similar expressions, when a list of two or more elements is connected by "and," mean at least any one element, at least two or more elements, or at least all elements.

[0024] In this application, the term "circuit" means (a) hardware-only circuit implementation (e.g., implementation using only analog and / or digital circuitry); (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, e.g., (where applicable); (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware; and (ii) A combination of a portion of a hardware processor and software (including a digital signal processor), software, and memory that work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions; (c) hardware circuitry and / or processors, such as microprocessors or portions thereof, that require software (e.g., firmware) for their operation, but where the software is not necessary for operation, the software may be absent; It may refer to any one or more, or all of the above.

[0025] This definition of circuit applies to all uses of the term in this application, i.e., in all claims. By way of further example, the term circuit as used herein encompasses a simple hardware circuit or processor (or processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its associated software and / or firmware implementation. The term circuit also encompasses, for example, baseband or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network equipment, and other computing or network devices, where applicable to particular claim elements.

[0026] As used herein, a "communication network" refers to a network conforming to an appropriate communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), or Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Furthermore, communications between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network may be performed according to any appropriate generation of communication protocol, including, but not limited to, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, 5G-A, and / or later generations. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communication technologies, there are naturally future types of communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure may be embodied. The scope of the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to only the aforementioned systems.

[0027] As used herein, the term "network equipment" refers to a node in a communication network through which a terminal device accesses and receives services from the network. A network equipment may refer to, for example, a base station (BS) or access point (AP), a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a new radio (NR) NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low-power node such as a femto or pico node, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied.

[0028] "Terminal" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example only, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal equipment includes mobile phones, mobile phone terminals, smartphones, VoIP phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable devices, PDAs, handheld computers, desktop computers, digital cameras and other imaging devices, gaming devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminals, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches and other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Hereinafter, the terms "terminal equipment," "communications device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0029] In this specification, SCG may refer to a secondary cell group provided by the secondary eNodeB (SN) of the terminal device. In DC communication, the terminal device can access the network through both the master cell group (MCG) provided by the master eNodeB (MN) of the terminal device and the SCG. Furthermore, the MCG may include a primary cell (P-cell) and one or more secondary cells (S-cells). The SCG may include a primary secondary cell (PS-cell) and one or more other S-cells. Generally, deactivation of S-cells is supported. However, deactivation of PS-cells is not supported, so an SCG containing PS-cells cannot be completely deactivated.

[0030] As mentioned above, the SCG deactivation function is specified in Release 17. Specifically, SCG deactivation is defined as follows: [Table 1]

[0031] In this case, the SCG containing the PS cell may be completely deactivated. As a solution, if only the SCell is to be deactivated, the associated HARQ buffers are managed by flushing all HARQ buffers associated with that SCell. Specifically, the HARQ buffers are handled in the following way: [Table 2]

[0032] However, it does not consider how to manage and handle the HARQ buffers associated with the PS cells. In general, the HARQ buffers associated with the PS cells are flushed only when the time alignment timer expires, which is defined as follows: [Table 3]

[0033] However, the operation of the time alignment timer is not affected by the deactivation or activation of the SCG, which is defined as follows: [Table 4-1] [Table 4-2] [Table 4-3] [Table 4-4]

[0034] Therefore, deactivation of the SCG may not affect the HARQ buffer associated with the PS cell. In this case, even if the network allows a new data transmission, the terminal device's uplink transmission is not considered a new data transmission because the HARQ buffer is not empty (e.g., if it has not successfully acquired a new data indicator (NDI)). The HARQ process is defined in more detail below. [Table 5-1] [Table 5-2] [Table 5-3] [Table 5-4]

[0035] As mentioned above, if the HARQ buffer does not contain any data, a grant addressed to the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) is always considered a new transmission. Otherwise, the terminal device must determine whether the transmission is new or a retransmission based on the NDI value. Therefore, the following situations may occur:

[0036] That is, when an SCG is newly activated, the HARQ buffer associated with the uplink (UL) PS cell may not be empty (in fact, it may always contain data). The network typically first attempts to schedule UEs with NDI=1 to ensure that the UE attempts a new transmission. However, the NDI of each HARQ buffer may still be set to NDI=0 (in some cases, the NDI of all uplink HARQ processes may have been set to 0 due to a previous SCG deactivation). As a result, the network device may not schedule new transmissions from the corresponding UE. For example, the corresponding UE may not switch its NDI value because the DCI providing the UL grant is lost (possibly multiple times). Furthermore, the network device may determine that the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) being used is overly optimistic and attempt to provide a new UL grant with NDI=0 using a more conservative MCS. Alternatively, the network device may reduce the TB (transport block) size and change the NDI value to "0." In this case, the network device may not schedule new transmissions from the corresponding UE.

[0037] On the other hand, if the UE has data in its UL HARQ buffer since the last time the SCG was activated and the HARQ buffer was not flushed until it was empty, the HARQ buffer may contain very old data that should not be received by the network equipment. For example, such old data may include UL Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or Radio Link Control (RLC) data, or segments of RLC Segment Data Units (SDUs) for which no other segments are present in the UE's RLC buffer anymore (e.g., an RLC reset occurred during SCG deactivation).

[0038] In consideration of the above, a scheme for DC communication is provided to improve performance of a communication system. In this scheme, a device determines activation or deactivation of a secondary cell group (SCG) of the device. For example, the device may receive notification of SCG activation or deactivation from a network device. Alternatively, a higher layer may notify deactivation or activation of the SCG. The device then flushes one or more HARQ buffers associated with the device's PS cell based on the determination of SCG activation or deactivation.

[0039] In this way, the PS cell-related HARQ buffers can also be flushed in a timely manner, and therefore meaningful data transmissions can be scheduled appropriately.

[0040] The principles and embodiments of the present specification will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates an example of a network environment 100 in which embodiments of the present specification may be implemented.

[0041] The environment 100, which is part of a communication network, includes terminal devices and network devices that communicate with each other and with other devices. In the network environment 100, the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 can communicate data and control information with each other. A link from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and a link from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). The network environment 100 includes any suitable number of devices and cells. As shown in FIG. 1 , in DC communication, the terminal device 110 accesses the network via a first network device 120 and a second network device 130. Without limitation, the first network device 120 may be a master node (MN) for the terminal device 110, and the second network device 130 may be a secondary node (SN) for the terminal device 110. Specifically, the MN 120 may provide the terminal device 110 with an MSG that includes a PCell and one or more SCells. The SN 130 may provide an SCG including a PS cell and one or more other SCells to the terminal device 110. The terminal device 110 may utilize radio resources on multiple component carriers from two cell groups (i.e., the MCG and the SCG) for UL or DL ​​data transmission.

[0042] It should be noted that the number of network devices, terminal devices, and other objects shown is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to imply any limitation. Network environment 100A may include any suitable number of network devices and / or terminal devices adapted to implement embodiments herein. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more terminal devices may be located within environment 100A.

[0043] Communications in the network environment 100 may be implemented according to any suitable communications protocol, including, but not limited to, wireless LAN communications protocols such as third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), 5G-Advanced, or later (6G), IEEE 802.11, and / or other protocols now known or developed in the future. Further, communications may utilize any suitable wireless communications technology, including, but not limited to, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), time division multiplexing (TDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, machine type communications (MTC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), carrier aggregation (CA), dual connectivity (DC), and new unlicensed radio (NR-U).

[0044] 2 illustrates an example signaling process 200 for DC communication in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the process 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. While the process 200 is described in the communication environment 100 of FIG. 1, it should be understood that the process 200 is applicable to other communication scenarios as well.

[0045] In signal processing process 200, the terminal device 110 determines (210) the activation or deactivation of the SCG of the terminal device 110. While the embodiment of FIG. 2 is described with reference to the terminal device 110, it should be understood that the network device may be another device accessible via the first network device 120 and the second network device 130. In some examples, the first network device 120, functioning as the master node for the terminal device 110, may send (201) a notification of SCG activation or deactivation to the terminal device 110. Upon receiving (205) the activation or deactivation notification, the terminal device 110 determines (210) whether the SCG is activated or deactivated. Additionally or alternatively, the second network device 130, functioning as the secondary network device for the terminal device 110, may send (201) the notification of SCG activation or deactivation to the terminal device 110. Upon receiving the activation or deactivation notification, the terminal device 110 determines that the SCG has been activated or deactivated. Without limitation, the terminal device 110 may autonomously determine the activation or deactivation of the SCG and send the activation or deactivation notification to the first network device 120 or the second network device 130.

[0046] Thereafter, based on at least a determination of SCG activation or deactivation, terminal device 110 flushes one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell of terminal device 110 (220). In some embodiments, if a higher layer (e.g., a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer and / or a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer) indicates SCG deactivation or activation, terminal device 110 flushes one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell of terminal device 110. Additionally or alternatively, terminal device 110 can directly flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell when the SCG is activated or deactivated (e.g., upon SCG activation or deactivation).

[0047] In this way, when an SCG is triggered to be activated or deactivated, the terminal device 110 can flush the HARQ buffer associated with the PS cell, e.g., to empty it, so that the terminal device can make new data transmissions on time or prevent very old data from being transmitted.

[0048] Additionally or alternatively, when determining whether the SCG is deactivated or activated, the terminal device 110 further determines whether a time alignment timer associated with a primary timing advance group (PTAG) for the device is running. If the time alignment timer is running, the terminal device 110 flushes one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell. In this manner, the terminal device 110 can flush the HARQ buffers more efficiently, because expiration of the time alignment timer also triggers flushing of the HARQ buffers.

[0049] Furthermore, terminal device 110 transmits information related to a capability to flush HARQ buffers to network device 120 or 130. In some embodiments, the capability-related information indicates at least one of flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell while a time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running, or flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell upon activation or deactivation of the SCG. In this way, the network can know which terminal devices are capable of flushing HARQ buffers associated with PS cells.

[0050] Therefore, the network device 120 or 130 can transmit grants in a more optimistic manner to terminal devices that have the capability to flush their HARQ buffers, for example, by using a higher modulation and coding scheme (MCS) order. Otherwise, the network device 120 or 130 needs to be very cautious in the first transmission in the PS cell after SCG activation (if the terminal device has not signaled its capability). For example, the network device 120 can utilize a lower MCS order for transmitting the PDCCH to ensure that the DCI with the grant is received by the terminal device.

[0051] Although the above embodiments are described with reference to network devices 120 and 130, it should be understood that they may be implemented by other devices capable of providing a serving cell to an end device.

[0052] Alternatively, the above embodiment can be expressed as follows. [Table 6-1] [Table 6-2]

[0053] 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 300 implemented in a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the method 300 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 110 with reference to FIG. 1. However, it should be understood that the example method 300 may be performed more generally by a device that may be involved in activating or deactivating an SCG.

[0054] In step 310, the terminal device 110 determines activation or deactivation of an SCG of the terminal device 110. In step 320, the terminal device 110 flushes one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell of the terminal device 110 based on at least the determination of activation or deactivation of the SCG.

[0055] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may determine that a time alignment timer associated with a primary timing advance group (PTAG) for the device is running. Then, based on both the determination of at least the activation or deactivation of the SCG and the determination that the time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running, terminal device 110 may flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell.

[0056] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG.

[0057] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 transmits to the network device information related to at least one of a capability to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell during a period when a time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running, or to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG. In some embodiments, the PS cell is included in an SCG.

[0058] 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 400 implemented by a network device (e.g., first network device 120 or second network device 130) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the method 400 will be described from the perspective of network device 110 with reference to FIG. 1. However, it should be understood that the example method 400 may be performed more generally by devices that may be involved in activating or deactivating an SCG.

[0059] In step 410, the network device 110 receives information from the terminal device relating to at least one of the following capabilities: flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with the terminal device's PS cell during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a PTAG for the terminal device is running; or flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG.

[0060] In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., terminal device 110) capable of performing any of the operations of method 300 comprises at least one processor and at least one memory having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least determine activation or deactivation of an SCG of the apparatus. Further, the apparatus is adapted to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the apparatus based on the determination of activation or deactivation of the SCG.

[0061] In some embodiments, the device is further adapted to determine that a time alignment timer associated with a Primary Timing Advance Group (PTAG) for the device is running. Thereafter, based on both the determination of at least the activation or deactivation of the SCG and the determination that the time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running, the terminal device 110 can flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell.

[0062] In some embodiments, the apparatus is further adapted to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell upon activation or deactivation of the SCG.

[0063] In some embodiments, the device is further adapted to transmit to the network device information related to at least one of a capability to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell during a period when a time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running, or to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG. In some embodiments, the PS cell is included in an SCG.

[0064] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any operation of method 300 (e.g., terminal device 110) comprises means for determining activation or deactivation of a secondary cell group (SCG) of the apparatus, and means for flushing one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffers associated with a primary secondary cell (PS cell) of the apparatus based on at least the determination of activation or deactivation of the SCG.

[0065] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for determining that a time alignment timer associated with a Primary Timing Advance Group (PTAG) for the apparatus is running, and means for flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell based on both the determination of activation or deactivation of the SCG and the determination that the time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running.

[0066] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell upon activation or deactivation of the SCG.

[0067] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting, to the network device, information related to at least one of a capability to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell during a period when a time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running, or to flush one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG. In some embodiments, the PS cell is included in an SCG.

[0068] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 300. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured, by the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations.

[0069] In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., network device 120 or network device 130) capable of performing any of the operations of method 400 may include at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive information from a terminal device relating to at least one of the following capabilities: flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a PTAG for the terminal device is running; or flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG.

[0070] In some embodiments, a device capable of performing any of methods 400 (e.g., network device 120 or 130) may comprise means for receiving information from a terminal device relating to at least one of the following capabilities: flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a PTAG for the terminal device is running; or flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG.

[0071] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 400. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured, by the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to perform operations.

[0072] 5 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 500 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 500 may be provided for implementing a communication apparatus such as the terminal apparatus 110, the network apparatus 120, or the network apparatus 130 shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the apparatus 500 includes one or more processors 510, one or more memories 520 coupled to the processors 510, and one or more communication modules 540 coupled to the processors 510.

[0073] The communication module 540 is for two-way communication. The communication module 540 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements. The communication interface may be a hardware-based or software-based interface. For example, the communication interface may be one or more transceivers. The one or more transceivers are connected to one or more antennas or antenna ports to wirelessly transmit and / or receive communication signals. The antennas or antenna ports may be of the same or different types. The antennas or antenna ports may be located in various locations within the device. The one or more transceivers enable the device to communicate with other devices, wired and / or wireless. The transceivers support one or more wireless technologies. For example, the one or more transceivers may include a cellular subsystem, a WLAN subsystem, and / or a Bluetooth subsystem. The one or more transceivers may include a processor, a controller, a radio, a socket, a plug, a buffer, or similar circuitry to form one or more communication channels to one or more radio frequency units.

[0074] The processor 510 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and may include, by way of non-limiting example, a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture, etc. The device 1200 may have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that follow a clock that synchronizes the main processors in time.

[0075] The memory 520 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 524, electrically erasable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), and other magnetic and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include random access memory (RAM) 1222 and other volatile memories that cannot retain data during periods of power interruption.

[0076] The program 530 includes executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 510. The program 530 may be stored in the ROM 524. The processor 510 loads the program 530 into the RAM 522 to perform any suitable operations and processes.

[0077] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program that enables the apparatus 500 to perform any of the disclosed processes described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0078] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computer-readable medium according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0079] In some embodiments, the program 530 may be tangibly stored on a readable storage medium internal to the device 500 (e.g., in memory 520) or other storage accessible to the device 500. The device 500 loads the program 530 from the storage medium into RAM 522 for execution. The storage medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile storage device, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Figure 6 shows an example of a storage medium 600 in the form of a CD or DVD. The storage medium has processor instructions 630 stored thereon.

[0080] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some features may be implemented in hardware, while other features may be implemented in firmware or software executable by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments herein are described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or other graphical representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented by, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or any combination thereof.

[0081] The present disclosure also provides at least one program product physically recorded on a non-transitory readable storage medium. The program product includes executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that execute on a target real or virtual processor device to perform process 200, method 400, or 500 described above with reference to FIGS. 2 through 4. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions for the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0082] Program code for implementing the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, and executed by the processor or controller to implement the functions / acts specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0083] In the context of the present disclosure, program code or associated data may be transmitted by any suitable medium to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations as described above, examples of which include signals, readable storage media, etc.

[0084] The readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. Readable storage media include, but are not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of readable storage media include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof. The term "non-transitory" in this context refers not to the permanence of data storage (e.g., RAM vs. ROM), but to the medium itself (i.e., a tangible medium rather than a signal).

[0085] Furthermore, even if operations are shown in a particular order, this should not be interpreted as requiring that the operations be performed in the particular order or sequential order shown, or that all of the operations shown be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain situations, multitasking or parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while the above description includes some specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of functionality specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0086] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specifying structural features and / or method acts, the present disclosure, as defined by the appended claims, is not necessarily limited to the specific features and acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; When executed by the at least one processor, the device includes at least: determining activation or deactivation of a secondary cell group (SCG) of the device; flushing one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers associated with a primary secondary cell (PS cell) of the device based on the determination of at least the activation or deactivation of the SCG; at least one memory storing instructions for executing the An apparatus comprising:

2. The apparatus further comprises: determining that a time alignment timer associated with a Primary Timing Advance Group (PTAG) for the device is running; flushing the one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell based on at least both the determining the activation or deactivation of the SCG and the determining that the time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running; 2. The apparatus of claim 1, adapted to perform:

3. The apparatus further comprises: flushing the one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell upon the activation or deactivation of the SCG.

3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

4. The apparatus further comprises: To the network device, Flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell while a time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running, or Flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG; transmitting information relating to the capabilities of at least one of 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second electrodes are arranged in a first direction.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the PS cell is included in the SCG.

6. 1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; When executed by the at least one processor, the device includes at least: From the terminal device, Flushing one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers associated with a primary secondary cell (PS cell) of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a primary timing advance group (PTAG) for the terminal device is running; or Flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of a secondary cell group (SCG); receiving information relating to the capabilities of at least one of: at least one memory storing instructions for executing the An apparatus comprising:

7. A terminal device determines activation or deactivation of a secondary cell group (SCG) of the terminal device; flushing, by the terminal device, one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffers associated with a primary secondary cell (PS cell) of the terminal device based on at least the determination of the activation or deactivation of the SCG; A method comprising:

8. determining, by the terminal device, that a time alignment timer associated with a Primary Timing Advance Group (PTAG) for the device is running; flushing the one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell based on both the terminal device determining the activation or deactivation of the SCG and the determination that the time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running; The method of claim 7 further comprising:

9. The terminal device flushes the one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell upon the activation or deactivation of the SCG; 9. The method of claim 7 or 8, further comprising:

10. The terminal device is connected to a network device. Flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell while a time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running, or Flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of an SCG; transmitting information relating to the capabilities of at least one of The method of any of claims 7 to 9, further comprising:

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the PS cell is included in the SCG.

12. The network device receives from the terminal device, Flushing one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers associated with a primary secondary cell (PS cell) of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a primary timing advance group (PTAG) for the terminal device is running; or Flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of a secondary cell group (SCG); receiving information relating to the capabilities of at least one of: A method comprising:

13. 1. An apparatus comprising: means for determining activation or deactivation of a secondary cell group (SCG) of the device; means for flushing one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers associated with a primary secondary cell (PS cell) of the device based on at least the determination of the activation or deactivation of the SCG; and An apparatus comprising:

14. The apparatus further comprises: means for determining that a time alignment timer associated with a Primary Timing Advance Group (PTAG) for said device is running; means for flushing the one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell based at least on both the determining the activation or deactivation of the SCG and the determining that the time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running; The apparatus of claim 13 further comprising:

15. The apparatus further comprises: means for flushing the one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell upon the activation or deactivation of the SCG; 15. The apparatus of claim 13 or 14, comprising:

16. The apparatus further comprises: Flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with the PS cell while a time alignment timer associated with the PTAG is running, or Flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of a secondary cell group (SCG); means for receiving information relating to the capabilities of at least one of:

16. Apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 15, comprising:

17. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein the PS cell is included in the SCG.

18. 1. An apparatus comprising: From the terminal device, Flushing one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers associated with a primary secondary cell (PS cell) of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a primary timing advance group (PTAG) for the terminal device is running; or Flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of a secondary cell group (SCG); means for receiving information relating to the capabilities of at least one of: An apparatus comprising:

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by a device, causes the device to perform at least: determining activation or deactivation of a secondary cell group (SCG) of the device; flushing one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers associated with a primary secondary cell (PS cell) of the device based on at least the activation or deactivation determination of the SCG; and A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing program instructions for causing the computer to execute

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by a device, causes the device to perform at least: From the terminal device, Flushing one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers associated with a primary secondary cell (PS cell) of the terminal device during a period when a time alignment timer associated with a primary timing advance group (PTAG) for the terminal device is running; or Flushing one or more HARQ buffers associated with a PS cell upon activation or deactivation of a secondary cell group (SCG); receiving information relating to the capabilities of at least one of: A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing program instructions for causing the computer to execute

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