CN114499795A

CN114499795A - Method, device and storage medium for determining PDCP copy function

Info

Publication number: CN114499795A
Application number: CN202011259600.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 于天意; 张龙; 刘潇蔓; 吴彤
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2020-11-12
Filing date: 2020-11-12
Publication date: 2022-05-13

Abstract

The invention discloses a method, a device and a storage medium for determining a PDCP copy function; the method comprises the following steps: receiving configuration information for PDCP replication from a base station; copying at a PDCP layer based on the configuration information; wherein the configuration information at least comprises: a DRB with activated PDCP copy function, QoS flow to be copied in the corresponding DRB and the number of copied packets which need to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity.

Description

Method, device and storage medium for determining PDCP copy function

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a storage medium for determining a PDCP copy function.

Background

In the Rel-15 stage, aiming at a link mode of Dual Connectivity (DC) or Carrier Aggregation (CA), the system supports Data transmission reliability enhancement in a mode of Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) replication. In the Rel-16 stage, the third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) further enhances this function, and can transmit backup data by using at most four paths to be bound with different cell groups or subcarriers respectively in advance in a scenario with dual links and carrier aggregation. In the configuration signaling, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer configures a Data Radio Bearer (DRB)/signaling Bearer (SRB) level PDCP replication function. In addition, PDCP copy activation/deactivation may also be indicated by a Multimedia Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), which improves activation efficiency.

With the development of the 5G era vertical industry, various industries have more severe requirements on the reliability of Ultra-reliable and low-delay communication (URLLC) scenes. In scenes such as a smart grid, the requirement on the reliability of data transmission is as high as 99.999999% (8 and 9). Moreover, based on analysis of the 5G networking plans of more and more industry clients, the campus scene without carrier aggregation and dual connection networking in the future is the majority. The scheme cannot be used in a scene without CA or DC, and may not be completely satisfied in a very severe reliability requirement scene such as a smart grid, and more resources are consumed for copying and sending packets in a DRB level. If the original Automatic Repeat-reQuest (ARQ) of a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer is used for retransmission, an Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) indication needs to be returned by a receiving end, and the time delay is long.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the present invention is directed to a method, an apparatus and a storage medium for determining a PDCP copy function.

In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme of the invention is realized as follows:

the embodiment of the invention provides a method for determining a PDCP copy function, which is applied to a terminal and comprises the following steps:

receiving configuration information for PDCP replication from a base station;

copying at a PDCP layer based on the configuration information;

wherein the configuration information at least comprises: the DRB with activated PDCP copy function, the QoS flow to be copied in the corresponding DRB and the number of the copied packets which need to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity.

In the foregoing solution, the receiving PDCP copy function configuration information from the base station corresponding to the first scenario or the second scenario includes:

receiving at least one first MAC CE from a base station; the at least one first MAC CE is used for indicating a DRB of the activated PDCP copy function;

receiving N second MAC CEs from the base station; each second MAC CE is used for indicating the QoS flow required to be copied by the corresponding DRB and the number of the copied packets required to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity; the number of N is the same as the number of DRBs in the first MAC CE, for which the PDCP copy function is activated.

In the foregoing scheme, the second MAC CE includes: a first indication bit, a second indication bit and a third indication bit;

the first indication bit is used for indicating the identification of the corresponding DRB with the activated copy function indicated in the first MAC CE;

the second indication bit is used for indicating the number of the QoS flow needing to be copied in the corresponding DRB which needs to transmit the copied packets on the single RLC entity;

and the third indication bit is used for indicating the activation state of the QoS flow to be copied in the corresponding DRB.

In the foregoing solution, the configuration information further includes, corresponding to a second scenario: one or more RLC entities that transmit duplicate packets in time slots;

the receiving PDCP duplication function configuration information from the base station further includes:

receiving N third MAC CEs from the base station; each third MAC CE is used for indicating one or more RLC entities which transmit the duplicated packets in the corresponding DRB in a time slot manner; the number of N is the same as the number of DRBs in the first MAC CE, for which the PDCP copy function is activated.

In the foregoing scheme, the third MAC CE includes: a fourth indicator bit and a fifth indicator bit;

the fourth indication bit is used for indicating the identification of the corresponding DRB with the activated copy function indicated in the first MAC CE;

the fifth indication bit is used for indicating the transmission state of the corresponding DRB on the transmission link corresponding to the corresponding RLC entity; the transfer state includes: and carrying out the transmission and deactivation states of the copy packet in time slots.

In the foregoing solution, the copying at the PDCP layer based on the configuration information of the PDCP copy function includes:

when the PDCP layer is copied, marking a first PDCP protocol data unit PDU and at least one second PDCP PDU; the mark is used for representing that the corresponding PDCP PDU is an original data packet or a copy packet and transmitting a time slot of the corresponding PDCP PDU.

In the above scheme, the method includes:

and transmitting the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU in time slots on the same RLC entity.

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for determining a PDCP copy function, which is applied to network equipment and comprises the following steps:

transmitting configuration information for PDCP replication; the configuration information is used for copying at a PDCP layer by the terminal;

wherein the configuration information at least comprises: a DRB with activated PDCP copy function, QoS flow to be copied in the corresponding DRB and the number of copied packets which need to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity.

In the foregoing solution, the sending configuration information for PDCP replication corresponding to the first scenario or the second scenario includes:

transmitting at least one first MAC CE; the at least one first MAC CE is used for indicating a DRB of the activated PDCP copy function;

transmitting the N second MAC CEs; each second MAC CE is used for indicating the QoS flow required to be copied by the corresponding DRB and the number of the copied packets required to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity; the number of N is the same as the number of DRBs in the first MAC CE, for which the PDCP copy function is activated.

the sending PDCP duplication function configuration information includes:

transmitting the N third MAC CEs; each third MAC CE is used for indicating one or more RLC entities which transmit the duplicated packets in the corresponding DRB in a time slot manner; the number of N is the same as the number of DRBs in the first MAC CE, for which the PDCP copy function is activated.

the fifth indicator bit; for indicating the transmission status of the corresponding DRB on the transmission link corresponding to the corresponding RLC entity; the transfer state includes: and carrying out the transmission and deactivation states of the copy packet in time slots.

In the above scheme, the copying at the PDCP layer includes:

marking the first PDCP PDU and at least one second PDCP PDU when the PDCP layer is copied; the mark is used for representing that the corresponding PDCP PDU is an original data packet or a copy packet and transmitting a time slot of the corresponding PDCP PDU.

In the above scheme, the method further comprises:

receiving the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU transmitted in time slots on the same RLC entity;

the method further comprises the following steps:

identifying the packet headers of the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU, and determining and deleting the repeated PDCP PDUs according to the identification result.

The embodiment of the invention provides a device for determining a PDCP copy function, which is applied to a terminal and comprises the following components:

a first receiving module, configured to receive configuration information for PDCP replication from a base station;

a copying module, configured to copy in a PDCP layer based on the configuration information;

In the foregoing solution, corresponding to a first scenario or a second scenario, the first receiving module is configured to receive at least one first MAC CE from a base station; the at least one first MAC CE is used for indicating a DRB of the activated PDCP copy function;

the first receiving module is further configured to receive N third MAC CEs from the base station; each third MAC CE is used for indicating one or more RLC entities which transmit the duplicated packets in the corresponding DRB in a time slot manner; the number of N is the same as the number of DRBs in the first MAC CE, for which the PDCP copy function is activated.

In the above scheme, the duplication module is configured to mark the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU when the PDCP layer is duplicated; the mark is used for representing that the corresponding PDCP PDU is an original data packet or a copy packet, and transmitting the time slot of the corresponding PDCP PDU.

In the above scheme, the apparatus further comprises: a first sending module, configured to send the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU in time slots on the same RLC entity.

The embodiment of the invention provides a device for determining a PDCP copy function, which is applied to network equipment, and comprises the following components:

a second sending module, configured to send configuration information for PDCP replication; the configuration information is used for copying at a PDCP layer by the terminal;

In the foregoing solution, the second sending module is configured to send at least one first MAC CE corresponding to a first scenario or a second scenario; the at least one first MAC CE is used for indicating a DRB of the activated PDCP copy function;

the second sending module is configured to send N third MAC CEs; each third MAC CE is used for indicating one or more RLC entities which transmit the duplicated packets in the corresponding DRB in a time slot manner; the number of N is the same as the number of DRBs in the first MAC CE, for which the PDCP copy function is activated.

In the above scheme, the copying at the PDCP layer includes:

marking the first PDCP PDU and at least one second PDCP PDU when the PDCP layer is copied; the mark is used for representing that the corresponding PDCP PDU is an original data packet or a copy packet, and transmitting the time slot of the corresponding PDCP PDU.

In the above scheme, the apparatus further comprises: a second receiving module, configured to receive the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU sent in time slots on the same RLC entity;

the second receiving module is further configured to identify packet headers of the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU, and determine and delete duplicate PDCP PDUs according to the identification result.

The embodiment of the invention provides communication equipment, which comprises a memory, a processor and a computer program which is stored on the memory and can run on the processor, wherein the processor executes the program and realizes the steps of the method for determining the PDCP copy function at any terminal side; or,

the processor implements the steps of the method for determining the PDCP copy function of any of the above network devices when executing the program.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method for determining the PDCP copy function of any of the above terminal sides; alternatively, the computer program when executed by a processor implements the steps of the method for determining the PDCP copy function of any of the above network devices.

The embodiment of the invention provides a method, a device and a storage medium for determining a PDCP copy function, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the network equipment sends configuration information for PDCP copying; correspondingly, the terminal receives configuration information for PDCP duplication from the base station; copying at a PDCP layer based on the configuration information; wherein the configuration information at least comprises: the DRB with activated PDCP copy function, the QoS flow needing to be copied in the corresponding DRB and the number of the copied packets needing to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity; thus, the PDCP replication function can be implemented in a scenario without DC or CA, and the reliability performance can be further enhanced in a scenario with DC or CA, thereby saving resources and reducing latency.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a PDCP duplication function implementation in the related art;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a PDCP copy function according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a first MAC CE format according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4(a) is a schematic diagram of a second MAC CE format according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4(b) is a schematic diagram of another second MAC CE format according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4(c) is a schematic diagram of a second MAC CE format according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a third MAC CE format according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a PDCP PDU header according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation effect of a PDCP copy function in a first scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation effect of a PDCP copy function in a second scenario according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another PDCP copy function determining method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for determining a PDCP copy function according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another apparatus for determining a PDCP copy function according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a determining apparatus of a PDCP copy function according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The related art will be described before the present invention is further described in detail with reference to examples.

In the prior art, PDCP replication has two application scenarios, namely, Carrier Aggregation (CA) and Dual Connectivity (DC), and the main purpose of the PDCP replication is to improve reliability of URLLC service transmission and reduce transmission delay, where the PDCP replication is to replicate one PDCP Protocol Data Unit (PDU) on a PDCP layer of a transmitting end and issue the replicated PDU and an original PDU to two different RLC entities respectively, and then transmit the replicated PDU and the original PDU through different cells (cells).

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a PDCP duplication function implementation in the related art; as shown in fig. 1, all PDCP PDUs in the DRB, in which the copy function is activated, are copied in one copy in the PDCP layer, and the original PDU and the copied PDU are delivered to the first RLC (i.e., RLC Primary) and the second RLC (i.e., RLC Secondary), respectively. The first RLC corresponds to a first LCH (Primary LCH), and the second RLC corresponds to a second LCH (Secondary LCH).

Based on the analysis of the 5G networking plans of more and more industry customers, the campus scenario of neither CA nor DC networking will dominate in the future. The scheme cannot be used in a scene without CA or DC, and may not be completely satisfied in a very severe reliability requirement scene such as a smart grid, and the like, and the duplicated packet transmission for the DRB/SRB level consumes more resources, and if the original ARQ of the RLC layer is adopted for retransmission, the time delay is longer.

Based on this, in the method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the network device sends the configuration information of the PDCP copy function; the configuration information is used for copying at a PDCP layer by the terminal; correspondingly, the terminal receives configuration information for PDCP duplication from the base station; based on the configuration information, copying the configuration information in a PDCP layer and sending the configuration information in a slot (slot) mode; and if the PDCP layer of the receiving end corresponding to the terminal successfully receives a plurality of identical PDCP PDUs, deleting the repeated PDCP PDUs and reserving one PDCP PDU. Wherein the configuration information at least comprises: a DRB with activated PDCP copy function, QoS flow to be copied in the corresponding DRB and the number of copied packets which need to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity.

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to examples.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a PDCP copy function according to an embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 2, the method may be applied to a terminal, such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a notebook computer, a digital broadcast receiver, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a PAD, a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), a wearable device (such as a smart band, a smart watch, etc.), a navigation device, etc., and the method includes:

step 201, receiving configuration information for PDCP duplication from a base station;

step 202, copying at the PDCP layer based on the configuration information; wherein the configuration information at least comprises: a DRB with activated PDCP replication function, a Quality of Service flow (QoS flow) to be replicated in the corresponding DRB, and the number of replicated packets to be transmitted with the QoS flow on a single RLC entity.

The QoS flow replication packet refers to a replication packet obtained by replicating the QoS flow to be replicated in the DRB with the activated PDCP replication function.

Specifically, the PDCP copy function is configured by a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message (here, the RRC message refers to a PDCP-duplication message), and is activated by a Multimedia Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), so that the PDCP layer can be copied.

In some embodiments, the receiving PDCP copy function configuration information from the base station, corresponding to the first scenario or the second scenario, includes:

Wherein the first scenario represents a scenario with neither DC nor CA.

The second scenario includes: DC only scenarios, CA only scenarios, both DC and CA scenarios.

After the terminal receives an RRC message sent by the base station and configures a PDCP copy function, the terminal receives at least one first MAC CE from the base station; the at least one first MAC CE is used to indicate a DRB that activates the PDCP copy function, i.e., to indicate which specific Data Bearer (DRB) is activated for the copy function. I.e., the first MAC CE, i.e., the PDCP duplicate activated/deactivated MAC CE.

As shown in connection with FIG. 3, the format of the first MAC CE may include eight indicator bits, D₈、D₇、D₆、D₅、D₄、D₃、D₂、D₁It may indicate which specific one of the consecutive 8 DRBs is activated for the copy function.

Specifically, the second MAC CE includes: a first indication bit, a second indication bit and a third indication bit;

the second indication bit is used to indicate the number of duplicate packets of the QoS flow (specifically, the QoS flow to be duplicated) to be duplicated in the corresponding DRB (the corresponding DRB with the activated duplication function indicated in the first MAC CE, that is, the DRB indicated by the first indication bit) that need to be duplicated on the single RLC entity;

the third indication bit is used for indicating the activation state of the QoS flow needing to be copied in the corresponding DRB; that is, whether the QoS flow is the QoS flow to be copied in the DRB is determined by the activation state of the QoS flow, and if the QoS flow is in the activation state, the representation needs to be copied, and if the QoS flow is in the deactivation state, the representation does not need to be copied.

Specifically, on the basis of receiving the first MAC CE, the terminal also receives N second MAC CEs from the base station, wherein the value range of N is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 8; n is the number of DRBs of the activated copy function indicated in the first MAC CE.

The second MAC CE is configured to indicate QoS flow to be copied of a corresponding DRB (which refers to a corresponding DRB with an activated copy function indicated in the first MAC CE) and the number of copied packets of which each QoS flow needs to be transmitted on a single RLC entity; i.e. indicating which particular QoS flow needs to be duplicated and the number of duplicate packets that the QoS flow needs to be duplicated has to be transmitted on a single RLC entity.

Here, the size of the second MAC CE may be +5 bits as the number of QoS flow contained in the DRB it indicates, and byte alignment is satisfied. Here, the byte alignment is satisfied, which means that a byte needs to be 8 times as many bits, and when less than 8 bits, R bits are used as reserved bits to complement byte alignment.

For example, if the number of QoS flows included in one DRB is 1, two R complements are required, and the format of the corresponding second MAC CE is shown in fig. 4 (a);

if the number of QoS flows included in one DRB is 2, then one R supplement is required, and the format of the corresponding second MAC CE is shown in fig. 4 (b);

if the number of QoS flows included in one DRB is 4, seven bytes of R padding are required (for example, two rs occupy seven bytes in fig. 4 (c)); the format of the corresponding second MAC CE is shown in fig. 4 (c).

The first indication bit is referred to as "DRB ID", and the DRB ID is 3 bits and is used to indicate the several DRBs (i.e. which one of the above 8 DRBs) in the first MAC CE.

The second indication bit is "Num", where Num is 2 bits, and is used to indicate the number of duplicate packets transmitted by QoS flow in the DRB on a single RLC entity; for example: num bits marked as "00" indicate that a single RLC entity needs to transmit 0 duplicate packets (the first MAC CE is considered to be inactive), Num bits marked as "01" indicate that a single RLC entity needs to transmit 1 duplicate packet, Num bits marked as "10" indicate that a single RLC entity needs to transmit 2 duplicate packets, and Num bits marked as "11" indicate that a single RLC entity needs to transmit 3 duplicate packets. Corresponding to the first scene, Num times of replication are needed aiming at a QoS flow needing to be replicated; corresponding to the second scenario, if M RLC entities are activated to transmit PDCP duplicate packets in time slots, and the value range of M is 1 or more and 4 or less, Num × M copies are required for a QoS flow to be copied.

The third indicating bit is QFI₁And QFI₂，QFI₁And QFI₂Corresponding to the QoS flow with smaller and larger service quality flow identification (QFI, Qos flow ID) in DRB; the third indication bit is 1 to indicate that the QoS flow replication function is activated, and 0 to indicate that the QoS flow replication function is not activated.

The second MAC CE also provides reserved bits, R being a reserved bit for complementary byte alignment, and the reserved bits can be ignored by the receiving end (i.e., terminal).

Here, the second MAC CE is introduced to indicate QoS flow for activating the copy function, so that the QoS flow level copy function is realized, and resources are saved.

Through the first MAC CE and the second MAC CE, a PDCP copy function in a scenario without DC and CA is implemented. Compared with the related art in which only the DC has no CA, or only the CA has no DC, the method can be divided into two transmission paths, and one transmission path is duplicated and transmitted twice (as shown in fig. 1); under the scene of both DC and CA, the system can be divided into four transmission paths, and three transmission paths are duplicated and four transmission paths are transmitted; and cannot be used in a scenario without neither DC nor CA. Through the above configuration information for PDCP replication, it can be used in a scenario without DC and CA, and also in a scenario with CA or DC. Compared with the related technology in which only DRB level copy can be performed, the configuration information for PDCP copy can realize QoS flow level PDCP copy and save resources. Compared with the prior art that an ARQ mechanism is adopted for retransmission, the ACK/NACK indication needs to be returned, the time delay is longer, and the configuration information for PDCP copying does not need to feed back the ACK/NACK indication, so that the time delay is reduced.

In some embodiments, the configuration information, corresponding to the second scenario, further includes: one or more RLC entities that transmit duplicate packets in time slots;

That is, for the second scenario, the configuration information includes: a DRB with activated PDCP copy function;

QoS flow needing to be copied in corresponding DRB and the number of copied packets needing to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity;

one or more RLC entities that transmit duplicate packets within respective DRBs in slots (slots).

And determining the configuration information through the first MAC CE, the second MAC CE and the third MAC CE respectively.

That is, the terminal may receive N third MAC CEs from the base station on the basis of receiving the first MAC CE and the second MAC CE; each third MAC CE is used for indicating one or more RLC entities which transmit the duplicated packets in the corresponding DRB in a time slot manner; the number of N is the same as the number of DRBs in the first MAC CE, for which the PDCP copy function is activated.

The first MAC CE may adopt the format shown in fig. 3, and the first MAC CE with the format shown in fig. 3 is already described above, and is not described herein again.

The second MAC CE may adopt the formats shown in fig. 4(a), (b), and (c), and the second MAC CE in the formats shown in fig. 4(a), (b), and (c) has been described above, and is not described again here.

The third MAC CE, including: a fourth indicator bit and a fifth indicator bit;

the fifth indication bit is used to indicate that a corresponding DRB (which refers to a corresponding DRB with activated copy function indicated in the first MAC CE, that is, a DRB indicated by the fourth indication bit) is in a transmission state on a transmission link corresponding to a corresponding RLC entity; the transfer state includes: and carrying out the transmission and deactivation states of the copy packet in time slots.

Here, the third MAC CE may employ a structure shown in fig. 5.

The fourth indication bit is referred to as "DRB ID", and the DRB ID is 3 bits and is used to indicate the several DRBs (i.e. which one of the above 8 DRBs) in the first MAC CE.

The fifth indication bit is RLC_iBits (i may be 0, 1, 2, 3, and may indicate for four RLC entities, respectively), e.g., RLC_iWhen the number is 1, the sub-slot copy packet transmission is performed on the transmission link corresponding to the RLC entity, and when the number is 0, the transmission of the copy packet on the corresponding link is deactivated.

Exemplified with respect to the second MAC CE and the third MAC CE; for example, after receiving the same first MAC CE, the Qos flow in the DRB indicated by a certain second MAC CE (i.e. the DRB indicated by the "DRB ID") needs to be the number of duplicate packets transmitted on a single RLC entity, that is, the "Num" bit is configured to be "10", that is, 2; then the number of duplicate packets transmitted on each RLC entity is 2, if the third MAC CE identified with the "DRB ID" indicates that duplicate packets in the corresponding DRB are transmitted on 2 RLC entities, then two duplicate packets are transmitted on each RLC entity, 4 duplicate packets are transmitted by 2 RLC entities, and 5 identical packets are transmitted by adding the original data packet.

In some embodiments, in the first scenario or the second scenario, the copying at the PDCP layer based on the configuration information of the PDCP copying function includes:

marking the first PDCP PDU and at least one second PDCP PDU when the PDCP layer is copied; the mark is used for representing that the corresponding PDCP PDU is an original data packet or a copy packet; namely, the mark is used for representing whether the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU are respectively an original data packet or a copy packet;

the flag is also used to indicate a time slot (slot) on which the corresponding PDCP PDU is transmitted, i.e. the flag is also used to indicate on which time slot the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU are transmitted, respectively.

Here, the first PDCP PDU represents an initial packet, that is, an original data packet, and the second PDCP PDU represents a duplicate packet (that is, a duplicate packet obtained by duplicating the original data packet), where the number of the second PDCP PDUs may be one or more (for example, 2 or 3), and when the number of the second PDCP PDUs is more, the first PDCP PDU and the plurality of second PDCP PDUs are respectively marked.

It should be noted that the QoS flow corresponds to one or more PDCP PDUs; therefore, the first PDCP PDU may be any one of one or more PDCP PDUs corresponding to the QoS flow to be copied; when the QoS flow to be copied corresponds to a plurality of PDCP PDUs, copying is required to be carried out on each PDCP PDU.

Specifically, after the PDCP layer is copied, the method may further include:

step 203, transmitting the first PDCP PDU (i.e. the original packet) and at least one second PDCP PDU (i.e. the duplicate packet) in time slots on the same RLC entity.

That is, in the first scenario or the second scenario, after the PDCP layer is copied in the

above steps

201 and 202, the original data packet and the obtained copied packet (i.e., each second PDCP PDU) are sent in time slots on the same RLC entity according to the header indication (i.e., the above flag) of each PDCP PDU.

Therefore, after being copied based on the QoS flow level, the PDCP PDU can be sent in time slots on the same RLC entity, so that the efficiency is improved, the resources are saved, the time delay is reduced, and the reliability is improved.

Specifically, when the PDCP layer performs the duplication, the PDCP header of the duplicated packet needs to be identified in order to distinguish the original packet from the duplicated packet and avoid the RLC layer from deleting the duplicated data. The main operation is to use two reserved bits R before SN number in PDCP header as the duplicate packet identifier. For example, for the header of the PDCP PDU with SN number of 12 bits, the format can adopt the format shown in FIG. 6.

Wherein, Num bit is 2 bits for indicating whether PDCP PDU is an original data packet (hereinafter abbreviated as original PDU) or a duplicate packet (hereinafter abbreviated as duplicate PDU), Num bit is marked as "00" and indicated as original PDU, and is transmitted on original slot; num bit is marked as '01', and is expressed as a first copy PDU which is transmitted on the first slot after the original slot; num bit is marked as '10', and is expressed as a second copy PDU which is transmitted on a second slot after the original slot; num bit is marked as "11" and is denoted as the third duplicate PDU, which is transmitted on the third slot after the original slot.

Specifically, in which slot to transmit, a timer may be added in the PDCP layer to enable the duplicate packet to have a certain time interval with the original data packet for transmission, or the Num bit may be identified by the RLC, and the duplicate packet may be mapped to different Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes to implement the transmission.

Therefore, the copy number of the sub-slot copy packets and which link to send in the DC/CA scene can be flexibly indicated, the efficiency is improved, the resources are saved, the time delay is reduced, and the reliability is improved.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation effect of a PDCP copy function in a first scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 7, in a first scenario, by using the method described in fig. 2, PDCP PDUs (including the above first PDCP PDU and at least one second PDCP PDU) can be sent in duplicate slots by using PDCP in a DC-free and CA-free scenario, for example, PDCP PDUs can be transmitted in split slots 1, slot2, slot3, slot4, which improves reliability; ACK/NACK feedback is not needed, and time delay is saved; also, replication can be done based on QoS flow levels to save resources.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation effect of a PDCP copy function in a second scenario according to the embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 8, in a second scenario, by using the method described in fig. 2 above, the PDCP PDU (including the above first PDCP PDU and at least one second PDCP PDU) may be sent in slots by using PDCP replication, for example, the PDCP PDU may be transmitted in

slots

1 and 2 under the first LCH, and in

slots

1 and 2 under the second LCH, so as to further improve reliability; ACK/NACK feedback is not needed, and time delay is saved; moreover, the replication can be carried out based on the QoS flow level, and resources are saved.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a PDCP copy function according to an embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 9, the method may be applied to a network device, the network device being a base station, such as an enhanced base station (eNB), a 5G base station (gNB), or an NB, and the method includes:

step 901, sending configuration information for PDCP replication; the configuration information is used for copying at a PDCP layer by the terminal;

In some embodiments, the sending configuration information for PDCP duplication corresponding to the first scenario or the second scenario includes:

the sending PDCP copy function configuration information includes:

transmitting the N third MAC CEs; each third MAC CE is used for indicating one or more RLC entities which transmit the copy packet in the corresponding DRB in time slots; the number of N is the same as the number of DRBs in the first MAC CE, for which the PDCP copy function is activated.

Specifically, the third MAC CE includes: a fourth indicator bit and a fifth indicator bit;

the fifth indicator bit; for indicating the transmission status of the corresponding DRB on the transmission link corresponding to the corresponding RLC entity; the transmission state includes: and carrying out the transmission and deactivation states of the copy packet in time slots.

Specifically, the copying at the PDCP layer includes:

marking the first PDCP PDU and at least one second PDCP PDU when the PDCP layer is copied; the flag is used to characterize the corresponding PDCP PDU as an original data packet or a duplicate packet, and to transmit the slot of the corresponding PDCP PDU (i.e., to indicate on which slot to transmit).

The above description related to the first MAC CE, the second MAC CE, and the third MAC CE has been already explained in the method shown in fig. 2, and is not repeated here.

Specifically, the method further comprises:

receiving the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU that are transmitted in time slots on the same RLC entity.

In practical applications, after receiving the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU which are transmitted in time slots on the same RLC entity, the duplicate PDCP PDUs may be deleted. The detailed method can delete the duplicate PDCP PDUs by identifying the header of the PDCP PDU.

Specifically, the method further comprises:

Specifically, when the terminal side performs the duplication on the PDCP layer, in order to distinguish the original packet from the duplicated packet, avoid the RLC layer from deleting the duplicated data, and identify the PDCP header of the duplicated packet, specifically, the format shown in fig. 6 is adopted to identify the PDCP PDU header. Accordingly, the network device side can identify the header of the PDCP PDU (i.e., the header of the first PDCP PDU and the header of the at least one second PDCP PDU) to distinguish the original data packet from the duplicate packet, and can determine the duplicate PDCP PDU according to the identification result, so as to delete the duplicate PDCP PDU.

The method of activating and identifying the PDCP copy of QoS flow level transmitted in time slots is realized by the method shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 9. The embodiment of the invention provides a scheme for transmitting the copy packet on the same RLC entity based on the copy function of a 5G NR PDCP layer, so that the scheme can further enhance the reliability transmission and can be applied in the scene without CA and DC; compared with ARQ retransmission of RLC, the receiving end does not need to return ACK/NACK indication, so that time delay is saved; and introducing a new MAC CE (namely a second MAC CE) to indicate the QoS flow for activating the copy function, realizing the copy function of a QoS flow level and saving resources.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a determining apparatus of a PDCP copy function according to an embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 10, the apparatus is applied to a terminal, and includes:

Specifically, the first receiving module is configured to receive at least one first MAC CE from a base station, corresponding to a first scenario or a second scenario; the at least one first MAC CE is used for indicating a DRB of the activated PDCP copy function;

Specifically, the configuration information further includes, corresponding to the second scenario: one or more RLC entities that transmit duplicate packets in time slots;

the first receiving module is further configured to receive N third MAC CEs from the base station; each third MAC CE is configured to instruct one or more RLC entities to transmit the duplicated packets in the DRB in a time slot; the number of N is the same as the number of DRBs in the first MAC CE, for which the PDCP copy function is activated.

Specifically, the duplication module is configured to mark a first PDCP PDU and at least one second PDCP PDU when the PDCP layer is duplicated; the flag is used to characterize the corresponding PDCP PDU as an original data packet or a duplicate packet, and to transmit the time slot of the corresponding PDCP PDU.

Specifically, the apparatus further comprises: a first sending module, configured to send the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU in time slots on the same RLC entity.

It should be noted that: in the above embodiment, when the determining apparatus for PDCP copy function implements the determining method for the corresponding PDCP copy function, only the division of the above program modules is used for illustration, and in practical application, the above processing may be distributed to different program modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the server is divided into different program modules to complete all or part of the above described processing. In addition, the apparatus provided by the above embodiment and the embodiment of the corresponding method belong to the same concept, and the specific implementation process thereof is described in the method embodiment, which is not described herein again.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another apparatus for determining a PDCP copy function according to an embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 11, applied to a network device, the apparatus includes:

Specifically, the second sending module is configured to send at least one first MAC CE corresponding to a first scenario or a second scenario; the at least one first MAC CE is used for indicating a DRB of the activated PDCP copy function;

Wherein the second MAC CE comprises: a first indication bit, a second indication bit and a third indication bit;

the second sending module is further configured to send N third MAC CEs; each third MAC CE is used for indicating one or more RLC entities which transmit the copy packet in the corresponding DRB in time slots; the number of N is the same as the number of DRBs in the first MAC CE, for which the PDCP copy function is activated.

Wherein the third MAC CE comprises: a fourth indicator bit and a fifth indicator bit;

Specifically, the copying at the PDCP layer includes:

marking the first PDCP PDU and at least one second PDCP PDU when the PDCP layer is copied; the flag is used to characterize the corresponding PDCP PDU as an original data packet or a duplicate packet, and to transmit a slot of the corresponding PDCP PDU.

The device further comprises: a second receiving module, configured to receive the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU sent in time slots on the same RLC entity.

The apparatus may further include: and the processing module is used for determining or acquiring the corresponding first MAC CE, the second MAC CE and the third MAC CE.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 12, the communication device 120 includes: a processor 1201 and a memory 1202 for storing computer programs executable on the processor;

when the communication device is applied to a terminal, the processor 1201 is configured to execute, when running the computer program, the following steps: receiving configuration information for PDCP replication from a base station; copying at a PDCP layer based on the configuration information; wherein the configuration information at least comprises: a DRB with activated PDCP copy function, QoS flow to be copied in the corresponding DRB and the number of copied packets which need to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity. Specifically, the terminal may execute the method shown in fig. 2, which belongs to the same concept as the method embodiment shown in fig. 2, and the specific implementation process thereof is described in detail in the method embodiment and is not described herein again.

When the communication device is applied to a network device, the processor 1201 is configured to execute, when running the computer program, the following steps: transmitting configuration information for PDCP replication; the configuration information is used for copying at a PDCP layer by the terminal; wherein the configuration information at least comprises: a DRB with activated PDCP copy function, QoS flow to be copied in the corresponding DRB and the number of copied packets which need to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity. Specifically, the network device may execute the method shown in fig. 9, which belongs to the same concept as the embodiment of the method for determining the PDCP copy function shown in fig. 9, and details of a specific implementation process thereof are referred to in the embodiment of the method, and are not described herein again.

In practical applications, the communication device 120 may further include: at least one network interface 1203. The various components in the communication device 120 are coupled together by a bus system 1204. It is understood that the bus system 1204 is used to enable connective communication between these components. The bus system 1204 includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus, in addition to a data bus. For clarity of illustration, however, the various buses are labeled as bus system 1204 in fig. 12. The number of the processors 1201 may be at least one. The network interface 1203 is used for communication between the communication device 120 and other devices in a wired or wireless manner.

The memory 1202 in embodiments of the present invention is used to store various types of data to support the operation of the communication device 120.

The method disclosed by the embodiment of the invention can be applied to the processor 1201 or implemented by the processor 1201. The processor 1201 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the above method may be implemented by integrated logic circuits of hardware or instructions in the form of software in the processor 1201. The Processor 1201 may be a general purpose Processor, a DiGital Signal Processor (DSP), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, or the like. The processor 1201 may implement or perform the methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in embodiments of the present invention. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed by the embodiment of the invention can be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or can be implemented by combining hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules may be located in a storage medium located in the memory 1202, and the processor 1201 reads the information in the memory 1202 and performs the steps of the aforementioned methods in conjunction with its hardware.

In an exemplary embodiment, the communication Device 120 may be implemented by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), DSPs, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), general purpose processors, controllers, Micro Controllers (MCUs), microprocessors (microprocessors), or other electronic components for performing the aforementioned methods.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored;

when the stored computer program is applied to a terminal, the computer program is executed by a processor to execute: receiving configuration information for PDCP replication from a base station; copying at a PDCP layer based on the configuration information; wherein the configuration information at least comprises: a DRB with activated PDCP copy function, QoS flow to be copied in the corresponding DRB and the number of copied packets which need to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity. Specifically, the terminal may execute the method shown in fig. 2, which belongs to the same concept as the method embodiment shown in fig. 2, and the specific implementation process thereof is described in detail in the method embodiment and is not described herein again.

When the stored computer program is applied to a network device, the computer program is executed by a processor to perform: transmitting configuration information for PDCP replication; the configuration information is used for copying at a PDCP layer by the terminal; wherein the configuration information at least comprises: a DRB with activated PDCP copy function, QoS flow to be copied in the corresponding DRB and the number of copied packets which need to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity. Specifically, the network device may execute the method shown in fig. 9, which belongs to the same concept as the embodiment of the method for determining the PDCP copy function shown in fig. 9, and details of a specific implementation process thereof are referred to in the embodiment of the method, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. The above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, for example, the division of the unit is only a logical functional division, and there may be other division ways in actual implementation, such as: multiple units or components may be combined, or may be integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented. In addition, the coupling, direct coupling or communication connection between the components shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection between the devices or units may be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units; some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, all the functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be separately regarded as one unit, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit; the integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, or in a form of hardware plus a software functional unit.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or part of the steps for realizing the method embodiments can be completed by hardware related to program instructions, the program can be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and the program executes the steps comprising the method embodiments when executed; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: a mobile storage device, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

Alternatively, the integrated unit of the present invention may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium if it is implemented in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as a separate product. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention may be essentially implemented or a part contributing to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the methods described in the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a removable storage device, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic or optical disk, or various other media that can store program code.

It should be noted that: "first," "second," and the like are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order.

The technical means described in the embodiments of the present application may be arbitrarily combined without conflict.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for determining a PDCP copy function, applied to a terminal, includes:

receiving configuration information for PDCP replication from a base station;

copying at a PDCP layer based on the configuration information;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving PDCP duplication function configuration information from the base station corresponding to the first scenario or the second scenario comprises:

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second MAC CE comprises: a first indication bit, a second indication bit and a third indication bit;

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the configuration information, corresponding to a second scenario, further comprises: one or more RLC entities that transmit duplicate packets in time slots;

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the third MAC CE comprises: a fourth indicator bit and a fifth indicator bit;

6. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the copying at the PDCP layer based on the configuration information of the PDCP copying function comprises:

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the method comprises:

8. A method for determining a PDCP copy function, applied to a network device, includes:

wherein the configuration information at least comprises: a DRB with activated PDCP copy function, QoS flow needing to be copied in the corresponding DRB and the number of copied packets needing to transmit the QoS flow on a single RLC entity.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein sending configuration information for PDCP replication corresponding to a first scenario or a second scenario comprises:

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second MAC CE comprises: a first indication bit, a second indication bit and a third indication bit;

11. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the configuration information further includes, in response to a second scenario: one or more RLC entities that transmit duplicate packets in time slots;

the sending PDCP copy function configuration information includes:

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the third MAC CE comprises: a fourth indicator bit and a fifth indicator bit;

13. The method according to any of the claims 8 to 12, wherein the copying at the PDCP layer comprises:

when the PDCP layer is copied, marking a first PDCP PDU and at least one second PDCP PDU; the mark is used for representing that the corresponding PDCP PDU is an original data packet or a copy packet and transmitting a time slot of the corresponding PDCP PDU.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

the method further comprises the following steps:

15. An apparatus for determining a PDCP replication function, applied to a terminal, the apparatus comprising:

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first receiving module is configured to receive at least one first MAC CE from a base station corresponding to a first scenario or a second scenario; the at least one first MAC CE is used for indicating a DRB of the activated PDCP copy function;

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the second MAC CE comprises: a first indication bit, a second indication bit and a third indication bit;

and the third indicating bit is used for indicating the activation state of the QoS flow needing to be copied in the corresponding DRB.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the configuration information, corresponding to a second scenario, further comprises: one or more RLC entities that transmit duplicate packets in time slots;

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the third MAC CE comprises: a fourth indicator bit and a fifth indicator bit;

20. The apparatus according to any of the claims 15 to 19, wherein the duplication module is configured to mark the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU when the PDCP layer is duplicated; the mark is used for representing that the corresponding PDCP PDU is an original data packet or a copy packet, and transmitting the time slot of the corresponding PDCP PDU.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising: a first sending module, configured to send the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU in time slots on the same RLC entity.

22. An apparatus for determining a PDCP replication function, applied to a network device, the apparatus comprising:

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the second transmitting module is configured to transmit at least one first MAC CE corresponding to a first scenario or a second scenario; the at least one first MAC CE is used for indicating a DRB of the activated PDCP copy function;

24. The apparatus according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the second MAC CE comprises: a first indication bit, a second indication bit and a third indication bit;

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the configuration information further comprises, in response to a second scenario: one or more RLC entities that transmit duplicate packets in time slots;

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the third MAC CE comprises: a fourth indicator bit and a fifth indicator bit;

27. The apparatus according to any of the claims 22 to 26, wherein the copying at the PDCP layer comprises:

28. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising: a second receiving module, configured to receive the first PDCP PDU and the at least one second PDCP PDU sent in time slots on the same RLC entity;

29. A communication device comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 7 are implemented when the program is executed by the processor; or,

the processor, when executing the program, performs the steps of the method of any one of claims 8 to 14.

30. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7; alternatively, the computer program realizes the steps of the method of any one of claims 8 to 14 when executed by a processor.