MAC Control Element Traffic Pattern Signaling for Wireless Resource Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems, particularly in 5G-NR, lack suitable mechanisms for User Equipment (UE) to signal traffic patterns and periodicity information, leading to inefficient resource allocation and inability to identify different Quality of Service (QoS) flows within a Logical Channel (LCH).
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves a method where a UE can inform the network of potential updates in its traffic patterns through a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (MAC CE), allowing for fast adjustment of wireless communication resources. This includes maintaining a separate Quality of Service Flow Identifier (QFI) per logical channel to enable the MAC layer to select appropriate data based on QoS flows.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If UE relies on buffer status reports and scheduling requests for resource allocation, then the current mechanism is simple to implement, but the traffic pattern signaling capability is insufficient and resource allocation cannot be adjusted dynamically
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the MAC control element into multiple fields: a first field indicating a type of traffic pattern, a second field indicating periodicity information, and a third field indicating offset information. This segmentation allows the UE to signal different traffic patterns (bursty, periodic, constant) with specific parameters without requiring complete redesign of the MAC layer, thus improving adaptability while controlling complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic resource allocation adjustment where the network can modify configured grants and semi-persistent scheduling based on real-time traffic pattern information signaled by the UE. The MAC control element enables the system to transition from static to dynamic resource allocation, allowing the network to adjust resources according to actual traffic conditions while maintaining MAC layer simplicity.
2Reliability
If the MAC layer cannot identify different QoS flows within a Logical Channel, then the current implementation is simple, but the quality of service differentiation is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the MAC control element as an intermediary mechanism that carries QoS flow identification information between the UE and the network. This intermediary structure allows the MAC layer to identify and differentiate QoS flows without fundamentally restructuring the MAC layer architecture, thus improving QoS reliability while maintaining implementation simplicity.
3Loss of time
If resource allocation is adjusted frequently based on real-time traffic patterns, then the service quality and latency performance improve, but the signaling overhead and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the UE to signal traffic pattern information and periodicity in advance using the MAC control element, allowing the network to perform resource allocation adjustments proactively rather than reactively. This preliminary signaling mechanism reduces latency by enabling the network to prepare resource allocations before actual data transmission occurs, while the structured format of the control element keeps processing complexity manageable.
Data Source
AI summary
An application layer in a device, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer in the device, and/or a media access control (MAC) layer in the device may determine that wireless communication resources allocated to the device need to be adjusted. The determination may be in response to detecting that a quality of the wireless connection of the device has deteriorated, or it may be based on advance knowledge of information pertaining to an application layer payload in the device. In response to the determination the device may transmit, in a MAC Control Element (MAC CE) to a base station, a request for an adjustment of the allocated wireless communication resources. The adjustment may lead to a temporary boost of resources for a limited period of time or to a persistent update of the allocated wireless communication resources. To allow better scheduling of multiple QoS flows mapped to the same DRB and better selection of data when constructing a MAC Packet Data Unit (PDU), a mapping between QoS flows and LCHs may also be provided to the MAC layer.