WO2025200030A1

WO2025200030A1 - Logical channel priority determination

Info

Publication number: WO2025200030A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/085071
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chunli Wu; Benoist Pierre Sebire; Sunyoung Lee; Claudio Rosa; Boyan Yanakiev
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2024-03-29
Filing date: 2024-03-29
Publication date: 2025-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 2026-09-29

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to apparatuses, methods, and computer readable storage medium for logical channel (LCH) priority determination. In a method, a first apparatus receives, from a second apparatus, a first configuration of at least one LCH, the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH. The first apparatus receives, from the second apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP). The first apparatus determines the second priority value of a LCH among the at least one LCH. The first apparatus performs the LCP based on the determined second priority value of the LCH.

Description

LOGICAL CHANNEL PRIORITY DETERMINATION

FIELDS

Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to apparatuses, methods, and computer readable storage medium for logical channel (LCH) priority determination.

BACKGROUND

EXtended Reality (XR) and Cloud Gaming (CG) are use cases and services which may be considered important for New Radio (NR) in the third-generation partnership project (3GPP) Release 18 (Rel-18) and beyond. Although XR and CG present a set of attractive use cases for future mobile systems, they impose a set of challenges for NR. For example, both DL and UL traffic in the XR and CG use cases are characterized by a relatively strict packet delay budget (PDB) .

In addition, in NR, Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP) may be applied where a prioritized bit rate (PBR) may be added to each logical channel (LCH) . Some LCP enhancements may be designed to better support such challenging services as the XR and CG use cases.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: receive, from a second apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel (LCH) , the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH; receive, from the second apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP) ; determine the second priority value of a LCH among the at least one LCH; and perform the LCP based on the determined second priority value of the LCH.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: transmit, to a first apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel, the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH; and transmit, to the first apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination of a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, at a first apparatus from a second apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel, the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH; receiving, from the second apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization; determining the second priority value of a LCH among the at least one LCH; and performing the LCP based on the determined second priority value of the LCH.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, at a second apparatus to a first apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel, the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH; and transmitting, to the first apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination of a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization.

In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel, the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH; means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization; means for determining the second priority value of a LCH among the at least one LCH; and means for performing the LCP based on the determined second priority value of the LCH.

In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel, the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH; and means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination of a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization.

In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling flow for LCH priority determination according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method for LCH priority determination according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C illustrate example diagrams of LCP results according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, respectively;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

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

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It shall be understood that although the terms “first, ” “second” and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

As used herein, “at least one of the following: <a list of two or more elements>” and “at least one of <a list of two or more elements>” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or” , mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof.

As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) :

(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

(c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) , that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR) , Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) , the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture comprises a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node comprises a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE) , a Subscriber Station (SS) , a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS) , or an Access Terminal (AT) . The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery) , an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node) . In the following description, the terms “terminal device” , “communication device” , “terminal” , “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

As used herein, the term “resource, ” “transmission resource, ” “resource block, ” “physical resource block (PRB) ” , “uplink resource, ” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

As described above, XR such as Cloud Gaming are use cases and services which may be considered important for NR. XR relates to various types of augmented, virtual, and mixed environments, where human-to-machine and human-to-human communications are performed with the assistance of handheld and wearable end user devices (UEs) . For example, cloud gaming may be the group of use cases, where majority of computations related to gaming (single-player or multi-player) is offloaded from the UE to edge or remote server (s) . XR may involve multiple heterogeneous use cases and services which may be divided into: (i) augmented reality (AR) ; (ii) virtual reality (VR) , and (iii) mixed reality (MR) .

XR and cloud gaming present a set of attractive use cases for future mobile systems, which impose a set of challenges for NR. For example, many of the XR and CG use cases are characterized by quasi-periodic traffic (with possible jitter) with high data rate in downlink (DL) (for example, a video stream) combined with the frequent uplink (UL) traffic (for example, pose/control update and/or a video stream) . Both DL and UL traffic are also characterized by a relatively strict packet delay budget (PDB) . Hence, there is a need to study and potentially specify possible solutions to better support such challenging services.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. In the communication environment 100, a plurality of communication devices, including a first apparatus 110 and a second apparatus 120, can communicate with each other.

In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with the first apparatus 110 operating as a terminal device such as a UE and the second apparatus 120 operating as a network device such as a gNB. However, in some example embodiments, operations described in connection with a terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other devices, and operations described in connection with a network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other devices.

In some example embodiments, if the first apparatus 110 is a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 is a network device, a link from the second apparatus 120 to the first apparatus 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL) , while a link from the first apparatus 110 to the second apparatus 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL) . In DL, the second apparatus 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or a transmitter) and the first apparatus 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or a receiver) . In UL, the first apparatus 110 is a TX device (or a transmitter) and the second apparatus 120 is a RX device (or a receiver) . In some example embodiments, both the first and second apparatuses 110 and 120 may be terminal devices which can communicate with each other in Sidelink (SL) .

Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol (s) , comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , the fifth generation (5G) , the sixth generation (6G) , and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) , Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) , Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) , Time Division Duplex (TDD) , Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM) , Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

It is to be understood that the numbers of apparatuses are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable numbers of apparatuses for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

The first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 may support XR and cloud gaming services. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may use delay or deadlink information for support of UL scheduling to enable high XR capacity while meeting delay requirements and avoiding too late PDUs. For example, the first apparatus 110 may perform a LCH for the UL transmission to enable high XR capacity.

In some mechanisms, Delay Status Report (DSR) has been defined for release (Rel) -18 XR with which the UE can report per logical channel group (LCG) the shortest remaining time of the buffered data and the amount of data with remaining time below a configured threshold.

In some mechanisms, the LCP is enhanced with delay information. However, the LCP implementation complexity has not been discussed. For example, delay-aware LCP was proposed, which is performed according to the order of remaining time of the PDUs, which ignores the configured priority of the LCHs and complicate the LCP procedure.

In some mechanisms, it has been proposed that possible way for enhancing LCP for XR is to prioritize among packets and data bursts of different logical channels with delay information being taken into account. An example of the delay information is the remaining time until a deadline for delivering a packet or a data burst. For example, a packet or a data burst of a lower priority logical channel but with a shorter remaining time may be prioritized over another packet or another data burst of a higher priority logical channel but with a longer remaining time. A medium access control (MAC) entity may choose to do so if and only if it determines that the timely delivery of the less urgent packet or data burst of the higher priority logical channel will not be jeopardized. The main drawback of this proposal is that the granularity of the handling in LCP goes down to packet level, increasing complexity significantly.

In addition, dynamic change of LCP configurations was also proposed in the context of maximum data burst volume (MDBV) discussions. In ON/OFF mechanism relying on signalling from the gNB, when the gNB observes that a logical channel exceeds its MDBV, the UE is ordered to skip that logical channel from LCP (for instance by considering that it has no data to send) . For removing tokens, when the gNB observes that a logical channel exceeds its MDBV, the UE is ordered to remove tokens from the corresponding bucket. With a bucket full of negative tokens, the logical channel would then not be scheduled for a while. A prohibit timer for the Tokens may be applied, once the equivalent amount of a full bucket is transmitted (corresponding to prioritized bit rate (PBR) x bucket size duration (BSD) tokens) , a prohibit timer could be started to preclude further tokens to be added. Changing priority is also proposed, and once the MDBV is reached (as indicated by an empty bucket) , the priority of the LCH is reduced automatically.

However, the remaining time-based LCP increases the LCP complexity and might delay high priority LCHs due to short remaining time for low priority LCHs. In addition, dynamic indication-based priority change depends on DSR and requires explicit NW indication which might cause extra delay.

In order to solve at least part of the above problems or other potential problems, a solution on LCH priority determination is proposed. In the solution, a first apparatus such as a terminal device receives, from a second apparatus such as a network device, a first configuration of at least one LCH, the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH. The first apparatus receives, from the second apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination a second priority value for a LCP. The first apparatus determines the second priority value of a LCH among the at least one LCH. The first apparatus performs the LCP based on the determined second priority value of the LCH.

In this way, the LCP can be performed based on the second priority value determined by the first apparatus such as UE. Such UE based LCP will avoid or reduce delay for NW-based approach.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling flow 200 for LCH priority determination in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The signaling flow 200 involves the first apparatus 110 and second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1. For purpose of illustration, the signaling flow 200 will be described with respect to FIG. 1.

In operation, the second apparatus 120 transmits (210) , to the first apparatus 110, a first configuration of at least one LCH. The first configuration includes a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH. The first apparatus 110 receives (220) the first configuration. As used herein, the first priority value may be referred to as a reference priority value, or a legacy priority value. As used herein, configuring a “priority value” may be referred to as configuring a “priority level” or a “priority” .

In some example embodiments, a higher priority value may correspond to a lower priority level or a lower priority. A lower priority value may correspond to a higher priority level or a higher priority. Alternatively, in some example embodiments, a higher priority value may correspond to a higher priority (level) . In the following description, it is assumed that a higher priority value corresponds to a lower priority level or a lower priority.

The second apparatus 120 transmits (230) , to the first apparatus 110, a second configuration for enabling a determination a second priority value for a LCH for LCP. The first apparatus 110 receives (240) the second configuration. As used herein, the second priority value may be referred to as a “priority value for LCH” or “LCH priority value” , which may be used in the LCP procedure. The first configuration and the second configuration may be transmitted separately, or in combination. By way of example, the first or second configuration may be transmitted via radio resource control (RRC) , medium access control control element (MAC CE) , downlink control information (DCI) , or any other suitable signaling.

The first apparatus 110 determines (250) the second priority value of a LCH among the at least one LCH. As used herein, “determining a second priority value” may be referred to as “determining a second priority level” or “determining a second priority” . The “second priority (level) ” may be referred to as a “priority (level) for LCH” or “LCH priority (level) ” . The first apparatus 110 performs (260) the LCP based on the determined second priority value of the LCH.

In some embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may determine (250) the second priority value based on priority information. For example, the first apparatus 110 may determine (250) the second priority value based on the priority information and a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH. The priority information may be predefined. Alternatively, the priority information may be determined by the first apparatus 110. Alternatively, the priority information may be configured by the second apparatus 120. For example, the priority information may be included in the second configuration. For another example, the second apparatus 120 may transmit the priority information to the first apparatus 110. The transmission of the priority information may be via RRC, MAC CE, DCI or any other suitable signaling.

In an example embodiment, the priority information may include a candidate priority value. For example, a condition such as DSR may trigger the first apparatus 110 to use the candidate priority value. That is, if the condition such as DSR trigger/reporting condition is satisfied for the LCH, the first apparatus 110 may use the candidate priority value as the second priority value for the LCH for LCP.

In an example embodiment, the priority information may include a condition for using a candidate priority value. By way of example, the condition may be a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH being less than a threshold. The threshold may be predefined, or configured by the second apparatus 120, or determined by the first apparatus 110. Other suitable condition may also be applied, such as DSR condition, or the same threshold as the remaining time threshold configured for triggering DSR. In some embodiments, if the condition is satisfied, a candidate priority value such as a predefined priority value may be used as the second priority value. For example, if the remaining time is less than a minimum threshold, a top priority (that is, a minimum priority value such as 1 which represents a highest priority) may be used as the second priority value.

In an example embodiment, the priority information may include a candidate priority value associated with a remining time of buffered data in the LCH less than a threshold. As used herein, the term “acandidate priority value associated with a remining time of buffered data in the LCH less than a threshold” may be referred to as “acandidate priority value associated with a threshold for remaining time” or “acandidate priority value associated with a threshold” .

In some example embodiments, if an actual remaining time of buffered data in the LCH is above the threshold, the first apparatus 110 may use the first priority value as the second priority value. Alternatively, or in addition, if the actual remaining time was below the threshold and then becomes above the threshold, the first apparatus 110 may use the first priority value as the second priority value. Otherwise, if the remaining time is less than the threshold, the first apparatus 110 may select the candidate priority value associated with remaining time less than the threshold as the second priority value.

In an example embodiment, the priority information may include a difference value between a candidate priority value and the first priority value. If a remaining time of buffered data is less than a threshold, the first apparatus 110 may determine (250) the second priority based on the first priority and the difference value between a candidate priority value and the first priority value. The candidate priority value may be associated with the remaining time less than the threshold. In other words, if a first candidate priority value associated with the first threshold is configured, a second candidate priority value associated with a second threshold may be determined based on the first candidate priority value and the difference value between the first and second candidate priority values. If the remaining time is above the first threshold and less than the second threshold, the determined second candidate priority value may be used as the second priority value for the LCP.

In some example embodiments, the difference value such as a step may be configured which indicates the priority increase (or delta) for each remaining time threshold.

In some example embodiments, one level up for priority for each remaining time threshold may be used. That is, the step or delta may be predefined as 1. For example, the first apparatus 110 may determine the priority value for each remaining time threshold without the step configuration nor the multiple priority configuration.

In an example embodiment, the priority information may include a scaling factor for determining the second priority value based on the first priority value. By way of example, the first apparatus 110 may determine an offset value based on at least one of: a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH, a threshold for the remaining time, or the scaling factor. The first apparatus 110 may determine (250) the second priority value based on the offset value and the first priority value.

In some example embodiments, if the remaining time of buffered data is less than the threshold, the first apparatus 110 may determine the offset value based on the scaling factor and a comparison between the remaining time of buffered data and the threshold. The first apparatus 110 may determine (250) the second priority value based on the offset value and the first priority value.

In some example embodiments, the offset value (also referred to as priority offset) may be derived by the first apparatus 110 based on the actual remaining time and the configured threshold or scaling factor. In one example, the first priority value may be shifted by floor or ceil or round of actual remaining time divided by the configured threshold/scaling factor which results in lower priority (larger priority value) with higher remaining time. That is, an offset of flooring or ceiling or rounding of (actual remaining time divided by the (configured threshold/scaling factor) ) may be applied to the first priority value.

In some example embodiments, the LCH is configured with a single LCH priority value such as a legacy LCH priority (that is, the first priority value) and a threshold value. Then the configured LCH priority may be adjusted based on the shortest remaining time of the buffered data for the corresponding LCH, e.g. by shifting the configured LCH priority with the shortest remaining time of the buffered data for the corresponding LCH (in milliseconds) , rounded or ceiled to the closest integer value in terms of number of threshold/scaling factor. For example, if the shortest remaining time is 1.8 ms and the LCH priority is one and the value of (threshold/scaling factor) is set to 5 ms, then the priority is determined as 1 + round (1.8/5) = 1. While if the remaining time is 15ms, priority is 1+ round (10/5) = 3.

In some example embodiments, the priority information may include a plurality of candidate priority values. Each of the plurality of candidate priority values is associated with the remaining time less than a respective threshold of the plurality of thresholds. The first apparatus 110 may select the second priority value from the plurality of candidate priority values based on a comparison between a remaining time of the buffered data in the LCH and a plurality of thresholds. For example, if the remaining time is above a first threshold, and a second threshold is a lowest threshold among the thresholds above the remaining time, a candidate priority value corresponding to the second threshold may be selected as the second priority value.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may use the corresponding priority for the LCH for LCP depending on the remaining time of the buffered data for the LCH. In an example, the shortest remaining time of the buffered data for the LCH may be used to compare with the configured threshold (s) . If the shortest remaining time is below threshold #X, then the corresponding priority #X may be used for the LCH in the LCP procedure.

In some example embodiments, at least one remaining time threshold (s) and corresponding priority value (s) may be explicitly configured by the second apparatus 120 via for instance RRC signalling, DCI or MAC CE.

Several embodiments regarding content in the priority information and regarding determining the second priority value based on the priority information have been described. It is to be understood that the priority information may include one or more of the items described above, the priority information may also include other suitable items not mentioned. At least part of the priority information may be predefined. At least part of the priority information may be configured by the second apparatus 120. At least part of the priority information may be determined by the first apparatus 110. The priority information may include different parts, each may be determined by different approaches, such as predefined, or configured, or determined by the first apparatus 110. Alternatively, each part may be determined in a same way. Scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

As described, the second priority value may be determined based on the priority information and a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH. As used herein, the remaining time of buffered data may be a time remaining till a discard timer expires at packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) . In some example embodiments, the remaining time of the buffered data comprises a first remaining time among a plurality of remaining times for a set of buffered data in the LCH. In an example, the first remaining time may be a smallest remaining time among the plurality of remaining times.

In another example, the set of buffered data comprises a plurality of protocol data unit (PDU) sets. The first apparatus 110 may determine a subset of protocol data unit sets from the plurality of protocol data unit sets based on importance levels of the plurality of protocol data unit sets. The first apparatus 110 may select a smallest remaining time from remaining times of the subset of protocol data unit sets as the first remaining time. For example, a PDU set with a low importance level is excluded from the subset of protocol data unit sets. In other words, when considering the remaining time for an LCH, low importance PDU sets are excluded or ignored when PDU set importance (PSI) -based discard is activated for the LCH.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may update a prioritized bit rate (PBR) or a parameter associated with the LCH such as Bj based on the second priority value. By way of example, if the priority of a LCH is adjusted based on the remaining time of the buffered data for the LCH, the PBR or Bj corresponding to the LCH may be adjusted as well, e.g., set to infinity.

In some example embodiments, the at least one LCH comprises a plurality of LCHs. The first apparatus 110 may determine a plurality of second priority values for the plurality of LCHs. The first apparatus 110 may perform the LCP for the plurality of LCHs based on at least one of: the plurality of second priority values, a plurality of remaining times for buffered data in the plurality of LCHs, or a plurality of lowest or highest candidate priority values for the plurality of LCHs. The first apparatus 110 may perform the transmission to the second apparatus based on the LCP.

In some example embodiments, in case there are a plurality of LCHs with a same priority, the LCH with data with a shortest remaining time may be prioritized. In another option, in case there are a plurality of LCHs with a same priority, the LCH with higher legacy priority may be prioritized.

In a further option, in case there are a plurality of LCHs with a same priority, the LCH with higher lowest priority configured in the list is prioritized. Alternatively, the LCH with higher highest priority configured in the list is prioritized.

In some example embodiments, the legacy priority may be used for the LCH when all the buffered data is with remaining time above the configured threshold (s) . Alternatively, the priority for the case of all the data are above threshold may be configured as part of the priority list as well.

Example embodiments regarding determining the second priority level and performing the LCP based on the second priority value have been described. Such UE-based priority determination or adjustment can reduce the delay which may be introduced by a NW-based priority determination approach. Such UE-based LCP may be under NW control with the possibility of configuring the remaining time threshold as well as the priority adjustment steps/values. In addition, legacy LCP procedure remains based on priorities, and retains the same granularity: a logical channel.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an example method 300 for LCH priority determination in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 300 may be implemented at the first apparatus 110 as shown in FIG. 1. For the purpose of discussion, the method 300 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

At block 310, the first apparatus 110 receives a configuration of LCH priorities, corresponding remaining time threshold and/or potentially additional parameters for autonomous UE algorithm. For example, the parameters may be the bitshift or scaling factor parameter from the implementation. For example, the configuration may include the priority information described above.

At block 320, the first apparatus 110 receives a dynamic UL grant or determines that there is a configured grant (CG) occasion to be used for UL transmission.

At block 330, the first apparatus 110 determines priority value (s) of the LCH (s) with data buffered based on the remaining time of the data buffered for each LCH. Details regarding the priority value determination have been described with respect to FIG. 2 and will be further described with respect to FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C below.

At block 340, the first apparatus 110 performs LCP based on the determined priority values. For example, the LCP may follow a legacy LCP procedure with the determined priority value (s) . At block 350, the first apparatus 110 performs the UL transmission on the UL grant, such as the received dynamic UL grant or the CG.

In this way, such UE based priority adjustment can reduce the delay for NW based approach. Such solution may be under NW control with the possibility of configuring the remaining time threshold as well as the priority adjustment steps/values. In addition, the LCP may retain the same granularity for LCH.

In some example embodiments, there may be many ways to determine priority considering both the LCH priority as configured by the network and the T_j (remaining time of the data for the LCH) for an uplink grant. Such operation may be simple and fast to execute and still allow the gNB to balance LCH priority and delay so that some channels will not be down-prioritized no matter other channels delays, or equally important channels may change priority based on their delays and so on.

A simple way to do this is to simply determine joint LCP scheduling priority (LCP_prio) based on the sum of the RRC configured priority (RRC_prio) and the delay (T_j) as LCP_prio=RRC_prio+T_j. In this way, lower RRC priority values and lower values of T_j will result in higher scheduling priority.

Assuming T_j in the same range as the DSR remaining time, that is, 0-63 = 64 values in 6 bit and the RRC configured priority in the range 0-15 = 16 values in 4 bits, then the sum will be within a byte. In the simple formulation above the RRC_prio range is limited compared to T_j so a simple scaling factor may be added to bring them to the same range. A simple solution for equal initial weight to both metrics, may be scaling factor (sf) = 4, so that LCP_prio=sf×RRC_prio+T_j. In such approach, both metrics are in the range 0-63.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example diagram 400 of LCH priority for LCP in accordance with the above approach. This approach does not guarantee that for example LCH 1 which the gNB considers very important for some reason, will be scheduled first. If LCH 1may be guaranteed to be included for some reason the gNB may configure smaller discard timer so Tj is always low or not configure the feature for the LCH, or provide additional delay offset parameter such as bitshift or scaling factor.

Another approach according to the present disclosure may be simply implemented as a right shift on the Tj value anywhere from 0 (full consideration of delay prioritization) to 6 bits (the maximum size of Tj = no delay consideration) . Bitwise operations are simple and very efficient, and those values may be signalled per LCH.

The resulting operation is then: LCP_prio=RRC_prio+ (T_j＞＞bitshift) . This operation is equivalent to integer division by 2.

In these operations the LCHs configured only with legacy RRC priority will have an advantage suing the smaller 0-15 range. The solution is to either apply the same sf to them so thator apply the scaling factor back to the LCP_prio so thatThe latter may be done easily as long as sf is integer power of 2 so that each division by 2 may be represented as a 1 right bitshift. FIG. 4B illustrates an example diagram 420 of LCH priority for LCP according to this approach.

In another example embodiments, it is assumed that the gNB always wants to schedule LCHs 0-2 regardless of their delays and the rest of the LCHs up to 15 should use their delay to potentially go up/down in priority. It would then configure 6 bitshift for LCHs 0 to 2 and 0 for LCHs after that. The resulting priority is shown in an example diagram 440 in FIG. 4C.

By using these UE based priority adjustment approach, it can reduce the delay for NW based approach. Such solution may be under NW control with the possibility of configuring the remaining time threshold as well as the priority adjustment steps/values. In addition, the LCP may retain the same granularity for LCH.

It is to be understood that that the priority value, the shift value, scaling factor or any other parameter or value described above are only for the purpose of illustration, without suggesting any limitation. Any suitable parameter of value may be applied.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a first apparatus, in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

At block 510, the first apparatus 110 receives, from a second apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel (LCH) , the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH.

At block 520, the first apparatus 110 receives, from the second apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP) .

At block 530, the first apparatus 110 determines the second priority value of a LCH among the at least one LCH.

At block 540, the first apparatus 110 performs the LCP based on the determined second priority value of the LCH.

In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: determine the second priority value based on priority information, the priority information including at least one of: a candidate priority value, a condition for using a candidate priority value, a candidate priority value associated with a remining time of buffered data in the LCH less than a threshold, a difference value between two candidate priority values, a difference value between a candidate priority value and the first priority value, or a scaling factor for determining the second priority value based on the first priority value.

In some example embodiments, the priority information is predefined, determined by the first apparatus, or configured by the second apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: determining an offset value based on at least one of: a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH, a threshold for the remaining time, or a scaling factor for determining the second priority value based on the first priority value; and determining the second priority value based on the offset value and the first priority value.

In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: based on the remaining time of buffered data being less than the threshold, determining the offset value based on the scaling factor and a comparison between the remaining time of buffered data and the threshold; and determining the second priority value based on the offset value and the first priority value.

In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: based on a remaining time of buffered data being less than a threshold, determining the second priority based on the first priority and a difference value between a candidate priority value and the first priority value, the candidate priority value being associated with the remaining time less than the threshold.

In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: based on a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH being above a threshold or becoming above the threshold, using the first priority value as the second priority value.

In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: based on a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH being less than a threshold, selecting a candidate priority value as the second priority value, wherein the candidate priority value is associated with the remining time less than the threshold.

In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: based on a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH being greater than or equal to a first threshold, determining the second priority value based on: a first candidate priority value associated with the remining time less than the first threshold, and a difference value between the first candidate priority value and a second candidate priority value.

In some example embodiments, the difference value is predetermined, or configured by the second apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the remaining time of buffered data in the LCH is less than a second threshold, and the second candidate priority value is associated with the remaining time less than the second threshold.

In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: selecting the second priority value from a plurality of candidate priority values based on a comparison between a remaining time of the buffered data in the LCH and a plurality of thresholds, each of the plurality of candidate priority values being associated with the remaining time less than a respective threshold of the plurality of thresholds.

In some example embodiments, the remaining time of the buffered data comprises a first remaining time among a plurality of remaining times for a set of buffered data in the LCH.

In some example embodiments, the first remaining time comprises a smallest remaining time among the plurality of remaining times.

In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: determining a subset of protocol data unit sets from the plurality of protocol data unit sets based on importance levels of the plurality of protocol data unit sets; and selecting a smallest remaining time from remaining times of the subset of protocol data unit sets as the first remaining time.

In some example embodiments, a protocol data unit set with a low importance level is excluded from the subset of protocol data unit sets.

In some example embodiments, the remaining time of buffered data comprises a time remaining till a discard timer expires at packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) .

In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: updating a prioritized bit rate or a parameter associated with the LCH based on the second priority value.

In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: determining a plurality of second priority values for the plurality of LCHs; performing the LCP for the plurality of LCHs based on at least one of: thing plurality of second priority values, a plurality of remaining times for buffered data in the plurality of LCHs, a plurality of lowest or highest candidate priority values for the plurality of LCHs; and performing the transmission to a second apparatus based on the LCP.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a second apparatus, in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

At block 610, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to a first apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel (LCH) , the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH.

At block 620, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to the first apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination of a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP) .

In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: transmitting, to the first apparatus, the priority information, wherein the priority information includes at least one of: a candidate priority value, a condition for using a candidate priority value, a candidate priority value associated with a remining time of buffered data in the LCH less than a threshold, a difference value between two candidate priority values, a difference value between a candidate priority value and the first priority value, or a scaling factor for determining the second priority value based on the first priority value.

In some example embodiments, a first apparatus, capable of performing any of the method 500 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel (LCH) , the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH; means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP) ; means for determining the second priority value of a LCH among the at least one LCH; and means for performing the LCP based on the determined second priority value of the LCH.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: determine the second priority value based on priority information, the priority information including at least one of: means for a candidate priority value, means for a condition for using a candidate priority value, means for a candidate priority value associated with a remining time of buffered data in the LCH less than a threshold, means for a difference value between two candidate priority values, means for a difference value between a candidate priority value and the first priority value, or means for a scaling factor for determining the second priority value based on the first priority value.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining an offset value based on at least one of: a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH, a threshold for the remaining time, or a scaling factor for determining the second priority value based on the first priority value; and means for determining the second priority value based on the offset value and the first priority value.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for based on the remaining time of buffered data being less than the threshold, determining the offset value based on the scaling factor and a comparison between the remaining time of buffered data and the threshold; and means for determining the second priority value based on the offset value and the first priority value.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for based on a remaining time of buffered data being less than a threshold, determining the second priority based on the first priority and a difference value between a candidate priority value and the first priority value, the candidate priority value being associated with the remaining time less than the threshold.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for based on a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH being above a threshold or becoming above the threshold, using the first priority value as the second priority value.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for based on a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH being less than a threshold, selecting a candidate priority value as the second priority value, wherein the candidate priority value is associated with the remining time less than the threshold.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for based on a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH being greater than or equal to a first threshold, determining the second priority value based on: means for a first candidate priority value associated with the remining time less than the first threshold, and means for a difference value between the first candidate priority value and a second candidate priority value.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for selecting the second priority value from a plurality of candidate priority values based on a comparison between a remaining time of the buffered data in the LCH and a plurality of thresholds, each of the plurality of candidate priority values being associated with the remaining time less than a respective threshold of the plurality of thresholds.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining a subset of protocol data unit sets from the plurality of protocol data unit sets based on importance levels of the plurality of protocol data unit sets; and means for selecting a smallest remaining time from remaining times of the subset of protocol data unit sets as the first remaining time.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for updating a prioritized bit rate or a parameter associated with the LCH based on the second priority value.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining a plurality of second priority values for the plurality of LCHs; means for performing the LCP for the plurality of LCHs based on at least one of: means for thing plurality of second priority values, means for a plurality of remaining times for buffered data in the plurality of LCHs, means for a plurality of lowest or highest candidate priority values for the plurality of LCHs; and means for performing the transmission to a second apparatus based on the LCP.

In some example embodiments, a second apparatus, capable of performing any of the method 600 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel (LCH) , the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH; and means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination of a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP) .

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: transmit, to the first apparatus, the priority information, wherein the priority information includes at least one of: means for a candidate priority value, means for a condition for using a candidate priority value, means for a candidate priority value associated with a remining time of buffered data in the LCH less than a threshold, means for a difference value between two candidate priority values, means for a difference value between a candidate priority value and the first priority value, or means for a scaling factor for determining the second priority value based on the first priority value.

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of a device 700 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first apparatus 110 or the second apparatus 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processor 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processor 710.

The communication module 740 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 740 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 740 may include at least one antenna.

The processor 710 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 700 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 724, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random-access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 710. The instructions of the program 730 may include instructions for performing operations/acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 730 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 724. The processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 730 into the RAM 722.

The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 730 so that the device 700 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 6. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 722 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory, ” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM) .

FIG. 8 shows an example of the computer readable medium 800 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 800 has the program 730 stored thereon.

Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, although operations are depicted 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. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

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

Claims

A first apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to:

receive, from a second apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel (LCH) , the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH;

receive, from the second apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP) ;

determine the second priority value of a LCH among the at least one LCH; and

perform the LCP based on the determined second priority value of the LCH.
The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: determine the second priority value based on priority information, the priority information including at least one of:

a candidate priority value,

a condition for using a candidate priority value,

a candidate priority value associated with a remining time of buffered data in the LCH less than a threshold,

a difference value between two candidate priority values,

a difference value between a candidate priority value and the first priority value, or

a scaling factor for determining the second priority value based on the first priority value.
The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the priority information is predefined, determined by the first apparatus, or configured by the second apparatus.
The first apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to:

determine an offset value based on at least one of: a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH, a threshold for the remaining time, or a scaling factor for determining the second priority value based on the first priority value; and

determine the second priority value based on the offset value and the first priority value.
The first apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to:

based on the remaining time of buffered data being less than the threshold, determine the offset value based on the scaling factor and a comparison between the remaining time of buffered data and the threshold; and

determine the second priority value based on the offset value and the first priority value.
The first apparatus of any of claims 1-5, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to:

based on a remaining time of buffered data being less than a threshold, determine the second priority based on the first priority and a difference value between a candidate priority value and the first priority value, the candidate priority value being associated with the remaining time less than the threshold.
The first apparatus of any of claims 1-6, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to:

based on a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH being above a threshold or becoming above the threshold, use the first priority value as the second priority value.
The first apparatus of any of claims 1-7, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to:

based on a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH being less than a threshold, select a candidate priority value as the second priority value, wherein the candidate priority value is associated with the remining time less than the threshold.
The first apparatus of any of claims 1-8, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to:

based on a remaining time of buffered data in the LCH being greater than or equal to a first threshold, determine the second priority value based on:

a first candidate priority value associated with the remining time less than the first threshold, and

a difference value between the first candidate priority value and a second candidate priority value.
The first apparatus of claim 9, wherein the difference value is predetermined, or configured by the second apparatus.
The first apparatus of claim 9, wherein the remaining time of buffered data in the LCH is less than a second threshold, and the second candidate priority value is associated with the remaining time less than the second threshold.
The first apparatus of any of claims 1-11, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to:

select the second priority value from a plurality of candidate priority values based on a comparison between a remaining time of the buffered data in the LCH and a plurality of thresholds, each of the plurality of candidate priority values being associated with the remaining time less than a respective threshold of the plurality of thresholds.
The first apparatus of any of claims 2-12, wherein the remaining time of the buffered data comprises a first remaining time among a plurality of remaining times for a set of buffered data in the LCH.
The first apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first remaining time comprises a smallest remaining time among the plurality of remaining times.
The first apparatus of claim 13, wherein the set of buffered data comprises a plurality of protocol data unit sets, and wherein the first apparatus is further caused to:

determine a subset of protocol data unit sets from the plurality of protocol data unit sets based on importance levels of the plurality of protocol data unit sets; and

select a smallest remaining time from remaining times of the subset of protocol data unit sets as the first remaining time.
The first apparatus of claim 15, wherein a protocol data unit set with a low importance level is excluded from the subset of protocol data unit sets.
The first apparatus of any of claims 2-16, wherein the remaining time of buffered data comprises a time remaining till a discard timer expires at packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) .
The first apparatus of any of claims 1-17, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to:

update a prioritized bit rate or a parameter associated with the LCH based on the second priority value.
The first apparatus of any of claims 1-18, wherein the at least one LCH comprises a plurality of LCHs, and the first apparatus is further caused to:

determine a plurality of second priority values for the plurality of LCHs;

perform the LCP for the plurality of LCHs based on at least one of:

the plurality of second priority values,

a plurality of remaining times for buffered data in the plurality of LCHs, or

a plurality of lowest or highest candidate priority values for the plurality of LCHs; and

perform the transmission to the second apparatus based on the LCP.
A second apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to:

transmit, to a first apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel (LCH) , the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH; and

transmit, to the first apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination of a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP) .
The second apparatus of claim 20, wherein the second configuration comprises priority information for determining the second priority value, or wherein the second apparatus is further caused to: transmit, to the first apparatus, the priority information, wherein the priority information includes at least one of:

a candidate priority value,

a condition for using a candidate priority value,

a candidate priority value associated with a remining time of buffered data in the LCH less than a threshold,

a difference value between two candidate priority values,

a difference value between a candidate priority value and the first priority value, or

a scaling factor for determining the second priority value based on the first priority value.
A method comprising:

receiving, at a first apparatus from a second apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel (LCH) , the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH;

receiving, from the second apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP) ;

determining the second priority value of a LCH among the at least one LCH; and

performing the LCP based on the determined second priority value of the LCH.
A method comprising:

transmitting, at a second apparatus to a first apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel (LCH) , the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH; and

transmitting, to the first apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination of a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP) .
A first apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, from a second apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel (LCH) , the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH;

means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP) ;

means for determining the second priority value of a LCH among the at least one LCH; and

means for performing the LCP based on the determined second priority value of the LCH.
A second apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a first configuration of at least one logical channel (LCH) , the first configuration including a first priority value corresponding to each of the at least one LCH; and

means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, a second configuration for enabling a determination of a second priority value for a logical channel prioritization (LCP) .
A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of claim 22 or the method of claim 23.