CN114731331B

CN114731331B - Efficient multipoint transmission in time-sensitive networks

Info

Publication number: CN114731331B
Application number: CN201980102342.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王河; 晁华; 陶涛
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2019-11-19
Filing date: 2019-11-19
Publication date: 2024-05-03
Anticipated expiration: 2039-11-19
Also published as: WO2021097637A1; CN114731331A

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to communication methods and apparatus. In some aspects, a communication method may include: receiving, at a first network function element, service information from a Time Sensitive Network (TSN), the service information comprising a service flow ID; and notifying the base station of the service flow ID via at least the second network function element. Numerous other aspects are provided.

Description

Efficient multipoint transmission in time-sensitive networks

Technical Field

Various example embodiments relate generally to communications technology and, more particularly, relate to methods, apparatus and devices supporting efficient multipoint transmission in a Time Sensitive Network (TSN).

Background

Certain abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or drawings are defined herein as follows:

3GPP third Generation partnership project

5GS 5G system

AF application function

AMF access and mobility management functions

CN core network

CNC central network controller

CUC central user controller

DNN data network name

DS-TT data station TSN converter

GNB next generation node B

IIoT industrial Internet of things

NW-TT network TSN converter

PCF policy control function

PD propagation delay

PDU packet data unit

QoS quality of service

RAN radio access network

SMF session management function

TSC time sensitive communication

TSCAI TSC auxiliary information

TSN time sensitive network/networking

TT TSN converter

UE user equipment

UL uplink

UPF user plane functionality

Time Sensitive Networks (TSNs) provide standardized industrial networks that require low latency and high reliability for time critical data streams. Currently, TSNs are used in many applications, including, for example, industrial internet of things (IIoT), to provide end-to-end connections with deterministic latency and capacity. Fifth generation (5G) new air interface (NR) wireless communication techniques are also contemplated to support a variety of application scenarios, and one novel aspect of 5G NR utilizes ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) to reliably transmit messages with minimal latency between an Access Point (AP) and a User Equipment (UE). There is a need to integrate a 5G system (5 GS) with a TSN to support Time Sensitive Communications (TSC) in a more flexible manner.

Disclosure of Invention

The following presents a simplified summary of various example embodiments in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the various embodiments. It should be noted that this summary is not intended to identify key features of the essential elements or to limit the scope of the embodiments, and its sole purpose is to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are intended to provide a more detailed description below.

According to a first aspect, an example embodiment of a communication method is provided. The method may include receiving, at a first network function, service information from a Time Sensitive Network (TSN), the service information may include a service flow ID. The method may further comprise informing the base station of the service flow ID via at least the second network function element.

In some example embodiments, the method may further comprise converting the service flow ID from the TSN domain to the mobile network domain before notifying the base station of the service flow ID.

In some example embodiments, the step of informing the base station via at least the second network function element of the service flow ID may comprise sending a QoS mapping request comprising the service flow ID to the second network function element.

According to a second aspect, an example embodiment of a network device is provided. The apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code stored thereon. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to perform at least the following: service information from a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) is received at a first network function element, the service information comprising a service flow ID, and the base station is notified of the service flow ID via at least a second network function element.

In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to perform at least the following: the service flow ID is converted from the TSN domain to the mobile network domain before being notified to the base station.

According to a third aspect, an example embodiment of a communication device is provided. The apparatus may include means for receiving, at a first network function, service information from a Time Sensitive Network (TSN), the service information including a service flow ID; and means for transmitting the service flow ID to the base station via at least the second network function element.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for converting the service flow ID from the TSN domain to the mobile network domain before notifying the base station of the service flow ID.

In some example embodiments, the means for notifying the base station of the service flow ID via at least the second network function element may comprise means for sending a QoS mapping request including the service flow ID to the second network function element.

According to a fourth aspect, an example embodiment of a communication method is provided. The method may include receiving, at the second network function element, the service flow ID from the first network function element, and notifying the base station of the service flow ID via at least the third network function element.

In some example embodiments, the method may further include converting quality of service (QoS) requirements for a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) into QoS parameters for the mobile network and transmitting the QoS parameters to the third network function along with the service flow ID.

According to a fifth aspect, an example embodiment of a network device is provided. The network device may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code stored thereon. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to perform at least the following: receiving, at the second network function element, a service flow ID from the first network function element; and notifying the base station of the service flow ID via at least a third network function element.

In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to perform at least the following: quality of service (QoS) requirements for a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) are converted into QoS parameters for the mobile network and the QoS parameters are sent to a third network function along with a service flow ID.

According to a sixth aspect, an example embodiment of a communication device is provided. The apparatus includes means for receiving, at the second network function element, a service flow ID from the first network function element, and means for notifying the base station of the service flow ID via at least a third network function element.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for converting quality of service (QoS) requirements for a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) to a QoS parameter for the mobile network, and means for sending the QoS parameter to a third network function along with the service flow ID.

According to a seventh aspect, an example embodiment of a communication method is provided. The method includes receiving, at a third network function element, a service flow ID from a second network function element; generating a quality of service (QoS) flow, the communication assistance information including the service flow ID; and transmitting communication assistance information including the service flow ID to the base station via the fourth network function element.

In some example embodiments, the communication assistance information may include Time Sensitive Communication (TSC) assistance information (TSCAI).

According to an eighth aspect, an example embodiment of a network device is provided. The network device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code stored thereon. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to perform at least the following: receiving, at the third network function element, a service flow ID from the second network function; generating communication assistance information for a quality of service (QoS) flow, the communication assistance information including the service flow ID; and transmitting communication assistance information including the service flow ID to the base station via the fourth network function element.

According to a ninth aspect, an example embodiment of a communication device is provided. The apparatus includes means for receiving, at a third network function element, a service flow ID from a second network function element; means for generating communication assistance information for a quality of service (QoS) flow, the communication assistance information including a service flow ID; and means for transmitting communication assistance information including the service flow ID to the base station via the fourth network function element.

According to a tenth aspect, an example embodiment of a communication method is provided. The method includes receiving, at a fourth network function element, a service flow ID from a third network function element; generating a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment/modification request for a quality of service (QoS) flow and including a service flow ID, the PDU session establishment/modification request including the service flow ID; and transmitting a PDU session establishment/modification request including the service flow ID to the base station.

According to an eleventh aspect, an example embodiment of a network device is provided. The apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code stored thereon. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to perform at least the following: receiving, at the fourth network function element, a service flow ID element from the third network function; generating a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment/modification request for a quality of service (QoS) flow, the PDU session establishment/modification request including a service flow ID; and transmitting a PDU session establishment/modification request including the service flow ID to the base station.

According to a twelfth aspect, an example embodiment of a communication device is provided. The apparatus includes means for receiving, at a fourth network function, a service flow ID from a third network function; means for generating a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment/modification request for a quality of service (QoS) flow, the PDU session establishment/modification request comprising a service flow ID; and means for transmitting a PDU session establishment/modification request including the service flow ID to the base station.

According to a thirteenth aspect, an example embodiment of a communication method is provided. The method includes receiving, at a base station, a service flow ID from a core network; user Equipments (UEs) served by the base station are grouped according to the service flow IDs, and group scheduling is applied to the UE group corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

In some example embodiments, the method may further include determining a minimum value of the data arrival time parameter for the UE group and applying the minimum value as the group data arrival time parameter for the UE group corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

In some example embodiments, the step of applying the group schedule to the UE group may include assigning a group identification to the UE group corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

In some example embodiments, the group scheduling may include a group semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), and the group of UEs corresponding to one of the service flow IDs may be scheduled by the group SPS using a common SPS configuration.

According to a fourteenth aspect, an example embodiment of a base station device is provided. The base station apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code stored thereon. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the base station apparatus to perform at least the following: the method includes receiving service flow IDs from a core network, grouping User Equipment (UEs) to be served by a base station device according to the service flow IDs, and applying group scheduling to UE groups corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the base station apparatus to perform at least the following: a minimum value of the data arrival time parameters for the UE group is determined and is taken as the group data arrival time parameter of the UE group corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

In some example embodiments, the step of applying the group schedule to the UE group may further comprise assigning a group identification to the UE group corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

According to a fifteenth aspect, an example embodiment of a communication device is provided. The apparatus includes means for receiving, at a base station, a service flow ID from a core network, means for grouping User Equipment (UE) served by the base station according to the service flow ID, and means for applying a group schedule to a group of UEs corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for determining a minimum value of the data arrival time parameter for the UE group, and means for applying the minimum value as the group data arrival time parameter for the UE group corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

In some example embodiments, the means for applying group scheduling to the UE group may further comprise means for assigning a group identity to the UE group corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

According to a sixteenth aspect, an example embodiment of a computer readable medium is provided. The computer readable medium has instructions stored thereon and which when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any of the first, fourth, seventh, tenth and thirteenth aspects described above.

It should be understood that the summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the example embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

Some example embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a bridge model for integrating a wireless communication system with a Time Sensitive Network (TSN).

Fig. 2 is a simplified diagram illustrating a multicast scenario with TSN service traffic data flows.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a basic procedure for efficient one-to-many Time Sensitive Communication (TSC) transmission.

Fig. 4 is a message diagram illustrating how TSN service information is notified to a base station in a mobile network.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a network device according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a network device according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram of a network device according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 15 is a block diagram of a network device according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 16 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 18 is a block diagram of a base station apparatus according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 19 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to some example embodiments.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, some example embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description includes specific details in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known circuits, techniques, and components have been shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts and features described.

3GPP release 16 has proposed the integration of a fifth generation system (5 GS) into an external ethernet network, such as an IEEE TSN network, as a TSN bridge to support Time Sensitive Communication (TSC) services. Fig. 1 depicts a block diagram illustrating a bridge model for integrating a 5GS with a TSN system. In the bridge model, the 5GS TSN bridge 150 enables TSN end station a 101 to communicate with TSN network 110 via a mobile network, such as a 5G network, using radio communication services based on 3GPP technology. In contrast to TSN end station B102, which is connected to TSN network 110 via legacy TSN bridge 116, 5GS TSN bridge 150 may facilitate flexible deployment of TSN end station a 101 and maintain time-sensitive communication 101 between TSN end station a and TSN network 110. For example, TSN end station a 101 may be deployed remotely from TSN 110 while it is under the control of TSN network 110 as if it were deployed at TSN end station B102 near TSN network 110. In an industrial network, some non-limiting examples of TSN end stations a 101 and B102 may be robots, controllers, actuators, remote sensors, or any other industrial device. The TSN end station may also be a municipal infrastructure device that controls electricity, lighting, water, etc., for automobiles or other transportation vehicles.

Referring to fig. 1, a TSN network 110 may include a Central User Controller (CUC) 112, a Central Network Controller (CNC) 114, and at least one TSN bridge 116. The CUC 112 and CNC 114 are responsible for collecting TSC service requirements, discovering topology and bridge capabilities, deciding TSC service transmission paths, performing global time-gated scheduling and corresponding TSN service parameter configuration for participating TSN bridges. The 5GS TSN bridge 150 generally includes a core network 120, a radio access network 130 including, for example, base stations such as a gNB, and a User Equipment (UE) 140. The core network 120 may include network functional elements such as a TSN AF element 122, a PCF element 124, an SMF element 126, a UDM/UDR element 127, an AMF element 128, and a UPF element 129. It should be appreciated that network function elements 122, 124, 126, 127, 128, and 129 may be implemented in a single physical entity or may be implemented in separate physical entities. The 5GS TSN bridge 150 is responsible for wireless connectivity services for the TSC.

In order to interoperate between the TSN system and 5GS with transparency of both the User Plane (UP) and the Control Plane (CP), TSN converter (TT) functions including a device side TSN converter (DS-TT) and a network side TSN converter (NW-TT), and TSN ingress and egress ports are defined in UE 140, AF 122, and UPF 129. The AF-TT and the UPF-TT together constitute the NW-TT. TSN end station a 101 communicates with UE 140 of 5GS TSN bridge 150 via a DS-TT and 5GS TSN bridge 150 communicates with TSN network 110 via an NW-TT. Thus, each 5GS TSN bridge 150 may be defined as having a port on the single UPF (i.e., PDU session anchor, PSA) side, a user plane tunnel between the UE and the UPF, and a port on the DS-TT side. The port on the NW-TT side supports the connection to the TSN network 110 and the port on the DS-TT side is associated with a PDU session providing a connection to the TSN network 110. During the PDU session establishment procedure, the SMF 126 selects the UPF129, which allocates a port number for the DS-TT and determines the port number for the NW-TT. The port pairs (UE DS-TT ports, UPF NW-TT ports) form the interface of the 5GS TSN bridge 150 throughout the TSN network topology. After TSC device-UE 140 has been registered by the PDU session establishment procedure and a possible UPF port has been selected, a 5GS TSN bridge 150 for TSC device-UE 140 has been decided. The granularity of the logical 5GS TSN bridge 150 is that each UPF, the bridge ID of the logical 5GS TSN bridge 150 is bound to the UPF ID of the UPF129, and all PDU sessions connected to the same TSN network 110 via a particular UPF129 are grouped into a single virtual bridge.

SMF 126 sends 5GS TSN bridge 150 information to AF 122 via PCF 124 to establish/modify 5GS TSN bridge 150. The AF 122 stores the binding between port pairs and PDU sessions during reporting of logical 5GS TSN bridge information. The capabilities of each port on the UE/DS-TT side and UPF/NW-TT side are integrated as part of the 5G virtual bridge configuration and notified to the TSN AF 122 and then passed to the CNC 114 for TSN bridge registration and modification.

As described above, TSN device-UE 140 may register in TSN network 110 through a PDU session establishment procedure to set up port pairs (UE DS-TT ports, UPF NW-TT ports) 150 for its corresponding 5GS TSN bridge. Once this port pair is determined, the 5GS TSN bridge capability and its ingress/egress in the TSN network 110 are also determined. From the perspective of TSN network 110, a corresponding logical 5GS TSN bridge 150 for that TSN device-UE 140 is determined. Although multiple TSN device-UEs may be linked to the same UPF129, there will be multiple ports in the UPF129, so different TSN device-UEs will have different UPF ports in the determined port pairs (UE DS-TT ports, UPF NW-TT ports) for the 5G STSN bridge 150. PDU sessions for all TSN device-UEs connected to the same TSN network via a particular UPF are grouped into a single virtual bridge, but for each TSN device-UE, the 5GS TSN bridge function will be different, as will the topology connection to the external TSN network.

There is often a one-to-many transmission requirement for TSN services, and one TSN device, such as TSN end station B102, may send TSN service data to multiple receivers, such as TSN end station a 101. For example, in a factory application, a controller needs to send instructions to a group of devices such as robots on a regular basis. The same TSN service data will be transmitted to multiple TSN devices via the 5GS TSN bridge each time. Fig. 2 is a simplified diagram showing a multipoint transmission scenario, as indicated by the dashed box, in which the controller 250 needs to send TSN control instructions to a plurality of robots 271, 272, 273 and 274 via the 3GPP mobile network 210.

For one-to-many transmission, TSN CNC 114 (fig. 1) creates a TSN scheduling result in which the MAC address of the destination UE in the frame is replaced by a unique multicast MAC address, which is used as an identifier for the particular TSN stream. The TSN MAC address generated by the CNC schedule for each TSN stream is then distributed to each bridge and used to route the frame appropriately. This also allows the CNC schedule to configure the bridge to transmit a single transmission frame to multiple receivers.

Although one-to-many transmission TSN services are supported in the TSN network, for each TSN device-UE in the 5GS TSN bridge 210 (or 150 in fig. 1), TSN service traffic data transmissions will be handled independently, as the CNC140 will perform transmission path selection and time-gated scheduling for each TSN device-UE, respectively, according to its corresponding 5GS TSN bridge capability and network topology. Upon receiving the bridge configuration from CNC140, AF 122 will inform PCF 124 to perform multiple quality of service (QoS) flow mappings in each PDU session of the TSN device-UE for which one-to-many transmission is expected, respectively. The same TSN service traffic data is then independently transmitted multiple times to the corresponding TSN DEVICE-UE in each QoS flow according to their respective transmission paths and scheduling results, resulting in inefficient use of radio resources.

For example, referring to fig. 2, the same TSN instructions for robots 271, 272, 274, 276 would be sent from controller 250 to UEs 241, 242, 244, 246 four times through legacy TSN bridges 261, 262, UPF 220, base stations 231-232. In particular, the same TSN service traffic data is repeatedly sent 3 times over the air interface by the base station 232 to the UEs 242, 244, 246. This would therefore result in a significant waste of scarce radio resource usage over the air interface in order to require TSN services for one-to-many transmission.

Multicasting is an efficient way of one-to-many transmission. The 3GPP has defined Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS) to support broadcast and multicast transmission modes, but the MBMS mechanism has not been supported in the 5GS TSN bridge. Furthermore, integrating current MBMS capabilities and procedures in a 5GS TSN bridge introduces additional complexity and processing delay to the TSN service, which is not suitable for meeting the requirements of the TSN service.

Example embodiments are provided to support an efficient manner for one-to-many transmissions, where the same TSN instruction may be transmitted to multiple TSN device-UEs with only one transmission at a base station, such as a gNB. The gNB may be informed about TSN service information representing one-to-many transmission services and then group its served TSN device-UEs according to the TSN service information. For example, the TSN service information may include a service Identification (ID) to distinguish between different TSN services. The TSN service ID may also be referred to as a TSC stream ID or TSC service stream ID. All TSN devices-UEs with the same TSN service information will receive the same TSN service. For each group of two or more TSN devices-UEs, the gNB may uniformly schedule them to achieve that the same TSN traffic data is transmitted only once over the air interface. Thus, one-to-many TSC transmission is supported by efficient radio resource usage.

Fig. 3 illustrates a high-level flow of an example method for efficient one-to-many transmission, according to some example embodiments. It should be appreciated that while the example embodiments are described herein in the context of a 5GS architecture framework, some embodiments may also be applied to other mobile networks, such as 6G mobile networks developed in the future.

Referring to fig. 3, a method 300 for one-to-many transmission may begin with step 310 of indicating one-to-many transmission service from a TSN network to a 5GS TSN bridge. For example, TSN CUC 112 may receive a TSC stream request that includes a one-to-many transmission requirement. In response to the one-to-many transmission requirements, the TSN CNC 114 may generate a flow schedule and bridge configuration that includes a data forwarding routing table for the one-to-many transmission. The TSN CNC 114 then sends the flow schedule and bridge configuration to the corresponding 5GS TSN bridge involved in the one-to-many transmission, indicating one-to-many transmission services from the TSN network to the 5GS TSN bridge.

In some embodiments, the bridge configurator information generated by the TSN CNC 114 includes TSN service information, such as TSC flow IDs for identifying one-to-many services. The bridge configuration information may also include configuration information for the scheduled traffic, as well as a data forwarding routing table for the scheduled traffic. Configuration information of the scheduled traffic may include, for example, port pairs (UE DS-TT ports, UPF NW-TT ports) and QoS requirements such as traffic class and flow class for the scheduled traffic. The data forwarding routing table may include end station MAC addresses and port pairs (UE DS-TT ports, UPF NW-TT ports). In some examples, the TSC stream ID may include a unique multicast source MAC address, the stream class may represent a priority of the QoS stream, and the end station MAC address may indicate where the TSN service stream flows and be unique to that stream in the bridged network. Using this bridge configuration information, the TSC flow ID will bind with the corresponding QoS flow for the PDU session of the TSN device-UE. From TSC STREAM ID, it can then be determined to which TSN service flow the corresponding TSC data of the transport QoS flow belongs. For one-to-many TSN traffic, different TSN device-UEs have different PDU sessions corresponding to different QoS flows but with the same TSC flow ID, which may help the gNB identify which TSN DEVICE-UEs are expected to receive the same TSN service traffic data in a one-to-many manner.

Next, the core network of the 5gs TSN bridge forwards the TSN service information (e.g., TSC flow ID) included in the bridge configuration information to a base station such as the gNB in step 320. In some embodiments, TSN AF 122 may identify all relevant TSN device-UEs, their corresponding 5GS TSN bridge port pairs, and PDU sessions from the data forwarding table included in the bridge configuration information received from CNC 114. AF 122 may maintain a mapping of TSC service flow IDs and corresponding information triplets (TSN device-UE, port pairs, PDU sessions). PCF 116 may translate QoS requirements received from TSN network 110 into QoS parameters for 5GS and trigger PDU session establishment/modification procedures to establish a 5GS QoS flow. As part of the PDU session establishment/modification procedure, the SMF 126 may generate TSC assistance information (TSCAI) including the TSC flow ID and send TSCAI along with QoS parameters to the gNB (i.e., RAN 130 in fig. 1) via the AMF 128 for establishing the QoS flow. Thus, core network 120 forwards the TSC stream ID from TSN network 110 to gNB 130.

Next, in step 330, the gnb 130 may group its serving TSN device-UEs according to the received TSC stream IDs and perform multicast transmission on the TSN device-UE groups sharing the same TSC stream IDs. As described above, for one-to-many TSN traffic, different TSN devices-UEs have different PDU sessions corresponding to different QoS flows but with the same TSC flow ID. The gNB 130 may identify a TSN device-UE that is expected to receive one-to-many transmission traffic data based on the TSC flow ID. The one-to-many traffic data may then be transmitted only once over the air interface to these TSN device-UEs. In this way, the efficiency of utilization of radio resources is improved.

In some embodiments, a 5GS internal identification may be used as the TSC stream ID to identify the TSC service stream. For example, the AF 112 may translate an external TSN service flow ID from the TSN network into a 5GS internal identification. The 5GS internal identities may have a different format than the TSC stream IDs used in the TSN network and they are used to represent TSN service flows in the 5GS domain and the TSN domain, respectively. The internal identification is then transmitted from the AF to the gNB in a similar manner as described above to achieve an optimized air interface transmission.

Fig. 4 shows a message diagram illustrating how TSN service information is notified to the gNB via the mobile network. For simplicity and better understanding, only the relevant entities indicating the procedure are shown.

Referring to fig. 4, the af 122 may receive a bridge configuration message 410 from the TSN CNC 114. In some examples, bridge configuration message 410 may contain a TSC flow ID, flow class, end station Mac address, port pair, qoS requirements, and the like. AF 122 may determine and maintain a mapping of TSC service flow IDs and corresponding PDU sessions, TSN device-UE, and port pairs. In the case of one-to-many transmission, AF 122 may identify all relevant UEs, their corresponding 5GS bridge port pairs, and PDU sessions from bridge configuration message 410.

For each association information triplet (UE, its corresponding 5GS TSN bridge port pair, PDU session), AF 122 will request PCF 124 to perform QoS mapping by sending QoS mapping request message 420. At the same time, AF 122 communicates the TSC service flow ID corresponding to each information triplet to PCF 124 in message 420. QoS mapping request message 420 may include a TSC service flow ID and corresponding UE ID, PDU session ID, port pair, and TSN QoS requirements.

In response to the AF request 420, PCF 124 translates the TSN QoS requirements into 5GS QoS parameters and performs a PCF initiated SM policy association modification procedure that triggers the PDU session establishment/modification procedure in message 430 to establish a new 5GS QoS flow in accordance with the QoS parameters. The TSC service flow ID may also be included in the PDU session setup/modification trigger message 430 along with the PDU session ID and 5GS QoS parameters to explicitly indicate the binding of the QoS flow and TSC service flow ID.

SMF 126 receives the TSC service flow ID from PCF 124 and includes the TSC service flow ID in the TSC assistance information (TSCAI) it generates for the corresponding QoS flow. To establish a bearer for TSC service traffic transmission in 5GS, SMF 126 will transmit TSCAI and all QoS flow establishment related configuration parameter information to AMF 128 in message 440. In some examples, message 440 may be, for example, a Nsmf _pdu session_ UpdateSMContext response message.

AMF 128 may then forward the TSC service flow ID to gNB 130 in PDU session resource establishment/modification request message 450. For example, message 450 may be an N2 PDU session request message to the gNB 130. Thus, the TSC service flow ID is transmitted to the gNB 130.

Upon receiving the N2 PDU session setup/modification request message 450 from AMF 128, the gNB 130 knows the TSC service flow ID, qoS flow, and binding of the PDU session to which the QoS flow belongs. Thus, in the case of one-to-many transmissions, the gNB can learn which UEs will receive the same traffic data, allowing it to schedule traffic flows more efficiently.

The operation at each network device will now be discussed in more detail with reference to fig. 5-19. Fig. 5 illustrates a method 500 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 of fig. 5 may be performed at an AF, such as the TSN AF 122 of fig. 1.

Referring to fig. 1 and 5, method 500 may include the step of receiving service information from a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) at a first network function, such as AF 122. For example, the service information may include a service flow ID, such as a TSC service flow ID, to distinguish between different TSC service flows. In some embodiments, the TSC service flow ID may be received in bridge configuration information from the TSN CNC 114 indicating one-to-many transmissions.

In optional step 520, the AF 122 may convert the service flow ID from the TSN domain to a mobile network domain, e.g., a 5GS domain. This is because the service flow ID used in 5GS needs to have a different format than in TSN. On the other hand, if the 5GS service flow ID is transmitted from the AF 122 to the TSN 110, the AF 122 may also convert the 5GS service flow ID into a TSN service flow ID prior to transmission.

Af 122 may then notify the base station (e.g., gNB 130) of the service flow ID via at least a second network function element, such as PCF 124, SMF 126, and AMF128, at step 530. In some embodiments, step 530 may include sending a QoS mapping request including the service flow ID to the second network function element.

Fig. 6 shows a block diagram of a network device 600 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. For example, network device 600 may be implemented as TSN AF 122 of fig. 1, or at least a portion thereof.

As shown in fig. 6, the network device 600 may include at least one processor 610 and at least one memory 620, the memory 620 including computer program code 630 stored thereon. The at least one memory 620 and the computer program code 630 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 610, cause the network device 600 to perform at least the example method 500 described above with reference to fig. 5. In addition, network device 600 may include a network interface 640 through which network device 600 may receive/transmit communications from/to other network elements such as, but not limited to, TSN CNC 114 and PCF 124.

Fig. 7 shows a block diagram of an apparatus 700 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Device 700 may be implemented, for example, as TSN AF 122 of fig. 1, or at least a portion thereof. The device 700 may be configured to perform the method 500 of fig. 5, but is not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 7, the example apparatus 700 may include a first device 710 configured to perform step 510 of the example method 500 and a second device 730 configured to perform step 530 of the example method 500.

In some example embodiments, the example apparatus 700 may optionally include a third device 720, the third device 720 configured to perform step 520 of the example method 500.

In some examples, the second apparatus 730 may further include an apparatus 732, the apparatus 732 configured to send a QoS mapping request including the service flow ID to the second network function element.

Fig. 8 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 800 according to an example embodiment. Method 800 of fig. 8 may be performed at a PCF, such as PCF 124 in fig. 1.

Referring to fig. 1 and 8, method 800 may include a step 810 of receiving a service flow ID at a second network function element, such as PCF124, from a first network function element, such as AF 122. Method 800 may further comprise a step 830 of informing the base station, e.g., gNB 130, of the service flow ID via at least a third network function element, e.g., SMF 126 and AMF 128. In some embodiments, method 800 may include step 820 prior to step 830: quality of service (QoS) requirements for a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) are translated into QoS parameters for a mobile network such as 5 GS. PCF124 may therefore send the 5GS QoS parameters to the third network function along with the service flow ID in step 830.

In at least one example, the PCF may trigger the PDU session establishment/modification procedure by sending the service flow ID and QoS parameters to the third network function in step 830. The PDU session establishment/modification procedure may establish a new 5GS QoS flow based on the QoS parameters. In step 830, the service flow ID is explicitly bound to the QoS parameters and thus to the QoS flows established using the QoS parameters.

Fig. 9 shows a block diagram of a network device 900 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Network device 900 may be implemented, for example, as PCF 124 of fig. 1 or at least a portion thereof.

As shown in fig. 9, the network device 900 may include at least one processor 910 and at least one memory 920, the memory 920 including computer program code 930 stored thereon. The at least one memory 920 and the computer program code 930 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 910, cause the network device 900 to perform at least the example method 800 described above with reference to fig. 8. In addition, network device 900 may include a network interface 940 through which network device 900 may receive and transmit communications from and to other network elements such as, but not limited to, AF 122 and SMF 126.

Fig. 10 shows a block diagram of an apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Device 1000 may be implemented, for example, as PCF 124 of fig. 1 or at least a portion thereof. Device 1000 may be configured to perform method 800 of fig. 8, but is not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 10, the example apparatus 1000 may include a first device 1010 to perform step 810 of the example method 800, and a second device 1030 to perform step 830 of the example method 800.

In some example embodiments, the example apparatus 1000 may further include third means 1020 for performing step 820 of converting quality of service (QoS) requirements for a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) into QoS parameters for a mobile network, e.g., 5 GS. Accordingly, the apparatus 1030 may be configured to send the 5GS QoS parameter to a third network function element, such as the SMF 126, along with the service flow ID.

Fig. 11 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 1100 according to an example embodiment. For example, the method of FIG. 11 may be performed at an SMF, such as SMF 126 in FIG. 1.

Referring to fig. 1 and 11, method 1100 may include step 1110 of receiving, at a third network function, e.g., SMF 126, a service flow ID from a second network function, e.g., PCF 124. The method 1110 may further include a step 1120 of generating communication assistance information including a service flow ID for the QoS flow. The communication assistance information may be, for example, time Sensitive Communication (TSC) assistance information (TSCAI) and the QoS flow may be a QoS flow associated with QoS parameters received from PCF 124. The method 1100 may further include step 1130: it sends communication assistance information including the service flow ID to the base station, e.g., the gNB 130, via a fourth network function element, e.g., the AMF 150. In some examples, all other QoS flow establishment related configuration parameters may also be sent to the fourth network function in step 130.

Table 1 below shows an example of Time Sensitive Communication (TSC) assistance information (TSCAI). TSCAI describes TSC traffic characteristics for use in a mobile network, and TSCAI parameters may be set according to corresponding parameters obtained from AF 122 via PCF 124. For example, TSCAI information may include parameters such as flow direction, periodicity, and burst arrival time. TSCAI also includes a service flow ID so that the service flow ID is explicitly bound to the QoS flow associated with TSCAI.

Table 1: TSC assistance information

Fig. 12 shows a block diagram of a network device 1200 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In some embodiments, the network device 1200 may be implemented as the SMF 126, or at least a portion thereof.

As shown in fig. 12, the network device 1200 may include at least one processor 1210 and at least one memory 1220, the memory 1220 including computer program code 1230 stored thereon. The at least one memory 1220 and the computer program code 1230 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 1210, cause the network device 1200 to perform at least the example method 1100 described above with reference to fig. 11. In addition, network device 1200 may also include a network interface 1240 through which network device 1200 may receive/send communications to/from other network elements, such as, but not limited to PCF 124 and AMF 128.

Fig. 13 shows a block diagram of a device 1300 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The apparatus 1300 may be implemented as the SMF 126 of fig. 1, or at least a portion thereof. The device 1300 may be configured to perform the method 1100 of fig. 11, but is not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 13, the example apparatus 1300 may include a first means 1310 for performing step 1110 of the example method 1100, a second means 1320 for performing step 1120 of the example method 1100, and a third means 1330 for performing step 1130 of the example method 1100.

Fig. 14 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 1400 in accordance with an example embodiment. The method of FIG. 14 may be performed at an AMF, such as AMF 128 in FIG. 1.

Referring to fig. 1 and 14, method 1400 may include a step 1410 of receiving a service flow ID from a third network function element, such as SMF 126, at a fourth network function element, such as AMF 128, and a step 1420 of generating a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment/modification request for quality of service (QoS). The PDU session establishment/modification request includes a service flow ID. Then, in step 1430, a PDU session establishment/modification request including the service flow ID may be sent to a base station, such as gNB 130 of FIG. 1.

In some examples, the PDU session establishment/modification request may be an N2 PDU session request including TSCAI, which TSCAI includes a service flow ID and other information for establishing QoS flows, such as N2 SM information received from the SMF 126, a PDU session ID, and a PDU session modification command. Thus, the service flow ID received from TSN 110 is transmitted to gNB 130 via core network 120.

Fig. 15 shows a block diagram of a network device 1500 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Network device 1500 may be implemented as, for example, AMF 128 or at least a portion thereof.

As shown in fig. 15, the network device 1500 may include at least one processor 1510 and at least one memory 1520, the memory 1520 including computer program code 1530 stored thereon. The at least one memory 1520 and the computer program code 1530 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 1510, cause the network device 1500 to perform at least the example method 1400 described above with reference to fig. 14. In addition, network device 1500 may also include a network interface 1540 through which network device 1500 may receive/transmit communications from/to other network elements such as, but not limited to, SMF 126 and gNB 130.

Fig. 16 shows a block diagram of a device 1600 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Device 1600 may be implemented, for example, as AMF 128 of fig. 1, or at least a portion thereof. Device 1600 may be configured to perform method 1400 of fig. 14, but is not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 16, the example apparatus 1600 may include a first means 1610 for performing the step 1410 of the example method 1400, a second means 1620 for performing the step 1420 of the example method 1400, and a third means 1630 for performing the step 1430 of the example method 1400.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1700 according to some example embodiments. Method 1700 may be performed at a base station, such as gNB 130 of FIG. 1.

Referring to fig. 1 and 17, method 1700 may include step 1710 of receiving a service flow ID at gNB 130 from TSN 110 via core network 120. As described above, the service flow IDs represent TSC service flows, and each service flow ID is associated with a respective TSN device-UE, PDU session, qoS flow, and 5GS TSN bridge port pair. In the case of one-to-many transmission, TSN devices-UEs sharing the same service flow ID are expected to receive the same TSC service traffic data. In some examples, the service flow ID may be included in a PDU session request (message 450 in fig. 4) received from AMF 128. Upon receiving the PDU session request, gNB 130 knows the binding of the TSC service flows and the corresponding QoS flows, PDU sessions and port pairs.

The gNB 130 may then group its serving User Equipment (UE) according to the service flow ID at step 1720. Multiple TSC service flows may exist simultaneously, so the gNB 130 may maintain an active list of TSC service flows based on the "TSC flow ID" information in TSCAI carried by the PDU session request. Table 2 below shows an example of an active TSC service flow list.

Table 2: active TSC service flow list

As shown in table 2, TSN device-UEs represented by PDU sessions are grouped according to their corresponding TSC stream IDs. UEs sharing the same TSC stream ID are grouped. It should be appreciated that since one UE may receive multiple TSC service streams simultaneously, the UEs may be divided into multiple groups in table 2. For example, the UE associated with PDU session ID 3 receives two TSC service flows (QoS flow 1 and QoS flow 2), and thus it belongs to two groups (group 1 and group 2). The list of active TSC service flows may be dynamic and TSC service flows may be added to and removed from the list at the beginning and end of the TSC service flows.

In some examples, the gNB 130 may first identify the TSC service flow ID included in the TSC PDU session request. The gNB 130 may then compare the identified TSC service flow ID with existing TSC service flow IDs in the active TSC service flow list of Table 2. If the identified TSC service flow ID already exists in Table 2, gNB 130 assigns the TSN device-UE associated with the TSC PDU session request to the group corresponding to the identified TSC service flow ID in Table 2. On the other hand, if the identified TSC service flow IDs do not match in table 2, then the gNB 130 will create a new group in table 2 for the identified TSC service flow IDs and add the TSN device-UE associated with the TSC PDU session request to the new group. In this way, TSN devices-UEs served by the gNB 130 are grouped according to their TSC stream IDs.

It should also be appreciated that TSN devices-UEs in the same group may share the same TSCAI information, as shown in table 2, because they are expected to receive the same TSC service flow. Some of the information elements such as flow direction and periodicity in TSCAI carried in the PDU session request may be the same for the TSN device-UE group, but the value of the burst arrival time may be different due to the fact that different TSN device-UEs will have different UE residence times and 5GS TSN bridge delay capabilities.

In some embodiments, the gNB 130 may determine a minimum value of the burst arrival times of the TSN device-UE group and apply the minimum value as a burst arrival time parameter for the group. For example, when the gNB 130 adds a new TSN device-UE to an existing group in the active service flow list of table 2, the gNB 130 may compare the value of the burst arrival time of the new TSN device-UE to the value of the burst arrival time of the group. If the value of the burst arrival time of the new TSN device-UE is less than the value of the burst arrival time of the group, gNB 130 applies the value of the burst arrival time of the new TSN device-UE to the burst arrival time parameter of the group. If the value of the burst arrival time of the new TSN device-UE is equal to or greater than the value of the burst arrival time of the group, the gNB 130 will leave the burst arrival time parameter of the group unchanged. Furthermore, when the gNB 130 adds a new TSN device-UE to the new group in the active service flow list of Table 2, the gNB 130 will directly apply the value of the burst arrival time of the new TSN device-UE as the burst arrival time parameter for the new group. By applying the minimum value of the burst arrival time parameter for the group, the gNB 130 will schedule TSC services for the TSN device-UE group at the earliest time according to the minimum value, so that the deterministic requirements for the TSN are not violated by the delay in sending traffic data to the TSN device-UE.

Next, in step 1730, the gnb 130 may apply group scheduling to the UE groups corresponding to the same service flow ID. For example, for each of group 1 and group 2 in table 2 that includes two or more TSN device-UEs, the gNB 130 will apply the same scheduling configuration for the TSN device-UEs in the group. In some examples, the group schedule may include, for example, a group semi-persistent schedule (SPS). The gNB 130 may also assign a uniform group scheduling identity, e.g., group-SPS-RNTI, for the TSN device-UE groups to assist them in monitoring and receiving TSC service traffic data. For example, as shown in table 2, the TSN device-UE associated with PDU session ID 3 belongs to two groups (group 1 and group 2), and will allocate two group schedule identities for the two group schedules, respectively. The two group schedule identity will help the TSN device-UE monitor and receive traffic data scheduled simultaneously by both groups of schedules without any confusion. It also helps the gNB to perform unified cooperative group scheduling to avoid collision of transmission resources of different services.

In some embodiments, if the group corresponding to the TSC service flow ID includes only one TSN device-UE, such as group 3 in table 2, the gNB 130 may apply normal scheduling, e.g., normal SPS scheduling for a single TSN device-UE in the group.

In the user plane, TSC service traffic data with one-to-many transmission requirements will be scheduled to be transmitted only once over the air interface according to the group schedule applied to the TSN device-UE group described above. For example, referring back to fig. 2, the gnb 232 will transmit one-to-many transmission traffic data only once over the air interface, and all UEs 242, 244 and 246 will monitor and receive traffic data according to the group schedule. The efficiency of radio resources in the air interface is greatly improved compared to the case where the gNB 232 transmits the same traffic data three times for the UEs 242, 244 and 246, respectively.

Fig. 18 shows a block diagram of a base station apparatus 1800 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. For example, base station device 1800 may be implemented as gNB 130 in FIG. 1, or at least a portion thereof.

As shown in fig. 18, the base station apparatus 1800 may include: at least one processor 1810; and at least one memory 1820 including computer program code 1830 stored therein. The at least one memory 1820 and the computer program code 1830 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 1810, cause the base station apparatus 1800 to perform at least the example method 1700 described above with reference to fig. 17. Furthermore, the base station device 1800 may also include a transceiver 1840 configured to communicate wirelessly with, for example, UEs via at least one antenna 1842. The base station device 1800 may also include a network interface 1850 that is configured to provide communications with other network devices, such as the AMF 128 of FIG. 1.

Fig. 19 shows a block diagram of an apparatus 1900 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Device 1900 may be implemented as a base station, or at least a portion thereof, such as gNB 130 of FIG. 1. Device 1900 may be configured to perform method 1700 described above with reference to fig. 17, but is not so limited.

As shown in fig. 19, example apparatus 1900 may include a first means 1910 for performing step 1710 of method 1700, a second means 1920 for performing step 1720 of method 1700, and a third means 1930 for performing step 1730 of method 1700. In some examples, the third device 1930 may be further configured to assign a group identification to UEs sharing the same TSC service flow ID.

In some example embodiments, the example device 1900 may further include: fourth means 1940 for determining a minimum value of a data arrival time parameter for a group of UEs sharing the same TSC service flow ID; and fifth means 1950 for applying the minimum as a group data arrival time parameter for the group of UEs.

The at least one processor 610, 910, 1210, 1510, 1810 discussed above may be of any suitable type suitable for use in a local technology network and may include one or more processors in a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a microprocessor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a processor-based multi-core processor architecture, and one or more processors such as those developed based on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). The at least one processor 610, 910, 1210, 1510, 1810 may be configured to control and operate in cooperation with other elements of the device, such as memory and network interfaces, to implement the methods described above.

The at least one memory 620, 920, 1220, 1520, 1820 may include various forms of at least one storage medium, such as volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory can include, for example, random Access Memory (RAM) or cache memory, but is not limited to. The non-volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, for example, read Only Memory (ROM), hard disk, flash memory, and the like. Further, the at least one memory 620, 920, 1220, 1520, 1820 may include, but are not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof.

Further, in various example embodiments, the example network devices 600, 900, 1200, 1500, 1800 may also include at least one other circuit, element, and interface. The circuits, portions, elements, and interfaces in the example network devices 600, 900, 1200, 1500, 1800, including the at least one processor 610, 910, 1210, 1510, 1810 and the at least one memory 620, 920, 1220, 1520, 1820, may be coupled together in any suitable manner, such as electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, etc., via any suitable connection including, but not limited to, buses, crossbars, wiring, and/or wireless lines.

Another example embodiment may relate to computer program code or instructions that may cause an apparatus to perform at least the corresponding method described above.

Another example embodiment may relate to a computer program product or a computer-readable medium having such computer program code or instructions stored thereon. In various example embodiments, such computer-readable media may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory can include, for example, but is not limited to, RAM, cache, and the like. The non-volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, ROM, hard disk, flash memory, etc.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure are described with respect to 3GPP networks. However, the present invention is not limited to 3GPP networks. It is also applicable to other wireless networks, such as WiFi networks.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure are described with respect to an industrial TSN network. However, the invention is not limited to industrial TSN networks. It is also applicable to other (non-industrial) TSN networks and other ethernet networks.

Throughout the specification and claims, the words "comprise," "include," and the like are to be interpreted in an inclusive sense, rather than an exclusive or exhaustive sense, unless the context clearly requires otherwise; that is, in the sense of "including but not limited to". Furthermore, as used in this disclosure, the words "herein," "above," "below," and words of similar import shall refer to the entirety of this disclosure and not to any particular portions of this disclosure. Words used in the description to the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number, respectively, where the context permits. The word "or" refers to a list of two or more items, which encompasses all of the following interpretations of the word: any item in the list, all items in the list, and any combination of items in the list.

Furthermore, conditional language, such as "may," "examples," "for example," "such as," etc., as used herein is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or states unless specifically stated otherwise or otherwise understood in the context of use. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

From the above description, it is apparent that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure provide various network functions, such as wireless networks, apparatuses implementing the functions, methods for controlling and/or operating the apparatuses, and computer programs for controlling and/or operating them, and media carrying such computer programs

Implementations of any of the above-described blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods include, as non-limiting examples, implementations of hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controllers, or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

Although a few example embodiments have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

Receiving service information from a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) at a first network function, the service information comprising a service flow ID of a one-to-many TSN transport service; and

Notifying the base station of the service flow ID via at least a second network function element;

Wherein User Equipment (UE) served by the base station is grouped according to the service flow ID;

And applying a group schedule to the group of UEs corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

The service flow ID is converted from the TSN domain to a mobile network domain before being notified to the base station.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein notifying the base station of the service flow ID via at least a second network function comprises:

and sending a QoS mapping request containing the service flow ID to the second network function element.

4. A network device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

At least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to at least:

5. The network device of claim 4, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to perform at least the following:

6. The network device of claim 4, wherein notifying the base station of the service flow ID via at least a second network function element comprises:

7. A communication device, comprising:

Means for receiving service information from a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) at a first network function, the service information comprising a service flow ID of a one-to-many TSN transport service; and

Means for notifying the base station of the service flow ID via at least a second network function element;

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

Means for converting the service flow ID from the TSN domain to a mobile network domain before informing the base station of the service flow ID.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein means for informing a base station of the service flow ID via at least a second network function comprises:

Means for sending a QoS mapping request including the service flow ID to the second network function.

10. A method of communication, comprising:

receiving, at the second network function element, a service flow ID of the one-to-many TSN transport service from the first network function element; and

Notifying the base station of the service flow ID via at least a third network function element;

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

Translating quality of service (QoS) requirements for a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) into QoS parameters for a mobile network; and

The QoS parameters are sent to the third network function along with the service flow ID.

12. A network device, comprising:

At least one processor; and

13. The network device of claim 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to perform at least the following:

14. A communication device, comprising:

Means for receiving, at the second network function element, a service flow ID of the one-to-many TSN transport service from the first network function element; and

Means for notifying the base station of the service flow ID via at least a third network function element;

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

Means for converting quality of service (QoS) requirements for a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) into QoS parameters for a mobile network; and

Means for sending the QoS parameters to the third network function along with the service flow ID.

16. A method of communication, comprising:

Receiving, at the third network function element, a service flow ID of the one-to-many TSN transport service from the second network function element;

Generating communication assistance information for a quality of service (QoS) flow for the one-to-many TSN transmission service, the communication assistance information including the service flow ID; and

Transmitting the communication assistance information including the service flow ID to a base station via a fourth network function element;

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the communication assistance information comprises Time Sensitive Communication (TSC) assistance information (TSCAI).

18. A network device, comprising:

At least one processor; and

19. The network device of claim 18, wherein the communication assistance information comprises Time Sensitive Communication (TSC) assistance information (TSCAI).

20. A communication device, comprising:

Means for receiving, at the third network function, a service flow ID of the one-to-many TSN transport service from the second network function;

Means for generating communication assistance information for a quality of service (QoS) flow for the one-to-many TSN transmission service, the communication assistance information comprising the service flow ID; and

Means for transmitting communication assistance information comprising the service flow ID to a base station via a fourth network function element;

21. The communication device of claim 20, wherein the communication assistance information comprises Time Sensitive Communication (TSC) assistance information (TSCAI).

22. A method of communication, comprising:

Receiving, at the fourth network function element, a service flow ID of the one-to-many TSN transport service from the third network function element;

Generating a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment/modification request for a quality of service (QoS) flow for the one-to-many TSN transmission service, the PDU session establishment/modification request including the service flow ID; and

Transmitting the PDU session establishment/modification request including the service flow ID to a base station;

23. A network device, comprising:

At least one processor; and

24. A communication device, comprising:

Means for receiving, at the fourth network function element, a service flow ID of the one-to-many TSN transport service from the third network function element;

means for generating a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session establishment/modification request for a quality of service (QoS) flow for the one-to-many TSN transmission service, the PDU session establishment/modification request comprising the service flow ID; and

Means for sending the PDU session establishment/modification request including the service flow ID to a base station;

25. A method of communication, comprising:

Receiving, at a base station, a service flow ID of a one-to-many TSN transmission service from a core network;

Grouping User Equipments (UEs) served by the base station according to the service flow ID; and

Group scheduling is applied to the group of UEs corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

Determining a minimum value of a data arrival time parameter for the group of UEs; and

The minimum value is taken as a group data arrival time parameter of the UE group corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein applying group scheduling to a group of UEs comprises:

A group identity is assigned to a group of UEs corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the group scheduling comprises a group semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) by which a group of UEs corresponding to one of the service flow IDs is scheduled with a common SPS configuration.

29. A base station apparatus comprising:

At least one processor; and

At least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the base station apparatus to perform at least the following:

Receiving a service flow ID of a one-to-many TSN transmission service from a core network;

grouping User Equipments (UEs) served by the base station equipment according to the service flow ID; and

30. The base station apparatus of claim 29, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the base station apparatus to perform at least the following:

And taking the minimum value as a group data arrival time parameter of the UE group corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

31. The base station apparatus of claim 29, wherein applying group scheduling to a group of UEs comprises: a group identity is assigned to the UE group corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

32. The base station device of claim 29, wherein the group schedule comprises a group semi-persistent schedule (SPS) by which a group of UEs corresponding to one of the service flow IDs is scheduled with a common SPS configuration.

33. A communication device, comprising:

means for receiving at the base station a service flow ID for a one-to-many TSN transmission service from the core network;

Means for grouping User Equipments (UEs) served by the base station according to the service flow ID; and

Means for applying a group schedule to the group of UEs corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising:

Means for determining a minimum value of a data arrival time parameter for the group of UEs; and

Means for taking the minimum value as a group data arrival time parameter for a group of UEs corresponding to one of the service flow IDs.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein means for applying group scheduling to a group of UEs comprises:

means for assigning a group identity to a group of UEs corresponding to one of said service flow IDs.

36. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the group schedule comprises a group semi-persistent schedule (SPS) by which a group of UEs corresponding to one of the service flow IDs is scheduled with a common SPS configuration.

37. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1-3.

38. A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 10-11.

39. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 16-17.

40. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of claim 22.

41. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 25-28.