CN111165042A - System and method for performing carrier aggregation in direct link communication - Google Patents

Abstract

Systems and methods for performing carrier aggregation in wireless direct link communications are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method performed by a first node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: obtaining configuration information related to direct link data transmission between a first node and at least one second node; configuring a direct link transmission mode based on the configuration information; and transmitting the direct link data to the at least one second node on the plurality of carriers according to the direct link transmission mode.

Description

System and method for performing carrier aggregation in direct link communication

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to systems and methods for performing carrier aggregation in wireless direct link communications.

Background

With the increase of the number of vehicles, people pay more and more attention to the problems of reducing traffic accidents, timely rescuing, coordinating on-site traffic and the like. With the development of communication technology, more and more vehicles are equipped with vehicle communication modules. With such a vehicle device, various information exchanges can be performed, such as accident warning information, traffic state reminding information, and the like. Based on the anti-collision sensing early warning system and by using advanced wireless communication technology, real-time information exchange between vehicles and road side units is expected to be realized. In addition, the opponent may be informed of the current state (such as the vehicle geographical position, speed, acceleration, and direction) and road environment information. Various collision warning messages may be provided to prevent the occurrence of road traffic safety accidents.

Automotive network communication can be divided into several modes: vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, wherein the aforementioned modes of automotive network communication may be collectively referred to as internet of vehicle (V2X) communication. In the study of LTE (long term evolution) based V2X communication organized by 3GPP (third generation partnership project), V2X communication based on a direct link between a User Equipment (UE) and the UE is one way to implement the V2X standard. That is, traffic data is not forwarded through a Base Station (BS) and a core network, but is directly transmitted from a source UE to a target UE through an air interface. This V2X communication is referred to as through link based V2X communication.

To support the technological and social revolution for automobiles in the near future, more V2X use cases and corresponding service requirements were determined to support enhanced V2X services. The eV2X use cases can be classified into five types of use scenarios: team, extended sensors, remote driving, autonomous driving, and general situations. They have different requirements on time delay (3 ms-500 ms), reliability (90% -99.999%), message size (50-2 MByte), data rate (0.55 Mbps-1 Gbps) and transmission range (varying with vehicle speed). These eV2X services are characterized by low latency, high reliability and high data rates.

To support these eV2X services, PC5 Carrier Aggregation (CA) was proposed to achieve high reliability and high data rate. CA denotes that two or more Component Carriers (CCs) are aggregated together to support a wider transmission bandwidth. When PC5CA is involved, this means that vehicular UEs can perform direct link reception or transmission on one or more PCs 5CA simultaneously. There is currently no effective solution for implementing data splitting and/or data replication based on PC5 CA.

Disclosure of Invention

The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are intended to solve the problems associated with one or more of the problems presented in the prior art, as well as to provide additional features that will become apparent when reference is made to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In accordance with various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. It is to be understood, however, that these embodiments are presented by way of example, and not limitation, and it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of this disclosure that various modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, a method performed by a first node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: obtaining configuration information related to direct link data transmission between a first node and at least one second node; configuring a direct link transmission mode based on the configuration information; and transmitting through-link data to the at least one second node on a plurality of carriers according to a through-link transmission mode.

In another embodiment, a method performed by a first node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: configuring a direct link transmission mode for direct link data transmission between a second node and a first node; and receiving through-link data from the second node on the plurality of carriers according to the through-link transmission mode.

In another embodiment, a method performed by a first node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: sending configuration information to the second node, wherein the configuration information indicates that the first node supports direct link data transmission between the second node and at least one third node over a plurality of carriers according to a direct link transmission mode.

In yet another embodiment, a method performed by a first node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: obtaining configuration information related to through link data transmission between a first node and at least one second node, wherein the configuration information comprises one or more rules related to carrier aggregation for through link data transmission; and transmitting, to the at least one second node, through-link data on a plurality of carriers based on the configuration information.

In yet another embodiment, a method performed by a first node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: obtaining configuration information related to direct link data transmission between a second node and a first node, wherein the configuration information comprises one or more rules related to carrier aggregation for the direct link data transmission; and receiving, from the second node, through-link data on a plurality of carriers based on configuration information.

In another embodiment, a method performed by a first node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: sending configuration information to the second node, wherein the configuration information relates to through-link data transmission between the second node and at least one third node over a plurality of carriers and comprises one or more rules related to carrier aggregation for through-link data transmission.

In various embodiments, a communication node configured to perform the methods disclosed in some embodiments is disclosed.

In yet another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for performing the methods disclosed in some embodiments is disclosed.

Drawings

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict exemplary embodiments of the disclosure to facilitate the reader's understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings are not to be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the present disclosure. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Fig. 1A-1D illustrate different exemplary V2X communication networks in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

Fig. 2A illustrates an example carrier aggregation scheme in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2B illustrates another example carrier aggregation scheme in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a User Equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method performed by a UE for performing carrier aggregation in wireless direct link communication, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a Base Station (BS) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method performed by a BS for supporting carrier aggregation in wireless direct link communication in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example method for configuring carrier aggregation at a transmitting UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 illustrates another example method for configuring carrier aggregation at a transmitting UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 illustrates an example method for configuring carrier aggregation at a receiving UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 illustrates an example method for performing activation and deactivation of carrier aggregation at a transmitting UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 illustrates another example method for performing activation and deactivation of carrier aggregation at a transmitting UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 illustrates an example method for performing activation and deactivation of carrier aggregation at a receiving UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the disclosure. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure that various changes or modifications can be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. Additionally, the particular order and/or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is merely exemplary of the methods. Based upon design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods or processes disclosed may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present the various steps or actions in a sample order, and unless otherwise explicitly stated, the disclosure is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

To support eV2X service, PC5 Carrier Aggregation (CA) is proposed to achieve high reliability and high data rate. CA denotes grouping two or more Component Carriers (CCs) together to support a wider transmission bandwidth. When PC5CA is involved, this means that vehicular UEs can perform direct link reception or transmission simultaneously on one or more PC5 CCs. However, there is currently no effective solution to achieve PC5CA based data splitting and/or data replication.

The present disclosure discloses systems and methods for configuring, activating and deactivating a PC5CA for data splitting or data replication purposes. In addition, the present disclosure discloses a method of direct link user plane setup and maintenance to facilitate data splitting or data replication of PC5 CA. By aggregating high bandwidth transmissions of multiple CCs, high data rates or high reliability may be achieved.

Fig. 1A-1D illustrate different exemplary V2X communication networks in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, according to embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 1A shows a communication network 110 supporting SL (through link) V2X communications based on PC 5. As shown in fig. 1A, UE 111 sends a V2X message to one or more of UE 112, UE 113, UE 114 via a direct link PC5 interface. Here, the direct link data does not pass through the base station 118.

Fig. 1B shows a communication network 120 supporting V2X communication via Uu (interface between base station and UE). As shown in FIG. 1B, UE 121 forwards the V2X message to E-UTRAN 128 (base station) via non-link transmission, and E-UTRAN 128 broadcasts the V2X message to multiple UEs 122, 123, 124 in the local area via downlink transmission.

FIG. 1C illustrates a communication network 130 supporting V2V communications using E-UTRAN 138 and PC5 interfaces. As shown in fig. 1C, the UE 131 sends a V2X message to the UE type Road Side Unit (RSU)136 through a PC5 interface. The UE type RSU 136 receives the V2X message from the PC5 interface and sends the V2X message to the base station 138. Base station 138 broadcasts the V2X message received from UE type RSU 136 to a plurality of UEs 132, 133, 134 in the local area via downlink transmission.

FIG. 1D illustrates a communication network 140 that supports V2V communications using E-UTRAN 148 and PC5 interfaces. As shown in fig. 1D, UE 141 forwards the V2X message to the radio access network or base station 148, which sends a V2X message to one or more UE type RSUs 146. The UE-type RSU 146 then sends a V2X message to one or more of the UEs 142, 143, 144 in the local area through the PC5 interface.

V2X through-link communication includes two modes of transmission: mode 3 based on base station scheduling resource allocation and mode 4 based on UE autonomous resource selection. In mode 3, the UE transmits control information and data on designated resources according to scheduling of the base station. In mode 4, the UE selects a resource for transmitting control information and data based on the resource sensing itself of the transmission resource pool. The systems and methods disclosed in this disclosure may be used not only in V2X networks, but also in device-to-device (D2D) networks. Mode 3 is replaced by mode 1 when they are used at D2D, mode 1 also being a BS-scheduled through link resource allocation scheme; and mode 4 is replaced by mode 2, which is also a UE autonomous resource selection scheme.

The methods disclosed in the present disclosure may be implemented in a cellular communication network comprising one or more cells. Each cell may include at least one BS operating on its allocated bandwidth to provide sufficient radio coverage to its intended users (e.g., UEs). In various embodiments, a BS in the present disclosure may include or be implemented as a next generation node b (gnb), an E-UTRAN node b (enb), a transmission/reception point (TRP), an Access Point (AP), and the like. The BS and UE devices may communicate with each other via a communication link, e.g., via downlink radio frames from the BS to the UE, or via uplink radio frames from the UE to the BS. Two UEs may communicate with each other through a direct link. In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, a BS and a UE may be described herein as non-limiting examples of "communication nodes" or "nodes" that may practice the methods disclosed herein and that are capable of wireless and/or wired communication.

The motivation for PC5 replication is to improve the reliability of direct link data transmission and/or reception. V2X through link data transmission on one carrier does not support automatic repeat request (ARQ). For hybrid arq (harq), it only supports a configurable number of Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) retransmissions without Acknowledgements (ACKs) or Negative Acknowledgements (NACKs). Time diversity is explored by V2X MAC PDU retransmission on a specific carrier. On the other hand, frequency diversity can be exploited by PC5 data replication. That is, the V2X through-link sending UE may send copies of through-link data on multiple carriers. The V2X through-link receiving UE may detect the duplicate and discard the duplicate through-link data. In this way, more retransmissions over multiple carriers are achieved and the reliability of the V2X through link transmission is improved.

For data splitting, parallel transmission of different data packets on multiple carriers may be considered. Since radio resources of multiple carriers may be used for transmitting (Tx) UEs, the data rate of V2X direct link transmission may be improved. On the other hand, to support data splitting, simultaneous reception on multiple carriers may be supported from the perspective of a receiving (Rx) UE.

PC5 data replication/data splitting (carrier aggregation) has two exemplary options-the first option is Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) data replication/data splitting; the second option is MAC data replication/data splitting. According to one embodiment, the first option is shown in fig. 2A. As shown in fig. 2A, for a given Data Radio Bearer (DRB) or Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) that supports data replication or data splitting, there are: one PDCP entity 220, two or more Radio Link Control (RLC) entities 231, 232, 233, and two or more logical channels associated therewith. For the MAC entity 240, one or more MAC entities may be established according to whether PC5CA or PC5 DC is used. When a data packet arrives at the PDCP layer 220 from the upper layer 210 of the Tx UE side 201, the PDCP entity 220 performs ciphering and header compression. For Radio Bearers (RBs) that support PDCP replication, the PDCP entity 220 replicates PDCP PDUs and passes the original and replicas to two or more different RLC entities 231, 232, 233. For PDCP data splitting, the PDCP entity 220 may deliver PDCP PDUs to different RLC entities 231, 232, 233 according to a pre-configured data splitting ratio or data splitting rule. The MAC entity 240 then performs scheduling, multiplexing, and assembling independently for the different carriers, and then passes the MAC PDU to the PHY layer 250, which transmits on the different carriers.

Similarly, on the Rx UE side 202, multiple Rx RLC entities and logical channels may be established. When RLC Unacknowledged Mode (UM) is configured, each Rx RLC entity may reorder RLC PDUs and discard duplicate packets. For the PDCP Rx entity associated with RB support PDCP duplication, since it receives duplicate PDCP PDUs from multiple Rx RLC entities, it needs to perform re-ordering and duplicate discard again. For the PDCP Rx entity associated with RB support PDCP splitting, it also needs to perform re-ordering again because it receives different PDCP PDUs from multiple RxRLC entities. Due to the reordering of the RLC and PDCP layers, the end-to-end delay of V2X data may be increased.

Fig. 2B illustrates another exemplary carrier aggregation scheme, namely MAC data replication/data partitioning, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this option, there are: one PDCP entity 220, one RLC entity 230, and one logical channel associated with one RB, whether the RB is configured for data replication or data splitting. When a data packet arrives at the PDCP layer 220 from the upper layer 210 of the Tx UE side 203, the PDCP entity 220 performs ciphering and header compression and then delivers the PDCP PDU to the RLC entity 230.

To support MAC data duplication, MAC entity 240 may be configured with SL grants of the same TB size for different carriers. In this way, the same MAC PDU may be sent on different carriers. On the other hand, not all data packets require data replication. When RB1 requires data replication and RB2 and RB3 do not require data replication, MAC entity 240 may schedule data packets of RB1 from RB2 and RB3, respectively, and then perform replicated MAC PDU transmissions that contain only the data packets from RB 1.

For MAC data splitting, the MAC entity 240 can schedule data packets buffered in the logical channel or RLC entity 230 associated with the RBs supporting data splitting according to a pre-configured data splitting ratio or data splitting rule and transmit the split data packets on different carriers.

On the other hand, for the Rx side 204, since there is only one Rx RLC entity, the RLC SDUs may be passed to the same RLC entity for reordering and duplicate discard. That is, reordering and duplicate dropping in the Rx PDCP entity are no longer necessary.

Fig. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a User Equipment (UE)300 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. UE300 is an example of a device that may be configured to implement the various methods described herein. As shown in fig. 3, the UE300 includes a housing 340 containing a system clock 302, a processor 304, a memory 306, a transceiver 310 including a transmitter 312 and a receiver 314, a power module 308, a through link configuration information analyzer 320, a transmission manner determiner 322, a carrier activation controller 324, a carrier selector 326, a mapping maintainer 328, and a through link carrier aggregation requester 329.

In this embodiment, the system clock 302 provides timing signals to the processor 304 to control the timing of all operations of the UE 300. The processor 304 controls the general operation of the UE300 and may include one or more processing circuits or modules, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), and/or any combination of general purpose microprocessor, micro-controller, Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Programmable Logic Device (PLD), controller, state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware components, dedicated hardware finite state machine, or any other suitable circuit, device, and/or structure that may perform computations or other manipulations of data.

Memory 306, which may include both read-only memory (ROM) and Random Access Memory (RAM), may provide instructions and data to processor 304. A portion of the memory 306 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). The processor 304 typically performs logical and arithmetic operations based on program instructions stored in the memory 306. Instructions (also referred to as software) stored in the memory 306 may be executed by the processor 304 to perform the methods described herein. Together, processor 304 and memory 306 form a processing system that stores and executes software. As used herein, "software" refers to any type of instructions, whether software, firmware, middleware, microcode, etc., that can configure a machine or device to perform one or more desired functions or processes. The instructions may include code (e.g., in source code format, binary code format, executable code format, or any other suitable code format). When executed by one or more processors, the instructions cause the processing system to perform the various functions described herein.

The transceiver 310, which includes a transmitter 312 and a receiver 314, allows the UE300 to transmit and receive data to and from a remote device (e.g., a BS or another UE). An antenna 350 is generally attached to the housing 340 and electrically coupled to the transceiver 310. In various embodiments, the UE300 includes (not shown) multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multiple transceivers and/or multiple antennas. The transmitter 312 may be configured to wirelessly transmit packets having different packet types or functionalities, such packets being generated by the processor 304. Similarly, the receiver 314 is configured to receive packets having different packet types or functionalities, and the processor 304 is configured to process packets of a plurality of different packet types. For example, the processor 304 may be configured to determine the type of packet and process the packet and/or fields of the packet accordingly.

In direct link communication, a transmitting UE transmits data directly to a receiving UE through a direct link between the transmitting UE and the receiving UE. According to various embodiments, in direct link communication, the UE300 may act as a sending UE or a receiving UE.

When the UE300 is used as a transmitting UE, the direct link configuration information analyzer 320 may acquire and analyze configuration information related to direct link data transmission between the UE300 and a receiving UE over multiple carriers. The configuration information may be acquired based on at least one of a pre-configuration and a configuration by the base station. In one embodiment, the direct link configuration information analyzer 320 may broadcast at least a portion of the configuration information to the receiving UE. In another embodiment, the direct link configuration information analyzer 320 may send at least a portion of the configuration information to the receiving UE via unicast and receive a direct link configuration response from the receiving UE. The direct link configuration response indicates whether the receiving UE accepts the direct link transport mode (e.g., data replication or data splitting) proposed by the UE 300.

In one embodiment, the configuration information includes one or more rules related to carrier aggregation for through link data transmission. For example, for data replication, one or more rules are associated with at least one of: a priority of data to be transmitted; a reliability level of data to be transmitted; a quality of service (QoS) class identifier of data to be transmitted; and the type of service of the data to be transmitted. For data splitting, the one or more rules relate to at least one of: a priority of data to be transmitted; a data rate threshold for data to be transmitted; a service type of data to be transmitted; a through link data split threshold for determining when data needs to be split; a data split ratio; and a through-link data aggregation threshold for determining when the split data is no longer needed. The data split ratio may indicate a ratio of data to be transmitted in each branch or carrier.

In this example, the transport mode determiner 322 may determine the through link transport mode based on the configuration information acquired by the through link configuration information analyzer 320. The direct link transmission mode may be related to data replication or data splitting on the direct link transmission of the UE 300. When the UE300 autonomously decides to perform data replication or data splitting on the direct link transmission, the transmission manner determiner 322 may send an indication to the base station via the transmitter 312 for informing the base station of the data replication or data splitting direct link transmission on the multiple carriers. The UE300 may transmit the direct link data to a receiving UE via the transmitter 312 according to a data replication or data splitting scheme with or without side chain data processed by the processor 304.

In this example, the carrier selector 326 selects a plurality of carriers for through-link data transmission according to a through-link transmission scheme. In one embodiment, the carrier selector 326 selects the plurality of carriers based on at least one of: the capability of the UE300, the service type of data to be transmitted, the channel occupancy state of each of the plurality of through-link logical channels, and the channel quality of each of the plurality of through-link logical channels. When dynamic parameters such as channel occupancy status and channel quality change, the carrier selector 326 may reselect the updated plurality of carriers for through-link data transmission according to a through-link transmission regime.

The carrier activation controller 324 in this example may perform activation of the direct link transmission mode on a radio bearer, logical channel, or carrier when the condition on the carrier is satisfied; and performing deactivation of the direct link transmission mode on the radio bearer, the logical channel, or the carrier when the condition on the carrier is not satisfied. In one embodiment, the condition on the carrier is related to at least one of: a channel busy rate threshold; a channel quality threshold of the carrier; and deactivating the timer. When performing activation, the carrier activation controller 324 may send an activation indication to the receiving UE to indicate activation of the direct link transmission mode; and when the deactivation is performed, sending a deactivation indication to the receiving UE to indicate the deactivation of the direct link transmission mode.

The mapping maintainer 328 of this example can determine and maintain various mappings related to data replication or data splitting. The mapping maintainer 328 can determine a mapping between a plurality of carriers and a plurality of direct link logical channels or radio bearers; and a mapping between the direct link radio bearer identifier and the plurality of direct link logical channels. The UE300 may send direct link data based on these mappings.

Because the carrier selector 326 may update or reselect carriers according to dynamic channel state and quality, the corresponding mapping determined at the mapping maintainer 328 is also updated accordingly and maintained by the mapping maintainer 328. The mapping maintainer 328 may transmit these mappings to the receiving UE via the transmitter 312 via direct link-specific signaling.

In an embodiment, the mapping maintainer 328 can determine the mappings by identifying the mappings included in the configuration information transmitted by the base station. In this case, the mappings may be configured and reconfigured by the base station via at least one of: radio Resource Control (RRC) dedicated signaling and MAC Control Element (CE).

In another embodiment, the mapping maintainer 328 may determine the mappings by generating the mappings based on the through-link transport determined by the transport determiner 322. When the UE300 autonomously decides to perform data replication or data splitting for the direct link transmission, the mapping maintainer 328 can transmit the mappings to the base station via the transmitter 312 to inform the base station of the mappings.

In this example, a direct link carrier aggregation requester 329 is an optional component of UE 300. In one embodiment, through-link carrier aggregation requester 329 may send a through-link configuration request to a base station. After deciding to support data replication or data splitting direct link transmission by the UE300 over multiple carriers, the base station may send configuration information to the UE300 in response to the direct link configuration request.

When the UE300 is used as a receiving UE, the direct link configuration information analyzer 320 may receive configuration information from the transmitting UE or from a base station serving both UEs via the receiver 314. In one embodiment, the direct link configuration information analyzer 320 of the receiving UE receives the configuration information from the transmitting UE through unicast; and sends a direct link configuration response to the sending UE. The direct link configuration response indicates whether the receiving UE accepts direct link data transmission over multiple carriers via unicast.

The transmission scheme determiner 322 of the receiving UE may determine a direct link transmission scheme for direct link data transmission from the sending UE based on the configuration information. The carrier activation controller 324 of the receiving UE may receive an activation indication from the sending UE indicating activation of the direct link transmission mode on the radio bearer, logical channel, or carrier; or a deactivation indication indicating deactivation of the direct link transmission mode on a radio bearer, logical channel, or carrier. The mapping maintainer 328 of the receiving UE may obtain a mapping (e.g., a mapping between a direct link radio bearer identifier and a plurality of direct link logical channels) related to data replication or data splitting direct link transmission based on at least one of: a new MAC subheader containing a direct link radio bearer identifier from the sending UE; a new MAC Control Element (CE) from the transmitting UE; direct link signaling from a sending UE; and configuration information acquired by the through link configuration information analyzer 320. Any of the new MAC subheader, the new MAC CE and the through-link signaling may contain an indication of data replication or data splitting and/or service type.

The UE300, when acting as a receiving UE, receives direct link data from a sending UE via the receiver 314 based on these mappings according to a data replication or data splitting scheme.

The power module 308 may include a power source, such as one or more batteries, and a power regulator to provide regulated power to each of the aforementioned modules in fig. 3. In some embodiments, if the UE300 is coupled to a dedicated external power source (e.g., a wall outlet), the power module 308 may include a transformer and a power regulator.

The various modules discussed above are coupled together by a bus system 330. The bus system 330 may include a data bus and, in addition to the data bus, a power bus, a control signal bus, and/or a status signal bus, for example. It should be appreciated that the modules of the UE300 may be operatively coupled to each other using any suitable techniques and media.

Although a number of separate modules or components are shown in fig. 3, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that one or more of the modules may be combined or implemented collectively. For example, the processor 304 may implement not only the functionality described above with respect to the processor 304, but also the functionality described above with respect to the sidelink configuration information analyzer 320. Rather, each of the modules shown in FIG. 3 may be implemented using a plurality of separate components or elements.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 400, the method 400 being performed by a UE, such as the UE300 illustrated in fig. 3, for performing carrier aggregation in wireless direct link communication, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In this example, the UE300 may function as a transmitting UE to transmit direct link data according to a carrier aggregation scheme (e.g., data replication or data splitting).

In operation 402, a UE acquires configuration information related to a direct link data transmission between the UE and another UE. In operation 404, the UE determines a direct link transmission mode based on the configuration information. In operation 406, the UE selects a plurality of carriers for direct link data transmission according to the direct link transmission mode. At operation 408, the UE activates a direct link transmission mode on at least some of the plurality of carriers. In operation 410, the UE transmits direct link data on the activated carrier.

Fig. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a Base Station (BS)500 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. BS500 is an example of a device that may be configured to implement the various methods described herein. As shown in fig. 5, BS500 includes a housing 540 containing a system clock 502, a processor 504, a memory 506, a transceiver 510 including a transmitter 512 and a receiver 514, a power module 508, a configuration information generator 520, a transmission mode determiner 522, a carrier activation instructor 524, and a carrier aggregation request analyzer 526.

In this embodiment, system clock 502, processor 504, memory 506, transceiver 510, and power module 508 operate similarly to system clock 302, processor 304, memory 306, transceiver 310, and power module 308 in UE 300. An antenna 550 is typically attached to the housing 540 and electrically coupled to the transceiver 510.

The configuration information generator 520 may generate and transmit the configuration information to the transmitting UE via the transmitter 512. In one embodiment, the configuration information relates to direct link data transmission over a plurality of carriers between the sending UE and the at least one receiving UE and includes one or more rules related to carrier aggregation for the direct link data transmission. In another embodiment, the configuration information indicates that the BS500 supports a decision for direct link data transmission over multiple carriers between a sending UE and at least one receiving UE according to a direct link transmission mode. In one embodiment, the configuration information generator 520 also transmits the configuration information to the receiving UE via the transmitter 512.

In one embodiment, the transport determiner 522 in this example determines a direct link transport and makes a decision to support direct link data transmission by the sending UE on multiple carriers according to the direct link transport. The direct link transmission mode is related to at least one of the following modes: a data replication configuration and a data splitting configuration.

In another embodiment, the transmission mode determiner 522 may receive an indication from the sending UE via the receiver 514 when the sending UE autonomously decides to perform data replication or data splitting for a direct link transmission. The indication instructs the sending UE to send direct link data to the receiving UE on a plurality of carriers according to a direct link transmission mode. The transmission manner determiner 522 may also receive, via the receiver 514, a mapping related to carrier aggregation through-link transmission, e.g., a mapping between multiple carriers and multiple through-link logical channels, from a transmitting UE.

In this example, when the conditions on the carriers are met, the carrier activation instructor 524 may instruct the sending UE to perform activation of the direct link transport on each of the multiple carriers, for example, by sending a command indicating which radio bearer, which logical channel, or which carrier activation is to be performed on. The carrier activation instructor 524 may then instruct the transmitting UE to transmit direct link data to the receiving UE on the activated carrier. The carrier activation directioner 524 may also instruct the sending UE to perform deactivation of the direct link transmission mode on the radio bearer, logical channel, or carrier, e.g., by sending another command, when the condition on the carrier is not satisfied. In one embodiment, the condition on the carrier is related to at least one of: a channel busy rate threshold; a channel quality threshold of the carrier; and deactivating the timer.

In this example, carrier aggregation request analyzer 526 may receive a direct link configuration request from a sending UE. The configuration information generator 520 may send configuration information to the sending UE in response to the direct link configuration request.

The various modules discussed above are coupled together by a bus system 530. The bus system 530 may include a data bus and, in addition to the data bus, a power bus, a control signal bus, and/or a status signal bus, for example. It should be appreciated that the modules of BS500 may be operatively coupled to each other using any suitable techniques and media.

Although a number of separate modules or components are shown in fig. 5, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that one or more of the modules may be combined or implemented together. For example, the processor 504 may implement not only the functionality described above with respect to the processor 504, but also the functionality described above with respect to the transport determinator 522. Rather, each of the modules shown in fig. 5 may be implemented using a plurality of separate components or elements.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 500 performed by a BS (e.g., BS500 in fig. 5) for supporting carrier aggregation in wireless direct link communication, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. At operation 602, the BS determines that direct link data transmission is supported by the sending UE to the receiving UE on a plurality of carriers. At operation 604, the BS transmits configuration information to the sending UE to indicate a direct link transmission mode. At operation 606, the BS sends configuration information to the receiving UE to indicate the direct link transmission mode. At operation 608, the BS instructs the sending UE to activate a direct link transmission mode on at least some of the plurality of carriers. In operation 610, the BS instructs the transmitting UE to transmit direct link data on the activated carrier according to a direct link transmission scheme (e.g., data replication or data splitting).

Various embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail below. Note that the features of the embodiments and examples in the present disclosure may be combined with each other in any manner without conflict.

In the present disclosure, a UE-autonomous PC5 data replication/splitting configuration and a BS-controlled PC5 data replication/splitting configuration are given. For the UE autonomous PC5 data replication/splitting configuration as shown in fig. 7, the transmitting (Tx) UE 710 may decide whether data replication/data splitting should be enabled based on a service request from an upper layer. It may be an explicit indication from the non-access (NAS) layer or when the Access (AS) layer receives a data packet with a specific PPPP (ProSe per packet priority) or service type, QoS Class Identifier (QCI), reliability or data rate requirement. As shown in fig. 7, the UE 710 autonomously determines whether data replication/data splitting should be enabled based on PPPP and/or service type/QCI and/or reliability/data rate requirements and data replication/data splitting rules pre-configured or configured by the BS 720. The PC5 data replication/splitting rules, either pre-configured or configured by the BS, include the following rules.

First, when PPPP is associated with reliability/data rate/service type/QCI, PPPP can be reused to indicate whether PC5 data replication/data splitting should be enabled. For example, the PPPP level that can/should be copied/split using PC5 data may be pre-configured in the UE or configured by the BS.

Second, when the PPPP cannot reflect the reliability level/data rate/service type/QCI, the upper layer may associate it with the service type, reliability level, data rate, QCI, or any combination of PPPP/reliability level/data rate/service type/QCI for the data packet to be transmitted. The service type, reliability level, data rate, QCI, or any combination of PPPP/reliability level/data rate/service type/QCI that can or should use PC5 data replication/splitting can be pre-configured in the UE or configured by the BS.

Third, for PC5 data splitting, the BS may configure SL data split thresholds (in bytes) and/or data split ratios (per UE). This parameter is used for the UE to determine whether the data should be split and how many carriers should be involved. If PDCP splitting is considered, the PDCP entity may use a SL data split threshold to determine whether to split data to multiple RLC/LC entities for transmission. Optionally, the data splitting operation may be performed at the MAC layer. The MAC layer may determine the number of data packets that should be transmitted through which carrier according to the SL data split threshold/data split ratio. On the other hand, the BS may configure the SL data aggregation threshold for the MAC layer to decide when data splitting is not needed and therefore fewer carriers will be used. Optionally, the SL data split threshold/data split rate/SL data aggregation threshold may be preconfigured.

Upon receiving a data packet from an upper layer, the UE decides to which SL RB the packet should be delivered. In conventional V2X through-link communication, the SL logical channel is established by the UE implementation. For example, if the AS layer receives a data packet with a specific PPPP from an upper layer and a logical channel with the PPPP has not been established, the UE may establish a new logical channel. The BS does not know how many SL logical channels the UE has established. For the Rx side, when a MAC SDU corresponding to a new LCID is received within a range of one source ID and target ID combination, and such a logical channel has not been established, an SL logical channel of the Rx UE is established. One PDCP entity and one RLC entity corresponding to the logical channel are also established at the Tx UE and the Rx UE, respectively, together with the logical channel.

If the PPPP cannot reflect the service type/reliability level/data rate/QCI, the SL RB should be established based not only on the PPPP but also on the service type/reliability level/data rate/QCI. This means that for packets with the same PPPP, they can be passed to different RBs marked with different service types/reliability levels/QCIs. In this way, packets requiring PC5 data replication/splitting will be delivered to the individual SL RBs.

On the other hand, PDCP data replication and PDCP data splitting require the PC5 PDCP entity to be associated with two or more RLC entities and logical channels, as previously described. To support this, the PC5RB/PDCP entity/RLC entity/logical channel setup/release/update procedure needs to be enhanced.

The maximum number of RLC entities and logical channels to be established may be set as a default value, or may be pre-configured or configured by the BS. For example, the system may only allow data replication/data splitting of two branches. In this case, two RLC entities and logical channels should be established for the PC5RB having data replication/data splitting. Optionally, the maximum number of legs for data replication/data splitting may be configured or pre-configured by the BS. In this case, the number of RLC entities and logical channels must not be greater than the maximum number of legs for data replication/data splitting.

In addition, the actual number of RLC entities and logical channels to be established or the actual number of PCs 5RB with data replication/data splitting also depends on the available carriers. The available carriers may be selected based on UE capabilities, service type, channel busy rate, channel quality, and the like. Based on the available carriers and the maximum number of legs for data replication/data splitting, the UE may derive the number of RLC entities and logical channels to establish from (a) the minimum number of available carriers and (b) the maximum number of legs for data replication/data splitting. After carrier selection and determination of the number of RLC entities and logical channels, the UE may further decide mapping between carriers and logical channels for the PC5RB to support data replication/data splitting.

Since the PC5RB may be associated with multiple logical channels for data replication or data splitting, the PC5 RBID may not be directly equal to LCID. The Tx UE should maintain a mapping between the PC5RB ID and multiple LCIDs.

When PDCP data duplication/fragmentation is desired, the Tx UE further decides which carrier should be selected to perform data duplication/fragmentation. Carrier selection may be based on the UE's capabilities, service type, channel occupancy status, channel quality, etc. After carrier selection, the Tx UE decides the mapping between the direct link LCH and the carrier. Since the carrier selection for PC5 data replication/splitting depends on the channel occupancy status and channel quality, which are dynamic metrics, carriers can be reselected when they change and thus the mapping between LCHs and carriers needs to be reconfigured. Accordingly, the Tx UE may maintain mapping between LCHs and carriers for PDCP data duplication/splitting and may dynamically update it when a carrier is reselected. On the other hand, if the PC5 data splitting operation is performed by the MAC, only one PDCP entity, one RLC entity, one LCH is established for the SL RB. Thus, data of one SL RB may be duplicated or split over a set of carriers to be transmitted. In this case, mapping between RBs and carriers may be maintained in the Tx UE for PC5 data replication/splitting.

After establishing the appropriate SL RBs and determining the mapping between LCHs and carriers, the Tx UE may send PC5 data with replication/splitting on the corresponding carriers. Alternatively, the UE may inform the BS PC5 that the data replication/splitting is configured autonomously, and the mapping between the direct link LCH/RB and the carrier.

For eV2X direct link communications, BS-based SL RB configuration schemes and BS-configured UE-specific PC5 data replication/splitting may be considered. In this case, as shown in fig. 8, the BS820 may configure a PC5RB with appropriate PC5 QoS parameters to the UE 810 and a PC5 data duplication/split configuration to the UE 810.

The PC5RB configuration information may include PC5RB that should be established/released/updated. For each PC5RB, it is indicated whether data replication or data splitting should be supported. Optionally, PC5RB for SL transmission and/or reception should also be indicated. In addition, the PC5RB may contain PDCP, RLC, and logical channel configuration. May include a plurality of RLC and logical channel configurations corresponding to the plurality of legs of the PC5 RB/PDCP.

Specifically, the PC5RB configuration and the PC5 data copy/split configuration include at least one of: SL RB identity, PC5 data split indication, PC5 data duplication indication, SL transmission indication, SL reception indication, PC5 QoS parameters, PDCP configuration, RLC configuration(s), LCH configuration(s), mapping between LCH and carrier, SL data split threshold, data split rate, SL data aggregation threshold. The PC5 QoS parameters include at least one of: PPPP, reliability level, service type, data rate, QCI. The PC5 data copy indication indicates whether the SL RB enables/supports PC5 data copy. The PC5 data split indication indicates whether the SL RB enables/supports PC5 data splitting. The PDCP configuration includes at least one of: a discard timer, a PDCP Sequence Number (SN) length, header compression, t reordering, a data replication primary path indication (according to LCID), and a data splitting primary path indication (according to LCID). The data replication/splitting primary path indication indicates a path/leg (RLC entity/LCH) to be used when the PDCP data replication/splitting is deactivated, which can be identified by LCID. The RLC configuration includes at least one of: RLC acknowledged mode, RLC unacknowledged mode, RLC SN length, t reordering, polling configuration. The LCH configuration includes at least one of: LC identification, carrier index, LCG ID, priority bit rate, bucket size duration. The SL data split threshold/data split rate/SL data aggregation threshold may be configured per PC5 RB. It may be used by either the PDCP entity (when using PDCP splitting) or the MAC entity (when using MAC splitting) as described in the UE autonomous PC5 data replication/splitting. The mapping between LCHs and carriers can be configured/modified/updated in the PC5RB configuration (by carrier index in LCH configuration) or by separate signaling separate from the PC5RB configuration or by MAC CE.

Before the BS820 configures the PC5RB configuration using the PC5 data duplication/split configuration, the UE 1810 may send a PC5RB configuration request/PC 5 data duplication/split request to the BS 820. Upon receiving the PC5RB configuration with the data duplication/data splitting related information, the Tx UE 810 may configure the PC5RB correspondingly with the PDCP entity, the RLC entity, and the logical channel, and then transmit on the PC5 based on the data duplication/splitting configuration.

For unicast V2X S1 communications, the BS may be aware of the UE pairs performing unicast V2X SL communications. In this case, as shown in fig. 8, the BS820 may also transmit a PC5RB configuration with PC5 data replication/splitting information to the SL Rx UE 810 without step 0. In addition to the above information, a source UE ID corresponding to Rx PC5RB is included. Upon receiving the PC5RB configuration with data duplication/data splitting related information, the Rx UE 810 may configure the PC5RB correspondingly together with the PDCP entity, the RLC entity, and the logical channel.

To support PDCP data replication/data splitting, the Rx UE also needs to identify whether data replication/data splitting is enabled and which LCHs belong to the same PC5RB/PDCP entity and then configure the PC5RB/PDCP entity/RLC entity/logical channel accordingly. As shown in fig. 9, the Tx UE 910 may send its data replication/data splitting related configuration to the Rx UE 920 via broadcast or dedicated PC5 signaling. Upon receiving such information, the Rx UE 920 performs PC5RB/PDCP entity/RLC entity/logical channel setup/release/update. In particular, the following solutions may be considered according to different embodiments.

In the first embodiment, the Tx UE transmits a PC5 MAC subheader containing not only LCID but also RB ID. The MAC subheader may also contain a data copy/data split indication and/or a service type. Upon receiving such a MAC subheader, the Rx UE can recognize to which logical channel the MAC SDU belongs and its corresponding PC5RB, and then establish/release/update the PC5RB, logical channel, RLC entity, and PDCP entity for data replication/data splitting purposes, if necessary.

In the second embodiment, the Tx UE transmits a MAC CE containing a mapping between LCIDs and RB IDs. The MAC CE may also contain data replication/data splitting indications and/or service types. Upon receiving such a MAC CE, the Rx UE may recognize the mapping between the logical channel and the PC5RB and then establish/release/update the PC5RB, the logical channel, the RLC entity, and the PDCP entity for data replication/data splitting purposes, if necessary. For unicast-based direct link communication, the MAC CE needs to be transmitted only once by the Tx UE. For broadcast or multicast based direct link communications, MAC CEs containing mappings between LCIDs and RB IDs may be sent periodically to ensure that nearby Rx UEs (which may change due to UE mobility) may receive this information.

In the third embodiment, the mapping between LCID and RB ID is transmitted to Rx UE via PC5RRC signaling. The PC5RRC signaling may also contain data replication/data splitting indications and/or service types. Upon receiving such PC5RRC signaling, the Rx UE may recognize the mapping between logical channels and PC5 RBs and then establish/release/update the PC5 RBs, logical channels, RLC entities, and PDCP entities for data replication/data splitting purposes, if necessary. For unicast-based direct link communications, the PC5RRC signaling need only be sent once by the Tx UE. For broadcast or multicast based direct link communications, PC5RRC signaling containing the mapping between LCID and RB ID may be sent periodically to ensure that nearby Rx UEs (which may change due to UE mobility) may receive this information.

It may also happen that only one RLC entity and logical channel are established when the PC5RB supporting data replication/data splitting is configured to be established. During PC5 data replication/PC 5 data split activation and deactivation, establishment of additional RLC entities and logical channels may be triggered. On the other hand, for MAC data duplication/data splitting, only one PDCP entity, one RLC entity, and one logical channel are established for one PC5 RB.

In one embodiment, if the PC5RB supporting data duplication/data splitting is configured to be established, one PDCP entity, two or more RLC entities, and two or more logical channels may be established. But initially only one RLC entity and logical channel are used until data replication/data splitting is activated by the UE or BS.

Data replication/data splitting activation may be based on the occurrence of data streams requiring high reliability/data rate. If data duplication is activated at the Tx UE, the PDCP entity may start delivering data packet duplicates to additional RLC entities/logical channels. On the other hand, if there is no data flow requiring high reliability/data rate, or some carriers are overloaded, data replication/data splitting over several carriers can be deactivated. If data replication/data splitting is deactivated for several related carriers, the RLC entity/logical channel associated with the deactivated carrier may be reset while the other RLC entities/logical channels are still active. For Tx UEs, data packets remaining in the deactivated RLC entity/logical channel may be discarded. For Rx UEs, the assembled RLC SDUs remaining in the deactivated RLC entity may be delivered to the PDCP entity and then reset. Furthermore, if only one Rx RLC entity/logical channel is active, the re-ordering and duplicate dropping functions of the Rx PDCP entity may be disabled for the PC5RB configured with duplicate data.

The activation/deactivation may be initiated by the BS or the Tx UE. Different embodiments of potential activation/deactivation implementations will be discussed below.

First, as shown in fig. 10, the Tx UE may autonomously initiate activation/deactivation of data replication/data splitting. The autonomous activation/deactivation may be based on dynamic changes in the data flow. For data splitting, the UE 1010 may be preconfigured with or configured with a data splitting threshold by the BS 1020. If the data arriving at the PC5RB is above the data split threshold, more carriers should be used for through-link data scheduling and transmission for that PC5 RB. Therefore, data splitting should be activated to support data transmission on more carriers. Additional RLC entities/logical channels may also be established to support data splitting operations. On the other hand, if the data arriving at the PC5RB is below the data split threshold, the through-link data scheduling and transmission for that PC5RB should use fewer carriers. Therefore, data splitting should be deactivated to support data transmission on fewer carriers. Further, the deactivation timer may be configured for data splitting. In this case, the activation/deactivation decision may be based on a deactivation timer for data splitting. Further, data replication/data splitting may be based on a change in channel busy rate and/or channel quality for a given carrier. The UE may be pre-configured or configured by the BS with a channel busy rate threshold and/or a channel quality threshold for the UE to determine whether data replication/data splitting on a given carrier should be activated or deactivated.

Second, as shown in fig. 11, the BS 1120 may transmit an activation/deactivation command to the Tx UE 1110. For unicast SL communication, the BS may also send activation/deactivation commands to the Rx UEs if the BS knows which UE is performing unicast SL communication. In particular, the activation/deactivation command may be transmitted through RRC signaling or MAC CE or PDCP control PDU. It may contain a bitmap or list with each bit or entry indicating which data replication/data splitting the PC5RB should activate or deactivate. Optionally, for a given PC5RB that supports data replication/data splitting, the activate/deactivate command may indicate which Logical Channels (LCHIDs) and/or carriers (carrier indices) should be activated or deactivated. PC5RB ID/logical channel ID is unique only within a range of one source ID and target ID combination. Therefore, for the activation/deactivation command sent by the BS, it should also include the target ID and the source ID to activate or deactivate data replication/data splitting of the PC5 RB.

Third, as shown in fig. 12, the Tx UE 1210 may transmit an activation/deactivation command to the Rx UE 1220. In particular, the activation/deactivation command may be transmitted through RRC signaling or MAC CE or PDCP control PDU. It may contain a bitmap or list with each bit or entry indicating which data replication/data splitting the PC5RB should activate or deactivate. Optionally, for a given PC5RB that supports data replication/data splitting, the activation/deactivation command may indicate which Logical Channels (LCHIDs) and/or carriers (carrier indices) should be activated or deactivated.

For PC5 data replication/data splitting, the Rx PDCP entity is associated with two or more Rx RLC entities. The PDCP PDUs received from these RLC entities may be duplicated and out of order. Therefore, if data replication/data splitting is activated on multiple carriers, it is desirable to enhance the PDCP Rx processing procedure to support PDCP reordering and replication functions. In particular, if the Rx PDCP entity is configured to receive data packets from multiple RLC entities, the Rx PDCP entity may initiate PDCP reordering and duplicate discard processing.

While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Likewise, the various figures may depict example architectures or configurations provided to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to understand the example features and functionality of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but may be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, one or more features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

It will also be understood that any reference herein to elements using a name such as "first," "second," etc., does not generally limit the number or order of such elements. Rather, these names may be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, reference to first and second elements does not mean that only two elements can be used, or that the first element must somehow precede the second element.

In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols, which may be referenced throughout the above description, may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Those of ordinary skill would further appreciate that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware (e.g., a digital implementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two), firmware, various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions (which may be referred to herein, for convenience, as "software" or a "software module"), or any combination of these technologies.

To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or combinations of such technologies, depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. 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 disclosure. According to various embodiments, a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, module, etc. may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. The terms "configured to" or "configured to" as used herein with respect to a particular operation or function, refer to a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, module, etc., that is physically constructed, programmed, and/or arranged to perform the specified operation or function. .

Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein may be implemented within or performed by Integrated Circuits (ICs) that may include 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, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, modules, and circuits may also include antennas and/or transceivers to communicate with various components within the network or within the device. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functions described herein.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that can cause a computer program or code to be transferred from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

In this document, the term "module" as used herein refers to any combination of software, firmware, hardware, and the like, for performing the associated functions described herein. Additionally, for purposes of discussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules; however, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

Further, in embodiments of the present disclosure, memory or other memory and communication components may be employed. It will be appreciated that the above description for clarity has described embodiments of the disclosure with reference to different functional units and processors. It will be apparent, however, that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements, or domains may be used without departing from the disclosure. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers may be performed by the same processing logic elements or controllers. Thus, references to specific functional units are only to references to suitable means for providing the described functionality rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein as set forth in the following claims.

Claims (28)

1. A method performed by a first node, the method comprising:

obtaining configuration information related to direct link data transmission between the first node and at least one second node;

configuring a direct link transmission mode based on the configuration information; and

and sending the direct link data to the at least one second node on a plurality of carriers according to the direct link transmission mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the through-link transport mode is associated with at least one of: a data replication configuration and a data splitting configuration.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration information is obtained based on at least one of: pre-configuration and configuration by the base station.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a direct link configuration request to a base station, wherein the configuration information is sent by the base station to the first node in response to the direct link configuration request.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: broadcasting at least a portion of the configuration information to the at least one second node, wherein the through-link data is broadcast to the at least one second node over the plurality of carriers.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: unicast at least a portion of the configuration information to the at least one second node, wherein the through-link data is unicast to the at least one second node over the plurality of carriers.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing activation of a direct link transmission mode on a radio bearer, logical channel, or carrier when at least one condition is satisfied or when a command is received from a base station, wherein the direct link data is transmitted based on the activation.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

when the activation is performed, sending an activation indication to the at least one second node to indicate activation of the direct link transmission mode.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one condition relates to at least one of:

a channel busy rate threshold;

a channel quality threshold of the carrier; and

the timer is deactivated.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

performing deactivation of the direct link transmission mode on a radio bearer, a logical channel, or a carrier when the at least one condition is not satisfied on the carrier or when a different command is received from the base station.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

when the deactivation is performed, sending a deactivation indication to the at least one second node to indicate deactivation of the direct link transmission mode.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring a mapping between the plurality of carriers and a plurality of through-link logical channels or radio bearers, wherein the through-link data is sent on the plurality of carriers based on the mapping.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

configuring an updated mapping between the updated plurality of carriers and the plurality of through-link logical channels or radio bearers, wherein based on the mapping, the updated mapping is to be used for further data transmissions on the plurality of carriers.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising sending the mapping to the at least one second node via direct link signaling.

15. A method performed by a first node, the method comprising:

configuring a direct link transmission mode for direct link data transmission between a second node and the first node; and

receiving, from the second node, direct link data on a plurality of carriers according to the direct link transmission mode.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the through-link transport mode is determined based on configuration information related to at least one of: a data replication configuration and a data splitting configuration.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein configuration information is obtained from a base station.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein configuration information is obtained from the second node.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving the configuration information from the second node via unicast or broadcast.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising receiving at least one of an activation indication and a deactivation indication from the second node, wherein:

the activation indication indicates activation of a direct link transmission mode on a radio bearer, logical channel, or carrier; and

the deactivation indication indicates deactivation of a direct link transport on a radio bearer, logical channel, or carrier.

21. A method performed by a first node, the method comprising:

sending configuration information to a second node, wherein the configuration information indicates that the first node supports direct link data transmission between the second node and at least one third node over a plurality of carriers according to a direct link transmission mode.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the direct link transmission mode is associated with at least one of: a data replication configuration and a data splitting configuration.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

instructing the second node to perform activation of the direct link transmission mode on a radio bearer, logical channel, or carrier by a first command when at least one condition is satisfied; and

instructing the second node to transmit direct link data to the at least one third node on the plurality of carriers based on the activation.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

instructing, by a second command, the second node to perform deactivation of the direct link transmission regime on a radio bearer, logical channel, or carrier when the at least one condition is not satisfied.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

transmitting the configuration information to the at least one third node.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

receiving a direct link configuration request from the second node, wherein the configuration information is sent to the second node in response to the direct link configuration request.

27. A communications node configured to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 26.

28. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 26.

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