WO2022150959A1

WO2022150959A1 - Methods, apparatuses, and computer readable media for buffer status reports

Info

Publication number: WO2022150959A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/071236
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ping Yuan; Chunli Wu
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.; Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2021-01-12
Filing date: 2021-01-12
Publication date: 2022-07-21
Also published as: CN115088363A

Abstract

Disclosed are methods for buffer status report. An example method may include: receiving configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports; selecting a resource for a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel from the multiple resources; and transmitting the triggered buffer status report via the selected resource. Related apparatuses and computer readable media are also disclosed.

Description

METHODS, APPARATUSES, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA FOR BUFFER STATUS REPORTS

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various example embodiments relate to methods, apparatuses, and computer readable media for buffer status reports.

BACKGROUND

In a communication network or system which may suffer from a large scheduling latency, such as a non-terrestrial network (NTN) , a procedure by means of a scheduling request (SR) and a buffer status report (BSR) , which may also be referred to as a SR/BSR procedure, may be utilized to schedule uplink data.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect, disclosed is an apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory, where the at least one memory may include computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports; selecting a resource for a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel from the multiple resources; and transmitting the triggered buffer status report via the selected resource.

In some example embodiments, the selection may be based on at least one of a requirement of quality of service of the logical channel and a comparison among estimated scheduling delays of the multiple resources.

In some example embodiments, an estimated scheduling delay of the selected resource from an initial available occasion of the selected resource after a trigger slot of the buffer status report ends earlier than at least one estimated scheduling delay of at least one another resource among the multiple resources from a respective initial available occasion of the at least one another resource after the trigger slot of the buffer status report.

In some example embodiments, an estimated scheduling delay of a resource for the comparison among the multiple resources depends on at least one of a reference round-trip time, a latency category of the resource for the comparison, and an initial available occasion of the resource for the comparison after the trigger slot of the buffer status report.

In some example embodiments, the selected resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a high latency category after the trigger slot of the buffer status report, the at least one another resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a low latency category after the trigger slot of the buffer status report, the initial available occasion of the selected resource is earlier than the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource, and a time interval between the initial available occasion of the selected resource and the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource is larger than or equal to a reference round-trip time.

In some example embodiments, the selected resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a low latency category after the trigger slot of the buffer status report, the at least one another resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a high latency category after the trigger slot of the buffer status report, and the initial available occasion of the selected resource is earlier than the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource or a time interval between the initial available occasion of the selected resource and the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource is small than or equal to a reference round-trip time.

In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to perform: receiving information associated with the reference round-trip time via a broadcast channel.

In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to perform: determining the reference round-trip time based on at least one of location information and satellite ephemeris data.

In some example embodiments, the multiple resources correspond to a single latency category, and the selected resource corresponds to an initial available resource among the multiple resources after the trigger slot of the buffer status report.

In some example embodiments, the logical channel is delay-tolerant based on the requirement of quality of service of the logical channel, and a resource utilization of the selected resource is higher than a resource utilization of at least one another resource among the multiple resources.

In some example embodiments, the multiple resources comprises at least one of a random access channel resource, a configured grant resource, and physical uplink control channel scheduling request resource.

In some example embodiments, the selected resource corresponds to the random access channel resource, and the buffer status report is kept after transmitting the buffer status report via the selected resource through an uplink message of a random access procedure.

In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to perform: cancelling the buffer status report after receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure.

In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to perform: retransmitting the buffer status report via another available resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource after transmitting the buffer status report via the selected resource and before receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure; cancelling the buffer status report after the retransmission; and aborting the random access procedure.

In some example embodiments, the another available resource corresponds to the configured grant resource.

In some example embodiments, the buffer status report comprises information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report.

In some example embodiments, the information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report comprises a system frame number and a slot number of the buffer status report.

In a second aspect, disclosed is a method including: receiving configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports; selecting a resource for a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel from the multiple resources; and transmitting the triggered buffer status report via the selected resource.

In some example embodiments, the method may further comprise: receiving information associated with the reference round-trip time via a broadcast channel.

In some example embodiments, the method may further comprise: determining the reference round-trip time based on at least one of location information and satellite ephemeris data.

In some example embodiments, the method may further comprise: cancelling the buffer status report after receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure.

In some example embodiments, the method may further comprise: retransmitting the buffer status report via another available resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource after transmitting the buffer status report via the selected resource and before receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure; cancelling the buffer status report after the retransmission; and aborting the random access procedure.

In a third aspect, disclosed is an apparatus including: means for receiving configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports; means for selecting a resource for a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel from the multiple resources; and means for transmitting the triggered buffer status report via the selected resource.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: means for receiving information associated with the reference round-trip time via a broadcast channel.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: means for determining the reference round-trip time based on at least one of location information and satellite ephemeris data.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: means for cancelling the buffer status report after receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: means for retransmitting the buffer status report via another available resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource after transmitting the buffer status report via the selected resource and before receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure; means for cancelling the buffer status report after the retransmission; and means for aborting the random access procedure.

In a fourth aspect, disclosed is a computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform: receiving configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports; selecting a resource for a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel from the multiple resources; and transmitting the triggered buffer status report via the selected resource.

In some example embodiments, the instructions further cause the apparatus to perform: receiving information associated with the reference round-trip time via a broadcast channel.

In some example embodiments, the instructions further cause the apparatus to perform: determining the reference round-trip time based on at least one of location information and satellite ephemeris data.

In some example embodiments, the instructions further cause the apparatus to perform: cancelling the buffer status report after receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure.

In some example embodiments, the instructions further cause the apparatus to perform: retransmitting the buffer status report via another available resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource after transmitting the buffer status report via the selected resource and before receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure; cancelling the buffer status report after the retransmission; and aborting the random access procedure.

In a fifth aspect, disclosed is an apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory, where the at least one memory may include computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: transmitting configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports; and receiving a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel via a resource among the multiple resources.

In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to perform: broadcasting information associated with a reference round-trip time.

In some example embodiments, the resource corresponds to a random access channel resource and the buffer status report comprises information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report.

In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to perform: receiving another buffer status report via another resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource between the reception of the buffer status report via the resource through an uplink message of a random access procedure and a transmission of a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure; and aborting the random access procedure in a case where the buffer status report and the another buffer status report comprise same information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report.

In a sixth aspect, disclosed is a method including: transmitting configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports; and receiving a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel via a resource among the multiple resources.

In some example embodiments, the method may further include: broadcasting information associated with a reference round-trip time.

In some example embodiments, the method may further include: receiving another buffer status report via another resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource between the reception of the buffer status report via the resource through an uplink message of a random access procedure and a transmission of a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure; and aborting the random access procedure in a case where the buffer status report and the another buffer status report comprise same information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report.

In a seventh aspect, disclosed is an apparatus including: means for transmitting configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports; and means for receiving a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel via a resource among the multiple resources.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: means for broadcasting information associated with a reference round-trip time.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: means for receiving another buffer status report via another resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource between the reception of the buffer status report via the resource through an uplink message of a random access procedure and a transmission of a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure; and means for aborting the random access procedure in a case where the buffer status report and the another buffer status report comprise same information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report.

In an eighth aspect, disclosed is a computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform: transmitting configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports; and receiving a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel via a resource among the multiple resources.

In some example embodiments, the instructions further cause the apparatus to perform: broadcasting information associated with a reference round-trip time.

In some example embodiments, the instructions further cause the apparatus to perform: receiving another buffer status report via another resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource between the reception of the buffer status report via the resource through an uplink message of a random access procedure and a transmission of a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure; and aborting the random access procedure in a case where the buffer status report and the another buffer status report comprise same information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

FIG. 1 illustrates example operations and example information for reporting BSR in an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the BSR resource selection in an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the BSR resource selection in an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the BSR resource selection in an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the BSR resource selection in an embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of BSR cancellation in an embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of BSR cancellation in an embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method for BSR reporting in an embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example apparatus for BSR reporting in an embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example apparatus for BSR reporting in an embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example method for BSR reporting in an embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example apparatus for BSR reporting in an embodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example apparatus for BSR reporting in an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For example, in the communication network or system such as NTN, a mobile station or user equipment (UE) may transmit SR via a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) to a base station (BS) to notify the BS an arrival of new uplink data and a trigger of a BSR event. Then, UE may transmit BSR to BS to inform BS for example amount of the uplink data to be transmitted, so that BS may determine how to allocate an uplink resource to the UE for transmitting the new uplink data. Such SR/BSR procedure may have a low resource overhead required, but may take a large delay from data arriving in a buffer of the UE till scheduling the uplink data with the properly allocated resource that would fit data and required quality of service (QoS) , which may be at a level of at least 2 round-trip times (RTTs) , for example.

Besides the SR/BSR procedure based on the PUCCH SR resource, one or more other options may be used for scheduling uplink data in the communication network or system such as NTN.

For example, a configured grant (CG) resource may be used for reporting BSR, and possibly even for transmitting the new uplink data if CG resource is large enough and the uplink data may be transmitted in the grant. For example, reporting BSR via the CG resource may have a latency at a level of 0 or 1 RTT, but may involve a large overhead and/or a trade-off between latency and overhead.

In another example, a random access (RA) procedure (for example, a 2-step RA procedure or a 4-step RA procedure) may be used for reporting BSR, and possibly even for transmitting the new uplink data if an allocated random access channel (RACH) resource is large enough for also transmitting the uplink data. For example, reporting BSR based on a 2-step RA procedure may have a latency at a level of 0 or 1 RTT, but requires RACH resources.

In yet another example, dynamic scheduling (for example a dynamic grant) may also be used for reporting BSR, possibly with the new uplink data.

In one or more example embodiments, more than one BSR reporting resources (also referred to as resources or BSR resources herein) may be configured to a UE, and the UE may select at least one BSR reporting resource from the multiple BSR reporting resources for reporting BSR triggered on a logical channel (LCH) .

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a base station (BS) 101 may configure multiple BSR resources to UE 102, and may transmit configuration information 103 associated with respective BSR resources to the UE 102 in any suitable manner.

In various example embodiments, the multiple BSR resources may include, but are not limited to, one or more of: a CG resource, a 2-step RACH resource, a 4-step RACH resource, a PUCCH SR resource, and any other resource suitable for transmitting BSR currently or in future.

For example, the multiple BSR resources may include one or more types of resources configured semi-statically by the BS 101 for the UE 102. For example, one BSR resource among the multiple BSR resources may be configured by the BS 101 with a periodicity, another BSR resource among the multiple BSR resource may be configured by the BS 101 with another periodicity, and the two periodicities may be either the same or different.

Then, for example in a case where new uplink data arrives in the buffer of the UE 102 and a BSR is triggered, the UE 102 may select at least one BSR resource from the multiple BSR resources in an operation 105, and then may transmit BSR 106 to the BS 101 via the selected BSR resource.

In different example embodiments, the selection in the operation 105 may be performed based on one or more of (but not limited to) : QoS requirement of the LCH triggering the BSR; a comparison among estimated scheduling delays of the multiple BSR resources; and so on. For example, the comparison may be based on one or more of (but not limited to) : initial available occasions of respective BSR resources after a trigger slot of the BSR; available occasions of respective BSR resources after the trigger slot of the BSR; latency categories of respective configured BSR resources; and so on.

For example, the UE 102 may select a BSR resource which may bring a lower scheduling delay than one or more another BSR resources among the multiple BSR resources, for example the BSR resource with a minimum estimated scheduling delay among the multiple BSR resources. For example, respective BSR resources may be configured by the BS 101 with separate periodicities, and for respective BSR resources, the UE 102 may determine one or more initial available occasions for reporting the BSR based on the information 103. Then, the UE 102 may estimate scheduling delays of respective BSR resources and/or compare the estimated scheduling delays of respective BSR resources based on the initial available occasions of respective BSR resources after the trigger slot of the BSR, and may further determine the BSR resource with an expected scheduling delay (for example with the minimum estimated scheduling delay) based on the estimation and/or comparison.

For example, in a case where the LCH is autonomously delay-tolerant service according to the QoS requirement of the LCH, the UE 102 may select a BSR resource which may bring a high resource utilization, for example the PUCCH SR resource. For example, in a case where the LCH is a time sensitive service according to the QoS requirement of the LCH, the UE 102 may select a BSR resource which may bring a lower scheduling delay than one or more another BSR resources among the multiple BSR resources, for example the BSR resource with the minimum estimated scheduling delay among the multiple BSR resources.

For example, the UE 102 may select at least one BSR resource from the multiple BSR resource based on the available occasions of respective BSR resources after a trigger slot of the BSR. For example, the UE 102 may select an initial available resource among the multiple BSR resources after the trigger slot of the BSR.

For example, the UE 102 may select fixedly at least one BSR resource from the multiple BSR resource. For example, the UE 102 may select the RACH resource (the 2-step RACH resource or the 4-step RACH resource) and the CG resource from the multiple BSR resources. In another example, the UE 102 may select the RACH resource from the multiple BSR resources, and may utilize both the selected resource and a dynamic grant resource for reporting BSR.

More details and/or examples of the selection in the operation 105 will be presented hereafter.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, information 104 associated with a reference RTT (for example a potential maximum RTT of a cell associated with the BS 101) may be transmitted from the BS 101 to the UE 102 in any suitable manners, for example via a broadcast channel, so that the UE 101 may determine estimated scheduling delays for respective configured BSR resources based on a common reference RTT.

In another example, instead of transmitting the information 104, the BS 101 may transmit a signaling (no illustrated in FIG. 1) to the UE 102 to indicate the UE 102 to determine a reference RTT by itself. Then, the UE 102 may determine its own reference RTT based on one or more of (but not limited to) : location information of the UE 102; ephemeris data of a satellite; and so on. For example, the UE 102 may communicate with a location management function (LMF) entity or a location service (LCS) entity in a core network (CN) to obtain information such as the location information of the UE 102, the ephemeris data of the satellite, and so on. For example, the UE 102 may obtain its location information from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as a global positioning system (GPS) , and may obtain ephemeris data of the satellite from broadcasted system information. Then, the UE 102 may determine the reference RTT by itself based on the obtained information. In yet another example, the UE 102 may determine its own reference RTT autonomously without any information (for example, the information 104) or an indication from the BS 101.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the BSR resource selection in the operation 105 in an embodiment, where T ₀ corresponds an occasion when the new uplink data arrives at the UE 102 and BSR is triggered, and thus may correspond to a time origin on a time axis, T ₁ corresponds an available occasion of a BSR resource 201 after T ₀, T ₂ corresponds an available occasion of a BSR resource 202 after T ₀, T ₃ corresponds an available occasion of a BSR resource 203 after T ₀, …, T _N (N may be any positive integer) corresponds an available occasion of a BSR resource 204 after T ₀, T _N+1 corresponds an available occasion of a BSR resource 205 after T ₀, and so on, where one or more of the

BSR resources

201, 202, 203, …, 204, 205 and so on may be either the same or different.

Then, in the operation 105, the UE 102 may determine estimated scheduling delays from available occasions of the BSR resources based on the respective available occasions, a reference RTT (also noted as RTT _ref herein) , and respective latency categories of respective BSR resources.

For example, if a potentially maximum scheduling delay based on the BSR resource 201 is L ₁ times of RTT _ref, then the latency category of the BSR resource 201 may be L ₁, and an estimated scheduling delay from the available occasion T ₁ of the BSR resource 201 may be L ₁*RTT _ref and will end at T ₁+L ₁*RTT _ref. Similarly, let the latency category of the BSR resource 202 be L ₂ and the latency category of the BSR resource 203 be L ₃, then an estimated scheduling delay from the available occasion T ₂ of the BSR resource 202 may be L ₂*RTT _ref and will end at T ₂+L ₂*RTT _ref, an estimated scheduling delay from the available occasion T ₃ of the BSR resource 203 may be L ₃*RTT _ref and will end at T ₃+L ₃*RTT _ref, and so on. In different examples, depending on the

BSR resources

201, 202, 203, and so on, one or more of L ₁, L ₂, L ₃, and so on may be either the same or different.

Then, the UE 102 may select a BSR resource at an available occasion resulting in that an estimated scheduling delay from that available occasion after T ₀ ending earlier than one or more another available occasions (for example, all the other available occasions) . For example, in the example as illustrated in FIG. 2, t ₁=T ₂+L ₂*RTT _ref corresponding to the BSR resource 202 is earlier than t ₂=T ₁+L ₁*RTT _ref corresponding to the BSR resource 201, t ₃=T ₃+L ₃*RTT _ref corresponding to the BSR resource 203, and so on, and thus the BSR resource 202 at the available occasion T ₂ may be selected in the operation 105.

Further, for example, a number of available occasions of BSR resources to be checked may be determined and adjusted dynamically during the operation 105. For example, in the example as illustrated in FIG. 2, when estimating scheduling delay for the resource 201 at the occasion T ₁, BSR resources 202-205 respectively at the available occasions T ₂ till T _N+1 may be determined to be checked subsequently, because the available occasions T ₂ till T _N+1 are before t ₂=T ₁+L ₁*RTT _ref. Then, when estimating scheduling delay for the resource 202 at the occasion T ₂, the BSR resource 205 at the available occasion T _N+1 may be removed from checking, because the available occasions T ₃ till T _N are before t ₁=T ₂+L ₂*RTT _ref, while T _N+1 is after t ₁=T ₂+L ₂*RTT _ref.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example of the BSR resource selection in the operation 105 in an embodiment, where T’ ₀ corresponds an occasion when the new uplink data arrives at the UE 102 and BSR is triggered, and thus may correspond to a time origin on a time axis, T’ ₁ corresponds an initial available occasion of a BSR resource 301 after T’ ₀, T’ ₂ corresponds an initial available occasion of a BSR resource 302 after T’ ₀, T’ ₃ corresponds an initial available occasion of a BSR resource 303 after T’ ₀, T’ ₄ corresponds another available occasion of the BSR resource 301 after the initial available occasion T’ ₁ of the BSR resource 301, T’ ₅ corresponds yet another available occasion of the BSR resource 301 after the initial available occasion T’ ₁ of the BSR resource 301, and so on, where the

BSR resources

301, 302, 303 and so on correspond to different BSR resources, respectively.

Then, in the operation 105, the UE 102 may determine estimated scheduling delays from initial available occasions of the BSR resources based on the respective initial available occasions, the reference RTT (RTT _ref) , and respective latency categories of respective BSR resources, without considering those non-initial available occasions such as the available occasions T’ ₄ and T’ ₅ of the BSR resource 301.

For example, if a potentially maximum scheduling delay based on the BSR resource 301 is L’ ₁ times of RTT _ref, then the latency category of the BSR resource 301 may be L’ ₁, and an estimated scheduling delay from the initial available occasion T’ ₁ of the BSR resource 301 may be L’ ₁*RTT _ref and will end at T’ ₁+L’ ₁*RTT _ref. Similarly, let the latency category of the BSR resource 302 be L’ ₂ and the latency category of the BSR resource 303 be L’ ₃, then an estimated scheduling delay from the initial available occasion T’ ₂ of the BSR resource 302 may be L’ ₂*RTT _ref and will end at T’ ₂+L’ ₂*RTT _ref, an estimated scheduling delay from the initial available occasion T’ ₃ of the BSR resource 303 may be L’ ₃*RTT _ref and will end at T’ ₃+L’ ₃*RTT _ref, and so on. In different examples, depending on the

BSR resources

301, 302, 303, and so on, one or more of L’ ₁, L’ ₂, L’ ₃, and so on may be either the same or different.

Then, the UE 102 may select a BSR resource whose estimated scheduling delay from the initial available occasion ends earlier than those of one or more another BSR resources (for example, all the other BSR resources) among the multiple BSR resources. For example, in the example as illustrated in FIG. 3, t’ ₁=T’ ₂+L’ ₂*RTT _ref corresponding to the BSR resource 302 is earlier than t’ ₂=T’ ₁+L’ ₁*RTT _ref corresponding to the BSR resource 301, t’ ₃=T’ ₃+L’ ₃*RTT _ref corresponding to the BSR resource 303, and so on, and thus the BSR resource 302 at the available occasion T’ ₂, which corresponds to the initial available occasion of the BSR resource 302 after T’ ₀, may be selected in the operation 105.

In the example of FIG. 3, initial available occasions of respective BSR resources after T’ ₀ are used in the selection, without considering those non-initial available occasions such as the available occasions T’ ₄ and T’ ₅ of the BSR resource 301, so that operational complexity in the selection may be depend on the number of the multiple BSR resources, rather than possible available occasions of respective BSR resources, and the operation 105 may be performed more efficiently.

FIG. 4 illustrates yet another example of the BSR resource selection in the operation 105 in an embodiment, where T” ₀ corresponds an occasion when the new uplink data arrives at the UE 102 and BSR is triggered, and thus may correspond to a time origin on a time axis, T” ₁ corresponds an initial available occasion of a BSR resource 401 after T” ₀, T” ₂ corresponds an initial available occasion of a BSR resource 402 after T” ₀, T” ₃ corresponds an initial available occasion of a BSR resource 403 after T” ₀, T” ₄ corresponds an initial available occasion of a BSR resource 404 after T” ₀, and so on, where the

BSR resources

401, 402, 403, and 403 correspond to different BSR resources, respectively.

Further, in the example as illustrated in FIG. 4, the multiple BSR resources may be categorized into one or more latency categories. For example, a potentially maximum scheduling delay based on the

BSR resource

401 or 402 is L” ₁ times of RTT _ref, and the latency categories of both BSR resource 401 and BSR 402 are same, both being L” ₁. Further, let the BSR 401 at T” ₁ be the initial available BSR resource of the latency category L” ₁. Similarly, let the BSR 403 at T” ₃ be the initial available BSR resource of a latency category L” ₂, and the BSR 404 at T” ₄ be the initial available BSR resource of a latency category L” ₃. The latency categories L” ₁, L” ₂, L” ₃, and so on are different from each other.

Then, in the operation 105, initial available occasions of those initial available BSR resources of respective latency categories may be used to determine estimated scheduling delays for BSR resources of respective latency categories, without considering those non-initial available BSR resources of respective latency categories.

For example, in the operation 105, for the initial available BSR resource 401 of the latency category L” ₁, an estimated scheduling delay from T” ₁ may be L” ₁*RTT _ref and will end at T” ₁+L” ₁*RTT _ref. The non-initial available BSR resource 402 of the latency category L” ₁ may be skipped in the operation 105. Then, for the initial available BSR resource 403 of the latency category L” ₂, an estimated scheduling delay from T” ₃ may be L” ₃*RTT _ref and will end at T” ₃+L” ₃*RTT _ref. For the initial available BSR resource 404 of the latency category L” ₃, an estimated scheduling delay from T” ₄ may be L” ₄*RTT _ref and will end at T” ₄+L” ₄*RTT _ref.

Then, the UE 102 may select a BSR resource which is the initial available BSR resource from its latency category and whose estimated scheduling delay (from its initial available occasion after T” ₀) ends earlier than estimated scheduling delays (from respective initial available occasions after T” ₀) of other initial available BSR resources from other latency categories. For example, in the example as illustrated in FIG. 4, t” ₁=T” ₂+L” ₂*RTT _ref corresponding to the initial available BSR resource 403 of the latency category L” ₂ is earlier than t” ₂=T” ₁+L” ₁*RTT _ref corresponding to the initial available BSR resource 401 of the latency category L” ₁, t’ ₃=T’ ₃+L’ ₃*RTT _ref corresponding to the initial available BSR resource 404 of the latency category L” ₁, and so on, and thus the BSR resource 403 at the available occasion T” ₃ (the initial available occasion of the initial available BSR resource of the latency category L” ₂) may be selected in the operation 105.

In the example of FIG. 4, initial available occasions of the initial available BSR resources from respective latency categories are used in the selection, so that operational complexity in the selection may be depend on the number of the latency categories, and the operation 105 may be performed more efficiently.

In an example, in a case where the multiple BSR resources correspond to a single latency category, in the operation 105, the UE 102 may select the initial available BSR resource after the BSR trigger slot from the multiple BSR resources.

In another example, in a case where the multiple BSR resources are grouped into two latency categories, a low latency category (for example with a scheduling delay corresponding to at most 1 reference RTT) which for example may include one or more of the CG resource and the 2-step RACH resource etc., and a high latency category (for example with a scheduling delay corresponding to at most 2 reference RTTs) which for example may include the PUCCH SR resource, in an example variation of the selection in FIG. 4, when the UE 102 has new uplink data and BSR is triggered, the UE 102 may calculate a time interval between an initial available occasion (after the BSR trigger slot) of an initial available BSR resource from the high latency category and an initial available occasion (after the BSR trigger slot) of an initial available BSR resource from the low latency category.

Then, if the initial available occasion of the initial available BSR resource from the high latency category comes earlier than the initial available occasion of the initial available BSR resource from the low latency category and the time interval is larger than or equal to the reference RTT, the UE 102 may select the initial available BSR resource from the high latency category in the operation 105. If the initial available occasion of the initial available BSR resource from the high latency category comes later than the initial available occasion of the initial available BSR resource from the low latency category or if the time interval is lower than or equal to the reference RTT, the UE 102 may select the initial available BSR resource from the lower latency category in the operation 105.

FIG. 5 illustrates yet another example of the BSR resource selection in the operation 105 in an embodiment, which may be an example variation of the example of FIG. 4.

In the example of FIG. 5, T”’ ₀ corresponds an occasion when the new uplink data arrives at the UE 102 and BSR is triggered, and thus may correspond to a time origin on a time axis. Further, the multiple BSR resources are grouped into two categories, for example the above high latency category and low latency category. T”’ ₁ corresponds to an initial available occasion of an initial available BSR resource 501 (for example, the PUCCH SR resource) from the high latency category, T”’ ₂ after T”’ ₁ corresponds to an available occasion of the initial available BSR resource 501 from the high latency category, and T”’ ₃ corresponds to an initial available occasion of an initial available BSR resource 502 (for example, the CG resource) from the low latency category.

Then, an estimated scheduling delay of the BSR resource 501 from T”’ ₁ may end at T”’ ₁+2*RTT _REF, and an estimated scheduling delay of the BSR resource 502 from T”’ ₃ may end at T”’ ₃+RTT _REF. for example, if the estimated scheduling delay of the BSR resource 501 from T”’ ₁ ends earlier than the estimated scheduling delay of the BSR resource 502 from T”’ ₃ (T”’ ₁+2*RTT _REF<=T”’ ₃+RTT _REF) or the time interval between T”’ ₃ and T”’ ₁ is larger than or equal to the reference RTT (T”’ ₃-T”’ ₁>=RTT _REF) , the BSR resource 501 of the high latency category, which is at the occasion T”’ ₁, may be selected in the operation 105 for reporting BSR; otherwise, the BSR resource 502 of the low latency category, which is at the occasion T”’ ₃, may be selected in the operation 105 for reporting BSR.

Several examples of selection in the operation 105 have been described above. In these examples, multiple BSR resources may be configured to UE and the UE may select at least one proper BSR resource from the multiple BSR resources by considering for example BSR reporting occasions (which may be in periodicity) , the supported scheduling delay of respective BSR resources, a reference RTT, QoS requirement of the LCH triggering the BSR, and so on. It is appreciated that this disclosure is not limited to the above examples, and any other suitable selection conditions/rules/methods may be used in the operation 105.

Further, in one or more embodiments, in a case where at least the RACH resource (for example, the 2-step RACH resource together with the CG resource, or the 4-step RACH resource together with the CG resource) is selected from the multiple BSR resources for reporting BSR, possibly together with another BSR resource selected from the multiple BSR resources or a dynamic grant, the UE 102 may cancel the BSR over the RACH resource based on a reception of a feedback from the BS 101 after transmission of the BSR. It is appreciated that the selection of RACH resource for reporting BSR is not limited to the examples described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of BSR cancellation in an embodiment, where T ₀ corresponds an occasion when the new uplink data arrives at the UE 102 and BSR is triggered, and thus may correspond to a time origin on a time axis.

In the example of FIG. 6, the RACH resource 601 (for example, the 2-step RACH resource or the 4-step RACH resource) is selected for reporting BSR, and at the occasion T ₁ which is the initial available occasion of the RACH resource 601, the UE 102 transmits the BSR via the RACH resource 601 through a RA procedure. For example, at the occasion T ₁, the UE 102 transmits the BSR via the 2-step RACH resource through an uplink message MsgA of the 2-step RA procedure, or via the 4-step RACH resource through an uplink message Msg 3 of the 4-step RA procedure.

For example due to possible preamble collision and/or power-ramping, an ultimate latency of BSR over the RACH resource may be unpredictable, which may be higher than the manner based on the CG resources or even the SR/BSR procedure. Thus, BSR is not cancelled and may be kept after transmitting the BSR over the RACH resource.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 6, if the UE 102 does not receive a downlink acknowledge message (for example, a downlink message MsgB of the 2-step RA procedure, or a downlink message Msg4 of the 4-step RA procedure) for the transmitted MsgA or Msg3 including BSR during a period between T ₁ and an available occasion T ₂ of another available BSR resource 602, the UE 102 may transmit the BSR again at T ₂ via the BSR resource 602. For example, the BSR resource 602 may be another BSR resource selected together with the RACH resource 601 from the multiple BSR resources. For example, the BSR resource 602 may have the same latency category as the RACH resource 601. In another example, the BSR resource 602 may be a dynamic grant resource.

Further, the UE 102 may cancel the BSR after the retransmission of the BSR at T ₂, and then may abort the RA procedure for example at T ₃ which is a next available occasion of the RACH resource 601 after T ₁.

For example, the BSR may include information associated with time of triggering the BSR or time of multiplexing the BSR, so that the BS 101 may determine whether the BSRs received via more than one BSR resources correspond to the same BSR. If the BSRs received via more than one BSR resources correspond to the same BSR, the BS 101 may abort the RA procedure accordingly. For example, the information associated with time of triggering the BSR or time of multiplexing the BSR may include a system frame number and a slot number of the BSR.

Thus, BSR reporting over the RACH resource may be optimized by considering RACH preamble collision, power ramping, and so on, so that the achieved uplink scheduling delay may be predictable, for example.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of BSR cancellation in an embodiment, where T ₀ corresponds an occasion when the new uplink data arrives at the UE 102 and BSR is triggered, and thus may correspond to a time origin on a time axis.

In the example of FIG. 7, the RACH resource 701 (for example, the 2-step RACH resource or the 4-step RACH resource) is selected for reporting BSR, and at the occasion T ₁ which is the initial available occasion of the RACH resource 701, the UE 102 transmits the BSR via the RACH resource 701 through a RA procedure. For example, at the occasion T ₁, the UE 102 transmits the BSR via the 2-step RACH resource through an uplink message MsgA of the 2-step RA procedure, or via the 4-step RACH resource through an uplink message Msg 3 of the 4-step RA procedure.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the UE 102 receives the downlink acknowledge message (for example, the downlink message MsgB of the 2-step RA procedure, or the downlink message Msg4 of the 4-step RA procedure) for the transmitted MsgA or Msg3 including BSR at t ₁ during a period between T ₁ and an available occasion T ₂ of another available BSR resource 702, and the UE 102 may cancel the BSR.

It is appreciated that this disclosure is not limited to the above examples. FIG. 8 illustrates an example method 800 for BSR in an example embodiment, which may be performed in a UE such as the UE 102 in the above examples.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the example method 800 may include an operation 801, an operation 802, and an operation 803. In the operation 801, the UE may receiving configuration information associated with multiple resources for BSRs, for example the information 103 in FIG. 1. In the operation 802, the UE may select a resource for a BSR triggered on a LCH from the multiple resources, an example of which may include the operation 105 in FIG. 1. In the operation 803, the UE may transmit the triggered BSR (for example, the triggered BSR 106 in FIG. 1) via the selected resource.

In some example embodiments, the selection in the operation 802 may be based on at least one of QoS requirement of the LCH and a comparison among estimated scheduling delays of the multiple resources.

In some example embodiments, an estimated scheduling delay of the selected resource from an initial available occasion of the selected resource after a trigger slot of the BSR ends earlier than at least one estimated scheduling delay of at least one another resource among the multiple resources from a respective initial available occasion of the at least one another resource after the trigger slot of the BSR.

In some example embodiments, an estimated scheduling delay of a resource for the comparison among the multiple resources depends on at least one of a reference RTT, a latency category of the resource for the comparison, and an initial available occasion of the resource for the comparison after the trigger slot of the BSR.

In some example embodiments, the selected resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a high latency category after the trigger slot of the BSR, the at least one another resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a low latency category after the trigger slot of the BSR, the initial available occasion of the selected resource is earlier than the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource, and a time interval between the initial available occasion of the selected resource and the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource is larger than or equal to a reference RTT.

In some example embodiments, the selected resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a low latency category after the trigger slot of the BSR, the at least one another resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a high latency category after the trigger slot of the BSR, and the initial available occasion of the selected resource is earlier than the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource or a time interval between the initial available occasion of the selected resource and the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource is small than or equal to a reference RTT.

In some example embodiments, the example method 800 may further include receiving information associated with the reference RTT via a broadcast channel.

In some example embodiments, the example method 800 may further include: determining the reference RTT based on at least one of location information and satellite ephemeris data.

In some example embodiments, the multiple resources correspond to a single latency category, and the selected resource corresponds to an initial available resource among the multiple resources after the trigger slot of the BSR.

In some example embodiments, the LCH is delay-tolerant based on the QoS requirement of the LCH, and a resource utilization of the selected resource is higher than a resource utilization of at least one another resource among the multiple resources.

In some example embodiments, the multiple resources comprises at least one of a RACH resource, a CG resource, and PUCCH SR resource.

In some example embodiments, the selected resource corresponds to the RACH resource, and the BSR is kept after transmitting the BSR via the selected resource through an uplink message of a RA procedure.

In some example embodiments, the example method 800 may further include cancelling the BSR after receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the RA procedure.

In some example embodiments, the example method 800 may further include: retransmitting the BSR via another available resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource after transmitting the BSR via the selected resource and before receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the RA procedure; cancelling the BSR after the retransmission; and aborting the RA procedure.

In some example embodiments, the another available resource corresponds to the CG resource.

In some example embodiments, the BSR comprises information associated with time of triggering the BSR or time of multiplexing the BSR.

In some example embodiments, the information associated with time of triggering the BSR or time of multiplexing the BSR comprises a system frame number and a slot number of the BSR.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example apparatus 900 for BSR in an example embodiment, which may be at least a part of a UE such as the UE 102 in the above examples.

As shown in FIG. 9, the example apparatus 900 may include at least one processor 901 and at least one memory 902 that may include computer program code 903. The at least one memory 902 and the computer program code 903 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 901, cause the apparatus 900 at least to perform at least the operations of the example method 800 described above.

In various example embodiments, the at least one processor 901 in the example apparatus 900 may include, but not limited to, at least one hardware processor, including at least one microprocessor such as a central processing unit (CPU) , a portion of at least one hardware processor, and any other suitable dedicated processor such as those developed based on for example Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) . Further, the at least one processor 801 may also include at least one other circuitry or element not shown in FIG. 9.

In various example embodiments, the at least one memory 902 in the example apparatus 900 may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, but not limited to, for example, a random-access memory (RAM) , a cache, and so on. The non-volatile memory may include, but not limited to, for example, a read only memory (ROM) , a hard disk, a flash memory, and so on. Further, the at least memory 802 may include, but are not limited to, an electric, a magnetic, an optical, an electromagnetic, an infrared, or a semiconductor system, apparatus, or device or any combination of the above.

Further, in various example embodiments, the example apparatus 900 may also include at least one other circuitry, element, and interface, for example at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like.

In various example embodiments, the circuitries, parts, elements, and interfaces in the example apparatus 900, including the at least one processor 901 and the at least one memory 902, may be coupled together via any suitable connections including, but not limited to, buses, crossbars, wiring and/or wireless lines, in any suitable ways, for example electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, and the like.

FIG. 10 illustrates another example apparatus 1000 for BSR in an example embodiment, which may be performed in a UE such as the UE 102 in the above examples.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the example apparatus 1000 may include means 1001 for performing the operation 801 of the example method 800, means 1002 for performing the operation 802 of the example method 800, and means 1003 for performing the operation 803 of the example method 800. In one or more another example embodiment, at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like may also be included in the example apparatus 1000. In some example embodiments, examples of means in the apparatus 1000 may include circuitries. In some example embodiments, examples of means may also include software modules and any other suitable function entities. In some example embodiments, one or more additional means may be included in the apparatus 1000 for performing one or more additional operations of the example method 800.

The term “circuitry” throughout this disclosure may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) ; (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) ; and (c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) , that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. This definition of circuitry applies to one or all uses of this term in this disclosure, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this disclosure, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example method 1100 for BSR in an example embodiment, which may be performed in a BS such as the BS 101 in the above examples.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the example method 1100 may include an operation 1101 and an operation 1103, which may correspond to the operation 801 and the operation 803 of the example method 800, respectively.

In the operation 1101, the BS may transmit configuration information associated with multiple resources for BSRs, for example the information 103 in FIG. 1. In the operation 1103, the BS may receive a BSR (for example, the triggered BSR 106 in FIG. 1) via a resource among the multiple resources.

For facilitating the operation 802 of the example method 800, as illustrated in FIG. 11, in some example embodiments, the example method 1100 may also include an operation 1102 to broadcast information (for example the information 104 in FIG. 1) associated with a reference RTT.

For facilitating BSR cancellation, in some example embodiments, for example in a case where the resource corresponds to a RACH resource, the BSR comprises information associated with time of triggering the BSR or time of multiplexing the BSR. For example, the information associated with time of triggering the BSR or time of multiplexing the BSR comprises a system frame number and a slot number of the BSR.

In some example embodiments, the example method 1100 may further include: receiving another BSR via another resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource between the reception of the BSR via the resource through an uplink message of a RA procedure and a transmission of a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the RA procedure; and aborting the RA procedure in a case where the BSR and the another BSR comprise same information associated with time of triggering the BSR or time of multiplexing the BSR.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example method 1200 for BSR in an example embodiment, which may be at least a part of a BS such as the BS 101 in the above examples.

As shown in FIG. 12, the example apparatus 1200 may include at least one processor 1201 and at least one memory 1202 that may include computer program code 1203. The at least one memory 1202 and the computer program code 1203 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 1201, cause the apparatus 1200 at least to perform at least the operations of the example method 1100 described above.

In various example embodiments, the at least one processor 1201 in the example apparatus 1200 may include, but not limited to, at least one hardware processor, including at least one microprocessor such as a CPU, a portion of at least one hardware processor, and any other suitable dedicated processor such as those developed based on for example FPGA and ASIC. Further, the at least one processor 1201 may also include at least one other circuitry or element not shown in FIG. 12.

In various example embodiments, the at least one memory 1202 in the example apparatus 1200 may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, but not limited to, for example, a RAM, a cache, and so on. The non-volatile memory may include, but not limited to, for example, a ROM, a hard disk, a flash memory, and so on. Further, the at least memory 1202 may include, but are not limited to, an electric, a magnetic, an optical, an electromagnetic, an infrared, or a semiconductor system, apparatus, or device or any combination of the above.

Further, in various example embodiments, the example apparatus 1200 may also include at least one other circuitry, element, and interface, for example at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like.

In various example embodiments, the circuitries, parts, elements, and interfaces in the example apparatus 1200, including the at least one processor 1201 and the at least one memory 1202, may be coupled together via any suitable connections including, but not limited to, buses, crossbars, wiring and/or wireless lines, in any suitable ways, for example electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, and the like.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example method 1300 for BSR in an example embodiment, which may be at least a part of a BS such as the BS 101 in the above examples.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the example apparatus 1300 may include means 1301 for performing the operation 1101 of the example method 1100, optional means 1302 for performing the optional operation 1102 of the example method 1100, and means 1303 for performing the operation 1103 of the example method 1100. In one or more another example embodiment, at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like may also be included in the example apparatus 1300. In some example embodiments, examples of means in the apparatus 1300 may include circuitries. In some example embodiments, examples of means may also include software modules and any other suitable function entities. In some example embodiments, one or more additional means may be included in the apparatus 1300 for performing one or more additional operations of the example method 1100.

Another example embodiment may relate to computer program codes or instructions which may cause an apparatus to perform at least respective methods described above. Another example embodiment may be related to a computer readable medium having such computer program codes or instructions stored thereon. In some example embodiments, such a computer readable medium may include at least one storage medium in various forms such as a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, but not limited to, for example, a RAM, a cache, and so on. The non-volatile memory may include, but not limited to, a ROM, a hard disk, a flash memory, and so on. The non-volatile memory may also include, but are not limited to, an electric, a magnetic, an optical, an electromagnetic, an infrared, or a semiconductor system, apparatus, or device or any combination of the above.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise, ” “comprising, ” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to. ” The word “coupled” , as generally used herein, refers to two or more elements that may be either directly connected, or connected by way of one or more intermediate elements. Likewise, the word “connected” , as generally used herein, refers to two or more elements that may be either directly connected, or connected by way of one or more intermediate elements. Additionally, the words “herein, ” “above, ” “below, ” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.

Moreover, conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can, ” “could, ” “might, ” “may, ” “e.g., ” “for example, ” “such as” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain example embodiments include, while other example embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. 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 example embodiments or that one or more example 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 example embodiment.

While some example embodiments have been described, these example embodiments have been presented by way of example, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the apparatus, methods, and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. For example, while blocks are presented in a given arrangement, alternative example embodiments may perform similar functionalities with different components and/or circuit topologies, and some blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. At least one of these blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. The order of these blocks may also be changed. Any suitable combination of the elements and acts of the some example embodiments described above can be combined to provide further example embodiments. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.

Claims

A method comprising:

receiving configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports;

selecting a resource for a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel from the multiple resources based on at least one of a requirement of quality of service of the logical channel and a comparison among estimated scheduling delays of the multiple resources; and

transmitting the triggered buffer status report via the selected resource.
The method of claim 1 wherein an estimated scheduling delay of the selected resource from an initial available occasion of the selected resource after a trigger slot of the buffer status report ends earlier than at least one estimated scheduling delay of at least one another resource among the multiple resources from a respective initial available occasion of the at least one another resource after the trigger slot of the buffer status report.
The method of claim 2 wherein an estimated scheduling delay of a resource for the comparison among the multiple resources depends on at least one of a reference round-trip time, a latency category of the resource for the comparison, and an initial available occasion of the resource for the comparison after the trigger slot of the buffer status report.
The method of claim 2 wherein the selected resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a high latency category after the trigger slot of the buffer status report, the at least one another resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a low latency category after the trigger slot of the buffer status report, the initial available occasion of the selected resource is earlier than the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource, and a time interval between the initial available occasion of the selected resource and the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource is larger than or equal to a reference round-trip time.
The method of claim 2 wherein the selected resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a low latency category after the trigger slot of the buffer status report, the at least one another resource corresponds to an initial available resource with a high latency category after the trigger slot of the buffer status report, and the initial available occasion of the selected resource is earlier than the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource or a time interval between the initial available occasion of the selected resource and the initial available occasion of the at least one another resource is small than or equal to a reference round-trip time.
The method of any of claims 3 to 5 further comprising:

receiving information associated with the reference round-trip time via a broadcast channel.
The method of any of claims 3 to 5 further comprising:

determining the reference round-trip time based on at least one of location information and satellite ephemeris data.
The method of claim 2 wherein the multiple resources correspond to a single latency category, and the selected resource corresponds to an initial available resource among the multiple resources after the trigger slot of the buffer status report.
The method of claim 1 wherein the logical channel is delay-tolerant based on the requirement of quality of service of the logical channel, and a resource utilization of the selected resource is higher than a resource utilization of at least one another resource among the multiple resources.
The method of any of claims 1 to 9 wherein the multiple resources comprises at least one of a random access channel resource, a configured grant resource, and physical uplink control channel scheduling request resource.
The method of claim 10 wherein the selected resource corresponds to the random access channel resource, and the buffer status report is kept after transmitting the buffer status report via the selected resource through an uplink message of a random access procedure.
The method of claim 11 further comprising:

cancelling the buffer status report after receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure.
The method of claim 11 further comprising:

retransmitting the buffer status report via another available resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource after transmitting the buffer status report via the selected resource and before receiving a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure;

cancelling the buffer status report after the retransmission; and

aborting the random access procedure.
The method of claim 13 wherein the another available resource corresponds to the configured grant resource.
The method of any of claims 11 to 14 wherein the buffer status report comprises information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report.
The method of claim 15 wherein the information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report comprises a system frame number and a slot number of the buffer status report.
A method comprising:

transmitting configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports;

broadcasting information associated with a reference round-trip time; and

receiving a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel via a resource among the multiple resources.
The method of claim 17 wherein the multiple resources comprises at least one of a random access channel resource, a configured grant resource, and physical uplink control channel scheduling request resource.
The method of claim 17 or 18 wherein the resource corresponds to a random access channel resource and the buffer status report comprises information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report.
The method of claim 19 wherein the information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report comprises a system frame number and a slot number of the buffer status report.
The method of claim 19 or 20 further comprising:

receiving another buffer status report via another resource among the multiple resources or a dynamic grant resource between the reception of the buffer status report via the resource through an uplink message of a random access procedure and a transmission of a downlink acknowledge message to the uplink message of the random access procedure; and

aborting the random access procedure in a case where the buffer status report and the another buffer status report comprise same information associated with time of triggering the buffer status report or time of multiplexing the buffer status report.
An 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 being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform a method of any of claims 1 to 21.
An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports;

means for selecting a resource for a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel from the multiple resources based on at least one of a requirement of quality of service of the logical channel and a comparison among estimated scheduling delays of the multiple resources; and

means for transmitting the triggered buffer status report via the selected resource.
An apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting configuration information associated with multiple resources for buffer status reports;

means for broadcasting information associated with a reference round-trip time; and

means for receiving a buffer status report triggered on a logical channel via a resource among the multiple resources.
A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform a method of any of claims 1 to 21.