EP-4736357-A1 - UL GRANT ALLOCATION ON A PRIMARY PATH FOR PRE-SCHEDULING

Abstract

A first network node comprises program code including: first receiving code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to receive, from a second network node, a UE context modification request; first transmitting code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to transmit, to the second network node in response to receiving the context modification request, a context modification response; allocating code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to, in response to the UE context modification request, allocate one or more pre-configured grants to the UE, and second receiving code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to receive, from the UE in response to the one or more pre-configured grants, first uplink data, before sending a scheduling request to the base station and receiving corresponding UL scheduling grants.

Inventors

• KAMBLE, VIHANG GANGARAM
• CHANDRASHEKAR, Subramanya
• YALAMALLI, Vijayakumar
• Shivaswamy, Praveen Kumar Alur

Assignees

• Rakuten Symphony, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20230630

Claims (20)

1. 1. A first network node comprising: at least one memory configured to store computer program code; and at least one processor configured to access said at least one memory' and operate as instructed by the computer program code, the computer program code comprising: first receiving code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to receive, from a second network node of a base station, a UE context modification request associated with a split bearer providing a primary path and a secondary path to the UE, the context modification request comprising (i) a first parameter indicating the UE requires at least one pre-configured uplink scheduling grant, and (ii) a second parameter that comprises configuration information regarding the primary path, first transmitting code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to transmit, to the second network node of the base station, in response to receiving the context modification request, a context modification response, allocating code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to, in response to the UE context modification request, allocate one or more pre-configured grants to the UE, and second receiving code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to receive, from the UE in response to the one or more pre-configured grants, first uplink data, before sending a scheduling request to the base station and receiving corresponding UL scheduling grants.
2. 2. The first network node of the base station according to claim 1, wherein the computer program code further comprises: second transmitting code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to transmit, to the second network node, the first uplink data.
3. 3. The first network node of the base station, according to claim 1, wherein the computer program code further comprises: third receiving code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to, after allocating the one or more pre-configured grants to the UE, receive from the UE, a request for additional UL scheduling grants, second transmitting code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to, in response to receiving the request for the additional UL scheduling grants, transmit to the UE, one or more additional UL scheduled grants, and fourth receiving code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to, in response to the one or more additional UL scheduled grants, receive from the UE, second uplink data.
4. 4. The first network node of the base station according to claim 1, wherein the UE context modification request is received over an Fl interface, and the UE context modification response is transmitted over the Fl interface.
5. 5. The first network node of the base station of claim 1, wherein the first network node is a distributed unit (gNB-DU) and the second network node is a central unit (gNB-CU).
6. 6. The first network node of the base station of claim 1, wherein the second network node is a master node in communication with a secondary node.
7. 7. The first network of the base station of claim 1, wherein the computer program code comprises: second transmitting code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to, in response to the UE undergoing handover from a serving cell to a target cell, transmit the primary path configuration information to a target node in the target cell that allocates grants to the UE.
8. 8. The first network node of the base station of claim 7, wherein the computer program code comprises: third transmitting code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to, in response to the UE undergoing handover from the serving cell to the target cell, transmitting a message to the UE indicating that the one or more pre-configured grants are allocated and valid in the target cell.
9. 9. A method performed by at least one processor in a first network node, the method comprising: receiving, from a second network node, a UE context modification request associated with a split bearer providing a primary path and a secondary path to the UE, the context modification request comprising (i) a first parameter indicating the UE requires at least one pre-configured uplink scheduling grant, and (ii) a second parameter that comprises configuration information regarding the primary path of the split bearer; transmitting, to the second network node in response to receiving the context modification request, a context modification response; in response to the UE context modification request, allocating one or more preconfigured grants to the UE; and receiving, from the UE in response to the one or more pre-configured grants, first uplink data before receiving a scheduling request at the first network node requesting additional UL scheduling grants and sending corresponding additional UL scheduled grants.
10. 10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: transmitting, to the second network node, the first uplink data.
11. 11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: after allocating the one or more pre-configured grants to the UE, receiving from the UE, a request for the additional UL scheduling grants; in response to receiving the request for the additional UL scheduling grants, transmitting to the UE, one or more additional UL scheduled grants; and in response to the one or more additional UL scheduled grants, receiving from the UE, second uplink data.
12. 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the UE context modification request is received over an Fl interface, and the UE context modification response is transmitted over the Fl interface.
13. 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the first network node is a distributed unit (gNB-DU) and the second network node is a central unit (gNB-CU).
14. 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the second network node is a master node in communication with a secondary node.
15. 15. The method of claim 9, further comprising: in response to the UE undergoing handover from a serving cell to a target cell, transmitting the primary path configuration information from the source node to a target node in the target cell that allocates grants to the UE.
16. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein primary path configuration information is transferred (i) from the source node to the target node over the Xn interface in case of an inter gNB handover and (ii) from the source node to the target node over the Fl interface in case of an intra gNB handover.
17. 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising: in response to the UE undergoing handover from the serving cell to the target cell, transmitting a message to the UE indicating that the one or more pre-configured grants are allocated and valid in the target cell.
18. 18. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor in a first network node cause the processor to: receive, from a second network node, a UE context modification request associated with a split bearer providing a primary path and a secondary path to the UE, the context modification request comprising (i) a first parameter indicating the UE requires at least one uplink scheduling grant, and (ii) a second parameter that comprises configuration information regarding the primary path; transmit, to the second network node in response to receiving the context modification request, a context modification response; in response to the UE context modification request, allocate one or more preconfigured grants to the UE; and receive, from the UE in response to the one or more pre-configured grants, first uplink data, before sending a scheduling request to the base station and receiving corresponding UL scheduling grants.
19. 19. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 17, further comprising: transmitting, to the second network node, the first uplink data.
20. 20. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 17, further comprising: after allocating the one or more pre-configured grants to the UE, receiving from the UE, a request for additional UL scheduling grants; in response to receiving the request for the additional UL scheduling grants, transmitting to the UE, one or more additional UL scheduled grants; and in response to the one or more scheduled grants, receiving from the UE, second uplink data.

Description

UL GRANT ALLOCATION ON A PRIMARY PATH FOR PRE-SCHEDULING TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] Apparatuses and methods consistent with example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to UL grant allocation on a primary path for pre-scheduling. BACKGROUND [0002] Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) is a generalization of Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Dual Connectivity (DC), where a multiple receiver/transceiver (RX/TX) capable UE may be configured to utilize resources provided by two different nodes connected via a non-ideal backhaul. One of the nodes may provide New Radio (NR) access, and the other of the nodes may provide either Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) or NR access. One node may act as a Master Node (MN), and the other node may act as a Secondary Node (SN). The MN and SN are connected via a network interface, where at least one node (e.g., the MN) is connected to a core network (CN). [0003] MR-DC may be connected to the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or 5G Core (5GC). Based on these connections, there are multiple possible variants including: E-UTRA- NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC); NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (NGEN-DC), NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC), and NR-NR Dual Connectivity (NR-DC). While MR-DC may provide enhanced data capacity, existing MR-DC architectures do not provide primary path configuration information to a gNB-DU, thereby leading to non-optimized packet scheduling. 1 SUBSTITUTE SHEET ( RULE 26) [0004] Improvements are presented herein. These improvements may also be applicable to other multi-Radio Access Technologies (RAT) and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies. SUMMARY [0005] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of such embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated embodiments, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all embodiments nor delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. [0006] Methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable mediums for UL grant allocation on a primary path for pre-scheduling. [0007] According to one or more embodiments, a first network node comprises at least one memory configured to store computer program code; and at least one processor configured to access said at least one memory and operate as instructed by the computer program code. The computer program code includes first receiving code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to receive, from a second network node, a FI : UE context modification request or a similar message, associated with a dual connectivity split bearer providing a primary path and a secondary path to the UE, the context modification request including (i) a first parameter indicating the UE requires at least one pre-configured uplink scheduling grant on the primary path, and (ii) a second parameter that includes configuration information regarding the primary path, first transmitting code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to transmit, to the second network node in response to receiving the UE context modification request, a context modification response. The computer program code includes allocating code configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor to, in response to the UE context modification request, allocate one or more pre-configured grants to the UE, to be able to transmit UL data on the primary path of the split bearer. The computer program code further includes receiving, from the UE in response to the one or more pre-configured grants, first uplink data on the primary path. [0008] According to one or more embodiments, a method performed by at least one processor in a first network node, the method comprises receiving, from a second network node, a UE context modification request associated with a split bearer providing a primary path and a secondary path to the UE, the context modification request including (i) a first parameter indicating the UE requires at least one pre-configured uplink scheduling grant on the primary path, and (ii) a second parameter that includes configuration information regarding the primary path of the split bearer. The method includes transmitting, to the second network node in response to receiving the context modification request, a context modification response. The method includes in response to the UE context modification request, allocating one or more pre-configured grants to the UE to enable the UE send UL data on the primary path before sending a scheduling request to obtain UL scheduling grants. The method includes receiving, from the UE in response to the one or more pre-configured grants, fi