Communication method, communication apparatus, and system

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method, a communication apparatus, and a system. In the method, a first communication device may determine at least one time interval by means of a first entity, and send first information to a second entity by means of the first entity, wherein the first information is used for indicating a time interval among the at least one time interval which is associated with first data in data to be transmitted, and the at least one time interval is a time interval determined on the basis of remaining transmission delay of the data to be transmitted. In this way, the first entity may indicate, to the second entity, remaining time intervals corresponding to different pieces of data to be transmitted, thereby facilitating the completion of transmission of the data to be transmitted before the remaining transmission delay expires.

Description

Communication method, communication apparatus and system

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411381395.4, filed on September 29, 2024, and entitled "Communication method, communication apparatus and system", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication, in particular to a communication method, a communication apparatus and a system. BACKGROUND

[0003] Extended reality (XR) refers to various types of reality and virtual combination environments generated by computing technology and wearable devices, and XR services usually have high latency requirements. For example, the typical packet delay budget (PDB) of uplink augmented reality (AR) services is 30 milliseconds (ms), that is, the upper limit of the transmission delay between the data packet arriving at the access layer of the user equipment (UE) and the data packet arriving at the N6 interface of the user plane function (UPF) is 30 ms. If the data packet is not transmitted successfully within the time required by the PDB, it is considered that the data packet has timed out and lost its effect. For another example, if the transmission delay from the first data packet in the protocol data unit (PDU) set of the XR service arriving at the access layer of the UE to the last data packet arriving at the N6 interface of the UPF network element exceeds the time required by the PDU set delay budget (PSDB), it is considered that the PDU set has timed out and lost its effect.

[0004] Therefore, in order to avoid data timeout and thus affect the service experience, the terminal device can report a delay status report (DSR) to the network device, and in order to support the DSR reporting, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and the radio link control (RLC) layer can indicate to the medium access control (MAC) layer whether the data is delay-critical data, the minimum remaining time in the remaining time of the delay-critical data, and the total data amount of the delay-critical data.

[0005] However, the PDCP layer and the RLC layer cannot indicate more fine-grained information about the remaining time of the delay-sensitive data to the MAC layer, which can affect the transmission of the delay-sensitive data. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method, a communication device and a system, the PDCP layer and the RLC layer can indicate the time interval corresponding to different to-be-transmitted data to the MAC layer, thereby facilitating the to-be-transmitted data to be transmitted before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a first communication device. The first communication device can be a communication device, such as a terminal device, or the first communication device can also be implemented as a component (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, etc.) in a communication device, or the first communication device can also be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the method.

[0008] The method includes that the first communication device can determine at least one time interval based on the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data through a first entity; and the first communication device can send first information to a second entity through the first entity, the first information being used to indicate the time interval associated with the first data in the to-be-transmitted data in the at least one time interval.

[0009] Based on the above scheme, the first entity of the first communication device can determine at least one time interval based on the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data, and the first entity can indicate the time interval associated with the first data in the to-be-transmitted data in the at least one time interval to the second entity. In this way, the second entity can confirm the data amount of the to-be-transmitted data corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval, so that the first communication device can further send the to-be-transmitted data amount corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval to the network device (for example, report DSR), so that the network device can allocate appropriate transmission resources to the first communication device, thereby facilitating the to-be-transmitted data to be transmitted before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data is determined according to the remaining time length of the discard timer corresponding to the to-be-transmitted data. When the to-be-transmitted data fails to be transmitted within the remaining time length of the discard timer, the to-be-transmitted data is considered to have been transmitted overtime. In this way, the first communication device can timely report the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data to the network device, so that the network device can allocate appropriate transmission resources to the first communication device, thereby facilitating the to-be-transmitted data to be transmitted before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: after the remaining transmission delay of the first data in the to-be-transmitted data changes, the time interval corresponding to the first data changes from the first time interval to a second time interval, and the first communication device sends first information to the second entity through the first entity. In this way, the second entity of the first communication device can know the change of the corresponding data amount in each time interval in the at least one time interval in time, so as to facilitate the first communication device to update or report information in time.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first entity further sends second information to the second entity, the second information being used to indicate the data amount corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval; and / or, the second information being used to indicate the minimum remaining time corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval, the minimum remaining time being the minimum value of the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data corresponding to the time interval.

[0013] In this way, the second entity of the first communication device can obtain the data amount of the to-be-transmitted data corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval, so as to facilitate the first communication device to report these information to the network device, thereby facilitating the to-be-transmitted data to be transmitted before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first communication device receives configuration information, the configuration information being used to configure the at least one time interval, the at least one time interval including the first time interval. In this way, the first communication device can divide the to-be-transmitted data into different time intervals according to different remaining transmission delays according to the configuration information.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first communication device sends indication information, the indication information being used to indicate the association relationship between the data amount of the to-be-transmitted data and the at least one time interval. In this way, when the network device receives the indication information, the network device can allocate transmission resources for the first communication device, thereby facilitating the to-be-transmitted data to be transmitted before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the first entity includes a PDCP entity or an RLC entity.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the second entity includes an RLC entity or a MAC entity.

[0018] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be performed by the first communication device. The first communication device can be a communication device such as a terminal device, or the first communication device can also be implemented as a component (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, etc.) in a communication device, or the first communication device can also be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the method.

[0019] The method includes: determining, by the first communication device, a first LCH from at least one LCH, the first LCH carrying first data, a remaining transmission delay of the first data being less than or equal to a threshold value corresponding to the LCH; and determining, by the first communication device, a first priority of the first LCH as a first priority, the first priority being higher than a second priority configured by a network device.

[0020] Based on the above scheme, the first communication device can determine the first LCH carrying the delay-critical data (e.g., the first data) from the at least one LCH, and change the priority of the first LCH from the second priority pre-configured by the network device to the first priority, the first priority being higher than the second priority. In this way, when the first communication device needs to use the priority of the LCH in different processes (e.g., an LCP process, a DSR process, or a padding BSR process), whether to increase the priority of the LCH can be considered according to whether the delay-critical data is included in the LCH.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the first LCH carries the first data, and the network device does not trigger a BSR for a second LCH when the network device configures a priority of the second LCH to be lower than the first priority. In this way, the transmission of the BSR can be avoided to occupy part of the transmission resources, so that the transmission of the to-be-transmitted data (e.g., the first data) is not affected.

[0022] In a possible implementation, when the first LCH carries the first data, the triggered BSR includes a data amount corresponding to a logical channel group (LCG) to which the first LCH belongs. In this way, the first communication device can make full use of the uplink transmission resources, which is beneficial to the transmission of the delay-critical data.

[0023] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can implement the communication method described in any of the possible implementation manners of the first or second aspect. The apparatus includes one or more functional units or modules for performing the above method. The functional units or modules included in the apparatus can be implemented in a software and / or hardware manner.

[0024] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises at least one processor configured to implement a method recited in any of the possible implementation manners of the first or second aspect.

[0025] Optionally, the apparatus can further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and the processor implements the method described in the above aspects when executing the instructions stored in the memory.

[0026] Optionally, the apparatus can further include a communication interface for the apparatus to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module or other types of communication interface.

[0027] In a fifth aspect, a chip system is provided, which comprises at least one processor configured to support the functions recited in any of the possible implementation manners of the first or second aspect, such as receiving or processing data and / or information involved in the above method.

[0028] In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing program instructions and data, which is located in or out of the processor.

[0029] In a possible design, the chip system further includes an interface circuit for transmitting data and / or a power supply circuit for supplying power to the chip system.

[0030] The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0031] In a sixth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the first communication device described above.

[0032] In a seventh aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which includes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to implement the method recited in any of the possible implementation manners of the first or second aspect.

[0033] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed, causes a computer to perform the method recited in any of the possible implementation manners of the first or second aspect.

[0034] The above third to eighth aspects and the possible implementation manners have the beneficial effects as described in the first to second aspects and the possible implementation manners of the first to second aspects, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0035] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for reporting a DSR according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a format of a medium access control control element (MAC CE) for reporting a remaining time according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of another method for communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG. 7 is another schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The technical solutions provided by the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are first explained:

[0044] First, in the present application, indication includes explicit indication (also referred to as direct indication) and implicit indication (also referred to as indirect indication). Wherein, explicit indication of information A means that information A is included; implicit indication of information A means that information A is indicated through a correspondence between information A and information B and direct indication of information B, the correspondence between information A and information B can be predefined, pre-stored, pre-burned, or pre-configured; or, it can also mean that information A is indicated through information B and a preset rule.

[0045] Second, in the present application, information C is used for determination of information D, which includes that information D is determined based on information C only, and includes that information D is determined based on information C and other information. In addition, information C used for determination of information D can also include the case of indirect determination, such as the case that information D is determined based on information E, and information E is determined based on information C.

[0046] Third, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B together, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it, but does not rule out the case that the associated objects before and after it represent an "and" relationship, and the meaning expressed can be understood in conjunction with the context. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0047] Fourth, in this application, the use of prefixes such as "first", "second", etc. is only for the convenience of distinguishing different things belonging to the same name category, and does not constrain the order, size or quantity of the things. For example, "first information" and "second information" are only different information, and there is no time sequence, size relationship or priority relationship between them.

[0048] Fifth, in the embodiments of the present application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, not limited to time, and also does not require the device to have a judgment action when it is implemented. It also does not mean that there are other limitations.

[0049] The technical solutions provided in the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), a sidelink (SL) communication system, a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system or a new radio access technology (NR). The 5G mobile communication system can include non-standalone (NSA) and / or standalone (SA). The technical solutions provided in the present application can also be applied to future communication networks. The present application is not limited in this regard.

[0050] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) and a core network (CN) 120. The RAN includes at least one RAN node (such as network device 130 in FIG. 1) and at least one terminal device (such as terminal device 140, terminal device 150 in FIG. 1). The terminal device 140 can be connected to the network device 130 in a wireless manner, and the network device 130 is connected to the core network 120 in a wireless or wired manner. The core network devices (for example, access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, session management function (SMF) entity, user plane function (UPF) entity, etc.) in the core network and the RAN nodes in the RAN can be different physical devices respectively, or can be the same physical device integrated with the logical functions of the core network and the logical functions of the radio access network.

[0051] For example, for downlink transmission, data can be generated by an application server, forwarded through a data network (DN) 110, transmitted to a core network 120 via an N6 interface, delivered by the core network 120 to a network device 130 via an N3 interface, transmitted by the network device 130 to a terminal device 140 via a Uu air interface, and transmitted by the terminal device 140 to a terminal device 150 via an SL interface. For uplink transmission, the path is reversed.

[0052] It should be understood that the network device or the terminal device described above can be configured with multiple antennas, which can include at least one transmitting antenna for transmitting signals and at least one receiving antenna for receiving signals. In addition, the network device or the terminal device also includes a transmitter chain and a receiver chain, which can include a plurality of components (such as a processor, a modulator, a multiplexer, a demodulator, a demultiplexer, or an antenna, etc.) related to signal transmission and reception, as understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the network device and the terminal device can communicate through multiple antenna technology.

[0053] It should be understood that the communication system shown in FIG. 1 is only a schematic diagram, and other terminal devices and network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, can also be included in the communication system described above, which are not shown in FIG. 1. The number of network devices and terminal devices included in the communication system is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0054] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus.

[0055] The terminal device can be a device providing voice / data, for example, a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. At present, some examples of terminals are: mobile phone, tablet computer, notebook computer, palm computer, mobile internet device (MID), wearable device, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, wireless terminal in industrial control, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication function, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, wearable device, terminal device in a 5G network, or terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0056] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. The wearable device can also be referred to as a wearable smart device, which is a general term for devices that are designed and developed by applying wearable technology to daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. The wearable device is a portable device that is directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also a device that realizes powerful functions through software support and data interaction and cloud interaction. The general wearable smart device includes devices with full functions, large size, and the ability to realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smart phone, such as smart watches or smart glasses, and devices that focus on a certain application function and need to be used in cooperation with other devices, such as smart phones, such as various smart wristbands and smart jewelry for monitoring vital signs.

[0057] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device, or can be an apparatus capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, for example, a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device or used in matching with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include the chip and other discrete devices. In the embodiments of the present application, only the apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal device is taken as an example for description, and the scheme of the embodiments of the present application is not limited in this way.

[0058] The network device in the embodiments of the present application can be a device for communicating with a terminal device, and the network device can also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device, for example, the network device can be a base station. The network device in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) for accessing a terminal device to a wireless network. The base station can broadly cover various names in the following or be replaced by the following names, such as: Node B (NodeB), evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), primary station, secondary station, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, satellite base station, cellular base station, etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station can also refer to a communication module, modem or chip used in the foregoing devices or apparatuses. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device assuming a base station function in D2D, V2X, M2M communication, a network side device in a future communication network, a device assuming a base station function in a future communication system, etc. The base station can support networks of the same or different access technologies. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the access network device in vehicle to everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the network device.

[0059] In some deployments, the network device mentioned by embodiments of the present application can be a device including a CU, or a DU, or a device including a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)) and a user plane CU node (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)) and a DU node. For example, the network device can include a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP and a gNB-DU.

[0060] In some deployments, wireless access by a terminal is assisted by cooperation of multiple RAN nodes, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node can be a CU, a DU, a CU-CP, a CU-UP, or an RU, etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, for example, in a BBU. The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, included in an RRU, an AAU or an RRH.

[0061] The RAN node can support one or more types of front interfaces, and different front interfaces respectively correspond to DUs and RUs with different functions. If the front interface between the DU and the RU is a common public radio interface (CPRI), the DU is configured to implement one or more of the baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more of the radio frequency functions. If the front interface between the DU and the RU is another interface, compared with the CPRI, part of the baseband functions of the downlink and / or uplink, such as one or more of precoding, digital beamforming (BF), or inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / adding a cyclic prefix (CP) for the downlink, or one or more of digital beamforming (BF), or fast Fourier transform (FFT) / removing a cyclic prefix (CP) for the uplink, are moved from the DU to the RU for implementation. In a possible implementation, the interface can be an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI). Under the eCPRI architecture, the splitting manner between the DU and the RU is different, corresponding to different categories (Cat) of eCPRI, such as eCPRI Cat A, B, C, D, E, F.

[0062] Taking eCPRI Cat A as an example, for downlink transmission, the DU is configured to implement layer mapping and one or more functions (i.e., one or more of encoding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping) before layer mapping, while other functions (e.g., one or more of RE mapping, digital beamforming (BF), or inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / adding cyclic prefix (CP)) after layer mapping are implemented in the RU. For uplink transmission, the DU is configured to implement de-mapping and one or more functions (i.e., one or more of decoding, de-rate matching, de-scrambling, de-modulation, inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization, de-RE mapping) before de-mapping, while other functions (e.g., one or more of digital BF or fast Fourier transform (FFT) / CP removal) after de-mapping are implemented in the RU. It can be understood that the function description of the DU and the RU corresponding to various types of eCPRI can refer to the eCPRI protocol, which is not described here.

[0063] In a possible design, the processing unit in the BBU for implementing baseband functions is referred to as a base band high (BBH) unit, and the processing unit in the RRU / AAU / RRH for implementing baseband functions is referred to as a base band low (BBL) unit.

[0064] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0065] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device can be the network device, or can be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module. The apparatus can be installed in the network device or used in combination with the network device. In the embodiments of the present application, only the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device is taken as an example for description, and the scheme of the embodiments of the present application is not limited in this way.

[0066] The network device and / or the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water surface; and can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons and satellites in the air. The scenarios in which the network device and the terminal device are located are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the terminal device and the network device can be hardware devices, or can be software functions running on special hardware, software functions running on general hardware, such as virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform), or entities including special or general hardware devices and software functions. The specific forms of the terminal device and the network device are not limited in the present application.

[0067] In the embodiments of the present application, in order to better understand the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terms involved in the present application will be briefly explained as follows.

[0068] 1. Discard timer

[0069] At the sending device side, when the PDCP layer receives a service data unit (SDU) from an upper layer, the PDCP layer starts a discard timer for the SDU. When the discard timer expires, the PDCP layer discards the corresponding PDCP SDU and PDCP PDU. If the corresponding PDCP PDU has been delivered to a lower layer, the PDCP layer instructs the lower layer to discard.

[0070] For a data packet (for example, a PDU), when it arrives at the PDCP layer of the network device (downlink) or the terminal device (uplink), the discard timer corresponding to the data packet is started, and the remaining time of the discard timer is the time that the data packet can stay and wait in the air interface. If the data packet fails to complete transmission within the running time of the discard timer, the data packet can be discarded, so that it cannot be transmitted to the receiving device side again. In the 5G network, the remaining time of the discard timer of the data packet is defined as the remaining time of the data packet, which is used to depict the actual available delay of the data packet in air interface transmission.

[0071] When considering a PDU set, for one PDU set, as long as any one of the data packets (PDU) corresponding to the discard timer expires, the PDCP layer can discard all data packets contained in the PDU set (whether its own discard timer expires or not), and for the data packets that have been submitted to the lower layer, the lower layer is also instructed to discard the packets. This is because, for some applications, when some data packets in a PDU set are missing, the content corresponding to the PDU set cannot be recovered at all, and at this time, performing PDU set-level discard can reduce resource waste. When the above PDU set-level discard is enabled, the remaining time of all data packets in a PDU set can be considered to be equal to the remaining time of the data packet with the shortest remaining time in the PDU set.

[0072] 2. DSR

[0073] The DSR (delay status report) technology is supported in the research of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) release-18 (R-18) for XR issues. FIG. 2 shows a schematic flowchart of reporting the DSR. As shown in FIG. 2, in step 210, the terminal device determines that the remaining time of the to-be-transmitted data carried in at least one LCG is less than the remaining time threshold configured by the network device for the at least one LCG of the terminal device, that is, the terminal device can determine that the to-be-transmitted data carried in the at least one LCG is delay urgent data. In step 220, the terminal device can send a DSR to the network device, and the DSR is used to indicate the remaining time information of the to-be-transmitted data carried in the at least one LCG. For one LCG, the remaining time information can include two aspects: the minimum remaining time of the to-be-transmitted data in the LCG; and the total amount of data whose remaining time is less than the threshold among all the to-be-transmitted data in the LCG.

[0074] In summary, when there is delay urgent data in at least one LCG, the at least one LCG can trigger the DSR, that is, the terminal device can send the DSR to the network device. One LCG can include one or more LCHs.

[0075] Exemplarily, the terminal device can report the residual time information of the data in the buffer to the network device through a MAC CE in the format as shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the LCG0-LCG7 fields represent whether the information of the LCG is contained in the MAC CE. For example, the LCG0 takes the value 1, indicating that the residual time information of the LCG0 is contained in the MAC CE, and the LCG0 takes the value 0, indicating that the residual time information of the LCG0 is not contained in the MAC CE. The two pieces of information contained in the residual time information are indicated by the fields remaining time 1-m and buffer size 1-m respectively. The buffer size table is used to indicate the data amount index table referred to by the buffer size field. The reserved bit (R) represents an empty field. The octets (Oct) 1 to Oct 2m+1 can represent one MAC CE, wherein Oct 1 can represent the data content of the first octet, Oct 2 can represent the data content of the second octet, and so on. Oct 1 can be used to store the bit value of the LCG, and Oct 2 to Oct 2m+1 can be used to store the residual time information.

[0076] 4. Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP)

[0077] After receiving the DSR, the network device can allocate resources for the terminal device, so that the delay-critical data can be transmitted before the residual time is exhausted. In order to ensure that the resources allocated by the network device can be used for the transmission of delay-critical data in priority, 3GPP supports enhancing the LCP process of the terminal device.

[0078] The LCP process is a process for determining which data to be transmitted after the terminal device is allocated with transmission resources. In the LCP process, the terminal device will first screen a part of the LCHs that meet the current transmission resource conditions, and then allocate resources to the data in the LCHs in descending order of the priority of the LCHs. The priority of the LCH is pre-configured by the network device.

[0079] 5. Buffer Status Report (BSR)

[0080] The BSR is a report sent by the terminal device to the network device, which is used to inform the network device of the data amount in the uplink data buffer of the terminal device. The network device can determine how much uplink resource to allocate to the terminal device according to the BSR, so as to ensure that the terminal device can timely transmit the data in its buffer.

[0081] For example, when the terminal device has a large amount of data to upload, it will send a BSR of a large data volume, and after the network device receives it, it will allocate relatively more resources to the terminal device to complete the data transmission as soon as possible.

[0082] Among them, the BSR can include a padding BSR, that is, when the terminal device is sending other uplink data, if there is still remaining resources that can be utilized, a padding BSR will be sent to fully utilize the uplink resource report buffer status.

[0083] 6, PDCP layer, RLC layer and MAC layer

[0084] The PDCP layer can be referred to as a PDCP entity, the RLC layer can be referred to as an RLC entity, and the MAC layer can be referred to as a MAC entity, which is not limited.

[0085] XR is one of the 5G multimedia applications that is currently focused on in the industrial field. XR refers to various environments generated by computing technology and wearable devices that combine reality and virtuality, as well as human-computer interaction, and specifically includes the following typical forms: augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR).

[0086] XR services usually have high latency requirements. In order to avoid data timeout and affect service experience, the terminal device can report a DSR to the network device. In order to support DSR reporting, the MAC layer of the terminal device needs to know the remaining time information of the data in the buffer. According to the definition, the remaining time can be determined by the remaining time of the PDCP layer discard timer, therefore, the 3GPP protocol supports the PDCP layer indicating part of the remaining time information to the lower layer.

[0087] In one possible case, when the PDCP layer finds that there is data that becomes delay-critical data, that is, the corresponding remaining time becomes less than a threshold, the PDCP layer indicates a delay-critical indication to the lower layer for the data (for example, one or more data packets), so that the RLC layer and the MAC layer can know that the corresponding data becomes delay-critical data.

[0088] In another possible case, the PDCP layer and the RLC layer can indicate the data volume of delay-critical data in their respective buffers to the MAC layer, so that the MAC layer can report the total data volume of delay-critical data in the DSR.

[0089] However, the PDCP layer and the RLC layer only indicate to the MAC layer whether the data is delay-critical data, the minimum remaining time among the remaining times of the delay-critical data, and the total data amount indicating the delay-critical data. However, the PDCP layer and the RLC layer cannot indicate to the MAC layer more fine-grained information about the remaining time of the delay-critical data, which can affect the transmission of the delay-critical data.

[0090] Therefore, the present application provides a communication method. An upper layer entity (e.g., a PDCP entity or an RLC entity) of a terminal device sends at least one time interval of to-be-transmitted data and / or a data amount of the to-be-transmitted data corresponding to the at least one time interval to a lower layer entity (e.g., an RLC entity or a MAC entity). In this way, the lower layer entity can confirm the data amount of the to-be-transmitted data corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval, so that the first communication device can further send the association between the data amount of the to-be-transmitted data and the at least one time interval to a network device (e.g., report a DSR), so that the network device can allocate appropriate transmission resources to the terminal device, thereby facilitating the transmission of the to-be-transmitted data before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted.

[0091] The method provided by the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the technical solutions of the present application can be applied to a communication system as shown in FIG. 1.

[0092] FIG. 4 shows a communication method 400 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method 400 includes steps 410 to 420. Each step in the method 400 will be described in detail below.

[0093] In step 410, a first communication device determines at least one time interval based on a remaining transmission delay of to-be-transmitted data through a first entity.

[0094] In the present application, the first communication device can be a terminal device, and the first entity can be a PDCP entity or an RLC entity, which are not limited.

[0095] The to-be-transmitted data can be delay-critical data, and the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data can be understood as the maximum remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data, wherein the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data can be determined according to the remaining duration of a discard timer corresponding to the to-be-transmitted data. In other words, if the to-be-transmitted data fails to complete transmission within the remaining duration of the discard timer, the to-be-transmitted data is considered to have been transmitted overtime.

[0096] The remaining duration of the discard timer can be understood as the duration between the start timing of the discard timer and the end timing of the discard timer, which is not limited.

[0097] Optionally, the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data can be less than or equal to the remaining time length of the discard timer corresponding to the to-be-transmitted data, and no limitation is made in this regard.

[0098] The to-be-transmitted data can include one or more data, or one or more data packets (for example, PDU), and no limitation is made in this regard.

[0099] For example, when the to-be-transmitted data includes one data packet, the discard timer is the timer of the data packet; when the to-be-transmitted data includes a data packet set, or the to-be-transmitted data includes multiple data packets, the discard timer can be the timer of the data packet set or the timer of one data packet in the data packet set. No limitation is made in this regard.

[0100] In this application, at least one time interval is determined based on the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data, which can be understood as that after the first entity of the first communication device determines the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data, one or more remaining transmission delays can be summarized, that is, the to-be-transmitted data in the same time interval is counted. In other words, the first entity of the first communication device can divide the to-be-transmitted data into different time intervals in at least one time interval according to the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data. For example, the first data in the to-be-transmitted data corresponds to the first time interval, and no limitation is made in this regard.

[0101] In this application, at least one time interval is determined based on the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data, which can be understood as that after the first entity of the first communication device determines the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data, one or more remaining transmission delays can be summarized, that is, the to-be-transmitted data in the same time interval is counted. In other words, the first entity of the first communication device can divide the to-be-transmitted data into different time intervals in at least one time interval according to the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data. For example, the first data in the to-be-transmitted data corresponds to the first time interval, and no limitation is made in this regard.

[0102] Optionally, the first entity of the first communication device can determine at least one time interval according to the preconfigured information, and the remaining transmission delay of one or more data in the to-be-transmitted data can fall into a certain time interval in the at least one time interval determined according to the preconfigured information. For example, the at least one time interval includes the first time interval.

[0103] For example, before step 410, the second communication device can send configuration information to the first communication device, and the configuration information can include multiple remaining transmission delay thresholds. The configuration information can be used by the first entity of the first communication device to determine at least one time interval. Correspondingly, the first communication device can receive the configuration information from the second communication device.

[0104] For example, when the multiple residual transmission delay thresholds are 5 ms, 10 ms, 15 ms, the first entity of the first communication device can divide multiple residual time intervals according to the residual time threshold values, for example, divide 0-5 ms, 5-10 ms, 10-15 ms into three residual time intervals, which is not limited.

[0105] In step 420, the first communication device sends first information to the second entity through the first entity, and the first information is used to indicate the time interval associated with the first data in the to-be-transmitted data in at least one time interval. Correspondingly, the second entity receives the first information from the first entity.

[0106] In the present application, the second entity can be an RLC entity or a MAC entity, which is not limited.

[0107] In the present application, the first entity of the first communication device can divide the to-be-transmitted data into different time intervals, for example, can determine the time interval to which the first data in the to-be-transmitted data belongs, or in other words, can determine the time interval associated with the first data in the to-be-transmitted data, which is, for example, the first time interval. In this case, the first information sent by the first communication device to the second entity through the first entity is used to indicate the first time interval associated with the first data in the to-be-transmitted data in at least one time interval.

[0108] It should be understood that the residual transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data will change constantly, for example, the residual transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data gradually becomes smaller, so the time interval corresponding to the to-be-transmitted data may change.

[0109] For example, when the residual transmission delay of the first data in the to-be-transmitted data gradually becomes smaller, such as from 15 ms to 9 ms, the time interval corresponding to the first data may change, such as from the first time interval to the second time interval, wherein the first time interval is 10-15 ms, and the second time interval is 5-10 ms. In this case, when the first entity of the first communication device determines that the time interval corresponding to the first data changes, the first communication device can send first information to the second entity through the first entity, and the first information is used to indicate that the time interval corresponding to the first data in the to-be-transmitted data is the second time interval.

[0110] Similarly, when the remaining transmission delay of the data (e.g., the second data) in the to-be-transmitted data other than the first data gradually becomes smaller, the time interval corresponding to the second data can change. When the first entity of the first communication device determines that the time interval corresponding to the second data changes (e.g., from the third time interval to the fourth time interval), the first communication device can send, by the first entity, first information to the second entity, where the first information is used to indicate that the time interval corresponding to the second data in the to-be-transmitted data is the fourth time interval. In this way, the second entity of the first communication device can know the change of the data amount corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval in time, so as to facilitate the first communication device to update or report information in time.

[0111] In this application, each time interval in the at least one time interval can include the remaining transmission delay of one or more data in the to-be-transmitted data. For example, the first time interval includes the remaining transmission delay of the first data, the third data and the fifth data in the to-be-transmitted data. The remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data will change constantly, so the data amount of the to-be-transmitted data corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval can change. For example, the first time interval (e.g., 10ms-15ms) includes the remaining transmission delay of 15ms, 13ms and 12ms of the to-be-transmitted data respectively. When 15ms gradually changes to 11ms, 13ms gradually changes to 9ms, and 12ms gradually changes to 8ms, the data amount corresponding to the first time interval changes. Therefore, the first communication device can send, by the first entity, the data amount corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval to the second entity. In this way, the second entity of the first communication device can obtain the data amount of the to-be-transmitted data corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval, so as to facilitate the first communication device to report these information to the network device, thereby facilitating the to-be-transmitted data to be transmitted before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted.

[0112] For example, the first communication device can send, by the first entity, second information to the second entity, where the second information can be used to indicate the data amount corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval. Correspondingly, the second entity receives the second information from the first entity.

[0113] Optionally, the second information can further indicate a minimum remaining time corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval, where the minimum remaining time is a minimum value of the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data corresponding to the time interval. In this way, when the second entity of the first communication device receives the second information, the to-be-transmitted data with the minimum remaining time in each time interval can be preferentially allocated, so that the to-be-transmitted data with the minimum remaining time can be transmitted before the remaining time delay is exhausted. Alternatively, the first communication device can report the minimum remaining time corresponding to each time interval to the network device, thereby facilitating the network device to timely allocate resources and ensure that the to-be-transmitted data is transmitted before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted.

[0114] Based on the above scheme, the first entity of the first communication device can determine the at least one time interval based on the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data, and the first entity can indicate, to the second entity, a time interval associated with the first data in the to-be-transmitted data in the at least one time interval. In this way, the second entity can confirm the data amount of the to-be-transmitted data corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval, so that the first communication device can further send the to-be-transmitted data amount corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval to the network device (for example, report a DSR), so that the network device can allocate appropriate transmission resources to the first communication device, thereby facilitating the to-be-transmitted data to be transmitted before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted.

[0115] When the second entity of the first communication device receives the at least one time interval and the data amount of the to-be-transmitted data corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval, the first communication device can send indication information (for example, a DSR, which can be understood as a multi-pair DSR (multi-pair DSR) or an enhanced DSR, which is not limited) to the second communication device through the second entity, where the indication information is used to indicate the association relationship between the data amount of the to-be-transmitted data and the at least one time interval, in other words, the indication information is used to indicate the at least one time interval and the data amount corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval. Correspondingly, the second communication device can receive the indication information from the first communication device.

[0116] It should be understood that the second communication device can be a network device, which is not limited.

[0117] In this way, after the second communication device receives the indication information, the second communication device can allocate resources for the first communication device, so that the to-be-transmitted data can be transmitted before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted. In order to ensure that the resources allocated by the second communication device can be preferentially used for the transmission of the to-be-transmitted data, the priority of the LCH can be adjusted.

[0118] FIG. 5 shows a communication method 500 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method 500 includes steps 510-520. Each step in the method 500 is described in detail below.

[0119] In step 510, the first communication device determines, from at least one logical channel (LCH), a first LCH that carries first data and has a remaining transmission delay of the first data less than or equal to a threshold value corresponding to the LCH.

[0120] The priority order of the at least one LCH can be different, and the priority order can be preconfigured by the network device, or in other words, the priority order is a default priority order, which is not limited.

[0121] In a possible implementation, the priority can correspond to a priority value. For example, the lower the priority value, the higher the corresponding priority. Alternatively, the higher the priority value, the higher the corresponding priority. Taking the lower priority value corresponding to the higher priority as an example, if the priority value can be an integer ranging from 1 to 16, the priority value of 1 represents the highest priority. It should be understood that the priority value ranging from 1 to 16 is only shown for ease of understanding, but this should not constitute any limitation on the present application. The present application does not limit the specific value range of the priority value. For example, the value range can also be an integer ranging from 0 to 15.

[0122] In another possible implementation, the priority can also be represented by a priority level, for example, including high priority, medium priority, and low priority, which are not limited by embodiments of the present application.

[0123] The high priority indicates that the first communication device can preferentially allocate resources to the LCH of the high priority, and the low priority indicates that the first communication device can allocate fewer resources to the LCH of the low priority, or in other words, does not allocate resources to the LCH of the low priority, which are not limited by embodiments of the present application.

[0124] The first communication device can allocate resources to the data to be transmitted in each LCH of the at least one LCH in the priority order from high to low according to the priority order of the at least one LCH, for example, the first communication device allocates resources to the first data in the first LCH of the at least one LCH.

[0125] The remaining transmission delay of the first data is less than or equal to the threshold value of the LCH, and the first data can be understood as delay-critical data.

[0126] In step 520, the first communication device determines the priority of the first LCH as a first priority, and the first priority is higher than a second priority configured by the network device.

[0127] The first communication device can change the priority of the first LCH carrying the first data, for example, increase the priority of the first LCH from the second priority to the first priority, so as to complete the transmission of the first data before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted.

[0128] The first priority can be understood as an additional priority of the first LCH, and the first priority is higher than the second priority configured by the network device, in other words, the additional priority is higher than the preconfigured default priority. For example, the preconfigured default priority of the first LCH is 3, and the additional priority of the first LCH is 1.

[0129] The additional priority can be understood as that the network device enables the function of adjusting the priority of the LCH for the first communication device, that is, the priority of the LCH can be adjusted according to whether the LCH carries delay-critical data. The additional priority can be referred to as delay-critical LCH priority, or delay-aware logical channel prioritization (delay-aware LCP), which is not limited. The additional priority can also be preconfigured by the network device, or pre-defined by the protocol, or determined by the first communication device based on the second priority, for example, increasing a certain priority level based on the second priority, which is not limited.

[0130] It should be understood that the additional priority can be separately configured or determined by the first communication device or the network device for each LCH in the at least one LCH, or can be separately configured or determined for part of the at least one LCH, that is, part of the LCHs can not have the additional priority, which is not limited.

[0131] The priority of the LCH can be used in different scenarios, and the first communication device can use the additional priority of the LCH when the LCH carries delay-critical data.

[0132] In a possible example, when the first communication device allocates resources for the at least one LCH, that is, in the LCP process, the resources can be allocated to the at least one LCH according to the priority of the at least one LCH in the order of high and low. When the data (for example, the first data) carried in one LCH (for example, the first LCH) of the at least one LCH is delay-critical data, the priority (for example, the second priority) of the first LCH can be increased to the additional priority (for example, the first priority), so as to be able to transmit the delay-critical data before the remaining transmission delay is exhausted.

[0133] It should be understood that in other procedures requiring the use of LCH priority, the default priority of the LCH pre-configured by the network device for the first communication device is still used, in other words, the above-mentioned additional priority can only be used in the LCP procedure and is not used in any other procedure, so as to avoid the occurrence of unexpected situations.

[0134] In yet another possible example, the first communication device can use the additional priority of the LCH when triggering the BSR for the LCH.

[0135] Exemplarily, the at least one LCH includes two LCHs, for example, a first LCH and a second LCH, wherein the pre-configured priority of the first LCH is 3, the pre-configured priority of the second LCH is 2, and the additional priority of the first LCH is 1. The first communication device can determine whether to trigger the BSR for the second LCH according to whether the data carried in the first LCH and the second LCH includes latency-critical data.

[0136] In one possible case, when new data arrives in the second LCH and the new data is non-latency-critical data, if the data to be transmitted in the first LCH is latency-critical data (for example, first data), the priority of the first LCH can be changed from the priority (for example, second priority) 3 to the additional priority (for example, first priority) 1, in which case the priority of the first LCH is higher than the priority of the second LCH. Therefore, the first communication device can not trigger the BSR for the second LCH. In this way, the transmission of the BSR can be prevented from occupying part of the transmission resources, so that the transmission of the latency-critical data is not affected.

[0137] In summary, when the first data is carried on the first LCH and the default priority of the second LCH is lower than the first priority, the first communication device can not trigger the BSR for the second LCH.

[0138] In yet another possible case, when new data arrives in the second LCH, there is no latency-critical data in the first LCH, or in other words, the latency-critical data in the first LCH has been transmitted, in which case the priority of the first LCH is still the pre-configured priority (for example, second priority) 3, the priority of the second LCH is the pre-configured priority 2, and the priority of the second LCH is higher than the priority of the first LCH. Therefore, the first communication device can trigger the BSR for the second LCH.

[0139] In yet another possible example, the first communication device can use the additional priority of the LCH in the process of padding the BSR, i.e., the first communication device can determine the priority of the LCH according to whether the data carried on the LCH among the multiple LCHs contained in each LCG is latency-critical data, thereby obtaining the priority of the LCG, and select the LCGs to report the BSR according to the LCG priority order from high to low until the remaining transmission resources of the first communication device are insufficient to accommodate more information of the LCGs. In this way, the first communication device can make full use of the uplink transmission resources and facilitate the transmission of latency-critical data. The priority of the LCG can be determined by the highest LCH priority among all the LCHs contained in the LCG.

[0140] Exemplarily, the at least one LCH can include four LCHs, e.g., a first LCH, a second LCH, a third LCH, and a fourth LCH, and the first LCH and the second LCH belong to a first LCG, and the third LCH and the fourth LCH belong to a second LCG. The first LCH is pre-configured with a priority of 5, the second LCH is pre-configured with a priority of 4, the third LCH is pre-configured with a priority of 3, the second LCH is pre-configured with a priority of 2, and the first LCH is pre-configured with an additional priority of 1. The first communication device can determine whether the triggered BSR includes the data amount corresponding to the first LCG or the second LCG according to the situation of the data to be transmitted carried on the LCHs in the first LCG and the second LCG, or in other words, the first communication device selects the LCG with a higher priority among the first LCG and the second LCG for padding the BSR.

[0141] In a possible case, when the first LCH carries latency-critical data (e.g., first data), the priority of the first LCH changes from the priority (e.g., second priority) 5 to the additional priority (e.g., first priority) 1, and the priority of the first LCG is higher than that of the second LCG, so the first LCG can be selected by the first communication device for reporting, i.e., the triggered BSR includes the data amount corresponding to the LCG to which the first LCH belongs.

[0142] In yet another possible case, when the data to be transmitted carried on the first LCH is non-latency-critical data, the priority of the first LCG is lower than that of the second LCG, so the second LCG can be selected by the first communication device for reporting, i.e., the triggered BSR includes the data amount corresponding to the LCG to which the third LCH belongs.

[0143] Optionally, in the process of padding the BSR, the first communication device can send fourth information to the network device, the fourth information being used to instruct the network device to pad the information of the LCGs contained in the BSR. Correspondingly, the network device can receive the fourth information from the first communication device. In this way, the network device can synchronously know the information of the LCGs contained in the BSR.

[0144] For example, the first communication device can include a bitmap in the MAC CE for padding the BSR, similar to the LCG0-LCG7 field in the MAC CE for reporting the DSR, for example, when the bit value corresponding to an LCG is 1, it means that the MAC CE for padding the BSR includes the buffer data amount information of the LCG; when the bit value corresponding to the LCG is 0, it means that the MAC CE for padding the BSR does not include the buffer data amount information of the LCG, which will not be described here.

[0145] Based on the above scheme, the first communication device can determine the first LCH carrying the delay-sensitive data (e.g., the first data) from the at least one LCH, and change the priority of the first LCH from the second priority pre-configured by the network device to the first priority, and the first priority is higher than the second priority. In this way, when the first communication device needs to use the priority of the LCH in different processes (e.g., the LCP process, the DSR process or the padding BSR process), whether to increase the priority of the LCH can be considered according to whether the delay-sensitive data is included in the LCH.

[0146] It should be understood that the flows shown in FIGS. 4-5 are only examples and should not constitute any limitation on the present application. In other embodiments, these flows can also include more or fewer steps.

[0147] It should also be understood that the size of the serial number of each process described above does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0148] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described in detail above in combination with the drawings. The apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below in combination with the drawings.

[0149] FIGS. 6-7 are schematic block diagrams of possible communication apparatuses provided by embodiments of the present application. These communication apparatuses can be used to implement the functions of the first communication device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments.

[0150] One communication apparatus provided by the present application is shown in FIG. 6, and the communication apparatus 600 includes a communication unit 610 and a processing unit 620. The communication unit 610 can be used to perform the actions of receiving or transmitting, and the processing unit 620 can be used to perform actions other than receiving and transmitting, such as generating information or messages, processing received information or messages, etc.

[0151] In a possible design, the communication apparatus 600 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication device in the method embodiments described above and shown in FIG. 4. For example, the communication apparatus can be the first communication device, or a component (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.) configured in the first communication device, or a logic module or software capable of implementing part or all of the functions of the first communication device.

[0152] For example, when the communication apparatus 600 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication device in the method 400, the processing unit 620 is configured to determine, by the first entity, at least one time interval, the at least one time interval being determined based on a remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data; and the communication unit 610 is configured to send, by the first entity, first information to the second entity, the first information being used to indicate a time interval associated with the first data in the to-be-transmitted data in the at least one time interval.

[0153] Optionally, the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data is determined according to a remaining time length of a discard timer corresponding to the to-be-transmitted data.

[0154] Optionally, after the remaining transmission delay of the first data in the to-be-transmitted data changes, a time interval corresponding to the first data changes from a first time interval to a second time interval, and the communication unit 610 is further configured to send, by the first entity, the first information to the second entity.

[0155] Optionally, the communication unit 610 is further configured to send, by the first entity, second information to the second entity, the second information being used to indicate a data amount corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval, and / or the second information being used to indicate a minimum remaining time corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval, the minimum remaining time being a minimum value of the remaining transmission delay of the to-be-transmitted data corresponding to the time interval.

[0156] Optionally, the communication unit 610 is further configured to receive configuration information, the configuration information being used to determine the at least one time interval, and the at least one time interval including the first time interval.

[0157] Optionally, the communication unit 610 is further configured to send indication information, the indication information being used to indicate an association relationship between a data amount of the to-be-transmitted data and the at least one time interval.

[0158] Optionally, the first entity includes a PDCP entity or an RLC entity.

[0159] Optionally, the second entity includes an RLC entity or a MAC entity.

[0160] In a possible design, the communication apparatus 600 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 5. For example, the communication apparatus can be the first communication device, or a component (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.) configured in the first communication device, or a logic module or software capable of implementing part or all of the functions of the first communication device.

[0161] For example, when the communication apparatus 600 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication device in the method 500, the processing unit 620 is configured to determine, from at least one logical channel (LCH), a first LCH that carries first data, where a remaining transmission delay of the first data is less than or equal to a threshold value corresponding to the LCH; and determine a priority of the first LCH as a first priority, where the first priority is higher than a second priority configured by a network device.

[0162] Optionally, the first data is carried on the first LCH, and the network device configures a priority of a second LCH as the second priority that is lower than the first priority, and the processing unit 620 is further configured to not trigger a BSR for the second LCH.

[0163] Optionally, when the first data is carried on the first LCH, the triggered BSR includes a data amount corresponding to a logical channel group (LCG) to which the first LCH belongs.

[0164] It should also be understood that the communication unit 610 in the communication apparatus 600 can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, and the communication unit 610 can include a sending module and exclude a receiving module. Alternatively, the communication unit 610 can include a receiving module and exclude a sending module. Specifically, whether the sending module and the receiving module are included in the communication unit 610 depends on whether the above-mentioned scheme includes a sending action and a receiving action. The receiving module can be configured to perform the receiving action in the above-mentioned scheme, and the sending module can be configured to perform the sending action in the above-mentioned scheme.

[0165] It can be understood that the division of the units in the above apparatus is merely a logical function division, and each function can correspond to a functional unit, or two or more functions can be integrated into one functional unit. In actual implementation, all or part of the units can be integrated into one physical entity, or distributed on different physical entities. In addition, the functional units can be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Whether a function is implemented in the form of hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functions by using different methods for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0166] Another communication apparatus provided in the present application is shown in FIG. 7. The communication apparatus 700 includes at least one processor 710. The at least one processor 710 can be configured to execute computer programs or instructions in the memory to implement the steps performed by the first communication device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.

[0167] Optionally, the communication apparatus 700 further includes at least one memory 720 configured to store instructions executed by the processor 710 or store input data required by the processor 710 to run the instructions or store data generated after the processor 710 runs the instructions. The at least one processor 710 and the at least one memory 720 can be separately arranged. For example, each memory can be connected with one or more processors, so that the connected processor can read information from the memory, store and / or write information in the memory. Alternatively, the at least one processor 710 and the at least one memory 720 can be integrated together, for example, one or more memories can be integrated in one processor.

[0168] Optionally, the communication apparatus 700 further includes an interface circuit 730 configured to transmit data and / or signaling. The at least one processor 710 and the interface circuit 730 are coupled with each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 730 can be a transceiver, an input / output circuit, a bus, a module, a pin or other types of communication interfaces, wherein the input circuit in the input / output circuit can be configured to receive, and the output interface can be configured to send.

[0169] Optionally, the communication apparatus 700 further includes a power supply circuit 740 configured to supply power to the communication apparatus 700.

[0170] When the communication apparatus 700 is used to implement the method shown in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, the processor 710 is configured to perform the functions of the processing unit, and the interface circuit 720 is configured to perform the functions of the receiving unit and / or the sending unit. Whether the interface circuit 720 is configured to send or receive can depend on whether the communication apparatus 700 is configured to perform a sending action or a receiving action in the scheme.

[0171] It can be understood that when the communication apparatus 700 is a communication device (for example, the first communication device), the interface circuit 720 can be a transceiver, which can specifically include a transmitter configured to send signals and a receiver configured to receive signals. When the communication apparatus 700 is a chip applied to a communication device, the interface circuit 720 can be an input / output circuit, a bus, a module, a pin or other types of communication interfaces, wherein the input circuit in the input / output circuit can be configured to receive, and the output interface can be configured to send.

[0172] It should be understood that the processor 710 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG. 7 can correspond to the processing unit 620 in the communication device 600 above, and the interface circuit 620 can correspond to the communication unit 610 in the communication device 600 above.

[0173] It should also be understood that the coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms, for information interaction between devices, units or modules. The specific connection medium between the at least one processor 710, the at least one memory 720, the interface circuit 730 and the power supply circuit 740 in the embodiments of the present application is not limited. In FIG. 7, the processor 710, the memory 720, the interface circuit 730 and the power supply circuit 740 are connected through the bus 750. The bus 750 is represented by a thick line in FIG. 7, and the connection mode between other components is only schematically illustrated and is not limited. The bus can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For convenience of representation, only one thick line is used in FIG. 7, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0174] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0175] The memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Among them, the nonvolatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM can be used, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the system and method described herein is intended to include, among other things, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0176] The present application also provides a communication system, comprising the first communication device described above.

[0177] The present application also provides a computer program product, comprising a computer program (also called code or instructions) which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method performed by the first communication device in the embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.

[0178] The present application also provides a computer readable storage medium storing a computer program (also called code or instructions). When the computer program is executed, it causes the computer to perform the method performed by the first communication device in the embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.

[0179] The terms "unit", "module" and the like used in the present specification can be used to represent computer-related entities, hardware, combinations of hardware and software, software, or software in execution.

[0180] Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. The choice of hardware or software, or combinations of both, would be dependent on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application. In several embodiments provided in the present application, it will be apparent that the disclosed devices, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the division of the units described above is merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be omitted or not implemented. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0181] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separate, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, i.e. can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiments.

[0182] In addition, the functional units in each of the embodiments of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0183] In the above embodiments, the functions of the various functional units can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions can be implemented in the form of one or more computer programs that run on a computer. When the computer programs are loaded and executed on the computer, the whole or part of the flow or function described in the embodiments of the present application is produced. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer programs can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that includes one or more available media sets. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (for example, solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0184] If the function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0185] The above is merely a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: determining, by a first entity, at least one time interval, the at least one time interval being determined based on a remaining transmission delay of data to be transmitted; sending, by the first entity, first information to a second entity, the first information being used to indicate a time interval associated with first data in the data to be transmitted in the at least one time interval.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The remaining transmission delay of the data to be transmitted is determined according to a remaining time length of a discard timer corresponding to the data to be transmitted.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further comprises: after the remaining transmission delay of the first data in the data to be transmitted changes, a time interval corresponding to the first data changes from a first time interval to a second time interval, and the first entity sends the first information to the second entity.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further comprises: the first entity further sends second information to the second entity, the second information being used to indicate a data amount corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval; and / or the second information is used to indicate a minimum remaining time corresponding to each time interval in the at least one time interval, the minimum remaining time being a minimum value of the remaining transmission delay in the data to be transmitted corresponding to the time interval.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving configuration information, the configuration information being used to determine at least one time interval, the at least one time interval comprising the first time interval.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The configuration information comprises a plurality of remaining transmission delay thresholds.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending indication information, the indication information being used to indicate a correlation between a data amount of the data to be transmitted and the at least one time interval.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The first entity comprises a PDCP entity or an RLC entity.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The second entity comprises an RLC entity or a MAC entity.

10. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises means for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises one or more processors configured to execute a computer program or instructions in a memory, such that the communication device performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

12. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, characterized in that, The computer program, when executed by a processor, causes the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 to be performed.

13. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program, when executed by a processor, causes the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 to be performed. The computer program, when executed by a processor, causes the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 to be performed.

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