User equipment and communication method

Abstract

A user device receives information corresponding to bands of first and second RATs from a base station apparatus, and determines a first parameter, which indicates a bandwidth combination supported for the first RAT part with respect to inter-band EN-DC of the first and second RATs, and a second parameter for dual connectivity of the first and second RATs comprising the inter-band EN-DC and intra-band EN-DC, wherein the second parameter indicates a bandwidth combination supported throughout all of the bands of the inter-band EN-DC and the intra-band EN-DC. Here, for a band combination of the inter-band EN-DC, an arbitrary combination of the second RAT part of the bandwidth combination indicated by the second parameter, and the first RAT part of the bandwidth combination indicated by the first parameter is supported. The user device transmits terminal capability information, which includes the first and second parameters that have been determined, to the base station apparatus.

Description

User Equipment and Communication Method

[0001] The present invention relates to a user equipment and a communication method in a wireless communication system.

[0002] Currently, in 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project), as a successor to the LTE (Long Term Evolution) system and the LTE-Advanced system, the specification formulation of a new wireless communication system called the NR (New Radio Access Technology) system is underway (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] In the NR system, similar to dual connectivity in the LTE system, data is split between the base station (eNB) of the LTE system and the base station (gNB) of the NR system, and data is simultaneously transmitted and received by these base stations. The introduction of a technology called LTE-NR dual connectivity or multi-RAT dual connectivity (hereinafter referred to as "MR-DC") is being considered (for example, Non-Patent Document 2). Multi-RAT is an abbreviation for Multi Radio Access Technology.

[0004] 3GPP TS 38.300 V15.3.0 (2018-09) 3GPP TS 37.340 V15.3.0 (2018-09)

[0005] In MR-DC, a list in which bands defined by E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access) and bands defined by NR are mixed is notified to the user equipment. The user equipment determines a bandwidth combination supported by the user equipment from the list. Here, as the band combinations targeted by the bandwidth combinations supported by the user equipment, band combinations of inter-band multi-RAT dual connectivity (inter-band EN-DC) and intra-band multi-RAT dual connectivity (intra-band EN-DC) between E-UTRA and NR bands are considered.

[0006] There is no specified method for notifying the base station equipment of the bandwidth combination set (BWCS) for interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC band combinations from the user equipment.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and aims to provide a technology for notifying a base station device of the bandwidth combination for the band combination of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC in a wireless communication system using multiple RATs (E-UTRA and NR) from the user equipment.

[0008] According to the disclosed technology, the user device includes a receiving unit that receives band information for a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT from a base station device, a first parameter indicating supported bandwidth combinations for a portion of the first RAT for the interband dual connectivity (interband EN-DC) of the first RAT and the second RAT, and for the dual connectivity of the first RAT and the second RAT consisting of the interband EN-DC and the intraband EN-DC, the interband EN-DC and the intraband EN The system includes a second parameter indicating supported bandwidth combinations across all N-DC bands, where any combination of the second RAT portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by the second parameter and the first RAT portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by the first parameter is supported for the interband EN-DC band combinations, and a transmission unit that transmits terminal capability information including the determined first and second parameters to the base station device.

[0009] According to the disclosed technology, even in a wireless communication system utilizing multiple RATs, user equipment can notify base station equipment of information regarding dual connectivity band combinations.

[0010] This is an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a sequence diagram showing that a user device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention notifies a base station device 10 of its capabilities. This is a diagram showing an example of notifying a bandwidth combination for a band combination of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC (part 1). This is a diagram showing an example of notifying a bandwidth combination for a band combination of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC (part 1). This is a diagram showing an example of notifying a bandwidth combination for a band combination of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC (part 1). This is a diagram showing an example of notifying a bandwidth combination for a band combination of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC (part 2). This is a diagram showing an example of notifying a bandwidth combination for a band combination of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC (part 2). This figure shows an example of a bandwidth combination notification for a band combination of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC (part 2). This figure shows an example of a bandwidth combination notification for a band combination of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC (part 2). This figure shows an example of a bandwidth combination notification for a band combination of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC (part 2). This figure shows an example of the functional configuration of the base station device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows an example of the functional configuration of the user device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of the base station device 10 and user device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0012] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the user device 20 communicates with base station devices 10A and 10B (hereinafter, when base station devices 10A and 10B are not distinguished, they may be referred to as "base station device 10") provided by the LTE system and the NR system, respectively, and supports LTE-NR dual connectivity (also called EN-DC) with base station device 10A as the master base station and base station device 10B as the secondary base station. In other words, the user device 20 can simultaneously transmit or receive with the master base station device 10A and the secondary base station device 10B by simultaneously utilizing multiple component carriers provided by the master base station device 10A and the secondary base station device 10B. In the illustrated embodiment, the LTE system and the NR system each have only one base station, but generally, a large number of base stations are arranged to cover the service areas of the LTE system and the NR system.

[0014] Although the following embodiments are described in relation to LTE-NR dual connectivity (EN-DC), the user equipment according to this disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, it can also be applied to NR-LTE dual connectivity (also referred to as NE-DC) in which the base station equipment 10A of the NR system is the master base station and the base station equipment 10B of the LTE system is the secondary base station. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that it can also be applied to dual connectivity between multiple wireless communication systems using different RATs, i.e., MR-DC.

[0015] Figure 2 is a sequence diagram showing that a user device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention notifies a base station device 10 of its terminal capability. In Figure 2, the base station device 10 transmits a terminal capability notification request to the user device 20, and the user device 20, in response to the terminal capability notification request, transmits a terminal capability notification to the base station device 10.

[0016] In step S1, the base station device 10 sends an RRC (Radio Resource Control) message "UECapabilityEnquire" to the user device 20 as a terminal capability notification request. The UECapabilityEnquire is used to obtain information about the user device 20's radio access capability from the network. The base station device 10 can specify the type of radio access capability to be included in the information to be notified to the user device 20 using the UECapabilityEnquire. For example, the base station device 10 may request notification of the radio access capability related to the bandwidth combinations supported by the user device 20. Furthermore, the base station device 10 may request notification of the bandwidth combinations supported by the user device 20 for band combinations consisting of bands included in the list "requestedFreqBandList" to be notified to the user device 20.

[0017] Next, in step S2, the user device 20 transmits the RRC message "UECapabilityInformation" to the base station device 10 as a terminal capability notification. The UECapabilityInformation is used to notify the network of information regarding the user device 20's radio access capability. Based on the UECapabilityEnquiry received from the base station device 10 in step S1, the user device 20 transmits to the base station device 10 information regarding the radio access capability supported by the user device 20.

[0018] In step S3, the base station device 10 performs normal communication that is adapted to the terminal capabilities based on the UECapability Information received from the user device 20 in step S2. For example, if the UECapability Information received from the user device 20 in step S2 includes supported bandwidth combinations, the base station device 10 performs scheduling within the range of supported bandwidth combinations.

[0019] (Embodiment 1) Figures 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D show an example (part 1) of notifying bandwidth combinations for interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC band combinations.

[0020] As shown in Figures 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D, one of the terminal capability information elements transmitted from the user device 20 to the base station device 10 is BandCombinationList, which is a parameter for notifying the bandwidth combinations supported by the user device 20. BandCombinationList includes supportedBandwidthCombinationSet, which is a field for notifying the bandwidth combinations supported by the user device 20. supportedBandwidthCombinationSet is a bitmap of up to 32 bits, and the user device 20 can notify up to 32 bandwidth combinations that it supports.

[0021] For NR alone (NR SA (standalone)) and interband EN-DC, the field "supportedBandwidthCombinationSet" is set to the bandwidth combination for the NR portion of the band combination.

[0022] Furthermore, for in-band EN-DC, the field "supportedBandwidthCombinationSet" is set to the supported bandwidth combination set (supported BWCS) that is applicable to the NR and LTE band combination and is supported by the user device 20. For example, the first bit (leftmost bit) of the bitmap of supportedBandwidthCombinationSet corresponds to bandwidth combination #0 (BWCS #0), and the second bit corresponds to bandwidth combination #1 (BWCS #1). When a bit is set to 1, the user device 20 supports the corresponding bandwidth combination.

[0023] For interband EN-DC band combinations, the user device 20 may support any combination of the NR portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by this field and the E-UTRA portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by the parameter supportedBandwidthCombinationSetEUTRA.

[0024] The parameter supportedBandwidthCombinationSetEUTRA is a field included in CA-ParametersEUTRA, which is one of the terminal capability information elements transmitted from the user device 20 to the base station device 10.

[0025] For EN-DC band combinations consisting of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC, this field indicates bandwidth combinations supported by the user device 20 across all interband and intraband EN-DC bands (all bands are considered).

[0026] (Embodiment 2) Figures 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E show an example (part 2) of notifying bandwidth combinations for interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC band combinations.

[0027] As shown in Figures 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E, the BandCombinationList parameter, which notifies the bandwidth combinations supported by the user device 20, includes supportedBandwidthCombinationSetIntraMRDC, which is a field for notifying the bandwidth combinations for the band combinations of in-band MR-DCs supported by the user device 20.

[0028] For in-band EN-DC, this field is set to a bandwidth combination supported by the user device 20, applicable to the NR and LTE band combination. For example, the first bit (leftmost bit) of the supportedBandwidthCombinationSetIntraMRDC bitmap corresponds to bandwidth combination #0 (BWCS#0), and the second bit corresponds to bandwidth combination #1 (BWCS#1). When a bit is set to 1, the user device 20 supports the corresponding bandwidth combination.

[0029] For EN-DC band combinations consisting of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC, this field indicates bandwidth combinations supported by the user device 20 across all interband and intraband EN-DC bands (all bands are considered).

[0030] For interband EN-DC band combinations, the supported bandwidth combinations are any combination of the NR portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by supportedBandwidthCombinationSetNR and the E-UTRA portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by supportedBandwidthCombinationSetEUTRA.

[0031] The parameter supportedBandwidthCombinationEUTRA is a field included in CA-ParametersEUTRA, which is one of the terminal capability information elements transmitted from the user device 20 to the base station device 10.

[0032] The parameter supportedBandwidthCombinationSetNR is a field included in CA-ParametersNR, which is one of the terminal capability information elements transmitted from the user device 20 to the base station device 10. The parameter name is not limited to supportedBandwidthCombinationSetNR, and may be other names.

[0033] (Device Configuration) Next, an example of the functional configuration of the base station device 10 and user device 20 that perform the processes and operations described above will be explained. The base station device 10 and user device 20 each include at least the functions to carry out the embodiment. However, the base station device 10 and user device 20 may each have only some of the functions in the embodiment.

[0034] Figure 5 shows an example of the functional configuration of the base station device 10. As shown in Figure 5, the base station device 10 has a transmitting unit 110, a receiving unit 120, a setting unit 130, and a control unit 140. The functional configuration shown in Figure 5 is merely an example. Any functional classification and functional unit names are acceptable as long as they can perform the operations according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] The transmitting unit 110 includes the function of generating a signal to be transmitted to the user device 20 and transmitting the signal wirelessly. The receiving unit 120 includes the function of receiving various signals transmitted from the user device 20 and obtaining information from the received signals, for example, information of a higher layer. The transmitting unit 110 also transmits a message to the user device 20 requesting terminal capability notification, information indicating the scheduling of UL or DL, and the receiving unit 120 receives the message related to terminal capability notification from the user device 20.

[0036] The setting unit 130 stores pre-configured setting information and various setting information to be transmitted to the user device 20. The content of the setting information includes, for example, information regarding band combinations and information regarding terminal capabilities.

[0037] The control unit 140 performs the control related to the transmission of a terminal capability notification request message, such as UECapabilityEnquiry, from the base station device 10 to the user device 20, as described in the embodiment, and also receives the terminal capability notification from the user device 20 and performs the control to execute communication according to the terminal capability.

[0038] Figure 6 shows an example of the functional configuration of the user device 20. As shown in Figure 6, the user device 20 has a transmitting unit 210, a receiving unit 220, a setting unit 230, and a control unit 240. The functional configuration shown in Figure 6 is merely an example. The names of the functional categories and functional units can be anything as long as they can perform the operations according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] The transmitting unit 210 creates a transmission signal from the transmission data and transmits the transmission signal wirelessly. The receiving unit 220 wirelessly receives various signals and obtains signals from higher layers from the received physical layer signals. The receiving unit 120 also receives messages from the base station equipment 10 regarding terminal capability notification requests and information indicating UL or DL ​​scheduling.

[0040] The setting unit 230 stores various setting information received from the base station device 10 by the receiving unit 220. The setting unit 230 also stores pre-configured setting information. The content of the setting information includes, for example, information regarding band combinations and information regarding terminal capability notifications.

[0041] The control unit 240 performs control related to the generation and transmission of terminal capability notification messages, such as UECapabilityInformation, which are transmitted from the user device 20 to the base station device 10, as described in the embodiment. Note that the functions related to the transmission of terminal capability notification messages in the control unit 240 may be included in the transmission unit 210, and the functions related to the reception of terminal capability notification request messages in the control unit 240 may be included in the reception unit 220.

[0042] (Hardware Configuration) The block diagrams (Figures 5 and 6) used in the description of the above embodiments show functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, 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 be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

[0043] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, decision-making, determination, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, solution, selection, selection determination, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, assumption, notification (broadcasting), notification (notifying), communication (communicating), forwarding, configuration (configuring), reconfiguration (reconfiguring), allocation (allocating, mapping), assignment (assigning), etc. For example, a functional block (component) that enables transmission is called a transmitting unit or a transmitter. In any case, as described above, the implementation method is not particularly limited.

[0044] For example, the base station device 10, user device 20, etc. in an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs the processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the base station device 10 and the user device 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The above-described base station device 10 and user device 20 may physically be configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a storage device 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, and the like.

[0045] In the following description, the term "device" can be read as a circuit, device, unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the base station device 10 and the user device 20 may be configured to include one or more of each device shown in the figure, or may be configured without including some devices.

[0046] Each function in the base station device 10 and the user device 20 is realized by causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations and control communication by the communication device 1004, or by controlling at least one of reading and writing data in the storage device 1002 and the auxiliary storage device 1003, by loading a predetermined software (program) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and the storage device 1002.

[0047] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by operating, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be composed of a central processing unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic device, registers, and the like. For example, the above-described control unit 140, control unit 240, etc. may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0048] Also, the processor 1001 reads a program (program code), software module, data, etc. from at least one of the auxiliary storage device 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the storage device 1002, and executes various processes according to these. As the program, a program for causing a computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above-described embodiments is used. For example, the control unit 140 of the base station device 10 shown in FIG. 5 may be stored in the storage device 1002 and realized by a control program operating on the processor 1001. Also, for example, the control unit 240 of the user device 20 shown in FIG. 6 may be stored in the storage device 1002 and realized by a control program operating on the processor 1001. Although it has been described that the above-described various processes are executed by one processor 1001, they may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be mounted by one or more chips. Note that the program may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunication line.

[0049] The storage device 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage device 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory, etc. The storage device 1002 can store executable programs (program code), software modules, etc., for implementing a communication method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0050] The auxiliary storage device 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: an optical disc such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital multipurpose disk, a Blu-ray® disk), a smart card, flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy® disk, a magnetic strip, etc. The auxiliary storage device 1003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, server, or other suitable medium including at least one of the storage device 1002 and the auxiliary storage device 1003.

[0051] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmitting / receiving 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. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include, for example, a high-frequency switch, duplexer, filter, frequency synthesizer, etc., in order to implement at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, the transmitting and receiving antenna, amplifier section, transmitting and receiving section, transmission path interface, etc., may be implemented by the communication device 1004. The transmitting and receiving section may be implemented in a physically or logically separated manner, with a transmitting section and a receiving section.

[0052] 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).

[0053] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the storage device 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.

[0054] Furthermore, the base station device 10 and the user device 20 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and some or all of each functional block may be realized by such hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these hardware components.

[0055] (Summary of Embodiments 1) As described above, according to embodiments of the present invention, a receiving unit that receives band information of a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT from a base station device, a first parameter that indicates the supported bandwidth combination (supported BWCS) for a portion of the first RAT for interband dual connectivity (interband EN-DC) of the first RAT and the second RAT, and for the interband EN-DC of the first RAT and the second RAT, the supported BWCS for a portion of the second RAT, and for intraband dual connectivity (intraband EN-DC) of the first RAT and the second RAT, support applicable to the band combination of the first RAT and the second RAT A user device is provided having a second parameter that indicates the supported BWCS, and for dual connectivity of the first RAT and the second RAT consisting of the interband EN-DC and the intraband EN-DC, the supported BWCS is shown across all the bands of the interband EN-DC and the intraband EN-DC, where any combination of the portion of the second RAT of the BWCS shown by the second parameter and the portion of the first RAT of the BWCS shown by the first parameter is supported for the band combination of the interband EN-DC, and a transmission unit that transmits terminal capability information including the determined first parameter and the second parameter to the base station device.

[0056] The above configuration enables the notification of bandwidth combinations applicable to dual connectivity implemented in wireless communication systems utilizing multiple RATs.

[0057] Furthermore, according to embodiments of the present invention, a receiving unit that receives band information of a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT from a base station device, a first parameter indicating a supported bandwidth combination (supported BWCS) for a portion of the first RAT for interband dual connectivity (interband EN-DC) of the first RAT and the second RAT, a second parameter indicating a supported BWCS for a portion of the second RAT for intraband dual connectivity (intraband EN-DC) of the first RAT and the second RAT, and for the intraband EN-DC, a supported BWCS applicable to the band combination of the first RAT and the second RAT, and the band For dual connectivity of the first RAT and the second RAT, which consist of interband EN-DC and intraband EN-DC, a user device is provided having a third parameter indicating a supported BWCS across all bands of the interband EN-DC and the intraband EN-DC, wherein any combination of the portion of the second RAT of the BWCS indicated by the second parameter and the portion of the first RAT of the BWCS indicated by the first parameter is supported for the band combination of the interband EN-DC, and a transmission unit that transmits terminal capability information including the determined first parameter, second parameter and third parameter to the base station device.

[0058] The above configuration enables the notification of bandwidth combinations applicable to dual connectivity implemented in wireless communication systems utilizing multiple RATs.

[0059] (Supplement to Embodiments) Embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the disclosed invention is not limited to such embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand various modifications, alterations, alternatives, substitutions, etc. Specific numerical examples have been used to facilitate understanding of the invention, but unless otherwise specified, these numerical values ​​are merely examples, and any appropriate values ​​may be used. The division of items in the above description is not essential to the present invention, and matters described in two or more items may be used in combination as necessary, and matters described in one item may be applied to matters described in another item (as long as they do not contradict each other). The boundaries of functional units or processing units in the functional block diagram do not necessarily correspond to the boundaries of physical parts. The operation of multiple functional units may be physically performed by one part, or the operation of one functional unit may be physically performed by multiple parts. The processing procedures described in the embodiments may be rearranged as long as they do not contradict each other. For the convenience of explaining the processing, the base station device 10 and the user device 20 have been described using functional block diagrams, but such devices may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The software operated by the processor of the base station device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention and the software operated by the processor of the user device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be stored in any suitable storage medium such as random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, register, hard disk (HDD), removable disk, CD-ROM, database, server, or other appropriate storage medium.

[0060] Furthermore, notification of information is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be carried out by other methods. For example, notification of information may be carried out by physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI (Downlink Control Information), UCI (Uplink Control Information)), upper layer signaling (e.g., RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, MAC (Medium Access Control) signaling, broadcast information (MIB (Master Information Block), SIB (System Information Block))), other signals, or combinations thereof. Also, RRC signaling may be called RRC messages, and may be, for example, RRC Connection Setup messages, RRC Connection Reconfiguration messages, etc.

[0061] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be applied to at least one of the following systems: LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), W-CDMA®, GSM®, CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi®), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX®), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), 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).

[0062] 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 the specific order presented.

[0063] In this specification, specific operations performed by the base station device 10 may, in some cases, be performed by its upper node. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station device 10, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with the user device 20 can be performed by the base station device 10 and at least one of the other network nodes (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 device 10, the other network node may be a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW).

[0064] The information or signals described in this disclosure may be output from a higher layer (or lower layer) to a lower layer (or higher layer). They may also be input and output via multiple network nodes.

[0065] 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 transmitted to other devices.

[0066] The determination in this disclosure may be made by a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), by a Boolean value (true or false), or by a numerical comparison (for example, a comparison with a predetermined value).

[0067] 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.

[0068] 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.

[0069] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of the various different techniques. 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.

[0070] 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.

[0071] The terms “system” and “network” as used in this disclosure are interchangeable.

[0072] 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.

[0073] 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. Various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements can be identified by any suitable name, and therefore, the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not restrictive in any way.

[0074] In this disclosure, terms such as "Base Station (BS)", "wireless base station", "base station equipment", "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.

[0075] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. If a base station accommodates multiple cells, the entire coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, each of which may also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a Remote Radio Head (RRH)). The terms “cell” or “sector” refer to part or all of the coverage area of ​​at least one of the base station and / or base station subsystems that provide communication services in that coverage.

[0076] In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

[0077] 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 several other appropriate terms.

[0078] 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 be a device mounted on a mobile body, the mobile body itself, etc. The mobile body 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). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device that does not necessarily move during communication operation. 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.

[0079] As used in this disclosure, the terms “determining” and “determining” may encompass a wide variety of actions. “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” may also include 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 been "judged" or "decided" after resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering something as having been "judged" or "decided" after some action. Also, "judgment (decision)" can be reinterpreted as "assuming," "expecting," or "considering."

[0080] 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.

[0081] The reference signal can also be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal), and may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0082] 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."

[0083] Any reference to elements using the designations “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, or that the first element must precede the second element in any way.

[0084] In the configuration of each of the above devices, "means" may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0085] 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.

[0086] A wireless frame may consist of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of these 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.

[0087] Numerical logic may be communication parameters applied to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. Numerical logic 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.

[0088] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols, SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) symbols, etc.). A slot may also be a time unit based on neurologic.

[0089] 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.

[0090] 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.

[0091] For example, one subframe may be called a Transmission 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 in existing LTE (1 ms), 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.

[0092] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, the base station schedules each user device 20 to allocate wireless resources (such as the frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each user device 20) in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0093] 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. When a TTI is given, the actual time interval (e.g., number of symbols) in which the transport block, code block, code word, etc. are mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

[0094] Furthermore, if one slot or one mini-slot is referred to as a TTI, then one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more mini-slots) may constitute the minimum time unit for scheduling. In addition, the number of slots (number of mini-slots) that constitute this minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.

[0095] A TTI with a time length of 1 ms may be called a normal TTI, a long TTI, a normal subframe, a long subframe, a slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may be called a shortened TTI, a short TTI, a partial or fractional TTI, a shortened subframe, a short subframe, a mini slot, a sub slot, a slot, etc.

[0096] 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.

[0097] 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.

[0098] 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.

[0099] 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.

[0100] 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.

[0101] A Bandwidth Part (BWP), also known as a partial bandwidth, may represent a subset of consecutive common resource blocks (RBs) for a particular neurology in a given carrier. These common RBs may be identified by an index of the RBs relative to a common reference point of the carrier. The PRBs may be defined and numbered within a given BWP.

[0102] A BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be set within a single carrier for a UE.

[0103] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE does not need to assume that it will transmit or receive a predetermined signal / channel outside of the active BWP. In this disclosure, terms such as "cell" and "carrier" may be read as "BWP".

[0104] 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 a TTI can be varied in various ways.

[0105] 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.

[0106] 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."

[0107] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure 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).

[0108] In this disclosure, the transmitting unit 210 and the receiving unit 220 are examples of communication units. MN is an example of a first base station device. SN is an example of a second base station device.

[0109] In this disclosure, supportedBandwidthCombinationSetEUTRA is an example of a first parameter, supportedBandwidthCombinationSet and supportedBandwidthCombinationSetNR are examples of a second parameter, and supportedBandwidthCombinationSetIntraMRDC is an example of a third parameter.

[0110] Furthermore, LTE is an example of the first RAT, and NR is an example of the second RAT.

[0111] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the intent and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the descriptions in the present disclosure are illustrative and not intended to be restrictive in any way.

[0112] 100 Base station device 200 User device 110 Transmitter 120 Receiver 130 Setting unit 140 Control unit 200 User device 210 Transmitter 220 Receiver 230 Setting unit 240 Control unit 1001 Processor 1002 Storage device 1003 Auxiliary storage device 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device

Claims

1. A receiver that receives information on bands of a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT from a base station device; and a controller that determines: a first parameter indicating supported bandwidth combinations for a portion of a first RAT for inter-band dual connectivity (inter-band EN-DC) between the first RAT and the second RAT; and a second parameter indicating supported bandwidth combinations across all bands of the inter-band EN-DC and the intra-band EN-DC for the dual connectivity between the first RAT and the second RAT, the dual connectivity consisting of the inter-band EN-DC and the intra-band EN-DC between the first RAT and the second RAT; wherein, for a band combination of the inter-band EN-DC, any combination of the second RAT portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by the second parameter and the first RAT portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by the first parameter is supported; a transmitter configured to transmit terminal capability information including the determined first parameter and the determined second parameter to the base station device.

2. A receiver that receives information on bands of a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT from a base station device; a first parameter indicating a supported bandwidth combination for a portion of the first RAT for inter-band dual connectivity (inter-band EN-DC) between the first RAT and the second RAT; a second parameter indicating a supported bandwidth combination for a portion of the second RAT for intra-band dual connectivity (intra-band EN-DC) between the first RAT and the second RAT; and a third parameter indicating a supported bandwidth combination across all bands of the inter-band EN-DC and the intra-band EN-DC for the dual connectivity between the first RAT and the second RAT consisting of the inter-band EN-DC and the intra-band EN-DC. Here, for the band combination of the inter-band EN-DC, any combination of the second RAT portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by the second parameter and the first RAT portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by the first parameter is supported. A user equipment having: a control unit that determines; and a transmission unit that transmits terminal capability information including the determined first parameter, the second parameter, and the third parameter to the base station device.

3. Receiving information on bands of a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT from a base station device; determining a first parameter indicating supported bandwidth combinations for a portion of the first RAT for inter-band dual connectivity (inter-band EN-DC) between the first RAT and the second RAT; and a second parameter indicating supported bandwidth combinations across all of the bands of the inter-band EN-DC and the intra-band EN-DC for the dual connectivity between the first RAT and the second RAT, the dual connectivity consisting of inter-band EN-DC and intra-band EN-DC between the first RAT and the second RAT, where any combination of the second RAT portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by the second parameter and the first RAT portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by the first parameter is supported for the band combination of the inter-band EN-DC; transmitting terminal capability information including the determined first parameter and the determined second parameter to the base station device.

4. Receiving information on bands of a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT from a base station device; a first parameter indicating supported bandwidth combinations for a portion of the first RAT for inter-band dual connectivity (inter-band EN-DC) between the first RAT and the second RAT; a second parameter indicating supported bandwidth combinations for a portion of the second RAT for intra-band dual connectivity (intra-band EN-DC) between the first RAT and the second RAT; and a third parameter indicating supported bandwidth combinations across all bands of the inter-band EN-DC and the intra-band EN-DC for the dual connectivity between the first RAT and the second RAT consisting of the inter-band EN-DC and the intra-band EN-DC. wherein, for the band combination of the inter-band EN-DC, any combination of the second RAT portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by the second parameter and the first RAT portion of the bandwidth combination indicated by the first parameter is supported; and transmitting terminal capability information including the determined first parameter, the second parameter, and the third parameter to the base station device.

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