Method and apparatus for ensuring quality of service in a wireless communication system

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a 5G or pre-5G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate than a 4G communication system such as LTE. The present invention relates to a method for ensuring quality of service in a wireless communication system. More specifically, the method of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps: identifying at least one non-guaranteed bit rate (GBR) bearer configured for any communication device; determining whether to guarantee a specific bit rate for the non-GBR bearer based on at least one of QoS class identifier (QCI) information, allocation and retention priority (ARP) information, and user profile identifier (SPID) received from a core network node of the non-GBR bearer; and performing scheduling for the non-GBR bearer based on the determination.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of a patent application with an application date of May 25, 2018, application number 2018800320720, and invention name “Method and device for ensuring quality of service in a wireless communication system”. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for effectively utilizing physical resources and ensuring quality of service in a wireless communication system. Background Art

[0003] To meet the demand for increased wireless data traffic since the deployment of 4G communication systems, efforts have been underway to develop improved 5G or pre-5G communication systems. Consequently, 5G or pre-5G communication systems are also referred to as "beyond 4G networks" or "post-LTE systems." 5G communication systems are considered to be implemented in higher frequency (mmWave) bands (e.g., the 60 GHz band) to achieve higher data rates. To reduce radio wave propagation losses and increase transmission distances, beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, analog beamforming, and massive antenna technologies are being discussed in 5G communication systems. Furthermore, in 5G communication systems, development is underway to improve system networks based on advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communications, wireless backhaul, mobile networks, collaborative communications, coordinated multipoint (CoMP), and receiver-side interference cancellation. In 5G systems, hybrid FSK and QAM modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) are developed as advanced coded modulation (ACM), and filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) are developed as advanced access technologies.

[0004] Meanwhile, despite differences in communication standards and modes (e.g., wired Ethernet / IP and wireless LTE / WiBro / Wi-Fi), all wired and wireless communication networks provide Quality of Service (QoS) functionality based on certain standards (e.g., IETF RFCs, IEEE 802, 3P, etc.). For example, QoS can vary depending on the priority of the service types supported by a device. As a detailed example, real-time services such as voice or video services can have a higher QoS than internet services.

[0005] QoS can be mapped to a bearer established between a device and a network node. Here, the bearer can be classified into one of a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) bearer and a non-GBR bearer according to the resource type. Specifically, a GBR bearer can represent a bearer that guarantees a predetermined bit rate. That is, using a GBR bearer means at least guaranteeing a predetermined bit rate for transmitting service data. However, a non-GBR bearer can be regarded as a best-effort bearer that does not guarantee any predetermined bit rate.

[0006] At the same time, 5G systems can be designed to support fixed wireless access (FWA) systems, which can provide high-speed Internet services to more homes and offices by replacing the optical cable section with a wireless section. Even for FWA systems, the above-mentioned QoS can be similarly applied. For example, even in FWA systems, GBR-type QoS can be applied to services required to guarantee a predetermined bit rate such as IPTV, rather than Internet services within limited physical resources.

[0007] However, if a communication device communicating over a GBR bearer is located in a weak electric field area that occupies a large amount of resources, other communication devices sharing the base station resources may experience difficulty receiving service. Furthermore, if non-GBR quality of service (QoS) is applied to services that maintain quality above a predetermined data rate, and these resources are allocated indiscriminately, this may result in situations where QoS standards are not met. Therefore, a method for effectively utilizing the entire physical resources of an FWA base station system is needed. Summary of the Invention

[0008] Technical issues

[0009] The disclosed embodiments aim to provide a method for efficiently allocating physical resources to bearers to ensure better quality of service.

[0010] Solution to the problem

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of a base station includes: identifying at least one non-guaranteed bit rate (non-GBR) bearer configured for a communication device; determining whether a predetermined bit rate is guaranteed on the non-GBR bearer based on at least one of service quality class identifier (QCI) information, allocation and retention priority (ARP) information, and user profile identifier (SPID) information received from a core network node in association with the non-GBR bearer; and performing scheduling on the non-GBR bearer based on a result of the determination.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station includes a transceiver and a controller, wherein the transceiver is configured to receive service quality class identifier (QCI) information of at least one non-guaranteed bit rate (non-GBR) bearer configured for a communication device from a core network; and the controller is configured to control to: at least identify the non-GBR bearer configured for the communication device, determine whether a predetermined bit rate on the non-GBR bearer is guaranteed based on at least one of the QCI information, allocation and retention priority (ARP) information, and user profile identifier (SPID) information, and perform scheduling for the non-GBR bearer based on the determined result.

[0013] Advantageous Effects of the Invention

[0014] Considering the characteristics of services provided on non-GBR bearers and the constrained amount of resources, the base station proposed in the disclosed embodiments is advantageous in improving the quality of service by scheduling at least one communication device configured with a non-GBR bearer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the structure of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 2a is a flowchart illustrating a method for a base station to schedule a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 2b is a diagram illustrating a specific bearer configuration metric table according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 3a is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 3b is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation flow for implementing a base station method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 4a is a diagram illustrating an exemplary connection between a base station and a communication device in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 4b It shows Figure 4a A diagram showing resource utilization of a communication device in FIG.

[0022] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for allocating physical resources for a specific non-GBR bearer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 6a is a flowchart illustrating a method for allocating physical resources to a plurality of specific non-GBR bearers according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0024] Figure 6b is a diagram illustrating physical resources allocated to a specific non-GBR bearer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Detailed descriptions of well-known functions and structures incorporated herein may be omitted to avoid obscuring the subject matter of the present disclosure. In addition, the following terms are defined with reference to their functions in the present disclosure, and they may vary depending on the intention, use, etc. of the user or operator. Therefore, they should be defined based on the overall content of this specification.

[0026] Although the disclosed embodiments are directed to a specific system, those skilled in the art will understand that the disclosed embodiments can even be applied to other communication systems with similar technical background and channel formats with only slight modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0027] The advantages and features of the present disclosure and the methods for achieving these advantages and features can be more easily understood by referring to the detailed description of the following exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these exemplary embodiments are provided to make the present disclosure thorough and complete and to fully convey the concept of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art, and the present disclosure will be limited only by the appended claims. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements.

[0028] It should be understood that each block of the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device create a device for implementing the functions / actions specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram. These computer program instructions can also be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable memory, which can instruct the computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable memory produce an article embedded with an instruction device, which implements the functions / actions specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram. The computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device to cause a series of operating steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable device, thereby generating a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions / actions specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0029] In addition, each block diagram may illustrate a module, segment, or portion of code that includes at least one or more executable instructions for performing a specific logical function. Furthermore, it should be noted that in several modifications, the functions of the blocks may be performed in a different order. For example, two consecutive blocks may be executed substantially simultaneously, or may be executed in reverse order depending on their functions.

[0030] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "module" means, but is not limited to, a software or hardware component that performs a specific task, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). A module can advantageously be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium and be configured to execute on one or more processors. Therefore, as an example, a module can include components, such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, program code segments, drivers, firmware, microcodes, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions of components and modules can be combined into fewer components and modules, or further separated into more components and modules. In addition, components and modules can be implemented so that they execute one or more CPUs in a device or a secure multimedia card.

[0031] Hereinafter, a method and apparatus for guaranteeing service according to the disclosed embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032] The disclosed embodiments provide a method for effectively supporting QoS in a FWA system to ensure high-speed Internet services in more homes and offices.

[0033] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the structure of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] exist Figure 1 In the disclosed embodiment, the FWA system may include a core network 100, a base station 201, and at least one communication device 202 included in a coverage area of ​​the base station.

[0035] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the core network 100 may perform signaling and control functions for supporting network access, network resource allocation, tracking, paging, roaming, and handover associated with at least one communication device 202. For example, the core network 100 may include an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), and a user plane function (UPF).

[0036] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system may include at least one communication device 202 capable of performing wireless communication with a base station 201 included in the communication system. Examples of the at least one communication device 202 include all types of devices capable of wireless communication with a base station. Examples of the at least one communication device 202 may include portable devices such as user equipment, terminals, and mobile devices. Examples of the at least one communication device 202 may include customer premises equipment (CPE), which is installed in a building for connecting to a service of a communication service provider and is associated with all terminals connected to devices in the building through a local area network (LAN). Although the at least one communication device is composed of Figure 1 The CPE examples in are, but not limited to, those in FIG.

[0037] exist Figure 1 In the embodiment of the present invention, the at least one communication device 202 can be located anywhere within the coverage area 210 of the base station 201. For example, the at least one communication device 202 can be located close to the base station (#CPE1) to facilitate communication with the base station 201, or far away from the base station (#CPE 2) to hinder communication with the base station 201 due to a relatively weak electric field (edge ​​of the base station coverage area).

[0038] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system may include the base station 201 described above. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may be connected to the core network 100 via a wired connection (such as an optical cable) and connected to at least one communication device 202 via a wireless connection. The base station 201 may perform various functions in connection with the communication device 202 based on information or messages received from the core network 100.

[0039] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station 201 may configure a bearer suitable for quality of service attributes of at least one communication device 202 based on QoS-related information received from the core network 100. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station 201 may perform wireless packet transmission scheduling for a service to the at least one communication device 202.

[0040] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station 201 may receive QoS-related information from the core network 100 and provide services to users of communication devices based on the QoS-related information.

[0041] Here, the QoS-related information may be transmitted in an Initial Context Setup Request (Initial Context Setup Request) message or a Radio Access Bearer Setup Request (Electronic RAB Setup Request) message sent by the core network 100 in response to a bearer setup request. The QoS-related information may include QoS parameters for evaluating each quality of service level. For example, the QoS parameters may include QoS Class Identifier (QCI) information related to QoS priority and Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP) information related to QoS bearer creation and rejection.

[0042] For example, if base station 201 receives QoS related information from core network 100, it can configure the bearer type to be established for the connection with the communication device based on the QoS parameters and predetermined metrics included in the QoS related information. For example, base station 201 can configure a GBR type or a non-GBR type bearer based on the QoS parameters.

[0043] The base station 201 can perform scheduling to provide services to the communication device based on the bearer type within a limited physical resource range. For example, the base station can allocate physical resources to a GBR type bearer to ensure a predetermined bit rate based on channel conditions. The base station 201 can also allocate certain physical resources to a non-GBR type bearer within the range of physical resources remaining after being allocated to the GBR bearer. For example, in the case of allocating resources by transmission time interval (TTI), during one TTI, physical resources are allocated to the non-GBR bearer within the range of physical resources remaining after being allocated to the GBR bearer.

[0044] However, in a multi-user wireless access system, abnormal situations may exist, such as services that cannot guarantee a predetermined data rate due to the lack of GBR configuration, or services that consume more physical resources than required under good channel conditions due to being located in a weak electric field area or having poor channel conditions despite not being significantly affected by the limited amount of physical resources. If the base station performs scheduling indiscriminately based solely on QCI information and predetermined metrics in such abnormal situations, problems may arise, such as the base station being unable to effectively allocate physical resources to the many communication devices located within its coverage area.

[0045] Figure 2a is a flowchart illustrating a method for a base station to schedule a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and Figure 2b is a diagram illustrating a specific bearer configuration metric table according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] exist Figure 2a In the disclosed embodiment, at step S210 , the base station may check the non-GBR bearers configured for any communication device.

[0047] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station may receive QoS-related information of a specific service from a core network, determine the characteristics (or type) of a bearer based on the QoS information, ARP information, and a predetermined metric included in the QoS-related information, and establish a corresponding bearer. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station may establish a bearer of a type determined based on QCI information corresponding to a service requested by any communication device.

[0048] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the QoS information corresponding to the requested service has a high priority, the base station can establish a GBR bearer; if the QoS information corresponding to the requested service has a low priority, the base station can establish a non-GBR bearer.

[0049] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station can determine (identify) a bearer configured as a non-GBR bearer, and in step S220, determine whether to guarantee a predetermined bit rate on the non-GBR bearer based on at least one of the QCI information, ARP information, and SPID information received from the core network in association with the non-GBR bearer.

[0050] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may regard a non-GBR bearer that meets a predetermined metric among non-GBR bearers as a GBR bearer, and configure the corresponding bearer so that a predetermined bit rate is guaranteed on it. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the predetermined metric can be used to determine whether to guarantee a predetermined bit rate on the bearer based on the attribute information of each bearer according to the characteristics of the bearer (for example, QCI information related to QoS priority, ARP information related to EPS bearer creation and rejection, and user profile identifier (SPID) information of a terminal sent from an operator server to a base station for identifying a specific user), and can be configured for each of the uplink and downlink.

[0051] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the predetermined metric may involve the priorities of QCI information and ARP information, and include a first metric and a second metric, the first metric being used to determine a specific bearer based on the priority of ARP information among bearers whose QCI values ​​fall within a predetermined range, and the second metric being used to determine a bearer based on the priority of QCI information and, if there are multiple bearers with the same QCI information, select one of the determined bearers based on their ARP information priorities.

[0052] refer to Figure 2b According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may use the first standard to carry out the bearer ( Figure 2bThe base station determines the bearer with prioritized ARP information from the bearers with an ARP value of 8 as a specific bearer for guaranteeing a predetermined bit rate. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may first select the bearer with QCI information as the priority (QCI=6), and use the second criterion to determine the bearer with ARP information as the priority (ARP=8) from the bearers with a QCI value of 6.

[0053] Although the description focuses on an embodiment in which a bearer is selected using criteria configured in association with the priorities of QCI information and ARP information, an embodiment is also conceivable in which a bearer configured for a predetermined terminal is determined as a specific bearer among the bearers. In addition to the priorities of QCI information and ARP information, these bearers are selected by first considering SPID information as identity information of a specific terminal received from an operator server.

[0054] Once it is determined according to the metric pre-configured by the base station that a predetermined bit rate is guaranteed on the non-GBR bearer, in step S230 , the base station may perform scheduling on the non-GBR bearer based on the determination result.

[0055] For example, if a GBR bearer is configured, the base station can allocate physical resources for packet transmission at the minimum bit rate that should be guaranteed on the GBR bearer based on the channel conditions of the GBR bearer. In the case of TTI-based resource allocation, the base station can also allocate certain physical resources to the non-GBR bearer in the remaining physical resource range after allocating physical resources to the GBR bearer during the TTI.

[0056] According to one embodiment, the base station may allocate physical resources to ensure a predetermined bit rate for a specific non-GBR bearer, where the specific non-GBR bearer is determined to guarantee a predetermined bit rate among the non-GBR bearers. In the case of multiple specific bearers, the base station may allocate physical resources based on the priority of the specific bearers. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the predetermined bit rate may be calculated by a separate calculator based on previous operation statistics.

[0057] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if it is determined that a predetermined bit rate is not guaranteed on a non-GBR bearer, the base station may allocate certain physical resources such that the non-GBR bearer provides best-effort transmission.

[0058] That is, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may prioritize allocating restricted physical resources to GBR bearers, and then allocate restricted physical resources to non-GBR bearers in the remaining range of physical resources. If a specific non-GBR bearer is selected from the non-GBR bearers, the base station may prioritize allocating physical resources to the specific non-GBR bearer to ensure a predetermined bit rate thereon, and then allocate certain physical resources to other non-GBR bearers within the remaining range of physical resources after allocating the specific non-GBR bearer.

[0059] As described above, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station can first divide the bearers into GBR bearers and non-GBR bearers based on QCI information, and then determine a specific non-GBR bearer that guarantees a predetermined bit rate among the non-GBR bearers based on a metric configured in association with at least one of the QCI information, ARP information, and SPID information.

[0060] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in addition to the QCI information corresponding to the service, the base station also considers the resource allocation prioritization metric (the above-mentioned preconfigured metric) preconfigured based on the characteristics of the service itself to perform resource allocation, thereby improving service quality and satisfaction of all users.

[0061] For example, Internet Protocol television (IPTV) and interactive voice and video are real-time services in which service requests made by communication terminals should be responded to by the network or base station within a predetermined time. Therefore, in terms of resource allocation, it is best to prioritize these services over other services. At the same time, allocating a large amount of physical resources to maintain the quality of real-time services such as IPTV and interactive video may reduce the number of other services supported by sharing limited physical resources or may interfere with the quality of other services. In addition, because when receiving services at locations where the signal strength transmitted by the base station is weak, it is necessary to allocate more physical resources than required to communication terminals configured with a bearer on which a predetermined bit rate should be guaranteed. This can exacerbate the above-mentioned problems.

[0062] The proposed method of the present disclosure is advantageous in improving the quality of all services provided by a base station by adopting a resource allocation scheme similar to that of GBR bearers for real-time services and another resource allocation scheme similar to that of non-GBR bearers for a small amount of services as much as possible, the resource allocation scheme causing the problem of consuming too many physical resources.

[0063] Figure 3a is a block diagram showing the configuration of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and Figure 3b It is a schematic diagram showing the operation flow of a method for implementing a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0064] exist Figure 3a In the disclosed embodiment, the base station 300 may include a transceiver 310 and a controller 320 .

[0065] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transceiver 310 can receive downlink data packets from the advanced core network and transmit the downlink data packets to the communication device via a wireless medium. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transceiver 310 can also transmit messages generated by the controller 320 to the external communication device. Specifically, the transceiver 310 may include a data packet processor 311 and a physical resource processor 312. The data packet processor 311 is responsible for processing layered protocols (e.g., GTP / PDCP / RLC / MAC) according to predetermined standards, and the physical resource processor 312 is responsible for converting data into a format that can be used for wireless communication with the external communication device.

[0066] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station 300 may include a controller 320. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 320 may further include a control communication circuit 321, a bearer bit rate determination unit 322, and a scheduling unit 323.

[0067] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control communication circuit 321 may process messages for communicating with the core network and external communication devices. For example, if a new communication device is connected or the connected communication device requests a new service, the control communication circuit 321 may check the service request message for the SIPD information and QoS-related information of the requested service, such as QCI, ARP, minimum bit rate (MBR), and guaranteed bit rate (GBR), and control the transceiver 310 to send a bearer establishment request message for the requested service to the core network.

[0068] The bearer bit rate determining unit 322 may control the scheduling unit 323 to perform resource allocation for guaranteeing a bit rate on a bearer configured with a QCI corresponding to the GBR via the control communication circuit 321 .

[0069] The bearer bit rate determination unit 322 may also determine whether to guarantee a predetermined bit rate on a bearer configured with a QCI corresponding to a non-GBR bearer available to all communication devices connected to the base station based on at least one of the QCI information, ARP information, and SPID information received via the control communication circuit 321. To this end, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bearer bit rate determination unit 322 may store a standard pre-configured based on at least one of the QCI information, ARP information, and SPID information of the non-GBR bearer. As shown in FIG. Figure 2a As described above, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, a metric may be pre-configured for each of the uplink and the downlink, and a predetermined bit rate may also be pre-stored.

[0070] Specifically, the bearer bit rate determining unit 322 may determine, based on the first metric, a specific bearer on which a predetermined bit rate is guaranteed based on the priority of the ARP information among the identified non-GBR bearers whose QCIs are within a predetermined range. The bearer bit rate determining unit 322 may also determine a specific bearer based on the priority of the QCI information, and preferentially select a bearer among the determined bearers based on the priority of the ARB information according to the second metric.

[0071] If the bearer bit rate determination unit 322 determines the bit rate of the bearer, the scheduling unit 323 may schedule packet transmission of at least one communication device based on the determination result made by the bearer bit rate determination unit 322 .

[0072] For example, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the scheduling unit 323 may preferentially allocate physical resources to at least one device to ensure a bit rate value corresponding to a GBR bearer. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the scheduling unit 323 may allocate physical resources to a specific non-GBR bearer to ensure a predetermined bit rate thereon among the non-GBR bearers. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the scheduling unit 323 may allocate physical resources to a GBR bearer and a specific non-GBR bearer, and then allocate certain physical resources to other non-GBR bearers in the remaining range of physical resources.

[0073] refer to Figure 3b A core network, a communication device, and a base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure are described.

[0074] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transceiver 310 may send a message including QoS related information to the core network 301. Figure 1 The message may correspond to an initial context establishment request message or a bearer establishment request message. The control communication circuit 321 may receive a message sent by the core network 301 from the transceiver 310 and send the message to the bearer bit rate determination unit 322 of the controller 320 .

[0075] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bearer bit rate determining unit 322 may determine the type of bearer to be configured for the communication device 303 based on the QoS related information (eg, QCI information and ARP information) included in the received message. Figure 3a As described above, the bearer bit rate determining unit 322 may determine the bit rate that should be ensured on the bearer based on the type of the bearer.

[0076] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bearer bit rate determination unit 322 can report the wireless (air) status of the communication device located in the coverage area to the operator's network management device 302 based on the satisfaction of a predetermined condition. For example, if the CQI information periodically reported by the communication device is equal to or greater than a predetermined value over a predetermined period of time or the amount of physical resources allocated to a specific communication device is equal to or greater than a predetermined value over a predetermined period of time, the corresponding information can be reported to the operator's network management device 302.

[0077] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transceiver 310 may receive channel state information indicating the channel quality of each bearer configured for the communication device 303 from the communication device 303. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transceiver 310 may send the channel state information to the controller 320 at predetermined intervals. For example, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transceiver 310 may send the channel state information to the scheduling unit 323 of the controller 320.

[0078] Once the bit rate for each bearer is determined, the bearer bit rate determination unit 322 may transmit the determination result to the scheduling unit 323, which then allocates physical resources to each bearer based on the determination result. Here, taking into account the channel state information received at predetermined intervals, the bearer bit rate determination unit 322 may transmit final scheduling information for physical resource allocation to the scheduling unit 323. Although not shown in the figure, the final scheduling information generated by the bearer bit rate determination unit 322 may be transmitted to the scheduling unit 323 via a predetermined interface.

[0079] The scheduling unit 323 may allocate physical resources to each bearer based on the final scheduling information. The transceiver 310 may send a signal to inform the at least one communication device 303 of the allocated physical resources.

[0080] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station may schedule each bearer based on the channel status of the bearer configured for at least one communication device. For example, if the channel condition on the GBR bearer configured for the communication device is poor, a greater amount of physical resources may be allocated than would be required if the channel condition was good, in order to ensure the bit rate corresponding to the GBR bearer.

[0081] If the channel conditions on each bearer configured to at least one communication device change, the base station may perform scheduling for each bearer by reflecting the changed channel conditions. In this case, even when the channel conditions are poor, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, maintaining the bit rate determined to be guaranteed on the non-GBR bearer may also affect the amount of physical resources in the communication system. In this case, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may determine whether to allocate physical resources to ensure the bit rate of the non-GBR bearer. Reference Figure 4a 、 Figure 4b and Figure 5 Describe it in detail.

[0082] Figure 4a is a diagram showing an exemplary connection between a base station and a communication device in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and Figure 4b It shows Figure 4a A diagram illustrating resource utilization of communication devices in FIG.

[0083] exist Figure 4a In the embodiment of FIG, the first communication device 410 and the second communication device 420 are located in the coverage area of ​​the base station 400. Figure 4a As shown, the first communication device 410 is located at a position that is advantageous for communicating with the base station 400 , and the second communication device 420 is located at the edge of the coverage area where the electric field is weakest, and is therefore disadvantageous in communicating with the base station 400 compared to the first communication device 410 .

[0084] For example, assuming that the non-GBR bearers configured to the first communication device 410 and the second communication device 420 are respectively the first non-GBR bearer and the second non-GBR bearer, each of the first non-GBR bearer and the second non-GBR bearer guarantees a predetermined bit rate, such as Figure 2a and Figure 2b According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station 400 may receive channel state information of each of the first non-GBR bearer and the second non-GBR bearer.

[0085] exist Figure 4a In the embodiment of FIG4 , the locations of the first communication device 410 and the second communication device 420 within the coverage area of ​​the base station 400 may affect the channel quality. That is, the channel quality on the first non-GBR bearer may be better than the channel quality on the second non-GBR bearer. In this case, although the base station provides the same service to the first communication device and the second communication device, it must allocate more physical resources to the first non-GBR bearer in order to guarantee the predetermined bit rate even when the first non-GBR bearer has poor channel quality.

[0086] like Figure 4b As shown, the base station performs scheduling to allocate more physical resources to the second communication device 420 for providing the same service to the first communication device and the second communication device 420. Given the limited physical resources, if the physical resources allocated to the second non-GBR bearer are much more than the physical resources allocated to the first non-GBR bearer, problems may arise in providing other services.

[0087] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, even when a non-GBR bearer is determined to be a specific non-GBR bearer, the base station can determine whether to ensure a predetermined bit rate based on channel conditions. Hereinafter, a method for determining whether to perform physical resource allocation to ensure a predetermined bit rate for a bearer determined to be a specific non-GBR bearer among non-GBR bearers is described.

[0088] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for allocating physical resources for a specific non-GBR bearer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0089] exist Figure 5 In the embodiment of FIG. 5 , in step S510 , the base station may receive channel state information indicating channel quality from the communication device.

[0090] Here, the channel state information indicating the channel quality may include CQI information. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication device may periodically send CQI information to the base station.

[0091] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when receiving CQI information from a communication device, the base station may determine the amount of physical resources to be allocated to a specific non-GBR bearer based on the CQI information at step S520 .

[0092] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may determine the amount of physical resources based on Equations 1 and 2.

[0093] [Equation 1]

[0094]

[0095] Equation 1 is a formula for deriving the maximum value of the amount of physical resources allocated to a specific non-GBR bearer configured to the i-th communication device from the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) when a total of N communication devices are connected within the coverage area, and can be calculated by interpolation or extrapolation with reference to a specific equation or a chart determined by a previous input.

[0096] Here, i satisfies 0≤i≤N, and GBRi represents a system parameter related to a predetermined bit rate to be guaranteed on a specific non-GBR bearer as described above, and can be set to a value of each of the QCI information and the ARP information.

[0097] [Equation 2]

[0098]

[0099] Equation 2 is an estimate of the amount of physical resources allocated for all specific non-GBR bearers within the coverage area.

[0100] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, after calculating the amount of physical resources to be allocated to a specific non-GBR bearer based on Equation 1 and Equation 2, the base station may determine in step S530 whether to allocate specific physical resources for ensuring a predetermined bit rate for the specific non-GBR based on a comparison result between the determined amount of physical resources and a predetermined threshold.

[0101] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if a comparison between the determined amount of physical resources and a predetermined threshold value indicates that the determined amount of physical resources is greater than the predetermined threshold value, the base station may determine not to allocate specific physical resources to a specific non-GBR bearer. That is, the base station may determine not to guarantee a predetermined bit rate on the specific non-GBR bearer. In this case, the specific non-GBR bearer that has been treated as a GBR bearer may be treated as a normal non-GBR bearer so that it can be allocated any physical resources in a best-effort resource allocation scheme.

[0102] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if it is determined that the determined amount of physical resources is less than a predetermined threshold, the base station may determine to allocate specific physical resources to a specific non-GBR bearer. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may treat a specific non-GBR bearer as a GBR bearer based on a metric related to QCI information.

[0103] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S540, the base station may perform scheduling on the specific non-GBR bearer based on a determination result made according to the amount of physical resources of the specific non-GBR bearer.

[0104] As described above, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, even when a bit rate is guaranteed for a specific non-GBR bearer based on the characteristics of the service, the base station can determine not to guarantee a specific bit rate for the specific non-GBR bearer based on CQI information periodically received from a communication device configured with the specific non-GBR bearer. That is, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station can dynamically determine whether to guarantee a bit rate on a specific non-GBR bearer based on channel conditions, thereby effectively utilizing limited physical resources.

[0105] In the above-disclosed embodiments, the description has been made under the assumption of a specific non-GBR bearer. Meanwhile, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, each of multiple communication devices may be configured with one or more non-GBR bearers. The method for allocating physical resources to multiple specific non-GBR bearers is described below using another example.

[0106] Figure 6a is a flowchart illustrating a method for allocating physical resources to a plurality of specific non-GBR bearers according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and Figure 6b is a diagram illustrating allocation of physical resources to a specific non-GBR bearer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0107] This embodiment provides a method for allocating physical resources to multiple specific non-GBR bearers when a predetermined bit rate is guaranteed on multiple non-GBR bearers configured in a coverage area of ​​a base station. Different specific non-GBR bearers are defined and described below as a first specific non-GBR bearer and a second specific non-GBR bearer.

[0108] exist Figure 6a In an embodiment, the base station may receive CQI information of the first specific non-GBR bearer and CQI information of the second specific non-GBR bearer. According to one embodiment, the base station may determine the amount of physical resources based on the channel condition of each specific non-GBR bearer.

[0109] That is, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S610, the base station can determine the first physical resource amount as the physical resource amount of the first non-GBR bearer based on the CQI information of the first specific non-GBR bearer, and determine the second physical resource amount as the physical resource amount of the second specific non-GBR bearer based on the CQI information of the second specific non-GBR bearer.

[0110] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S620, the base station may compare the sum of the first amount of physical resources and the second amount of physical resources with a predetermined threshold.

[0111] That is, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may determine whether the sum of the first physical resource amount and the second physical resource amount is greater than a threshold set based on the total physical resource amount.

[0112] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if it is determined that the sum of the first physical resource amount and the second physical resource amount is greater than a predetermined threshold, the base station may determine not to guarantee a predetermined bit rate on at least one of the first specific non-GBR bearer and the second specific non-GBR bearer.

[0113] In more detail, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S630, the base station may select at least one of the first specific non-GBR bearer and the second specific non-GBR bearer.

[0114] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may select one of the first specific non-GBR bearer and the second specific non-GBR bearer based on the amount of physical resources. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the sum of the first amount of physical resources and the second amount of physical resources is greater than a predetermined threshold, such as Figure 6b As shown, the base station may select a specific non-GBR bearer having the largest one of the first amount of physical resources and the second amount of physical resources.

[0115] According to an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may select to allocate the specific non-GBR bearer of the packet to be transmitted between the first specific non-GBR bearer and the second specific non-GBR bearer later. For example, it may be the case that a request for a first service is followed by a request for a second service, so that a first amount of physical resources is allocated to the first specific non-GBR bearer corresponding to the first service, and then a second amount of physical resources is allocated to the second specific non-GBR bearer corresponding to the second service.

[0116] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the allocation of the first amount of physical resources is followed by the allocation of the second amount of physical resources, the base station may select the second specific non-GBR bearer.

[0117] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if at least one specific non-GBR bearer is selected, then at step S640 , the base station may perform scheduling to not allocate specific physical resources for guaranteeing a predetermined bit rate on the selected specific non-GBR bearer.

[0118] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if a first specific non-GBR bearer is selected, the base station may allocate any physical resources to the first specific non-GBR bearer within the range of physical resources remaining after physical resources are allocated to the GBR bearer and the second specific non-GBR bearer. Similarly, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if a second specific non-GBR bearer is selected, the base station may perform scheduling to allocate physical resources to the second specific non-GBR bearer within the range of physical resources remaining after physical resources are allocated to the GBR bearer and the first specific non-GBR bearer.

[0119] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the sum of the first physical resource amount and the second physical resource amount is not greater than a predetermined threshold, then in step S650, the base station may perform scheduling to ensure a specific bit rate on each of the first specific non-GBR bearer and the second specific non-GBR bearer.

[0120] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, by allowing a base station to perform scheduling to guarantee a predetermined bit rate on a specific non-GBR bearer, taking into account the characteristics of the service, even if the non-GBR bearer is allocated to the service, service quality can be improved. This is also advantageous in terms of efficiently utilizing physical resources by periodically receiving channel status reports for specific non-GBR bearers and determining whether to maintain the guaranteed bit rate based on channel conditions, depending on the situation.

[0121] It should be understood that those skilled in the art may change or modify the embodiments without departing from the technical concept of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the above embodiments are essentially for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting in any way. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than the description, and the claims include various changes and modifications within the definition and scope of the claims.

[0122] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described using specific terms, the description and drawings should be considered as illustrative rather than restrictive to facilitate understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: Obtaining quality of service (QoS) related information, wherein the QoS related information includes QoS class identifier (QCI) information; identifying at least one non-guaranteed bit rate (non-GBR) bearer based on the QCI information; Obtaining channel state information about the at least one non-GBR bearer; determining, based on the channel state information, whether to guarantee a predetermined bit rate on the at least one non-GBR bearer; allocating physical resources for the at least one non-GBR bearer to ensure the predetermined bit rate based on determining that the predetermined bit rate is guaranteed on the at least one non-GBR bearer; as well as Based on determining that the predetermined bit rate is not guaranteed on the at least one non-GBR bearer, arbitrarily allocating physical resources to the at least one non-GBR bearer within a range of physical resources remaining after allocating the at least one GBR bearer within the physical resources corresponding to the transmission time interval TTI.

2. The method according to claim 1, in, The channel state information includes channel quality indicator CQI information.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In a case where the number of the at least one non-GBR bearer is two or more, determining a priority of each non-GBR bearer in the at least one non-GBR bearer; as well as Physical resources are allocated to each non-GBR bearer in the at least one non-GBR bearer based on a priority of each non-GBR bearer.

4. The method according to claim 1, in, Identifying the at least one non-GBR bearer includes: identifying a first non-GBR bearer and a second non-GBR bearer, Wherein, the method further comprises: determining a first physical resource amount of the first non-GBR bearer and a second physical resource amount of the second non-GBR bearer; determining whether a sum of the first amount of physical resources and the second amount of physical resources is greater than a predetermined threshold; and In a case where the sum is greater than the predetermined threshold, selecting at least one of the first non-GBR bearer or the second non-GBR bearer that does not guarantee the predetermined bit rate, and The first amount of physical resources is determined based on the channel state information of the first non-GBR bearer, and the second amount of physical resources is determined based on the channel state information of the second non-GBR bearer.

5. The method according to claim 4, in, Selecting at least one of the first non-GBR bearer or the second non-GBR bearer includes: Selecting a non-GBR bearer having a larger value between the first amount of physical resources and the second amount of physical resources; or A non-GBR bearer to which the data packet to be transmitted is allocated later is selected between the first non-GBR bearer or the second non-GBR bearer.

6. The method according to claim 1, in, Determining whether to guarantee the predetermined bit rate on the at least one non-GBR bearer includes: determining, based on the channel state information, an amount of physical resources of a specific non-GBR bearer among the at least one non-GBR bearer, wherein the specific non-GBR bearer is determined for the predetermined bit rate to be guaranteed thereon, determining whether the determined amount of physical resources is greater than a preconfigured threshold, determining that the determined amount of physical resources is greater than the preconfigured threshold, not guaranteeing the predetermined bit rate on the specific non-GBR bearer during scheduling; and Based on determining that the determined amount of physical resources is not greater than the preconfigured threshold, determining to guarantee the predetermined bit rate on the specific non-GBR bearer during scheduling.

7. The method according to claim 1, in, The QoS related information is included in the initial context establishment request message, Wherein, the QoS related information further includes allocation and retention priority ARP information, and The at least one non-GBR bearer is identified based on the QCI information and the ARP information.

8. The method according to claim 7, in, Identifying the at least one non-GBR bearer includes identifying the at least one non-GBR bearer according to a priority of ARP information of a non-GBR bearer whose QCI information is within a predetermined range among the non-GBR bearers.

9. A base station in a wireless communication system, the base station comprising: transceiver; as well as a controller coupled to the transceiver, the controller being configured to: Obtaining quality of service (QoS) related information, wherein the QoS related information includes QoS class identifier (QCI) information, identifying at least one non-guaranteed bit rate (non-GBR) bearer based on the QCI information, obtaining channel state information about the at least one non-GBR bearer, determining whether to guarantee a predetermined bit rate on the at least one non-GBR bearer based on the channel state information, allocating physical resources for the at least one non-GBR bearer to ensure the predetermined bit rate based on determining that the predetermined bit rate is guaranteed on the at least one non-GBR bearer; as well as Based on determining that the predetermined bit rate is not guaranteed on the at least one non-GBR bearer, arbitrarily allocating physical resources to the at least one non-GBR bearer within a range of physical resources remaining after allocating the at least one GBR bearer within the physical resources corresponding to the transmission time interval TTI.

10. The base station according to claim 9, wherein: The controller is configured to: identifying a first non-GBR bearer and a second non-GBR bearer, determining a first physical resource amount of the first non-GBR bearer and a second physical resource amount of the second non-GBR bearer, determining whether the sum of the first amount of physical resources and the second amount of physical resources is greater than a predetermined threshold, and In a case where the sum is greater than the predetermined threshold, selecting at least one of the first non-GBR bearer or the second non-GBR bearer that does not guarantee the predetermined bit rate, and The first amount of physical resources is determined based on the channel state information of the first non-GBR bearer, and the second amount of physical resources is determined based on the channel state information of the second non-GBR bearer.

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