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EP-4124140-B1 - USER EQUIPMENT AND BASE STATION INVOLVED IN TRANSMISSION OF SMALL DATA

EP4124140B1EP 4124140 B1EP4124140 B1EP 4124140B1EP-4124140-B1

Inventors

  • SHAH, Rikin
  • SUZUKI, HIDETOSHI

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20210721

Claims (15)

  1. A user equipment, UE, comprising: a processor, which in operation, being configured to determine that small data has become available for transmission, wherein the available small data is to be transmitted using periodic resources without a prior scheduling request from the UE, wherein transmitting the available small data using the periodic resources includes that the processor, when in operation, is configured to determine one of a plurality of synchronization signal blocks having a signal quality above a signal quality threshold, in case the processor determines there is no synchronization signal block having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold: • the processor, when in operation, is configured to operate a time trigger control mechanism, and • the processor, when in operation, is configured to control the UE to perform an alternative small-data transmission mechanism, instead of transmitting the available small data using the periodic resources, according to the operated time trigger control mechanism, wherein the alternative small-data transmission mechanism includes: • transmitting, by a transmitter of the UE, the available small data using a random access procedure, wherein the processor is configured to perform the time trigger control mechanism based on a timer.
  2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the time trigger control mechanism is controlled, in accordance with a parameter, so as to attempt avoiding to perform the alternative small-data transmission mechanism, optionally wherein the time trigger control mechanism is operated by the processor, in accordance with the parameter, so as to allow the processor, when in operation, to transmit the available small data using the periodic resources, including determining one of the plurality of synchronization signal blocks having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold for the periodic-resource-based transmission of the available small data.
  3. The UE according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the timer is operated according to one or more of the following: • starting the timer when the processor determines, for the first time for the transmission of the available small data, that there is no synchronization signal block having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold, • while the started timer has not expired, ∘ the processor attempts transmitting the available small data using the periodic resources, respectively including determining one of the plurality of synchronization signal blocks having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold, ∘ stopping the started timer, in case the UE succeeds in transmitting the available small data using the periodic resource at a periodic resource occasion, • when the timer expires, the processor controls the UE to perform the alternative small-data transmission mechanism.
  4. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the processor, when in operation, determines a value of the timer based on one or more of the following: pre-configured timer information indicating one value of the timer, optionally wherein the pre-configured timer information is stored in the UE as part of an operating system of the UE or as part of subscriber information, a timer configuration message, wherein the UE includes a receiver, which in operation, receives the timer configuration message from a serving base station, optionally wherein the timer configuration message is received from system information or is a message dedicated to the UE, a periodicity of the periodic resources to be used for transmitting the available small data, wherein the processor, when in operation, determines the value of the timer as a multiple or a fraction of said periodicity, optionally wherein the processor, when in operation, determines a larger value of the timer for a smaller periodicity of the periodic resources and determines a smaller value of the timer for a larger periodicity of the periodic resources, one of at least one logical channel with which the small data is associated, wherein the processor, when in operation, determines, from stored timer information, a value that is associated with said logical channel as the value of the timer, optionally wherein the processor determines the smallest value among plural values associated with plural logical channels with which the small data is associated as the value of the timer, optionally wherein value of the timer is determined based on one or more of traffic requirements, Quality of Service requirements, and priority of a logical channel, the value of the timer is UE-specific.
  5. The UE according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor performs the time trigger control mechanism based on a counter, that counts the number of times the processor determines that there is no synchronization signal block having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold for the transmission of the available small data, optionally wherein the counter is operated according to one or more of the following: • increasing the counter every time the processor determines, for an occasion of the periodic resources, that there is no synchronization signal block having the signal quality being above the signal quality threshold for the transmission of the available small data, • while the counter has not reached a counter threshold, ∘ the processor attempts transmitting the available small data using the periodic resources, respectively including determining one of a plurality of synchronization signal blocks having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold, ∘ stopping the counter, in case the UE succeeds in transmitting the available small data using the periodic resources at a periodic resource occasion, • when the counter reaches the counter threshold, the processor controls the UE to perform the alternative small-data transmission mechanism.
  6. The UE according to claim 5, wherein the processor, when in operation, determines a value of the counter threshold based on one or more of the following: pre-configured counter information indicating one value of the counter threshold, optionally wherein the pre-configured counter information is stored in the UE as part of an operating system of the UE or as part of subscriber information, a counter configuration message, wherein the UE includes a receiver, which in operation, receives the counter configuration message from a serving base station, optionally wherein the counter configuration message is received from system information or is a message dedicated to the UE, a periodicity of the periodic resources to be used for transmitting the available small data, wherein the processor, when in operation, determines the value of the counter threshold as a multiple or a fraction of said periodicity, optionally wherein the processor, when in operation, determines a larger value of the counter threshold for a smaller periodicity of the periodic resources and determines a smaller value of the counter threshold for a larger periodicity of the periodic resources, one of at least one logical channel with which the small data is associated, wherein the processor, when in operation, determines, from stored counter information, a value that is associated with said logical channel as the value of the counter threshold, optionally wherein the processor determines the smallest value among plural values associated with plural logical channels with which the small data is associated as the value of the counter threshold, optionally wherein value of the counter threshold is determined based on one or more of traffic requirements, Quality of Service requirements, and priority of a logical channel, the value of the counter threshold is UE-specific.
  7. The UE according to claims 1 and 5, wherein the processor performs the time trigger control mechanism based on a combination of the timer and the counter, wherein the processor controls the UE to perform the alternative small-data transmission mechanism when the counter reaches the counter threshold or the timer expires, whichever is earlier.
  8. The UE according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor performs the time trigger control mechanism, based on whether there are one or more periodic resource occasions during a time period subsequent to the determining that there is no synchronization signal block having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold for transmitting the available small data, optionally where in case there are no more periodic resource occasions during the subsequent time period, the processor controls the UE to perform the alternative small-data transmission mechanism at an opportunity next to the determining that there are no more periodic resource occasions, and in case there are one or more periodic resource occasions during the subsequent time period, • the processor successively attempts transmitting the available small data using the periodic resources at each of one or more subsequent periodic resource occasions during the subsequent time period, respectively including determining one of a plurality of synchronization signal blocks having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold, • in case the UE determines for each of said one or more subsequent periodic resource occasions that there is no synchronization signal block having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold, the processor controls the UE to perform the alternative small-data transmission mechanism at an opportunity next to the last periodic resource occasion during the subsequent time period or next to the expiry of the subsequent time period.
  9. The UE according to claim 8, wherein the one or more periodic resource occasions during the subsequent time period are associated with: • one of the plurality of synchronization signal blocks, or • the synchronization signal block having the highest signal quality among the plurality of synchronization signal blocks, or • two or more of the plurality of synchronization blocks.
  10. The UE according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the processor, when in operation, determines a value of the time period based on one or more of the following: pre-configured time period information indicating one value of the time period, optionally wherein the pre-configured time period information is stored in the UE as part of an operating system of the UE or as part of subscriber information, a time period configuration message, wherein the UE includes a receiver, which in operation, receives the time period configuration message from a serving base station, optionally wherein the time period configuration message is received from system information or is a message dedicated to the UE, a periodicity of the periodic resources to be used for transmitting the available small data, wherein the processor, when in operation, determines the value of the time period as a multiple or a fraction of said periodicity, optionally wherein the processor, when in operation, determines a larger value of the time period for a smaller periodicity of the periodic resources and determines a smaller value of the time period for a larger periodicity of the periodic resources, one of at least one logical channel with which the small data is associated, wherein the processor, when in operation, determines, from stored time period information, a value that is associated with said logical channel as the value of the time period, optionally wherein the processor determines the smallest value among plural values associated with plural logical channels with which the small data is associated as the value of the time period, optionally wherein value of the time period is determined based on one or more of traffic requirements, Quality of Service requirements, and priority of a logical channel, the value of the time period is UE-specific.
  11. The UE according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the processor, when in operation, determines the signal quality threshold among a plurality of signal quality thresholds, wherein one or more of the plurality of signal quality thresholds are specific to one or more different transmission parameters that are usable by the UE for the transmission of small data, including one or more of different transport block sizes, different modulation schemes and different coding rates, and wherein the processor, when in operation, determines that signal quality threshold among the plurality of signal quality thresholds, as the signal quality threshold, that is associated with the one or more transmission parameters to be used by the UE for the transmission of the available small data, optionally wherein at least some of the plurality of signal quality thresholds are defined based on that a higher value of the signal quality threshold is associated with one or more of a larger transport block size and a higher modulation scheme, optionally wherein at least some the plurality of signal quality thresholds are defined based on that a lower value of the signal quality threshold is associated with one or more of a smaller transport block size and a lower modulation scheme.
  12. The UE according to one of claims 1 to 11, where in case the processor succeeds in determining a synchronization signal block having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold: • the processor, when in operation, determines periodic resources associated with that determined synchronization signal block, and • the transmitter, when in operation, transmits the available small data using the determined periodic resources.
  13. The UE according to one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the UE is in an inactive state out of a connected state, an idle state and the inactive state, and/or wherein instead of using the signal quality of the synchronization signal block, using the signal quality of a reference signal received over a same beam as the synchronization signal block, and/or wherein the synchronization signal block includes one or more synchronization signals, including a Primary Synchronization Signal, PSS, and a Secondary Synchronization Signals, SSS, and optionally includes a Physical Broadcast Channel, PBCH, optionally wherein the signal quality is determined based on one or more of the synchronization signals of the synchronization signal block, and/or wherein the random access procedure is a small-data-specific random access procedure or a non-small-data-specific random access procedure, optionally wherein the non-small-data-specific random access procedure is used when the UE is not configured for use of a small-data-specific random access procedure, optionally wherein one or more of radio resources and preambles usable for the non-small-data-specific and small-data-specific random access procedure are different from one another, and/or wherein the small-data-specific random access procedure and the non-small-data-specific random access procedure include two steps or four steps, and the transmission of the available small data is performed with a first message of the two-step random access procedure, or with a third message of the four-step random access procedure, and/or wherein the signal quality is one or more of a Reference Signal Received Power, RSRP, a Reference Signal Received Quality, RSRQ, and a Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, SINR.
  14. A method comprising the following steps performed by a user equipment, UE: determining that small data has become available for transmission, wherein the available small data is to be transmitted using periodic resources without a prior scheduling request from the UE, wherein transmitting the available small data using the periodic resources includes a step of determining one of a plurality of synchronization signal blocks having a signal quality above a signal quality threshold, in case of determining there is no synchronization signal block having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold: • operating a time trigger control mechanism, and • controlling the UE to perform an alternative small-data transmission mechanism, instead of transmitting the available small data using the periodic resources, according to the operated time trigger control mechanism, wherein the alternative small-data transmission mechanism includes: • transmitting the available small data using a random access procedure, wherein the time trigger control mechanism is performed based on a timer.
  15. A base station comprising: a transmitter, which in operation, being configured to transmit a configuration message to a user equipment, UE, for configuring the UE to transmit small data, which has become available for transmission, by using periodic resources without a prior scheduling request, the transmitter, which in operation, being configured to transmit one or more synchronization signal blocks, a processor, which in operation, being configured to determine one or more parameters for a time trigger control mechanism, which is operated by the UE in case the UE determines there is no synchronization signal block having a signal quality above a signal quality threshold and which is operated by the UE for controlling to perform an alternative small-data transmission mechanism, instead of transmitting the available small data using the periodic resources, the transmitter, when in operation, being configured to transmit the one or more parameters for the time triggered control mechanism to the UE, a receiver, which in operation, being configured to receive the available small data via the periodic resources or via the alternative small-data transmission mechanism, wherein the alternative small-data transmission mechanism includes: • transmitting by the UE the available small data using a random access procedure, wherein the time trigger control mechanism is performed based on a timer.

Description

FIELD OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE The present disclosure is directed to a user equipment, a method performed by a user equipment and to a base station. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND Currently, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) works at the technical specifications for the next generation cellular technology, which is also called fifth generation (5G). One objective is to provide a single technical framework addressing all usage scenarios, requirements and deployment scenarios (see e.g. section 6 of 3GGP TR 38.913 version 16.0.0), at least including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communication (mMTC). For example, eMBB deployment scenarios may include indoor hotspot, dense urban, rural, urban macro and high speed; URLLC deployment scenarios may include industrial control systems, mobile health care (remote monitoring, diagnosis and treatment), real time control of vehicles, wide area monitoring and control systems for smart grids; mMTC deployment scenarios may include scenarios with large number of devices with non-time critical data transfers such as smart wearables and sensor networks. The services eMBB and URLLC are similar in that they both demand a very broad bandwidth, however are different in that the URLLC service may preferably require ultra-low latencies. A second objective is to achieve forward compatibility. Backward compatibility to Long Term Evolution (LTE, LTE-A) cellular systems is not required, which facilitates a completely new system design and/or the introduction of novel features. ZTE CORPORATION, SANECHIPS, "Control plane aspects of SDT", 3GPP TSG RAN-2 #112e, R2-2009190, November 2-13, 2020, discusses control plane aspects of SDT, particularly cell reselection and failure handling. ASIA PACIFIC TELECOM, FGI, "CG-SDT based on beam operation", 3GPP TSG RAN WG2 Meeting #113, R2-2103265, April 12-20, 2021, discusses issues on beam operation, and particularly how to handle the beam failure condition. SUMMARY The invention is defined by the independent claims, the dependent claims define particular embodiments of the invention. One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment facilitates providing procedures for facilitating a UE to perform an improved small-data transmission. Furthermore, at least one part of the invention is based on the "First implementation of time trigger control mechanism - Timer". Examples, aspects and embodiments not necessarily falling under the scope of the claims are provided in the application to better understand the invention. In an embodiment, the techniques disclosed here feature a user equipment, UE, comprising the following. A processor of the UE determines that small data has become available for transmission. The available small data is to be transmitted using periodic resources without a prior scheduling request from the UE. Transmitting the available small-data using the periodic resources includes that the processor determines one of a plurality of synchronization signal blocks having a signal quality above a signal quality threshold. In case the processor determines there is no synchronization signal block having the signal quality above the signal quality threshold : the processor, when in operation, operates a time trigger control mechanism , andthe processor, when in operation, controls the UE to perform an alternative small-data transmission mechanism , instead of transmitting the available small-data using the periodic resources, according to the operated time trigger control mechanism. The alternative small-data transmission mechanism includes one of: transmitting, by a transmitter of the UE, the available small data using a random access procedure , andperforming by the UE a cell-reselection procedure for selecting a new radio cell in which to transmit the available small data. It should be noted that general or specific embodiments may be implemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, a storage medium, or any selective combination thereof. For instance, an integrated circuit can control a process of a UE or base station. Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments and different implementations will be apparent from the specification and figures. The benefits and/or advantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments and features of the specification and drawings, which need not all be provided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/or advantages. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES In the following exemplary embodiments are described in more detail with reference to the attached figures and drawings. Fig. 1shows an exemplary architecture for a 3GPP NR system;Fig. 2is a schematic drawing that shows a functional split between NG-RAN and 5GC,Fig. 3is a sequence diagram for RRC connection setup/reconfiguration procedures,Fig. 4is a schematic drawing showing usage scenarios of Enhanced mobile broadband