Optimization for beam hopping

Abstract

The present invention provides a method (600) at a terminal device of a satellite-based mobile network service, the satellite-based mobile network including a network node configured to provide coverage by switching between a plurality of beams, each beam being associated with a respective of a plurality of cells. The method (600) includes: receiving (S610) a first indication from a network node whether resources for data transmission between the terminal device and the network node will overlap in time with a handover of a first of a plurality of beams associated with a first of a first of a plurality of cells serving the terminal device; and performing (S620) the data reception and / or transmission between the terminal device and the network node based on the first indication.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of telecommunications, and more specifically, to a terminal device, network node, and method for optimizing beam switching. Prior Technology

[0002] To benefit from a robust mobile ecosystem and economies of scale, the 3GPP standard specifies satellite networks based on terrestrial radio access technologies, including LTE and NR for satellite networks.

[0003] Release 15 of 3GPP defines the first version of the 5G System (5GS). This is a next-generation radio access technology intended to serve use cases such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC). 5G includes the new radio (NR) access layer interface and the 5G core network (5GC). The NR physical layer and higher layers are reusing parts of the LTE specification and introducing additional components as driven by new use cases.

[0004] In Release 15, 3GPP also began preparations for NR to operate in Non-Land Networks (NTNs). This work was carried out in the research project "NR Support for Non-Land Networks" and resulted in TR 38.811. In Release 16, the work on preparing NR to operate in NTN networks continued with the research project "Solutions for NR Support for Non-Land Networks". Meanwhile, there was growing interest in adapting LTE to NTN operations. Therefore, 3GPP introduced NTN support for both LTE and NR in Release 17. After establishing the basic functionality, NTN enhancements for both LTE and NR continued in Release 18.

[0005] A satellite radio access network typically includes the following components: • A satellite, which refers to a satellite-borne platform; • A geo-based gateway connects satellites to a base station or a core network, depending on the chosen architecture; • Feeder link, which refers to the link between a gateway and a satellite; and • Access link, which refers to the link between a satellite and a UE.

[0006] A satellite network or satellite-based mobile network can also be called a non-terrestrial network (NTN). On the other hand, a mobile network with base stations on the ground can also be called a terrestrial network (TN) or a non-NTN network. A satellite within an NTN can be called an NTN node, an NTN satellite, or simply a satellite.

[0007] Depending on the orbital altitude, a satellite can be classified as a low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), or geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite. • LEO: Typical altitudes range from 250 km to 1,500 km, with orbital periods ranging from 90 minutes to 120 minutes. • MEO: Typical altitudes range from 5,000 km to 25,000 km, with orbital periods ranging from 3 hours to 15 hours. • GEO: altitude approximately 35,786 km, with an orbital period of 24 hours.

[0008] Significant orbital altitude means that satellite systems are characterized by path loss that is significantly higher than that expected in terrestrial networks. To overcome path loss, access and feeder links are typically required to operate under line-of-sight conditions, and the UE is equipped with an antenna that provides high beam directivity. Summary of the Invention

[0009] In NTN, beam switching is introduced in the Rel-19 NTN enhancement. In this feature, a satellite has a total number of beams covering a specific geographic area, but due to limited total transmission power, only a specific number of beams can be active simultaneously. When beam switching occurs using the same hardware—for example, when the same antenna elements are prepared to beamform a switch to another beam—there is an associated beam switching delay. This delay cannot be eliminated and therefore introduces a potential additional system overhead.

[0010] To address or at least partially mitigate some of the aforementioned problems, some embodiments of the present invention are provided.

[0011] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method is provided at a terminal device. The method includes: receiving a first indication from a network node configured to provide coverage by switching among a plurality of beams, each beam being associated with one of a plurality of cells, the first indication being whether resources for data transmission between the terminal device and the network node will overlap in time with a handover of a first of the plurality of beams associated with the first of the plurality of cells serving the terminal device; and performing the data transmission between the terminal device and the network node based on the first indication. Several other embodiments of the first aspect are described below in the [Environmental Description] section.

[0012] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes: a processor; and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor, wherein the terminal device is operable to: receive a first indication from a network node configured to provide coverage by switching among a plurality of beams, each beam being associated with a respective of a plurality of cells, the first indication being whether data transmission is permitted in resources overlapping with the switching of the first of the plurality of cells serving the terminal device; and perform the data transmission between the terminal device and the network node based on the first indication. In some embodiments, the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to further perform any method of the first aspect.

[0013] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a method is provided at a network node. The method includes: generating a first indication based on a handover timing of a first beam relative to a resource, the first indication being for determining whether, in time, the resource for data transmission between the network node and a terminal device served by a first party of a plurality of cells will overlap with a handover of a first party of a plurality of beams associated with the first cell; and sending the first indication to the terminal device. Some other embodiments of the third aspect are described below in the [Environmental Description] section.

[0014] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a network node is provided. The communication device includes: a processor; and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor, wherein the network node is operable to: generate a first indication based on a handover timing of a first beam relative to a resource, the first indication being for determining whether, in time, the resource for data transmission between the network node and a terminal device served by a first of a plurality of cells will overlap with the handover of a first of a plurality of beams associated with the first cell; and send the first indication to the terminal device. In some embodiments, the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to further perform any method of the third aspect.

[0015] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-readable instructions. When executed by a processor of a terminal device, these computer-readable instructions configure the terminal device to perform the method according to the first aspect.

[0016] According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a computer program product is provided. This computer program product includes, when executed by a processor of a terminal device, configuring the terminal device to execute computer-readable instructions according to the method of the first aspect.

[0017] According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-readable instructions. When executed by a processor of a network node, these computer-readable instructions configure the network node to perform the method according to a third aspect.

[0018] According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, a computer program product is provided. This computer program product includes, when executed by a processor of a network node, configuring the network node to execute computer-readable instructions according to a third aspect.

[0019] According to some embodiments of the present invention, beam switching may be allowed to occur only during the inactive beam time (beam off time). Alternatively, beam switching may be allowed to occur during the active beam time (beam on time). When the beam switching delay is short, beam switching may be allowed to occur at the beginning of the beam on time period. When the beam switching delay is long, beam switching may be allowed to occur at the end of the beam on time period. The UE may be signaled whether it is permissible to discard symbols affected by the beam switching delay at the network, and / or whether it is permissible to discard the number and location of symbols affected by the beam switching. This signaling may depend on the duration of the beam switching delay.

[0020] According to some embodiments of the present invention, when a symbol can be destroyed by beam switching, a signal can be used to notify the UE whether beam switching is allowed to occur during active or inactive time.

[0021] Using some embodiments of the present invention, the additional burden on the system caused by beam switching delay can be optimized or even minimized, particularly for a fully loaded system. By applying rules for beam switching during inactive beam times, beam data is protected when the system is not fully loaded. By applying rules for beam switching during active beam times, system capacity can be enhanced or even maximized depending on the beam switching length. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0022] The foregoing and other features of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these drawings merely depict certain embodiments of the invention and are therefore not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which will be further specified and described in detail using the drawings.

[0023] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary telecommunications system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which system-additional burden optimization for beam switching is applied.

[0024] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an illustrative daytime Doppler shift of a forward service link observed from a GEO satellite operating in an inclined orbit.

[0025] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the orbital elements.

[0026] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the coverage area of ​​one example of a satellite.

[0027] Figure 5 illustrates a diagram of beam switching.

[0028] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating a method at a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary beam on / off indication for each beam according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary correlation between beam on / off time and satellite local time according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary beam on / off time related to beam / cell frame time according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary multiplexing of two beams in the spatial domain, having a protection period including beam switching delay and symbol boundary alignment between the two beams, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary multiplexing of two beams in the spatial domain, having a guard period including beam switching delay and no sign boundary alignment between the two beams, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary beam switching delay occurring during beam activity / on time according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating a method at a network node according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating a terminal device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating a network node according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 16 illustrates an exemplary communication system according to one of some embodiments.

[0039] Figure 17 shows an exemplary UE according to one of some embodiments.

[0040] Figure 18 shows an exemplary network node according to one of some embodiments.

[0041] Figure 19 is a block diagram illustrating one of the exemplary virtualization environments in which the functionality implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized.

[0042] Figure 20 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary case in which beam switching occurs during a beam off period and no data is transmitted during this beam switching period.

[0043] Figure 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a situation where beam switching delay does not affect data transmission. Implementation

[0044] The term "terminal device" or "UE" means any terminal device that can access a wireless communication network and receive services from it. For example, and without limitation, a terminal device can be a mobile terminal, user equipment (UE), or other suitable device. A UE can be, for example, a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). A terminal device can include, but is not limited to, portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wearable terminal devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop-equipped devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless pre-installed premises equipment (CPEs), and the like. In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" are used interchangeably. As an example, a terminal device may refer to a device configured to communicate according to one or more communication standards (such as 3GPP's Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or 5G) standards) issued by the 3GPP. As used herein, a "user equipment" or "UE" may not necessarily be a "user" in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. In some embodiments, a terminal device may be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, a terminal device may be designed to transmit information to a network according to a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from a wireless communication network. Conversely, a UE may refer to a device intended for sale to a human user or operated by a human user but initially not associated with a particular human user.

[0045] Furthermore, the term "network node" as used herein may refer to a network function, a network element, a RAN node, an OAM node, a test network function, a Transmitter Receiver Point (TRP), a base station, a base transceiver station, an access point, a hotspot, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a gNB, a network element, or any other equivalent. Additionally, please note that the term "indication" as used herein may refer to a parameter, a coefficient, an attribute, a property, a setting, a configuration, a configuration file, an identifier, a field, one or more bits / octets, an information element, or any data that directly or indirectly indicates information of interest.

[0046] The embodiments described in the specification using references to "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," "an exemplary embodiment," and the like may include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic, but each embodiment may not necessarily include that specific feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Additionally, when a specific feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is believed that, to the knowledge of those skilled in the art, this feature, structure, or characteristic is affected by other embodiments, whether explicitly described or not.

[0047] It should be understood that although the terms "first," "second," etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, such elements should not be limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.

[0048] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly indicated otherwise in the text. It should be further understood that the terms "comprising," "having," and / or "including" as used herein specifically mean the presence of the stated features, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0049] In the following description and scope of the patent application, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains.

[0050] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary telecommunications system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which system-additional burden optimization for beam switching is applied.

[0051] Depending on the functions of the satellites in the system, two basic architectures of satellite communication networks can be distinguished: • Transparent Payload (also known as bend-pipe architecture). The satellite only uses amplification and a frequency shift from the uplink frequency to the downlink frequency to forward the received signal between the terminal and the network equipment on the ground. When applied to general 3GPP architecture and terminology, transparent payload architecture means that the gNB is located on the ground, and the satellite forwards signals / data between the gNB and the UE. • Regenerated Payload. The satellite includes onboard processing to demodulate and decode received signals and regenerate the signals before transmitting them back to Earth. When applied to general 3GPP architecture and terminology, the regenerated payload architecture means that the gNB is located within the satellite.

[0052] The system 10 shown in Figure 1 has an instance architecture of a satellite network with a bend transponder (i.e., a transparent payload architecture, which is considered in the NR NTN and IoT NTN work projects in 3GPP Release 17 and Release 18).

[0053] As shown in Figure 1, a satellite 105 may have a spot beam 110 for providing services (e.g., network access) to a terminal device 115 (e.g., a UE). The terminal device 115 may be connected to the satellite 105 via an access link 120. The satellite 105 may be connected to a base station (BS) (e.g., a gNB) 125 via a gateway (GW) 130 and a feeder link 135. The base station 125 may be integrated into the gateway 130 or connected to the gateway 130 via a terrestrial connection (e.g., a wire, fiber optic, wireless link, or the like). The satellite 105 may be configured to forward signals / data between the terminal device 115 and the base station 125.

[0054] Although System 10 is shown in Figure 1 as having a transparent payload architecture, the invention is not limited thereto. The inventive concepts disclosed herein are also applicable to different topologies, such as satellite communication networks with regenerative payload architectures. In the following description, embodiments relating to NTN are generally presented in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), but the inventive concepts are applicable to NR and any wireless network dominated by line-of-sight conditions.

[0055] There are some NTN-specific challenges.

[0056] [Propagation Delay] [] Propagation delay is an important characteristic of satellite communications, differing from the expected delay in a terrestrial operational system. For a curved satellite network, depending on orbital altitude, the round-trip delay can range from tens of milliseconds for LEO satellites to hundreds of milliseconds for GEO satellites. In comparison, the round-trip delay in a terrestrial cellular network is typically less than 1 millisecond.

[0057] The distance between the terminal device and the satellite can vary significantly depending on the satellite's position and therefore the elevation angle ε seen by the terminal device. Assuming a circular orbit, the minimum distance is achieved when the satellite is directly above the terminal device (ε = 90°), and the maximum distance is achieved when the satellite is at the minimum feasible elevation angle. Table 1 shows the distance between the satellite and the terminal device at different orbital altitudes and elevation angles, as well as the one-way propagation delay and the maximum propagation delay difference (difference from the propagation delay at ε = 90°). It should be noted that this table assumes a regenerative payload architecture. For transparent payloads, the propagation delay between the gateway and the satellite also needs to be considered unless the base station corrects for this. Table 1. Propagation delay at different orbital altitudes and elevation angles [Orbital Altitude] [Elevation Angle] [distance] [, , UE <->] [satellite] [One-way propagation delay] [Difference in propagation delay] [600 km] 90° 600 km 2.0 ms --- 30° 1075 km 3.6 ms 1.6 ms 10° 1932 km 6.4 ms 4.4 ms [1200 km] 90° 1200 km 4.0 ms --- 30° 1999 km 6.7 ms 2.7 ms 10° 3131 km 10.4 ms 6.4 ms [35786 km] 90° 35786 km 119.4 ms --- 30° 38609 km 128.8 ms 9.4 ms 10° 40581 km 135.4 ms 16.0 ms

[0058] Due to the high speed of LEO and MEO satellites, the propagation delay is also highly variable, varying from approximately 10 µs to 100 µs per second depending on the orbital altitude and satellite speed.

[0059] [Doppler] [(Doppler)] [Frequency Shift] [] In a LEO NTN, satellites move at very high speeds. For a LEO satellite at an altitude of 600 km, this results in a Doppler shift of up to 24 ppm in the carrier frequency on the service link. Due to the satellite's motion in the sky, the Doppler shift is also time-varying. For a LEO 600 km satellite, the Doppler shift can vary by up to 0.27 ppm / s. Compared to the transmission frequency, the Doppler shift will affect (i.e., increase or decrease) the frequency received on the service link. In a GEO NTN, satellites can move in orbits tilted relative to the equator. This tilt introduces a periodic movement of the satellite relative to the Earth, which introduces a predictable and daily recurring Doppler shift in the carrier frequency, as illustrated in Figure 2.

[0060] [Astrological Data] [] TR 38.821 has identified the need to provide ephemeris data to the UE, for example, to assist in pointing a directional antenna (or antenna beam) at a satellite. For instance, with GNSS support, a UE that knows its own location can also use ephemeris data to calculate the correct timing advance (TA) and Doppler shift. The content of the ephemeris data and the procedures for providing and updating this data have not yet been thoroughly investigated.

[0061] A satellite orbit can be adequately described using six (6) parameters. The exact set of parameters used is determined by the user; many different representations are possible. For example, one set of parameters frequently used in astronomy is (a, ε, i, Ω, ω, t). Here, the semi-major axis a and eccentricity ε describe the shape and size of the orbital ellipse; the inclination i, the right ascension of the ascending node Ω, and the pericentric angle ω determine its position in space, and time t determines a reference time (e.g., the time when the satellite passes through the pericentric). This set of parameters is illustrated in Figure 3.

[0062] The Two-Line Orbital Element Set (TLE) is a data format that encodes a list of orbital elements of an Earth orbiting object at a specific point in time. As an example of a different parameterization, TLE uses the average motion n and the average anomaly angle M instead of a and t.

[0063] A completely different set of parameters constitutes a satellite's position and velocity vector (x, y, z, vx, vy, vz). These are sometimes referred to as orbital state vectors. They can be derived from orbital elements and vice versa, because the information they contain is equivalent. All these formulas (and many others) represent feasible options for the format of ephemeris data used in NTN.

[0064] Importantly, a terminal device should be able to determine a satellite's position with at least several meters of accuracy. However, several studies have shown that this may be difficult to achieve when using the de facto standard of TLE. On the other hand, LEO satellites typically have GNSS receivers and can determine their positions with a certain degree of accuracy down to the meter level.

[0065] The validity period of another type of ephemeris data, discussed during the research project and captured in TR 38.821, is also relevant. Due to atmospheric drag, satellite maneuvers, and limitations of the orbital model used, the prediction of satellite positions generally decreases with the age of the ephemeris data used. Therefore, publicly available TLE data, for example, is updated quite frequently. The update frequency depends on the satellite and its orbit; for satellites in very low orbits, the update frequency ranges from once a week to multiple times a day. These satellites are exposed to strong atmospheric drag and require frequent correction operations. Therefore, although satellite positions with the required accuracy may seem to be available, care must be taken to meet certain requirements, such as when selecting the ephemeris data format or the orbital model used for orbit propagation.

[0066] Ephemeris data consists of at least five parameters describing the shape and spatial position of a satellite's orbit. It also includes a timestamp indicating when the other parameters describing the orbital ellipse were obtained. Orbital mechanics can be used to predict the satellite's position at any given time in the near future from this data. However, the accuracy of these predictions decreases as predictions become more sophisticated. The effective timeframe for a specific set of parameters depends on numerous factors, such as orbital type and altitude, as well as the desired accuracy, and can range from days to years.

[0067] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary coverage area of ​​a satellite. For ease of description, a telecommunications system 40 is shown in Figure 4 with a configuration similar to that of system 10 shown in Figure 1. System 40 may include, in particular, a satellite 405, a terminal device 415, an access link 420, a base station 425, a gateway 430, and a feeder link 435. Details of these components can be found in the description in conjunction with Figure 1.

[0068] Satellite 405 can generate several beams within a given area. The coverage area of ​​each of these beams is typically elliptical in shape, which can be considered a small cell. Throughout this invention, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the terms beam and cell will be used interchangeably below. The coverage area of ​​a beam is also commonly referred to as a point beam, such as point beam 1, point beam 2, point beam 3, or point beam 4 shown in the figures. The point beam may move above the Earth's surface as the satellite moves, or it may be fixed to the Earth, in which case the satellite uses some beam pointing mechanism to compensate for its motion. The point beam may have a size depending on the system design, ranging from tens of kilometers to thousands of kilometers.

[0069] Compared to the beams observed in a terrestrial network, NTN beams can be very wide, thus covering an area outside the region defined by the serving cell. Beams covering adjacent cells will overlap and can cause significant inter-cell interference at high levels. To overcome large interference levels, a typical approach for NTN is to configure different cells with different carrier frequencies and polarization modes.

[0070] In practice, satellite 405 can provide coverage up to a certain elevation angle (e.g., 30 degrees) over a certain area on Earth, and the number of beam coverage areas required to cover this area is a function of the beam size. The number of spot beams shown in Figure 4 (4(4)) is only illustrative and there may be more or fewer spot beams.

[0071] On the other hand, the number of beams that can illuminate at a satellite payload is affected by factors such as its hardware complexity, the number of available RF chains, and the total power budget available for cross-beam sharing. Generally, the actual number of illuminating beams is less than the total number of beam coverage areas required to cover the area of ​​interest under a satellite. One potential solution to this problem is to utilize beam time division multiplexing (also known as beam hopping or switching), where multiple beams across the satellite coverage area are time-division multiplexed to provide coverage in corresponding cells on Earth.

[0072] Figure 5 illustrates a diagram of beam hopping. As shown in Figure 5, three (3) beam hopping modes A, B, and C may exist. Note that there may be more or fewer than three (3) modes. Modes can be activated in a time-multiplexing manner. That is, a first mode can be activated for a first time period, and then a second mode can be activated for a second time period after the first time period, and so on, to provide coverage. Generally, each mode can be activated once within the same duration of each cycle to provide equal opportunities to terminal devices in different cells within the coverage area.

[0073] For example, beam-switching mode A can first be activated or switched on to reach the first 1 / 3 of the cycle (while beam-switching modes B and C can be deactivated or switched off). Second, beam-switching mode B can be activated or switched on to reach the second 1 / 3 of the cycle (while beam-switching modes A and C can be deactivated or switched off). Third, beam-switching mode C can be activated or switched on to reach the third 1 / 3 of the cycle (while beam-switching modes A and B can be deactivated or switched off). Then, the cycle can restart.

[0074] It is worth mentioning that a delay may be involved when a specific beam pattern is turned on while the remaining beam patterns are turned off, depending on the antenna hardware implementation at the satellite payload.

[0075] The Rel-19 NTN enhancement introduces a beam hopping or switching feature. In this feature, a satellite has a total number of beams covering a specific geographic area, but due to limited total transmission power, only a specific number of beams can be active simultaneously. Therefore, a given satellite needs to activate different beams at different times, and all beams will operate in TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) mode. That is, the number of simultaneously active beams is low compared to the total number of beam coverage areas. Table 2 presents an example for the LEO600 system where the number of active beams is 106, and the total number of beams is 1058. Table 2 [LEO600km Set1-1 FR1 () [Right now,] [S] [frequency band] [)] [Maximum bandwidth per beam] 5 MHz [SCS] 15 kHz [Beam Size] [(] [Note] [1)] 50km [satellite] [EIRP] [density] [ / ] [Beam] [(dBW / MHz)] 34 [Total Payload] [DL] [Power Level] [(dBW)] 31.24 [comprehensive] [EIRP () [total] [) (dBW)] 61.24* [satellite] [Tx] [Maximum Gain] 30 dBi [Maximum beam size per satellite] [EIRP (dBW)] 41 [Total number of beam coverage areas] [***] 1058 [Total number of simultaneously active beams] [**] 106 [%] [Simultaneous active beam] [**] 10.02% * [Note: Refer to the configuration] [EIRP] [Restricted to] [61.24 dBm] [。] [**] [Assuming the resource block utilization rate for the same beam at maximum power is] [100%] [The absolute number of active beams is as high as] [212 () [Attributable to] [RF] [Restrictions] [)] [***] [against] [600km] [A constellation design, featuring]

[30] [low elevation angle and selection] [(] [That is, setting] [1] [Number of parameters] [)] [Beam Size] [Note] [1] [At least in this scenario, considering this beam size, the company can assess and report a larger beam size.]

[0076] As part of the network energy-saving features, Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) mode is specified to have a slot granularity of one of the following related protocols. [protocol] [] 1. The periodic cell DTX / DRX configuration is explicitly notified to the UE via signaling. 2. A periodic cell DTX / DRX mode is configured by UE-specific radio resource control (RRC) signaling. 3. The cell DTX / DRX configuration must include at least: periodicity, start time slot / frequency shift, and on-time duration. 4. As a baseline cell, DTX / DRX is implicitly started / discontinued by RRC signaling, that is, it is started immediately once configured by RRC and discontinued once the RRC configuration is released.

[0077] For a fully loaded cell / beam, the duty cycle of each beam can be fixed, thus giving each terminal device in the cell / beam an equal chance of being served. When beam switching occurs using the same hardware, for example, when the same antenna elements are prepared to switch to another beam, there is an associated beam switching delay. This delay cannot be eliminated and therefore introduces a potential additional system overhead.

[0078] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating a method at a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention, by which the system-added burden of beam switching can be optimized.

[0079] As shown in Figure 6, method 600 may include steps S610 and S620. However, the invention is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, method 600 may include more steps, fewer steps, different steps, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the steps of method 600 may be performed in a different order than that described herein. Additionally, in some embodiments, one step in method 600 may be divided into multiple sub-steps and performed by different entities, and / or multiple steps in method 600 may be combined into a single step.

[0080] Method 600 may begin at step S610, wherein the terminal device may receive a first indication from a network node (which is configured to provide coverage by switching between a plurality of beams, each beam being associated with one of a plurality of cells) regarding whether resources for data transmission between the terminal device and the network node will overlap in time with the switching of one of the plurality of beams, which is associated with one of the plurality of cells serving the terminal device.

[0081] In step S620, the terminal device may perform data reception and / or transmission between the terminal device and the network node based on the first instruction.

[0082] In some embodiments, the terminal device may be a UE, and the network node may be an NTN network node or a satellite. The network node may provide coverage by switching from one mode to another (e.g., see modes A, B, and C shown in Figure 5). The terminal device may be served by a cell, such as the cell where the terminal device is located, or a cell with an associated beam that provides optimal radio conditions to the terminal device.

[0083] It should be noted that one beam in an NTN usually corresponds to one cell, but it is not excluded that a cell may be covered by multiple beams. Therefore, in general, activating or deactivating a beam (i.e., turning a beam on or off) is equivalent to activating or deactivating a cell (i.e., turning a cell on or off).

[0084] The first beam associated with the first cell of the serving terminal device may periodically switch from active to inactive (while simultaneously switching some other beams from inactive to active) or from inactive to active (while simultaneously switching some other beams from active to inactive). The handover may have an associated handover delay. For example, when a network node switches a beam from inactive to active, there may be a delay caused by hardware preparation to initiate a new beam. For example, for an analog beam switching system, it may be necessary to set phase coefficients in different antenna element branches to create a new beam direction.

[0085] The mechanism for controlling the beam switching time between the satellite and the gNB can be implemented as follows.

[0086] Because the gNB transmits control / data signals in each beam when the beam is activated, the gNB can control the beam activation / deactivation time in a synchronized manner within the satellite. The satellite is aware of this control before the beam data (the control / data signals used for this beam) arrives (thus allowing the satellite to prepare for beam activation / deactivation). One example of this control scheme is satellite synchronization with the gNB and / or gate, as illustrated in Figure 7.

[0087] As shown in Figure 7, the gNB can signal to the satellite a beam switching control word (on / off) regarding, for example, the frame number, subframe number, timeslot number, and / or symbol number within a system frame. The satellite can have a local time synchronized with the gNB / GW (gateway) and a finer granularity than that indicated by the beam switching control word using, for example, the system frame number, subframe number, timeslot number, and / or symbol number, minimizing beam switching inaccuracies caused by the satellite's local time granularity. In cases where finer granularity is not required in the beam switching control word, one of the following can be used to indicate the beam switching control word containing the on / off switching time: • System message box; • Sub-frame; • Time slot; • Symbol; • Absolute time reference (e.g., UTC).

[0088] For example, when the granularity of beam on / off time is time slot, the beam switching control word may only contain the system frame number, subframe number, and time slot number. Because the satellite and gNB / GW are synchronized, the satellite can associate the beam on / off time with the satellite's local time. As shown in Figure 8, the beam #1 on time is indicated by the system frame number (SFN) N, subframe number M, and / or time slot number K, and the satellite associates the satellite's local time T1 with the beam on time, and beam #1 is turned on at the satellite's local time T1.

[0089] Considering the switching delay, the beam-on time T1 of beam #1 implies that the operation of switching beam #1 from inactive to active (e.g., setting the phase coefficient in different antenna element branches to create beam #1) has been completed before time T1, making beam #1 ready for data transmission. That is, the switching delay occurs before the beam-on time T1. This is clear for beam #2 in Figure 8, where there is a gap between the beam-off time of beam #1 and the beam-on time of beam #2, and the switching delay by (e.g.) changing the settings of the antenna elements used for different beamforming (from beam #1 to beam #2) is included in the gap.

[0090] In some embodiments, beam-on / off times may not be indicated according to 3GPP radio interface structural entities (such as frames, time slots, and symbols), but rather according to a protocol structural entity that transmits 3GPP data between a network device (e.g., a gNB or GW) and a satellite (e.g., a frame number, a packet number, or an indication of a time in a synchronization lower-level protocol within a protocol framework for transmitting data between the network device (e.g., a gNB or GW) and the satellite). It should be noted that these beam-on / off time indications can still be aligned with 3GPP radio interface frames / time slots / symbols because 3GPP radio interface frames, time slots, and symbols are contained within the entities (e.g., frames or packets) of the protocol that transmits 3GPP radio interface frames, time slots, and symbols between the network device (e.g., a gNB or GW) and the satellite.

[0091] In some embodiments, a beam switching can be indicated in the header (or other control information portion) of a frame or packet in a protocol (e.g., Internet Protocol, IP) for transmitting data between a network device (e.g., a gNB or GW) and a satellite. This indication can, for example, indicate in which beam the packet or frame and / or 3GPP data content in subsequent frames should be transmitted. Based on this indication, the satellite can activate the indicated beam for data content transmission. As an option or variation of the embodiment, to allow the satellite time to activate the indicated beam (if a delay associated with beam activation exists), data to be forwarded to terminal devices in the cell can be buffered on the satellite for a period of time. To maintain synchronization with this option / variation, the satellite can always buffer all data to be forwarded within this specific time, regardless of whether beam activation is required.

[0092] In some embodiments, the beam-on / off time can be indicated relative to the time when the satellite receives the beam-on / off indication. In one alternative, the time gap between the time of receiving the indication and the time of initiating / completing beam switching can be hard-coded in the specification (i.e., the time gap does not need to be explicitly notified). In another alternative, the time gap can be explicitly notified to the satellite (either with or independently of the beam-on / off time indication). Furthermore, the beam switching mode (i.e., the index of the next beam to be activated) can also be notified to the satellite, which can be sent with or independently of the beam-on / off time indication. Additionally, the gNB can send DL packets to the satellite in a manner that the satellite will not receive packets until it switches to the beam intended for forwarding packets to the terminal device.

[0093] By utilizing beam on / off indicators, network nodes can perform beam switching accordingly by taking handover delays into account. The occurrence of this beam switching delay should be carefully designed in relation to cell timing (e.g., the timing of data transmission on / off periods). More specifically, this invention provides a temporal relationship between the occurrence of beam switching and cell timing (e.g., the on / off periods of data transmission associated with each beam) to optimize system overhead. Network nodes can signal to terminal devices an indication of a relationship, such as whether a beam switch in a beam will temporally overlap with resources used for data transmission in a cell associated with that beam, allowing the terminal device to correctly perform data transmission with the network node. Network nodes can (e.g.) know the resources used for data transmission via DL scheduling allocation or UL authorization from the base station and beam on / off indicators, and thus know the temporal relationship between beam switching and cell timing.

[0094] In some embodiments, beam switching can be configured to occur during beam off-time (or a period of data transmission shutdown) to protect beam data integrity. In this way, there is no additional system overhead because there is no signal / data during the beam off-time. Additionally, cell times between different beams / cells may not be aligned at the boundaries of the system frames / sub-frames / time slots of each beam / cell to keep beam switching time as low as possible. For example, as shown in Figure 9, the cell time of beam / cell #1 indicated by frame #1 and the time of beam / cell #2 indicated by frame #2 are shifted by several (one or more) frames plus the beam switching delay.

[0095] In some embodiments, the configuration or capability of a satellite payload or NTN payload performing beam switching during the off-time of a particular beam or beam set is indicated by a 3GPP radio interface structure entity, or by another non-3GPP structure entity of a protocol for transmitting 3GPP data between a 3GPP network node and an NTN payload, or between an NTN ground station and an NTN payload. Similarly, this configuration or capability may be indicated in the header (or other control information portion) of a frame or packet in a protocol (e.g., Internet Protocol, IP) for transmitting data between a 3GPP network node and an NTN payload, or between an NTN ground station and an NTN payload.

[0096] In some embodiments, beam switching delay may be included in a guard period, such that the guard period is an integer number of symbol durations, which is the minimum symbol time configured among all beams / cells in the satellite. The respective on-times of different beams are separated by this guard period. This allows cell times in different beams to be synchronized, and signals / data from different beams to be multiplexed in the spatial and / or temporal domains. This is desirable when beams #1 and #2 have the same frequency and are also multiplexed in the temporal domain, and it avoids inter-symbol interference between the two beams. When the symbol boundaries between two beams are aligned, two beams (or generally two or more beams that coincide (or overlap) in their on-times) can share a wider beam, maximizing the utilization of beam transmission time. As shown in Figure 10, when beams #1 and #2 are transmitted in a wider beam, beam data from both beams can be transmitted within the wide beam on-time. When the symbol boundaries between two beams are misaligned, as shown in Figure 11, an additional time shift between the different beam uptimes may be required to protect the data of the beam with the shorter uptime. For example, as shown in Figure 11, when beams #1 and #2 are transmitted using a wide beam, the uptime of beam #2 can be shorter than that of beam #1.

[0097] In some other embodiments, beam switching can be configured to occur during beam uptime (or one of the uptime periods of data transmission). As shown in FIG12, beam switching can be performed during the uptime period of beam #1 (e.g., at the end of the uptime period) so that beam #2 can be turned on (immediately) after the uptime period of beam #1, and also during the uptime period of beam #2 (e.g., at the end of the uptime period) so that beam #1 can be turned on again (immediately) after the uptime period of beam #2.

[0098] Here, during the switching gap, the corresponding settings of the beam or antenna elements are changing. That is, the beam is actually in a transitional state from active to inactive, rather than a fully active state. In the figure, the active period is depicted as covering this gap to mean that data transmission intended to be performed through this beam (i.e., data transmission has been allocated resources during the switching gap) continues, although the beam is not as ideal as a fully active beam.

[0099] In this situation, due to beam switching during the active / connection period / time, a portion of the beam data may not be protected, i.e., it may be lost. Beam switching delay can be permitted at the end of a beam-connection period or at the beginning of a beam-connection period. The location where beam switching occurs may depend on the length of the beam switching delay, which will be described in detail below.

[0100] In one embodiment, when the beam-switching delay is relatively small, beam-switching can occur at the beginning of the beam-on period. For example, beam-switching can be allowed to occur at the first symbol of the first frame of the beam-on period / time because a cyclic prefix can be used to protect data integrity. For example, the beam-switching delay is 2 microseconds, and for a 15kHz one-carrier-space (SCS), the cyclic prefix is ​​4.69 microseconds. If the beam-switching delay is longer than the cyclic prefix, data can be corrupted and lost.

[0101] In another embodiment, beam switching can occur at the end of the beam-on period. When the beam switching delay is relatively large compared to the symbol time, symbols overlapping with the beam switching time can be destroyed or lost.

[0102] In some embodiments, a network node may signal an indication to a terminal device of a portion of data that may be affected by beam switching and overlapping transmission resources. This portion of data may be indicated in units of symbols. For example, the number of symbols that may be destroyed by beam switching, or an indication of (a number of) such symbols, may be signaled to the terminal device. Another option is to indicate the portion of data, i.e., symbols that may be damaged / lost / affected, in system information.

[0103] In some embodiments, the indication of partial data (e.g., symbols that are completely or partially lost or corrupted) may be used for the next beam handover, such as the next active-to-inactive beam handover, the next inactive-to-active beam handover, or both. Alternatively, the indication may cover multiple occurrences of subsequent beam handovers, such as multiple active-to-inactive beam handovers and / or multiple inactive-to-active beam handovers in the future.

[0104] In some embodiments, portions of the data may be signaled together with indications of their associated switching times (e.g., one indication of a beam switching schedule or the time of the next beam activity-to-inactivity transition (i.e., beam deactivation) and / or one indication of the time of the next beam inactivity-to-activity transition (i.e., beam activation)).

[0105] This indication(e.g., symbols) can be signaled in a semi-permanent manner within system information. For example, the indication could indicate that symbols N or N to N+X in time slot M of each beam switching frame (and symbols P or P to P+Y in time slot M+1, where the affected symbols cross a time slot boundary) will be affected (e.g., completely or partially lost and / or damaged) and can be ignored / discarded by the terminal device (where N, X, M, P, and Y are integers ≥ 0). This semi-permanent indication(e.g.,) can be signaled separately for beam activity-to-inactivity transitions and beam inactivity-to-activity transitions, respectively (although within the same SIB and SI messages).

[0106] In some embodiments, the presence of affected portions of data (e.g., affected symbols, such as those that are completely or partially lost or damaged) can be signaled in a DCI containing transmission resource allocation (i.e., DL scheduling allocation or UL authorization) to allocate transmission resources that overlap with beam switching gaps or beam start delays. The indication will specify which(s) of the allocated transmission resources may be affected.

[0107] In some embodiments, a rule may be introduced into the specifications of the terminal device, for example, by an implementation to allow or instruct the terminal device to discard indications of data, such as symbols that may be damaged / lost due to beam switching. In an alternative, rule activation may be configured by a network node via an explicit or implicit indication provided through broadcast or dedicated signaling. In yet another alternative, rule activation may depend on the terminal device implementation, where the terminal device independently determines the detection of damaged / lost / affected symbols.

[0108] In some embodiments, a base station (e.g., a gNB) can configure different modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for different portions of the data to provide greater redundancy. For example, the base station can configure a first MCS for the indication portion of the data, while configuring a second MCS for another portion of the data that may be less robust than the first MCS. Due to the more robust MCS, the indication portion of the data will be more robust to beam switching. This configuration can be signaled to the terminal device so that the terminal device can perform data transmission with the base station (via satellite).

[0109] For example, when allocating transmission resources that overlap with a beam switching gap, the gNB may attempt to fully or partially compensate for the potential loss of affected symbols by using a more robust MCS than one otherwise stimulated by radio channel conditions (i.e., an MCS that provides more redundancy).

[0110] In some embodiments, a base station (e.g., a gNB) can configure different sets of parameters for different portions of the data to provide greater redundancy. For example, the base station can configure a first set of parameters for the indication portion of the data, and a second set of parameters for another portion of the data that differs from the first set. This configuration can be signaled to the terminal device, enabling the terminal device to perform data transmission with the base station (via satellite).

[0111] For example, with configuration authorization, a gNB can configure two sets of modulation order, target bit rate, and TB size (i.e., mcsAndTBS in ConfiguredGrantConfig), one for transmission in resources that overlap with a beam switching gap, and the other for transmission in resources that do not overlap with a beam switching gap.

[0112] In some embodiments, a terminal device may skip a transmission opportunity that overlaps with a beam switching gap if a condition is met. This condition may be implemented in the terminal device or configured by a network node. For example, the gNB may configure the condition and the network node may signal the condition to the terminal device. For example, a transmission opportunity may be skipped when a percentage of resources in a transmission opportunity that overlaps with a beam switching gap is greater than a threshold value. The terminal device may know whether a resource in a configured authorized transmission opportunity overlaps with a beam switching gap from, for example, system information indicating which symbols are affected by beam switching.

[0113] In some embodiments, the terminal device may be informed via broadcast signaling (e.g., system information) or dedicated MAC or RRC messages whether there is an overlap between beam switching and data transmission, for example, whether a portion of the beam data is allowed to be corrupted by beam switching (overlap implies potential corruption). For example, for a full-load system, allowing corrupted beam data in a cell maximizes the capability between all beams.

[0114] In some embodiments, the terminal device may be signaled to via broadcast (e.g., SIB) or dedicated signaling (e.g., RRC message) information regarding all beams served by an NTN payload and an indication of one of the beam handover modes for the serving beam and its neighbors. In this way, the terminal device can know which beams provided by the NTN payload have suffered data loss / corruption due to handover mechanisms (e.g., overlap of handover and data transmission). Upon identifying that the serving cell has experienced beam data loss / corruption, the UE may employ a mitigation mechanism as described above.

[0115] In some embodiments, when a portion of the beam data is to be corrupted by beam switching according to one or more of the indications or rules described above, whether that portion of the beam data will be corrupted further depends on the type or priority of the data being transmitted. As an example, a terminal device may anticipate that the indicated beam data will not be corrupted during a System Synchronization Block (SSB) transmission while the Dedicated Entity Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) may be corrupted.

[0116] Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating a method at a network node according to an embodiment of the present invention, which can add burden to the beam switching optimization system.

[0117] As shown in Figure 13, method 1300 may include steps S1310 and S1320. However, the invention is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, method 1300 may include more steps, fewer steps, different steps, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the steps of method 1300 may be performed in a sequence different from that described herein. In addition, in some embodiments, one step in method 1300 may be divided into multiple sub-steps and performed by different entities, and / or multiple steps in method 1300 may be combined into a single step.

[0118] Method 1300 may begin at step S1310, wherein the network node may generate a first indication based on the handover timing of the first beam relative to one of the resources, namely whether the resources for data transmission between the network node and a terminal device served by one of the plurality of cells overlap in time with the handover of one of the plurality of beams associated with the first cell.

[0119] In step S1320, the network node may send an instruction to the terminal device. Therefore, the terminal device may perform any of the above operations upon knowing the instruction.

[0120] The above text has described in detail the various ways of generating instructions and notifying terminal devices of the instructions by signals.

[0121] Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating a terminal device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0122] The terminal device 1400 may include a transceiver 1410, a processor 1420, and a memory 1430.

[0123] Memory 1430 may contain instructions executable by processor 1420, thereby enabling terminal device 1400 to perform actions, for example, those described earlier in conjunction with FIG. 6. Specifically, memory 1430 may contain instructions executable by processor 1420, thereby enabling terminal device 1400 to be configured to provide coverage by switching between a plurality of beams (each beam associated with one of a plurality of cells) to receive a first instruction (i.e., whether data transmission is permitted in resources overlapping with the switching of one of the plurality of beams associated with the first cell of the serving terminal device) and to perform data transmission between the terminal device and the network node based on the first instruction.

[0124] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating a network node according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0125] Network node 1500 may include a transceiver 1510, a processor 1520 and a memory 1530.

[0126] Memory 1530 may contain instructions executable by processor 1520, thereby enabling network node 1500 to perform actions, for example, those described earlier in conjunction with Figure 13. Specifically, memory 1530 may contain instructions executable by processor 1520, thereby enabling network node 1500 to generate a first indication based on a timing of the handover of the first beam relative to resources (i.e., whether the resources for data transmission between the network node and a terminal device served by one of the plurality of cells overlap in time with the handover of one of the plurality of beams associated with the first cell) and send the first indication to the terminal device.

[0127] The present invention also provides at least one computer program product in the form of a non-volatile or volatile memory, such as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, and a hard disk drive. The computer program product includes a computer program. The computer program includes: code / computer-readable instructions, which, when executed by processor 1420, cause terminal device 1400 to perform (e.g.,) the actions of the program previously described in conjunction with FIG. 6; or code / computer-readable instructions, which, when executed by processor 1520, cause network node 1500 to perform (e.g.,) the actions of the program previously described in conjunction with FIG. 13.

[0128] Computer program products can be configured as computer program code constructed from computer program modules. The computer program modules can basically execute the actions of the processes shown in Figure 6 or Figure 13.

[0129] The processor may be a single CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may also include two or more processing units. For example, the processor may include a general-purpose microprocessor; an instruction set processor and / or an associated chipset and / or a special-purpose microprocessor such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor may also include on-board memory for caching purposes. The computer program may be carried in a computer program product connected to the processor. The computer program product may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which the computer program is stored. For example, the computer program product may be a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), or an EEPROM, and the above-mentioned computer program modules may be distributed in the form of memory on different computer program products in alternative embodiments.

[0130] Figure 16 illustrates an example of a communication system 1600 according to one of some embodiments.

[0131] In this example, communication system 1600 includes a telecommunications network 1602, which includes an access network 1604 such as a radio access network (RAN) and a core network 1606 including one or more core network nodes 1608. Access network 1604 includes one or more access network nodes such as network nodes 1610A and 1610B (one or more of which may generally be referred to as network node 1610) or any other similar 3GPP access node or non-3GPP access point. Furthermore, as those skilled in the art will understand, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which one radio portion and one baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Therefore, it should be understood that a network node includes decomposed implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, telecommunications network 1602 includes one or more Open RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunications network 1602 that supports an ORAN specification (such as one issued by the O-RAN Alliance or any similar organization) and can operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functions of any node in the telecommunications network 1602 (including one or more network nodes 1610 and / or core network node 1608).

[0132] An example of an ORAN network node includes an Open Radio Unit (O-RU), an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), an Open Central Unit (O-CU) (including an O-CU Control Plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU User Plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN Smart Controller (near-real-time or non-real-time) managed software or software add-ons (such as a near-real-time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real-time control application (e.g., rApp)) or any combination thereof (the adjective "open" specifies support for an ORAN specification). The network node may support, for example, an interface defined by the ORAN specification (such as A1, ...). An ORAN access node can support a specification using interfaces such as F1, W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn, an Open Fronthaul User Plane interface, or an Open Fronthaul Management Plane interface. Furthermore, an ORAN access node can be a logical node within a physical node. Additionally, an ORAN network node can be implemented in a virtualized environment (described further below) where one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualized environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a service management and orchestration framework via an O-2 interface or similar technology defined by the O-RAN Alliance. Network node 1610 facilitates direct or indirect connections of user equipment (UEs), such as connecting UEs 1612A, 1612B, 1612C, and 1612D (one or more of which may generally be referred to as UE 1612) to core network 1606 via one or more wireless connections.

[0133] An example of wireless communication via a wireless connection includes transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information without the use of wires, cables, or other conductors. Furthermore, in various embodiments, the communication system 1600 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in communication of data and / or signals via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1600 may include or interface with any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0134] UE 1612 can be any of various communication devices, including wireless devices configured, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node 1610 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 1610 is configured, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE 1612 and / or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunication network 1602 to achieve and / or provide network access (such as wireless network access) and / or perform other functions (such as management in telecommunication network 1602).

[0135] In the depicted example, core network 1606 connects network node 1610 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 1616. Such connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to a host. Core network 1606 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1608) configured with hardware and software components. The characteristics of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UE, network node, and / or host, such that the description generally applies to the corresponding components of core network node 1608. An instance core network node includes one or more of the following: a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), a Mobile Management Entity (MME), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Subscription Identifier Dehide Function (SIDF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), a Security Edge Protection Agent (SEPP), a Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0136] Host 1616 may be owned or controlled by a service provider other than one of the operators or providers of access network 1604 and / or telecommunications network 1602. Host 1616 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services (such as capturing and compiling data on various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analytics functions, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and monitoring center, or any other functions performed by a server.

[0137] As a whole, the communication system 1600 in Figure 16 realizes the connectivity between the UE, network nodes, and the host. In this sense, the communication system can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures such as including (but not limited to) the following specific standards: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards or any applicable next-generation standard (e.g., 6G); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi); and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards, such as Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC), ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards, such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0138] In some instances, Telecom Network 1602 implements one of the 3GPP standardization features: cellular networking. Therefore, Telecom Network 1602 can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to it. For example, Telecom Network 1602 can provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive machine-type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to other UEs.

[0139] In some instances, UE 1612 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to access network 1604 according to a predetermined schedule upon triggering by an internal or external event or in response to a request from access network 1604. Additionally, a UE may be configured to operate in single or multiple RAT or multiple standard modes. For example, a UE may operate using any or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., configured for multiple radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0140] In one example, hub 1614 communicates with access network 1604 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1612C and / or 1612D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1610B). In some examples, hub 1614 may be a controller, router, content source and analysis, or any other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, hub 1614 may be a broadband router enabling UE access to core network 1606. As another example, hub 1614 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. Commands or instructions may be received from the UE, network node 1610, or by executable code, instruction code, program, or other instructions in hub 1614. As yet another example, hub 1614 may be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage for UE data, and in some embodiments, may perform data analysis or other processing. As another example, hub 1614 can be a content source. For instance, for a UE that is a virtual reality (VR) device, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, hub 1614 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, and then provide them directly to the UE after performing local processing and / or adding additional local content. In yet another example, hub 1614 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for one of the UEs, particularly when one or more of the UEs are low-power IoT devices.

[0141] Hub 1614 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to network node 1610B. Hub 1614 may also allow different communication schemes and / or scheduling between hub 1614 and UE (e.g., UE 1612C and / or 1612D) and between hub 1614 and core network 1606. In other instances, hub 1614 is connected to core network 1606 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Furthermore, hub 1614 may be configured to connect to a machine-to-machine (M2M) service provider via access network 1604 and / or to another UE via a direct connection. In some cases, a UE may establish a wireless connection with network node 1610 while still connecting via hub 1614 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, hub 1614 may be a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose primary function is to route communication from network node 1610B to UE / to route communication from UE to network node 1610B. In other embodiments, hub 1614 may be a non-dedicated hub, i.e., a device capable of operating to route communication between UE and network node 1610B but also capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for some data channels.

[0142] Figure 17 illustrates UE 1700 according to one of some embodiments. UE 1700 presents additional details of some embodiments of UE 1612 of Figure 16. As used herein, a UE refers to a device that is capable of, configured, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include (but are not limited to) a smartphone, mobile phone, cellular phone, VoIP phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless camera, game console or device, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint mobile station, tablet computer, laptop computer, laptop embedded device (LEE), laptop mounted device (LME), an augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) device, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle-mounted embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine-type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0143] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing one of the 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other instances, a UE may not necessarily be a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device intended for sale to a human user or operated by a human user but which may not be associated with a particular human user or may not initially be associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device not intended for sale to an end user or operated by an end user but which may be associated with a user or operated for the user's benefit (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0144] UE 1700 includes a processing circuitry system 1702 operatively coupled via a hub 1704 to an input / output interface 1706, a power supply 1708, a memory 1710, a communication interface 1712, and / or any other component or any combination thereof. Some UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 17. The integration level between components may vary from one UE to another. Furthermore, some UEs may contain multiple examples of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0145] The processing circuit system 1702 is configured to process instructions and data and can be configured to implement any sequence of state machines operable to execute instructions stored in memory 1710 as machine-readable computer programs. The processing circuit system 1702 can be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic and firmware; one or more general-purpose processors storing computer programs, such as microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs) and software; or any combination thereof. For example, the processing circuit system 1702 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0146] In this example, the input / output interface 1706 can be configured to provide one or more interfaces to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device allows a user to capture information into the UE 1700. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a touchpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, and the like. A presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor for sensing input from a user. A sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, or any combination thereof. An output device may use an interface port of the same type as an input device. For example, a universal serial hub (USB) port may be used to provide both an input device and an output device.

[0147] In some embodiments, power supply 1708 is configured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. Power supply 1708 may further include a power circuitry for delivering power from power supply 1708 itself and / or an external power source to various parts of UE 1700 via an input circuitry system or an interface such as a power cable. For example, delivering power may be used to charge power supply 1708. The power circuitry may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modifications on the power from power supply 1708 to suit the power for the respective components of the powered UE 1700.

[0148] Memory 1710 may be or be configured to contain memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, hard disk, removable tape cassette, flash memory drive, etc. In one instance, memory 1710 contains one or more applications 1714, such as an operating system, a web browser application, an interface toolset, a utility engine, or other applications and corresponding data 1716. Memory 1710 may store any or a combination of various operating systems for use by UE 1700.

[0149] The memory 1710 can be configured to include several physical drive units, such as a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb flash drive, a pen flash drive, a key flash drive, a high-density digital multifunction disc (HD-DVD) drive, an internal hard drive, a Blu-ray drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) drive, an external miniature dual-row memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro DIMM SDRAM, smart card memory (such as a tamper-proof module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) containing one or more User Identification Modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or an ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC can be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a "SIM card". Memory 1710 allows UE 1700 to access instructions, applications, and similar programs stored on temporary or non-temporary memory media, and to unload or upload data. An article of manufacture (such as an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system) may be tangibly embodied in or contained in memory 1710, and memory 1710 may be or include a device-readable storage medium.

[0150] The processing circuitry system 1702 can be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1712. The communication interface 1712 may include one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1722. The communication interface 1712 may include one or more transceivers for communicating, for example, with one or more remote transceivers capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1718 and / or a receiver 1720 adapted to provide network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). Furthermore, the transmitter 1718 and receiver 1720 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1722) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0151] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication interface 1712 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication (such as Bluetooth), near-field communication, location-based communication (such as using a Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine location), another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. Communication may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0152] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE can provide an output of data captured by its sensors via a wireless connection to a network node through its communication interface 1712. Data captured by a UE's sensors can be transmitted via another UE through a wireless connection to a network node. The output can be periodic (e.g., every 15 minutes if it reports a sensed temperature), random (e.g., balancing the load of reports from several sensors), in response to a triggered event (e.g., sending an alarm when moisture is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiation request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0153] As another example, a UE includes an actuator, a motor, or a switch associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. The state of the actuator, motor, or switch may change in response to the received wireless input. For example, the UE may include a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotor of a flying drone or, based on the received input, adjusts a robotic arm performing a medical procedure.

[0154] When presented as an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a UE can be a device used in one or more application areas, including (but not limited to) urban wearable technology, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of this IoT device include, or are embedded in, one of the following: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robotic vacuum cleaner, a voice-controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electronic door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system (such as a heat pump), an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smartwatch, a fitness tracker, a wearable device for haptic amplification or sensory enhancement, a sprinkler, an animal or object tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device (such as a heart rate monitor or a remotely controlled surgical robot). In addition to the other components described with respect to UE 1700 shown in Figure 17, one type of UE in the form of an IoT device also includes circuitry and / or software that depend on the desired application of the IoT device.

[0155] As another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE can represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another UE and / or a network node. In this case, the UE can be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in a 3GPP context. As a specific example, the UE can implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE can represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, and an aircraft, or other devices capable of monitoring and / or reporting their operational status or other functions associated with their operation.

[0156] In practice, any number of UEs can be used together for a single use case. For example, a first UE may be a drone or integrated into a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained via a speed sensor) to a second UE, which is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes a change from the remote controller, the first UE can adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or second UEs may also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE may include sensors and actuators and handle data communication between the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0157] Figure 18 illustrates a network node 1800 according to one of some embodiments. As used herein, a network node refers to a device that is capable of, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or devices in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include (but are not limited to) access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes, or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RUs, O-DUs, O-CUs).

[0158] Base stations can be classified based on the coverage they provide (or in other words, their transmission power levels) and therefore, depending on the coverage provided, they can be called micro base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or gigabit base stations. A base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a repeater. A network node can also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node), and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes called remote radio heads (RRHs). These remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. A portion of a distributed radio base station can also be called a node in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0159] Other examples of network nodes include multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment (such as MSR BS), network controllers (such as Radio Network Controller (RNC) or Base Station Controller (BSC)), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCE), operation and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operation support system (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, location nodes (such as Evolved Servo Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC)), and / or Minimum Drive Test (MDT).

[0160] Network node 1800 includes a processing circuitry system 1802, a memory 1804, a communication interface 1806, and a power supply 1808. Network node 1800 may consist of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each component having its own individual components. In some cases where network node 1800 includes multiple individual components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of these individual components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In this case, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered a single, individual network node in some examples. In some embodiments, network node 1800 may be configured to support multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs). In these embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., a separate memory 1804 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a common antenna 1810 may be shared by different RATs). Network node 1800 may also include various illustrated components for integrating different wireless technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, RFID, or Bluetooth wireless technologies) into network node 1800. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chipsets and other components within network node 1800.

[0161] The processing circuit system 1802 may include one or more of the following: a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, dedicated integrated circuit, field-programmable gate array or any other suitable computing device, resource or combination of hardware, software and / or coded logic operable to provide the functionality of network node 1800 alone or in combination with other network node 1800 components (such as memory 1804).

[0162] In some embodiments, the processing circuit system 1802 includes a system-on-a-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuit system 1802 includes one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit system 1812 and a baseband processing circuit system 1814. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuit system 1812 and the baseband processing circuit system 1814 may be on a separate chip (or chip group), board, or unit (such as a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit system 1812 and the baseband processing circuit system 1814 may be on the same chip or chip group, board, or unit.

[0163] Memory 1804 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including (but not limited to) permanent storage, solid-state memory, remotely installed memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a flash drive, an optical disc (CD), or a digital video disc (DVD)) and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions usable by the processing circuitry system 1802. Memory 1804 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application program (including logic, rules, code, tables, or more) and / or other instructions executable by the processing circuitry system 1802 and usable by the network node 1800. Memory 1804 can be used to store any calculations performed by processing circuitry 1802 and / or any data received via communication interface 1806. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1802 and memory 1804 are integrated.

[0164] Communication interface 1806 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, communication interface 1806 includes several ports / terminals 1816 for transmitting data to and receiving data from a network, for example, via a wired connection. Communication interface 1806 also includes a radio front-end circuitry 1818, which may be coupled to antenna 1810 or, in some embodiments, is part of antenna 1810. Radio front-end circuitry 1818 includes a filter 1820 and an amplifier 1822. Radio front-end circuitry 1818 may be connected to antenna 1810 and processing circuitry 1802. Radio front-end circuitry 1818 may be configured to regulate the signals transmitted between antenna 1810 and processing circuitry 1802. Radio front-end circuitry 1818 may receive digital data to be transmitted to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1818 may use a combination of filter 1820 and / or amplifier 1822 to convert digital data into a radio signal with suitable channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna 1810. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1810 may collect radio signals, which the radio front-end circuitry 1818 then converts into digital data. The digital data can then be passed to processing circuitry 1802. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0165] In some alternative embodiments, network node 1800 does not include a separate radio front-end circuitry system 1818; instead, processing circuitry system 1802 includes the radio front-end circuitry system and is connected to antenna 1810. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry system 1812 is part of communication interface 1806. In still other embodiments, communication interface 1806 includes one or more ports or terminals 1816, radio front-end circuitry system 1818, and RF transceiver circuitry system 1812 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and communication interface 1806 communicates with baseband processing circuitry system 1814 (which is part of a digital unit (not shown)).

[0166] Antenna 1810 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1810 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 1818 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1810 is separate from network node 1800 and may be connected to network node 1800 through an interface or port.

[0167] Antenna 1810, communication interface 1806, and / or processing circuitry 1802 can be configured to perform any receive operation and / or certain acquire operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signal can be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1810, communication interface 1806, and / or processing circuitry 1802 can be configured to perform any transmit operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signal can be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network device.

[0168] Power supply 1808 provides power to the various components of network node 1800 in a form suitable for each component (e.g., at a voltage and current level required by each component). Power supply 1808 may further include or be coupled to a power management circuitry to supply power to the components of network node 1800 for performing the functionality described herein. For example, network node 1800 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., the mains, an electrical outlet) via an input circuitry or interface (such as a cable), thereby supplying power to the power circuitry of power supply 1808. As a further example, power supply 1808 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated into the power circuitry. The battery can provide backup power in the event of an external power failure.

[0169] Embodiments of network node 1800 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 18, such components providing certain forms of functionality for the network node, including any of the functionalities described herein and / or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 1800 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into and output from network node 1800. This allows a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions of network node 1800. In some embodiments providing a core network node (such as core network node 108 of FIG. 16), some components, such as radio front-end circuitry 1818 and RF transceiver circuitry 1812, may be omitted.

[0170] Figure 19 is a block diagram illustrating one of the virtualization environments 1900 in which virtualization functionality is implemented by some embodiments. In this document, virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or apparatus, which may include virtualized hardware platforms, storage devices, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device or component thereof described herein, and is related to an implementation where at least a portion of its functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functionality described herein can be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1900 hosted on one or more hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device operating as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Furthermore, in embodiments where virtual nodes do not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), the nodes can be fully virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1900 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a service management and orchestration framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization can facilitate the distributed implementation of network nodes, UEs, core network nodes, or hosts.

[0171] Application 1902 (which may also be referred to as a software instance, virtual appliance, network function, virtual node, virtual network function, etc.) runs in the virtual environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0172] Hardware 1904 includes: processing circuitry; memory storing software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry system; and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, etc. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry system to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1906 (also referred to as a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor (VMM)), providing VMs 1908a and 1908b (one or more of which may generally be referred to as VM 1908), and / or performing any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described with respect to some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 1906 may present VM 1908 with a virtual operating platform that appears to be network hardware.

[0173] VM 1908 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and can be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1906. Different embodiments of an example of a virtual appliance 1902 can be implemented on one or more VMs 1908 and can be implemented in different ways. Hardware virtualization is referred to in some contexts as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to consolidate many types of network devices onto industry-standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that can be located in data centers and user terminals.

[0174] In the context of NFV, a VM 1908 can be a software implementation of a physical machine running a program, as if it were running on a physical non-virtualized machine. Each VM 1908 and the portion of the hardware 1904 running that VM (whether dedicated to that VM or shared by that VM and other VMs) form a separate virtual network element. Also in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions running on top of one or more VMs 1904 and corresponds to application 1902.

[0175] Hardware 1904 may be implemented in a standalone network node having one of general or specific components. Hardware 1904 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1904 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., in a data center or CPE), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1910, which in particular oversees the lifecycle management of application 1902. In some embodiments, hardware 1904 is coupled to one or more radio units, each radio unit including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that can be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more network-suitable interfaces and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities (such as a radio access node or a base station). In some embodiments, a control system 1912 may be used to provide signaling, which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware node and the radio units.

[0176] While the computing devices (e.g., UE, network nodes) described herein may comprise the illustrated combinations of hardware components, other embodiments may include computing devices having different combinations of components. It should be understood that such computing devices may include any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The determination, calculation, acquisition, or similar operations described herein may be performed by a processing circuitry system that processes information by, for example, converting acquired information into other information, comparing acquired or converted information with information stored in a network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or converted information, and making a determination as a result of such processing. Furthermore, although components are depicted as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may include multiple different physical components constituting a single illustrated component, and functionality may be divided among the individual components. For example, a communication interface can be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components can be partitioned between the processing circuitry system and the communication interface. In another instance, the non-computationally intensive functionality of any such components can be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functionality can be implemented in hardware.

[0177] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by a processing circuitry system that executes instructions stored in memory. In some embodiments, the memory may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry system without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as according to a wiring configuration. In any of these particular embodiments, the processing circuitry system may be configured to perform the described functionality, whether or not instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to a separate processing circuitry system or other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or generally by the end user and a wireless network.

[0178] In this invention, we present a general overview of our understanding of the impact of SAN RF.

[0179] In WID[1], the target references related to RF are as follows: 1. Investigate and specify whether there are favorable downlink coverage enhancements, aiming to support additional reference satellite payload parameters for both GSO and NGSO constellations operating in FR1-NTN or FR2-NTN [RAN1, RAN2, RAN4]. ● Define additional reference satellite payload parameters, assuming power sharing between satellite beams or different satellite beam patterns / sizes (i.e., wide or narrow) across satellite coverage areas, such that, due to limited power and limited feeder link bandwidth, the satellite beams may not all be active simultaneously, or may be active below the nominal EIRP density of each satellite beam (see Section 6.1.1 in TR 38.821). ● Define the corresponding power sharing assumptions and the necessary link-level and system-level evaluation methods and relevant KPIs for evaluation coverage, so as to allow the identification of physical channel / signal and system-level profiles that need to be enhanced and correspondingly improved. ● Research and specify solutions as needed, including link-level enhancements for FR1-NTN (e.g., for PDCCH, PDSCH) and / or system-level enhancements for FR1-NTN and / or FR2-NTN, to allow dynamic and flexible power sharing between satellite beams across satellite coverage areas or between different satellite beam modes / sizes (i.e., wide or narrow). This objective should be noted as follows: ○ SSB channel enhancement is not considered In the case of FR1-NTN smartphones, the antenna gain of the UE should be assumed to be -5.5 dBi, the UE is assumed to be a full-duplex UE, and at least 2Rx is considered at the UE. ○ Prioritize NGSO:LEO Set-1 @ 600km ○ Rel-18 network energy-saving technology should be considered the benchmark for system-level research.

[0180] Regarding the goal of enhancing DL coverage, since network energy saving should be considered the benchmark for system research, we believe that it would also be beneficial to study any RF impact of NTN based on network energy saving characteristics in Rel-18. In WF[2], we agree [question] [2-1] [Honeycomb pattern] [DTX] [Of] [RF] [Require] [] ● Agreement: ○ No need to define the RF requirements for cell DTX. ▪ When performing cell DTX on a CC, a transient period may be required on that CC. ● It is not expected that transient periods will be captured in TS. [question] [3-1] [Spatial Domain Technology] [RF] [Require] [] ● Agreement: ○ No need to define RF requirements for space domain technologies ▪ When performing spatial domain techniques on a CC, transient periods may be required on that CC. ● It is not expected that transient periods will be captured in TS. [question] [3-2] [Power Domain Technology] [RF] [Require] [] ●Agreement: RF requirements for power domain technology without defining them

[0181] Some explanations regarding the NES characteristics of the impact of RF on cell DTX, spatial, and power domains. The RF impact on cell DTX is primarily due to the transient time required when a beam is on, and one related RF requirement is TDD timing masking. Similar to the TDD on / off power transient requirement, a transient period also exists when a beam is on / off. In NTN objectives, this relates to beam switching from one beam to another; the PA (Power Aspect Ratio) can be switched off / off without it, but if analog beamforming is used, new phase coefficients may need to be set in the hardware. We believe that as long as this transient period occurs during the beam-off state, the beam data will not be affected, as illustrated in Figure 20.

[0182] [suggestion] [-1] [Assuming a transient occurs during beamout, not attributable to the cell] [TX] [Of] [RF] [Influence] [(] [For example, reusability is attributed to the cell.] [DTX] [Of] [NES] [Neighborhood] [DTX RF] [in conclusion] [)] [。] [] In the latest RAN1 protocol, there is a beam delay assumption as follows [3] protocol For the NR NTN Rel-19 DL coverage assessment, at least assuming a phased array antenna, one of the beam steering delay values ​​is equal to 0. Report values ​​other than 0, depending on the circumstances.

[0183] If digital beamforming is used in beamforming, the beam switching delay can be zero. However, for analog beamforming, there can be additional delays caused by setting the phase coefficients for different antenna elements. Therefore, for analog beamforming, the beam switching delay is not zero. As we understand it, beam switching delay will add an additional burden to the system because no data is transmitted during the beam switching period, as illustrated in Figure 20. This should not be a problem for light / medium load systems, but for a full-load system, the time used for beam switching will reduce system capability. As illustrated in Figure 21, if beam data can be transmitted during the beam switching delay, the PHY layer should use it to process the beam data, so the system capability will not be as severely affected as in the case illustrated in Figure 20. Since system capability is a RAN1 topic, RAN4 can provide RAN1 with any beam switching delay number if RAN4 believes that any value other than 0 should be considered in the RAN1 evaluation.

[0184] [observe] [1] Beam switching delay adds an additional burden to a full-load system. [] [observe] [2] [No data transmission during beam switching time results in additional system load for a full-load system] []

[0185] [suggestion] [-2] [:] [RAN4] [Available] [RAN1] [send] [LS] [To notify whether beam switching delay has a definite component] [0] [Other values ​​besides these.] [] Regarding the power and spatial domain characteristics of NES, there has been no discussion of NTN in RAN1 so far. Since beam switching in NTN is related to the on / off of the beam, rather than the power of the tuned beam, it does not need to be considered in RAN4 at this time.

[0186] [suggestion] [-3] [No need to consider this now] [Rel-18NES] [Space and power domain pairs] [NTN RF] [The impact of this.] [] In this manuscript, we present our general overview and the following suggestions and comments: 0 Observation 1 Beam switching delay causes an additional burden on a fully loaded system. 0. Observation 2: No data transmission during beam switching time results in additional system burden on the full-load system. Recommendation 0-1: Assume that transient times occur during beamout states and there is no RF impact attributable to cell TX (e.g., the NES cell DTX RF conclusion attributable to cell DTX can be reused). 0 Recommendation-2: RAN4 can send LS to RAN1 to notify whether the beam switching delay has a value other than 0. 0. There is no need to consider the impact of the spatial and power domains in the Rel-18 NES on the NTN RF. refer to [1] RP-234078, New WID: NR Phase 3 Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), Huawei [2] R4-2314935, WF Requirements for NES Radio Frequency, Huawei [3] RP-240091, New WID Status Report: NR Phase 3 Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN); Rapporteur: Thales, CATT

[0187] The present invention has been described above with reference to embodiments thereof. However, these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Those skilled in the art can make various substitutions and modifications without departing from the scope of the invention, and all such substitutions and modifications fall within the scope of the invention.

[0188] 10: Telecommunications System 40: Telecommunications System 105: Satellite 110: Spot Beam 115: Terminal device 120: Access Link 125: Base Station (BS) 130: Gate (GW) 135: Feeder Link 405: Satellite 415: Terminal device 420: Access Link 425:Base station 430: Gate 435: Feeder Link 600: Method 1300: Method 1400: Terminal device 1410: Transceiver 1420: Processor 1430: Memory 1500: Network Nodes 1510: Transceiver 1520: Processor 1530: Memory 1600: Communication System 1602: Telecommunications Network 1604: Access Network 1606: Core Network 1608: Core network node 1610A: Network Node 1610B: Network Node 1612A: User Equipment (UE) 1612B:UE 1612C:UE 1612D:UE 1614: Hub 1616: Host 1700:UE 1702: Processing Circuit System 1704: Hub 1706: Input / Output Interface 1708: Power Supply 1710: Memory 1712: Communication Interface 1714: Application 1716: Data 1718: Transmitter 1720: Receiver 1722: Antenna 1800: Network Node 1802: Processing circuit system 1804: Memory 1806: Communication Interface 1808: Power Supply 1810: Antenna 1812: RF transceiver circuit system 1814: Baseband Processing Circuit System 1816: Port / Terminal 1818: Radio Front-End Circuit System 1820: Filter 1822: Amplifier 1900: Virtualization Environment 1902: Application 1904: Hardware 1906: Virtualization Layer 1908A: Virtual Machine (VM) 1908B:VM 1910: Management and Organization 1912: Control System S610: Steps S620: Steps S1310: Steps S1320: Steps

Claims

1. A method (600) at a terminal device of a satellite-based mobile network service, the satellite-based mobile network including a network node configured to provide coverage by switching between a plurality of beams, each beam being associated with one of a plurality of cells, the method comprising: The network node receives (S610) a first indication, wherein the first indication indicates whether the switching of one of the plurality of beams occurs during the on time of one of the beams or during the off time of one of the plurality of beams, wherein the on time of the beam is a period for data transmission or reception and the off time is a period without data transmission or reception; and when the first indication indicates that the switching of the beam occurs during the on time, the beam switching is performed (S620) based on the first indication during the beginning or end of the period for data reception and / or transmission between the terminal device and the network node.

2. As in method (600) of request item 1, wherein the switch includes: Switch the first beam from active to inactive and switch one of the plurality of beams from inactive to active; Alternatively, the first beam can be switched from inactive to active, while one of the plurality of beams (a third beam) can be switched from active to inactive.

3. The method (600) of either claim 1 or 2 further includes: The network node receives a second indication indicating a portion of the data that may be affected by the overlap of transmission resources and the handover when the handover occurs during the connection time of the beam.

4. As in the method (600) of request item 3, wherein the portion of the data is indicated in units of symbols.

5. The method (600) of claim 3, wherein the second indication is used for the next handover of the first beam, or for the occurrence of multiple subsequent handovers of the first beam.

6. As in the method (600) of request item 3, wherein the portion of the data is indicated together with an indication of the time of its associated switching.

7. The method (600) of request item 3, wherein for data transmissions in the resource that overlap with the switch, the portion of the data is indicated in a semi-permanent manner.

8. The method (600) of request item 7, wherein the second instruction is notified by a signal in the system information.

9. The method (600) of request item 8, wherein the second instruction is separate from the first instruction.

10. The method (600) of request item 3, wherein the second indication is signaled in the downlink control information (DCI) containing the allocation of the transmission resources that overlap with the handover, and indicates which part of the allocated transmission resources may be affected.

11. The method (600) of claim 3, wherein the data transmission includes receiving the data from the network node, and performing (S620) the receiving and / or transmission includes: Discard the instruction section of this data.

12. The method (600) of request item 11, wherein whether to perform a drop can be explicitly or implicitly configured by the network node or depends on the terminal device.

13. The method (600) of claim 3, wherein performing (S620) the receiving and / or transmitting includes: A first modulation and coding scheme (MCS) is received for the indication portion of the data, while a second MCS, which is less robust than the first MCS, is used for another portion of the data configuration.

14. The method (600) of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein performing (S620) the receiving and / or transmitting includes: A configuration is received that includes a first set of parameters for transmitting resources that overlap with the handover, and a second set of parameters, different from the first set, for transmitting resources that do not overlap with the handover.

15. The method (600) of request item 14, wherein the set of parameters includes a modulation order, a target bit rate and a transport block size (TB).

16. The method (600) of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein performing (S620) the receiving and / or transmitting includes: If a condition is met, then skip a transmission opportunity that has resources overlapping with the switch.

17. The method (600) of request item 16, wherein the condition is that a percentage of the resources in the transmission timing overlapping with the switch is greater than a threshold value.

18. The method (600) of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the first instruction is signaled by broadcast signaling or a dedicated media access control (MAC) or radio resource control (RRC) message.

19. The method (600) of any one of requests 1 to 2, wherein receiving (S610) the first instruction includes: The network node receives information about the multiple beams and the handover mode of the first beam, as well as the handover mode of the multiple beams associated with the neighboring cells of the first cell; and identifies the first indication based on the information.

20. A terminal device (1400) comprising: A processor (1420); and a memory (1430) storing instructions executable by the processor (1420), thereby enabling the terminal device (1400) to operate, when including providing satellite-based mobile network services to a network node with coverage by switching between multiple beams associated with one of multiple cells, including a network node configured to provide coverage: receiving a first instruction from the network node regarding whether data transmission is permitted in resources overlapping with the switching of the first of the multiple cells serving the terminal device; and performing the data transmission between the terminal device and the network node based on the first instruction.

21. The terminal device (1400) of claim 20, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor (1420), thereby operating the terminal device (1400) to perform any of the methods of claims 2 to 19.

22. A method (1300) at a network node in a satellite-based mobile network, wherein the network node is configured to provide a coverage area by switching between a plurality of beams, each beam being associated with one of a plurality of cells, the method comprising: Based on the handover timing of the first beam relative to one of the resources, generate (S1310) a first indication, namely whether the resources for data transmission between the network node and a terminal device served by one of the plurality of cells will overlap in time with the handover of one of the plurality of beams associated with the first cell; and send (S1320) the first indication to the terminal device.

23. The method (1300) of request item 22, wherein the switching includes: Switch the first beam from active to inactive and switch one of the plurality of beams from inactive to active; Alternatively, the first beam can be switched from inactive to active, while one of the plurality of beams (a third beam) can be switched from active to inactive.

24. The method (1300) of claim 22 or 23 further includes: The switching of the first beam is performed during one of the data transmission shutdown periods, wherein the first indication indicates that the resources will not overlap with the switching; or the switching of the first beam is performed during one of the data transmission up periods, wherein the first indication indicates that the resources will overlap with the switching.

25. The method (1300) of request item 24, wherein the switching overlaps with the start or end of the connection period of the data transmission.

26. The method (1300) of claim 24, further comprising: When the handover has a relatively small delay, it is determined that the handover will overlap with the start of the connection period of the data transmission; or when the handover has a relatively large delay, it is determined that the handover will overlap with the end of the connection period of the data transmission.

27. The method (1300) of request item 24, wherein the handover is performed during a protection period, wherein the protection period is an integer multiple of one of the minimum symbol times configured between the plurality of cells.

28. The method (1300) of any of claims 22 to 23, further comprising: A second instruction is sent to the terminal device to indicate a portion of the data that may be affected by the overlap between the transmission resources and the handover.

29. The method (1300) of request 28, wherein the portion of the data is indicated in symbol units and / or wherein, for data transmissions in the resource that overlap with the switch, the portion of the data is indicated in a semi-permanent manner.

30. The method (1300) of claim 28, wherein the second indication is used for a next handover of the first beam, or for multiple occurrences of subsequent handovers of the first beam.

31. The method (1300) of request item 28, wherein the portion of the data is indicated together with an indication of the time of its associated switching.

32. The method (1300) of request item 28, wherein the second indication is signaled in the downlink control information (DCI) containing the allocation of the transmission resources that overlap with the handover, and indicates which part of the allocated transmission resources may be affected.

33. The method (1300) of claim 28 further includes: Configure a rule to cause the terminal device to discard the instruction portion of the data.

34. The method (1300) of claim 28 further includes: A first modulation and coding scheme (MCS) is used for the indication portion of the data, while a second MCS, which is less robust than the first MCS, is used for another portion of the data.

35. The method (1300) of any of claims 22 to 23, further comprising: The first parameter set of configuration is used for the transmission of resources that overlap with the switch, while the second parameter set, which is different from the first set, is used for the transmission of resources that do not overlap with the switch.

36. The method (1300) of any of claims 22 to 23 further includes: Configure a condition to cause the terminal device to skip a transmission opportunity with resources overlapping with the handover and / or wherein the condition is that the percentage of one of the resources in the transmission opportunity overlapping with the handover is greater than a threshold value.

37. The method (1300) of any of requests 22 to 23, wherein sending (S1320) the first instruction includes: The terminal device is sent information about the plurality of beams and the switching mode of the first beam, as well as the switching mode of the plurality of beams associated with the neighboring cells of the first cell, wherein the first instruction is identified based on the information.

38. A network node (1500), comprising: One processor (1520); And a memory (1510) storing instructions that can be executed by the processor (1520), thereby enabling the network node (1500) to: generate a first indication based on the handover timing of a first beam relative to one of the resources, namely whether the resources for data transmission between the network node and a terminal device served by one of the plurality of cells will overlap in time with the handover of one of the plurality of beams associated with the first cell; and send the first indication to the terminal device.

39. The network node (1500) of request 38, wherein the instructions can be executed by the processor (1520), thereby the network node (1500) operates to perform any of the methods of requests 23 to 37.

40. A computer program product including computer-readable instructions or a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by a processor of a terminal device, configure the terminal device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 19, and when executed by a processor of a network node, configure the network node to perform the method of any one of claims 22 to 37.

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