METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR TIMERS AND BEHAVIOR IN L2 U2N RELAY CASE

Embodiments of the present application relate to methods and apparatuses of conditions and behaviours associated with some timers in a layer-2 (L2) UE-to-Network (U2N) relay case. According to an embodiment of the present application, a user equipment (UE) includes a processor and a transceiver coupled to the processor; and the processor is configured: to access a serving cell via a relay UE; and to receive, via the transceiver from the serving cell, configuration information associated with at least one of: a timer associated with radio resource control (RRC) setup request; a timer associated with RRC reestablishment request; a timer associated with RRC resume request; or a timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject. In response to at least one timer is started, the UE shall stop the timer based on relay related conditions.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present application generally relate to wireless communication technology, in particular to methods and apparatuses of conditions and behaviours associated with some timers in a layer-2 (L2) UE-to-Network (U2N) relay case.

BACKGROUND

Vehicle to everything (V2X) has been introduced into 5G wireless communication technology. In terms of a channel structure of V2X communication, the direct link between two user equipments (UEs) is called a sidelink. A sidelink is a long-term evolution (LTE) feature introduced in 3GPP Release 12, and enables a direct communication between proximal UEs, and data does not need to go through a base station (BS) or a core network.

In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), deployment of a relay node (RN) in a wireless communication system is promoted. One objective of deploying a RN is to enhance the coverage area of a BS by improving the throughput of a user equipment (UE) that is located in the coverage or far from the BS, which can result in relatively low signal quality. A RN may also be named as a relay UE in some cases. A 3GPP 5G sidelink system including a relay UE may be named as a sidelink relay system. A U2N relay UE is a UE that provides functionality to support connectivity to the network for U2N remote UE(s).

Currently, in a 3GPP 5G system or the like, details regarding conditions and behaviours associated with some timers in a L2 U2N relay case have not been specifically discussed yet.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments of the present application provide a user equipment (UE). The UE includes a processor and a transceiver coupled to the processor; and the processor is configured: to access a serving cell via a relay UE; and to receive, via the transceiver from the serving cell, configuration information associated with at least one of: a timer associated with radio resource control (RRC) setup request; a timer associated with RRC reestablishment request; a timer associated with RRC resume request; or a timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured to start the timer associated with RRC setup request, in response to transmitting a RRC setup request message.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured to stop the timer associated with RRC setup request, in response to fulfilling at least one of: upon receiving, from the relay UE, a first notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE; upon declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the relay UE; upon determining that the relay UE becomes unsuitable; or upon a relay selection or relay reselection; upon determining that the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE becomes unsuitable.

In some embodiments, in response to an expiry of the timer associated with RRC setup request, the processor of the UE is configured to transmit, to an upper layer of the UE, information indicating at least one of: a failure to establish a RRC connection; a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the relay UE; a RLF on a Uu link of the relay UE; a reception of a notification of the relay UE handover; the UE determining that the relay UE becomes unsuitable; a relay selection or relay reselection; or the UE determining that the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE becomes unsuitable.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured to start the timer associated with RRC reestablishment request, in response to transmitting a RRC reestablishment request message.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured to stop the timer associated with RRC reestablishment request, in response to fulfilling at least one of: upon receiving, from the relay UE, a first notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE; upon declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the relay UE; the UE determining that the relay UE becomes unsuitable; upon a relay selection or relay reselection; or the UE determining that the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE becomes unsuitable.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured to determine that the relay UE becomes unsuitable or determine that the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE becomes unsuitable, in response to at least one of: receiving the first notification from the relay UE; receiving, from the relay UE, a second notification associated with at least one of: a handover failure of the relay UE, or a recovery failure on the Uu link of the relay UE; declaring the sidelink RLF on the link between the UE and the relay UE; a channel quality of the link between the UE and the relay UE being less than a first threshold; declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE; or a channel quality of the link between the UE and the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE being less than a second threshold.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured to start the timer associated with RRC resume request, in response to transmitting a RRC resume request message.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured: to continue at least one of: a relay selection or relay reselection related measurement, or a relay selection or relay reselection related evaluation; and to perform a relay selection or relay reselection, in response to a condition for the relay selection or relay reselection being fulfilled.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured to stop the timer associated with RRC resume request, in response to fulfilling at least one of: upon receiving, from the relay UE, a first notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE; upon receiving, from the relay UE, a second notification associated with at least one of: a handover failure of the relay UE, or a recovery failure on the Uu link of the relay UE; or upon declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the relay UE.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured to enter a RRC idle state, in response to the timer associated with RRC resume request being running and in response to: a second serving cell of the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE being different from the serving cell of the UE upon a relay selection or relay reselection; or receiving, from the relay UE, a notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured to start the timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject, in response to transmitting a RRC resume request message.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured to stop the timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject, in response to fulfilling at least one of: upon a relay selection or relay reselection; a second serving cell of the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE being different from the serving cell of the UE; or upon receiving, from the relay UE, a notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE.

In some embodiments, the processor of the UE is configured to enter a RRC idle state, in response to the timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject being running and in response to: a second serving cell of the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE being different from the serving cell of the UE upon a relay selection or relay reselection; or receiving, from the relay UE, a notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE.

Some embodiments of the present application provide a relay UE. The relay UE includes a processor and a transceiver coupled to the processor; and the processor is configured: to access a serving cell, wherein a remote UE communicates with the serving cell via the relay UE; and to receive, via the transceiver from the serving cell, configuration information associated with at least one of: a timer associated with radio resource control (RRC) setup request; a timer associated with RRC reestablishment request; a timer associated with RRC resume request; or a timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject.

In some embodiments, the processor of the relay UE is configured: to receive, via the transceiver from the serving cell, a channel quality threshold value of a link between the UE and the relay UE; and to transmit the channel quality threshold value via the transceiver to the UE.

In some embodiments, the processor of the relay UE is configured to transmit, via the transceiver to the UE, a first notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE.

In some embodiments, the processor of the relay UE is configured to transmit, via the transceiver to the UE, a second notification associated with at least one of: a handover failure of the relay UE, or a recovery failure on the Uu link of the relay UE.

In some embodiments, the processor of the relay UE is configured: to transmit, via the transceiver to the UE, an identifier (ID) of a second serving cell of the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE, in response to the second serving cell being different from the serving cell of the UE upon a relay selection or relay reselection.

Some embodiments of the present application provide a network node (e.g., a BS). The network node includes a processor and a transceiver coupled to the processor; and the processor is configured: to transmit, via the transceiver to a user equipment (UE) via a relay UE, configuration information associated with at least one of: a timer associated with radio resource control (RRC) setup request; a timer associated with RRC reestablishment request; a timer associated with RRC resume request; or a timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject.

In some embodiments, the processor of the network node is configured to transmit, via the transceiver to the UE via the relay UE, a channel quality threshold value of a link between the UE and the relay UE.

Some embodiments of the present application provide a method, which may be performed by a UE. The method includes: accessing a serving cell via a relay UE; and receiving, from the serving cell, configuration information associated with at least one of: a timer associated with radio resource control (RRC) setup request; a timer associated with RRC reestablishment request; a timer associated with RRC resume request; or a timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises starting the timer associated with RRC setup request, in response to transmitting a RRC setup request message.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises stopping the timer associated with RRC setup request, in response to fulfilling at least one of: upon receiving, from the relay UE, a first notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE; upon declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the relay UE; the UE determining that the relay UE becomes unsuitable; upon a relay selection or relay reselection; or the UE determining that the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE becomes unsuitable.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: in response to an expiry of the timer associated with RRC setup request, transmitting, to an upper layer of the UE, information indicating at least one of: a failure to establish a RRC connection; a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the relay UE; a RLF on a Uu link of the relay UE; a reception of a notification of the relay UE handover; the UE determining that the relay UE becomes unsuitable; a relay selection or relay reselection; or the UE determining that the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE becomes unsuitable.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises starting the timer associated with RRC reestablishment request, in response to transmitting a RRC reestablishment request message.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises stopping the timer associated with RRC reestablishment request, in response to fulfilling at least one of: upon receiving, from the relay UE, a first notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE; upon declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the relay UE; upon determining that the relay UE becomes unsuitable; upon a relay selection or relay reselection; or upon determining that the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE becomes unsuitable.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining that the relay UE becomes unsuitable or determining that the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE becomes unsuitable, in response to at least one of: receiving the first notification from the relay UE; receiving, from the relay UE, a second notification associated with at least one of: a handover failure of the relay UE, or a recovery failure on the Uu link of the relay UE; declaring the sidelink RLF on the link between the UE and the relay UE; a channel quality of the link between the UE and the relay UE being less than a first threshold; declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the selected or reselected relay UE; or a channel quality of the link between the UE and the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE being less than a second threshold.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises starting the timer associated with RRC resume request, in response to transmitting a RRC resume request message.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises continuing at least one of: a relay selection or relay reselection related measurement, or a relay selection or relay reselection related evaluation; and performing a relay selection or relay reselection, in response to a condition for the relay selection or relay reselection being fulfilled.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises stopping the timer associated with RRC resume request, in response to fulfilling at least one of: upon receiving, from the relay UE, a first notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE; upon receiving, from the relay UE, a second notification associated with at least one of: a handover failure of the relay UE, or a recovery failure on the Uu link of the relay UE; or upon declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the relay UE.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises entering a RRC idle state, in response to the timer associated with RRC resume request being running and in response to: a second serving cell of the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE being different from the serving cell of the UE upon a relay selection or relay reselection; or receiving, from the relay UE, a notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises starting the timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject, in response to transmitting a RRC resume request message.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises stopping the timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject, in response to fulfilling at least one of: upon a relay selection or relay reselection; a second serving cell of the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE being different from the serving cell of the UE; or upon receiving, from the relay UE, a notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises entering a RRC idle state, in response to the timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject being running and in response to: a second serving cell of the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE being different from the serving cell of the UE upon a relay selection or relay reselection; or receiving, from the relay UE, a notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE.

Some embodiments of the present application provide a method, which may be performed by a relay UE. The method includes: accessing a serving cell, wherein a remote UE communicates with the serving cell via the relay UE; and receiving, from the serving cell, configuration information associated with at least one of: a timer associated with radio resource control (RRC) setup request; a timer associated with RRC reestablishment request; a timer associated with RRC resume request; or a timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving, from the serving cell, a channel quality threshold value of a link between the UE and the relay UE; and transmitting the channel quality threshold value to the UE.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, to the UE, a first notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a radio link failure (RLF) on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, to the UE, a second notification associated with at least one of: a handover failure of the relay UE, or a recovery failure on the Uu link of the relay UE.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, to the UE, an identifier (ID) of a second serving cell of the selected relay UE or reselected relay UE, in response to the second serving cell being different from the serving cell of the UE upon a relay selection or relay reselection.

Some embodiments of the present application provide a method, which may be performed by a network node (e.g., a BS). The method includes: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) via a relay UE, configuration information associated with at least one of: a timer associated with radio resource control (RRC) setup request; a timer associated with RRC reestablishment request; a timer associated with RRC resume request; or a timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, to the UE via the relay UE, a channel quality threshold value of a link between the UE and the relay UE.

Some embodiments of the present application also provide an apparatus for wireless communications. The apparatus includes: a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions; a receiving circuitry; a transmitting circuitry; and a processor coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the receiving circuitry and the transmitting circuitry, wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to implement any of the above-mentioned methods performed by a UE, a relay UE, or a network node (e.g., a BS).

The details of one or more examples are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the descriptions below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the descriptions and drawings, and from the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description of the appended drawings is intended as a description of preferred embodiments of the present application and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present application may be practiced. It should be understood that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the present application.

Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the present application, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. To facilitate understanding, embodiments are provided under specific network architecture and new service scenarios, such as 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) LTE and LTE advanced, 3GPP 5G NR, 5G-Advanced, 6G, and so on. It is contemplated that along with developments of network architectures and new service scenarios, all embodiments in the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems; and moreover, the terminologies recited in the present application may change, which should not affect the principle of the present application.

FIG.1illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system100in accordance with some embodiments of the present application. As shown inFIG.1, the wireless communication system100includes UE101, BS102, and relay UE103for illustrative purpose. Although a specific number of UE(s), relay UE(s), and BS(s) are depicted inFIG.1, it is contemplated that any number of UE(s), relay UE(s), and BS(s) may be included in the wireless communication system100.

Due to a far distance between UE101and BS102, these they communicate with each other via relay UE103. UE101may be connected to relay UE103via a network interface, for example, a PC5 interface as specified in 3GPP standard documents. Relay UE103may be connected to BS102via a network interface, for example, a Uu interface as specified in 3GPP standard documents. Referring to FIG.1, UE101is connected to relay UE103via a PC5 link, and relay UE103is connected to BS102via a Uu link. UE101may be a U2N remote UE. Relay UE103may be a U2N relay UE, which is a UE that provides functionality to support connectivity to the network for U2N remote UE(s).

In some embodiments of the present application, UE101or relay UE103may include computing devices, such as desktop computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, smart televisions (e.g., televisions connected to the Internet), set-top boxes, game consoles, security systems (including security cameras), vehicle on-board computers, network devices (e.g., routers, switches, and modems), or the like.

In some further embodiments of the present application, UE101or relay UE103may include a portable wireless communication device, a smart phone, a cellular telephone, a flip phone, a device having a subscriber identity module, a personal computer, a selective call receiving circuitry, or any other device that is capable of sending and receiving communication signals on a wireless network.

In some other embodiments of the present application, UE101or relay UE103may include wearable devices, such as smart watches, fitness bands, optical head-mounted displays, or the like. Moreover, UE101or relay UE103may be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile, a mobile station, a user, a terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a fixed terminal, a subscriber station, a user terminal, or a device, or described using other terminology used in the art.

BS(s)102may be distributed over a geographic region. In certain embodiments of the present application, each of the BS(s)102may also be referred to as an access point, an access terminal, a base, a base unit, a macro cell, a Node-B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a gNB, a Home Node-B, a relay node, or a device, or described using other terminology used in the art. BS(s)102is generally a part of a radio access network that may include one or more controllers communicably coupled to one or more corresponding BS(s)102.

In some embodiments of the present application, the wireless communication system100is compatible with the 5G NR of the 3GPP protocol, wherein BS(s)102transmit data using an OFDM modulation scheme on the downlink (DL), and UE(s)101(e.g., UE101or other similar UE) transmit data on the uplink (UL) using a Discrete Fourier Transform-Spread-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) or cyclic prefix-OFDM (CP-OFDM) scheme. More generally, however, the wireless communication system100may implement some other open or proprietary communication protocols, for example, WiMAX, among other protocols.

In some embodiments of the present application, BS(s)102may communicate using other communication protocols, such as the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocols. Further, in some embodiments of the present application, BS(s)102may communicate over licensed spectrums, whereas in other embodiments, BS(s)102may communicate over unlicensed spectrums. The present application is not intended to be limited to the implementation of any particular wireless communication system architecture or protocol. In yet some embodiments of present application, BS(s)102may communicate with UE(s)101using the 3GPP 5G protocols.

UE(s)101may access BS(s)102to receive data packets from BS(s)102via a downlink channel and/or transmit data packets to BS(s)102via an uplink channel. In normal operation, since UE(s)101does not know when BS(s)102will transmit data packets to it, UE(s)101has to be awake all the time to monitor the downlink channel (e.g., a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)) to get ready for receiving data packets from BS(s)102. However, if UE(s)101keeps monitoring the downlink channel all the time even when there is no traffic between BS(s)102and UE(s)101, it would result in significant power waste, which is problematic to a power limited UE or a power sensitive UE.

FIG.2illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a sidelink RRC reconfiguration procedure in accordance with some embodiments of the present application. As shown inFIG.2, in step201, UE (a) (e.g., UE101as illustrated and shown inFIG.1) initiates a sidelink RRC reconfiguration procedure to UE (b) (e.g., relay UE102as illustrated and shown inFIG.1) by transmitting RRCReconfigurationSidelink message to UE (b).

If the sidelink RRC reconfiguration procedure is successfully completed, in step202, UE (b) may transmit “a RRC reconfiguration complete sidelink message” to UE (a), e.g., RRCReconfigurationCompleteSidelink message as specified in 3GPP standard documents. Alternatively, if the sidelink RRC reconfiguration procedure is not successfully completed, in step202, UE (b) may transmit “a RRC reconfiguration failure sidelink message” to UE (a), e.g., RRCReconfigurationFailureSidelink message as specified in 3GPP standard documents.

The purpose of a sidelink RRC reconfiguration procedure is to modify a PC5 RRC connection, e.g., to establish, modify, or release sidelink data radio bearers (DRBs), to configure NR sidelink measurement and reporting, and to configure sidelink channel state information (CSI) reference signal resources.

A UE (e.g., UE (a) as illustrated and shown inFIG.2) may initiate the sidelink RRC reconfiguration procedure and perform operations on the corresponding PC5 RRC connection in following cases:a release of sidelink DRBs associated with a peer UE (e.g., UE (b) as illustrated and shown inFIG.2);an establishment of sidelink DRBs associated with the peer UE;a modification for the parameters included in Sidelink radio bearer (SLRB)-Config of sidelink DRBs associated with the peer UE;configuration information of the peer UE to perform NR sidelink measurement and report; andconfiguration information of the sidelink CSI reference signal resources.

A UE capable of NR sidelink communication may initiate a procedure of sidelink UE information for NR, to report to a network or a BS that a sidelink radio link failure (RLF) (e.g., timer T400 expiry) or a sidelink RRC reconfiguration failure has been declared.

In accordance with 3GPP standard document TS38.331, timers T300, T301, T302, and T319 are defined as follows:(1) Regarding timer T300, a trigger condition for starting T300 is “Upon transmission of RRCSetupRequest”. A trigger condition for stopping T300 is “Upon reception of RRCSetup or RRCReject message, cell re-selection, and upon abortion of connection establishment by upper layers”. At expiry of T300, a UE performs the actions as specified in section 5.3.3.7 of TS38.331.(2) Regarding timer T301, a trigger condition for starting T301 is “Upon transmission of RRCReestablishmentRequest”. A trigger condition for stopping T301 is “Upon reception of RRCReestablishment or RRCSetup message as well as when the selected cell becomes unsuitable”. At expiry of T301, a UE goes to RRC_IDLE state.(3) Regarding timer T302, a trigger condition for starting T302 is “Upon reception of RRCReject while performing RRC connection establishment or resume, upon reception of RRCRelease with waitTime”. A trigger condition for stopping T302 is “Upon entering RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_IDLE, upon cell re-selection and upon reception of RRCReject message”. At expiry of T302, a UE informs upper layers about barring alleviation as specified in section 5.3.14.4 of TS38.331.(4) Regarding timer T319, a trigger condition for starting T319 is “Upon transmission of RRCResumeRequest or RRCResumeRequest1”. A trigger condition for stopping T319 is “Upon reception of RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with suspendConfig or RRCReject message, cell re-selection, and upon abortion of connection establishment by upper layers”. At expiry of T319, a UE performs the actions as specified in section 5.3.13.5 of TS38.331.

Embodiments of the present application aim to solve issues in a L2 U2N relay case, including new trigger condition(s) for stopping timer T300, timer T301, timer T302, and/or timer T319 in the L2 U2N relay case. For example, some embodiments of the present application study new cases for cell change when timer T319 or timer T302 is running.

More details will be illustrated in the following text in combination with the appended drawings. Persons skilled in the art should well know that the wording “a/the first,” “a/the second” and “a/the third” etc. are only used for clear description, and should not be deemed as any substantial limitation, e.g., sequence limitation.

FIG.3illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary procedure300of wireless communications in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Details described in all other embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable for the embodiments shown inFIG.3.

Exemplary procedure300refers to a timer associated with RRC Setup Request (which is marked as “timer T1” for simplicity) (e.g., T300). Referring toFIG.3, remote UE301, relay UE302, and BS303may function as UE101, relay UE103, and BS102, shown inFIG.1, respectively. In particular, exemplary procedure300includes following steps.

In Step312, remote UE301receives configuration(s) including a timer T1 associated with RRC Setup Request (e.g., T300), for example, via RRCReconfiguration message, from BS303. In some embodiments, the configuration(s) can be broadcasted via SIB1. For example, the configuration(s) includes a timer value of timer T1.

In Step313, BS303transmits RRCRelease message to remote UE301.

In Step314, remote UE301enters RRC_IDLE state after remote UE301receives the RRCRelease message.

In Step315, remote UE301initiates the procedure for RRC connection establishment when upper layer(s) of remote UE301requests an establishment of an RRC connection while remote UE301is in RRC_IDLE state. In some embodiments, remote UE301transmits RRCSetupRequest message. For instance, the RRCSetupRequest message includes an identifier (ID) of remote UE301and/or an establishment cause (e.g., mt-Access, mo-Signalling, mo-Data, mo-VoiceCall, and/or mo-VideoCall).

In some embodiments, in Step315, remote UE301has acquired essential system information. In some embodiments, remote UE301shall start timer T1 (e.g., T300) when remote UE301transmits the RRCSetupRequest message. In some embodiments, remote UE301may continue relay (re)selection related measurement(s) and/or relay (re)selection related evaluation(s). In a case that condition(s) for relay (re)selection are fulfilled, remote UE301shall perform the relay (re)selection.

In Step316, there may be following different embodiments in different cases.

In particular, in some embodiments of Step316, remote UE301stops timer T1 (e.g., T300) when at least one of the following conditions is fulfilled:(1) Upon reception of RRCSetup message or RRCReject message, a cell reselection of relay UE302, and upon abortion of connection establishment by upper layer(s) of remote UE301.(2) Upon receiving, from relay UE302, a notification associated with at least one of: relay UE302handover, a RLF on a Uu link of relay UE302, or a cell reselection of relay UE302. For instance, the Uu link is between relay UE302and BS303, e.g., Uu link as shown inFIG.1.(3) Upon declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between remote UE301and relay UE302, e.g., PC5 link as shown inFIG.1.(4) Upon determining that relay UE302becomes unsuitable.(5) Upon a relay (re)selection.(6) Upon determining that the (re)selected relay UE (e.g., another relay UE different from relay UE302) becomes unsuitable.

In some other embodiments of Step316, once timer T1 (e.g., T300) expires, remote UE301informs upper layer(s) information indicating at least one of:(1) a failure to establish a RRC connection;(2) a sidelink RLF on a link between remote UE301and relay UE302;(3) a RLF on a Uu link of relay UE302;(4) a reception of a notification of relay UE302handover;(5) remote UE301determining that relay UE302becomes unsuitable;(6) a relay (re)selection; or(7) remote UE301determining that the (re)selected relay UE becomes unsuitable.

In some embodiments, remote UE301determines that relay UE302becomes unsuitable or determines that the (re)selected relay UE (e.g., another relay UE different from relay UE302) becomes unsuitable, in response to at least one of following events:(1) receiving, from relay UE302, a notification associated with at least one of: relay UE302handover, a RLF on the Uu link of relay UE302, or a cell reselection of relay UE302;(2) receiving, from relay UE302, a notification associated with at least one of: a handover failure of relay UE302, or a recovery failure on the Uu link of relay UE302;(3) declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between remote UE301and relay UE302, e.g., PC5 link as shown inFIG.1;(4) a channel quality of the link between remote UE301and relay UE302being less than a threshold;(5) declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between remote UE301and the (re)selected relay UE; or(6) a channel quality of the link between remote UE301and the (re)selected relay UE being less than a threshold.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, trigger condition(s) for stopping timer T300 may be defined, for example, in a standard document, as “Upon reception of RRCSetup or RRCReject message, cell re-selection, the (re)selected L2 UE-to-Network (U2N) relay UE becomes unsuitable upon abortion of connection establishment by upper layers, upon reception of a notification of relay handover, Uu RLF, and/or cell reselection, upon reception of a notification of relay handover failure and/or Uu recovery failure, upon declaring a sidelink RLF, and upon a channel quality of sidelink being less than one threshold”.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the definition of “the (re)selected L2 U2N relay UE becomes unsuitable” include at least one of the following events:(1) receiving from the relay UE, a notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a RLF on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE;(2) receiving, from the relay UE, a notification associated with at least one of: a handover failure of the relay UE, or a recovery failure on the Uu link of the relay UE;(3) declaring the sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the relay UE;(4) a channel quality of the link between the UE and the relay UE being less than a threshold;(5) declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the (re)selected relay UE; or(6) a channel quality of the link between the UE and the (re)selected relay UE being less than a threshold.

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the sequence of the operations in exemplary procedure300inFIG.3may be changed and some of the operations in exemplary procedure300inFIG.3may be eliminated or modified, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

FIG.4illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary procedure400of wireless communications in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Details described in all other embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable for the embodiments shown inFIG.4.

Exemplary procedure400refers to a timer associated with RRC Reestablishment Request (which is marked as “timer T2” for simplicity) (e.g., T301). Referring toFIG.4, remote UE401, relay UE402, and BS403may function as UE101, relay UE103, and BS102, shown inFIG.1, respectively. In particular, exemplary procedure400includes following steps.

In Step412, remote UE401receives configuration(s) including timer T2associated with RRC Reestablishment Request (e.g., T301), for example, via RRCReconfiguration message, from BS403. In some embodiments, the configuration(s) can be broadcasted via SIB1. For example, the configuration(s) includes a timer value of timer T2.

In Step413, remote UE401at RRC_CONNECTED state initiates a RRC re-establishment procedure when at least one of the following conditions is fulfilled:(1) remote UE401declares a sidelink RLF on a link between remote UE401and relay UE402, e.g., PC5 link as shown inFIG.1; or(2) remote UE401receives, from relay UE402, a notification associated with at least one of: relay UE402handover, a RLF on a Uu link of relay UE402, or a cell reselection of relay UE402. The Uu link of relay UE402is between relay UE402and BS403, e.g., Uu link as shown inFIG.1.

In some embodiments, remote UE401shall start timer T311 upon initiation of the RRC re-establishment procedure.

In Step414, upon selecting a suitable cell or a suitable relay UE, remote UE401shall stop timer T311 and transmit RRCReestablishmentRequest message. In some embodiments, remote UE401may start timer T2 (e.g., T301) upon transmission of the RRCReestablishmentRequest message.

In Step415, remote UE401stops timer T2 (e.g., T301) when at least one of following conditions is fulfilled.(1) remote UE401receives, from relay UE402, a notification associated with at least one of: relay UE402handover, a RLF on a Uu link of relay UE402(which is between relay UE402and BS403, e.g., Uu link as shown inFIG.1), or a cell reselection of relay UE402;(2) remote UE401declares a sidelink RLF on a link between remote UE401and relay UE402, e.g., PC5 link as shown inFIG.1;(3) remote UE401determines that relay UE402becomes unsuitable;(4) upon a relay (re)selection; or(5) remote UE401determines that the (re)selected relay UE (e.g., another relay UE different from relay UE402) becomes unsuitable.

In some embodiments, remote UE401determines that relay UE402becomes unsuitable or determines that the (re)selected relay UE (e.g., another relay UE different from relay UE402) becomes unsuitable, in response to at least one of following events:(1) receiving, from relay UE402, a notification associated with at least one of: relay UE402handover, a RLF on the Uu link of relay UE402, or a cell reselection of relay UE402;(2) receiving, from relay UE402, a notification associated with at least one of: a handover failure of relay UE402, or a recovery failure on the Uu link of relay UE402;(3) declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between remote UE401and relay UE402, e.g., PC5 link as shown inFIG.1;(4) a channel quality of the link between remote UE301and relay UE302being less than a threshold;(5) declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between remote UE401and the (re)selected relay UE; or(6) a channel quality of the link between remote UE401and the (re)selected relay UE being less than a threshold.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, trigger condition(s) for stopping timer T301 may be defined, for example, in a standard document, as “Upon reception of RRCReestablishment message or RRCSetup message as well as when the selected cell becomes unsuitable, or the (re)selected L2 U2N relay UE becomes unsuitable, upon reception of a notification of relay handover, Uu RLF, and/or cell reselection, upon reception of a notification of relay handover failure and/or Uu recovery failure, upon declaring a sidelink RLF, and upon a channel quality of sidelink being less than one threshold.”

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the definition of “the (re)selected L2 U2N relay UE becomes unsuitable” include at least one of the following events:(1) receiving from the relay UE, a notification associated with at least one of: the relay UE handover, a RLF on a Uu link of the relay UE, or a cell reselection of the relay UE;(2) receiving, from the relay UE, a notification associated with at least one of: a handover failure of the relay UE, or a recovery failure on the Uu link of the relay UE;(3) declaring the sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the relay UE;(4) a channel quality of the link between the UE and the relay UE being less than a threshold;(5) declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the (re)selected relay UE; or(6) a channel quality of the link between the UE and the (re)selected relay UE being less than a threshold.

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the sequence of the operations in exemplary procedure400inFIG.4may be changed and some of the operations in exemplary procedure400inFIG.4may be eliminated or modified, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

FIGS.5A and5Billustrate flow charts of two exemplary procedures500A and500B of wireless communications in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Details described in all other embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable for the embodiments shown inFIGS.5A and5B.

Exemplary procedures500A and500B refer to a timer associated with RRC Resume Request (which is marked as “timer T3” for simplicity) (e.g., T319). Referring toFIGS.5A and5B, remote UE501, relay UE502, and BS503may function as UE101, relay UE103, and BS102shown inFIG.1, respectively.

Steps511-514in exemplary procedures500A and500B are the same. The difference is that exemplary procedure500A includes Step516, whereas exemplary procedure500B includes Steps516B and517B. In particular, the steps in exemplary procedures500A and500B are as follows.

In Step512, remote UE501receives configuration(s) including timer T3 associated with RRC Resume Request (e.g., T319), for example, via RRCReconfiguration message, from BS503. In some embodiments, the configuration(s) can be broadcasted via SIB1. For example, the configuration(s) includes a timer value of timer T3.

In Step513, BS503transmits RRCRelease message with a suspend indication to remote UE501.

In Step514, remote UE501enters RRC_INACTIVE state after remote UE501receives the RRCRelease message.

In Step515, remote UE501initiates the procedure when upper layer(s) of remote UE501or access stratum (AS) requests the resume of a suspended RRC connection. In some embodiments, remote UE501transmits RRCResumeRequest message or RRCResumeRequest1 message.

In some embodiments, remote UE501may start timer T3 (e.g., T319) when remote UE501transmits the RRCResumeRequest message. For example, the RRC Resume Request message includes a resume ID and a resume cause (e.g., mo-Data, mo-VoiceCall, mo-VideoCall, mo-SMS, rna-Update, and etc).

In some embodiments, remote UE501may continue relay (re)selection related measurement(s) and/or relay (re)selection related evaluation(s). In a case that condition(s) for relay (re)selection are fulfilled, remote UE501shall perform the relay (re)selection.

In Step516in exemplary procedure500A, remote UE501stops timer T3 (e.g., T319) when at least one of the following conditions is fulfilled.(1) Upon reception of RRCResume message, RRCSetup message, RRCRelease message, RRCRelease message with suspendConfig.(2) Upon reception of RRCReject message.(3) Upon a cell reselection.(4) Upon a relay (re)selection.(5) Remote UE501receives, from relay UE502, a notification associated with at least one of: relay UE502handover, a RLF on a Uu link of relay UE502, or a cell reselection of relay UE502. For instance, the Uu link is between relay UE502and BS503, e.g., Uu link as shown inFIG.1.(6) Remote UE501receives, from relay UE502, a notification associated with at least one of: a handover failure of relay UE502, or a recovery failure on the Uu link of relay UE502.(7) Upon declaring a sidelink RLF on a link between the UE and the relay UE

In Step516B in exemplary procedure500B, there may be following two options in different embodiments, i.e., Option 1 and Option 2. In some embodiments, remote UE501may perform actions upon going to RRC_IDLE state with a release cause “RRC Resume failure” for these options, e.g., in Step517B.(1) Option 1: If a relay (re)selection occurs while timer T3 (e.g., T319) is running and the serving cell of the (re)selected relay UE (e.g., another relay UE different from relay UE502) is different from the current serving cell of remote UE501, remote UE501may enter RRC_IDLE state.(2) Option 2: If remote UE501receives, from relay UE502, a notification associated with at least one of: relay UE502handover, a RLF on a Uu link of relay UE502, or a cell reselection of from relay UE502while timer T3 (e.g., T319) is running, remote UE501may enter RRC_IDLE state.

In Step517B in exemplary procedure500B, remote UE501may perform actions upon going to RRC_IDLE state. In some embodiments, remote UE501performs at least one of following actions upon going to RRC_IDLE state. It can be contemplated that remote UE501may perform more or less actions in different embodiments.(1) reset medium access control (MAC);(2) set the variable pendingRNA-Update to false, if that is set to true. The UE variable VarPendingRNA-Update indicates whether there is a pending radio access network based notification area (RNA) update procedure or not;(3) stop all timers that are running except T302, T320, T325, T330, T331 and T400;(4) discard the UE Inactive AS context, if any;(5) release the suspendConfig, if configured;(6) remove all the entries within VarConditionalReconfig, if any;(7) release all radio resources, including release of the radio link control (RLC) entity, the backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) entity, the MAC configuration and the associated packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity and service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) for all established resource blocks (RBs) and backhaul (BH) RLC channels;(8) indicate the release of the RRC connection to upper layers together with the release cause; or(9) discard any segments of segmented RRC messages stored.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, trigger condition(s) for stopping timer T319 may be defined, for example, in a standard document, as “Upon reception of RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with suspendConfig or RRCReject message, upon cell re-selection, upon abortion of connection establishment by upper layers, upon relay (re) selection, upon reception of a notification of relay handover, Uu RLF, and/or cell reselection, upon reception of a notification of relay handover failure and/or Uu recovery failure, and upon declaring a sidelink RLF.”

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the sequence of the operations in exemplary procedures500A and500B inFIG.5may be changed and some of the operations in exemplary procedures500A and500B inFIG.5may be eliminated or modified, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

FIGS.6A and6Billustrate flow charts of two exemplary procedures600A and600B of wireless communications in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Details described in all other embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable for the embodiments shown inFIGS.6A and6B.

Exemplary procedures600A and600B refer to a timer associated with reception of RRC Release or RRC reject (which is marked as “timer T4” for simplicity) (e.g., T302). Referring toFIGS.6A and6B, remote UE601, relay UE602, and BS603may function as UE101, relay UE103, and BS102shown inFIG.1, respectively.

Steps611-614in exemplary procedures600A and600B are the same. The difference is that exemplary procedure600A includes Step615, whereas exemplary procedure600B includes Steps615B and616B. In particular, the steps in exemplary procedures600A and600B are as follows.

In Step612, remote UE601receives the configuration including timer T4 associated with reception of RRC Release or RRC reject (e.g., T302), for example, via RRCReconfiguration message, from BS603. In some embodiments, the configuration(s) can be broadcasted via SIB1. For example, the configuration(s) includes a timer value of timer T4.

In Step613, BS603transmits RRCReject message or RRCRelease message including waitTime to remote UE601.

In Step614, remote UE601may start timer T4 (e.g., T302) upon reception of the RRCReject message while performing a RRC connection establishment or resume, upon reception of the RRCRelease message with waitTime.

In Step615in exemplary procedure600A, remote UE601stops timer T4 (e.g., T302) when at least one of the following conditions is fulfilled.(1) Upon entering RRC_CONNECTED state or RRC IDLE state.(2) Upon a cell re-selection.(3) Upon reception of RRCReject message.(4) Upon a relay (re)selection.(5) A serving cell of the (re)selected relay UE (e.g., another relay UE different from relay UE602) being different from the serving cell of remote UE601.(6) Upon receiving, from relay UE602, a notification associated with at least one of: relay UE602handover, a RLF on a Uu link of relay UE602, or a cell reselection of relay UE602. For instance, the Uu link is between relay UE602and BS603, e.g., Uu link as shown inFIG.1.

In Step615B in exemplary procedure600B, there may be following two options in different embodiments, i.e., Option 1 and Option 2. In some embodiments, remote UE601may perform actions upon going to RRC_IDLE state with a release cause “RRC Resume failure” for these options, e.g., in Step616B.(1) Option 1: If a relay (re)selection occurs while timer T4 (e.g., T302) is running and the serving cell of the (re)selected relay UE (e.g., another relay UE different from relay UE602) is different from the current serving cell of remote UE601, remote UE601may enter RRC_IDLE state.(2) Option 2: If remote UE601receives, from relay UE602, a notification associated with at least one of: relay UE602handover, a RLF on a Uu link of relay UE602, or a cell reselection of from relay UE602while timer T4 (e.g., T302) is running, remote UE601may enter RRC_IDLE state.

In Step616B in exemplary procedure600B, remote UE601may perform actions upon going to RRC_IDLE state. In some embodiments, remote UE601performs at least one of following actions upon going to RRC_IDLE state. It can be contemplated that remote UE601may perform more or less actions in different embodiments.(1) reset MAC;(2) set the variable pendingRNA-Update to false, if that is set to true. The UE variable VarPendingRNA-Update indicates whether there is a pending RNA update procedure or not;(3) stop all timers that are running except T302, T320, T325, T330, T331 and T400;(4) discard the UE Inactive AS context, if any;(5) release the suspendConfig, if configured;(6) remove all the entries within VarConditionalReconfig, if any;(7) release all radio resources, including release of the RLC entity, the BAP entity, the MAC configuration and the associated PDCP entity and SDAP for all established RBs and BH RLC channels;(8) indicate the release of the RRC connection to upper layers together with the release cause; or(9) discard any segments of segmented RRC messages stored.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, trigger condition(s) for stopping timer T302 may be defined, for example, in a standard document, as “Upon entering RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_IDLE state, upon cell re-selection, upon reception of RRCReject message, upon relay (re) selection, upon a (re) selected serving cell being different from a current serving cell, and upon reception of a notification of relay handover, Uu RLF, and/or cell reselection.”

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the sequence of the operations in exemplary procedures600A and600B inFIG.6may be changed and some of the operations in exemplary procedures600A and600B inFIG.6may be eliminated or modified, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Some embodiments of the present application also provide a wireless communication apparatus for a L2 U2N relay case. For example,FIG.7illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an apparatus700for a L2 U2N relay case according to some embodiments of the present application.

As shown inFIG.7, the apparatus700may include at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium702, at least one receiving circuitry701, at least one transmitting circuitry706, and at least one processor708coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium702, the receiving circuitry704and the transmitting circuitry706. The at least one processor708may be a CPU, a DSP, a microprocessor etc. The apparatus700may be a network apparatus (e.g., a BS) or a UE (e.g., a remote UE or a relay UE) configured to perform a method illustrated in the above or the like.

Although in this figure, elements such as the at least one processor708, receiving circuitry704, and transmitting circuitry706are described in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless a limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. In some embodiments of the present application, the receiving circuitry704and the transmitting circuitry706can be combined into a single device, such as a transceiver. In certain embodiments of the present application, the apparatus700may further include an input device, a memory, and/or other components.

In some embodiments of the present application, the non-transitory computer-readable medium702may have stored thereon computer-executable instructions to cause a processor to implement the method with respect to a remote UE as described above. For example, the computer-executable instructions, when executed, cause the processor708interacting with receiving circuitry704and transmitting circuitry706, so as to perform the steps with respect to a remote UE as illustrated above.

In some embodiments of the present application, the non-transitory computer-readable medium702may have stored thereon computer-executable instructions to cause a processor to implement the method with respect to a relay UE as described above. For example, the computer-executable instructions, when executed, cause the processor708interacting with receiving circuitry704and transmitting circuitry706, so as to perform the steps with respect to a relay UE as illustrated above.

In some embodiments of the present application, the non-transitory computer-readable medium702may have stored thereon computer-executable instructions to cause a processor to implement the method with respect to the network apparatus, e.g., a BS, as described above. For example, the computer-executable instructions, when executed, cause the processor708interacting with receiving circuitry704and transmitting circuitry706, so as to perform the steps with respect to a network apparatus, e.g., a BS, as depicted above.

FIG.8illustrates a further exemplary block diagram of an apparatus800for a L2 U2N relay case according to some embodiments of the present application.

Referring toFIG.8, the apparatus800, for example a BS or a UE, may include at least one processor802and at least one transceiver804coupled to the at least one processor802. The transceiver804may include at least one separate receiving circuitry806and transmitting circuitry808, or at least one integrated receiving circuitry806and transmitting circuitry808. The at least one processor802may be a CPU, a DSP, a microprocessor etc.

According to some other embodiments of the present application, when the apparatus800is a remote UE, the processor802may be configured: to access a serving cell via a relay UE; and to receive, via transceiver804from the serving cell, configuration information associated with at least one of: a timer associated with RRC setup request; a timer associated with RRC reestablishment request; a timer associated with RRC resume request; or a timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject.

According to some embodiments of the present application, when the apparatus800is a relay UE, the processor802is configured: to access a serving cell, wherein a remote UE communicates with the serving cell via the relay UE; and to receive, via transceiver804from the serving cell, configuration information associated with at least one of: a timer associated with RRC setup request; a timer associated with RRC reestablishment request; a timer associated with RRC resume request; or a timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject.

According to some embodiments of the present application, when the apparatus800is a BS, the processor802is configured: to transmit, via transceiver804to a UE via a relay UE, configuration information associated with at least one of: a timer associated with RRC setup request; a timer associated with RRC reestablishment request; a timer associated with RRC resume request; or a timer associated with reception of RRC release or RRC reject.

The method(s) of the present disclosure can be implemented on a programmed processor. However, controllers, flowcharts, and modules may also be implemented on a general purpose or special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit elements, an integrated circuit, a hardware electronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device, or the like. In general, any device that has a finite state machine capable of implementing the flowcharts shown in the figures may be used to implement the processing functions of the present disclosure.

While this disclosure has been described with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations may be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, various components of the embodiments may be interchanged, added, or substituted in the other embodiments. Also, all of the elements of each figure are not necessary for operation of the disclosed embodiments. For example, those having ordinary skills in the art would be enabled to make and use the teachings of the disclosure by simply employing the elements of the independent claims. Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosure as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

In this document, the terms “includes,” “including,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “a,” “an,” or the like does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element. Also, the term “another” is defined as at least a second or more. The term “having” and the like, as used herein, are defined as “including.