Terminals, communication systems, and communication methods

Abstract

This invention provides a terminal, communication system, and communication method that can reliably and easily establish a UL (Underground Communication) while applying VLC to DL (Download Communication). [Solution] The terminal comprises a visible light receiving unit that receives visible light communication signals using visible light, and a wireless transmitting unit that transmits wireless communication signals in accordance with the specifications of the mobile communication network. The visible light receiving unit receives visible light communication signals in the downlink direction transmitted from a visible light communication access point, and the wireless transmitting unit transmits wireless communication signals in the uplink direction to the mobile communication network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a terminal, a communication system, and a communication method that support downlink VLC.

Background Art

[0002] Visible Light Communication (VLC) is a technology that transmits information using visible light. VLC is a form of wireless communication that does not use optical fibers, etc., and data can be transmitted and received using lighting devices such as LED lights. VLC enables extremely broadband and high-speed (e.g., over 100 Gbps) communication even when compared with wireless communication using radio waves (electromagnetic waves in the frequency range of 3 Hz to 3000 GHz).

[0003] Therefore, there has been a search for applying VLC to a mobile communication network, which is a wireless network for performing voice calls and data communication using mobile devices such as mobile phones and smartphones (Non-Patent Documents 1 to 3). For example, a configuration combining downlink (DL) by VLC and uplink (UL) by infrared communication (IR) is known.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0004]

Non-Patent Document 1

Non-Patent Document 2

[0005] On the other hand, VLC and IR utilize signals with strong directionality, which inevitably results in a narrower communication coverage and makes it difficult to establish a communication link.

[0006] For example, even if a terminal (User Equipment, UE) is located within an area where it can receive visible light communication signals from a VLC access point (AP) and establishes a DL (Downlink), it is not easy to establish a UL (Unlinkable Link) with an IR (Infrared) AP using the highly directional IR (Infrared). Furthermore, using VLC for UL also creates interference problems with the DL.

[0007] Therefore, the following disclosure is made in light of these circumstances and aims to provide a terminal, communication system, and communication method that can reliably and easily establish a UL while applying VLC to the DL. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present disclosure is a terminal (UE 200) comprising a visible light receiving unit (visible light receiving unit 210) that receives visible light communication signals using visible light, and a wireless transmitting unit (wireless transmitting unit 220) that transmits wireless communication signals in accordance with the specifications of a mobile communication network, wherein the visible light receiving unit receives the visible light communication signals in the downlink direction transmitted from a visible light communication access point, and the wireless transmitting unit transmits the wireless communication signals in the uplink direction to the mobile communication network.

[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure is a communication system (communication system 10) including a terminal and a visible light communication access point (VLC-AP 100), wherein the access point includes a visible light transmitting unit (visible light transmitting unit 110) that transmits a visible light communication signal using visible light, and the terminal includes a visible light receiving unit that receives the visible light communication signal and a wireless transmitting unit that transmits a wireless communication signal in accordance with the specifications of a mobile communication network, wherein the visible light receiving unit receives the visible light communication signal in the downlink direction transmitted from the access point, and the wireless transmitting unit transmits the wireless communication signal in the uplink direction to the mobile communication network. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of the communication system 10. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the UE 200. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of the VLC-AP 100. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of the CCU 30. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows an example sequence of DL establishment using VLC related to Operation Example 1. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example system configuration including the wireless base station 50 and VLC-AP 100 related to Operation Example 2. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an example sequence of DL establishment using VLC related to Operation Example 2. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the CCU 30, VLC-AP 100, and UE 200. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that identical or similar reference numerals are used to denote the same functions and components, and their descriptions will be omitted as appropriate.

[0012] (1) Overall outline of the communication system Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of the communication system 10 according to this embodiment. The communication system 10 uses a combination of Visible Light Communication (VLC) and radio wave wireless communication technologies. VLC is a form of wireless communication that does not use optical fibers or the like, and can send and receive data using lighting devices such as LED lights. In particular, the VLC according to this embodiment can achieve a high transmission speed (data rate), and enables extremely wideband and high-speed communication (for example, over 100 Gbps) compared to wireless communication using radio waves (electromagnetic waves with frequencies in the range of 3 Hz to 3000 GHz).

[0013] The visible light used in VLCs generally refers to light with wavelengths ranging from approximately 380 nanometers (nm) to 750 nanometers (nm), which corresponds to the range of light visible to the human eye. Visible light does not need to include ultraviolet or infrared light.

[0014] Wireless communication using radio waves can typically be interpreted as wireless communication that utilizes a mobile communication network, which is a wireless network for voice calls and data communication using mobile devices such as mobile phones and smartphones. The mobile communication network may also be referred to as a mobile communication network, a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc. The frequency bands used by the mobile communication network include a low frequency band: 600 MHz to 1 GHz, a medium frequency band: 3.5 GHz to 4.7 GHz, a high frequency band (millimeter wave): 24 GHz to 40 GHz band, etc. The mobile communication network may conform to the technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP: registered trademark) such as 4G (LTE), 5G, or 6G.

[0015] Note that the wireless network using radio waves does not necessarily have to be a mobile communication network. For example, a network conforming to the technical specifications of other wireless communications such as wireless LAN (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)) may be used.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 10 includes a communication network 20. The communication network 20 may include a part of the above-described mobile communication network, and may further include other wireless networks and wired networks.

[0017] The communication system 10 may include a CCU 30 and a radio base station 50 as entities on the mobile communication network side (which may also be called nodes, etc.). The CCU 30 (Central Control Unit) is one of the control elements of the mobile communication network and may also be called a communication control device. The CCU 30 has a function of controlling the mobile communication network and may be realized by an entity (which may also be a Function) constituting a radio access network (RAN) or a core network (CN).

[0018] The radio base station 50 performs wireless communication using radio waves with the terminal 200 (User Equipment 200, hereinafter referred to as UE 200). The radio base station 50 may be referred to as a gNodeB (gNB), an access point (AP), etc. Note that the radio base station 50 may be referred to as a radio access point from the perspective of distinguishing it from the VLC-AP 100.

[0019] The radio base station 50 may support Massive MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) that generates a more directional beam by controlling radio signals transmitted from a plurality of antenna elements, carrier aggregation (CA) that bundles and uses a plurality of component carriers (CC), etc.

[0020] The communication system 10 may include a router 60 and a VLC-AP 100 as VLC-side entities. The router 60 can perform routing, priority control, etc. of packets transmitted and received by the VLC-AP 100. Note that depending on the network configuration, the router 60 may not necessarily be provided.

[0021] The CCU 30 and the router 60 (or the VLC-AP 100) may be directly connected by the optical fiber 40. Of course, the CCU 30 and the router 60 can also communicate via the communication network 20.

[0022] The VLC-AP 100 is an access point (AP) for visible light communication. The VLC-AP 100 can transmit a visible light communication signal using visible light toward the UE 200. Thus, the VLC-AP 100 supports visible light communication in the downlink (DL) direction. On the other hand, the mobile communication network (the CCU 30 and the radio base station 50) may support wireless communication using radio waves in the uplink (UL) and DL directions.

[0023] The UE 200, also known as user equipment or user device, is a mobile device that can be moved. The UE 200 may be a portable terminal or an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as an in-vehicle terminal.

[0024] The UE 200 has wireless communication capabilities via a mobile communication network, as well as visible light communication capabilities using VLC. Specifically, the UE 200 can transmit and receive radio signals using radio waves via the radio base station 50. In other words, the UE 200 may support DL and UL communication via a mobile communication network.

[0025] Furthermore, the UE 200 can receive visible light communication signals via the VLC-AP 100. In other words, the UE 200 can support DL-direction communication via VLC. Note that the UE 200 (and VLC-AP 100) may also support UL-direction VLC communication, but in this embodiment, it is assumed that UL-direction communication will utilize a mobile communication network.

[0026] (2) Functional block configuration of the communication system 10 Next, the functional block configuration of the communication system 10 will be described. Specifically, the functional block configurations of the CCU 30, VLC-AP 100, and UE 200 will be described. Figure 2 is a functional block configuration diagram of the UE 200. Figure 3 is a functional block configuration diagram of the VLC-AP 100. Figure 4 is a functional block configuration diagram of the CCU 30. Note that Figures 2 to 4 only show the main functional blocks related to the description of the embodiment, and the CCU 30, VLC-AP 100, and UE 200 have other functional blocks (for example, a power supply unit). For convenience, the functional block configuration of the UE 200 will be described below.

[0027] (2.1)UE 200 As shown in Figure 2, the UE 200 comprises a visible light receiving unit 210, a wireless transmitting unit 220, a wireless receiving unit 230, and a control unit 240.

[0028] The visible light receiver 210 receives visible light communication signals using visible light. Specifically, the visible light receiver 210 supports VLC and receives visible light communication signals in the DL direction. Because visible light communication signals have strong directivity, their coverage is usually narrower than that of the radio signals (beams) transmitted by the radio base station 50.

[0029] Specifically, the visible light receiver 210 receives a visible light communication signal in the DL direction transmitted from the VLC-AP 100, which is a visible light communication access point. The visible light communication signal may include identification information that can identify the VLC-AP 100. This identification information can be any information that uniquely identifies the VLC-AP 100, and may be a unique ID or number, or information such as the name of the VLC-AP 100. Furthermore, this identification information may indicate the location of the VLC-AP 100 (which may be a geographical location or a logical location on the network). In this way, the visible light receiver 210 may receive a visible light communication signal that includes the identification information of the VLC-AP 100.

[0030] The visible light receiver 210 may start receiving visible light communication signals based on the location information of the VLC-AP 100 included in the DL direction wireless communication signal. Specifically, the wireless receiver 230 may start receiving visible light communication signals based on location information (e.g., latitude and longitude information, position relative to the wireless base station, etc.) included in the wireless communication signal received from the wireless base station 50. More specifically, the UE 200 can transmit a request to use the visible light communication service to the CCU 30 via the wireless transmitter 220. In response to the request, the CCU 30 may guide the UE 200 to the location of the VLC-AP 100 using the DL direction wireless communication signal.

[0031] The CCU 30 can determine the precise location of the UE 200 and can also provide instructions to the UE 200 regarding its direction and route to the VLC-AP 100. This makes it possible to guide the UE 200 into the coverage area of ​​the VLC-AP 100.

[0032] Furthermore, the visible light receiving unit 210 may measure the quality of the received visible light communication signal, such as the received power and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

[0033] The wireless transmitter 220 transmits wireless communication signals in accordance with the specifications of the mobile communication network. Specifically, the wireless transmitter 220 can transmit wireless communication signals using radio waves toward the wireless base station 50. In other words, the wireless transmitter 220 may transmit wireless communication signals in the UL direction toward the mobile communication network.

[0034] Furthermore, the wireless transmission unit 220 can transmit a wireless communication signal that includes identification information of the VLC-AP 100. Specifically, the wireless transmission unit 220 can acquire the identification information of the VLC-AP 100 contained in the visible light communication signal received by the visible light receiver unit 210, and include the acquired identification information in the wireless communication signal sent UL-directed to the mobile communication network.

[0035] The wireless receiver 230 receives DL-direction wireless communication signals transmitted from the mobile communication network. Specifically, the wireless receiver 230 can receive radio wave-based wireless communication signals from the wireless base station 50. In other words, the wireless receiver 230 may receive DL-direction wireless communication signals from the mobile communication network.

[0036] As described above, communication in the DL direction is possible using visible light communication signals via the visible light receiver 210. User plane data (user data) may be received mainly by VLC. Control plane data (which may include control data, synchronization signal blocks, and reference signals, etc.) may be received mainly via a mobile communication network, but this division is not necessarily required.

[0037] The control unit 240 controls each functional block that constitutes the UE 200. Specifically, the control unit 240 controls the visible light receiving operation of the visible light receiving unit 210, and the transmission and reception operations of wireless communication signals using radio waves by the wireless transmitting unit 220 and the wireless receiving unit 230.

[0038] Furthermore, the control unit 240 may control the visible light receiver 210 and the wireless transmitter 220 in order to acquire identification information of the VLC-AP 100 and transmit the acquired identification information to the mobile communication network (CCU 30). In addition, the control unit 240 may control the reception operation of the visible light receiver 210 of the visible light communication signal based on the location information of the VLC-AP 100 included in the wireless communication signal received by the wireless receiver 230.

[0039] (2.2) VLC-AP 100 As shown in Figure 3, the VLC-AP 100 comprises a visible light transmission unit 110, a network connection unit 120, a wireless reception unit 130, and a control unit 140.

[0040] The visible light transmission unit 110 transmits a visible light communication signal using visible light. The visible light communication signal is not particularly limited as long as it uses the wavelengths described above, but in this embodiment, it is desirable that the VLC can achieve wireless communication with extremely wide bandwidth and high speed (e.g., over 100 Gbps) compared to the transmission speed achievable by mobile communication networks.

[0041] As mentioned above, the coverage of visible light communication signals is generally significantly narrower than the coverage of the cell (beam) formed by the radio base station 50. The visible light transmission unit 110 often transmits visible light communication signals using a single visible light communication element, but it may also transmit visible light communication signals using multiple visible light communication elements.

[0042] The network connection unit 120 provides a function to connect to the communication network 20. Specifically, the network connection unit 120 can connect to the communication network 20 via the router 60. The network connection unit 120 may also have a function to connect to the mobile communication network (CCU 30) via the optical fiber 40.

[0043] The wireless receiver 130 can receive wireless communication signals from the wireless base station 50. Specifically, the wireless receiver 130 may receive wireless communication signals from multiple wireless base stations 50 connected in parallel. An example of a system configuration using parallel connection of the VLC-AP 100 and multiple wireless base stations 50 will be described later.

[0044] The control unit 140 controls each functional block that constitutes the VLC-AP 100. Specifically, the control unit 140 may control the transmission operation of visible light communication signals by the visible light transmission unit 110 and the reception operation of wireless communication signals by the wireless reception unit 130. For example, the control unit 140 may control the transmission of visible light communication signals by the visible light transmission unit 110 (e.g., on / off transmission, directionality, etc.) based on a connection request from the CCU 30.

[0045] (2.3) CCU 30 As shown in Figure 4, the CCU 30 includes a wireless receiving unit 31, a request transmission unit 33, and a network connection unit 35.

[0046] The wireless receiver 31 may receive a communication signal via the wireless base station 50 that corresponds to the wireless communication signal received by the wireless base station 50 from the UE 200. In this embodiment, the wireless receiver 31 may constitute a network-side wireless receiver. The communication signal corresponding to the wireless communication signal received by the wireless base station 50 from the UE 200 may be interpreted, for example, as a NAS (Non-Access Stratum) level signal included in the UL wireless communication signal transmitted by the UE 200 to the wireless base station 50. This signal may include the identification information of the VLC-AP 100 described above. Note that the CCU 30 and the wireless base station 50 may be connected wirelessly rather than by wire, in which case the wireless receiver 31 may receive a wireless communication signal from the wireless base station 50.

[0047] The request transmission unit 33 sends a connection request to the VLC-AP 100 for connection with the UE 200. Specifically, the request transmission unit 33 can send the connection request to the VLC-AP 100 via the communication network 20 or the optical fiber 40.

[0048] More specifically, the request transmission unit 33 may transmit the connection request to a specific VLC-AP 100 based on the identification information of the VLC-AP 100 included in the communication signal received by the wireless reception unit 31. The specific VLC-AP 100 may be the VLC-AP 100 to which the identification information is assigned, or it may be the VLC-AP 100 to which the identification information is assigned, and other VLC-AP 100 located in the vicinity of that VLC-AP 100.

[0049] The network connection unit 35 provides a function to connect to the communication network 20. Specifically, the network connection unit 35 can connect to the communication network 20. The network connection unit 35 may also have a function to connect to the VLC-AP 100 via the optical fiber 40.

[0050] The control unit 37 controls each functional block that constitutes the CCU 30. Specifically, the control unit 37 may control the operation of receiving communication signals by the wireless receiving unit 31 and the operation of transmitting connection requests by the request transmission unit 33.

[0051] Furthermore, the control unit 37 may configure DL to the UE 200 via the VLC-AP 100 through a plurality of wireless base stations 50 wirelessly connected in parallel with the VLC-AP 100. Specifically, the control unit 37 may control the network connection unit 35 to distribute and transmit data (user data and control data) destined for the UE 200 to the plurality of wireless base stations 50 for load balancing purposes.

[0052] (3) Operation of the communication system 10 Next, the operation of the communication system 10 will be described. Specifically, an example of operation related to establishing a DL (Download Link) using visible light communication will be described.

[0053] (3.1) Operation overview First, it is assumed that UE 200 is subscribed to a mobile communications network (i.e., has a contract that allows it to perform wireless communication via the mobile communications network). It may also be assumed that UE 200 has (or can establish) a wireless communication link with base station 50 (either UL only or UL and DL).

[0054] The VLC-AP 100 may periodically transmit a VLC signal multiplexed with its identification number and other information. The mobile communication network has a CCU 30, which can control not only the components of the mobile communication network but also the VLC-AP 100. This allows DL data from VLC to be transmitted to the UE 200 via the VLC-AP 100.

[0055] UE 200 may attempt to receive visible light communication signals in order to perform communication at a much faster transmission speed than radio wireless communication links. If UE 200 is able to receive a visible light communication signal, it may measure the received power and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the visible light communication signal. In addition, UE 200 may obtain the identification information (e.g., identification number) of the VLC-AP 100 contained in the visible light communication signal.

[0056] The UE 200 feeds back the acquired identification number to the CCU 30 via the UL of the mobile communication network, i.e., via radio wave-based wireless communication signals. Based on the identification number, the CCU 30 instructs the corresponding VLC-AP 100 to establish a DL using VLC.

[0057] Furthermore, if UE 200 is located outside the VLC communication area (coverage), as described above, UE 200 can be guided into the VLC communication area by radio communication signals. Specifically, UE 200 can be brought into the VLC communication area and communication can be initiated by starting the visible light communication signal reception operation based on the location information of VLC-AP 100 contained in the radio communication signal.

[0058] Compared to visible light, radio wave wireless communication signals are less susceptible to shielding. Therefore, wireless communication using radio waves, especially mobile communication networks with wide area coverage and high connectivity, can be used to smoothly and automatically establish DL (Download-Based Communication) using VLC.

[0059] (3.2) Example of operation (3.2.1) Example of operation 1 The following describes a specific example of DL establishment using VLC. Figure 5 shows an example sequence of DL establishment using VLC related to Operation Example 1.

[0060] As shown in Figure 5, UE 200 may receive visible light communication signals from VLC-AP 100. Here, it is assumed that UE 200 is located within the communication area (coverage) of the visible light communication signals transmitted by VLC-AP 100. VLC-AP 100 may periodically transmit visible light communication signals that include its identification number.

[0061] UE 200 receives the visible light communication signal and measures the received power and SNR, etc. If the reception status of the visible light communication signal satisfies predetermined conditions (for example, if the quality of the visible light communication signal is above a predetermined threshold), UE 200 transmits a VLC communication request, including the identification number of VLC-AP 100, to CCU 30 using UL via the radio base station 50 (Radio AP).

[0062] Based on the VLC communication request received from the UE 200, the CCU 30 sends a connection request (DL establishment request) to the VLC-AP 100 associated with the identification number. Subsequently, the CCU 30 starts DL transmission via the VLC-AP 100. After DL is established, DL transmission does not necessarily have to be performed via the CCU 30; for example, a communication path to the VLC-AP 100 may be established via the communication network 20 and the router 60.

[0063] (3.2.2) Example of operation 2 Figure 6 shows an example system configuration including the radio base station 50 and VLC-AP 100 related to Operation Example 2. As shown in Figure 6, in this operation example, multiple radio base stations 50 (Radio AP #1, 2, 3) are connected in parallel to the VLC-AP 100. The VLC-AP 100 has a relay function that aggregates DL data from multiple radio base stations 50. It is assumed that the CCU 30 has in advance recognized the combinations of transmit beams that can be set between the multiple radio base stations 50 and the VLC-AP 100.

[0064] As described above, the multiple wireless base stations 50 and the VLC-AP 100 may be configured to communicate via wireless communication using radio waves. The frequency band in which the wireless communication is performed is not particularly limited, but in order to support wideband and high-speed communication by VLC, for example, subterahertz waves (100 GHz to 300 GHz) may be used.

[0065] Figure 7 shows an example sequence of DL establishment by VLC in Operation Example 2. Similar to Operation Example 1, the visible light communication signal from VLC-AP 100 is received, the received power and SNR are measured, and a VLC communication request including the identification number of VLC-AP 100 is sent to CCU 30.

[0066] Based on the VLC transmission request, the CCU 30 determines the transmission beams to be set between the multiple radio base stations 50 and the VLC-AP 100, and sends connection requests (DL establishment requests) to the multiple radio base stations 50 (or just one radio base station 50 if the amount of data is small) to which the DL data will be transmitted.

[0067] Subsequently, the CCU 30 distributes the DL data to the selected multiple radio base stations 50 and begins DL transmission. The VLC-AP 100 aggregates the DL data received from the multiple radio base stations 50 and begins DL transmission to the UE 200 via VLC.

[0068] As demonstrated by the operational example described above, a reliable and easy UL (Unified Link) can be established by applying VLC to DL (Download) while using a mobile communication network. Therefore, communication requests using VLC can be easily sent to CCU 30 via the UL on the mobile communication network, which increases the applicability of VLC to DL, even though its coverage is narrow and it is not easy for UE 200 to be in the area. This makes it possible to easily establish a high-bandwidth, high-speed DL using VLC.

[0069] Furthermore, using infrared communication (IR) or VLC as the UL presents problems such as interference between the UL and DL, and difficulty in establishing a communication link due to narrow coverage. Also, when radio communication and VLC are operated separately and independently, coordinated operation between the two is difficult, and the ease of establishing DL as described above cannot be expected.

[0070] (4) Other embodiments Although embodiments have been described above, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to those embodiments described and that various modifications and improvements are possible.

[0071] For example, in the above description, configure, activate, update, indicate, enable, specify, and select may be interpreted as interchangeable. Similarly, link, associate, correspond, and map may be interpreted as interchangeable, and allocate, assign, monitor, and map may also be interpreted as interchangeable.

[0072] Furthermore, "specific," "dedicated," "UE specific," and "UE individual" may be interpreted interchangeably. Similarly, "common," "shared," "group-common," "UE common," and "UE shared" may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0073] In this disclosure, terms such as "precoding," "precoder," "weight (precoding weight)," "quasi-co-location (QCL)," "transmission configuration indication state (TCI state)," "spatial relation," "spatial domain filter," "transmit power," "phase rotation," "antenna port," "antenna port group," "layer," "number of layers," "rank," "resource," "resource set," "resource group," "beam," "beam width," "beam angle," "antenna," "antenna element," and "panel" may be used interchangeably.

[0074] Furthermore, the block diagrams (Figures 2-4) used in the description of the embodiments above show functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Moreover, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or it may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wired or wireless connections). A functional block may also be realized by combining the above one device or the above multiple devices with software.

[0075] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, decision, judgment, calculation, calculation, processing, derivation, investigation, exploration, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, assumption, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating (mapping), and assigning. For example, a functional block (configuration part) that enables transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. In any case, as mentioned above, the method of implementation is not particularly limited.

[0076] Furthermore, the CCU 30, VLC-AP 100, and UE 200 (the device) described above may function as a computer that processes the wireless communication method of this disclosure. Figure 8 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the device. As shown in Figure 8, the device may be configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, memory 1002, storage 1003, communication device 1004, input device 1005, output device 1006, and bus 1007.

[0077] In the following explanation, the term "device" can be replaced with "circuit," "device," "unit," etc. The hardware configuration of the device may include one or more of the devices shown in the diagram, or it may be configured to omit some of the devices.

[0078] Each functional block of the device (see Figures 2-4) is implemented by any hardware element of the computer device, or a combination of such hardware elements.

[0079] Furthermore, each function in the device is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, which allows the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 1004, and control at least one of data reading and writing in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0080] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer, for example, by running an operating system. The processor 1001 may consist of a central processing unit (CPU) that includes interfaces with peripheral devices, control units, arithmetic units, registers, and so on.

[0081] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads programs (program code), software modules, data, etc., from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002 and executes various processes accordingly. The program used is one that causes the computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above embodiment. Moreover, the above-mentioned various processes may be executed by one processor 1001, or by two or more processors 1001 simultaneously or sequentially. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0082] Memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), etc. Memory 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory, etc. Memory 1002 can store a program (program code), software modules, etc., that can execute a method according to one embodiment of this disclosure.

[0083] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: an optical disc such as a Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disc, a digital multipurpose disc, a Blu-ray® disc), a smart card, flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy® disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device. The recording medium described above may also be, for example, a database, server, or other suitable medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0084] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transceiver / receiver device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as a network device, network controller, network card, communication module, etc.

[0085] The communication device 1004 may be configured to include, for example, a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc., in order to implement at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD).

[0086] The input device 1005 is an input device that accepts input from an external source (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.). The output device 1006 is an output device that outputs to an external source (e.g., a display, speaker, LED lamp, etc.). The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be configured as an integrated unit (e.g., a touch panel).

[0087] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or different buses may be configured for each device.

[0088] Furthermore, the device may include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of each functional block may be implemented by such hardware. For example, processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these hardware components.

[0089] Furthermore, notification of information is not limited to the embodiments / models described herein and may be carried out by other means. For example, notification of information may be carried out by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), upper layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or combinations thereof. RRC signaling may also be called RRC messages, and may be, for example, RRC Connection Setup messages, RRC Connection Reconfiguration messages, etc.

[0090] Each aspect / embodiment described herein may be applied to at least one of systems utilizing Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (where x is, for example, an integer or decimal), Future Radio Access (FRA), New Radio (NR), W-CDMA®, GSM®, CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi®), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX®), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth®, and other appropriate systems, as well as next-generation systems extended based thereon. Furthermore, multiple systems may be applied in combination (for example, a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G).

[0091] The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc., of each aspect / embodiment described herein may be reordered, provided they are consistent with each other. For example, the methods described herein present various step elements in an exemplary order and are not limited to that specific order.

[0092] The specific operations described in this disclosure as being performed by a base station may, in some cases, be performed by its upper node. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal can be performed by the base station and at least one other network node (for example, an MME or S-GW, but not limited to these). Although the above example illustrates the case where there is one other network node besides the base station, it may also be a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW).

[0093] Information and signals (such as data) can be output from a higher layer (or lower layer) to a lower layer (or higher layer). Input and output may occur via multiple network nodes.

[0094] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or appended to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be sent to other devices.

[0095] The determination may be made by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), by a boolean value (true or false), or by a numerical comparison (for example, a comparison with a predetermined value).

[0096] Each aspect / embodiment described herein may be used individually, in combination, or switched between as needed during implementation. Furthermore, notification of specific information (e.g., notification that "X is") is not limited to explicit notification, but may also be implicit (e.g., by not providing such notification).

[0097] Software should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, and so on, whether they are called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or by any other name.

[0098] Furthermore, software, instructions, information, etc., may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired technology (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) and wireless technology (such as infrared or microwave), then at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included in the definition of a transmission medium.

[0099] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of the various different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0100] In addition, terms used in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of the channel and symbol may be a signal (signaling). Also, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, cell, frequency carrier, etc.

[0101] The terms “system” and “network” as used in this disclosure are interchangeable.

[0102] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc., described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a given value, or other corresponding information. For example, wireless resources may be indicated by an index.

[0103] The names used for the parameters described above are not restrictive in any way. Furthermore, the formulas and other expressions using these parameters may differ from those expressly disclosed in this disclosure. Since various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements can be identified by any suitable name, the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not restrictive in any way.

[0104] In this disclosure, terms such as "Base Station (BS)," "wireless base station," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNodeB (eNB)," "gNodeB (gNB)," "access point," "transmission point," "reception point," "transmission / reception point," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.

[0105] A base station can house one or more (e.g., three) cells (also called sectors). If a base station houses multiple cells, the entire coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, each of which can also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (Remote Radio Head: RRH)).

[0106] The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to a portion or all of the coverage area of ​​at least one of the base stations and base station subsystems that provide communication services in this coverage.

[0107] In this disclosure, the transmission of information by a base station to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to perform information-based control or operation.

[0108] In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

[0109] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other appropriate term.

[0110] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may also be a device mounted on a mobile body, the mobile body itself, etc. The mobile body refers to a movable object, and its speed of movement is arbitrary. This also includes the case when the mobile body is stationary. The mobile body includes, but is not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcarts, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, satellites, drones (registered trademark), multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and items mounted on them. The mobile body may also be a mobile body that moves autonomously based on operation commands. It may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile body (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). Furthermore, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may include devices that do not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

[0111] Furthermore, the term "base station" in this disclosure may be interpreted as "mobile station" (user terminal, hereinafter the same). For example, the various aspects / embodiments of this disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a mobile station is replaced with communication between multiple mobile stations (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the mobile station may have the functions that a base station has. Also, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be interpreted as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc. may be interpreted as side channel (or side link).

[0112] Similarly, the term "mobile station" in this disclosure may be interpreted as "base station." In this case, the base station may be configured to have the functions that a mobile station has.

[0113] A wireless frame may consist of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of these one or more frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further consist of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0114] Numerology may be communication parameters applied to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. Numerology may include, for example, at least one of the following: subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame configuration, specific filtering processes performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing processes performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

[0115] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol). A slot may also be a time unit based on neurology.

[0116] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain. Minislots may also be called subslots. Minislots may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called a PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called a PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0117] Wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols all represent units of time when transmitting a signal. Different names may be used for each of these terms.

[0118] For example, one subframe may be called a Transmit Time Interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. In other words, at least one of a subframe and a TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.

[0119] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest unit of time for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, the base station schedules each user terminal to allocate wireless resources (such as the frequency bandwidth and transmission power available to each user terminal) in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0120] TTI may be a transmission time unit for channel-encoded data packets (transport blocks), code blocks, code words, etc., or it may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. Given a TTI, the actual time interval (e.g., number of symbols) to which the transport block, code block, code word, etc. are mapped may be shorter than the given TTI.

[0121] Furthermore, if one slot or one mini-slot is referred to as TTI, then one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more mini-slots) may constitute the minimum time unit of scheduling. In addition, the number of slots (number of mini-slots) that constitute this minimum time unit of scheduling may be controlled.

[0122] A TTI with a time length of 1ms may also be called a normal TTI, long TTI, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may also be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, mini slot, sub slot, slot, etc.

[0123] Furthermore, long TTIs (e.g., normal TTIs, subframes, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a time length exceeding 1 ms, and short TTIs (e.g., shortened TTIs, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a TTI length less than that of a long TTI but 1 ms or more.

[0124] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and in the frequency domain, it may contain one or more consecutive subcarriers. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be the same regardless of the neurology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be determined based on the neurology.

[0125] Furthermore, the time domain of the RB may contain one or more symbols and may be the length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc., may each consist of one or more resource blocks.

[0126] One or more RBs may also be called a Physical RB (PRB), Sub-Carrier Group (SCG), Resource Element Group (REG), PRB pair, RB pair, etc.

[0127] Furthermore, a resource block may consist of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource area comprising one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0128] A Bandwidth Part (BWP), also known as a partial bandwidth, may represent a subset of consecutive common resource blocks (RBs) for a given neurology on a given carrier. Here, the common RBs may be identified by an index of the RBs relative to the carrier's common reference point. PRBs may be defined and numbered within a BWP.

[0129] A BWP may include BWPs for UL (UL BWP) and BWPs for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be set within a single carrier for a UE.

[0130] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE does not need to assume that it will send or receive a given signal / channel outside of the active BWP. In this disclosure, terms such as "cell" and "carrier" may be read as "BWP".

[0131] The structures described above, such as wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols, are merely illustrative. For example, the number of subframes included in a wireless frame, the number of slots per subframe or wireless frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, and the number of symbols, symbol length, and cyclic prefix (CP) length within the TTI can be varied in various ways.

[0132] The terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variation thereof, mean any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are “connected” or “coupled” with each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, “connection” may be reinterpreted as “access.” As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be “connected” or “coupled” with each other using at least one of one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, and, in some non-limiting and non-exclusive examples, electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency domain, microwave domain, and optical (both visible and invisible) domain.

[0133] The reference signal can also be abbreviated as Reference Signal (RS), and may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0134] In this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based solely on" unless otherwise specified. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based solely on" and "based at least on."

[0135] In the configuration of each of the above devices, "means" may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0136] Any reference to elements using designations such as “First,” “Second,” etc., as used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Accordingly, references to the First and Second elements do not imply that only two elements may be employed therein, or that the First element must precede the Second element in any way.

[0137] Where the terms “include,” “including,” and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, as is the term “comprising.” Furthermore, the term “or” as used in this disclosure is not intended to mean exclusive OR.

[0138] In this disclosure, if articles are added through translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include the fact that the noun following these articles is plural.

[0139] The terms “determining” and “determining” as used in this disclosure may encompass a wide variety of actions. “Determining” and “determining” may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, or inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), or ascertaining. “Determining” and “determining” may also include, for example, receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), inputting, outputting, or accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory). Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering something as having "judgmented" or "decided" after resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering something as having "judgmented" or "decided" about some action. Also, "judgment (decision)" can be reinterpreted as "assuming," "expecting," or "considering."

[0140] In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combine" may be interpreted similarly to "different."

[0141] (Note) The above disclosure may also be expressed as follows: The first feature is a terminal comprising a visible light receiving unit that receives a visible light communication signal using visible light, and a wireless transmitting unit that transmits a wireless communication signal in accordance with the specifications of a mobile communication network, wherein the visible light receiving unit receives the visible light communication signal in the downlink direction transmitted from a visible light communication access point, and the wireless transmitting unit transmits the wireless communication signal in the uplink direction to the mobile communication network.

[0142] The second feature is that, in the first feature, the visible light receiving unit receives the visible light communication signal including the identification information of the access point, and the wireless transmitting unit transmits the wireless communication signal including the identification information.

[0143] The third feature is that, in the first or second feature, the system includes a wireless receiving unit that receives a wireless communication signal in the downlink direction transmitted from the mobile communication network, and the visible light receiving unit starts receiving the visible light communication signal based on the location information of the access point included in the wireless communication signal in the downlink direction. [Explanation of symbols]

[0144] 10 Communication Systems 20 Communication Networks 30 CCU 31 Wireless receiver 33 Request transmission unit 35 Network connection section 37 Control Unit 40 Optical Fibers 50 Wireless base stations 60 routers 100 VLC-AP 110 Visible light transmitter 120 Network connection section 130 Wireless receiver 140 Control Unit 200 UE 210 Visible light receiving unit 220 Wireless Transmitter 230 Wireless Receiver 240 Control Unit 1001 Processor 1002 memory 1003 Storage 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device 1007 Bus

Claims

1. A visible light receiving unit that receives visible light communication signals using visible light, A wireless transmission unit that transmits wireless communication signals in accordance with the specifications of a mobile communication network, and Equipped with, The visible light receiving unit receives the visible light communication signal in the downlink direction transmitted from the visible light communication access point. The wireless transmission unit is a terminal that transmits the wireless communication signal in the uplink direction to the mobile communication network.

2. The visible light receiving unit receives the visible light communication signal which includes the identification information of the access point. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the wireless transmission unit transmits the wireless communication signal including the identification information.

3. The system includes a wireless receiving unit that receives wireless communication signals in the downlink direction transmitted from the aforementioned mobile communication network, The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the visible light receiving unit starts receiving the visible light communication signal based on the state of the access point's location information included in the wireless communication signal in the downlink direction.

4. A communication system including terminals and visible light communication access points, The access point includes a visible light transmitting unit that transmits visible light communication signals using visible light, The aforementioned terminal is A visible light receiving unit that receives the aforementioned visible light communication signal, A wireless transmission unit that transmits wireless communication signals in accordance with the specifications of a mobile communication network, and Equipped with, The visible light receiving unit receives the visible light communication signal in the downlink direction transmitted from the access point. The wireless transmission unit is a communication system that transmits the wireless communication signal in the uplink direction to the mobile communication network.

5. The mobile communication network includes a communication control device that controls the mobile communication network, The communication control device is A network-side wireless receiving unit that receives a communication signal corresponding to the wireless communication signal via a wireless base station, A request transmission unit that transmits a connection request to the terminal to the access point. Equipped with, The visible light receiving unit receives the visible light communication signal which includes the identification information of the access point. The wireless transmission unit transmits the wireless communication signal including the identification information. The communication system according to claim 4, wherein the request transmission unit transmits the connection request to a specific access point based on the identification information.

6. The communication system according to claim 5, wherein the communication control device sets up a downlink to the terminal via the access point via a plurality of wireless base stations wirelessly connected in parallel with the access point.

7. A step of receiving a visible light communication signal using visible light, The steps include transmitting a wireless communication signal in accordance with the specifications of a mobile communication network, and Equipped with, In the receiving step, the visible light communication signal transmitted from the visible light communication access point in the downlink direction is received. A communication method in a terminal that transmits the wireless communication signal in the uplink direction to the mobile communication network, in the step of transmitting.

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