CN110915255A

CN110915255A - Downlink data receiving method and terminal equipment

Info

Publication number: CN110915255A
Application number: CN201880046791.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 袁锴; 徐海博; 崔立伟
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-06-07
Filing date: 2018-11-29
Publication date: 2020-03-24
Anticipated expiration: 2038-11-29
Also published as: CN110915255B; WO2019233056A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a method for receiving downlink data and terminal equipment. The method comprises the following steps: under the Split bearing mode of EN-DC, an LTE RLC layer of the UE receives downlink packet data from an LTE access network, and an NR RLC layer of the UE receives the downlink packet data from an NR access network; when a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a first group of ordered data packets; and, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the lte rlc layer of the UE; and the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a high layer of the UE. Or the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is closed, and the reordering function is completed by the NR PDCP layer of the UE. The embodiment of the invention can ensure the complete reception of the downlink.

Description

Downlink data receiving method and terminal equipment

This application claims priority of chinese patent application No. 201810582053.7 filed on 7.6.2018, and priority of chinese patent application No. 201811294987.7 filed on 1.11.2018, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a method and a terminal device (UE) for receiving downlink data.

Background

At the initial stage of deployment of a New Radio (NR) access technology of a fifth generation mobile communication technology (5th-generation, 5G), a non-independent (NSA) networking mode, that is, an EN-DC networking mode of a 4th-generation, 4G-5G wireless access Dual Connectivity (EUTRAN-NR Dual Connectivity) is proposed.

The network architecture of the EN-DC specifically comprises:

connection between UE and base station: the UE is connected to both a base station (Evolved Node B, eNB) of a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) access network and a base station (5G Node B, En-gNB) of a 5G NR. Among them, eNB is a Master Node (MN) in EN-DC, also called MeNB in EN-DC; En-gNB is a Secondary Node (SN) in EN-DC, also referred to as SgNB in EN-DC.

Connection between base station and core network: the eNB is connected to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and a Serving Gateway (SGW) of the 4G core network through an S1-C interface and an S1-U interface, respectively. The En-gNB is not connected with the MME of the 4G core network; whether the En-gbb is connected to the SGW of the 4G core network via the S1-U interface depends on what protocol stack architecture of En-DC is used for data transmission.

Connection between base station and base station: the eNB and the En-gNB are connected through an X2 port.

The user plane protocol stack architecture of EN-DC:

for convenience of description, several concepts for the EN-DC user plane configuration are first explained.

Cell group in EN-DC, cells allocated to a UE and belonging to MeNB and SgNB, respectively, are divided into two groups (groups). Wherein, the cell belonging to the MeNB is called a Master Cell Group (MCG) under the master node in the EN-DC, and the cell belonging to the SgNB is called a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) under the secondary node in the EN-DC;

radio Link Control (RLC) bearing, wherein in a cell group, the RLC configuration of one radio bearing and the configuration of a logical channel are called RLC bearing;

the MCG bears: the RLC bearing is only configured on the radio bearing of the MCG;

SCG bears: the RLC bearing is only configured on the radio bearing of the SCG;

split (Split) loading: the RLC bearing is configured on the radio bearing of the MCG and the SCG simultaneously;

MN terminated bearer: radio bearer of PDCP in MeNB;

SN terminated bearers: the PDCP carries the radio bearer in the SgNB;

from the UE perspective, there are three bearers that the UE can perceive, namely, MCG bearer, SCG bearer, and Split bearer.

From the network side, there are six bearers, namely MN terminated MCG bearer, MN terminated SCG bearer, MN terminated Split bearer, SN terminated MCG bearer, SN terminated SCG bearer and SN terminated Split bearer.

Under 5G NSA, LTE + NR DC (i.e., EN-DC) is an important usage scenario. For Split bearer of EN-DC, downlink data is received by both LTE and NR links simultaneously. There are many differences between the two networks in the protocol stack.

In the current protocol, the PDCP layer of the LTE protocol stack has no reordering function, and for the Split bearer of the EN-DC, the PDCP layer of the NR is used in the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer of the current UE protocol stack. The basic function of the NR PDCP reordering: and when the sequence number of the data packet received by the PDCP layer is out of order, starting a reordering timer. When the timer is overtime, reporting the sequenced data packets; or the reordering is successful, and the ordered data packet is reported.

For the Split bearer of the EN-DC, the LTE network RLC layer reorders data packets, and when the NR PDCP layer reordering timer is started, the LTE RLC layer reordering timer is also started. And the LTE RLC layer reports the sequenced data packets to the NR PDCP layer under the condition that a reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer is overtime. The NR PDCP layer uploads the sequenced data packets to the applied data processing module when the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer is expired, and then the NR PDCP layer discards the sequenced data packets uploaded by the LTE RLC layer because the data packets reported by the LTE RLC layer are not in the receiving window of the NR PDCP layer after receiving the data packets reported by the LTE RLC layer, thereby causing a downlink received data packet to be lost.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a downlink data receiving method and UE (user equipment), which can ensure the complete reception of a downlink.

In a first aspect, a method for receiving downlink data is provided. Under the Split bearing mode of EN-DC, an LTE RLC layer of the UE receives downlink packet data from an LTE access network, and an NR RLC layer of the UE receives the downlink packet data from an NR access network; when a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a first group of ordered data packets; and, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the lte rlc layer of the UE; and the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a high layer of the UE.

In the embodiment of the invention, under the Split bearing mode of EN-DC, an LTE RLC layer of UE receives downlink packet data from an LTE access network, and an NR RLC layer of UE receives the downlink packet data from an NR access network; when the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE times out, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a first group of ordered data packets, and after the NR PDCP layer of the UE receives a second group of ordered data packets from the lte rlc layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to the upper layer of the UE, so that the first group of data packets is prevented from being reported after the second group of data packets is received, and the second group of data packets is not in the receiving window of the NR PDCP layer, which results in packet loss, thereby ensuring complete reception of a downlink.

In one possible implementation, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a first message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the first message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to send ordered data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to expire. According to the embodiment, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE informs the LTE RLC layer of the UE, so that the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE without waiting for the successful reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE or the overtime of the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, thereby ensuring the complete reception of a downlink and ensuring the timeliness.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for the successful reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE or the timeout of the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE when the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the timeout of the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, after the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, so that the integrity of reported data can be ensured.

In one possible implementation, after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a first message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the first message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to send ordered data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE notifies the LTE RLC layer of the UE, so that the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE without waiting for the successful recombination of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, thereby ensuring the complete reception of a downlink and ensuring the timeliness.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sorted second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, when successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is performed, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the successfully reassembled fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successfully recombined, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the fourth group of successfully recombined data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, so that the integrity of reported data can be ensured.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the fourth group of successfully reassembled data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE performs repeated detection processing on the fourth group of data packets and the second group of data packets. According to this embodiment, duplicate packets in the fourth set of packets and the second set of packets may be deleted.

In one possible embodiment, after the expiration of a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a second message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the second message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the time length information of how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still times out to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, reporting the time length information of how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still times out to the NR PDCP layer of the UE by the LTE RLC layer of the UE according to the second message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends a reordering timer duration of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the duration information, when reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or a reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE expires, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, the time delay reporting of the data packet of the NR PDCP layer can be realized by prolonging the time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the reordering process of the LTE RLC layer is not changed.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, before the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends the duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the duration information, the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the duration indicated by the duration information is less than or equal to the extendable duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, the extendable duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer is considered, and the influence on the service with high timeliness requirement is avoided.

In one possible embodiment, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a second message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the second message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report to the NR PDCP layer of the UE how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still expires, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports to the NR PDCP layer of the UE how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the duration indicated by the duration information is greater than the extendable duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends to the LTE RLC layer of the UE a third message, where the third message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to immediately report ordered data packets, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the third message without waiting for the successful reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE or the timeout of a reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, the extensible time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer is considered, and when the extensible time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer does not meet the requirement, a scheme of informing the LTE RLC layer to immediately report the ordered data packets is adopted, so that the influence on the service with high timeliness requirement is avoided.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the third message without waiting for the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be overtime, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE when the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime. According to the embodiment, after the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, so that the integrity of reported data can be ensured.

In a possible implementation manner, after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a fourth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the fourth message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report an Acknowledgement Mode (AM) mode packet reassembly state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports an AM mode packet reassembly state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fourth message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE prolongs a duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the reassembly state, and after the AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports a second group of successfully reassembled packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, the time delay reporting of the data packet of the NR PDCP layer can be realized by prolonging the time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the recombination process of the LTE RLC layer is not changed.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, before the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends the duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the reassembly status, the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the reassembly required time of the AM mode packet of the LTE RLC layer of the UE indicated by the reassembly status is less than or equal to the extendable duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, the extendable duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer is considered, and the influence on the service with high timeliness requirement is avoided.

In one possible implementation, after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a fourth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the fourth message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report an AM mode packet reassembly state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the AM mode packet reassembly state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fourth message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that reassembly of AM mode packets of the LTE RLC layer of the UE indicated by the reassembly state still requires more time than a time length which can be extended by the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and sends a fifth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the fifth message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to immediately report ordered packets, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fifth message without waiting for the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successfully recombined. According to the embodiment, the extensible time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer is considered, and when the extensible time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer does not meet the requirement, a scheme of informing the LTE RLC layer to immediately report the ordered data packets is adopted, so that the influence on the service with high timeliness requirement is avoided.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sorted second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fifth message without waiting for successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, when successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is performed, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the successfully reassembled fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successfully recombined, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the fourth group of successfully recombined data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, so that the integrity of reported data can be ensured.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the fourth set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE performs repeated detection processing on the fourth set of data packets and the second set of data packets. According to this embodiment, duplicate packets in the fourth set of packets and the second set of packets may be deleted.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, the NR PDCP layer of the UE performs duplicate detection processing on the first group of packets and the second group of packets, and deletes duplicate packets from the first group of packets and the second group of packets; and the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets after the repeated detection processing to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a high layer of the UE. According to this embodiment, duplicate packets in the first set of packets and the second set of packets may be deleted.

In a second aspect, a method for receiving downlink data is provided. Under the Split bearing mode of EN-DC, an LTE RLC layer of the UE receives downlink packet data from an LTE access network, and an NR RLC layer of the UE receives the downlink packet data from an NR access network; and the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is closed, and the reordering function is completed by the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

According to the embodiment of the invention, the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is closed, and the reordering function is completed by the NR PDCP layer of the UE, so that packet loss caused by reordering the NR PDCP layer and the LTE RLC layer at the same time is avoided, and complete reception of a downlink can be ensured.

In one possible implementation, the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is preconfigured to be turned off. This is simple and easy to implement.

In one possible embodiment, the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is turned off when the NR PDCP layer of the UE starts a reordering timer. The method can avoid the NR PDCP layer and the LTE RLC layer from reordering at the same time, but does not influence the reordering of the LTE RLC layer when the NR PDCP layer does not reorder, and can improve the data processing efficiency.

In one possible embodiment, the UE receives a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message; and according to the RRC message, closing the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE. The method can improve the control of the network side to the UE, and the network side can flexibly control the closing of the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE according to the resource scheduling condition.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a UE, where the UE may implement the function executed in the method design of the first aspect or the second aspect, where the function may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In one possible design, the UE includes a processor in its structure, and the processor is configured to support the UE to perform the corresponding functions in the method of the first aspect or the second aspect. The UE may also include a memory, coupled to the processor, that retains program instructions and data necessary for the UE. The UE may also include a communication interface to send or receive information, and the like.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication apparatus, which may be a chip, for example, and which may be disposed in a UE, where the communication apparatus includes a processor and an interface. The processor is configured to enable the communication device to perform the respective functions of the method of the first or second aspect. The interface is used to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices or other network elements. The communication device may also include a memory, coupled to the processor, that retains program instructions and data necessary for the communication device.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the possible designs of the second aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer program product, which contains instructions that, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the possible designs of the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer program, which includes instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the possible designs of the second aspect.

In the embodiment of the invention, under the Split bearing mode of EN-DC, an LTE RLC layer of UE receives downlink packet data from an LTE access network, and an NR RLC layer of UE receives the downlink packet data from an NR access network; when the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE times out, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a first group of ordered data packets, and after the NR PDCP layer of the UE receives a second group of ordered data packets from the lte rlc layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and then sends the third group of data packets to the upper layer of the UE, so that the first group of data packets is reported and the second group of data packets is not in the receiving window, which results in packet loss, thereby ensuring complete reception of the downlink. Or the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is closed, and the reordering function is completed by the NR PDCP layer of the UE, so that packet loss caused by the simultaneous reordering of the NR PDCP layer and the LTE RLC layer is avoided, and the complete receiving of a downlink can be ensured.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an EN-DC network architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a UE-side user plane protocol stack architecture of EN-DC;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack architecture on the network side of EN-DC;

fig. 4 is a communication schematic diagram of a method for receiving downlink data according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional LTE RLC layer reordering report of a UE;

fig. 5B is a schematic diagram illustrating a reordering report of an LTE RLC layer of a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5C is a schematic diagram illustrating reordering reporting of an LTE RLC layer of another UE in general;

fig. 5D is a schematic diagram of a reordering report of an LTE RLC layer of another UE according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a communication schematic diagram of another downlink data receiving method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a communication schematic diagram of another downlink data receiving method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a communication schematic diagram of another downlink data receiving method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a communication schematic diagram of another downlink data receiving method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 shows a schematic diagram of a possible structure of the UE involved in the above embodiment;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another UE provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an EN-DC network architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 1, a UE101 is simultaneously connected to a base station (Evolved Node B, eNB)102 of a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) access network and a base station (5G Node B, En-gNB)103 of a 5G NR. Among them, the eNB102 is a Master Node (MN) in EN-DC, also referred to as MeNB in EN-DC; En-gNB103 is a Secondary Node (SN) in EN-DC, also referred to as SgNB in EN-DC. The eNB102 is connected to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 104 and a Serving Gateway (SGW) 105 of the 4G core network through S1-C interface and S1-U interface, respectively. There is no connection between the En-gbb 103 and the MME104 of the 4G core network; whether the En-gbb 103 is connected to the SGW105 of the 4G core network via the S1-U interface depends on what protocol stack architecture of En-DC is used for data transmission. The eNB102 and the En-gNB103 are connected through an X2 port.

As can be seen from fig. 1, the UE101 has a connection with the eNB102 and a connection with the En-gNB103, i.e. the UE101 has dual connectivity with different access networks.

Based on the network architecture of EN-DC shown in fig. 1, the UE can configure multiple bearers. In EN-DC, cells configured to a UE and belonging to MeNB and SgNB, respectively, are divided into two groups (groups), each called a cell group (cell group). Wherein, the cell belonging to the MeNB is called a Master Cell Group (MCG) under the master node in the EN-DC, and the cell belonging to the SgNB is called a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) under the secondary node in the EN-DC; in a cell group, the RLC configuration and the logical channel configuration of a radio bearer are referred to as Radio Link Control (RLC) bearers; the radio bearer of which the RLC bearer is only configured in the MCG is called MCG bearer; the radio bearer of the RLC bearer configured only in the SCG is called SCG bearer; the radio bearer in which the RLC bearer is configured at both the MCG and the SCG is called a Split (Split) bearer. The radio bearer of the PDCP in the MeNB is called MN terminated bearer; the radio bearer of PDCP at SgNB is called SN terminated bearer. From the UE perspective, there are three bearers that the UE can perceive, namely, MCG bearer, SCG bearer, and Split bearer.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack architecture on the UE side of EN-DC. Referring to fig. 2, for the MCG bearer of EN-DC, the PDCP layer uses LTE PDCP or NR PDCP, the RLC layer uses LTE RLC, and the MAC layer uses LTE MAC; for SCG bearer of EN-DC, the PDCP layer uses NR PDCP, the RLC layer uses NR RLC, and the MAC layer uses NR MAC; for Split bearer of EN-DC, the PDCP layer uses NR PDCP, the RLC layer uses LTE RLC and NR RLC, and the MAC layer uses LTE MAC and NR MAC.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack architecture on the network side of the EN-DC. Referring to fig. 3, for MN terminated MCG bearers of EN-DC, the PDCP layer uses LTE PDCP or NR PDCP of MeNB, the RLC layer uses LTE RLC of MeNB, and the MAC layer uses LTE MAC of MeNB; for MN terminated SCG bearer of EN-DC, the PDCP layer uses NR PDCP of MeNB, the RLC layer uses NR RLC of SgNB, and the MAC layer uses NR MAC of SgNB; for MN terminated Split bearers of EN-DC, the PDCP layer uses NR PDCP of MeNB, the RLC layer uses LTE RLC of MeNB and NR RLC of SgNB, and the MAC layer uses LTE MAC of MeNB and NR MAC of SgNB. For EN-DC SN terminated MCG bearers, the PDCP layer uses NR PDCP for SgNB, the RLC layer uses LTE RLC for MeNB, and the MAC layer uses LTE MAC for MeNB; for an SN-terminated SCG bearer of EN-DC, the PDCP layer uses NR PDCP of SgNB, the RLC layer uses NR RLC of SgNB, and the MAC layer uses NR MAC of SgNB; for EN-DC SN terminated Split bearers, the PDCP layer uses NR PDCP for SgNB, the RLC layer uses LTE RLC for MeNB and NR RLC for SgNB, and the MAC layer uses LTE MAC for MeNB and NR MAC for SgNB.

In the embodiment of the invention, if the UE is configured with the Split bearer, when the NR PDCP module of the UE receives data and generates disorder, a solution is provided for reducing packet loss of data reception on the Split bearer.

Fig. 4 is a communication schematic diagram of a receiving method of downlink data according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the embodiment may be implemented based on an EN-DC network architecture shown in fig. 1 and a protocol stack architecture of a UE shown in fig. 2, where the implementation main body is the UE, and mainly relates to an NR PDCP layer (referred to as UE NR PDCP), an NR RLC layer (referred to as UE NR RLC), an LTE RLC layer (referred to as UE LTE RLC), an NR access network (referred to as NR) and an LTE access network (referred to as LTE), and the method includes:

step 401, under the Split bearing mode of EN-DC, the LTE RLC layer of the UE receives downlink packet data from the LTE access network, and the NR RLC layer of the UE receives downlink packet data from the NR access network;

step 402, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE times out, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a first group of ordered data packets;

step 403, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE receives the ordered second group of data packets from the lte rlc layer of the UE;

step 404, the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first and second groups of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a higher layer of the UE.

Specific execution modes of the above steps are described below.

First, in step 401, under the Split bearer mode of EN-DC, the LTE RLC layer of the UE receives downlink packet data from the LTE access network, and the NR RLC layer of the UE receives downlink packet data from the NR access network. It can be understood that, after receiving downlink packet data from the LTE access network, the LTE RLC layer of the UE may perform corresponding processing (e.g., reassembly or reordering) on the downlink packet data and send the downlink packet data to the NR PDCP layer of the UE; after receiving the downlink packet data from the NR access network, the NR RLC layer of the UE may perform corresponding processing (e.g., reassembly or transparent transmission) on the downlink packet data and then send the downlink packet data to the NR PDCP layer of the UE. That is to say, the source of the downlink packet data received by the NR PDCP layer of the UE includes two sources, i.e., the LTE RLC layer of the UE and the NR RLC layer of the UE, and the complete reception of the downlink packet data by the NR PDCP layer of the UE depends on the cooperation between the LTE RLC layer of the UE and the NR RLC layer of the UE when reporting the downlink packet data.

Then, in step 402, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE gets the ordered first group of data packets. It is understood that when the Sequence Number (SN) of the Data packets (i.e., the PDCP Protocol Data Unit (PDU) or the RLC Service Data Unit (SDU)) of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is out of order, a reordering timer (t-reordering timer) is started, and when the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a first ordered set of Data packets, where the first ordered set of Data packets, i.e., the Data packets with SNs arranged in the order from small to large, may be a complete first ordered set of Data packets, e.g., with SNs sequentially 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and may also be an incomplete first ordered set of Data packets, e.g., with SNs sequentially 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7, a Data packet with SN 2 missing in the middle, and a Data packet with SN 6.

Next, in step 403, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE receives the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE. The following cases may be included but not limited to:

in the first case, in the EN-DC Split mode, when a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the LTE RLC layer of the UE is notified, so that the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

Fig. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional LTE RLC layer reordering report of a UE. Referring to fig. 5A, at a first time, the UE has received the

data packets

2, 3, and 5, and has not received the

data packets

1 and 4, where the

data packets

3 and 4 are data packets that need to be reassembled, the

data packets

2, 3, and 5 are not successfully sequenced at this time, and the data packet 3 is also unsuccessfully reassembled, and normally, the LTE RLC layer of the UE does not report the data packets to the NR PDCP layer; at a second time after the first time, the UE has received the

data packets

1, 2, 3, and 5, and has not received the data packet 4, where the

data packets

3 and 4 are data packets that need to be reassembled, the

data packets

1 and 2 are sequenced successfully at the time, the data packet 3 is not reassembled successfully, and usually, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the

data packets

1 and 2 that are sequenced successfully to the NR PDCP layer. It should be understood that the sequence numbers of the data packets are only for illustration, the

data packets

1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are data packets in a reordering window, the data packet 1 is the data packet with the smallest sequence number in the reordering window, and the reordering is successful (also referred to as successful reordering), that is, a plurality of consecutive data packets including the data packet with the smallest sequence number in the reordering window are received, and the reordering window moves after the reordering is successful.

Fig. 5B is a schematic diagram of a reordering report of an LTE RLC layer of a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 5B, at the first time, the UE has received the

data packets

2, 3, and 5, and has not received the

data packets

1 and 4, where the

data packets

3 and 4 are data packets that need to be reassembled, and the

data packets

2, 3, and 5 are not successfully sequenced at this time, and the data packet 3 is not successfully reassembled at this time. It will be appreciated that in this case, the ordered second set of packets is the ordered

packets

2, 5.

It should be noted that the ordering success described herein may also be referred to as reordering success. In some embodiments, the ordered data packet may be several discontinuous data packets that have been received and ordered before the ordering is unsuccessful.

Referring to fig. 5A and 5B, at a first time, the UE has received the

data packets

2, 3, 5 and has not received the

data packets

1, 4, where the

data packets

3, 4 are data packets to be reassembled, and at this time, the

data packets

2, 3, 5 are not successfully sequenced, and the data packet 3 is also unsuccessfully reassembled, but since the LTE RLC layer of the UE receives the first message, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced

data packets

2, 5 to the NR PDCP layer, and it can be understood that, in this case, the data packets of the second group that have been sequenced are the sequenced

data packets

2, 5. Referring to fig. 5A again, at the second time, the UE has received the

data packets

1, 2, 3, and 5, and has not received the data packet 4, where the

data packets

3 and 4 are data packets that need to be reassembled, and at this time, the

data packets

1 and 2 are successfully sequenced, the data packet 3 is unsuccessfully reassembled, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the successfully sequenced

data packets

1 and 2 to the NR PDCP layer after the reordering is successful, and it can be understood that, in this case, the aforementioned fourth group of sequenced data packets are the successfully sequenced

data packets

1 and 2.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE performs repeated detection processing on the fourth group of data packets and the second group of data packets. According to this embodiment, duplicate packets in the fourth set of packets and the second set of packets may be deleted.

For example, if the sorted fourth group of packets are successfully sorted

packets

1 and 2 and the sorted second group of packets are sorted

packets

2 and 5, the duplicate packet 2 of the fourth group of packets and the duplicate packet of the second group of packets may be deleted after the duplicate detection process is performed on the fourth group of packets and the duplicate packet of the second group of packets.

Fig. 5C is a schematic diagram illustrating a reordering report of the LTE RLC layer of another UE. Referring to fig. 5C, at a first time, the UE has received the

data packets

2, 3, and 5, and has not received the

data packets

1 and 4, where the

data packets

3 and 4 are data packets to be reassembled, the

data packets

2 and 5 at this time are not successfully sequenced, and the data packet 3 is not successfully reassembled, and usually, the LTE RLC layer of the UE does not report the data packets to the NR PDCP layer; at a third time after the first time, the UE has received the

data packets

2, 3, 4, and 5, and has not received the data packet 1, where the

data packets

3 and 4 are data packets that need to be reassembled, the

data packets

2 and 5 at this time are not successfully sequenced, and the

data packets

3 and 4 are successfully reassembled, and usually, the LTE RLC layer of the UE does not report the data packets to the NR PDCP layer. It will be appreciated that successful reassembly is the receipt of all packets that need to be reassembled.

Fig. 5D is a schematic diagram of a re-ordering report of the LTE RLC layer of another UE according to the embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 5D, at a first time, the UE has received the

data packets

2, 3, and 5 and has not received the

data packets

1 and 4, where the

data packets

3 and 4 are data packets to be reassembled, and at this time, the

data packets

2 and 5 are not sequenced successfully, and the data packet 3 is also not reassembled successfully, but since the LTE RLC layer of the UE receives the aforementioned first message for instructing the LTE RLC layer of the UE to send sequenced data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced

data packets

2 and 5 to the NR PDCP layer. It will be appreciated that in this case the second set of ordered data packets is the ordered

data packets

2, 5. Optionally, the LTE RLC layer of the UE also reports the received data packet 3 to be reassembled to the NR PDCP layer.

Referring to fig. 5D, at the third time, the UE has received the

data packets

2, 3, 4, and 5 and has not received the data packet 1, where the

data packets

3 and 4 are data packets to be reassembled, the

data packets

2 and 5 are not successfully sequenced at this time, and the

data packets

3 and 4 are successfully reassembled, and in this case, generally, the data packet 1 with the smallest sequence number has not been received yet, so that the data packet is not reordered successfully at present, although the

data packets

3 and 4 are successfully reassembled, the LTE RLC layer of the UE does not report the reordered data packet to the NR PDCP layer only after the data packet is reordered successfully, or reports the sequenced data packet to the NR PDCP layer only after the reordering timer expires, so the LTE RLC layer of the UE does not report the data packet to the NR PDCP layer. However, different from the conventional method, in an embodiment of the present invention, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second group of data packets (data packets 2 and 5) to the NR PDCP layer of the UE at the first time, at the third time, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successfully reassembled (

data packets

3 and 4 are successfully reassembled, that is, reassembled into one data packet), the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the successfully reassembled fourth group of data packets (the fourth group of data packets is a data packet obtained by reassembling data packets 3 and 4) to the NR PDCP layer of the UE; alternatively, after the fourth group of data packets participates in the reordering with other data packets, the ordered data packets may be reported together, for example, the data packet 2, the fourth group of data packets (obtained by recombining the data packets 3 and 4), and 5 are reported together. It should be noted that after the

data packets

3 and 4 are successfully reassembled (reasserted), that is, after the data packets are reassembled into one data packet, reordering (Reorder) between the data packet and other data packets is required.

For example, if the fourth group of packets includes

packets

2, 3, 4, and 5 and the second group of packets includes

packets

2 and 5, the

duplicate packets

2 and 5 are deleted after the duplicate detection process.

For another example, if the fourth group of packets includes

packets

3 and 4 and the second group of packets includes

packets

2, 3 and 5, the duplicate packet 3 is deleted after the duplicate detection process.

In the second case, in the EN-DC Split mode, when the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is out of time, the LTE RLC layer reordering timer state of the UE is obtained; and after the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime, namely the reordering process of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is finished, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered data packet to the NR PDCP layer of the UE. The state of the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE may be, but is not limited to, duration information of the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE. The duration information is used to identify the remaining time length of the reordering timer.

In one possible embodiment, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a second message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the second message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report to the NR PDCP layer of the UE how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still expires, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports to the NR PDCP layer of the UE how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still expires, according to the second message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends the duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the duration information (for example, the duration of the extension of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is greater than or equal to the duration identified by the duration information), and when the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE succeeds or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE expires, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, the time delay reporting of the data packet of the NR PDCP layer can be realized by prolonging the time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the reordering process of the LTE RLC layer is not changed.

In one example, the NR PDCP layer of the UE may determine an extendable duration of a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to a type of an upper layer application. It can be understood that, for example, the game application has a high requirement on timeliness, and accordingly, the extendable duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is small; for example, video applications have low requirements on timeliness, and accordingly, the extendable duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is large.

In one possible embodiment, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a second message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the second message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report to the NR PDCP layer of the UE how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still expires, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, according to the second message, how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the duration indicated by the duration information is longer than the extendable duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends to the LTE RLC layer of the UE a third message, where the third message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to immediately report ordered data packets, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the third message without waiting for the successful reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE or the timeout of a reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, the extensible time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer is considered, and when the extensible time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer does not meet the requirement, a scheme of informing the LTE RLC layer to immediately report the ordered data packets is adopted, so that the influence on the service with high timeliness requirement is avoided.

In the third case, in the EN-DC Split mode, when a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, an Acknowledged Mode (AM) mode packet reassembly state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is obtained; and the NR PDCP layer of the UE delays and waits for the report of the LTE RLC layer recombined data packet of the UE.

In a possible implementation manner, after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a fourth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the fourth message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report an AM mode packet reassembly state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the AM mode packet reassembly state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fourth message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE prolongs a duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the reassembly state, and after the AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports a second group of packets after the successful reassembly to the NR PDCP layer of the UE. According to the embodiment, the time delay reporting of the data packet of the NR PDCP layer can be realized by prolonging the time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the recombination process of the LTE RLC layer is not changed.

In one example, in order to accurately estimate the reassembly required time of the AM-mode packets of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE may acquire an AM-mode packet reception status (e.g., a missing number of packets) of the LTE RLC layer of the UE in addition to the AM-mode packet reassembly status of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, so as to more accurately estimate the reassembly required time of the AM-mode packets of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.

Finally, in step 404, the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first and second groups of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a higher layer of the UE. It is to be understood that the NR PDCP layer of the UE may perform a duplicate detection process on the first group of packets and the second group of packets, and delete duplicate packets in the first group of packets and the second group of packets; then, the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first and second groups of data packets after the repeated detection to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a higher layer of the UE. According to this embodiment, duplicate packets in the first set of packets and the second set of packets may be deleted.

In the embodiment of the invention, under the Split bearing mode of EN-DC, an LTE RLC layer of UE receives downlink packet data from an LTE access network, and an NR RLC layer of UE receives the downlink packet data from an NR access network; when the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE times out, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a first group of ordered data packets, and after the NR PDCP layer of the UE receives a second group of ordered data packets from the lte rlc layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to the upper layer of the UE, so as to avoid that after the NR PDCP layer receives the second group of data packets, the first group of data packets has been reported, and the second group of data packets is not in the NR PDCP layer reception window, which results in packet loss, thereby ensuring complete reception of a downlink.

It should be noted that the role of the first message mentioned in the foregoing embodiment may also be understood as indicating that the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires.

The following describes a method for receiving downlink data according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to different scenarios.

Scene one: a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) of the UE is configured as a Split Bearer by the network, and the UE receives downlink Data of the DRB on both the MeNB and SgNB paths. In the data receiving process, the NR PDCP is reordered, and a reordering timer is overtime; meanwhile, the LTE RLC starts a reordering timer, and waits for the timeout of the timer or the successful report of the reordering data packets, so that a part of data packets are not transmitted to the NR PDCP layer in time. And after the NR PDCP is reordered, reporting the data packet to an applied data processing module, and simultaneously adjusting a receiving sliding window. When the packet reordered by the LTERLC reaches the NR PDCP, the PDCP sequence number of the packet is not in the sliding window reception range, and the NR PDCP discards the packet, resulting in packet loss.

Aiming at the problem of packet loss in the first scene, the embodiment of the invention provides the following improvement scheme.

Fig. 6 is a communication schematic diagram of another method for receiving downlink data according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the embodiment may be implemented based on the network architecture of EN-DC shown in fig. 1 and the protocol stack architecture of UE shown in fig. 2, where the implementation main body is UE, and mainly relates to an NR PDCP layer (for short, UE NR PDCP), an NR RLC layer (for short, UE LTE RLC), an NR access network (for short, NR) and an LTE access network (for short, LTE). The NR PDCP sends data to a data processing module of an application after reordering, and the method comprises the following steps:

step 601, the NR network sends the data packet to the terminal, and the NR RLC layer of the terminal performs operations such as reassembly and transparent transmission after receiving the data packet.

Step 602, the NR RLC reports the data packet to the NR PDCP layer.

The NRPDCP layer of the terminal receives the data packet uploaded by the NR RLC layer of the terminal or the LTE RLC layer of the terminal, performs operations such as reordering and duplicate detection, and reports the data packet to the upper layer (e.g., an application data processing module) of the UE.

Step 603, the NR PDCP layer of the terminal finds that the received data packet is out of order and the PDCP sequence number is abnormal, starts a reordering timer (i.e., a T-reordering timer), and reorders the received data packet in the receiving window.

In step 604, the LTE RLC finds out that the packet is an out-of-order packet after receiving the network packet. The data packets need to be reordered, a reordering timer is started, and the subsequent data packets are waited for being ordered.

Step 605, the NR PDCP layer keeps the reordering timer over time and notifies the LTE RLC to upload the ordered data packets.

When the LTE RLC receives the notification, the reordering timer of the LTE RLC has run for a period of time, which may be denoted as T-reordering _ 1. And after receiving the notification, the LTE RLC keeps the original reordering flow unchanged.

In step 606, the LTE RLC layer delivers the ordered data packets to the NR PDCP layer. Meanwhile, the reordering timer is continuously operated to continuously reorder.

In step 607, the NR PDCP entity reorders the data packets received from the LTERLC and NR RLC layers and sends the data packets to the data processing module on the application side.

Step 608, the LTE RLC layer receives the network side data packets, and the reordering is successful, and the LTE RLC forms complete and ordered data packets and sends the complete and ordered data packets to the NR PDCP; or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC expires, and the LTE RLC sends the ordered data packet to the NR PDCP. The duration of the reordering timer of the LTE RLC can be recorded as T-reordering _1 plus T-reordering _ 2.

And step 609, uploading the reordered data packets cached by the LTE RLC to the NR PDCP, wherein the NR PDCP performs repeated detection processing, discards the processed data packets and reports the data packets to an applied data processing module.

According to the embodiment of the invention, the UE reorders in the NR PDCP, the LTE RLC reorders at the same time, the NR PDCP reordering timer is overtime, the LTE RLC is informed to report the ordered data packets, and the NR PDCP reports the ordered data packets of the receiving window. During data transmission through EN-DC, when the NRPDCP reordering timer is overtime, packet loss caused by LTE RLC reordering is reduced.

Fig. 7 is a communication schematic diagram of another method for receiving downlink data according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the embodiment may be implemented based on the network architecture of EN-DC shown in fig. 1 and the protocol stack architecture of UE shown in fig. 2, where the implementation main body is UE, and mainly relates to an NR PDCP layer of UE (referred to as UE NR PDCP), an NR RLC layer of UE (referred to as UE NR RLC), an LTE RLC layer of UE (referred to as UE LTE), an NR access network (referred to as NR) and an LTE access network (referred to as LTE), and in this embodiment, under the EN-DC Split bearer, when an NR PDCP reordering timer expires, a reordering timer state of LTE is obtained; and the NR PDCP waits for the RLC reordering timer to time out, the reordering process is ended, and the RLC reports the sequenced data packet to the NR PDCP. The NR PDCP sends data to an application side data processing module after reordering, and the method comprises the following steps:

in step 701, the NR network sends a data packet to the terminal, and the NR RLC layer of the terminal performs operations such as reassembly and transparent transmission after receiving the data packet.

Step 702, the NR RLC layer of the terminal reports the data packet to the NR PDCP layer of the terminal.

The NRPDCP layer of the terminal receives the data packet uploaded by the NR RLC layer of the terminal or the LTE RLC layer of the terminal, carries out operations such as reordering and repeated detection, and reports the data packet to the applied data processing module.

In step 703, the NR PDCP entity finds that the received data packet is out of order and the SN number is abnormal, starts a reordering timer, and reorders the received data packet in the receiving window.

In step 704, the LTE RLC finds out that the packet is an out-of-order packet after receiving the network packet. The data packets need to be reordered, a reordering timer is started, and the subsequent data packets are waited for being ordered.

Step 705, the NR PDCP reordering timer expires, and the NR PDCP layer notifies the LTE RLC to report the current RLC status.

In step 706, the NR PDCP obtains the length of the current LTE RLC timer to evaluate, and extends the reordering timer. If the extendable duration of the timer is less than the duration of the RLC reordering timer, a scheme similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 6 may be adopted, that is, step 605 and 609 in fig. 6 may be executed next; otherwise, if the time length which can be prolonged by the timer is longer than or equal to the time length for continuously running the LTERLC layer reordering timer, the LTE RLC is waited for reordering results.

In step 707, the LTE RLC layer of the UE receives the data packet from the network side, and the reordering is successful, or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE forms an ordered data packet and sends the ordered data packet to the NR PDCP.

In step 708, the reordered packets buffered by the LTE RLC of the UE are all uploaded to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

In step 709, the NR PDCP layer of the UE performs reordering and repeated detection, and reports the reordered data packets to the data processing module.

According to the embodiment of the invention, the UE reorders in the NR PDCP, the LTE RLC reorders at the same time, the NR PDCP reordering timer is overtime and informs the LTE RLC to report a reordering state, and the NR PDCP delays and waits for the LTE RLC to report an ordered data packet and then uploads the reordered data packets received from the NR RLC and the LTE RLC. During data transmission through EN-DC, when the NRPDCP reordering timer is overtime, packet loss caused by LTE RLC reordering is reduced.

For scenario one, in another embodiment of the present invention, under the EN-DC Split bearer, the UE turns off the reordering function of the LTE RLC of the UE, and the LTE RLC of the UE reassembles and transparently transmits the data packet to the NR PDCP. The NR PDCP of the UE reorders data received from the NR RLC of the UE and the LTE RLC of the UE, and after reordering, the NR PDCP of the UE reports the ordered data packets to a higher layer (e.g., a data processing module on an application side) of the UE.

According to the embodiment of the invention, the reordering function of the LTE RLC is closed, and the NR PDCP reorders the data received from the NR RLC and the LTE RLC. During data transmission through EN-DC, when the NRPDCP reordering timer is overtime, packet loss caused by LTE RLC reordering is reduced.

Scene two: a certain DRB of the UE is configured as a Split bearer by the network, and the UE receives downlink data of the DRB on both the MeNB and SgNB paths. In the data receiving process, the NR PDCP is reordered, and a reordering timer is overtime; meanwhile, the LTE RLC carries out a recombination process, so that a part of data packets are not transmitted to the NR PDCP layer in time. And after the NR PDCP is reordered, reporting the data packet to an applied data processing module, and simultaneously adjusting a receiving sliding window. When the data packet recombined by the LTERLC reaches the NR PDCP, the PDCP sequence number of the datagram is not in the receiving range of the sliding window, and the NR PDCP discards the data packet, thereby leading to packet loss.

Aiming at the problem of packet loss in the second scenario, the embodiment of the present invention provides the following improvement scheme.

Fig. 8 is a communication schematic diagram of another method for receiving downlink data according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the embodiment may be implemented based on the network architecture of EN-DC shown in fig. 1 and the protocol stack architecture of UE shown in fig. 2, where the implementation main body is UE, and mainly relates to an NR PDCP layer (for short, UE NR PDCP), an NR RLC layer (for short, UE LTE RLC), an NR access network (for short, NR) and an LTE access network (for short, LTE). The NR PDCP sends data to a data processing module of an application after reordering, and the method comprises the following steps:

step 801, the NR network sends a data packet to the terminal, and the NR RLC layer of the terminal performs operations such as reassembly and transparent transmission after receiving the data packet.

In step 802, the NR RLC reports the packet to the NR PDCP layer.

In step 803, the NR PDCP layer of the terminal finds out that the received data packets are out of order and the PDCP sequence number is abnormal, starts a reordering timer (i.e., a T-reordering timer), and reorders the received data packets in the receiving window.

Step 804, after receiving the network data packet, the LTE RLC finds that the data packet needs to be reassembled, and waits for the subsequent data packet to be reassembled.

Step 805, the NR PDCP layer keeps the reordering timer over time and notifies the LTE RLC to upload the ordered data packets. When the LTE RLC receives the notification, the LTE RLC has performed reassembly for a period of time, which may be denoted as T1, and the LTE RLC keeps the original reassembly procedure unchanged after receiving the notification.

In step 806, the LTE RLC layer delivers the ordered data packets to the NR PDCP layer. While recombination continues.

In step 807, the NR PDCP entity reorders the data packets received from the LTERLC and NR RLC layers and sends the data packets to the data processing module on the application side.

And 808, the LTE RLC layer receives the network side data packet, the reassembly is successful, the time required in the whole reassembly process can be recorded as T1+ T2, and the LTE RLC forms a complete and ordered data packet and sends the complete and ordered data packet to the NR PDCP.

And step 809, uploading the successfully recombined data packets cached by the LTE RLC to the NR PDCP, and performing repeated detection processing on the NR PDCP, discarding the processed data packets, and reporting the data packets to the applied data processing module.

According to the embodiment of the invention, UE carries out reordering on NR PDCP, LTE RLC carries out recombination at the same time, NR PDCP reordering timer is overtime, LTE RLC is informed to report ordered data packets, and NR PDCP reports ordered data packets of a receiving window. During the process of transmitting data through EN-DC, when the NRPDCP reordering timer is overtime, the packet loss caused by LTE RLC recombination is reduced.

Fig. 9 is a communication schematic diagram of another method for receiving downlink data according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the embodiment may be implemented based on the network architecture of EN-DC shown in fig. 1 and the protocol stack architecture of UE shown in fig. 2, where the implementation main body is UE, and mainly relates to an NR PDCP layer of UE (referred to as UE NR PDCP), an NR RLC layer of UE (referred to as UE NR RLC), an LTE RLC layer of UE (referred to as UE LTE RLC), an NR access network (referred to as NR) and an LTE access network (referred to as LTE), and in this embodiment, under the EN-DC Split bearer, when an NR PDCP reordering timer expires, a packet reassembly state of LTE is obtained; the NR PDCP delays waiting for the successfully reassembled data packet (may be referred to as a reassembled data packet) reported by the LTE RLC. The NR PDCP reordering timer is overtime, or after the LTERLC reports the successfully recombined data packet; the NR PDCP then transmits the data to a higher layer, the method comprising:

in step 901, the NR network sends a data packet to the terminal, and the NR RLC layer of the terminal performs operations such as reassembly and transparent transmission after receiving the data packet.

In step 902, the NR RLC reports the data packet to the NR PDCP layer.

Step 903, the NR PDCP entity finds out that the received data packet is out of order and the SN sequence number is abnormal, starts a reordering timer, and reorders the received data packet in the receive window.

And 904, after the LTE RLC receives the network data packet, the LTE RLC finds that the data packet needs to be recombined, and waits for the subsequent data packet to be recombined.

In step 905, the NR PDCP reordering timer expires, and the NR PDCP layer notifies the LTE RLC to report the current AM mode packet reassembly status of the RLC, where the time for reassembly of the LTE RLC may be denoted as T1.

In step 906, the NR PDCP entity obtains the current AM mode packet reassembly status of the LTE RLC and evaluates the reassembly status, and extends the reordering timer. If the time length that the timer can be extended is less than the time length for RLC reassembly to proceed, a scheme similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 8 can be adopted, that is, step 805 and 809 in fig. 8 can be executed next; otherwise, if the time length which can be prolonged by the timer is longer than or equal to the time length for continuing the LTE RLC layer recombination, the LTE RLC is waited for carrying out the recombination result.

In step 907, the LTE RLC layer of the UE receives the data packet from the network side, the reassembly is successful, the time for the whole reassembly of the LTE RLC can be recorded as T1+ T2, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE sends the successfully reassembled data packet to the NR PDCP.

And step 908, uploading the successfully recombined data packets cached by the LTE RLC of the UE to an NR PDCP layer of the UE.

In step 909, the NR PDCP layer of the UE will perform reordering and repeated detection processing, and report the reordered data packets to the data processing module of the application.

According to the embodiment of the invention, UE carries out reordering on NR PDCP, LTE RLC carries out recombination at the same time, NR PDCP reordering timer is overtime, LTE RLC is informed to report recombination state, NR PDCP waits for the time delay of LTE RLC to report the recombination data packet, and then data packets received from NR RLC and LTE RLC are uploaded. During the process of transmitting data through EN-DC, when the NRPDCP reordering timer is overtime, the packet loss caused by LTE RLC recombination is reduced.

The above description mainly introduces the scheme of the embodiment of the present invention from the perspective of the method flow. It is to be understood that each network element, for example, UE, etc., contains corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for performing each function in order to implement the above functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software, with the exemplary elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the UE and the like may be divided into functional modules according to the above method example, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode. It should be noted that, the division of the modules in the embodiment of the present invention is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

In the case of integrated modules, fig. 10 shows a possible structural diagram of the UE involved in the above embodiments. The UE1000 includes: a processing module 1002, a first communication module 1003 and a second communication module 1004. Processing module 1002 is configured to control and manage actions of the UE, e.g., processing module 1002 is configured to support the UE to perform the processes of fig. 4-9, and/or other processes for the techniques described herein. The first communication module 1003 is configured to support communication between the UE and other network entities using 4G technology, for example, a base station. The second communication module 1004 is configured to support communication between the UE and other network entities, such as a base station, using 5G technology. The terminal may also include a storage module 1001 for storing program codes and data for the UE.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first communication module 1003 is configured to, in an EN-DC Split bearer mode, receive downlink packet data from an LTE access network through the first communication module 1003 by an LTE RLC layer of the UE;

a second communication module 1004, configured to receive downlink packet data from an NR access network through the second communication module 1004 by an NR RLC layer of the UE;

the processing module 1002 is configured to control the NRPDCP layer of the UE and the LTERLC layer of the UE to perform the following operations: when a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a first group of ordered data packets; and, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE; and the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a high layer of the UE.

In one example, the processing module 1002 is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, including: the processing module 902 is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to send a first message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, where the first message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to send a sequenced data packet to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report a second group of sequenced data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to that the first message does not equal the success of reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE or that the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE expires.

Based on the foregoing example, the processing module 1002 is further configured to, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be overtime, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the ordered fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE after the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime.

Based on the foregoing example, the processing module 1002 is further configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to perform repeated detection processing on the fourth group of data packets and the second group of data packets after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

In another example, the processing module 1002 is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, including: the processing module 902 is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to send a first message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, where the first message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to send a sequenced data packet to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report a second set of sequenced data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.

Based on the foregoing example, the processing module 1002 is further configured to, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, and after the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successfully reassembled, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the successfully reassembled fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

Based on the foregoing example, the processing module 1002 is further configured to control, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the successfully reassembled fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE to perform repeated detection processing on the fourth group of data packets and the second group of data packets.

In another example, the processing module 1002 is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, including: the processing module 1002 is configured to, after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE has expired, controlling the NR PDCP layer of the UE to transmit a second message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the second message is used for indicating how long the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the re-sequencing timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, controlling the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the re-sequencing timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE and the time information of how long the re-sequencing timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still exceeds the time information according to the second message, and controlling the NR PDCP layer of the UE to prolong the time of the re-sequencing timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the time information, when reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or a reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE expires, and controlling the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

Based on the foregoing example, the processing module 1002 is further configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to determine that the time duration indicated by the time duration information is less than or equal to the extendable time duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, before the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends the time duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the time duration information.

In another example, the processing module 1002 is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, including: the processing module 1002 is configured to control, after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE to send a second message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the second message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report to the NR PDCP layer of the UE how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still has time duration information about time duration, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, according to the second message, how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still has time duration information about time duration, control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to determine that the time duration indicated by the time duration information is greater than the time duration that can be extended by the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, send, to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, a third message, where the third message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to immediately report ordered data packets, and controlling the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the third message and the fact that the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime.

Based on the foregoing example, the processing module 1002 is further configured to, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the third message without waiting for the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be overtime, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the ordered fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE after the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime.

In another example, the processing module 1002 is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, including: the processing module 1002 is configured to control, after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE to send a fourth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the fourth message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report a status of acknowledged AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the status of AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fourth message, control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to extend a duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the reassembly status, and control, after the AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful, the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report a second group of packets after the successful reassembly to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

Based on the foregoing example, the processing module 1002 is further configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to determine that the reassembly further time of the AM mode packet of the LTE RLC layer of the UE indicated by the reassembly status is less than or equal to the extendable time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE before the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends the time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the reassembly status.

In another example, the processing module 1002 is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, including: the processing module 1002 is configured to, after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to send a fourth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the fourth message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report a status of acknowledged AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the status of AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fourth message, control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to determine that reassembly of AM mode packets of the LTE RLC layer of the UE indicated by the reassembly status further requires more than a time that can be extended by the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, send a fifth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the fifth message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to immediately report ordered packets, and controlling the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fifth message without waiting for the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successfully recombined.

Based on the foregoing example, the processing module 1002 is further configured to, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fifth message without waiting for successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, and after the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successfully reassembled, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the successfully reassembled fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

Based on the foregoing example, the processing module 1002 is further configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to perform repeated detection processing on the fourth group of data packets and the second group of data packets after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

Based on the foregoing example, the processing module 1002 is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to reorder the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and send the third group of data packets to an upper layer of the UE, where the method includes: the processing module 1002 is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to perform duplicate detection processing on the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets, and delete duplicate data packets in the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets; and controlling an NR PDCP layer of the UE to reorder the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets after repeated detection processing to obtain a third group of data packets, and sending the third group of data packets to a high layer of the UE.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the processing module 1002 is configured to, in an EN-DC Split bearer mode, receive downlink packet data from an LTE access network through the first communication module 1003 on an LTE RLC layer of the UE, and receive downlink packet data from an NR access network through the second communication module 1004 on an NR RLC layer of the UE; when a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a first group of ordered data packets, the NR PDCP layer of the UE does not directly report the first group of ordered data packets, but after the NR PDCP layer of the UE receives a second group of ordered data packets from the LTERLC layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and then sends the third group of data packets to an upper layer of the UE, so that the condition that the first group of data packets are reported and the second group of data packets are not in a receiving window of the NR PDCP layer after the second group of data packets are received by the NR PDCP layer of the UE, packet loss is caused, and complete receiving of a downlink can be ensured.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the first communication module 1003 is configured to, in an EN-DC Split bearer mode, receive downlink packet data from an LTE access network through the first communication module 1003 by an LTE RLC layer of the UE;

the second communication module 1004 is configured to receive downlink packet data from an NR access network through the second communication module 1004 by the NR RLC layer of the UE;

the processing module 1002 is configured to control a reordering function of an LTE RLC layer of the UE to be closed, where the reordering function is completed by an NRPDCP layer of the UE.

In one example, the processing module 1002 is configured to control a reordering function of an LTE RLC layer of the UE to be turned off, including: the processing module 1002 is configured to pre-configure a reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to close.

In another example, the processing module 1002 is configured to control a reordering function of an LTE RLC layer of the UE to be turned off, including: the processing module 1002 is configured to close a reordering function of an LTE RLC layer of the UE when a reordering timer is started by the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

In another example, the first communication module 1003 or the second communication module 1004 is further configured to receive an RRC message;

the processing module 1002 is configured to control a reordering function of an LTE RLC layer of the UE to be turned off, and includes: the processing module 1002 is configured to close a reordering function of an LTE RLC layer of the UE according to the RRC message.

It is understood that the first communication module 1003 is used for implementing a 4G communication function, and the second communication module 1004 is used for implementing a 5G communication function.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the processing module 1002 is configured to control a reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be turned off, and the reordering function is completed by the NR PDCP layer of the UE, so that packet loss caused by reordering performed simultaneously on the NR PDCP layer and the LTE RLC layer is avoided, and therefore complete reception of a downlink can be ensured.

The processing module 1002 may be a processor or a controller, among others. The first communication module 1003 and the second communication module 1004 may be a communication interface, a transceiver circuit, etc., wherein the communication interface is a general term and may include one or more interfaces. The storage module 1001 may be a memory.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a UE according to an embodiment of the present application, where the UE is a mobile phone, for example, and fig. 11 is a block diagram of a partial structure of a mobile phone 1100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 11, a handset 1100 includes: radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 1110, RF circuitry 1111, memory 1120, input unit 1130, display screen 1140, sensors 1150, audio circuitry 1160, WiFi (wireless fidelity) module 1170, processor 1180, and power supply 1190. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the handset configuration shown in fig. 11 is not intended to be limiting and may include more or fewer components than those shown, or some components may be combined, or a different arrangement of components.

The various components of cell phone 1100 will now be described in detail with reference to fig. 11:

it is understood that, in order to support the EN-DC networking mode, the UE may have two RF circuits for supporting different communication modes, for example, the RF circuit 1110 in the figure is used for supporting the 4G communication mode, i.e. receiving the 4G signal, and the RF circuit 1111 is used for supporting the 5G communication mode, i.e. receiving the 5G signal.

RF circuit 1110 and RF circuit 1111 may be configured to receive and transmit signals during a message transmission or a call, and in particular, receive downlink messages from a base station and process the received downlink messages to processor 1180; in addition, the data for designing uplink is transmitted to the base station. Typically, the RF circuitry includes, but is not limited to, an antenna, at least one Amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), a duplexer, and the like. In addition, the RF circuit 1110 and the RF circuit 1111 may also communicate with a network and other devices through wireless communication. The wireless communication may use any communication standard or protocol, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) System, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) System, Long Term Evolution (LTE) System, email, Short Message Service (SMS), and the like.

The memory 1120 may be used to store software programs and modules, and the processor 1180 may execute various functional applications and data processing of the mobile phone 1100 by operating the software programs and modules stored in the memory 1120. The memory 1120 may mainly include a program storage area and a data storage area, wherein the program storage area may store an operating system, an application program required for at least one function (such as a sound playing function, an image playing function, etc.), and the like; the stored data area may store data (such as audio data, a phonebook, etc.) created according to the use of the cellular phone 1100, and the like. In addition, the Memory 1120 may include a volatile Memory, such as a Nonvolatile dynamic Random Access Memory (NVRAM), a Phase Change Random Access Memory (PRAM), a Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM), and the like; the Memory 1120 may further include a nonvolatile Memory such as at least one magnetic Disk storage device, an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a flash Memory device such as a NOR flash Memory (NOR flash Memory) or a NAND flash Memory (NAND flash Memory), a semiconductor device such as a Solid State Disk (SSD), and the like. The memory 1120 may also comprise a combination of memories of the kind described above.

The input unit 1130 may be used to receive input numeric or character information and generate key signal inputs related to user settings and function control of the cellular phone 1100. Specifically, the input unit 1130 may include a touch panel 1131 and other input devices 1132. Touch panel 1131, also referred to as a touch screen, can collect touch operations of a user on or near the touch panel 1131 (for example, operations of the user on or near touch panel 1131 by using any suitable object or accessory such as a finger or a stylus pen), and drive corresponding connection devices according to a preset program. Alternatively, the touch panel 1131 may include two parts, namely, a touch detection device and a touch controller. The touch detection device detects the touch direction of a user, detects a signal brought by touch operation and transmits the signal to the touch controller; the touch controller receives touch information from the touch sensing device, converts the touch information into touch point coordinates, sends the touch point coordinates to the processor 1180, and can receive and execute commands sent by the processor 1180. In addition, the input unit 1130 may implement the touch panel 1131 in various types, such as a resistive type, a capacitive type, an infrared ray, and a surface acoustic wave. The input unit 1130 may include other input devices 1132 in addition to the touch panel 1131. In particular, other input devices 1132 may include, but are not limited to, one or more of a physical keyboard, function keys (e.g., volume control keys, switch keys, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, a joystick, and the like.

Display 1140 may be used to display information entered by or provided to the user as well as various menus for handset 1100. The Display screen 1140 may include a Display panel 1141, and optionally, the Display panel 1141 may be configured in the form of a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), or the like. Further, the touch panel 1131 can cover the display panel 1141, and when the touch panel 1131 detects a touch operation on or near the touch panel, the touch panel is transmitted to the processor 1180 to determine the type of the touch event, and then the processor 1180 provides a corresponding visual output on the display panel 1141 according to the type of the touch event. Although in fig. 11, the touch panel 1131 and the display panel 1141 are two independent components to implement the input and output functions of the mobile phone 1100, in some embodiments, the touch panel 1131 and the display panel 1141 may be integrated to implement the input and output functions of the mobile phone 1100. The display 1140 may be used to display content including user interfaces such as a power-on interface of the terminal, a user interface of an application. The content may include information and data in addition to the user interface. The display 1140 may be a built-in screen of the terminal or other external display device.

The cell phone 1100 can also include at least one sensor 1150, such as a light sensor, motion sensor, position sensor, and other sensors. Specifically, the light sensor may include an ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor, wherein the ambient light sensor may obtain the brightness of the ambient light, and adjust the brightness of the display panel 1141 according to the brightness of the ambient light, and the proximity sensor may turn off the display panel 1141 and/or the backlight when the mobile phone 1100 moves to the ear. The motion sensor comprises an acceleration sensor, the acceleration sensor can detect the magnitude of acceleration in all directions (generally three axes), can detect the magnitude and direction of gravity when the motion sensor is static, and can be used for applications of recognizing the gesture of the mobile phone (such as horizontal and vertical screen switching, related games and magnetometer gesture calibration), vibration recognition related functions (such as pedometers and knocking) and the like. The position sensor may be configured to acquire a geographical position coordinate of the terminal, and the geographical position coordinate may be acquired by a Global Positioning System (GPS), a COMPASS System (COMPASS System), a GLONASS System (GLONASS System), a GALILEO System (GALILEO System), or the like. The position sensor can also carry out positioning through a base station of a mobile operation network and local area networks such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or comprehensively use the positioning mode, so that more accurate mobile phone position information is obtained. As for the other sensors such as a gyroscope, a barometer, a hygrometer, a thermometer, and an infrared sensor, which can be configured on the mobile phone 1100, the detailed description is omitted.

Audio circuitry 1160, speaker 1161 and microphone 1162 (also known as microphones) may provide an audio interface between a user and the cell phone 1100. The audio circuit 1160 may transmit the electrical signal converted from the received audio data to the speaker 1161, and convert the electrical signal into a sound signal for output by the speaker 1161; on the other hand, the microphone 1162 converts collected sound signals into electrical signals, converts the electrical signals into audio data after being received by the audio circuit 1160, and outputs the audio data to the processor 1080 for processing, and then transmits the audio data to, for example, another cellular phone through the RF circuit 1110 or the RF circuit 1111, or outputs the audio data to the memory 1120 for further processing.

WiFi is a short-range wireless transmission technology, and the mobile phone 1100 can help the user send and receive e-mails, browse web pages, access streaming media, etc. through the WiFi module 1170, which provides the user with wireless broadband internet access. Although fig. 11 shows the WiFi module 1170, it is understood that it does not belong to the essential constitution of the handset 1100, and can be omitted entirely as needed within the scope not changing the essence of the invention.

The processor 1180 is a control center of the mobile phone 1100, and connects various parts of the whole mobile phone by using various interfaces and lines, and performs various functions and processes of the mobile phone 1100 by running or executing software programs and/or modules stored in the memory 1120 and calling data stored in the memory 1120, thereby performing overall monitoring of the mobile phone. The processor 1180 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, transistor logic, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The processor 1180 may implement or execute the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure herein. Processor 1180 may also be a combination that performs computing functions, including by way of example, one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, or the like. Optionally, the processor 1180 may include one or more processor units. Optionally, the processor 1180 may further integrate an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly processes an operating system, a user interface, an application program, and the like, and the modem processor mainly processes wireless communication. It will be appreciated that the modem processor described above may not be integrated within processor 1180.

The cell phone 1100 also includes a power supply 1190 (e.g., a battery) for providing power to various components, which may be logically coupled to the processor 1180 via a power management system, such that the power management system may be configured to manage charging, discharging, and power consumption.

It should be noted that, although not shown, the mobile phone 1100 may further include a camera, a bluetooth module, and the like, which are not described herein.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the substrate is,

the memory 1120 for storing program instructions;

the processor 1180 configured to, according to program instructions stored in the memory 1120, cause the UE to:

under an EN-DC Split bearing mode, an LTE RLC layer of the UE receives downlink packet data from an LTE access network through an RF circuit 1010, and an NR RLC layer of the UE receives the downlink packet data from an NR access network through an RF circuit 1011;

when a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a first group of ordered data packets; and, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE;

and the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a high layer of the UE.

In one example, the processor 1180 is configured to perform the receiving, by the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after the expiration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, including:

when the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a first message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the first message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to send ordered data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports an ordered second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message when the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is not equal to success or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime.

Based on the foregoing example, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for the LTE RLC layer of the UE to reorder successfully or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to expire, the processor 1180 is further configured to, according to the program instructions stored in the memory 1120, cause the UE to:

and when the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

In another example, the processor 1180 is configured to perform the receiving, by the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after the expiration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, including:

and after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a first message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the first message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to send sequenced data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports a second group of sequenced data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for successful recombination of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.

Based on the foregoing example, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for successful LTE RLC layer reassembly, the processor 1180 is further configured to cause the UE to perform the following operations according to the program instructions stored in the memory 1120:

and when the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successfully recombined, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the fourth group of data packets after the successful recombination to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

when a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE transmitting a second message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the second message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the time length information of how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still times out to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, reporting the time length information of how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still times out to the NR PDCP layer of the UE by the LTE RLC layer of the UE according to the second message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends a time length of a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the time length information, when reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or a reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE expires, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

Based on the foregoing example, before the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends the duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the duration information, the processor 1180 is further configured to cause the UE to perform the following operations according to the program instructions stored in the memory 1120:

the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the time length indicated by the time length information is less than or equal to the extendable time length of a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

when a reordering timer of an NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a second message to an LTE RLC layer of the UE, the second message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE and the time information of how long the reordering timer is overtime to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the time information of how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the second message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the time indicated by the time information is longer than the extendable time of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a third message to the LTE PDCP layer of the UE, the third message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to immediately report ordered data packets, and the LTE layer of the UE does not equal to succeed in reordering or reordering timer of the RLC layer of the UE is reordered according to the third message And reporting the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE when the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime.

Based on the foregoing example, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the third message without waiting for the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be reordered successfully or for the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to expire, the processor 1180 is further configured to, according to the program instructions stored in the memory 1120, cause the UE to:

when a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a fourth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the fourth message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report a confirmed AM mode data packet recombination state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the AM mode data packet recombination state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fourth message, the NR layer of the UE prolongs the time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the recombination state, and when the AM mode data packet recombination of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports a second group of data packets after the recombination to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

Based on the foregoing example, before the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends the duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the reassembly status, the processor 1180 is further configured to:

the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the reassembly required time of the AM mode data packet of the LTE RLC layer of the UE indicated by the reassembly status is less than or equal to the extendable time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

when a reordering timer of an NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a fourth message to an LTE RLC layer of the UE, the fourth message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report an AM mode data packet recombination state confirmed by the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the AM mode data packet recombination state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fourth message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the recombination of the AM mode data packet of the LTE RLC layer of the UE indicated by the recombination state is longer than the extendable time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a fifth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, and the fifth message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to immediately report sequenced data packets, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fifth message without waiting for the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successfully recombined.

Based on the foregoing example, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fifth message without waiting for successful LTE RLC layer reassembly, the processor 1180 is further configured to cause the UE to perform the following operations according to the program instructions stored in the memory 1120:

Based on the foregoing example, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the fourth set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the processor 1180 is further configured to, according to the program instructions stored in the memory 1120, cause the UE to:

the NR PDCP layer of the UE performs a duplicate detection process on the fourth set of data packets and the second set of data packets.

In one example, the processor 1180 executes the NR PDCP layer of the UE to reorder the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to the upper layer of the UE, including:

the NR PDCP layer of the UE carries out repeated detection processing on the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets, and deletes repeated data packets in the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets;

and the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets after the repeated detection processing to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a high layer of the UE.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the processor 1180 is configured to, in an EN-DC Split bearer mode, receive downlink packet data from an LTE access network through the RF circuit 1110 on an LTE RLC layer of the UE, and receive downlink packet data from an NR access network through the RF circuit 1111 on an NR RLC layer of the UE; when the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE times out, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a first group of ordered data packets, and after the NR PDCP layer of the UE receives a second group of ordered data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to the upper layer of the UE, so that the first group of data packets is prevented from being reported after the second group of data packets are received, and the second group of data packets is not in the reception window of the NR PDCP layer, which results in packet loss, thereby ensuring complete reception of a downlink.

In a further embodiment of the present invention,

the memory 1120 for storing program instructions;

under the Split bearing mode of EN-DC, an LTE RLC layer of the UE receives downlink packet data from an LTE access network, and an NR RLC layer of the UE receives the downlink packet data from an NR access network; and the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is closed, and the reordering function is completed by the NR PDCP layer of the UE.

In one example, the processor 1180 performs reordering function shutdown of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, including:

and presetting the closing of the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.

In another example, the processor 1180 performs reordering function shutdown of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, including:

and when the NR PDCP layer of the UE starts a reordering timer, the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is closed.

the UE receives an RRC message;

and according to the RRC message, closing the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the processor 1180 is configured to control a reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be turned off, and the reordering function is completed by the NR PDCP layer of the UE, so that packet loss caused by reordering performed simultaneously on the NR PDCP layer and the LTE RLC layer is avoided, and therefore complete reception of a downlink can be ensured.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and as shown in fig. 12, the communication device 1200 may be a chip, where the chip includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit may be a processor 1210, which may be of the various types described previously. The communication unit may be, for example, an input/output interface 1220, a pin or a circuit, etc., which may include or be connected to a system bus. Optionally, the communication device further includes a storage unit, which may be a memory 1230 inside the chip, such as a register, a cache, a Random Access Memory (RAM), an EEPROM, or a FLASH; the memory unit may also be a memory located outside the chip, which may be of the various types described hereinbefore. A processor is coupled to the memory, and the processor can execute the instructions stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform the methods described above with reference to fig. 4-9.

In the various embodiments of the invention described above, implementation may be in whole or in part via software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the invention to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable medium to another, for example, from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid state disk), among others.

The above-mentioned embodiments, objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention are further described in detail, it should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are only exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements and the like made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

A method for receiving downlink data, the method comprising:

under a Split bearing mode of dual-connection EN-DC of wireless access of a fourth generation mobile communication technology 4G-a fifth generation mobile communication technology 5G, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Radio Link Control (RLC) layer of terminal equipment (UE) receives downlink packet data from an LTE access network, and a new wireless NR RLC layer of the UE receives the downlink packet data from an NR access network;

when a reordering timer of an NR (packet data convergence protocol) PDCP (packet data convergence protocol) layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a sequenced first group of data packets; and, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the lte rlc layer of the UE;

and the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a high layer of the UE.
The method of claim 1, wherein the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprises:

when the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a first message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the first message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to send ordered data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports an ordered second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message when the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is not equal to success or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime.
The method of claim 2, wherein after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE without waiting for successful LTE RLC layer reordering or expiration of a reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE based on the first message, the method further comprising:

and when the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.
The method of claim 1, wherein the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprises:

and after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a first message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the first message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to send sequenced data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports a second group of sequenced data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for successful recombination of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.
The method of claim 4, wherein after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for successful LTE RLC layer reassembly, the method further comprising:

and when the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successfully recombined, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the fourth group of data packets after the successful recombination to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.
The method of claim 1, wherein the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprises:

when a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE transmitting a second message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the second message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the time length information of how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still times out to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, reporting the time length information of how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still times out to the NR PDCP layer of the UE by the LTE RLC layer of the UE according to the second message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends a time length of a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the time length information, when reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or a reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE expires, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.
The method of claim 6, wherein before the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends a duration of a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the duration information, the method further comprises:

the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the time length indicated by the time length information is less than or equal to the extendable time length of a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE.
The method of claim 1, wherein the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprises:

when a reordering timer of an NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a second message to an LTE RLC layer of the UE, the second message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE and the time information of how long the reordering timer is overtime to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the time information of how long the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the second message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the time indicated by the time information is longer than the extendable time of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a third message to the LTE PDCP layer of the UE, the third message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to immediately report ordered data packets, and the LTE layer of the UE does not equal to succeed in reordering or reordering timer of the RLC layer of the UE is reordered according to the third message And reporting the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE when the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime.
The method of claim 8, wherein after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the third message without waiting for the LTE RLC layer reordering of the UE to be successful or a reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to expire, the method further comprising:

and when the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered fourth group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.
The method of claim 1, wherein the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprises:

when a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a fourth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the fourth message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report a confirmed AM mode data packet recombination state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the AM mode data packet recombination state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fourth message, the NR layer of the UE prolongs the time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the recombination state, and when the AM mode data packet recombination of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports a second group of data packets after the recombination to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.
The method of claim 10, wherein before the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends a duration of a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the reassembly status, the method further comprises:

the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the reassembly required time of the AM mode data packet of the LTE RLC layer of the UE indicated by the reassembly status is less than or equal to the extendable time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE.
The method of claim 1, wherein the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprises:

when a reordering timer of an NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a fourth message to an LTE RLC layer of the UE, the fourth message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report an AM mode data packet recombination state confirmed by the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the AM mode data packet recombination state of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fourth message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE determines that the recombination of the AM mode data packet of the LTE RLC layer of the UE indicated by the recombination state is longer than the extendable time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a fifth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, and the fifth message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to immediately report sequenced data packets, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fifth message without waiting for the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successfully recombined.
The method of claim 12, wherein after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fifth message without waiting for successful LTE RLC layer reassembly, the method further comprising:

and when the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successfully recombined, the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the fourth group of data packets after the successful recombination to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.
The method of any one of claims 3, 5, 9, and 13, wherein after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the fourth set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the method further comprises:

the NR PDCP layer of the UE performs a duplicate detection process on the fourth set of data packets and the second set of data packets.
The method of claim 1, wherein the NR PDCP layer of the UE reordering the first and second sets of data packets to obtain a third set of data packets, and wherein sending the third set of data packets to an upper layer of the UE comprises:

the NR PDCP layer of the UE carries out repeated detection processing on the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets, and deletes repeated data packets in the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets;

and the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets after the repeated detection processing to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a high layer of the UE.
A method for receiving downlink data, the method comprising:

under a Split bearing mode of dual-connection EN-DC of wireless access of a fourth generation mobile communication technology 4G-a fifth generation mobile communication technology 5G, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Radio Link Control (RLC) layer of terminal equipment (UE) receives downlink packet data from an LTE access network, and a new wireless NR RLC layer of the UE receives the downlink packet data from an NR access network; and the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is closed, and the reordering function is completed by the NR packet data convergence protocol PDCP layer of the UE.
The method of claim 16, wherein a reordering function of an LTE RLC layer of the UE is turned off, comprising:

and presetting the closing of the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.
The method of claim 16, wherein a reordering function of an LTE RLC layer of the UE is turned off, comprising:

and when the NR PDCP layer of the UE starts a reordering timer, the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is closed.
The method of claim 16, wherein a reordering function of an LTE RLC layer of the UE is turned off, comprising:

the UE receives a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message;

and according to the RRC message, closing the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.
A terminal device (UE), the UE comprising: the system comprises a first communication module, a second communication module and a processing module;

the first communication module is configured to receive downlink packet data from an LTE access network through the first communication module by a long term evolution LTE radio link control RLC layer of the UE in a Split bearer manner of a dual-connection EN-DC for a fourth-generation mobile communication technology 4G to a fifth-generation mobile communication technology 5G radio access;

the second communication module is used for receiving downlink packet data from an NR access network by a new wireless NR RLC layer of the UE through the second communication module;

the processing module is configured to control the NR packet data convergence protocol PDCP layer of the UE and the LTERLC layer of the UE to perform the following operations: when a reordering timer of an NR (packet data convergence protocol) PDCP (packet data convergence protocol) layer of the UE is overtime, the NR PDCP layer of the UE obtains a sequenced first group of data packets; and, after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, the NR PDCP layer of the UE receiving the ordered second set of data packets from the lte rlc layer of the UE; and the NR PDCP layer of the UE reorders the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets to obtain a third group of data packets, and sends the third group of data packets to a high layer of the UE.
The UE of claim 20, wherein the processing module is to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprising: the processing module is used for controlling the NR PDCP layer of the UE to send a first message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the first message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to send ordered data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE is controlled to report an ordered second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message and without waiting for successful reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE or overtime of the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.
The UE of claim 21, wherein the processing module is further configured to control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be expired.
The UE of claim 20, wherein the processing module is to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprising: the processing module is used for controlling the NR PDCP layer of the UE to send a first message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the first message is used for indicating the LTE RLC layer of the UE to send sequenced data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and the LTE RLC layer of the UE is controlled to report a second group of sequenced data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successfully recombined.
The UE of claim 23, wherein the processing module is further configured to, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the first message without waiting for successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the successfully reassembled fourth set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE after successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.
The UE of claim 20, wherein the processing module is to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprising: the processing module is configured to, after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE has expired, controlling the NR PDCP layer of the UE to transmit a second message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, the second message is used for indicating how long the time length information of the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still exists when the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, controlling how long the time length information of the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still exists when the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the second message, and controlling the NR PDCP layer of the UE to prolong the time length of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the time length information, when reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or a reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE expires, and controlling the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.
The UE of claim 25, wherein the processing module is further configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to determine that the duration indicated by the duration information is less than or equal to an extendable duration of a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE before the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends the duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the duration information.
The UE of claim 20, wherein the processing module is to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprising: the processing module is used for controlling the NR PDCP layer of the UE to send a second message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE after the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE is overtime, the second message is used for indicating how long the time information of the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still exists to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the LTE RLC layer of the UE is controlled to report the time information of how long the time information of the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE still exists to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the second message, the NR PDCP layer of the UE is controlled to determine that the time indicated by the time information is longer than the extendable time of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, the NR PDCP layer of the UE sends a third message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, and the third message is used for indicating the LTE layer of the UE to immediately report ordered data packets, and controlling the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the third message and the fact that the reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is overtime.
The UE of claim 27, wherein the processing module is further configured to, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the third message without waiting for reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successful or a reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to expire, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the ordered fourth set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE when reordering of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successful or the reordering timer of the LTE RLC layer of the UE expires.
The UE of claim 20, wherein the processing module is to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprising: the processing module is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to send a fourth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, where the fourth message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report a status of acknowledged AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the status of AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fourth message, control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to extend a duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the reassembly status, and control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report a second group of packets after successful reassembly to the NR PDCP layer of the UE after the AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE is successfully reassembled.
The UE of claim 29, wherein the processing module is further configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to determine that reassembly of AM mode packets of the LTE RLC layer of the UE indicated by the reassembly status requires less than or equal to a deferrable duration of a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE before the NR PDCP layer of the UE extends the duration of the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the reassembly status.
The UE of claim 20, wherein the processing module is to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to receive the ordered second set of data packets from the LTE RLC layer of the UE after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, comprising: the processing module is configured to, after a reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE expires, control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to send a fourth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the fourth message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report a status of acknowledged AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the status of AM mode packet reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fourth message, control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to determine that reassembly of AM mode packets of the LTE RLC layer of the UE indicated by the reassembly status further requires more than a time that can be extended by the reordering timer of the NR PDCP layer of the UE, and send a fifth message to the LTE RLC layer of the UE, where the fifth message is used to instruct the LTE RLC layer of the UE to immediately report ordered packets, and controlling the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the sequenced second group of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fifth message without waiting for the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be successfully recombined.
The UE of claim 31, wherein the processing module is further configured to, after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the ordered second set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE according to the fifth message without waiting for successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE, control the LTE RLC layer of the UE to report the successfully reassembled fourth set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE after successful reassembly of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.
The UE of any one of claims 22, 24, 28, and 32, wherein the processing module is further configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to perform the duplicate detection processing on the fourth set of data packets and the second set of data packets after the LTE RLC layer of the UE reports the fourth set of data packets to the NR PDCP layer of the UE.
The UE of claim 20, wherein the processing module is configured to control the NR PDCP layer of the UE to reorder the first set of data packets and the second set of data packets into a third set of data packets, and send the third set of data packets to an upper layer of the UE, and the method comprises: the processing module is configured to control an NR PDCP layer of the UE to perform duplicate detection processing on the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets, and delete duplicate data packets in the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets; and controlling an NR PDCP layer of the UE to reorder the first group of data packets and the second group of data packets after repeated detection processing to obtain a third group of data packets, and sending the third group of data packets to a high layer of the UE.
A terminal device (UE), the UE comprising: the system comprises a first communication module, a second communication module and a processing module;

the first communication module is configured to receive downlink packet data from an LTE access network through the first communication module by a long term evolution LTE radio link control RLC layer of the UE in a Split bearer manner of a dual-connection EN-DC for a fourth-generation mobile communication technology 4G to a fifth-generation mobile communication technology 5G radio access;

the second communication module is used for receiving downlink packet data from an NR access network by a new wireless NR RLC layer of the UE through the second communication module;

the processing module is used for controlling the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be closed, and the reordering function is controlled to be completed by the NR grouped data convergence protocol PDCP layer of the UE.
The UE of claim 35, wherein the processing module to control a reordering function of an LTE RLC layer of the UE to be turned off comprises: the processing module is used for pre-configuring the reordering function closing of the LTE RLC layer of the UE.
The UE of claim 35, wherein the processing module to control a reordering function of an LTE RLC layer of the UE to be turned off comprises: the processing module is used for closing the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE when the NR PDCP layer of the UE starts a reordering timer.
The UE of claim 35, wherein the first communication module or the second communication module is further configured to receive a radio resource control, RRC, message;

the processing module is used for controlling the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE to be closed, and comprises the following steps: the processing module is used for closing the reordering function of the LTE RLC layer of the UE according to the RRC message.
A terminal device, UE, comprising a memory and a processor;

the memory to store program instructions;

the processor configured to control the UE to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 19 according to program instructions stored in the memory.
A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 19.
A computer program product, characterized in that when the computer program product is read and executed by a computer, the method according to any of claims 1-19 is to be performed.
An apparatus for use in a terminal device, wherein the apparatus is coupled to a memory and configured to read and execute a software program stored in the memory, so that the terminal device implements the method according to any one of claims 1-19.
The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the apparatus is a chip or a system on a chip.