Qos control method for base station and wireless segment

Abstract

QOS control method of base station and radio section. The present invention proposes a technique capable of applying more differentiated QoS to each communication service by implementing differentiated QoS control in a radio section without increasing complexity and load with units more specific than units of a conventional bearer unit quality of service (QoS) control method.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the original application No. 201880004277.8 (International Application No. PCT / KR2018 / 003971, filed on April 4, 2018, entitled "QOS CONTROL METHOD OF BASE STATION AND WIRELESS SECTION") for invention patent. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a QoS control technique for transmitting packets of a communication service at different QoS levels.

[0003] More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a technique for implementing differentiated QoS control in a radio section more precisely than a conventional bearer-based QoS control method without increasing any complexity and load. BACKGROUND

[0004] In a mobile communication system, a quality of service (QoS) level varies according to a media type of a communication service used by a terminal (user). The mobile communication system provides a QoS control for transmitting packets of a communication service at a QoS level suitable for a media type.

[0005] A QoS control method provided by an LTE network is a bearer-based QoS control method (hereinafter, a bearer-based QoS control method).

[0006] In order to use a communication service in an LTE network, a terminal (user) generates an EPS bearer (hereinafter, referred to as a bearer) for transmitting data. The EPS bearer (i.e., bearer) can be a tunnel generated from the terminal to a P-GW, including a radio section for connecting the terminal and a base station (BS) and a wired section for connecting the BS, an S-GW, and the P-GW.

[0007] Data of a user (terminal) is transmitted in the form of IP-based packets through the tunnel (i.e., bearer), and a traffic flow transmitted according to the packets is referred to as a service flow.

[0008] Conventionally, since a type of a communication service provided to a terminal (user) is relatively limited, a bearer-based QoS control method is used, a few types of communication services are grouped, and QoS is guaranteed (applied) on a logical basis of the "bearer".

[0009] Accordingly, traffic flows transmitted through one bearer are all transmitted at the same QoS (QoS level of the bearer) because the conventional bearer-based QoS control method defines a QoS level (QoS parameter) for each bearer and guarantees QoS based on the bearer.

[0010] As a result, the conventional bearer-based QoS control method has an advantage in that complexity of QoS control can be reduced, but has a limitation in that differentiated QoS cannot be applied to each service flow belonging to one bearer.

[0011] As described above, in a case where the type of communication service is relatively limited, the limitation of the conventional bearer-based QoS control method is not a big problem.

[0012] However, in a current or future situation (for example, 5G) in which various types of communication services are rapidly developed / introduced, there is a need to improve the limitation of the conventional bearer-based QoS control method.

[0013] Accordingly, the disclosure proposes a method of more accurately implementing differentiated QoS control in a radio section than the conventional bearer-based QoS control method without increasing any complexity and load. SUMMARY

[0014] TECHNICAL PROBLEM

[0015] An aspect of the disclosure is to more accurately implement differentiated QoS control in a radio section than the conventional bearer-based QoS control method without increasing any complexity and load.

[0016] TECHNICAL SOLUTION

[0017] According to an aspect of the disclosure, a base station (BS) apparatus is provided. The BS apparatus includes an identifying unit configured to identify a dedicated radio section QoS parameter mapped to a quality of service (QoS) parameter applied to a service flow of a packet to be transmitted to a terminal, and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the packet at a dedicated radio section QoS level by applying the identified dedicated radio section QoS parameter in packet transmission.

[0018] Specifically, the BS apparatus can further include a storing unit configured to store a mapping table in which the dedicated radio section QoS parameter is mapped to each QoS parameter applied to the service flow by a core network.

[0019] Specifically, in the mapping table, the number of dedicated radio section QoS parameters can be greater than the number of QoS parameters.

[0020] Specifically, in the mapping table, two or more different QoS parameters can be mapped to one dedicated radio section QoS parameter.

[0021] Specifically, the two or more different QoS parameters can be QoS parameters applied by the core network to a communication service for periodically transmitting a small amount of data equal to or less than a specific size or an Internet of Things (IoT) service.

[0022] Specifically, when a specific QoS parameter is applied to one service flow, a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter in the mapping table is mapped to a QoS of each content included in the service flow.

[0023] Specifically, the specific QoS parameter can be a QoS parameter of a non-GBR service type having no guaranteed bandwidth.

[0024] Specifically, when a QoS parameter applied to the service flow is the specific QoS parameter, the identifying unit can identify a QoS of content by identifying a DSCP field for indicating a quality of service type (DiffServ) in a header of the packet, and identify a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter mapped to the identified QoS of content in the mapping table.

[0025] Specifically, the BS device can further include a control information transfer unit configured to transfer an RRC message including QoS control information for identifying the identified dedicated radio segment QoS parameter to the terminal.

[0026] Specifically, the BS device can further include a handover controller configured to transmit the mapping table to a target BS when the terminal performs handover to the target BS, wherein the target BS transmits packets of the terminal forwarded from the BS device during the handover at a dedicated radio segment QoS level equal to a dedicated radio segment QoS level of the BS device based on the mapping table being converted.

[0027] Specifically, when a mapping table used by a source BS is transferred from the source BS to the terminal performing the handover, the handover controller can interwork with the identifying unit and the transmitting unit to transmit packets of the terminal forwarded from the source BS during the handover at a dedicated radio segment QoS level equal to a dedicated radio segment QoS level of the source BS based on the mapping table transferred from the source BS being converted.

[0028] Specifically, when it is identified that the terminal completes transmission of uplink packets according to a communication service used during the handover and completes the handover, the handover controller can interwork with the identifying unit and the transmitting unit to transmit packets of the terminal after the identified time point at a dedicated radio segment QoS level converted based on a mapping table pre-stored in the storage unit rather than a mapping table transmitted from the source BS.

[0029] Specifically, the BS device can further include a handover controller configured to transmit packet number information of each service flow to a target BS when the terminal performs handover to the target BS, wherein even if packets of the terminal forwarded from the BS device during the handover are transmitted at a dedicated radio segment QoS level different from a dedicated radio segment QoS level of the BS device converted, the target BS can maintain packet number order of each service flow based on the packet number information.

[0030] According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of controlling QoS in a radio segment is provided. The method includes the steps of identifying, by a BS device, a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter mapped to a QoS parameter applied to a service flow of a packet to be transmitted to a terminal; and transmitting, by the BS device, the packet at a dedicated radio segment QoS level by applying the identified dedicated radio segment QoS parameter in packet transmission.

[0031] Specifically, the method can further include the step of storing a mapping table in which a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter is mapped to each QoS parameter applied to a service flow by a core network.

[0032] Specifically, the method can further include the steps of transmitting, by the BS device, the mapping table to a target BS when the terminal performs handover to the target BS; and transmitting, by the target BS, packets of the terminal forwarded from the BS device during the handover at a dedicated radio segment QoS level equal to a dedicated radio segment QoS level of the BS device converted based on the mapping table.

[0033] In particular, the method can further include a step of receiving, from the source BS, a mapping table of the source BS for the terminal to perform the handover, wherein the step of identifying the dedicated radio section QoS parameter mapped to the QoS parameter and the step of transmitting the packet of the terminal forwarded from the BS device during the handover can include a step of, when the mapping table of the source BS is received, transmitting the packet of the terminal forwarded from the source BS during the handover at a dedicated radio section QoS level equal to the dedicated radio section QoS level of the source BS converted based on the mapping table received from the source BS.

[0034] In particular, the step of identifying the dedicated radio section QoS parameter mapped to the QoS parameter and the step of transmitting the packet of the terminal forwarded from the BS device during the handover can include a step of, when it is identified that the terminal completes transmission of the uplink packet according to the communication service used during the handover and completes the handover, transmitting the packet of the terminal at a dedicated radio section QoS level converted based on the mapping table pre-stored in the storage unit rather than the mapping table received from the source BS after the identified point of time.

[0035] Technical Effects

[0036] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to more precisely implement differentiated QoS control in a radio section without increasing any complexity and load than a conventional bearer-based QoS control method.

[0037] Accordingly, various embodiments of the present disclosure obtain an effect of applying more differentiated QoS (i.e., various qualities of service) to each communication service by more precisely implementing more differentiated QoS control in a radio section. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 An example of a conventional bearer-based QoS control method is exemplified.

[0039] Figure 2 An example of a flow of a radio section QoS control method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure is exemplified.

[0040] Figure 3 is a block diagram exemplifying a configuration of a BS device according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0041] Figure 4 and Figure 5 is a control flow diagram exemplifying a radio section QoS control method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0042] Figure 6 and Figure 7is a control flow diagram illustrating a radio segment QoS control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] Figure 8 and Figure 9 is a control flow diagram illustrating a radio segment QoS control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] Figure 10 is a control flow diagram illustrating a terminal handover operation based on a radio segment QoS control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0046] Before describing the present disclosure in detail, a conventional bearer-based QoS control method will be described with reference to Figure 1

[0047] The conventional bearer-based QoS control method is a method of grouping several types of communication services and applying (guaranteeing) QoS on a logical basis of "bearers".

[0048] As illustrated in Figure 1 , in order to use a communication service, a terminal (user) generates EPS bearers (hereinafter, referred to as bearers) (i.e., bearer 1 and bearer 2) for guaranteeing QoS required for a communication service that the terminal (user) desires to use.

[0049] Each of the bearer 1 and the bearer 2 can be a default bearer or a dedicated bearer.

[0050] In Figure 1 , it is assumed that a service flow 1 of a communication service 1 and a service flow 2 of a communication service 2 used by a terminal belong to one bearer (bearer 1), and a service flow 3 of a communication service 3 and a service flow 4 of a communication service 4 used by the terminal belong to one bearer (bearer 2).

[0051] Under this assumption, as illustrated in Figure 1 , the same QoS (i.e., a QoS level (QoS parameter A) of the bearer 1) is applied to both the service flow 1 and the service flow 2 transmitted through the bearer 1, and the same QoS (i.e., a QoS level (QoS parameter B) of the bearer 2) is applied to both the service flow 3 and the service flow 4 transmitted through the bearer 2.

[0052] As a result, the conventional bearer-based QoS control method has an advantage in that it is possible to reduce complexity of QoS control by applying QoS on a logical basis of bearers, but has a limitation in that it is not possible to apply different QoSs to respective service flows belonging to one bearer. ​

[0053] Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes a method of implementing differentiated QoS control more precisely than a conventional bearer-based QoS control method. In particular, the present disclosure implements the method in a radio section that can be a core of QoS control.

[0054] However, when differentiated QoS control is implemented more precisely, complexity and load of QoS control can increase compared to the conventional bearer-based QoS control method.

[0055] Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes a method of minimizing the increase in complexity and load and implementing differentiated QoS control more precisely in a radio section compared to the conventional bearer-based QoS control method (hereinafter, referred to as a radio section QoS control method).

[0056] Hereinafter, a device (i.e., a BS device) for implementing the radio section QoS control method proposed by the present disclosure will be described in detail.

[0057] First, a radio section QoS control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 1. Figure 2 The flow of the radio section QoS control method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

[0058] The core network 20 transmits a mapping rule for converting a QoS parameter applied to a service flow by the core network 20 into a dedicated radio section QoS parameter to the BS 100 in S1.

[0059] At this time, the core network 20 can support a conventional bearer-based QoS control method.

[0060] In this case, the QoS parameter applied to the service flow by the core network 20 can be the same as a QoS parameter (QoS level) of a bearer to which the corresponding service flow belongs.

[0061] Accordingly, when the core network 20 supports the conventional bearer-based QoS control method, the mapping rule can be used to convert the QoS parameter into the dedicated radio section QoS parameter for each QoS parameter (each bearer-based QoS parameter) applied to the service flow.

[0062] In addition, unlike the conventional bearer-based QoS control method, the core network 20 can support a service flow-based QoS control method of guaranteeing (applying) different QoSs for each service flow.

[0063] In this case, the QoS parameter applied to the service flow by the core network 20 can be a QoS parameter (QoS level) defined for each service flow.

[0064] Therefore, when the core network 20 supports the service flow based QoS control method, the mapping rule can be a mapping rule for converting the QoS parameter into a dedicated radio section QoS parameter for each QoS parameter (each service flow based QoS parameter) applied to the service flow.

[0065] However, the radio section QoS control method proposed by the present disclosure can obtain the same effect as described below by the same configuration described below regardless of whether the core network 20 supports the bearer based QoS control method or the service flow based QoS control method.

[0066] Therefore, for the convenience of description, the present disclosure will be described below without distinguishing whether the core network 20 supports the bearer based QoS control method or the service flow based QoS control method.

[0067] The BS 100 can set the mapping rule transmitted from the core network 20 in S2.

[0068] At this time, the information on the mapping rule set by the BS 100 and stored in the BS 100 can have the form of a mapping table in which the dedicated radio section QoS parameter is mapped to each QoS parameter (bearer based QoS parameter or service flow based QoS parameter) applied to the service flow by the core network 20.

[0069] The BS 100 inserts the QoS control information into the RRC message, and provides the RRC message to the terminal 10 in a radio resource control (RRC) setup process (S3) in which the terminal 10 accesses the radio resource of the BS 100.

[0070] The QoS control information is information for enabling the terminal 10 to recognize the dedicated radio section QoS parameter applied to each service flow by the BS 100.

[0071] For example, the QoS control information can include the dedicated radio section QoS parameter applied to the service flow provided by the BS 100 to the terminal 10.

[0072] Therefore, the terminal 10 can set the QoS control information provided from the BS 100 in S4.

[0073] When the BS 100 receives a packet to be transmitted to the terminal 10 from the core network 20 in S5, the BS 100 recognizes the QoS parameter (for example, the QoS parameter A) applied to the service flow of the packet.

[0074] In addition, the BS 100 recognizes the dedicated radio section QoS parameter mapped to the QoS parameter applied to the service flow in the set / stored mapping table in S6.

[0075] That is, the BS 100 converts the QoS level of the core network 20 into the dedicated radio section QoS level by mapping the QoS parameter (e.g., QoS parameter A) of the core network 20 applied to the packet (service flow) to the dedicated radio section QoS parameter (e.g., QoS parameter 1) in S6.

[0076] Thereafter, before transmitting the packet to the terminal 10, the BS 100 applies the identified dedicated radio section QoS parameter (e.g., QoS parameter 1) to the packet and transmits the packet in S7.

[0077] That is, the BS 100 converts the QoS level of the core network 20 applied into the dedicated radio section QoS level and transmits the packet.

[0078] When the uplink packet is generated in S8, the terminal 10 can apply the dedicated radio section QoS parameter (e.g., QoS parameter 1) equally based on the preset QoS control information applied by the BS 100 in the downlink of the service flow and transmit the uplink packet in S9.

[0079] As described above, the terminal 10 can transmit the uplink packet with the same dedicated radio section QoS level as the dedicated radio section QoS level in the downlink based on the preset QoS control information.

[0080] When the uplink packet is received from the terminal 10, the BS 100 reversely performs the QoS mapping of step S6 to convert the dedicated radio section QoS level into the QoS level of the core network 20 and transmit the uplink packet in S10.

[0081] That is, when the uplink packet is received from the terminal 10, the BS 100 maps the dedicated radio section QoS parameter (e.g., QoS parameter 1) to the QoS parameter (e.g., QoS parameter A) of the core network 20 applied and then applies the QoS parameter (e.g., QoS parameter A) to transmit the uplink packet in S10.

[0082] Hereinafter, the BS device 100 according to the embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to Figure 3 The BS device 100 according to the embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to

[0083] For convenience of description, the same reference numerals will be used for the BS 100 in Figure 2

[0084] As exemplified in Figure 3 , the BS device 100 according to the disclosure includes an identifying unit 110 and a transmitting unit 130.

[0085] ​The identifying unit 110 performs a function of identifying a dedicated radio section QoS parameter mapped to a QoS parameter applied to a service flow based on the QoS parameter with respect to a packet to be transmitted to the terminal.

[0086] The transmitting unit 130 performs a function of converting a QoS level applied by the core network into a dedicated radio section QoS level and transmitting the packet by applying the dedicated radio section QoS parameter identified by the identifying unit 110.

[0087] Here, the terminal is a terminal that accesses the BS apparatus 100 and uses a communication service, and can simultaneously use a plurality of communication services through the BS apparatus 100.

[0088] will be based on Figure 2 The terminal 10 exemplified in FIG. 1 is described below.

[0089] When receiving a packet to be transmitted to the terminal 10 from the core network 20, the identifying unit 110 identifies a QoS parameter applied to a service flow of the corresponding packet.

[0090] For example, a header of a downlink packet received from the core network 20 can include a QoS parameter applied by the core network 20 to a service flow of the corresponding packet.

[0091] In this case, the identifying unit 110 can extract / identify the QoS parameter included in the header of the packet to be transmitted to the terminal 10 in order to identify the QoS parameter applied to the service flow of the packet.

[0092] Alternatively, a header of a downlink packet received from the core network 20 can include a separate QoS identifier for identifying a QoS parameter applied by the core network 20 to a service flow of the corresponding packet.

[0093] In this case, the identifying unit 110 can extract / identify the QoS parameter included in the header of the packet to be transmitted to the terminal 10 in order to identify the QoS parameter applied to the service flow of the packet.

[0094] Alternatively, the BS apparatus 100 can store policy information indicating which QoS parameter (a bearer-based QoS parameter or a service flow-based QoS parameter) the core network 20 applies to each service flow.

[0095] In this case, the identifying unit 110 can identify a service flow of a packet based on a 5-tuple (i.e., a source IP, a destination IP, a source port, a destination port, and a protocol ID within a header of the packet to be transmitted to the terminal 10), and identify a QoS parameter applied by the core network 20 to the identified service flow based on the policy information in order to identify a QoS parameter applied by the core network 20 to a service flow of the packet.

[0096] In addition, when the QoS parameter applied to the service flow of the packet is identified, the identification unit 110 identifies the dedicated radio section QoS parameter mapped to the QoS parameter.

[0097] To this end, the BS apparatus 100 can further include a storage unit 120 configured to store a mapping table in which the dedicated radio section QoS parameter is mapped to each QoS parameter applied to the service flow by the core network 20.

[0098] More specifically, a predetermined specific device (not shown) within the core network 20 transmits a mapping rule for converting the QoS parameter applied to the service flow into the dedicated radio section QoS parameter to the BS apparatus 100.

[0099] At this time, the core network 20 can directly support a conventional bearer-based QoS control method.

[0100] In this case, the QoS parameter applied to the service flow by the core network 20 can be the same as the QoS parameter (QoS level) of the bearer to which the corresponding service flow belongs.

[0101] Therefore, when the core network 20 supports the conventional bearer-based QoS control method, the mapping rule can be a mapping rule for converting the QoS parameter into the dedicated radio section QoS parameter with respect to each QoS parameter (each bearer-based QoS parameter) applied to the service flow.

[0102] In addition, unlike the conventional bearer-based QoS control method, the core network 20 can support a service flow-based QoS control method that guarantees (applies) different QoSs with respect to each service flow.

[0103] In this case, the QoS parameter applied to the service flow by the core network 20 can be a QoS parameter (QoS level) defined with respect to each service flow.

[0104] Therefore, when the core network 20 supports the service flow-based QoS control method, the mapping rule can be a mapping rule for converting the QoS parameter into the dedicated radio section QoS parameter with respect to each QoS parameter (each service flow-based QoS parameter) applied to the service flow.

[0105] However, the radio section QoS control method proposed by the present disclosure can obtain the same effects as described below through the same configuration described below regardless of whether the core network 20 supports the bearer-based QoS control method or the service flow-based QoS control method.

[0106] For convenience of description, the following description will be made without distinguishing whether the core network 20 supports a bearer-based QoS control method or a service flow-based QoS control method.

[0107] The BS device 100 sets a mapping rule transmitted from the core network 20, and the storage unit 120 stores a mapping table in which a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter is mapped to each QoS parameter (a bearer-based QoS parameter or a service flow-based QoS parameter) applied to a service flow by the core network 20 in a process of setting the mapping rule.

[0108] When the QoS parameter applied to the service flow of the packet is identified, the identification unit 110 identifies the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter mapped to the QoS parameter in the mapping table stored in the storage unit 120.

[0109] That is, the identification unit 110 converts the QoS level on the core network 20 into the dedicated radio segment QoS level by mapping the QoS parameter applied to the packet (service flow) by the core network 20 to the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter.

[0110] The transmission unit 130 applies the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter identified by the identification unit 110 to transmit the packet to the terminal 10, and converts the QoS level applied by the core network 20 into the dedicated radio segment QoS level to transmit the packet.

[0111] That is, when the downlink packet is transmitted through the radio segment, the transmission unit 130 applies the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter (QoS level) rather than the QoS parameter (QoS level) applied to the service flow of the corresponding packet by the core network 20 to transmit the downlink packet.

[0112] As described above, the present disclosure can independently implement the QoS control of the radio segment between the terminal and the access end (BS) among all segments from the terminal to the core network regardless of the QoS control method between the access end and the core network among all segments from the terminal to the core network, unlike the conventional QoS control method of applying QoS to all segments (bearers) from the terminal to the core network.

[0113] That is, in the radio segment QoS control method according to the present disclosure, the most sensitive radio segment capable of being the core of QoS control among all segments from the terminal to the core network is defined based on a data radio bearer (DRB), and thus the differentiated QoS control can be independently implemented in the radio segment based on the DRB.

[0114] The radio segment QoS control method according to the present disclosure has been described based on downlink traffic.

[0115] In order to apply the radio segment QoS control method according to the present disclosure to uplink traffic, a process of providing the terminal with information (QoS control information) required for radio segment QoS control is required. However, as the QoS control is more precisely performed, the process increases complexity and load.

[0116] Therefore, in the present disclosure, the terminal should be provided with information (QoS control information) required for radio segment QoS control while minimizing the increase in complexity and load.

[0117] Specifically, as exemplified in Figure 3 The BS device 100 according to the present disclosure further includes a control information transmission unit 140.

[0118] The control information transmission unit 140 transmits an RRC message including QoS control information for identifying the dedicated radio segment QoS parameters identified by the identification unit 110 to the terminal 10.

[0119] More specifically, when the terminal 10 accesses the BS device 100 to use a communication service, a radio resource control (RRC) setup process is performed between the BS device 100 and the terminal 10.

[0120] At this time, the control information transmission unit 140 inserts the QoS control information into an RRC message during the RRC setup process, and provides the RRC message to the terminal 10.

[0121] The QoS control information is information for enabling the terminal 10 to identify the dedicated radio segment QoS parameters applied by the BS device 100 to each service flow.

[0122] For example, the QoS control information can include the dedicated radio segment QoS parameters applied to the service flow provided by the BS device 100 to the terminal 10.

[0123] More specifically, the QoS control information can be information for identifying the dedicated radio segment QoS parameters applied by the BS device 100 to each service flow, in a form in which a 5-tuple (source IP, destination IP, source port, destination port, and protocol ID) for distinguishing the service flow and the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter is mapped.

[0124] The terminal 10 can set the QoS control information provided from the BS device 100, and thus know the information (QoS control information) required for radio segment QoS control.

[0125] The terminal 10 can apply the same dedicated radio segment QoS parameter as the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter applied by the BS device 100 in the downlink of the service flow, based on the QoS control information, to transmit an uplink packet.

[0126] That is, the terminal 10 can transmit uplink packets at the same dedicated radio segment QoS level as the dedicated radio segment QoS level of the downlink based on the set QoS control information provided from the BS apparatus 100.

[0127] As described above, in the present disclosure, it is possible to minimize the increase in complexity and load by using only the minimum messages, and to provide the QoS control information to the terminal by providing the information required for the radio segment QoS control (QoS control information) to the terminal in the RRC setup process.

[0128] Further, based on the limitation of the mapping rule (mapping table) for QoS control, the radio segment QoS control method proposed in the present disclosure can obtain different performance through QoS control in the radio segment.

[0129] Hereinafter, in the radio segment QoS control method, each embodiment according to the limitation of the mapping rule (mapping table) for QoS control will be described.

[0130] First, the most detailed differentiated QoS control ideal example can be a 1:1 mapping table of service flow:DRB capable of guaranteeing different dedicated radio segment QoS levels (DRB) for each service flow.

[0131] In the case of 1:1 mapping of service flow:DRB, since it is possible to guarantee the best dedicated radio segment QoS level (DRB) for each service flow independently, the 1:1 mapping of service flow:DRB is the most excellent according to the differentiated QoS control for each service flow.

[0132] However, in the case of 1:1 mapping of service flow:DRB, there is a concern that the complexity and load are greatly increased compared to the conventional QoS control method because of the overhead due to the excessive mapping process by the access end (BS) and the cost due to the management of a large number of DRBs.

[0133] Therefore, the present disclosure proposes the following three embodiments to limit the mapping rule (mapping table) for QoS control.

[0134] However, hereinafter, for convenience of description, it is assumed that the core network 20 supports the service flow-based QoS control method.

[0135] Based on such an assumption, the QoS parameters (QoS levels) limited for each service flow can be applied to the service flow received by the core network 20.

[0136] According to one of the three embodiments (hereinafter, referred to as the first embodiment), M:N mapping (M>N) of service flow:DRB is proposed.

[0137] According to the first embodiment, in the mapping table, the number of dedicated radio segment QoS parameters is greater than the number of QoS parameters.

[0138] That is, when the number of service flows received by the core network 20 is assumed to be M, the M:N mapping rule (mapping table) of service flows:DRBs is defined so that M QoS parameters (QoS levels) respectively applied to the M service flows are mapped to N dedicated radio segment QoS parameters (QoS levels) (M>N).

[0139] According to the differentiated QoS control, the M:N mapping of service flows:DRBs has a performance slightly lower than that of the 1:1 mapping, but has a better performance than the conventional unit QoS control.

[0140] In addition, in consideration of the overhead due to the mapping processing of the access side (BS) and the cost due to the DRB management, the M:N mapping of service flows:DRBs is superior to the 1:1 mapping, thereby reducing the increase in complexity and load.

[0141] At this time, the relationship between the M QoS parameters and the N dedicated radio segment QoS parameters can be determined when the mapping rule (mapping table) is defined.

[0142] Further, according to one of the three embodiments (hereinafter, referred to as a second embodiment), the M:1 mapping of service flows:DRBs is proposed.

[0143] According to the second embodiment, in the mapping table, two different QoS parameters are mapped to the same dedicated radio segment QoS parameter.

[0144] That is, the M:1 mapping rule (mapping table) of service flows:DRBs is defined so that M QoS parameters (QoS levels) respectively applied to M service flows received by the core network 20 are mapped to one dedicated radio segment QoS parameter (QoS level).

[0145] At this time, the M QoS parameters (QoS levels) applied to the M service flows can be QoS parameters (QoS levels) applied to a communication service or an Internet of Things (IoT) service in which the core network 20 periodically transmits a small amount of data equal to or smaller than a certain size.

[0146] One of the communication services that are attracting attention in the 5G environment is a communication service in which each of a plurality of remote terminals periodically transmits a small amount of data less than a certain size thus collected to a center (server) (i.e., an IoT service).

[0147] In the IoT service, there has appeared an IoT service that supports a specific IoT technology (remote: LoRa) of low-speed transmission (<1 kbps) and low power in a wide coverage range.

[0148] Since the IoT service is exclusively used for a wide coverage range / low-speed transmission (<1 kbps) / low power / small amount of data, the IoT service gives greater weight to efficient operation of radio resources compared to differentiated QoS control of each service flow in the radio section.

[0149] In the embodiment in which the service flow:DRB is M:1, M service flows of the IoT service are mapped to the same dedicated radio section QoS parameter (QoS level), and thus the M:1 mapping is very excellent in terms of overhead due to mapping processing by the access end (BS) and cost due to DRB management, and the operation efficiency of radio resources is high, so that the increase in complexity and load can be reduced and the operation efficiency of radio resources can be improved.

[0150] Further, according to one of the three embodiments (hereinafter, referred to as a third embodiment), 1:N mapping of the service flow:DRB is proposed.

[0151] According to the third embodiment, in the mapping table, for the QoS of each content included in the service flow, a dedicated radio section QoS parameter is mapped to one service flow to which a specific QoS parameter is applied.

[0152] That is, the 1:N mapping rule (mapping table) of the service flow:DRB is defined so that one specific QoS parameter (QoS level) applied to one service flow received by the core network 20 is mapped to N dedicated radio section QoS parameters (QoS levels).

[0153] At this time, the specific QoS parameter has a service type of non-guaranteed bit rate (GBR) that does not guarantee bandwidth.

[0154] The QoS parameter applied by the core network 20 includes a service type (resource type), a QoS class identifier (QCI), and an allocation and retention priority (ARP).

[0155] The service type is a parameter indicating GBR that guarantees bandwidth in transmission or non-GBR that does not guarantee bandwidth in transmission.

[0156] The QCI is a parameter indicating a QoS priority by an integer from 1 to 9.

[0157] The ARP is a parameter involved in generation or rejection when a request to generate a bearer according to a service flow is made.

[0158] Of course, the QoS parameters can include other parameters as well as the above parameters.

[0159] Even a service flow to which a non-GBR QoS parameter not guaranteeing bandwidth is applied can include packets of each piece of content having different QoS requirements.

[0160] In the implementation of the service flow: DRB 1:N, with respect to one service flow to which a specific QoS parameter of non-GBR is applied, different dedicated radio segment QoS parameters are mapped for each piece of content (identified based on QoS requirements) included in the service flow, so that radio segment QoS control can be applied differently to the finest unit.

[0161] In particular, in the third implementation of 1:N mapping, an element for distinguishing each piece of content (content QoS) included in the service flow is also required.

[0162] Therefore, in the third implementation, when a packet to be transmitted to the terminal 10 is received from the core network 20, the identifying unit 110 identifies the QoS parameter applied to the service flow of the corresponding packet to check whether the QoS parameter is a specific QoS parameter of non-GBR.

[0163] When the QoS parameter is a specific QoS parameter of non-GBR based on the identification result of the QoS parameter, the identifying unit 110 can identify the QoS (QoS requirement) of the content based on a Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) field for distinguishing a DiffServ in a header (e.g., an IP packet header) of the packet.

[0164] Further, in the mapping table (1:N mapping) according to the third implementation, the identifying unit 110 identifies a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter mapped to the QoS (QoS requirement) of the identified content.

[0165] In transmitting the packet to the terminal 10, the transmitting unit 130 applies the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter identified by the identifying unit 110 (a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter for each piece of content based on the QoS (QoS requirement) of the content in one service flow), and transmits the packet at a dedicated radio segment QoS level (for each piece of content within the service flow) converted from a QoS level applied from the core network 20.

[0166] In the third implementation (1:N), by mapping N different dedicated radio segment QoS parameters (QoS levels) to each piece of content included in one service flow, performance can be the most optimal according to the differentiated QoS control, compared to the conventional QoS control method (based on a bearer or based on a service flow).

[0167] As described above, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, by separately implementing the QoS control of the radio section between the terminal and the access end (BS) among all sections from the terminal to the core network regardless of the QoS control method between the access end and the core network among all sections from the terminal to the core network, it is possible to independently implement the DRB-based QoS control in the radio section.

[0168] Further, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, by limiting the respective embodiments of the mapping rule (mapping table), it is possible to acquire the QoS control performance while minimizing the increase in complexity and load due to the independent radio section QoS control, and it is expected to improve the effect of operating efficiency of the radio resource.

[0169] According to the radio section QoS control method according to the present disclosure, by more accurately implementing the differentiated QoS control in the radio section without any increase in complexity and load compared to the conventional bearer-based QoS control method, it is possible to obtain the effect of more differentiated QoS (Quality of Service) for each communication service application.

[0170] Hereinafter, the radio section QoS control method according to the respective embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 9

[0171] However, the radio section QoS control method proposed by the present disclosure is implemented by the BS 100, and thus for the convenience of description, the radio section QoS control method of the BS 100 will be referred to hereinafter.

[0172] First, the radio section QoS control method according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to Figure 4 and Figure 5

[0173] As exemplified in Figure 4 , in the radio section QoS control method according to the present disclosure (i.e., the radio section QoS control method of the BS 100), in S100, the mapping table according to the first embodiment (i.e., the M:N mapping table of the service flow:DRB) is stored.

[0174] In the radio section QoS control method of the BS 100, when the packet to be transmitted to the terminal 10 is received in S110, the QoS parameter applied to the service flow of the corresponding packet (i.e., the QoS parameter applied by the core network 20) is identified in S120.

[0175] In the radio section QoS control method of the BS 100, when the QoS parameter is identified in S120, in S130, the dedicated radio section QoS parameter mapped to the QoS parameter is identified in the M:N mapping table. ​​

[0176] In the radio section QoS control method of the BS 100, in S140, the dedicated radio section QoS parameters identified in S130 can be applied to transmit the packet to the terminal 10, and the packet can be transmitted at the dedicated radio section QoS level converted from the QoS level applied from the core network 20.

[0177] Referring to Figure 5 Assume that packets of service flows 1, 2, and 3 to which different QoS parameters A, B, and C are applied are received.

[0178] For example, a packet #1 of the service flow 1 to which the QoS parameter A is applied, a packet #1 of the service flow 2 to which the QoS parameter B is applied, and a packet #1 of the service flow 3 to which the QoS parameter C is applied can be received.

[0179] In this case, after identifying the QoS parameters A, B, and C applied to the service flows of the respective packets, the BS 100 identifies the dedicated radio section QoS parameters mapped to the QoS parameters A, B, and C in the M:N mapping table to perform the dedicated radio section QoS mapping.

[0180] At this time, in the M:N mapping table, assume that the QoS parameters A and B are mapped to the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 1, and the QoS parameter C is mapped to the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 2.

[0181] In this case, the BS 100 applies the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 1 to the packet #1 of the service flow 1 and the packet #1 of the service flow 2 transmitted to the terminal 10, and transmits SN#1 (packet #1 of the service flow 1) and SN#2 (packet #1 of the service flow 2).

[0182] In addition, the BS 100 applies the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 2 to the packet #1 of the service flow 3 transmitted to the terminal 10 and transmits SN#1 (packet #1 of the service flow 3).

[0183] The BS 100 can transmit the packets of the different service flows 1, 2, and 3 by transmitting the SN#1 (packet #1 of the service flow 1) and the SN#2 (packet #1 of the service flow 2) to which the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 1 is applied and the SN#1 (packet #1 of the service flow 3) to which the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 2 is applied at the M:N dedicated radio section QoS level obtained by converting the QoS level applied from the core network 20 into the dedicated radio section QoS level.

[0184] A packet number (#N, N = 1, 2, 3,...) is assigned to the packet transmitted between the core network 20 and the BS 100 based on the service flow of the corresponding packet.

[0185] A sequence number (SN#N, N = 1, 2, 3,...) is assigned to a packet transmitted between the BS 100 and the terminal 10 based on a DRB (dedicated radio segment QoS level) to which the corresponding packet is transmitted.

[0186] Subsequently, a radio segment QoS control method according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 6 and Figure 7

[0187] As exemplified in Figure 6 , in the radio segment QoS control method of the BS 100 according to the present disclosure, in S200, a mapping table according to the second embodiment (i.e., a M:1 mapping table of service flow: DRB) is stored.

[0188] In the radio segment QoS control method of the BS 100, when a packet to be transmitted to the terminal 10 is received in S210, a QoS parameter applied to a service flow of the corresponding packet (i.e., a QoS parameter applied by the core network 20) is identified in S220.

[0189] In the radio segment QoS control method of the BS 100, when the QoS parameter is identified in S220, a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter mapped to the QoS parameter is identified in the M:N mapping table in S230.

[0190] In the radio segment QoS control method of the BS 100, in 240, the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter identified in S230 can be applied to transmit the packet to the terminal 10, and the packet can be transmitted with a dedicated radio segment QoS level converted from a QoS level applied by the core network 20.

[0191] Referring to Figure 7 , it is assumed that packets 1, 2, and 3 of service flows to which different QoS parameters D, E, and F are applied are received.

[0192] For example, a packet #1 of a service flow 4 to which a QoS parameter D is applied, a packet #1 of a service flow 5 to which a QoS parameter E is applied, and a packet #1 of a service flow 6 to which a QoS parameter F is applied can be received.

[0193] In this case, after the QoS parameters D, E, and F applied to the service flows of the respective packets are identified, the BS 100 identifies dedicated radio segment QoS parameters mapped to the QoS parameters D, E, and F in the M:1 mapping table to perform dedicated radio segment QoS mapping.

[0194] At this time, it is assumed that the service flows 4, 5, and 6 are for IoT services dedicated to wide coverage range / low speed transmission (<1 kbps) / low power / small amount of data. ​

[0195] In addition, it is assumed that the QoS parameters D, E, and F applied to the IoT service are mapped to the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 3 in the M: 1 mapping table.

[0196] In this case, the BS 100 can apply the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 3 to the packet #1 of the service flow 4, the packet #1 of the service flow 2, and the packet #1 of the service flow 6 transmitted to the terminal 10, and transmit the SN #1, the SN #2, and the SN #3 (packets #1 of the service flows 4, 5, and 6).

[0197] The BS 100 can transmit the packets of the different service flows 4, 5, and 6 by the M: 1 dedicated radio section QoS level obtained by transmitting the SN #1, the SN #2, and the SN #3 (packets #1 of the service flows 4, 5, and 6) to which the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 3 is applied to convert the QoS level applied by the core network 20 into the dedicated radio section QoS level.

[0198] Subsequently, the radio section QoS control method according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 8 and Figure 9

[0199] As exemplified in Figure 8 , in the radio section QoS control method of the BS 100 according to the present disclosure, in S300, the mapping table according to the third embodiment (i.e., the 1:N mapping table of the service flow: DRB) is stored.

[0200] In the radio section QoS control method of the BS 100, when the packet to be transmitted to the terminal 10 is received in S310, the QoS parameter applied to the service flow of the corresponding packet (i.e., the QoS parameter applied by the core network 20) is identified in S320.

[0201] At this time, in the radio section QoS control method of the BS 100, when the QoS parameter identified in S320 is the specific QoS parameter of the non-GBR, the QoS (QoS requirement) of the content can be identified based on the differentiated services code point (DSCP) field for distinguishing the quality of service type (DiffServ) in the header (e.g., the IP packet header) of the packet.

[0202] In addition, in the radio section QoS control method of the BS 100, in S330, the dedicated radio section QoS parameter mapped to the QoS (QoS requirement) of the content identified based on the DSCP field is identified in the 1:N mapping table.

[0203] ​According to the radio section QoS control method of the BS 100, at the time of transmitting the packet to the terminal 10, in S340, the dedicated radio section QoS parameter identified in S330 (dedicated radio section QoS parameter for each content identified based on the QoS (QoS requirement) of the content in one service flow) is applied to transmit the packet to the terminal 10, and the packet is transmitted at the dedicated radio section QoS level (for each content within the service flow) converted from the QoS level applied from the core network 20.

[0204] Referring to Figure 9 , it is assumed that the packets 1, 2, and 3 of the service flow 7 to which the QoS parameter (non-GBR) is applied are received.

[0205] In this case, when the QoS parameter G applied to the service flow 7 of the packets 1, 2, and 3 is identified and the QoS parameter G is a specific QoS parameter of non-GBR, the BS 100 identifies the QoS (QoS requirement) of the content based on the DSCP field in the header of each packet 1, 2, or 3.

[0206] At this time, it is assumed that the packets 1 and 2 are identified as the same QoS content and the packet 3 is identified as a different QoS content.

[0207] In this case, the BS 100 identifies the dedicated radio section QoS parameter mapped to the content (QoS) of the packets 1 and 2, and identifies the dedicated radio section QoS parameter mapped to the content (QoS) of the packet 3 in the 1:M mapping table, so as to perform the dedicated radio section QoS mapping.

[0208] At this time, it is assumed that in the 1:N mapping table, the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 4 is mapped to the content of the packets 1 and 2 included in one service flow 7 and the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 5 is mapped to the content of the packet 3 included in the service flow 7.

[0209] In this case, the BS 100 applies the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 4 to the packets #1 and #2 of the service flow 7 transmitted to the terminal 10 and transmits the SNs #1 and #2 (packets #1 and #2 of the service flow 7).

[0210] In addition, the BS 100 applies the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 5 to the packet #3 of the service flow 7 transmitted to the terminal 10 and transmits the SN #1 (packet #3 of the service flow 7).

[0211] The BS 100 can transmit the packets of one service flow 7 at a 1:N dedicated radio segment QoS level obtained by converting the QoS level of the core network 20 application into a dedicated radio segment QoS level with the SN#1 and SN#2 (packets #1 and #2 of the service flow 7) of the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter 4 and the SN#1 (packet #3 of the service flow 7) of the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter 5 applied.

[0212] As described above, according to the radio segment QoS control method of the present disclosure, by separately implementing the QoS control of the radio segment between the terminal and the access end (BS) among all segments from the terminal to the core network regardless of the QoS control method between the access end and the core network among all segments from the terminal to the core network, it is possible to independently implement the DRB-based QoS control in the radio segment.

[0213] When the DRB-based QoS control is implemented in the radio segment and the terminal performs handover between BSs, if the mapping rule (mapping table) is different between the source BS and the target BS, it is not possible to normally transmit the packets forwarded between the source BS and the target BS during the handover process.

[0214] For example, referring to Figure 5 It can be assumed that the QoS parameters A and B are mapped to the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter 1 in the mapping table pre-stored in the BS 100 and used by the BS 100.

[0215] It is assumed that the packets (e.g., #1, #2, and #3) of the service flow 1 according to the communication service 1 applying the QoS parameter A and the packets (e.g., #1, #2, and #3) of the service flow 2 according to the communication service 2 applying the QoS parameter B are received by the BS 100.

[0216] In this case, after identifying the QoS parameters A and B applied to each packet of the service flow, the BS 100 can identify the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter 1 mapped to each of the QoS parameters A and B in the mapping table used by the BS 100.

[0217] Accordingly, the BS 100 can apply the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter 1 to each of the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 1 and the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 2, and transmit the packets assigned with sequential numbers SN#1, SN#2, SN#3, SN#4, SN#5, and SN#6 in the order of reception to the terminal 10.

[0218] At this time, the traffic flow in which the packets are transmitted in the radio segment applying the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter 1 can be the DRB 1.

[0219] Hereinafter, for the convenience of description, assume that the packets #1, #2 and #3 of the service flow 1 of the communication service 1 and the packets #1, #2 and #3 of the service flow 2 of the communication service 2 are the SN#1, SN#3 and SN#5 of the DRB 1, and the packets #1, #2 and #3 of the service flow 1 of the communication service 1 and the packets #1, #2 and #3 of the service flow 2 of the communication service 2 are the SN#2, SN#4 and SN#6 of the DRB 1.

[0220] Further, the terminal 10 can perform handover from the BS 100 using the communication services 1 and 2 to another BS.

[0221] Hereinafter, for the convenience of description, the source BS 100 to which the terminal 10 accesses is referred to as BS 100A, and the target BS to which the terminal 10 performs handover is referred to as BS 100B.

[0222] When the terminal 10 performs handover to the target BS 100B while accessing the BS 100A and using the communication services 1 and 2, if the mapping rules (mapping tables) used (stored) for the DRB-based QoS control in the radio section are the same as each other, there is no big problem.

[0223] However, the mapping rules (mapping tables) used (stored) by the source BS 100A and the target BS 100B can be different from each other.

[0224] For example, assume that the QoS parameter A is mapped to the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 1 and the QoS parameter B is mapped to the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 2 in the mapping table used (stored) by the BS 100B, which is different from the BS 100A.

[0225] In addition, assume a situation such as the above-described example, that is, assume that the packets (for example, #1, #2 and #3) of the service flow 1 of the communication service 1 according to which the QoS parameter A is applied and the packets (for example, #1, #2 and #3) of the service flow 2 of the communication service 2 according to which the QoS parameter B is applied are received by the BS 100A.

[0226] In this case, when the terminal 10 performs handover to the target BS 100B while accessing the source BS 100A and using the communication services 1 and 2, the BS 100A can forward the packets #1, #2 and #3 of the service flow 1 and the packets #1, #2 and #3 of the service flow 2 to be transmitted to the terminal 10 to the BS 100B during the handover processing.

[0227] In the mapping table used (stored) by the BS 100B, the BS 100B can recognize the dedicated radio section QoS parameters 1 and 2 mapped to the QoS parameters A and B applied to the respective packets of the service flows.

[0228] Accordingly, the BS 100B can apply the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter 1 to the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 1 that are forwarded from the BS 100A, and transmit the sequentially numbered SN #1, SN #2, and SN #3 assigned in accordance with the reception order of the packets to the terminal 10 (DRB 1).

[0229] In addition, the BS 100B can apply the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter 2 to the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 2 that are forwarded from the BS 100A, and transmit the sequentially numbered SN #1, SN #2, and SN #3 assigned in accordance with the reception order of the packets to the terminal 10 (DRB 2).

[0230] That is, when the mapping rules (mapping tables) used (stored) by the BS 100A and the BS 100B are different, the BS 100A transmits the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 1 and the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 2 to the terminal 10 through the SN #1, SN #2, SN #3, SN #4, SN #5, and SN #6 of the DRB 1. However, the BS 100B transmits the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 1 that are forwarded from the BS 100A to the terminal 10 through the SN #1, SN #2, and SN #3 of the DRB 1, and transmits the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 2 to the terminal 10 through the SN #1, SN #2, and SN #3 of the DRB 2.

[0231] In this case, if the terminal 10, which sets the QoS control information provided from the source BS 100A, receives the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 2 from the BS 100B, the packets are received through the SN #1, SN #2, and SN #3 of the DRB 2. If the terminal 10 receives the packets from the BS 100A, the packets are received through the SN #2, SN #4, and SN #6 of the DRB 1. As a result, a mismatch of the sequential numbers can occur.

[0232] Accordingly, when the mapping rules (mapping tables) used (stored) by the BS 100A and the BS 100B are different from each other, the forwarded packets cannot be normally transmitted to the terminal 10 during the handover processing due to the mismatch of the sequential numbers.

[0233] Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes a solution to normally transmit the forwarded packets to a terminal during handover processing when the terminal performs handover.

[0234] Specifically, as exemplified in Figure 3 the BS device 100 according to the present disclosure further includes a handover controller 150.

[0235] According to the switching-related embodiments of the present disclosure, when the terminal performs handover to the target BS, the handover controller 150 transmits the mapping table (mapping rule) of the storage unit 120 to the target BS.

[0236] Then, the target BS can transmit the packets of the terminal forwarded from the BS device 100 during the handover process at the dedicated radio segment QoS level identical to that of the BS device 100, which is converted based on the mapping table (mapping rule) received from the BS device 100.

[0237] In addition, the handover controller 150 can receive, from the source BS, a mapping table (mapping rule) used by the source BS for the terminal to perform handover.

[0238] Then, the handover controller 150 interworks with the identification unit 110 and the transmission unit 130 to transmit the packets of the terminal forwarded from the source BS during the handover process at the dedicated radio segment QoS level identical to that of the source BS, which is converted based on the mapping table (mapping rule) received from the source BS device.

[0239] Specifically, from the perspective of handover of the terminal 10, the BS device 100 according to the present disclosure can be a source BS or a target BS.

[0240] When the BS device 100 according to the present disclosure is a source BS (e.g., 100A), in the case where the terminal 10 performs handover to a target BS 100B, the handover controller 150 transmits the mapping table (mapping rule) of the storage unit 120 to the target BS 100B.

[0241] For example, when the handover controller 150 determines handover of the terminal 10 based on measurement information reported from the terminal 10, the handover controller 150 transmits a handover request to the target BS 100B.

[0242] At this time, when the handover request is transmitted, the handover controller 150 can transmit the mapping table (mapping rule) of the storage unit 120 to the target BS 100B.

[0243] Of course, the handover controller 150 can perform all kinds of operations with respect to handover of the terminal 10 to the target BS 100B and transmission of the handover request, and can forward the packets of the terminal 10 received from the core network 20 to the target BS 100B during the handover process.

[0244] Then, the target BS 100B can transmit the packet of the terminal 10 forwarded from the BS apparatus 100 (i.e., the source BS (e.g., 100A)) during the handover processing with the same dedicated radio segment QoS level as that of the source BS (e.g., 100A) converted based on the mapping table (mapping rule) received from the source BS (e.g., 100A).

[0245] When the BS apparatus 100 according to the present disclosure is the target BS (e.g., 100B), the handover controller 150 receives, from the source BS 100A, a mapping table (mapping rule) used by the source BS 100A for the terminal 10 to perform the handover.

[0246] For example, when the handover request is received from the source BS 100A, the handover controller 150 can also receive the mapping table (mapping rule) of the source BS 100A.

[0247] Of course, when the handover request is received, the handover controller 150 can perform all kinds of operations for the handover of the terminal 10 from the source BS 100A to the target BS 100B, and can transmit the packet forwarded from the target BS 100B to the terminal 10 during the handover processing.

[0248] At this time, the handover controller 150 interworks with the recognition unit 110 and the transmission unit 130 to transmit the packet of the terminal 10 forwarded from the source BS 100A during the handover processing with the dedicated radio segment QoS level converted based on the mapping table (mapping rule) received from the source BS 100A.

[0249] That is, according to the interworking with the handover controller 150, the recognition unit 110 maps the packet of the terminal 10 forwarded from the source BS 100A to the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter based on the mapping table (mapping rule) received from the source BS 100A, not the mapping table (mapping rule) stored in the storage unit 120.

[0250] Accordingly, the recognition unit 110 can convert the QoS level of the packet of the terminal 10 forwarded from the source BS 100A to the dedicated radio segment QoS level identical to that of the source BS 100A according to the interworking with the handover controller 150.

[0251] The transmission unit 130 can apply the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter recognized by the recognition unit 110 to the packet for transmitting the forwarded packet of the terminal 10 according to the interworking with the handover controller 150.

[0252] Accordingly, the transmission unit 130 can transmit the forwarded packets of the terminal 10 at the same dedicated radio segment QoS level as that of the source BS 100A in accordance with the interaction with the handover controller 150.

[0253] In this case, even if the mapping rules (mapping table) used (stored) by the BS 100A and the BS 100B are different from each other, the target BS 100B can equally use the mapping rule (mapping table) of the source BS 100A for the data (packets) forwarded during the handover processing.

[0254] Accordingly, if the source BS 100A transmits the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 1 and the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 2 to the terminal 10 through the SNs #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6 of the DRB 1, the target BS 100B can also transmit the forwarded packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 1 and the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 2 from the source BS 100A to the terminal 10 through the SNs #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6 of the DRB 1.

[0255] Since no mismatch of the sequential numbering occurs even after the radio segment access is changed from the source BS 100A to the target BS 100B during the handover processing, the terminal 10, which sets the QoS control information provided from the source BS 100A, can normally receive all the packets forwarded from the source BS 100A to the target BS 100B.

[0256] Further, when the terminal 10 performs the handover, the handover controller 150 identifies whether the transmission of the uplink packets according to the used communication services 1 and 2 has been completed and whether the handover has been completed.

[0257] For example, when a message indicating the completion of the transmission of the uplink packets according to the communication services 1 and 2 is received from the terminal 10, the handover controller 150 can transmit a response message and identify that the terminal 10 completes the transmission of the uplink packets.

[0258] In addition, when the end marker packet among the forwarded packets from the source BS 100A is identified, the handover controller 150 can identify that the handover is completed.

[0259] Alternatively, when all the processes of the handover processing have been completed, the handover controller 150 can identify that the handover is completed.

[0260] Therefore, when it is recognized that the terminal 10 completes the transmission of the uplink packet and completes the handover, the handover controller 150 cooperates with the recognition unit 110 and the transmission unit 130 to transmit the packet of the terminal received from the core network 20 after the recognized time point at the converted dedicated radio section QoS level based on the mapping table (mapping rule) pre-stored in the storage unit 120, instead of the mapping table received from the source BS 100A.

[0261] That is, after the recognized time point for the terminal 10, the recognition unit 110 maps the dedicated radio section QoS parameter to the packet of the terminal 10 based on the mapping table (mapping rule) stored in the storage unit 120.

[0262] Then, after the recognized time point for the terminal 10, the recognition unit 110 can convert the QoS level of the packet of the terminal 10 to the dedicated radio section QoS level according to the mapping table (mapping rule) stored in the storage unit 120.

[0263] At the time of transmitting the packet of the terminal 10, the transmission unit 130 can apply the dedicated radio section QoS parameter recognized by the recognition unit 110, and transmit the packet of the terminal 10 at the converted dedicated radio section QoS level.

[0264] When the radio section access is changed from the source BS 100A to the target BS 100B during the process of switching from the source BS 100A to the target BS 100B, the terminal 10 can receive the QoS control information.

[0265] More specifically, the terminal 10 can receive the QoS control information from the target BS 100B in the RRC setup process during the handover process.

[0266] Therefore, after transmitting the message indicating the completion of the transmission of the uplink packet according to the communication services 1 and 2, the terminal 10 can set the QoS control information previously received from the target BS 100B.

[0267] Hereinafter, in this case, it is assumed that the packet of the service flow 1 according to the communication service 1 (for example, #6, #7, and #8) to which the QoS parameter A is applied and the packet of the service flow 2 according to the communication service 2 (for example, #6, #7, and #8) to which the QoS parameter B is applied are received from the core network 20 after the recognized time point for the terminal 10.

[0268] In this case, the BS apparatus 100B (target BS 100B) can apply the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter 1 to the packets #6, #7, and #8 of the service flow 1 based on the mapping table used (stored) by the BS apparatus 100, and transmit the sequential numbers assigned to the SN #1, SN #2, and SN #3 in the order of reception of the packets to the terminal 10 (DRB 1).

[0269] In addition, in this case, the BS apparatus 100B (target BS 100B) can apply the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter 2 to the packets #6, #7, and #8 of the service flow 2 based on the mapping table used (stored) by the BS apparatus 100, and transmit the sequential numbers assigned to the SN #1, SN #2, and SN #3 in the order of reception of the packets to the terminal 10 (DRB 2).

[0270] At this time, since the terminal 10 sets the QoS control information provided from the BS apparatus 100 (target BS 100B), the terminal has no problem in normal reception of the packets, nor has a problem in transmission of the uplink packets.

[0271] Hereinafter, other embodiments of the present disclosure related to handover will be described.

[0272] When the terminal performs handover to the target BS, the handover controller 150 transmits the packet number information for each service flow to the target BS.

[0273] Then, even if the packets of the terminal forwarded from the BS apparatus 100 (source BS 100A) during the handover process are transmitted with a dedicated radio segment QoS level different from the converted dedicated radio segment QoS level of the BS apparatus 100, the target BS can maintain the order of the packet numbers of each service flow based on the packet number information.

[0274] Specifically, based on the assumption that the BS apparatus 100 is a source BS (for example, 100A), when the terminal 10 performs handover to the target BS 100B, the handover controller 150 performs all kinds of operations such as signaling transmission and reception for switching the terminal 10 to the target BS 100B and transmitting a handover request to the target BS 100B.

[0275] The handover controller 150 transmits the sequential number information (for example, SN status transmission) based on the sequential numbers (SN #N, N = 1, 2, 3,...) of the DRBs (dedicated radio segment QoS levels) assigned to the packets transmitted between the BS apparatus 100 and the terminal 10 in all kinds of operations to the target BS 100B.

[0276] At this time, according to the present disclosure, the handover controller 150 also transmits, to the target BS 100B, packet number information of a packet number (#N, N = 1, 2, 3,...) for each service flow to which a packet transmitted between the core network 20 and the BS 100 is additionally assigned, and DRB-based sequence number information.

[0277] The DRB-based sequence number information can be packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer level information.

[0278] The packet number information of each service flow can be service data application protocol (SDAP) layer level information.

[0279] Accordingly, the target BS 100B transmits the forwarded packet of the terminal 10 during the handover process at a dedicated radio segment QoS level converted based on a mapping table (mapping rule) stored in the target BS 100B, so that the packet of the terminal 10 forwarded / transmitted through the target BS 100B can be transmitted through the same DRB as that of the source BS (e.g., 100A) or a different DRB from that of the source BS, but the packet number order of each service flow can be maintained.

[0280] Accordingly, even if a mismatch occurs between the DRB-based sequence number (SN #N) of the packet received from the source BS 100A during the handover process and the DRB-based sequence number (SN #N) of the packet received from the target BS 100B, the terminal 10 can normally receive all the forwarded packets based on the packet number (#N) of each service flow of the packet.

[0281] Further, when the BS device 100 according to the present disclosure is the target BS (e.g., 100B), the handover controller 150 can additionally receive the packet number information of each service flow and the DRB-based sequence number information when receiving the handover request from the source BS 100A.

[0282] Since the BS device 100 transmits the forwarded packet of the terminal 10 during the handover process at a dedicated radio segment QoS level converted based on a mapping table (mapping rule) stored in the BS device 100, the packet of the terminal 10 forwarded / transmitted through the target BS 100B can be transmitted through the same DRB as that of the source BS 100A or a different DRB from that of the source BS, but the packet number order of each service flow can be maintained.

[0283] Hereinafter, a control flow in terminal handover according to a radio segment QoS control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 10

[0284] In describing the control flow in terminal handover according to a radio segment QoS control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 10 ​Previously, it was assumed that QoS parameters A and B are mapped to the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 1 (DRB 1) in the mapping table of the BS 100A, and QoS parameter A is mapped to the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 1 (DRB 1) and QoS parameter B is mapped to the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 2 (DRB 2) in the mapping table of the BS 100B.

[0285] It is assumed that the terminal 10 uses the communication services 1 and 2, and thus receives the packets of the service flow 1 according to the communication service 1 (for example, #1, #2, and #3) and the packets of the service flow 2 to which the QoS parameter B is applied according to the communication service 2 (for example, #1, #2, and #3).

[0286] After identifying the QoS parameters A and B applied to each packet of the service flow in the mapping table of the BS 100A, the BS 100A can identify the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 1 mapped to each of the QoS parameters A and B.

[0287] Accordingly, the BS 100A can apply the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 1 to each of the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 1 and the packets #1, #2, and #3 of the service flow 2, and transmit the order numbers according to the reception order of the packets, which are assigned SN #1, SN #2, SN #3, SN #4, SN #5, and SN #6, to the terminal 10 (DRB 1).

[0288] At this time, when the BS 100A determines the handover of the terminal 10 based on the measurement information reported from the terminal 10 in S400, the BS 100A transmits information required for the handover of the terminal 10 to the target BS 100B (handover control) to the terminal 10 in S410, and also transmits a handover request to the target BS 100B in S420.

[0289] When the handover request is transmitted, the BS 100A can transfer the mapping table (mapping rule) of the storage unit 120 to the target BS 100B.

[0290] Further, between the terminal 10, the source BS 100A, the target BS 100B, and the core network 20, all kinds of handover operations such as signaling transmission and reception for the handover of the terminal 10 from the source BS 100A to the target BS 100B are performed in S430.

[0291] During the handover processing, the BS 100B can transmit the QoS control information of the BS 100B to the terminal 10 in the RRC setup processing in S440.

[0292] Further, the terminal 10 disconnects the radio section access with the BS 100A, and switches the radio section access to the target BS 100B at the start of the handover processing.

[0293] In S450, the BS 100A forwards the packets of the terminal 10 received from the core network 20 to the target BS 100B during the handover processing.

[0294] In S460, the BS 100B can apply the mapping table (mapping rule) received from the source BS 100A in S420 to the forwarded packets of the terminal 10 from the source BS 100A during the handover processing.

[0295] That is, for the forwarded packets of the service flows 1 and 2 of the terminal 10, the BS 100B can map the QoS parameters A and B applied by the core network 20 to the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter 1 based on the mapping table (mapping rule) received from the source BS 100A in S470, and thus transmit the forwarded packets of the terminal 10 at the same dedicated radio segment QoS level (DRB 1) as the dedicated radio segment QoS level (DRB 1) of the source BS 100A after conversion.

[0296] Since no mismatch of the sequential numbering occurs even after the radio segment access is changed from the source BS 100A to the target BS 100B during the handover processing, the terminal 10 which sets (maintains) the QoS control information provided from the source BS 100A can normally receive all the packets forwarded from the source BS 100A to the target BS 100B.

[0297] Of course, when generating the uplink packets of the service flows 1 and 2, the terminal 10 can apply the same dedicated radio segment QoS parameters (e.g., QoS parameter 1) applied by the BS 100B in the downlink to the uplink packets based on the set (maintained) QoS control information from the source BS 100A in S480 and transmit the uplink packets at the same dedicated radio segment QoS level (DRB 1) as the dedicated radio segment QoS level (DRB 1) of the downlink.

[0298] Therefore, when the uplink packets are received from the terminal 10, the BS 100B maps and applies the dedicated radio segment QoS parameters (e.g., QoS parameter 1) to the QoS parameters (e.g., QoS parameters A or B) applied by the core network 20 by reversely performing the QoS mapping of step S460 in S490, and transmits the uplink packets to the core network 20.

[0299] When a message indicating completion of transmission of the uplink packets according to the communication services 1 and 2 is received from the terminal 10, the BS 100B can transmit a response message and recognize that the terminal 10 completes the transmission of the uplink packets.

[0300] In addition, the BS 100B can recognize whether the handover has been completed in various ways.

[0301] When it is recognized that the terminal 10 has completed both the transmission of the uplink packet and the handover, the BS 100B transmits the packet of the terminal 10 received from the core network 20 with the dedicated radio section QoS level converted on the basis of the mapping table (mapping rule) stored in advance in the storage unit 120, not the mapping table received from the source BS 100A, after the point of time of the recognition.

[0302] For example, it is assumed that the terminal 10 uses the communication services 1 and 2, and thus receives the packet of the service flow 1 according to the communication service 1 (e.g., #6, #7, and #8) and the packet of the service flow 2 to which the QoS parameter B is applied according to the communication service 2 (e.g., #6, #7, and #8).

[0303] The BS 100B applies the mapping table (mapping rule) of the BS 100B, not the mapping table received from the source BS 100A, to the packet #6, #7, and #8 of the service flow 1 and the packet #6, #7, and #8 of the service flow 2 in S520.

[0304] Thus, the BS 100B can apply the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 1 to the packet #6, #7, and #8 of the service flow 1 and transmit the sequential numbers assigned to the SN #1, SN #2, and SN #3 in the order of the reception order of the packets to the terminal 10 (DRB 1), and can apply the dedicated radio section QoS parameter 2 to the packet #6, #7, and #8 of the service flow 2 and transmit the sequential numbers assigned to the SN #1, SN #2, and SN #3 in the order of the reception order of the packets to the terminal 10 (DRB 2).

[0305] The radio segment QoS control method according to the present disclosure as described above can be implemented in the form of program commands that can be executed by various computer means and recorded in a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium can independently or in combination include program commands, data files, data structures, etc. The program commands recorded in the medium can be program commands designed and configured specifically for the present disclosure, or program commands well known and usable by those skilled in the computer software related field. Examples of the computer readable recording medium include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical media such as compact disc read only memories (CD-ROMs) and digital versatile discs (DVDs), magneto-optical media such as floptical disks, and hardware devices such as read only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), and flash memories, which are specially configured to store and execute program instructions. Examples of the program commands include machine language codes generated by a compiler and high level language codes executable by a computer through an interpreter, etc. The hardware device can be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present disclosure, and vice versa.

[0306] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A base station (BS) device, the BS device comprising: a storage unit configured to store a mapping rule in which at least one dedicated radio segment quality of service (QoS) parameter is mapped to at least one QoS parameter applied by a core network to a service flow; an identification unit configured to check a specific field for identifying a differentiated services (DiffServ) in a header of a packet to be transmitted to a terminal to identify a QoS of content, and identify a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter mapped to the identified QoS of content based on the mapping rule; and a transmission unit configured to transmit the packet with the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter by applying the identified dedicated radio segment QoS parameter in packet transmission.

2. The BS device of claim 1, wherein, Two or more different QoS parameters are mapped to one dedicated radio segment QoS parameter.

3. The BS device of claim 2, wherein, The two or more QoS parameters are QoS parameters applied by the core network to a communication service for periodically transmitting small data equal to or smaller than a specific size or an Internet of Things (IoT) service.

4. The BS device of claim 1, wherein, When a specific QoS parameter is applied to one service flow, the dedicated radio segment QoS parameter is mapped to a QoS of each content included in the service flow.

5. The BS device of claim 4, wherein, The specific QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of a service type of non-GBR (Guaranteed Bit Rate) that does not guarantee a bandwidth.

6. The BS device of claim 1, wherein, The specific field is a DiffServ Code Point (DSCP) field. 7.The BS device of claim 1, further comprising a control information transfer unit configured to transfer an RRC message including QoS control information for identifying the identified dedicated radio segment QoS parameter to the terminal. 8.The BS device of claim 1, further comprising a handover controller configured to transmit a mapping rule to a target BS when the terminal performs a handover to the target BS, wherein the target BS transmits a packet of the terminal forwarded from the BS device during the handover with a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter equal to a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter of the BS device converted based on the mapping rule.

9. The BS device of claim 8, wherein, when a mapping rule used by a source BS is transferred from the source BS to the terminal performing the handover, the handover controller interworks with the identification unit and the transmission unit to transmit a packet of the terminal forwarded from the source BS during the handover with a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter equal to a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter of the source BS converted based on the mapping rule transferred from the source BS.

10. The BS device of claim 9, wherein, when it is identified that the terminal completes uplink packet transmission according to a communication service used during the handover and completes the handover, the handover controller interworks with the identification unit and the transmission unit to transmit a packet of the terminal after an identified point in time with a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter converted based on a mapping rule pre-stored in the storage unit other than a mapping rule transferred from the source BS. 11.The BS device of claim 1, further comprising a handover controller configured to transmit the packet number information of each service flow to a target BS when the terminal performs handover to the target BS, wherein, When the packets of the terminal forwarded from the BS device during the handover are transmitted with converted dedicated radio segment QoS parameters different from those of the BS device, the target BS maintains the packet numbering order of each service flow based on the packet numbering information.

12. A method of controlling QoS in a radio segment, the method comprising the steps of: a receiving step of receiving, by a BS device, a mapping rule from a core network in which at least one dedicated radio segment quality of service (QoS) parameter is mapped to at least one QoS parameter applied to a service flow; an inspecting step of inspecting, by the BS device, a specific field for identifying a quality of service (QoS) type (DiffServ) in a header of a packet to be transmitted to a terminal to identify a QoS of content; an identifying step of identifying, by the BS device, a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter mapped to the identified QoS of content based on the mapping rule; a transmitting step of transmitting, by the BS device, the packet with a dedicated radio segment QoS parameter by applying the identified dedicated radio segment QoS parameter in the packet transmission.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of: when the terminal performs a handover to a target BS, transmitting, by the BS device, the mapping rule to the target BS; and transmitting, by the target BS, the packets of the terminal forwarded from the BS device during the handover with converted dedicated radio segment QoS parameters equal to those of the BS device based on the mapping rule. receiving, from a source BS, a mapping rule of the source BS for the terminal to perform the handover, 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of: wherein the identifying step and the transmitting step include the step of, when the mapping rule of the source BS is received, transmitting the packets of the terminal forwarded from the source BS during the handover with converted dedicated radio segment QoS parameters equal to those of the source BS based on the mapping rule received from the source BS. the identifying step and the transmitting step include the step of, when it is identified that the terminal completes transmission of an uplink packet according to a communication service used during the handover and completes the handover, transmitting the packets of the terminal after an identified time point with converted dedicated radio segment QoS parameters based on a mapping rule pre-stored in a storage unit other than the mapping rule received from the source BS.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, ​

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