CN112997523B

CN112997523B - Improving efficiency of wireless communications

Info

Publication number: CN112997523B
Application number: CN201880099419.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 戴谦; 黄河; 艾建勋
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2018-11-15
Filing date: 2018-11-15
Publication date: 2023-07-04
Anticipated expiration: 2038-11-15
Also published as: CN112997523A; WO2020034470A1

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, and systems for increasing power, spectrum, or transmission efficiency in a dual-connection or multi-connection scenario are described. Techniques for improving spectral efficiency when repeated transmissions are used in single, dual, or multiple connection scenarios are also described. In one example aspect, a wireless communication method includes receiving, by a communication node, a report from a communication device. The report indicates a power efficiency or a spectral efficiency of the communication device. The method further includes determining, by the communication node, a resource schedule from the report.

Description

Improving efficiency of wireless communications

Technical Field

This patent document relates generally to wireless communications.

Background

Mobile communication technology is pushing the world to increasingly interconnected and networked society. The rapid growth of mobile communications and advances in technology have led to greater demands for capacity and connectivity. Other aspects, such as energy consumption, equipment cost, spectral efficiency, and latency, are also important to meet the needs of various communication scenarios. Various techniques are being discussed, including new methods of providing higher quality service, longer battery life, and improved performance.

Disclosure of Invention

This patent document describes, among other things, techniques for increasing power, spectrum or transmission efficiency in a dual-connection or multi-connection scenario. Techniques for improving spectral efficiency when repeated transmissions are used in single, dual, or multiple connection scenarios are also described.

In one example aspect, a wireless communication method includes receiving, by a communication node, a report from a communication device. The report indicates a power efficiency or a spectral efficiency of the communication device. The method further includes determining, by the communication node, a resource schedule from the report.

In another example aspect, a wireless communication method includes detecting, by a communication device, a power efficiency or a spectral efficiency of the communication device. The method further includes transmitting, by the communication device to the communication node, a report indicating a power efficiency or a spectral efficiency of the communication device.

In another example aspect, a wireless communication method includes receiving, by a user equipment, from a communication node, one or more parameters for configuring a retransmission to be performed by the user equipment. The method also includes performing, by the user equipment, a retransmission according to the one or more parameters. The one or more parameters include at least one of: a packet size limit for a retransmission, an indicator to enable or disable the packet size limit, a condition under which a retransmission is to be performed, or a time offset threshold for a retransmission over one or more links or one or more carriers.

In another example aspect, a wireless communication method includes transmitting, from a communication node to a user equipment, one or more parameters for configuring a retransmission to be performed by the user equipment. The one or more parameters include at least one of: an indicator of packet size limitation for retransmission, enabling or disabling packet size limitation, a condition under which retransmission may be performed, or a time offset threshold for retransmission over one or more links or one or more carriers.

In another example aspect, a communication apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a processor configured to implement the above method.

In yet another embodiment aspect, a computer program storage medium is disclosed. The computer program storage medium includes code stored thereon. The code, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the described methods.

These and other aspects are described in this patent document.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows an example architecture of a 5G radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN).

Fig. 2 shows an example of a dual-connectivity (DC) architecture of a 5G system.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart representation of a wireless communication method in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 4 is a flow diagram representation of another wireless communication method in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 5 is a flow diagram representation of another wireless communication method in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 6 is a flow diagram representation of another wireless communication method in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example messaging procedure for reporting power and/or spectral efficiency in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology.

Fig. 8 illustrates an exemplary intra-CU inter-DU dual connectivity architecture.

Fig. 9 illustrates another example messaging procedure for reporting power and/or spectral efficiency in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology.

Fig. 10 illustrates another example messaging procedure for reporting power and/or spectral efficiency in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology.

Fig. 11 illustrates an exemplary messaging procedure for configuring repeated transmissions to improve efficiency in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique.

Fig. 12 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system in which techniques in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology may be applied.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram representation of a portion of a wireless station in which techniques in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique may be applied.

Detailed Description

The section headings are used in this patent document only to improve readability and do not limit the scope of the embodiments and techniques disclosed in each section to only that section. Some features are described using an example of a 5G wireless protocol. However, applicability of the disclosed technology is not limited to 5G wireless systems.

The development of the New generation of wireless communications, 5G New wireless (NR) communications, is part of the continuous mobile broadband evolution process for meeting the ever-increasing network demands. NR will provide a greater throughput to allow more users to be connected at the same time. Other aspects, such as energy consumption, equipment cost, spectral efficiency, and latency, are also important to meet the needs of various communication scenarios.

Fig. 1 shows an example architecture of a 5G radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN). The 5G architecture includes a 5G core network (5 GC) 101 and NG RAN 102. The NG-RAN 102 includes a set of one or more base stations 103 (e.g., a gNB) connected to a 5GC over an NG interface. The gNB 103 may support frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) mode, time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD) mode, or dual connectivity mode operation. The group of gnbs may be interconnected by an Xn interface. The gNB may include a gNB centralized Unit (Centrialized Unit, CU) 104 and one or more gNB Distributed Units (DUs) 105.gNB-CU 104 and gNB-DU 105 are connected through an F1 interface.

In the new wireless (NR) framework, the forward network interface may be partitioned based on transmission capacity, transmission delay, and/or ease of deployment. For example, in view of non-ideal forward transmissions, delay insensitive network functions may be placed on a network element (such as a CU), while delay sensitive network functions may be placed on another network element (such as a DU).

In fig. 1, the left gNB is not split into CU and DU, while the right gNB is split into CU and DU. This decision whether to split the gNB may be based on the network deployment requirements of the operator. Examples of CU and DU function divisions in the protocol stack are that a CU may include radio resource control (Radio Resource Contro, RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP) functions, while a DU may include RLC, MAC and PHY functions.

Additionally, a dual connection structure is introduced in the NR system. Fig. 2 shows an example of a dual-connectivity (DC) architecture of a 5G system. The DC system may comprise two or more network side nodes providing data connectivity to or from User Equipment (UE). For example, the network node may include a primary node and a secondary node. As another example, a network node in a DC system may include an eNB and a gNB or other type of serving network node that provides wireless connectivity to UEs. In a DC system, for a UE with multiple transceivers (multiple Rx/Tx), the current serving base station (e.g., network element a as shown in fig. 2) may select an appropriate radio channel for the UE. For example, network element a may select a radio channel having a quality that meets or exceeds a certain threshold. In a DC system, a second base station (e.g., network element B as shown in fig. 2) may also be added to the UE. In a DC system, two base stations may collectively provide radio resources for UEs to perform user plane data transmission. Furthermore, for a wired interface, a first NG control plane (NG-C) may be established between network element a and the next generation core network (Next Generation Core Network, NG-CN), and at most one NG-U may be established between network element B and NG-CN for the UE. Network element a and network element B may be connected by an ideal or non-ideal interface called an Xn interface.

As far as the radio interface is concerned, network element a and network element B may provide the same or different radio access technologies (Radio Access Technology, RAT) and a relatively independent scheduling of UEs. Wherein the network element a connected to the control plane of the core network may be referred to as a master node and the core network may only have a user plane connection even though in some cases there may not be a user plane connection with the core network. Network element B may be referred to as a secondary node. If there are more than two network elements connected to the UE, all nodes except the primary node are called secondary nodes.

Based on the dual connectivity concept described above, multi-RAT dual connectivity refers to a dual connectivity architecture in which the primary and secondary nodes may be access points with different radio access technologies. For example, one access point may be an NR RAN node (e.g., a gNB) and another access point may be an LTE RAN node (e.g., an eNB). In this example, the eNB and the gNB may be connected to the 5G core network at the same time. In another example, the dual connectivity scenario may include both the primary node and the secondary node as NR RAN nodes (e.g., gnbs).

With a similar concept of DC, MC (Multi-Connection) can be implemented if the capability of the UE meets the requirements. For example, a UE may support more than two radio interface connections simultaneously. When configuring the MC, more than one Secondary Node (SN) may be configured by the primary Node (MN) to serve the UE and provide a much greater throughput than the DC architecture.

In addition, packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) duplication is introduced as a robustness enhancement scheme in both LTE and NR protocols. For radio data bearers duplicated by activated PDCP, the PDCP layer of the transmitting side transmits the same PDCP Protocol Data Unit (PDU) packets to both RLC entities. The two RLC entities for PDCP duplication may be configured in two carriers in case of LTE/NR independent deployment or in two carriers belonging to different access network nodes in case of dual connectivity. Repeated transmissions may improve demodulation performance, but at the cost of more radio resource usage.

However, current 3GPP specifications do not provide guidance on how to maintain dual or multiple connections in an efficient manner. This patent document describes techniques that may be implemented in various embodiments to improve spectral and/or power efficiency in a dual/multiple connection scenario. In addition, this patent document discloses techniques that may be implemented in various embodiments to address efficiency issues in repeated transmissions. These techniques may be applied to a dual/multiple connection scenario in which multiple transmission links are used, and to a single connection scenario in which multiple carriers are used.

Fig. 3 is a flow diagram representation of a wireless communication method 300 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique. The method 300 comprises receiving, by the communication node, a report from the communication device, step 301. The report indicates a power efficiency or a spectral efficiency of the communication device. The method 300 includes determining, by the communication node, a resource schedule from the report at step 302.

Fig. 4 is a flow diagram representation of a wireless communication method 400 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique. The method 400 includes detecting, by the communication device, power efficiency or spectral efficiency of the communication device at step 401. The method 400 includes transmitting, by the communication device to the communication node, a report indicating power efficiency or spectral efficiency of the communication device, at step 402.

In some embodiments, the communication node comprises a primary communication node and the communication means comprises a secondary communication node, wherein the primary communication node and the secondary communication node are simultaneously connected to the user equipment.

In some embodiments, the communication node comprises a central unit and the communication means comprises a distributed unit. In some embodiments, the communication node comprises an access node and the communication means comprises a user equipment.

Fig. 5 is a flow diagram representation of a wireless communication method 1200 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique. The method 1200 comprises, at step 501, receiving, by a user equipment, from a communication node, one or more parameters for configuring a retransmission to be performed by the user equipment. Method 1200 includes, at step 502, performing, by a user equipment, a repeat transmission according to one or more parameters. The one or more parameters include at least one of: a packet size limit for a retransmission, an indicator to enable or disable the packet size limit, a condition under which a retransmission is to be performed, or a time offset threshold for a retransmission over one or more links or one or more carriers.

Fig. 6 is a flow diagram representation of a wireless communication method 600 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technique. The method 600 comprises, at step 601, transmitting from the communication node to the user equipment one or more parameters for configuring a retransmission to be performed by the user equipment. The one or more parameters include at least one of: an indicator of packet size limitation for retransmission, enabling or disabling packet size limitation, a condition under which retransmission may be performed, or a time offset threshold for retransmission over one or more links or one or more carriers.

Some examples of the disclosed technology are described in the following example embodiments.

Example 1

This embodiment shows how the network side can exchange efficiency information and use it in a dual connectivity scenario.

In this embodiment, the UE is connected to both network elements simultaneously (e.g., as shown in fig. 2). Network element a, also called the Master Node (MN), has a control plane connection with the core network. The network element b is called Secondary Node (SN). The MN and the MN may use the same Radio Access Technology (RAT) type or different RAT types. For example, one may be Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the other may be NR. Alternatively, both may be NR. The core network may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or a 5GC network.

Step 701: the MN configures and sends one or more thresholds to the SN for triggering the efficiency information reporting. The one or more thresholds may include at least one of:

1. threshold of power efficiency. For example, power efficiency may be indicated by the ratio of bits transmitted per power consuming element. Here, the ratio of transmission bits per power consumption (e.g., watts) indicates how much power is used on average to transmit a certain number of traffic bits, e.g., one data bit (excluding control channel bits).

The threshold may be defined with one of the following granularities: per connection, per cell group, per cell, per carrier, per PDU session, per quality of service flow (Quality of Service, qoS), per direction (e.g., uplink and/or downlink), per bearer, or per logical channel. For example, using granularity per connection, the ratio is determined for a given UE based on all cells or all carriers configured in the SN. As another example, using granularity per cell, for a given UE, the ratio is determined based on each cell configured in the SN. As yet another example, using granularity per carrier, the ratio is determined for a given UE based on each carrier configured in the SN.

2. Threshold of transmission time ratio. For example, the transmission time ratio may be a ratio of transmission time to connection time, or a ratio of transmission time to connection active time. The transmission time may be defined as a time during which transmission or reception of traffic data is performed. The active time may be defined as a time during which the user equipment is listening to a downlink control channel or transmitting uplink control channel information, and may or may not transmit or receive traffic data. The threshold may be defined with one of the following granularities: per connection, per cell group, per cell, per carrier, per PDU session, per QoS, per direction (e.g., uplink and/or downlink), per bearer, or per logical channel. The receiving side may use the threshold to determine when to trigger reporting of the transmission time ratio based on granularity.

3. Threshold of spectral efficiency. For example, spectral efficiency may be indicated based on how much radio resources (e.g., bandwidth, resource blocks, or other resource units) are used on average to transmit a certain amount of data bits (excluding control channel bits). In some embodiments, spectral efficiency may be indicated by bits per Hz. The threshold may be defined with one of the following granularities: per connection, per cell group, per cell, per carrier, per PDU session, per quality of service flow (Quality of Service, qoS), per direction (e.g., uplink and/or downlink), per bearer, or per logical channel. The receiving side may use the threshold to decide when to trigger reporting of spectral efficiency based on granularity.

In some embodiments, the MN also configures the period for sending the efficiency report.

Step 702: based on the configuration the SN receives from the MN, the SN determines whether the condition that triggered the efficiency report has been met. For example, the SN may trigger a report when the ratio of transmitted bits per power consumption is below a first threshold, when the ratio of transmission times is below a second threshold, or when the spectral efficiency is below a third threshold. In some embodiments, the transmission report may be triggered periodically. For example, the SN may use a timer to track when the timer expires based on the reporting period indicated by the MN, whether it can trigger reporting.

Note that the first, second, and third thresholds may be thresholds where the SN receives from the MN. In some embodiments, the SN may determine the threshold itself.

Step 703: the SN sends efficiency information to the MN. The efficiency information includes at least one of:

1. power efficiency. For example, power efficiency may be indicated by the ratio of bits transmitted per power consuming element. For example, the ratio of bits transmitted per power consuming element may be determined based on the granularity indicated by the MN. For example, using granularity per connection, the ratio is determined for a given UE based on all cells or all carriers configured in the SN. As another example, using granularity per cell, for a given UE, the ratio is determined based on each cell configured in the SN. As yet another example, using granularity per carrier, the ratio is determined for a given UE based on each carrier configured in the SN.

2. Ratio of transmission times. For example, as described above, the ratio of the transmission time may be indicated by the ratio of the transmission time to the connection time, or the ratio of the transmission time to the connection effective time. The ratio may be determined based on the granularity indicated by the MN.

3. Spectral efficiency. For example, as described above, spectral efficiency may be indicated by how much radio resources (e.g., bandwidth, resource blocks, or other resource units) are used on average to transmit a certain amount of data bits (excluding control channel bits). The spectral efficiency may be determined based on the granularity indicated by the MN.

Step 704: upon receiving the efficiency information, the MN determines whether and/or how to maintain the dual connectivity. For example, if the ratio of power efficiency, spectral efficiency, or transmission time is not too low, the MN may decide to offload some of the SN's traffic back to the MN to reduce the SN's workload. As another example, if the ratio of power efficiency, spectral efficiency, or transmission time is too low, the MN may decide to release the SN, or go to another SN for better performance.

Example 2

This embodiment shows how the DU and CU can exchange efficiency information and use it in a dual connectivity scenario between DUs within a CU.

Fig. 8 illustrates an exemplary intra-CU inter-DU dual connectivity architecture. In the present embodiment, the UE connects to both DU1 and DU2. Both DU1 and DU2 are connected to the same CU. DU1 is referred to as a primary DU, and DU2 is referred to as a secondary DU. Typically, for a given UE, both DUs use the same RAT. For example, for a UE, two DUs use NR.

Step 901: the CU configures and sends to the secondary DU one or more thresholds that trigger the efficiency information reporting.

The one or more thresholds may include at least one of:

3. Threshold of spectral efficiency. For example, spectral efficiency may be indicated based on how much radio resources (e.g., bandwidth, resource blocks, or other resource units) are used on average to transmit a certain amount of data bits (excluding control channel bits). In some embodiments, spectral efficiency may be indicated by bits per Hz. The threshold may be defined with one of the following granularities: per connection, per cell group, per cell, per carrier, per PDU session, per quality of service flow (QoS), per direction (e.g., uplink and/or downlink), per bearer, or per logical channel. The receiving side may use the threshold to decide when to trigger reporting of spectral efficiency based on granularity.

Step 902: based on the information the secondary DU receives from the CU, the secondary DU determines whether a condition for triggering an efficiency report has been satisfied. For example, the secondary DU may trigger the reporting when the ratio of transmitted bits per power consumption is below a first threshold, when the ratio of transmission times is below a second threshold, or when the spectral efficiency is below a third threshold. In some embodiments, the transmission report may be triggered periodically. For example, the secondary DU may use a timer to keep track of when the timer expires according to the reporting period indicated by the CU, whether it can trigger reporting.

Note that the first, second, and third thresholds may be thresholds at which the secondary DU is received from the CU. In some embodiments, the secondary DU may determine the threshold itself.

Step 903: the secondary DU sends efficiency information to the CU. The efficiency information includes at least one of:

1. power efficiency. For example, power efficiency may be indicated by the ratio of bits transmitted per power consuming element. For example, the ratio of bits transmitted per power consuming unit may be determined based on the granularity indicated by the CU. For example, using granularity per connection, the ratio is determined for a given UE based on all cells or all carriers configured in the secondary DU. As another example, using granularity per cell, for a given UE, the ratio is determined based on each cell configured in the secondary DU. As another example, using granularity per carrier, for a given UE, the ratio is determined separately based on each carrier configured in the secondary DU.

2. Ratio of transmission times. For example, as described above, the ratio of the transmission time may be indicated by the ratio of the transmission time to the connection time, or the ratio of the transmission time to the connection effective time. The ratio may be determined based on the granularity indicated by the CU.

3. Spectral efficiency. For example, as described above, spectral efficiency may be indicated by averaging how much radio resources (e.g., bandwidth) are used to transmit a certain amount of data bits (excluding control channel bits). The spectral efficiency may be determined based on the granularity indicated by the CU.

Step 904: after receiving the efficiency information, the CU determines whether and/or how to maintain the dual connectivity. For example, if the power efficiency, spectral efficiency, or transmission time ratio is not too low, the CU may decide to offload some traffic of the secondary DUs. As another example, if the ratio of power efficiency, spectral efficiency, or transmission time is too low, the CU may decide to release the secondary DU, or go to another secondary DU for better performance.

Steps 905 and 906: in some embodiments, these two steps may be performed at any time during the UE connection time. When the primary or secondary DU receives preference information from the UE, the primary or secondary DU relays this information to the CU. The preference information may indicate whether to prioritize power saving rather than UE preferences of the user experience. For example, the information may indicate whether certain traffic needs to be prioritized to ensure greater traffic throughput, or to minimize scheduling delays. Preference information may also be reported according to granularity, such as per connection, per cell group in case of dual or multi-connection, per PDU session, per QoS, per direction (e.g., uplink and/or downlink), per bearer, or per logical channel.

Example 3

This embodiment shows how the access node and the UE exchange efficiency information and use it in a dual connectivity scenario.

In this embodiment, the UE is connected to both network elements simultaneously (e.g., as shown in fig. 2). Network element a, also called the Master Node (MN), has a control plane connection with the core network. The network element b is called Secondary Node (SN). The MN and SN may use the same Radio Access Technology (RAT) type or different RAT types. For example, one may be Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the other may be NR. Alternatively, both may be NR. The core network may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or a 5GC network.

Step 1001: the MN configures and sends one or more thresholds for triggering the efficiency information reporting to the UE. The one or more thresholds may include at least one of:

1. threshold for power efficiency. For example, power efficiency may be indicated by the ratio of bits transmitted per power consuming element. Here, the ratio of transmission bits per power consumption (e.g., watts) indicates how much power is used on average to transmit a certain number of traffic bits, e.g., one data bit (excluding control channel bits).

The threshold may be defined with one of the following granularities: per connection, per cell group, per cell, per carrier, per PDU session, per quality of service flow (QoS), per direction (e.g., uplink and/or downlink), per bearer, or per logical channel. For example, using granularity per connection, the ratio is determined for a UE based on all cells or all carriers. As another example, using granularity per cell, the ratio is determined for the UE on a per cell basis. As yet another example, a granularity per carrier is used, the ratio being determined on a per carrier basis.

2. Threshold of transmission time ratio. For example, the transmission time ratio may be a ratio of transmission time to connection time, or a ratio of transmission time to connection active time. The transmission time may be defined as a time during which transmission or reception of service data is performed. The active time may be defined as a time during which the user equipment is listening to a downlink control channel or transmitting uplink control channel information, and may or may not transmit or receive traffic data. The threshold may be defined with one of the following granularities: per connection, per cell group, per cell, per carrier, per PDU session, per QoS, per direction (e.g., uplink and/or downlink), per bearer, or per logical channel. The receiving side may use the threshold to determine when to trigger reporting of the transmission time ratio based on granularity.

Step 1002: based on the configuration the UE receives from the MN, the UE determines whether a condition that triggers an efficiency report has been met. For example, the UE may trigger the report when the ratio of transmitted bits per power consumption is below a first threshold, when the ratio of transmission times is below a second threshold, or when the spectral efficiency is below a third threshold. In some embodiments, the transmission report may be triggered periodically. For example, the UE may use a timer to track when the timer expires according to the reporting period indicated by the MN, whether it can trigger reporting.

Step 1003: the UE sends efficiency information to the MN. The efficiency information includes at least one of:

1. power efficiency. For example, power efficiency may be indicated by the ratio of bits transmitted per power consuming element. For example, the ratio of bits transmitted per power consuming element may be determined based on the granularity indicated by the MN. For example, using granularity per connection, the ratio is determined for a UE based on all cells or all carriers. As another example, using granularity per cell, the ratio is determined for the UE on a per cell basis. As yet another example, using granularity per carrier, the ratio is determined on a per carrier basis for the UE.

3. Spectral efficiency. For example, as described above, spectral efficiency may be indicated by averaging how much radio resources (e.g., bandwidth) are used to transmit a certain amount of data bits (excluding control channel bits). The spectral efficiency may be determined based on the granularity indicated by the MN.

Step 1004: upon receiving the efficiency information, the MN determines whether and/or how to maintain the dual connectivity. For example, if the ratio of power efficiency, spectral efficiency, or transmission time is not too low, the MN may decide to offload some of the traffic of some of the SN(s) back to the MN. As another example, if the ratio of power efficiency, spectral efficiency, or transmission time is too low, the MN may decide to release one or more SNs, or go to a different SN(s) for better performance.

Example 4

This embodiment shows how an access node can enhance resource efficiency in a retransmission scenario.

In this embodiment, the UE is configured with dual connectivity. PDCP repeat transmission is configured and activated. In some embodiments, PDCP repeat transmission indicates that the same PDCP packet is transmitted twice: the MN link is used once and the SN link is used once. Repeated transmissions may be used to improve reliability as radio channel conditions become worse. However, it takes twice the amount of radio resources, which is expensive in terms of spectral efficiency.

Step 1101: the UE receives one or more configuration parameters from the MN for configuring PDCP repeat transmissions. The one or more configuration parameters include at least one of:

1. packet size limitations for repeated transmissions. The restriction may be defined per UE or per bearer. For example, after the UE receives the threshold, if the UE is configured to perform PDCP repeat transmission, the UE performs repeat transmission only on packet sizes that do not exceed the limit. As another example, if the UE is configured to perform PDCP repeat transmission for a specific bearer, the UE performs repeat transmission for only a packet size not exceeding the limit using the bearer.

2. An indicator of packet size limitation is enabled or disabled.

3. The condition for repeating transmission is to be performed. For example, the condition may be an upper wireless quality level limit, a lower wireless quality level limit, or a wireless quality level range. The radio quality level may be defined as a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), or a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ). After the UE receives the threshold, if the UE or the bearer of the UE is configured to perform PDCP repeat transmission, the UE performs repeat transmission only when a valid carrier or cell of the UE or a carrier or cell mapped to the bearer configured with repeat transmission satisfies a condition. Here, the condition may be satisfied when the radio quality level exceeds or is equal to the lower radio quality level limit, or when the radio quality level is lower than or is equal to the upper radio quality level limit. Alternatively, the condition may be satisfied when the wireless quality level is within the wireless quality level range.

4. A time offset indication or time offset value for repeated transmissions over one or more links or one or more carriers. The time offset indication is used to indicate whether the UE needs to add a time offset between different connections of the repeated transmission-that is, the repeated transmissions are not performed at the same time. The time offset value may be indicated as a lower limit or range of limits. In some embodiments, a network configuration without any network configuration is received at the UEAfter a time offset indication of the time offset value (e.g., a single bit "1" or a boolean value of "TRUE"), the UE may itself decide the time offset value for the repeated transmission. In some embodiments, the UE receives a time offset value from the MN, and then the UE uses the time offset value for the repeated transmission. In some embodiments, the time offset value is provided as a lower limit. Then, the UE uses a time offset equal to or greater than a given value (i.e., a lower limit). In some embodiments, the time offset value is provided as a limit range. The UE then uses the time offset value within the given range. For example, the time offset indicated by the MN is Δt in the form of a lower limit. UE at t ₁ The first transfer is performed using the MN link. Then, the UE at t ₂ ≥t ₁ The +Δt performs a second (repeated) transmission using the SN link. Here, the UE may ensure that the average time offset between repeated transmissions (e.g., corresponding to one of the granularity discussed above) meets or exceeds a given time offset lower limit.

Step 1102: once the configuration parameters are received from the MN, the UE performs repeated transmissions according to these parameters, as discussed above.

Fig. 12 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 1200 in which techniques in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology can be applied. The wireless communication system 1200 may include one or more Base Stations (BSs) 1205a, 1205b, one or

more wireless devices

1210a, 1210b, 1210c, 1210d, and a core network 525.

Base stations

1205a, 1205b may provide wireless services to

wireless devices

1210a, 1210b, 1210c, and 1210d in one or more wireless sectors. In some implementations, the

base stations

1205a, 1205b include directional antennas to generate two or more directional beams to provide wireless coverage in different sectors.

The core network 525 may communicate with one or

more base stations

1205a, 1205 b. The core network 525 provides connectivity to other wireless communication systems and to wired communication systems. The core network may include one or more service subscription databases to store information related to subscribed

wireless devices

1210a, 1210b, 1210c, and 1210 d. The first base station 1205a may provide wireless service based on a first radio access technology, and the second base station 1205b may provide wireless service based on a second radio access technology. Depending on the deployment scenario,

base stations

1205a and 1205b may be co-located or may be installed separately on site.

Wireless devices

1210a, 1210b, 1210c, and 1210d may support a number of different wireless access technologies.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram representation of a portion of a wireless station. Wireless station 1305, such as a base station or wireless device (or UE), may include processor electronics 1310, such as a microprocessor, that implements one or more of the wireless techniques presented in this document. Wireless station 1305 may include transceiver electronics 1315 to transmit and/or receive wireless signals over one or more communication interfaces, such as antenna 1320. Wireless station 1305 may include other communication interfaces for transmitting and receiving data. Wireless station 1305 may include one or more memories (not explicitly shown) configured to store information, such as data and/or instructions. In some implementations, the processor electronics 1310 may include at least a portion of transceiver electronics 1315. In some embodiments, at least some of the disclosed techniques, modules, or functions are implemented using wireless station 1305.

It should be appreciated that this document discloses techniques that may be incorporated into a wireless communication system to improve power and/or spectral efficiency in various scenarios. The techniques described herein may be applied to multi/dual connectivity scenarios to enhance power/spectral efficiency. These techniques may also be applied to single connection scenarios of repeated transmissions using multiple carriers to improve spectral efficiency.

In one example aspect, a method for wireless communication is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by the communication node, a report from the communication device. The report indicates a power efficiency or a spectral efficiency of the communication device. The method further includes determining, by the communication node, a resource schedule from the report.

In some embodiments, the communication node comprises a primary communication node and the communication means comprises a secondary communication node. The primary communication node and the secondary communication node are simultaneously connected to the user equipment. In some embodiments, the communication node comprises a central unit and the communication means comprises a distributed unit. In some embodiments, the communication node comprises an access node and the communication means comprises a user equipment.

In some embodiments, the report includes at least one of a first value indicative of power efficiency, a second value indicative of a transmission time ratio, a third value indicative of spectral efficiency, or preference information regarding a preference between power saving and user experience. In some embodiments, a preference between power efficiency, transmission time ratio, spectral efficiency, or power savings, and user experience is determined and reported for each connection, each connection direction, each cell group, each cell, each carrier, each protocol data unit (Protocol Data Unit, PDU) session, each quality of service (QoS) flow, each bearer, or each logical channel.

In some embodiments, the power efficiency is determined based on an average power consumption of transmitting or receiving an amount of data bits that does not include control channel bits. In some embodiments, the transmission time ratio is determined based on a ratio of transmission time to connection time or a ratio of transmission time to connection active time. In some embodiments, the spectral efficiency is determined based on an average amount of radio resources used to transmit or receive an amount of data bits.

In some embodiments, the method includes transmitting a message from the communication node to the wireless communication device. The message indicates a condition under which the communication device transmits a report of power efficiency or spectral efficiency to the communication node. The condition may include at least one of: a threshold for power efficiency, a threshold for transmission time ratio, or a threshold for spectral efficiency. In some embodiments, the message indicates a transmission period of the report.

In some embodiments, the power efficiency is determined based on an average power consumption of an amount of transmitted or received data bits. In some embodiments, the transmission time ratio is determined based on a ratio of transmission time to connection time or a ratio of transmission time to connection active time. In some embodiments, the spectral efficiency is determined based on an average amount of radio resources used to transmit or receive an amount of data bits.

In another example aspect, a method for wireless communication is disclosed. The method comprises receiving, by the user equipment, one or more parameters from the communication node for configuring a retransmission to be performed by the user equipment. The method also includes performing, by the user equipment, a retransmission according to the one or more parameters. The one or more parameters include at least one of: a packet size limit for a retransmission, an indicator to enable or disable the packet size limit, a radio condition under which a retransmission is to be performed, a time offset indication for a retransmission over one or more links or one or more carriers, or a time offset value for a retransmission over one or more links or one or more carriers.

In some embodiments, a packet size limit is defined for each user equipment or for each bearer of user equipment. In some embodiments, the radio conditions under which the repeated transmissions are to be performed include a radio quality level. In some embodiments, the wireless quality level is indicated by a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), or a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ).

In another example aspect, a method for wireless communication is disclosed. The method comprises transmitting, from the communication node to the user equipment, one or more parameters for configuring a retransmission to be performed by the user equipment. The one or more parameters include at least one of: an indicator of packet size limitation for retransmission, enabling or disabling packet size limitation, radio conditions under which retransmission may be performed, a time offset indication for retransmission over one or more links or one or more carriers, or a time offset value for retransmission over one or more links or one or more carriers.

In another example aspect, a communications apparatus includes a processor configured to implement the above-described method.

In yet another example aspect, a computer program product having code stored thereon is disclosed. The code, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method described above.

The disclosed embodiments and other embodiments, modules, and functional operations described in this document may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this document and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. The disclosed and other embodiments may be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer readable medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. The computer readable medium can be a machine readable storage device, a machine readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter effecting a machine readable propagated signal, or a combination of one or more of them. The term "data processing apparatus" includes all apparatuses, devices and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer or a plurality of processors or computers. In addition to hardware, the apparatus may include code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them. The propagated signal is an artificially generated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus.

A computer program (also known as a program, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. The computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store portions of one or more modules, sub-programs, or code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described herein can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such a device. Computer readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices (e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices); magnetic disks (e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks); magneto-optical disk; CD ROM and DVD-ROM discs. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

Although this patent document contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this patent document in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, although operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described in this patent document should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments.

Only a few embodiments and examples have been described, and other implementations, enhancements, and variations may be made based on what is described and shown in this patent document.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

a communication node transmitting a message to a wireless communication device, wherein the message indicates a condition for the communication device to transmit a spectral efficiency report to the communication node, the condition comprising a threshold for spectral efficiency;

the communication node receiving a report from the communication device, wherein the report indicates a spectral efficiency of the communication device; and

determining by the communication node a resource schedule from the report,

wherein the communication node and the communication device satisfy one of the following conditions:

the communication node comprises a primary communication node, the communication means comprises a secondary communication node, and the primary communication node and the secondary communication node are simultaneously connected to a user equipment;

the communication node comprises a central unit and the communication means comprises a distributed unit.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the report comprises at least one of a first value indicating power efficiency, a second value indicating a transmission time ratio, a third value indicating the spectral efficiency, or preference information regarding preferences between power savings and user experience.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the preference between the power efficiency, the transmission time ratio, the spectral efficiency or power savings, and user experience is determined and reported for each connection, each connection direction, each cell group, each cell, each carrier, each protocol data unit, PDU, session, each quality of service, qoS, flow, each bearer, or each logical channel.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the power efficiency is determined based on an average power consumption of an amount of transmitted or received data bits.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the transmission time ratio is determined based on a ratio of transmission time to connection time, or a ratio of transmission time to connection active time.

6. The method of any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the spectral efficiency is determined based on an average amount of radio resources used to transmit or receive an amount of data bits.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the message indicates a transmission period of the report.

8. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

a wireless communication device receiving a message from a communication node, wherein the message indicates a condition for the wireless communication device to transmit a report of spectral efficiency to the communication node, the condition comprising a threshold for average spectral efficiency;

Detecting, by a communication device, a spectral efficiency of the communication device; and

transmitting by the communication device to a communication node a report indicating the spectral efficiency of the communication device,

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the report includes at least one of a first value indicating power efficiency, a second value indicating a transmission time ratio, a third value indicating the spectral efficiency, or preference information regarding preferences between power savings and user experience.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the power efficiency, the transmission time ratio, the spectral efficiency, or the preference between power saving and user experience is determined and reported for each connection, each connection direction, each cell group, each cell, each carrier, each protocol data unit, PDU, session, each quality of service, qoS, flow, each bearer, or each logical channel.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the power efficiency is determined based on an average power consumption of an amount of transmitted or received data bits.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the transmission time ratio is determined based on a ratio of transmission time to connection time or a ratio of transmission time to connection active time.

13. The method of any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the spectral efficiency is determined based on an average amount of radio resources used to transmit or receive an amount of data bits.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the message indicates a transmission period of the report.

15. A communication device comprising a processor configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A computer readable medium having code stored thereon, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to implement the method of any of claims 1 to 14.