Apparatus and methods for spectrum sharing in wireless communication systems

Abstract

This disclosure relates to fifth-generation (5G) or pre-5G communication systems for supporting higher data transmission rates than fourth-generation (4G) communication systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE). According to various embodiments of this disclosure, a method performed by a first distributed unit (DU) of a first base station in a wireless communication system includes: sending a message to a second DU of a second base station supporting a second cell via a DU interface between the first DU of the first base station and a second DU of a second base station, wherein the second cell shares a specified range of frequency bands with the first cell of the first base station; the message includes an establishment request for the DU interface and information related to spectrum sharing, wherein the spectrum sharing related information includes an identifier ID of the first DU of the first base station and an identifier ID of the second DU of the second base station.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application filed on June 18, 2021, with application number 202180043729.5 and entitled "Apparatus and Method for Spectrum Sharing in Wireless Communication Systems". Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure generally relates to wireless communication systems, and more specifically, to apparatus and methods for spectrum sharing in wireless communication systems. Background Technology

[0003] To meet the growing demand for wireless data services following the commercialization of fourth-generation (4G) communication systems, efforts are underway to develop improved fifth-generation (5G) communication systems, or pre-5G communication systems. For this reason, 5G or pre-5G communication systems are referred to as super-4G network communication systems or post-Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems.

[0004] To achieve high data rates, 5G communication systems are being considered for implementation in ultra-high frequency (millimeter wave) bands, such as the 60 gigabyte (60 GHz) band. To mitigate path loss of radio waves and increase their propagation distance in ultra-high frequency bands, 5G communication systems are being discussed, incorporating technologies such as beamforming, massive MIMO, full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, analog beamforming, and massive MIMO.

[0005] In addition, for network improvements to the system, technologies such as evolved small cells, advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (cloud RAN), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device communication (D2D), wireless backhaul, mobile networks, cooperative communication, cooperative multipoint (CoMP), and receive interference cancellation are being developed in 5G communication systems.

[0006] In addition, hybrid frequency shift keying and orthogonal amplitude modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) are being developed as advanced coding and modulation (ACM) methods, as well as filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as advanced access technologies.

[0007] With the introduction of 5G communication systems, network and telecom operators need to build the infrastructure for these systems. Therefore, introducing new radio access technologies (RATs) will become a burden for operators. To address this burden, Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology is being discussed. Summary of the Invention

[0008] [Technical Issues]

[0009] Based on the above discussion, this disclosure provides an apparatus and method for dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) in a wireless communication system.

[0010] Furthermore, this disclosure provides an apparatus and method for signaling related to spectrum sharing with a base station's DU in a wireless communication system.

[0011] [Problem Solving]

[0012] According to various embodiments of this disclosure, a method performed by a distributed unit (DU) of a base station in a wireless communication system may include: transmitting a message including spectrum-sharing information to another node supporting a second cell via a DU interface, the second cell sharing a specified range of frequency bands with a first cell of the base station. The spectrum-sharing information may include identification information about the first cell and identification information about the second cell.

[0013] According to various embodiments of this disclosure, a method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system may include receiving, via a DU interface, a distributed element (DU) of another node supporting a first cell, a message including information related to spectrum sharing. The first cell and the second cell of the base station may share a specified range of frequency bands. The information related to spectrum sharing may include identification information about the first cell and identification information about the second cell.

[0014] According to various embodiments of this disclosure, an apparatus executed by a distributed unit (DU) of a base station in a wireless communication system may include at least one transceiver and at least one processor. The at least one processor may control the at least one transceiver to transmit, via a DU interface, a message including information related to spectrum sharing to another node supporting a second cell, the second cell sharing a specified frequency band with a first cell of the base station. The information related to spectrum sharing may include identification information about the first cell and identification information about the second cell.

[0015] According to various embodiments of this disclosure, the apparatus executed by a base station in a wireless communication system may include at least one transceiver and at least one processor. The at least one processor may control the at least one transceiver to receive messages including information related to spectrum sharing from a distributed element (DU) of another node supporting a first cell via a DU interface. The first cell and the second cell of the base station may share a specified range of frequency bands. The information related to spectrum sharing may include identification information about the first cell and identification information about the second cell.

[0016] More specifically, according to an embodiment, a method is provided performed by a first distributed unit (DU) of a first base station in a wireless communication system. The method includes: sending a message to a second DU of a second base station supporting a second cell via a DU interface between the first DU of the first base station and a second DU of a second base station, wherein the second cell shares a specified range of frequency bands with the first cell of the first base station. The message includes an establishment request for the DU interface and information related to spectrum sharing, wherein the information related to spectrum sharing includes an identifier ID of the first DU of the first base station and an identifier ID of the second DU of the second base station.

[0017] [Beneficial effects of the invention]

[0018] The apparatuses and methods of various embodiments of this disclosure can maximize the performance of dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) by providing signaling and interfaces between DUs for spectrum sharing in a separate structure of central unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU).

[0019] The effects that can be obtained from this disclosure are not limited to those described above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 The illustrations depict wireless communication systems according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 2a and Figure 2b Examples of spectrum sharing in wireless communication systems according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0022] Figure 3a and Figure 3b Examples of signaling for spectrum sharing in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0023] Figure 4 Examples of interface establishment processes initiated by a central unit (CU) in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0024] Figure 5 Examples of interface establishment processes initiated by a distributed unit (DU) in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0025] Figure 6 Examples of resource coordination processes for spectrum sharing in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0026] Figure 7Examples of resource status reporting processes for spectrum sharing in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0027] Figure 8 The illustration shows the construction of a base station according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 9 The illustration shows the construction of a terminal according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. Singular expressions may include plural expressions unless the context clearly specifies otherwise. The terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art as described in this disclosure. Among the terminology used in this disclosure, terms defined in a general dictionary may be interpreted as having the same or similar meaning in the context of the related art, and are not to be construed as having an ideal or overly formal meaning unless expressly defined herein. In some cases, even the terms defined in this disclosure should not be construed as excluding embodiments of this disclosure.

[0030] In the various embodiments of this disclosure described below, hardware access methods will be described as examples. However, since the various embodiments of this disclosure include techniques using both hardware and software, software-based methods are not excluded.

[0031] Furthermore, this disclosure describes various embodiments using terms used in some communication standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR) as defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), but these are merely examples for illustrative purposes. Various embodiments of this disclosure can also be readily modified and applied to other communication systems.

[0032] Furthermore, the expressions "greater than" or "less than" have been used in this disclosure to determine whether a specific condition is met or satisfied. However, this is merely a description for illustrative purposes and does not exclude descriptions of "equal to" or "greater than," or "equal to" or "less than." A condition described as "equal to" or "greater than" can be replaced with "greater than," a condition described as "equal to" or "less than," and a condition described as "equal to" or "greater than and less than" can be replaced with "greater than and equal to" or "less than."

[0033] In the following, this disclosure describes techniques and methods for systems necessary for the coexistence of identical or heterogeneous radio access technologies (RATs) in wireless communication systems and for services in the same frequency spectrum. Traditionally, there are no interfaces provided between base stations operating in different core networks for spectrum sharing, and even in the case of identical core networks, only indirect resource coordination processes within CUs are defined. Although resource coordination processes between existing base station CUs have been described for spectrum sharing, there are significant time delays due to the interaction between CUs and DUs, and there are also problems with the difficulty of performing real-time spectrum sharing due to limited process and information elements (IEs). Therefore, to achieve real-time dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS), various embodiments of this disclosure propose interactive processes, related signaling, and information through direct interfaces between DUs.

[0034] The terms used in the following description to identify access nodes, refer to network entities, refer to messages, refer to signaling, refer to interfaces between network objects, and refer to various identification information are illustrative for ease of description. Therefore, this invention is not limited to the terms described below, and other terms referring to objects with equivalent technical meanings may be used.

[0035] Figure 1 The illustrations depict wireless communication systems according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 The illustration shows base stations 110-1 and 110-2 and terminal 120 as nodes using a radio channel in a wireless communication system. Base stations 110-1 and 110-2 can perform communication while sharing the same spectrum band with terminal 120. In the following description, for ease of description, each of base stations 110-1 and 110-2 will be referred to collectively as base station 110. In this disclosure, the case of two base stations sharing a frequency band is described as an example; however, it goes without saying that the embodiments described below can be applied to three or more base stations.

[0036] refer to Figure 1 Base stations 110-1 and 110-2 are network infrastructure providing wireless access to terminal 120. The coverage area of ​​base station 110 is defined as a geographical area based on the distance at which signals can be transmitted. In the following text, the term "coverage" may refer to the service coverage area within base station 110. Base station 110 may cover one cell or multiple cells. Here, multiple cells may be divided by supported frequencies and covered sectors.

[0037] Besides being a base station, base station 110 may be referred to as an "access point (AP)," "eNodeB," "fifth-generation node (5G node)," "5G node B (NB)," "next-generation node B (gNB)," "radio point," "transmit / receive point (TRP)," "central unit (CU)," "distributed unit (DU)," "radio unit (RU)," "remote radio headend (RRH)," or other terms with equivalent technical meanings. According to various embodiments, base station 110 may be connected to one or more "transmit / receive points (TRPs)." Base station 110 can transmit downlink signals to terminal 120 or receive uplink signals from terminal 120 through one or more TRPs.

[0038] Terminal 120, a device used by a user, communicates with base station 110 via a wireless channel. In some cases, terminal 120 can operate without user intervention. That is, at least one of terminals 120 is a device performing machine-type communication (MTC) and may not be carried by the user. Besides "terminal," terminal 120 may be referred to as "user equipment (UE)," "mobile station," "user station," "customer premises equipment" (CPE), "remote terminal," "wireless terminal," "electronic device," or "vehicle terminal," "user equipment," or other terms with equivalent technical meanings.

[0039] The communication nodes (e.g., terminals, base stations, and core network entities) of various embodiments of this disclosure can operate in an LTE system. Furthermore, the communication nodes (e.g., terminals, base stations, and core network entities) of various embodiments of this disclosure can operate in an NR system. Additionally, the communication nodes (e.g., terminals, base stations, and core network entities) of various embodiments of this disclosure can operate in both LTE and NR systems.

[0040] With the introduction of 5G systems, to support network function virtualization and / or more efficient resource management and scheduling, base stations (e.g., gNBs) providing wireless network interfaces to user equipment (UEs) can be further divided into Central Units (CUs) and Distributed Units (DUs). A CU has at least Radio Resource Control (RRC) and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocol layers, and may also include Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP). A DU has Radio Link Control Protocol (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC), physical layer, etc. There is a standardized common interface (F1) between the CU and DU. The F1 interface is divided into a control plane (F1-C) and a user plane (F1-U). The transport network layer of F1-C is based on IP transport. To ensure more stable signaling transmission, the Flow Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) is added on top of the Internet Protocol (IP). The application layer protocol is F1AP. SCTP can provide stable application layer message delivery. The transport layer of F1-U is User Datagram Protocol (UDP) / IP. The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) is used over UDP / IP to implement User Plane Protocol Data Units (PDUs).

[0041] In this disclosure, base stations in a radio access network may include all cells (or carriers) supporting the same or heterogeneous RATs. In other words, the base stations support Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology, where spectrum is shared between the same or heterogeneous RATs. In the following, in this disclosure, a cell sharing spectrum, that is, sharing a specified range of frequency bands (some carrier frequencies available for both nodes (e.g., eNB for LTE / gNB for NR)) may be referred to as a shared cell or a cell being shared. Figures 2a to 2b An example of a wireless communication environment is described, including base stations (e.g., CU-DU) in a distributed deployment for DSS.

[0042] Figure 2a and Figure 2b Examples of spectrum sharing in wireless communication systems according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated. First node 110-1 is illustrated. Figure 1 Base station 110-1. The second node 110-2 is illustrated. Figure 1 Base station 110-2.

[0043] Traditionally, in communication systems with relatively large cell radii, each base station has been installed, comprising a digital processing unit (DU) and a radio frequency (RF) processing unit (RU). However, with the use of higher frequency bands in fourth-generation (4G) and / or post-generation communication systems, and the shrinking cell radii of base stations, the number of base stations required to cover a specific area has increased, leading to higher installation costs for operators. To minimize base station installation costs, a proposed architecture has been developed where the DU and RU of a base station are separate, with one or more RUs connected to a DU via a wired network, and the RUs are geographically distributed to cover a specific area. The base station can be separated into a digital unit (DU) and a radio unit (RU), and a front-end board is defined for communication between the DU and RU, requiring transmission via front haul.

[0044] CU-DU functional separation can even be applied to base stations including those with forward backhaul capabilities. Base stations can be implemented in a distributed deployment based on centralized units (CUs) configured to perform higher-layer access network functions (e.g., Packet Data Convergence Protocol (RRC)) and distributed units (DUs) configured to perform lower-layer functions. In this case, the distributed unit (DU) can include the aforementioned digital unit (DU) and radio unit (RU). Between the core network (e.g., 5G core (5GC) or next-generation core (NGC)) and the radio network (RAN), the base station can be implemented in a structure where CUs, DUs, and RUs are arranged sequentially. The interface between the CU and the distributed unit (DU) can be referred to as the F1 interface.

[0045] A centralized unit (CU) can connect to one or more distributed units (DUs) and is responsible for functions at higher layers than the DUs. For example, a CU can be responsible for functions at the Radio Resource Control (RRC) and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layers, while DUs and RUs can be responsible for functions at lower layers. DUs perform some functions at the Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC), and Physical (PHY) layers (high PHY), while RUs can be responsible for the remaining functions at the PHY layer (low PHY). Furthermore, as an example, depending on the implementation of the distributed deployment of the base station, digital units (DUs) can be included within distributed units (DUs).

[0046] Referring to Figure 2A, the first node 110-1 may include a first CU 201-1, a first DU 203-1, and a first RU 205-1. The second node 110-2 may include a second CU 201-2, a second DU 203-2, and a second RU 205-2. The first node 110-1 may provide a first cell to the UE 120. The second node 110-2 may provide a second cell to the UE 120. In this case, the first cell and the second cell may include the same frequency band (i.e., a shared carrier). That is, from the perspective of the UE 120, the first cell and the second cell may be a cell 210 shared by two base stations. Here, including the same carrier frequency may mean that the absolute frequency positions used are the same. The first CU 201-1 of the first node and the second CU 201-2 of the second node can communicate via an FX-C interface. The first DU 203-1 of the first node and the second DU 203-2 of the second node can communicate via an FX-D interface or an FX-U interface of the user plane.

[0047] Figure 2a The illustration depicts a standalone base station, each including a CU, DU, and RU, with each RU providing a serving cell to the UE; however, embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to this. According to embodiments, such as... Figure 2b As shown, another scenario to consider is providing 5G NR services by using carrier frequencies defined in the LTE eNB.

[0048] refer to Figure 2b The first node 110-1 may include eNB DU 253-1. The eNB DU 253-1 of the first node 110-1 may be connected to RU 255. RU 255 is an eNB RU and can perform functions as part of the first node 110-1. The second node 110-2 may include gNB-CU 251-2 and gNB DU 253-2. The gNB DU 253-2 of the second node 110-2 may be connected to RU 255. The second node 110-2 can perform communication with the first node 110-1 via the FX interface. For example, communication between eNB DU 253-1 and gNB DU 253-2 can be performed. The gNB-CU and gNB DU for NR are additionally connected to an existing LTE base station, whereby RU 255 can provide the UE with both NR and LTE cells, even though they share the same carrier frequency (260). The base station (e.g., node 110-1) can flexibly allocate spectrum in low, medium, and high frequency bands to UE 120 by dynamically switching between LTE and 5G NR, according to service requirements. This flexible spectrum allocation provides UE 120 with high communication performance and stable communication range.

[0049] Various embodiments of this disclosure may include signaling using a communication interface between the CUs of two nodes or between the DUs for smooth spectrum sharing. At this time, in Figures 2a to 2b In order to describe the implementation scenario of spectrum sharing, an exemplary structure with separate DU and RU has been described. However, the separate structure is only one aspect of the implementation and does not limit the embodiments of this disclosure. That is, the case where the Distributed Unit (DU) directly provides the cell to the UE without separating the Digital Unit (DU) and Radio Unit (RU) can also be understood as an embodiment of this disclosure. Furthermore, in Figures 2a to 2b In this illustration, to explain the spectrum sharing scenario, each node and entity is depicted as an independent construct; however, this is merely an example to illustrate functional separation, and the illustration is not to be construed as limiting the embodiments of this disclosure. Each entity may be a physically independent device or may be software implemented to perform other functions.

[0050] The above examples of functions and implementations for spectrum sharing between nodes have been demonstrated. Figures 2a to 2b A description has been provided. In the following text, through... Figures 3a to 3b This describes the process of spectrum sharing in each node.

[0051] Figure 3a and Figure 3b Examples of signaling for spectrum sharing in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated. First node 110-1 illustrates... Figure 1 Base station 110-1. Second node 110-2 illustrates... Figure 1 Base station 110-2.

[0052] refer to Figure 3a This describes the signaling used for spectrum sharing between two nodes. The signaling used to configure spectrum sharing may include interface establishment procedure 310, resource status reporting procedure 330, resource coordination procedure 340, and data transmission procedure 345.

[0053] The interface establishment process 310 may include a request and response process through the first node 110-1 and the second node 110-2. Signaling between the two nodes may be performed via a CU-to-CU interface (e.g., FX-C) or a DU-to-DU interface (e.g., FX-D). In step 311, the first node 110-1 may send an interface establishment request to the second node 110-2. The second node 110-2 may determine whether to accept the interface establishment request. If the establishment request is successful, in step 312a, the second node 110-2 may send an interface establishment response to the first node 110-1. If the establishment request fails, in step 312b, the second node 110-2 may send an interface establishment failure message to the first node 110-1.

[0054] Resource status reporting process 330 may include a resource status reporting process via second node 110-2. Signaling from second node 110-2 to first node 110-1 may be performed by an inter-DU interface (e.g., FX-D). In step 331, second node 110-2 may send a resource status update message to first node 110-1.

[0055] The resource coordination process 340 may include a request and response process via a first node 110-1 and a second node 110-2. Signaling between the two nodes may be performed via an inter-DU interface (e.g., FX-D). In step 341, the first node 110-1 may send a cell resource coordination request to the second node 110-2. The cell resource coordination request may be a message requesting cell resource coordination. The second node 110-2 may determine whether to accept the cell resource coordination request. If the request is successful, in step 342a, the second node 110-2 may send a cell resource coordination response to the first node 110-1. If the cell resource coordination request fails, in step 342b, the second node 110-2 may send a cell resource coordination rejection to the first node 110-1.

[0056] Data transmission process 345 may include data transmission via the first node 110-1 and the second node 110-2. Signaling between the two nodes may be performed by an inter-DU interface (e.g., FX-U). In step 346, the first node 110-1 may send data to the DU of the second node 110-2 via the DU. The second node 110-2 may send data to the DU of the first node 110-1 via the DU.

[0057] exist Figure 3a The signaling between independent nodes has already been described in the text. Figure 3a One aspect of the process for dynamic spectrum sharing shown can be considered using, for example... Figure 3b The illustration shows a scenario where the carrier frequencies defined in an LTE eNB are used to provide 5G NR services. (Reference) Figure 3b , such as in Figure 3a In this configuration, the signaling used for spectrum sharing may include an interface establishment process 360, a resource status reporting process 380, and a resource coordination process 390. In this case, the first node 110-1 exemplifies an eNB, and the second node 110-2 exemplifies a gNB. gNB 110-2 may include gNB CU 351 and gNB DU 352.

[0058] Figure 3b The interface establishment process 360, resource status reporting process 380, and resource coordination process 390 can respectively correspond to Figure 3aThe interface establishment process 310, the resource status reporting process 330, and the resource coordination process 380.

[0059] The interface establishment process 360 may include a request and response process via eNB 110-1 and gNB DU 352. In step 361, eNB 110-1 may send an interface establishment request to gNB DU 352. gNB 110-2 may determine whether to accept the interface establishment request. If the establishment request is successful, in step 362a, gNB DU 352 may send an interface establishment response to eNB 110-1. If the establishment request fails, in step 362b, gNB DU 352 may send an interface establishment failure message to eNB 110-1.

[0060] Resource status reporting process 330 may include a resource status reporting process via gNB DU 352. In step 381, gNB DU 352 may send a resource status update message to eNB 110-1.

[0061] The resource coordination process 390 may include a request process and a response process via eNB 110-1 and gNB DU 352. In step 391, eNB 110-1 may send a cell resource coordination request to gNB DU 352. The cell resource coordination request may be a message used to request cell resource coordination. gNB DU 352 may determine whether to accept the cell resource coordination request. If the request is successful, in step 392a, gNB DU 352 may send a cell resource coordination response to eNB 110-1. If the cell resource coordination request fails, in step 392b, gNB DU 352 may send a cell resource coordination rejection to eNB 110-1.

[0062] Although all processes are illustrated as being by Figure 3b The process is performed by gNB DU 352, but the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited thereto. Some processes can also be performed by gNB CU 351. According to the embodiments, the resource status reporting process and the resource coordination process can be performed by gNB DU 352 and eNB 110-1, and the interface establishment process can be performed by gNB CU 351 and eNB 110-1.

[0063] pass Figures 3a to 3b The process for spectrum sharing between two nodes supporting the same or heterogeneous RAT has already been described. In the following sections, references will be made to... Figures 4 to 7 Examples of specific information included in the signaling that describes each process.

[0064] Interface establishment process

[0065] Figure 4 The illustration shows an example of an interface establishment process initiated by a central unit (CU) in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. First node 110-1 illustrates... Figure 1 Base station 110-1. First node 110-1 may include first CU 411 and first DU 412. Second node 110-2 illustrates... Figure 1 The base station 110-2. The second node 110-2 may include a second CU 461 and a second DU 462. Each function may be implemented as an independent entity or as a separate function within an entity.

[0066] Reference Figure 4 In step 410, the first CU 411 can configure the target CU IP and enable the shared mode. In some embodiments, the F1 establishment process can be executed in each node before the interface establishment process. The establishment process of the F1 interface between the CU and DU of each node can be executed. In this case, the DU can forward the shared cell information to the CU. Then, by configuring the target CU IP, the interface establishment process is initiated. The establishment process initiated by the first CU 411 of the first node 110-1 will be described below.

[0067] In step 415, the first CU 411 may send an interface establishment request to the second CU 461. The interface establishment request may correspond to... Figure 3a The interface establishment response in step 311. The interface establishment request may include at least one of the following: the source node's ID (e.g., a global ID), the source node's DU ID and transmission information, the target node's DU ID and transmission information, a shared node ID, and shared cell information. Here, the transmission information may include at least one of the following: an IP address used to establish an FX-D interface between DUs, a port number used to establish an FX-D interface, or an IP address used to establish an FX-U interface between DUs. In one example, the source node may be a first node 110-1, and the target node may be a second node 110-2.

[0068] The shared cell information in embodiments of this disclosure may include a cell ID (e.g., a Cell Global Identifier (CGI) and / or a Physical Cell Identifier (PCI)) or a channel number (e.g., an Absolute Radio Channel Number (ARFCN), an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) ARFCN (EARFCN), and a New Radio (NR)-ARFCN) for spectrum sharing. Furthermore, the shared cell information in embodiments of this disclosure may include cell transmission information. In one example, cell transmission information may include a cell port number. Additionally, the shared cell information in embodiments of this disclosure may include resource information. Resource information may include at least one of data resource information (e.g., Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource mode information), control channel information (e.g., Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) length information), resource allocation information (e.g., RB blanking information), and RS (Reference Signal) configuration information (e.g., Positioning RS (PRS) configuration information and Cell-Specific RS (CRS) configuration information). Furthermore, the shared cell information in embodiments of this disclosure may include target cell information. For example, the target cell may be indicated by a CGI or a PCI. Additionally, the shared cell information in this embodiment may include a shared cell ID. By forwarding the shared cell information to the second CU 461, the first CU 411 can forward an interface establishment request for the DSS.

[0069] In step 420, the second CU 461 can perform a cell pairing check and accept an interface establishment request. Here, cell pairing can refer to the process of associating two cells for spectrum sharing. This is because spectrum sharing requires cells to be located within a common frequency range. The second CU 461 can verify whether a node's cell can be paired for spectrum sharing, and when the verification is successful, the second CU 461 can accept the interface establishment request. The second CU 461 can then enable sharing mode. Afterward, the second CU 461 can forward the interface establishment request received from the first CU 411 to the second DU 462. According to one embodiment, the second CU 461 can forward the interface establishment request to the second DU 462 using a container. For example, by using a container IE for DU resource coordination requests, the second CU 461 can include the interface establishment request received from the first CU 411 as is in the DU resource coordination request. According to another embodiment, the second CU 461 can provide a separate DU resource coordination request using information obtained from the interface establishment request received from the first CU 411. After forwarding the resource coordination request, the second CU 461 can receive the DU resource coordination response from the second DU 462.

[0070] In step 425, the second CU 461 may send an interface establishment response to the first CU 411. The interface establishment response may include at least one of the following: the source node's ID (e.g., a global ID), the source node's DU ID and transmission information, the target node's DU ID and transmission information, a shared node ID, and shared cell information. The description of each piece of information may be applied in the same or similar manner to step 415. In one example, the source node may be the second node 110-2, and the target node may be the first node 110-1.

[0071] The interface establishment response can correspond to Figure 3a The interface establishment response is received in step 312a. Afterwards, the first CU 411 can forward the interface establishment response received from the second CU 461 to the first DU 412. According to an embodiment, the first CU 411 can forward the interface establishment response to the first DU 412 using a container. For example, by using a container IE for the DU resource coordination request, the first CU 411 can include the interface establishment response received from the second CU 461 as is in the DU resource coordination request. According to another embodiment, the first CU 411 can provide a separate DU resource coordination request using information obtained from the interface establishment response received from the second CU 461. After forwarding the resource coordination request, the first CU 411 can receive the DU resource coordination response from the first DU 412.

[0072] Through the above process, the FX-C interface establishment process between the first CU 411 and the second CU 461 can be completed. Furthermore, the FX-D interface establishment process and / or FX-U interface establishment process between the second DU 412 and the second DU 462 can be completed.

[0073] Despite Figure 4 Both nodes are illustrated as having a CU and a DU, but according to an embodiment, a node can be implemented as a single entity without CU-DU separation (e.g., an eNB). In the corresponding node, the F1 interface establishment process between the CU and DU, as well as the resource coordination process between the CU and DU, can be omitted.

[0074] Figure 5 The illustration shows examples of an interface establishment process initiated by a distributed unit (DU) in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. First node 110-1 illustrates... Figure 1 Base station 110-1. First node 110-1 may include first CU 511 and first DU 512. Second node 110-2 exemplifies... Figure 1The base station 110-2. The second node 110-2 may include a second CU 561 and a second DU 562. Each function may be implemented as an independent entity or as a separate function within an entity.

[0075] Reference Figure 5 In step 510, the first DU 512 can configure the target DU IP and enable the sharing mode. In some embodiments, the F1 establishment process can be executed in each node before the interface establishment process. The establishment process of the F1 interface between the CU and DU of each node can be executed. In this case, the DU can forward the shared cell information to the CU. Thereafter, the interface establishment process is initiated by configuring the target DU IP. The establishment process initiated by the first DU 512 of the first node 110-1 will be described below.

[0076] In step 515, the first DU 512 may send an interface establishment request to the second DU 562. The interface establishment request may correspond to... Figure 3a The interface establishment response in step 311. The interface establishment request may include at least one of the following: the source node's ID (e.g., a global ID), the source node's DU ID and transmission information, the target node's DU ID and transmission information, a shared node ID, and shared cell information. Here, the transmission information may include at least one of the following: the IP address used to establish the FX-D interface between DUs, the port number used to establish the FX-D interface, or the IP address used to establish the FX-U interface between DUs. In one example, the source node may be a first node 110-1, and the target node may be a second node 110-2.

[0077] The shared cell information in embodiments of this disclosure may include a cell ID (e.g., a Cell Global Identifier (CGI) and / or a Physical Cell Identifier (PCI)) or a channel number (e.g., an Absolute Radio Channel Number (ARFCN), an E-UTRA ARFCN (EARFCN), and / or a New Radio (NR)-ARFCN) for spectrum sharing. Furthermore, the shared cell information in embodiments of this disclosure may include cell transmission information. In one example, cell transmission information may include a cell port number. Additionally, the shared cell information in embodiments of this disclosure may include resource information. Resource information may include at least one of data resource information (e.g., Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource mode information), control channel information (e.g., Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) length information), resource allocation information (e.g., RB clearing information), and / or reference signal (RS) configuration information (e.g., Positioning RS (PRS) configuration information and / or Cell-Specific RS (CRS) configuration information). Furthermore, the shared cell information in embodiments of this disclosure may include target cell information. For example, the target cell may be indicated by a CGI or a PCI. Furthermore, the shared cell information in embodiments of this disclosure may include a shared cell ID. By forwarding shared cell information to the second DU 562, the first DU 512 can forward requests to establish a DSS interface.

[0078] In step 520, the second DU 562 can perform a cell pairing check and accept an interface establishment request. The second DU 562 can then enable shared mode. Figure 4 Unlike other methods, since the shared cell information is received directly through the DU interface, subsequent procedures can be performed without additional procedures between CU and DU.

[0079] In step 525, the second DU 562 may send an interface establishment response to the first DU 512. The interface establishment response may include at least one of the following: the source node's ID (e.g., a global ID), the source node's DU ID and transmission information, the target node's DU ID and transmission information, a shared node ID, and shared cell information. The description of each piece of information may be applied in the same or similar manner to step 415. In one example, the source node may be the second node 110-2, and the target node may be the first node 110-1.

[0080] The interface establishment response can correspond to Figure 3a Step 312a establishes an interface response. (And...) Figure 4 Unlike other methods, since the shared cell information is received directly through the DU inter-interface interface, the CU-DU additional process is no longer required. Through the above process, the FX-D interface establishment process and / or FX-U interface establishment process between the first DU 512 and the second DU 562 can be completed.

[0081] Despite Figure 5 Both nodes are illustrated as having a CU and a DU, but according to an embodiment, a node can be implemented as a single entity without CU-DU separation (e.g., an eNB). In the corresponding node, the F1 interface establishment process between the CU and DU can be omitted. The following description, as an example, illustrates the case of shared LTE and NR cells.

[0082] Assume a dynamic spectrum sharing scenario performed by an eNB and a gNB. When initiated by the gNB, the gNB can perform an interface establishment procedure for the neighboring node's IP. DSS cell information can be shared between the gNB's DU and the eNB. The gNB's DU can send an interface establishment request to the eNB. This interface establishment request includes at least one of the following: the global gNB ID, the gNB DU ID, the gNB DU's IP address, the target eNB's IP address, the target eNB's ID, and NR cell information for sharing. The NR cell information may include at least one of the following: the NR cell ID used for DSS (e.g., NR CGI), port information (e.g., UDP port-related information), target cell information (target E-UTRA cell ID (e.g., ECGI)), NR resource information (e.g., protected NR resource indicator), and NR tracking reference signal (TRS) information.

[0083] The eNB can determine whether to accept the gNB's interface establishment request by verifying the configuration information. The eNB can perform a pairing check. Here, pairing refers to the process of managing associations through spectrum sharing between associated LTE and NR cells. Through the pairing process, the eNB's LTE cell and the gNB's NR cell can be jointly controlled under the DSS function. After checking the pairing process, the eNB can send a response (success / failure) to the gNB based on the paired cell information. The eNB can send an interface establishment response to the gNB's DU. This response includes at least one of the following: a global eNB ID for sharing, the target gNB's ID (e.g., global ID), the eNB's IP address, and LTE cell information. The LTE cell information may include at least one of the following: the LTE cell ID for DSS (e.g., ECGI), port information (e.g., UDP port-related information), target cell information (target NR cell ID (e.g., NR CGI)), LTE resource information (e.g., protected LTE resource indicator), and LTE CRS information.

[0084] The above Figures 4 to 5The signaling types described can be non-UE-associated signaling (e.g., CU-associated signaling). Since shared cell information and transmission information are forwarded to the target DU through appropriate procedures, interfaces between CUs or between DUs can be established. Furthermore, such signaling / data paths can be established on a unit of one or more shared cells. Simultaneously, the above establishment can also be performed for future additions, removals, or changes to the establishment of DSS cells. Corresponding nodes can forward update information to other nodes through the establishment process.

[0085] Although Figures 4 to 5 Not illustrated, but after establishing the interface, the two nodes can further perform a process to remove the established interface (i.e., DSS interface removal). The interface removal process can be performed via an inter-CU interface (e.g., FX-CU) or an inter-DU interface (FX-DU). The message used for removal can even include at least one of the following: the CU ID, DU ID, shared node ID, and shared cell information. The shared cell information can include at least one of the following: cell ID (e.g., the source node's cell ID), target cell ID (e.g., the target node's cell ID), and shared cell ID (i.e., the ID defined for the DSS). In this case, the cell ID can be indicated in the form of PCI or CGI (e.g., ECGI or NR-CGI).

[0086] In reference Figures 4 to 5 The information forwarded between two nodes during the interface establishment process can be configured as shown in Table 1 below.

[0087] Table 1

[0088] Interface creation request FX-C or FX-D Each CU or each DU Node-CU ID > Node-DU ID > Shared Node ID > Node-DU Transmission Information > Node-DU-FX-D IP Address > Node-DU-FX-D Port Number > Node-DU-FX-U IP Address > Target Global Node ID > Shared Cell Information (to be added) > Cell ID (CGI, PCI), ARFCN > Cell Transmission Information > Cell Port Number > Resource Information > PUSCH Resource Mode Information > PDCCH Length Information > RB Clear Information > PRS Configuration Information > CRS Configuration Information > Target Cell ID (CGI, PCI) > Shared Cell ID Interface establishes response FX-C or FX-D Each CU or each DU Node-CU ID > Node-DU ID > Shared Node ID > Node-DU Transmission Information > Node-DU-FX-D IP Address > Node-DU-FX-D Port Number > Node-DU-FX-U IP Address > Target Global Node ID > Shared Cell Information (to be added) > Cell ID (CGI, PCI), ARFCN > Cell Transmission Information > Cell Port Number > Resource Information > PUSCH Resource Mode Information > PDCCH Length Information > RB Clear Information > PRS Configuration Information > CRS Configuration Information > Target Cell ID (CGI, PCI) > Shared Cell ID Interface creation failed FX-C or FX-D Each CU or each DU Reasons (function disabled, running in static mode, running in dynamic mode, unknown cell, unknown xNB, configuration mismatch, etc.) DSS interface removed FX-C or FX-D Each CU or each DU Node-CU ID Node-DU ID Shared Node ID Shared Cell Information (to be deleted) > Cell ID (CGI, PCI) > Target Cell ID (CGI, PCI) > Shared Cell ID

[0089] Resource Coordination Process

[0090] Figure 6 The illustration shows examples of resource coordination processes for spectrum sharing in wireless communication systems according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. First node 110-1 illustrates... Figure 1 Base station 110-1. First node 110-1 may include first CU 611 and first DU 612. Second node 110-2 exemplifies... Figure 1 The base station 110-2. The second node 110-2 may include a second CU661 and a second DU662. Each function may be implemented as an independent entity or as a separate function within an entity.

[0091] Reference Figure 6In step 610, the first DU 612 can determine a resource mode. A resource coordination process can be used to express the resource allocation required for data service transmission. The resource coordination process may include signaling for coordinating allocated or pending resources. The first DU 612 can determine the resource mode based on the current resource status and identify a target node or target cell. Thereafter, the first DU 612 can provide a resource coordination request including the resource mode, target node, and target cell. Here, the resource mode can represent the resource distribution status between shared cells. For example, the resource mode may include information related to the resource ratio between two cells. Furthermore, for example, the resource mode may include information related to the weight of each of the two cells. Furthermore, for example, the resource mode may include information related to the cell load of each of the two cells. According to an embodiment, in the case of LTE-NR inter-spectrum sharing, one of the two nodes (e.g., eNB) can determine the mode information based on the LTE resource status and the NR resource status.

[0092] In step 615, the first DU 612 may send a cell resource coordination request to the second DU 662. The cell resource coordination request may include a serving cell list. Here, the list is merely one form of data, and this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of this disclosure. The serving cell list may include information about one or more cells served by the first DU 612. The serving cell list may include at least one of a cell ID, a target cell ID, a shared cell ID, a data service resource indicator, and an active SFN. Each cell ID may be indicated in the form of a PCI or CGI. Furthermore, the target cell may refer to the cell of the target node (e.g., the second DU 662). According to an embodiment, in the case of LTE-NR inter-spectrum sharing, when the first node 110-1 is an eNB and the second node 110-2 is a gNB, the eNB may forward the E-UTRA cell ID and the target NR cell ID (e.g., NR CGI) to the gNB DU.

[0093] In step 620, the second DU 662 may send a cell resource coordination response to the first DU 612. The second DU 662 may determine whether to accept the cell resource coordination request. When the cell resource coordination request is accepted, the second DU 662 may send a cell resource coordination response to the first DU 612. The cell resource coordination response may include a serving cell list. The serving cell list may include at least one of a cell ID, a target cell ID, and a shared cell ID. Here, the list is merely one form of data, and this description is not to be construed as limiting the embodiments of this disclosure. Each cell ID may be indicated in the form of PCI or CGI. Furthermore, the target cell may refer to the cell of the target node (e.g., the first DU 612). According to an embodiment, in the case of LTE-NR inter-spectrum sharing, when the first node 110-1 is an eNB and the second node 110-2 is a gNB, the gNB DU may forward the NR cell ID and the target E-UTRA cell ID (e.g., ECGI) to the eNB.

[0094] In step 630-1, the first DU 612 may update the corresponding data pattern at the SFN activation point. In step 630-2, the second DU 662 may update the corresponding data pattern at the SFN activation point. Based on the pattern that changes according to the standard at the SFN activation time, data transmission / resource allocation may be performed by each DU (or the eNB according to the embodiment).

[0095] although Figure 6 Not shown, but when a cell resource coordination request is rejected, the second DU 662 can send a cell resource coordination rejection to the first DU 612. The cell resource coordination rejection may include failed cell information. The failed cell information may include at least one of the following: cell ID, target cell ID, shared cell ID, and reason for failure.

[0096] The above Figure 6 The signaling types described herein can be non-UE-associated signaling (e.g., node (DU or RU) or cell-associated signaling). When shared cell information and resource-related information are forwarded to the target DU through the appropriate procedures, the resource status associated with the shared cell can be updated.

[0097] The reference can be configured as shown in Table 2 below, for example. Figure 6 The information forwarded between two nodes during the resource coordination process is described.

[0098] Table 2

[0099] Community resource coordination request FX-D or FX-U Each DU or each cell List of Served Cells > Cell ID > Target Cell ID (CGI, PCI) > Shared Cell ID > Data Service Resource Indicator > Activate SFN Community resource coordination response FX-D or FX-U Each DU or each cell List of cells served > Cell ID > Target cell ID (CGI, PCI) > Shared cell ID Community resource coordination refused FX-D or FX-U Each DU or each cell List of failed cells > Cell ID > Target cell ID (CGI, PCI) > Shared cell ID > Reason (Function disabled, Static mode operation, Dynamic mode operation, Unknown cell, Unknown xNB, Configuration mismatch, etc.)

[0100] Despite Figure 6In the diagram, both nodes are illustrated as having a CU and a DU; however, according to an embodiment, one node can be implemented as a single entity without CU-DU separation (e.g., an eNB). In this case, inter-DU signaling can be understood as signaling between the DU (e.g., a gNB DU) and another node (e.g., an eNB). Figure 6 In the above embodiments, resource coordination between two nodes is performed using the interface at the DU end, thereby providing a more improved time delay resolution effect compared to performing it through the interface at the CU end. Since the interface between DUs and the signaling through them are defined, the load of each of the two shared cells (e.g., LTE cell and NR cell) is adjusted in real time and adaptively, thereby maximizing the communication performance of the UE.

[0101] Resource Status Report

[0102] Figure 7 The illustration shows examples of resource status reporting processes for spectrum sharing in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. First node 110-1 illustrates... Figure 1 Base station 110-1. First node 110-1 may include first CU 711 and first DU 712. Second node 110-2 illustrates... Figure 1 The base station 110-2. The second node 110-2 may include a second CU 761 and a second DU 762. Each function may be implemented as an independent entity or as a separate function within an entity.

[0103] Reference Figure 7 In step 710, the first DU 712 may send a resource status request to the second DU 762. The resource status request may include requesting cell information. The requested cell information may include information about one or more cells requested by the first node 110-1 from the second node 110-2. The requested cell information may include at least one of cell ID, target cell ID, shared cell ID, registration request (e.g., start / stop), reporting characteristics, and reporting triggering policy information. Each cell ID may be indicated in the form of PCI or CGI. Furthermore, the target cell may refer to the cell of the target node (e.g., the second DU 762).

[0104] A resource status request can be a process for sharing resource status information about other nodes or cells of other nodes. According to one embodiment, a resource status request can be sent periodically. A resource status request can be sent whenever a periodic timer expires. According to another embodiment, a resource status request can be sent when a specified event occurs. For example, a resource status request can be sent when the load on the current node (e.g., the first node 110-1) increases, when a problem occurs in the communication network of the current node, when the current node is under maintenance, or when a shared cell of the current node is reconfigured.

[0105] In step 720, the second DU 762 may send a resource status response to the first DU 712. The resource status response may include response cell information. The response cell information is a response from the second node 110-2 to the request from the first node 110-1, and may include information about one or more cells. The response cell information may include at least one of a cell ID, a target cell ID, and a shared cell ID. Each cell ID may be indicated in the form of PCI or CGI. Furthermore, the target cell may refer to the cell of the target node (e.g., the first DU 712).

[0106] In step 730, the first DU 712 may send a resource status report to the second DU 762. According to one embodiment, the resource status report may include resource status updates. The resource status report may include a list of cell resource status reports. The list of cell resource status reports may include measurement results for each cell obtained by the first DU 712. The list of cell resource status reports may include the cell ID, target cell ID, shared cell ID, and the radio resource status of the corresponding node (e.g., first node 110-1). Here, the list is merely one form of data, and this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of this disclosure. The radio resource status may include at least one of the following: the number of UEs connected to the serving cell, the guaranteed bit rate (GBR) of the downlink (DL) and / or uplink (UL), non-GBR, total physical resource block (PRB) usage, the number of heavy users in the DL / UL (e.g., UEs requiring load / speed equal to or greater than a threshold), and the resource allocation failure rate (e.g., PDCCH allocation failure rate).

[0107] According to various embodiments, Figure 7 The resource status reporting process in step 730 can also be performed based on events. According to an embodiment, when PRB usage, resource allocation failure rate, number of overloaded users, etc., exceed a threshold or higher, the gNB-DU can determine that an event has occurred. In this case, the gNB-DU can send a resource status report to the eNB.

[0108] although Figure 7 Not illustrated, but when a resource status request is rejected, the second DU 662 can send a resource status failure message to the first DU 612. The resource status failure message may include information about the failed cell. This information may include at least one of the following: cell ID, target cell ID, shared cell ID, and reason for failure.

[0109] exist Figure 7 In the illustration, step 730 is shown to be executed after steps 710 and 720; however, this is only one aspect of the resource status report, and the embodiments of this disclosure are not to be construed as being subject to... Figure 7 The limitations are as follows. That is, step 730 can be performed before steps 710 and 720, or between steps 710 and 720, or it can be omitted. In other words, as an example, the resource status report transmission and the resource status request / response transmission in the resource status reporting process can be separate processes.

[0110] Above Figure 7 The signaling types described can be non-UE-associated signaling (e.g., node (DU or RU) or cell-associated signaling). Through appropriate procedures, resource status information can be shared between nodes or cells. For spectrum sharing, resource information can be shared for each paired cell. Based on the resource status report, the dynamic spectrum sharing ratio for each cell can be determined. This resource status reporting process can be integrated with… Figure 6 The cell resource coordination process is performed in conjunction with the resource status reporting process. According to an embodiment, the cell resource coordination process can be performed after the resource status reporting process. Furthermore, according to an embodiment, the resource status reporting process can be performed after the cell resource coordination process. In other words, these two processes can be performed complementaryly.

[0111] It can be configured in the reference as shown in Table 3 below, for example. Figure 7 The information forwarded between two nodes during the resource status reporting process.

[0112] Table 3

[0113] Resource Status Request FX-D or FX-U Each DU or each cell Requested Cell List > Cell ID > Target Cell ID (CGI, PCI) > Shared Cell ID > Registration Request (Start, Stop) > Report Features > PRB Usage, Number of Reloaded UEs > Report Trigger Policy Information > Time-Based Periodic Reports > Event-Based Reports Resource status response FX-D or FX-U Each DU or each cell Response Cell List > Cell ID > Target Cell ID (CGI, PCI) > Shared Cell ID Resource status failed FX-D or FX-U Each DU or each cell Reasons (function disabled, static mode operation, dynamic mode operation, unknown cell, unknown xNB, configuration mismatch, etc.) and waiting time Resource Status Report FX-D or FX-U Each DU or each cell Cell Resource Status Information List > Cell ID (CGI, PCI) > Target Cell ID (CGI, PCI) > Shared Cell ID > Radio Resource Status >> Number of UEs >> DL / UL GBR / Non-GBR / Total PRB Usage >> Number of DL / UL Overloaded Users >> PDCCH Allocation Failure Rate

[0114] Despite Figure 7 Both nodes are illustrated as having a CU and a DU, but according to an embodiment, one node can be implemented as a single entity without CU-DU separation (e.g., an eNB). In this case, inter-DU signaling can be understood as signaling between the DU (e.g., a gNB DU) and another node (e.g., an eNB). Figure 7In the above embodiments, when two nodes share the resource state of each other, the interface at the DU end is utilized, thereby providing a better time delay effect compared to execution through the interface at the CU end. Since the interface between DUs and the signaling through them are defined, the load of each of the two shared cells (e.g., LTE cell and NR cell) is adjusted in real time and adaptively, thereby maximizing the communication performance of the UE.

[0115] Traditionally, interfaces for dynamic spectrum sharing do not exist. Therefore, due to the limited number of interfaces (e.g., connections between CUs), there are problems such as the inability to provide functionality or time delays during control signaling and data communication. To address the problems caused by this limited operation, various embodiments of this disclosure propose direct interfaces and signaling between DUs. This enables real-time control signaling and data communication. Furthermore, the resolution of time delays improves communication performance of the UE's DSS.

[0116] Figure 8 The illustrations depict the functional configuration of a base station in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Terms such as “…unit” and “…component” as used herein mean a unit that performs at least one function or operation, which may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0117] Reference Figure 8 The base station includes a communication unit 801, a backhaul communication unit 803, a storage unit 805, and a control unit 807.

[0118] Communication unit 801 performs the function of transmitting and / or receiving signals via a wireless channel. For example, communication unit 801 performs the function of converting between baseband signals and bit streams according to the system's physical layer standard. For example, when transmitting data, communication unit 801 provides complex symbols by encoding and modulating the transmitted bit stream. Furthermore, when receiving data, communication unit 801 recovers the received bit stream by demodulating and decoding the baseband signal. In addition, communication unit 801 up-converts the baseband signal to a radio frequency (RF) band signal, transmits the signal through the antenna, and down-converts the RF band signal received through the antenna back to a baseband signal.

[0119] For this purpose, the communication unit 801 may include a transmit filter, a receive filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), etc. Furthermore, the communication unit 801 may include multiple transmit / receive paths. Additionally, the communication unit 801 may include at least one antenna array composed of multiple antenna elements. In terms of hardware, the communication unit 801 may consist of digital and analog units, and the analog unit may be composed of multiple sub-units depending on the operating power, operating frequency, etc. According to an embodiment, the communication unit 801 may include a beamforming unit, i.e., a beamforming unit. For example, the communication unit 801 may include a massive MIMO unit (MMU) for beamforming.

[0120] Communication unit 801 can transmit and / or receive signals. For this purpose, communication unit 801 may include at least one transceiver. For example, communication unit 801 can transmit synchronization signals, reference signals, system information, messages, control information, or data, etc. Furthermore, communication unit 801 can perform beamforming. Communication unit 801 can apply beamforming weights to the signals to be transmitted and / or received to provide the directionality of the signals to be set by control unit 807. According to an embodiment, communication unit 801 can provide baseband signals based on scheduling results and transmit power determination results. Additionally, the RF unit in communication unit 801 can transmit the provided signals via an antenna.

[0121] As described above, the communication unit 801 transmits and receives signals. Therefore, all or part of the communication unit 801 may be referred to as a "transmitting unit," a "receiving unit," or a "transceiver unit." Furthermore, in the following description, transmission and reception performed via a wireless channel are used as components including those for which the above-described processes are performed by the communication unit 801.

[0122] The backhaul communication unit 803 provides an interface for performing communication with other nodes in the network. That is, the backhaul communication unit 803 converts bit streams sent from the base station to another node (e.g., another access node, another base station, upper-layer node, core network, etc.) into physical signals, and converts physical signals received from another node into bit streams.

[0123] Storage unit 805 stores data such as basic programs, application programs, and setting information used for base station operation. Storage unit 805 may include memory. Storage unit 805 may be configured as volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a combination of volatile memory and non-volatile memory. Furthermore, storage unit 805 provides the stored data according to requests from control unit 807.

[0124] Control unit 807 controls the overall operation of the base station. For example, control unit 807 sends and receives signals via communication unit 801 or backhaul communication unit 803. Furthermore, control unit 807 writes data to storage unit 805 and reads data from storage unit 805. Control unit 807 can also perform the functions of the protocol stack required by the communication standard. For this purpose, control unit 807 may include at least one processor. According to various embodiments, control unit 807 can control the base station to perform the operations described in the various embodiments above.

[0125] Figure 8 The construction of base station 110 shown is merely an example of a base station, and examples of base stations implementing the various embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to this. Figure 8 The structure shown is as described. That is, according to various embodiments, some structures can be added, deleted, or changed.

[0126] Despite the above, in Figure 8 The base station is described as an entity, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. The base stations of various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented to form access networks with both distributed and integrated deployments (e.g., LTE eNBs). As described... Figures 2a to 7 As illustrated in the embodiments, the base station is divided into a central unit (CU) and a digital unit (DU), and the CU may be implemented to perform upper layers (e.g., Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) and RRC), while the DU performs lower layers (e.g., Media Access Control (MAC) and Physical (PHY)).

[0127] In this way, a separately arranged base station can further include a configuration for forward and backhaul interface communication. According to an embodiment, the base station, as a DU, can perform functions for transmitting and / or receiving signals in a wired communication environment. The DU may include a wired interface for controlling direct connections between devices via a transmission medium (e.g., copper wire and optical fiber). For example, the DU can forward electrical signals to another device via copper wire, or perform conversion between electrical and optical signals. The DU can be connected to a distributed CU. However, this description is not intended to exclude the scenario where the DU is connected to the CU via a wireless network. Furthermore, the DU can be additionally connected to a radio unit (RU). However, this description is not intended to exclude a radio environment consisting only of a CU and a DU.

[0128] Figure 9 The illustrations depict the functional configuration of a terminal in a wireless communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Terms such as “…unit” and “…component” as used herein mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0129] refer to Figure 9The terminal includes a communication unit 901, a storage unit 903, and a control unit 905.

[0130] Communication unit 901 performs the function of transmitting and / or receiving signals via a wireless channel. For example, communication unit 901 performs the function of converting between baseband signals and bitstreams according to the system's physical layer standard. For example, when transmitting data, communication unit 901 provides complex symbols by encoding and modulating the transmitted bitstream. Furthermore, when receiving data, communication unit 901 recovers the received bitstream by demodulating and decoding the baseband signal. In addition, communication unit 901 up-converts the baseband signal to an RF band signal and then transmits the signal through an antenna, and down-converts the RF band signal received through the antenna back to a baseband signal. For example, communication unit 901 may include a transmit filter, a receive filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a DAC, an ADC, etc.

[0131] Furthermore, the communication unit 901 may include multiple transmit / receive paths. Additionally, the communication unit 901 may include antenna elements. The communication unit 901 may include at least one antenna array composed of multiple antenna elements. In terms of hardware, the communication unit 901 may consist of digital circuits and analog circuits (e.g., radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs)). Here, the digital and analog circuits may be implemented in a single package. Furthermore, the communication unit 901 may include multiple RF chains. The communication unit 901 may perform beamforming. The communication unit 901 may apply beamforming weights to the signals to be transmitted and / or received to provide the directionality of the signals to the control unit 905.

[0132] Furthermore, the communication unit 901 can transmit and / or receive signals. For this purpose, the communication unit 901 may include at least one transceiver. The communication unit 901 can receive downlink signals. Downlink signals may include synchronization signals (SS), reference signals (RS) (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS) and / or demodulation (DM)-RS), system information (e.g., MIB, SIB, residual system information (RMSI), other system information (OSI)), configuration messages, control information, or downlink data, etc. Furthermore, the communication unit 901 can transmit uplink signals. Uplink signals may include random access related signals (e.g., random access preamble (RAP) (or message 1 (Msg1) and / or message 3 (Msg3))), reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS) and / or DM-RS), or buffer status reports (BSR), etc.

[0133] Specifically, the communication unit 901 may include an RF processing unit and a baseband processing unit. The RF processing unit performs functions for transmitting and / or receiving signals via a wireless channel, such as signal band conversion, amplification, etc. That is, the RF processing unit up-converts the baseband signal provided by the baseband processing unit into an RF band signal, then transmits it through the antenna, and down-converts the RF band signal received through the antenna back into a baseband signal. For example, the RF processing unit may include a transmit filter, a receive filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), etc. Although only one antenna is described in the embodiments of this disclosure, the terminal may have multiple antennas. Furthermore, the RF processing unit may include multiple RF chains. In addition, the RF processing unit may perform beamforming. For beamforming, the RF processing unit may adjust the phase and amplitude of each of the signals transmitted and / or received through multiple antennas or antenna elements.

[0134] The baseband processing unit performs the conversion between baseband signals and bitstreams according to the system's physical layer standard. For example, when transmitting data, the baseband processing unit provides complex symbols by encoding and modulating the transmitted bitstream. Furthermore, when receiving data, the baseband processing unit recovers the received bitstream by demodulating and decoding the baseband signal provided by the RF processing unit. For example, in the case of an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) scheme, when transmitting data, the baseband processing unit provides complex symbols by encoding and modulating the transmitted bitstream, maps the complex symbols to subcarriers, and then constructs OFDM symbols through inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) operations and cyclic prefix (CP) insertion. Furthermore, when receiving data, the baseband processing unit divides the baseband signal provided by the RF processing unit into units of OFDM symbols, recovers the signals mapped to subcarriers through Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) operations, and then recovers the received bitstream through demodulation and decoding.

[0135] As described above, communication unit 901 transmits and receives signals. Therefore, all or part of communication unit 901 can be referred to as a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, or a transceiver unit. Furthermore, communication unit 901 may include multiple communication modules to support various different wireless access technologies. Additionally, communication unit 901 may include different communication modules to handle signals in different frequency bands. For example, different radio access technologies may include wireless LAN (e.g., IEEE 802.1x), cellular networks (e.g., LTE, NR), etc. Furthermore, different frequency bands may include ultra-high frequency (SHF) bands (e.g., 2.5 GHz, 5 GHz) and millimeter wave (e.g., 60 GHz) bands. Moreover, communication unit 901 can use the same type of radio access technology (e.g., unlicensed band for licensed auxiliary access (LAA) and / or citizen broadband radio service (CBRS) (e.g., 3.5 GHz)) in different frequency bands.

[0136] Storage unit 903 stores data such as basic programs, application programs, and setting information used for terminal operation. Storage unit 903 can be configured as volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a combination of volatile memory and non-volatile memory.

[0137] Control unit 905 controls the overall operation of the terminal. For example, control unit 905 sends and receives signals via communication unit 901. Furthermore, control unit 905 writes data to and reads data from storage unit 903. Control unit 905 can also perform the functions of the protocol stack required by the communication standard. For this purpose, control unit 905 may include at least one processor. Control unit 905 may include at least one processor or microprocessor, or may be part of a processor. Furthermore, communication unit 901 and part of control unit 905 may be referred to as CP. Control unit 905 may include various modules for performing communication. According to various embodiments, control unit 905 can control the terminal to perform the operations of various embodiments described later.

[0138] Control unit 905 controls the overall operation of the terminal. For example, control unit 905 sends and / or receives signals through communication unit 901. Furthermore, control unit 905 writes data to and reads data from storage unit 903. For this purpose, control unit 905 may include at least one processor. For example, control unit 905 may include a communication processor (CP) that performs communication control and an application processor (AP) that controls upper layers (such as applications). According to various embodiments of this disclosure, control unit 905 can be configured to perform dynamic spectrum sharing functions. According to embodiments, control unit 905 can be configured in which terminal 120 dynamically uses LTE cells and NR cells in an EN-DC environment. Furthermore, according to embodiments, control unit 905 can be configured in which terminal 120 dynamically uses cells through two nodes in both MR-DC and EN-DC environments. Additionally, control unit 905 can control the terminal to perform the operations described in the various embodiments above.

[0139] pass Figures 1 to 9 Signaling between two nodes (e.g., signaling between DUs) for dynamic spectrum sharing has already been described. Here, the unit that performs the process of forwarding information through signaling, establishment, coordination, etc., can be a CU / DU / RU / cell, which can be implemented by IDs corresponding to each unit (i.e., CU ID, DU ID, RU ID, and cell ID). In this case, according to an embodiment, the cell ID can indicate the cell in the form of CGI or PCI. In the example, the resource coordination message configured in the unit of the DU can include the corresponding DU ID. Furthermore, in the example, the resource status report message reported on a cell-by-cell basis can include the ID of the corresponding cell.

[0140] The names of the messages used in each process, such as interface establishment process, resource coordination process, resource status reporting process, etc., are used as examples to describe their functions, and there is no doubt that messages with different names can be used to perform the same or similar functions.

[0141] According to embodiments of this disclosure, a method performed by a distributed unit (DU) of a base station in a wireless communication system may include sending a message via a DU interface to another node supporting a second cell, the second cell sharing a specified range of frequency bands with a first cell of the base station, including information related to spectrum sharing. The information related to spectrum sharing may include identification information about the first cell and identification information about the second cell.

[0142] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the message may include a request to establish a DU interface. The method may further include receiving an establishment response corresponding to the establishment request from another node via the DU interface. Information related to spectrum sharing may further include a cell identifier (ID) related to spectrum sharing and / or resource information related to a first cell or a second cell.

[0143] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the method may further include receiving a resource coordination request from another node via a DU interface, and sending a resource coordination response corresponding to the resource coordination request to the other node via the DU interface. The resource coordination request may include identification information about a first cell, identification information about a second cell, and pattern information determined based on resources allocated to the first cell and resources allocated to the second cell.

[0144] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the method may further include sending a resource status report to another node via a DU interface. The resource status report may include at least one of the following: identification information about a first cell, identification information about a second cell, the number of terminals connected to the first cell, the guaranteed bit rate (GBR) of the downlink (DL) / uplink (UL), non-GBR, total physical resource block (PRB) usage, the number of overloaded users, or the resource allocation failure rate.

[0145] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the first cell may be a cell associated with New Radio (NR), and the second cell may be a cell associated with Long Term Evolution (LTE). The base station may include a Next Generation Node B (gNodeB), the gNB may include a gNBCU, the DU may include a gNB-DU, and the other node may include an E-UTRAN Node B (eNodeB).

[0146] According to embodiments of this disclosure, a method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system may include receiving a message including information related to spectrum sharing from a distributed element (DU) of another node supporting a first cell via a DU interface. The first cell and the second cell of the base station may share a specified range of frequency bands. The information related to spectrum sharing may include identification information about the first cell and identification information about the second cell.

[0147] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the message may include a request to establish a DU interface. The method may further include sending an establishment response corresponding to the establishment request to the DU via the DU interface. Information related to spectrum sharing may further include a cell identifier (ID) related to spectrum sharing and / or resource information related to a first cell or a second cell.

[0148] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the method may further include sending a resource coordination request to a DU via a DU interface, and receiving a resource coordination response corresponding to the resource coordination request from the DU via the DU interface. The resource coordination request may include identification information about a first cell, identification information about a second cell, and pattern information determined based on resources allocated to the first cell and resources allocated to the second cell.

[0149] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the method may further include receiving a resource status report from the DU via the DU interface. The resource status report may include at least one of the following: identification information about a first cell, identification information about a second cell, the number of terminals connected to the first cell, the guaranteed bit rate (GBR) of the downlink (DL) / uplink (UL), non-GBR, total physical resource block (PRB) usage, the number of overloaded users, or the resource allocation failure rate.

[0150] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the first cell may be a cell associated with New Radio (NR), and the second cell may be a cell associated with Long Term Evolution (LTE). The base station may include a Next Generation Node B (gNodeB), the gNB may include a gNBCU, the DU may include a gNB-DU, and the other node may include an E-UTRAN Node B (eNodeB).

[0151] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, an apparatus executed by a distributed unit (DU) of a base station in a wireless communication system may include at least one transceiver and at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor may control the at least one transceiver to send a message including spectrum sharing information to another node supporting a second cell via a DU interface, the second cell sharing a specified range of frequency bands with a first cell of the base station, and the spectrum sharing information may include identification information about the first cell and identification information about the second cell.

[0152] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the message may include an establishment request for the DU interface, and the at least one processor may further control the at least one transceiver to receive an establishment response corresponding to the establishment request from another node via the DU interface, and the spectrum sharing-related information may further include a cell identifier (ID) related to spectrum sharing and resource information related to a first cell or a second cell.

[0153] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the at least one processor may further control the at least one transceiver to receive a resource coordination request from another node via a DU interface, and to send a resource coordination response corresponding to the resource coordination request to another node via the DU interface. The resource coordination request may include identification information about a first cell, identification information about a second cell, and pattern information determined based on the resources allocated to the first cell and the resources allocated to the second cell.

[0154] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the at least one processor may further control the at least one transceiver to send a resource status report to another node via a DU interface, and the resource status report may include at least one of the following: identification information about a first cell, identification information about a second cell, the number of terminals connected to the first cell, the guaranteed bit rate (GBR) of the downlink (DL) / uplink (UL), non-GBR, total physical resource block (PRB) usage, the number of overloaded users, or the resource allocation failure rate.

[0155] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the first cell may be a cell associated with New Radio (NR), the second cell may be a cell associated with Long Term Evolution (LTE), the base station may include a next-generation node B (gNodeB), the gNB may include a gNBCU, the DU may include a gNB-DU, and another node may include an E-UTRAN node B (eNodeB).

[0156] According to embodiments of this disclosure, an apparatus executed by a base station in a wireless communication system may include at least one transceiver and at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor may control the at least one transceiver to receive messages including information related to spectrum sharing from a distributed unit (DU) of another node supporting a first cell via a DU interface, and the first cell and the second cell of the base station share a specified range of frequency bands, and the information related to spectrum sharing may include identification information about the first cell and identification information about the second cell.

[0157] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the message may include an establishment request for the DU interface, and the at least one processor may further control the at least one transceiver to send an establishment response corresponding to the establishment request to the DU via the DU interface, and the spectrum sharing related information may further include a cell identifier (ID) related to spectrum sharing and resource information related to the first cell or the second cell.

[0158] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the at least one processor may further control the at least one transceiver to send a resource coordination request to the DU via the DU interface, and to receive a resource coordination response corresponding to the resource coordination request from the DU via the DU interface, wherein the resource coordination request may include identification information about a first cell, identification information about a second cell, and pattern information determined based on the resources allocated to the first cell and the resources allocated to the second cell.

[0159] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the at least one processor may further control the at least one transceiver to receive a resource status report from the DU via the DU interface, and the resource status report may include at least one of the following: identification information about the first cell, identification information about the second cell, the number of terminals connected to the first cell, the guaranteed bit rate (GBR) of the downlink (DL) / uplink (UL), non-GBR, total physical resource block (PRB) usage, the number of overloaded users, or the resource allocation failure rate.

[0160] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the first cell may be a cell associated with New Radio (NR), the second cell may be a cell associated with Long Term Evolution (LTE), and the base station may include a next-generation node B (gNodeB), the gNB may include a gNB CU, the DU may include a gNB-DU, and the other node may include an E-UTRAN node B (eNodeB).

[0161] The methods of the embodiments described in the claims or specification of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0162] When implemented in software, a computer-readable storage medium may be provided to store one or more programs (software modules). The one or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium are configured to be executable by one or more processors in an electronic device. The one or more programs include instructions for causing the electronic device to perform the methods of the embodiments described in the claims or specification of this disclosure.

[0163] Such programs (software modules and software) can be stored in random access memory, including non-volatile memory such as flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), disk storage devices, optical disc-ROM (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD), or other optical storage devices or magnetic tape. Alternatively, it can be stored in a memory consisting of some or all of these. Furthermore, each configuration memory can also be included in multiples.

[0164] Furthermore, the program can be stored in an attachable storage device that can be accessed via a communication network such as the Internet, intranet, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), or storage area network (SAN), or a combination thereof. The storage device can be connected to a device executing embodiments of this disclosure via an external port. Additionally, a separate storage device on the communication network can also be connected to a device executing embodiments of this disclosure.

[0165] In the specific embodiments of this disclosure described above, the components included in this disclosure are represented as singular or plural, according to the provided specific embodiments. However, for ease of description, singular or plural expressions are appropriately chosen for the provided context, and this disclosure is not limited to singular or plural components, and even if a component is expressed as plural, it may consist of singular components, or even if a component is expressed as singular, it may consist of plural components.

[0166] Furthermore, although specific embodiments have been described in the detailed description of this disclosure, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of this disclosure should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims described below and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first distributed unit (DU) of a first base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: A message is sent to the second DU of the second base station supporting the second cell via the DU interface between the first base station's first DU and the second base station's second DU, wherein the second cell shares a specified frequency band with the first cell of the first base station. The message includes a request for establishing the DU interface and information related to spectrum sharing. The information related to spectrum sharing includes the identifier ID of the first DU of the first base station and the identifier ID of the second DU of the second base station.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Receive an establishment response corresponding to the establishment request from the second DU of the second base station via the DU interface, and The information related to spectrum sharing also includes cell identifier IDs related to spectrum sharing and / or resource information related to the first cell or the second cell.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Receive resource coordination request from the second DU of the second base station via the DU interface; as well as A resource coordination response corresponding to the resource coordination request is sent to the second DU of the second base station via the DU interface. The resource coordination request includes identification information about the first cell, identification information about the second cell, and pattern information determined based on the resources allocated to the first cell and the resources allocated to the second cell.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising sending a resource status report to the second DU of the second base station via the DU interface. in, The resource status report includes at least one of the following: identification information about the first cell, identification information about the second cell, the number of terminals connected to the first cell, the guaranteed bit rate (GBR) via downlink (DL) / uplink (UL), non-GBR, total physical resource block (PRB) usage, the number of overloaded users, or the resource allocation failure rate.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first cell is associated with the new radio (NR), and the second cell is associated with long-term evolution (LTE). The first base station includes a next-generation node B gNB, the gNB includes a gNB CU, the first DU includes a gNB-DU, and the second base station includes an E-UTRAN node B eNodeB.

6. A method performed by a second distributed unit (DU) of a second base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: The system receives a message from the first DU supporting the first cell of the first base station via the DU interface between the first DU of the first base station and the second DU of the second base station. The message includes a request for establishing the DU interface and information related to spectrum sharing. Wherein, the first cell of the first base station and the second cell of the second base station share a specified frequency band, and The information related to spectrum sharing includes the identifier ID of the first DU of the first base station and the identifier ID of the second DU of the second base station.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: Sending an establishment response corresponding to the establishment request to the first DU of the first base station via the DU interface, and The information related to spectrum sharing also includes cell identifier IDs related to spectrum sharing and / or resource information related to the first cell or the second cell.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising: Send a resource coordination request to the first DU of the first base station via the DU interface; as well as The resource coordination response corresponding to the resource coordination request is received from the first DU of the first base station via the DU interface. The resource coordination request includes identification information about the first cell, identification information about the second cell, and pattern information determined based on the resources allocated to the first cell and the resources allocated to the second cell.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising: Resource status reports are received from the first DU of the first base station via the DU interface. The resource status report includes at least one of the following: identification information about the first cell, identification information about the second cell, the number of terminals connected to the first cell, the guaranteed bit rate (GBR) via downlink (DL) / uplink (UL), non-GBR, total physical resource block (PRB) usage, the number of overloaded users, or the resource allocation failure rate.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein, The first cell is associated with the new radio (NR), and the second cell is associated with long-term evolution (LTE). The first base station includes a next-generation node B gNB, the gNB includes a gNB CU, the first DU includes a gNB-DU, and the second base station includes an E-UTRAN node B eNodeB.

11. A first distributed unit (DU) of a first base station in a wireless communication system, the first DU comprising: At least one transceiver; and At least one processor, The at least one processor is configured to perform one of the methods described in claims 1 to 5.

12. A second distributed unit (DU) of a second base station in a wireless communication system, the second DU comprising: At least one transceiver; and At least one processor, The at least one processor is configured to perform one of the methods described in claims 6-10.

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