Multi-connection user device for wireless communication network

Abstract

To provide a multi-link user device that securely connects a user device to a wireless communication network.SOLUTION: A user device 200 for wireless communication with multiple wireless network elements 2101 to 2104 includes multiple antennas 2021 and 2022, and antenna beams 2061 to 2064 are formed to simultaneously provide multiple independent unidirectional or bidirectional communication links 2081 to 2084 using the antenna beams 2061 to 2064, provide a first wireless communication link 2081 with a first wireless network element BS1 using a first antenna beam, and provide a second wireless communication link 2082 with a second wireless network element by using a second antenna beam.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication networks or systems, and more specifically, to a user device, a system, and a method for implementing a multi-connection mode for a user device that provides simultaneous or parallel wireless communication links from a user device to a plurality of wireless network elements such as a base station and a user equipment UE. Embodiments relate to a multi-connection mode using large-scale MIMO antenna technology and provide a multi-link user device ML-UE.

Background Art

[0002] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a wireless network 100 including a core network 102 and a wireless access network 104. The wireless access network 104 may include a plurality of base stations, which may be referred to as evolved Node Bs = eNBs, but may also be terms used for type gNBs, i.e., base stations of 5G New Radio (NR) from eNB1 to eNB5, each providing service to a specific area surrounding the base station schematically represented by its respective cells 1061 to 1065. The base stations are provided to provide services to users within the cells. The users may be fixed devices or mobile devices. Further, the wireless communication system may be accessed by mobile or fixed Internet of Things (IoT) devices that connect to the base stations or users. The mobile device or IoT device may include physical devices, ground vehicles such as robots and cars, aircraft such as manned or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, also called drones), buildings and other items with embedded electronic devices, software, sensors, actuators, etc., and network connections that enable these devices to collect and exchange data across the existing network infrastructure. Figure 1 shows an exemplary diagram of only five cells, but the wireless communication system may include more such cells. Figure 1 shows two user equipment (UEs), UE1 and UE2, also called user devices, located within cell 1062 and served by base station eNB2. Another user UE3 is shown within cell 1064, which is served by base station eNB4. Arrows 1081, 1082, and 1083 schematically represent uplink / downlink connections for transmitting data from user UEs 1, 2, and 3 to base stations eNB2, eNB4 or from base stations eNB2, eNB4 to user UEs 1, 2, 3. Further, Figure 1 shows two IoT devices 1101, 1102 within cell 1064, which may be fixed devices or mobile devices. IoT device 1101 accesses the wireless communication system via base station eNB4 to transmit and receive data, as schematically represented by arrow 1121.The IoT device 1102 accesses the wireless communication system via the user UE3, as schematically represented by the arrow 1122. Each base station eNB1 - eNB5 may be connected to the core network 102 via its respective backhaul link 1141 - 1145, for example, via an interface such as the S1 interface, which is schematically represented by the arrow pointing to "core" in FIG. 1. The core network 102 may be connected to one or more external networks. Further, some or all of each base station eNB1 - eNB5 may be connected to each other via respective backhaul links 1161 to 1165, which are schematically represented in FIG. 1 by the arrows pointing to "eNB", for example, via an X1 or X2 interface (in NR, this interface may be called the Nx interface, such as N2 or N3). The deployment scenario may also include a mixture of interconnected eNBs and gNBs operating in the same radio access network.

[0003] The wireless network or communication system shown in FIG. 1 may be composed of two different overlay networks, a macrocell network with each macrocell including macro base stations such as base stations eNB1 to eNB5, and a heterogeneous network with a network of small cell base stations such as femto or pico base stations (not shown in FIG. 1). Generally, small cells operate with much less transmission power. The macrocell can operate with an output power of 46 dBm, while the small cell can operate with an output power of 30 dBm, thus increasing or decreasing the coverage area. See, for example, WWRF Working Group C, "Communication Architectures and Technologies", White Paper, "LTE Small Cell Enhancement by Dual Connectivity, 2014".

[0004] For data transmission, a physical resource grid may be used. The physical resource grid may include a set of resource elements to which various physical channels and physical signals are mapped. For example, physical channels may include physical downlink and uplink shared channels (PDSCH, PUSCH) that carry user-specific data, also referred to as downlink and uplink payload data, such as a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) that carries a master information block (MIB) and a system information block (SIB), physical downlink and uplink control channels (PDCCH, PUCCH) that carry downlink control information (DCI), a control resource set (CORSET), etc. In the case of the uplink, the physical channel may further include a physical random access channel (PRACH or RACH) that the UE uses to access the network after the UE synchronously acquires the MIB and SIB. Physical signals may include a reference signal (RS), such as transport channel state information (CSI), a synchronization signal, etc. The resource grid may include a frame having a specific duration, such as 10 milliseconds, in the time domain and a given bandwidth in the frequency domain. The frame may have a specific number of subframes of a predetermined length, for example, two subframes of 1 millisecond in length. Each subframe may include two slots of 6 or 7 OFDM symbols depending on the length of the cyclic prefix (CP). Small slot sizes composed of less than 6 OFDM symbols, such as an NR mini-slot or an LTE short transmission time interval (sTTI), are also supported. In the frequency domain, a mixed numerology with different subcarrier spacings, such as 30 kHz and 60 kHz based on the NR numerology where μ ∈ {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, is supported. See, for example, TS38.211.

[0005] The wireless communication system may be an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system, or any single-tone or multi-carrier system using frequency division multiplexing such as other IFFT-based signals, e.g., DFT-s-OFDM, regardless of the presence or absence of CP. Other waveforms such as non-orthogonal waveforms for multi-access, e.g., filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC), generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM), or universal filter multi-carrier (UFMC) may be used. The wireless communication system may operate according to, for example, the LTE, LTE-A, LTE-Advanced Pro standards, or the 5G or NR (New Radio) standards.

[0006] In the wireless network shown in FIG. 1, for example, in a base station and / or user device, in order to improve the spectral efficiency per network-side site / cell, large-scale MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) may be implemented as part or all of the antenna technology of wireless network elements or entities within the network, such as in an LTE or 5G / NR network. To implement large-scale MIMO technology in a base station operating using a normally sectorized antenna, the base station can provide one or more antenna arrays to adaptively create a spatial beam or a directional beam that concentrates energy in a dedicated subspace where active users are present. At the same time, interference to other users can be reduced. Implementing large-scale MIMO creates a so-called super-sectorization, which can be adaptively realized in a fixed way to create virtual small cells based on users, user groups, or static positions. Large-scale MIMO in the downlink DL improves the user device, UE, effective SINR, signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR), and the overall total rate of users multiplexed on the same resources.

[0007] The user device may be equipped with an antenna array or multiple antennas. However, since massive MIMO technology is generally implemented only on the network side, only the network - centric complexity increases, while the UE remains unchanged and only experiences a structured interference environment in terms of SINR improvement, so there is a possibility of throughput improvement. For example, even when considering a user device equipped with an antenna array or multiple antennas that provides the MIMO mode in the uplink, it is only a connection to a single base station via multiple beams from the antennas.

[0008] Other concepts for improving UE performance include coordinated multipoint (CoMP), downlink synchronous coherent transmission, and in particular techniques that require uplink joint processing (UL) for improving SINR at cell boundaries that are affected by inter - cell interference. Furthermore, when implementing zero - forcing (ZF) or minimum mean - square error (MMSE) for CoMP precoding transmission, accurate channel knowledge such as channel state information (CSI) is required to correctly place spatial nulls. A fairly large number of CSI measurement values are required, and since they are transferred to entities within the network and distributed among those entities, a large measurement overhead is involved. This may over - utilize the uplink capacity and limit the robustness against channel aging.

[0009] Another well - known approach in conventional wireless communication networks for improving the UE data rate by link multiplexing is carrier aggregation (CA). According to CA, the UE uses multiple carriers, frequency bands provided by communication standards such as the LTE standard.

[0010] Yet another approach to improving the stability of the connection of a UE to a network via an air interface is the provision of so-called multi-SIM technology, where the UE can be switched between various mobile network operators (MNOs), and only one connection at a time is possible to select the wireless connection that is considered to be the most stable. If the existing connection becomes unstable or unavailable, the UE needs to select one of the other available network operators and check whether a stable connection to one of the other available networks is possible. Therefore, when the connection becomes unstable, ending the connection and establishing a new connection are required, thereby interrupting the communication. The UE may be equipped with eSIM (embedded SIM) technology, which enables the orchestration of the SIM functionality by an operator or another authentication entity.

[0011] Other known approaches operate based on different radio or radio access technologies, also called dual connectivity, so that the user device can access, for example, a wireless mobile or cellular communication network using a first antenna and, for example, an LTE, WiFi or Bluetooth network using a second antenna. This requires independent transceiver circuits that increase the complexity and power consumption of the UE.

[0012] From the perspective of the UE, the data rate generated in a wireless communication network highly depends on the actual load of the base station providing the service. Also, even if the base station currently providing the service can provide sufficient capacity to the user, when the user hands over to the next cell while moving, the capacity per user can change significantly. In other words, the data rate generated at the UE depends on the connection conditions to the serving base station, which are improved when large-scale MIMO technology, CoMP, or multiple SIMs are used at the UE. Nevertheless, if there is a problem with the communication link between the base station and the UE, the communication will be interrupted, disrupted, or become unstable.

[0013] The above problem is not limited to cellular radio communication networks such as LTE or 5G / NR networks shown in FIG. 1, but occurs in all types of radio communication networks from satellite and cellular to local and personal area networks, for example wireless personal area networks, WPAN, wireless local area networks, WLAN, wireless ad hoc networks (also called wireless mesh networks or mobile ad hoc networks), MANET, wireless metropolitan area networks, wireless wide area networks, cellular networks, and global area networks.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0014] Starting from the above prior art, the underlying objective of the present invention is to provide an improved method for reliably connecting a user device to a radio communication network.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0015] This objective is achieved by the subject matter defined in the independent claims, and preferred further developments are defined in the dependent claims.

[0016] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which the same or similar elements are assigned the same reference numerals.

[0019] The present invention provides a user device for wireless communication with a plurality of wireless network elements, the user device including a plurality of antennas configured to form a plurality of spatial beams or directional beams, the user device being configured to use the plurality of spatial beams or directional beams to simultaneously provide a plurality of independent wireless communication links, the user device being configured to provide a first wireless communication link with a first wireless network element using a first spatial beam or directional beam and to provide a second wireless communication link with a second wireless network element using a second antenna beam.

[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a user device according to an embodiment of the present invention, also referred to as a multi-link UE (ML-UE). The user device 200, also referred to as a user equipment UE, includes a plurality of antennas 2021, 2022, for example, two or more single antennas each including a plurality of antenna elements or one or more antenna arrays. The UE 200 includes a signal processor 204 coupled to the antennas 2021, 2022 to process signals transmitted from the UE and signals received at the UE. The signal processor 204 may include a precoder for forming a plurality of spatial beams or directive beams by the antennas 2021, 2022. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, which is only a schematic diagram of the antenna / antenna array 202, the UE controls the antennas 2021, 2022 to form four antenna beams 2061-2064 and provides respective one-way or two-way communication links 2081-2084, also referred to as wireless communication links, between the UE 200 and different radio network elements 2101-2104.

[0021] In other words, the antenna 202 including a plurality of antenna elements or a plurality of antennas simultaneously or concurrently forms a plurality of spatial beams or directive beams at the same or different frequencies to enable parallel communication or transmission on the plurality of wireless communication links 2081-2084. For example, the user device 200 processes the first radio network element BS1 via the first wireless communication link 2081 independently of the connection to the second wireless communication element BS via the second wireless communication link 2082 and keeps the wireless communication links 2081, 2082 active simultaneously or ready to be activated for an allocated period, such as a few radio frames. In other words, the spatial beams formed by the UE 200 of the present invention are independent in the sense of link control or MIMO link control between the UE 200 and different network elements 2101-2104. For example, even if one of the wireless communication links fails, the other links are maintained. communication element BS n Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a user device according to an embodiment of the present invention, also referred to as a multi-link UE (ML-UE). The user device 200, also referred to as a user equipment UE, includes a plurality of antennas 2021, 2022, for example, two or more single antennas each including a plurality of antenna elements or one or more antenna arrays. The UE 200 includes a signal processor 204 coupled to the antennas 2021, 2022 to process signals transmitted from the UE and signals received at the UE. The signal processor 204 may include a precoder for forming a plurality of spatial beams or directive beams by the antennas 2021, 2022. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, which is only a schematic diagram of the antenna / antenna array 202, the UE controls the antennas 2021, 2022 to form four antenna beams 2061-2064 and provides respective one-way or two-way communication links 2081-2084, also referred to as wireless communication links, between the UE 200 and different radio network elements 2101-2104.

[0022] When referring to the "processing" of each connection to each network element via respective wireless communication links that are independent of each other, according to an embodiment, it means that the UE 200 processes each link as if there were no other links. For example, the UE 200 can synchronize on the broadcast channels of several base stations or several network elements. As a result, the UE 200 does not necessarily have to know that these parallel links actually exist for each network element, and processes several links to different network elements in parallel. According to an example, the UE can indirectly control the distribution of traffic via different links.

[0023] According to an embodiment, in addition to the above synchronization, the processing of each connection may also include decoding of the downlink broadcast channel, processing of initial access to each network element, link control, rate requests, handover initiation, link reporting, and the like.

[0024] As described above, the wireless communication links 2081 to 2084 may be unidirectional to provide communication from the UE to the respective wireless network elements, or they may be bidirectional for the UE to receive information from the network elements. In the latter case, according to a further embodiment, the user device 200 can receive control information for adjusting transmissions via the plurality of wireless communication links 2081 to 2084. For example, considering a scenario where a service provider, such as a video streaming service, provides data to a user device via a plurality of links, the service provider can monitor the performance of each link and, for example, determine the amount of data transmitted via each link. In this scenario, each control information is provided by the service provider and notified to the user device 200 via each base station. According to other embodiments, each wireless network element, such as a base station in the wireless network, may have knowledge of the existing parallel wireless links 208 from the user device to the plurality of network elements. Based on such knowledge, information regarding each wireless communication link 208 may be exchanged between the involved wireless network elements, for example, via a backhaul connection between the base stations of the network, and based on the parameters associated with and detected for the link, determine how to adjust the transmission on each link. For example, most of the data can be transmitted on a first number of links and the remaining portion on a second number of links having different link conditions.

[0025] As schematically shown by arrows 2121 to 2124 in FIG. 2, the entities 2101 to 2104 may further have connections or interfaces to other entities. Base stations BS1 to BS n may have connections to the core network and / or connections between them, as well as connections to external networks or entities via the core network. According to an embodiment, the wireless network elements 2101 to 2104 are the base stations BS1 to BS of a wireless communication network as shown in FIG. 1 nIt may include. The base station may be part of a network operated by a single mobile network operator (MNO). According to other embodiments, the base station may be from different networks, i.e., networks operated by different mobile network operators (MNOs).

[0026] Entities 2103 and 2104 may be connected to a further network via interfaces 2123 to 2124, which may be a wireless or wired network, or an external network such as the Internet or an intranet within an enterprise. According to other embodiments, entities 2103 and 2104 may be part of a device such as a machine or a vehicle, or may be included in the device. Also, the UE 200 of the present invention may be connected to a further network such as a wireless network or a wired network, or may be connected to the Internet or the like. In other words, each connection may be to other user devices 2103 and 2104, which may be user devices connected to any type of communication network, or to entities connected to physical devices such as machines, vehicles or other physical entities. User devices 2103 and 2104 provide a network connection for communication between the physical device and the UE 200.

[0027] According to an embodiment, entities 2103 and 2104 may include user devices according to the teachings of the present invention.

[0028] According to yet other embodiments, the UE 200 may be connected to devices that require reliable communication via a plurality of independent parallel communication links 208. The UE 200 may be coupled or incorporated into a machine or vehicle such as an aircraft, automobile, bus, train, or drone. In FIG. 2, the UE 200 is shown as part of a bus 216 and includes an interface 218 for connection to elements of the bus 216 or to enable passengers of the bus to connect to the UE. The interface can provide a connection to a wireless interface such as, for example, a WiFi interface, or it may be a wireless interface such that the UE 200 functions as an aggregation node or hotspot for passengers within the bus. For example, a passenger on the bus can use the UE 200 that provides a plurality of links 208 that ensure that at least one link is maintained during movement of the bus to connect to the Internet via one or more mobile communication network infrastructures. In other words, the UE 200 provides a mobile hotspot to users within the vehicle 216, and the users can connect to a cellular network or multiple cellular networks with high reliability via the high data rate wireless interface 218.

[0029] According to other embodiments, when the UE 200 is implemented as part of, for example, a passenger vehicle, rather than providing a backhaul for many connections of many users, the UE may be used for aggregation of the bandwidth required for, for example, live video transmission. This is achieved by aggregating as many physical links 208 as possible, i.e., by setting up the links 208 with each spatial beam provided to as many network entities 210 as possible by the antenna array 200. Thereby, a plurality of physical links are provided, the available bandwidth is aggregated, and for example, reliable live video transmission is ensured.

[0030] According to other embodiments, the UE 200 may be a fixed hotspot attached to or part of a fixed entity such as a building.

[0031] Thus, embodiments of the present invention use one or more antenna arrays, such as a plurality of antennas or a massive MIMO array, on the UE side, and provide multi-link connection by processing a plurality of entities 210, such as a BS, in the same way as the UE when viewed from the downlink of the massive MIMO base station. Since there is little or no need to notify the actual network of the existence of parallel independent links 208 either within the same network or within different networks, the method of the present invention provides advantages over conventional methods, and as a result, the user device of the present invention can be seamlessly introduced into the existing network infrastructure. Further, the method of the present invention that provides spatial or directional beams 206 by the antennas surely separates the links 208 between the UE 200 and each entity 2101-2104, thereby improving, for example, reliability, diversity, data rate, and multiplexing procedures. Also, a faster handover procedure can be implemented.

[0032] ​In the embodiment of FIG. 2, UE200 was described as being implemented as part of bus 216. However, the techniques of the present invention are not limited to such embodiments. Rather, the user device of the present invention may be any device that includes one or more of electronic devices, software, sensors, actuators, etc., and network connections. For example, the user device of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a mobile device such as a fixed device or a handheld device such as a smartphone, PDA, computer, etc., a robot, a vehicle such as a car or a train, or an aircraft such as a manned and unmanned aircraft (the latter is also called a drone). The user device may be included in or attached to a physical device, a building, or any item in which the above network connection is embedded. According to an embodiment, due to the network connection, the user device can scan / search, detect, start, establish, abort / end, hand over, maintain, or monitor the connection to a wireless network element via each wireless communication link. For example, it can exchange data and / or follow or track the control channel. For example, in some cases, it may be sufficient for the user device to simply track the links and obtain a kind of "list" of available links that can be activated as needed. For example, when one of the links shown in FIG. 2 begins to fail, another link that is already being monitored by the UE is selected to take over the wireless link provided by the failed link. In such a case, the user device does not always actively transmit or communicate via the link, but rather passively tracks the link.

[0033] As described above, the wireless network element may be a base station or another user device. However, according to further embodiments, they may include one or more link transfer elements, for example, relay devices for one or more additional user devices. The above relay device may be, for example, a satellite or a repeater, or a combination of another user device and a WiFi access point.

[0034] Figure 3 shows another embodiment for implementing the user device 200 of the present invention. In the embodiment of Figure 3, the user device 200, which is only schematically shown, is part of a vehicle such as a passenger car 216, and the antenna is formed by massive MIMO, M-MIMO, and an array antenna. Four spatial / directional antenna beams 2061, 2062, 2063, and 2064 are formed by an antenna array in which independent radio communication links 2081 to 2084 are established for each of the respective base stations BS that are part of different mobile network operators MNO1 to MNO3. The plurality of links 2081 to 2084 are spatially processed simultaneously on the UE side across several base stations BS and different mobile network operators. Therefore, the embodiment of the present invention introduces a new class of multi-link UE, also called ML-UE, and a system in which the multi-link is realized by a spatial multi-link formed on the UE side for different base stations or radio network elements, which operates at the same or different frequencies, or in the same or different frequency bands.

[0035] The antenna array 202 forms the relevant spatial beams 2061 to 2064 so that the UE200 recognizes different base stations of the same or different mobile network operators by using different antenna elements 202 of the antenna array 200 to form the respective spatial / directional beams, and sets up connections to different base stations independent of each other. x According to the embodiment, the antenna can operate at a frequency above 6 GHz. For example, it can operate in the millimeter wave band or at millimeter waves. The antenna array may be a linear antenna array such as a uniform linear array, ULA, a planar antenna array such as a uniform planar array, UPA, a cylindrical array, etc.

[0036] According to the method of the present invention, by providing a plurality of wireless communication links 208 from the UE 200 by different spatial beams 206, communication is improved to be more robust even when one of the links fades in or disappears for reasons such as the link being temporarily blocked. This may be a scenario that frequently occurs in mobile applications. For example, even when the device 216 moves, there is reliable communication via the remaining non-blocked links.

[0037] Figures 2 and 3 show examples of systems including one or more wireless communication networks, each of which includes one or more wireless network elements such as base stations or other user devices, and the user device of the present invention is arranged for wireless communication with the plurality of wireless network elements. Figures 2 and 3 show a system in which only a single user device according to the method of the present invention is provided, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, but rather a plurality of user devices 200 of the present invention may be provided in such a system.

[0038] Figure 3 shows that only the user device of the present invention has a plurality of antennas or antenna elements 202 such as a large-scale MIMO antenna array xincluding an antenna array 202 having, an embodiment is shown where each base station BS of a wireless communication network is assumed to include a sector antenna or an omnidirectional antenna. However, according to other embodiments, both the user device 200 and the base station BS of the wireless communication network may include an antenna array that creates a multi-point to multi-point, MP2MP, connectivity between the base station BS and the user device 200. Of course, according to further embodiments, antenna arrays are provided in some, but not all, of the base stations of the wireless communication network. According to further embodiments, when one or more base stations BS of the wireless communication network are equipped with an antenna array, in order to establish a plurality of parallel spatial layers between the UE and at least one of the radio network elements, for example, to increase the data rate via the wireless communication link between the user device 200 and the radio network element, a higher-order multiplexing scheme may be used for communication between the UE200 and each BS that also has an antenna array. For example, considering the link 2081 in FIG. 3 and assuming that the associated base station BS of the mobile network operator MNO3 is also provided with an antenna array such as a massive MIMO array, the actual link 2081 may be formed by a plurality of spatial beams 2061, 2061', thereby providing a plurality of parallel wireless links from the UE200 to the base station BS of MNO3, thereby increasing the data rate.

[0039] According to an embodiment, a plurality of independent wireless communication links 2081-2084 may be organized on the network side and on the user side by services or combinations thereof, as shown, for example, in FIG. 3, and the services may be located inside or outside the network or the user device. The traffic on the wireless communication link may be referred to as end-to-end E2E traffic, for example, traffic from an external service provider to the UE200 or a device coupled to the UE200, as will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0040] In other words, according to the embodiment, the orchestration may be at a service level that is not necessarily located in the network or UE200, but rather an entity behind the actual network such as an Internet server may be. The orchestration of traffic, called UE-centric multi-connection orchestration, may be performed by the UE, by a service hosted in a local or distributed manner called service-centric multi-link orchestration, or by one or more network elements such as the above base stations called network-centric multi-connection orchestration.

[0041] According to the embodiment, the UE200 can simultaneously connect to several radio network elements using a new connection identification. For example, the virtual multi-UE ID can be used when the network cannot handle multi-link anchor UEs and cannot provide multi-connection to several networks operated by different mobile network operators for fallback to legacy networks. According to other embodiments, the ML-UE200 identifies itself as a relay in one or more networks, either without the need for a UE ID or with the use of a relay ID. For example, the ID of an entity such as a UE coupled to the relay is encapsulated in the relay, and these UEs via the relay can also use the networks of different or external mobile network operators.

[0042] As described above, radio network elements such as the base stations or UEs in FIGS. 2 and 3 may be part of one or more radio communication networks. For example, one or more radio communication networks may include one or more radio networks operated by the same mobile network operator, elements of networks operated by the same operator, base stations BS1, BS2, BS nThe situation schematically shown in FIG. 4, which includes a UE 200 that forms three spatial beams using three independent wireless communication links to a base station, may be included. The UE forms three spatial beams to provide high connection reliability, rather than connecting to an external unit 220 connected to a wireless communication network such as a video streaming service, as is normal with prior art techniques to a single base station. According to the method of the present invention, the three spatial beams provided by the antenna 202 form independent wireless communication links to the base station, i.e., a sufficient number of links are provided so that even in a situation where, due to an obstacle 222 in the communication path, it is not possible to connect to one of the base stations, for example, base station BS3, a sufficient number of connections or links are established, and high reliability and high data throughput are achieved.

[0043] According to other embodiments, the UE can connect to a wireless network element that is part of a wireless communication network operated by different operators, as schematically shown in FIG. 5. Again, the UE 200 is shown together with an antenna 202 that forms three spatial beams for establishing three independent wireless communication links. In the scenario of FIG. 5, it is assumed that base stations of three different mobile network operators 1, 2, and 3 are available, and the UE is connected to the base station BS 12 of the first operator, the base station BS 21 of the second operator, and the base station BS 33 of the third operator to provide a reliable connection to the network and to an external unit 220 via the network, thereby avoiding problems with obstacles 2221, 2222, or problems where the base stations do not operate according to the desired characteristics, or become overloaded and do not provide sufficient throughput.

[0044] The above embodiments have been described in the context of cellular wireless communication networks, but the techniques of the present invention are not limited to such networks. The techniques of the present invention may be implemented in any type of wireless communication network from satellite and cellular to local and personal area networks, such as wireless personal area networks, WPANs, wireless local area networks, WLANs, wireless ad hoc networks (also referred to as wireless mesh networks or mobile ad hoc networks), MANETs, wireless metropolitan area networks, wireless wide area networks, cellular networks, and global area networks. Further, the techniques of the present invention may be implemented in an environment that combines any of the above-mentioned networks. In other words, the above wireless communication networks operate based on the same radio access technology, RAT, or different RATs. Examples of wireless technologies are as follows. The above networks may be implemented in an environment that combines any of the above-mentioned networks. In other words, the above wireless communication networks operate based on the same radio access technology, RAT, or different RATs.

[0045] LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro 5G / NR LTE V2X Extended V2X, 5G / NR's eV2X, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.11p DSRC, Bluetooth (R), WiFi variants such as IEEE 801.11ad, IEEE 802.11ay, IEEE 802.11ac ETSI DECT and its variants.

[0046] Also, the network element with which the UE200 may form a wireless link may be selected from any one of the above-mentioned wireless communication networks. Further, according to a further embodiment, the wireless network element is part of another entity such as a building, a machine, a vehicle, etc., and these may be further connected to the network.

[0047] According to a further embodiment, the wireless network elements such as the base station and other entities may use the same or different network resources within the network to which they belong. For example, when considering FIG. 4, some or all of the base stations BS1 to BS involved in the connection to the UE200 n may operate on the same resources or use different resources. For example, different frequencies or different frequency bands may be used to transmit the resource elements associated with / mapped to each wireless communication link. This also applies to wireless network elements operating in different networks.

[0048] In the embodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the base stations of the mobile network operator are referred to. However, the method of the present invention is not limited to such scenarios according to the embodiments, instead of or in addition to the base stations in FIGS. 4 and 5. One or more communication links provided by the spatial beam of the UE200 may be to a WiFi network, a Bluetooth network, or a DECT network or other network that implements different radio access technologies, such as a 60 GHz WiGig link (IEEE 802.11ad or IEEE 802.11ay), a 5.2 GHz WiFi link, a 3.5 GHz 4G or 5G link, etc.

[0049] In the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, the user device 200 has been described as communicating with a video streaming service 220, but any type of service provider, such as a URLLC service, may be implemented.

[0050] The external unit 220 in FIGS. 4 and 5 may also be referred to as the destination to which the user device 200 communicates. The external unit 220 may perform services for remote machine operation or closed-loop control of the machine. The service provider 220 can provide URLLC services and is connected to the machine 230 via an additional link 228 as shown in FIG. 5. The interface 228 may be direct communication, wireless communication, or wired communication between the external unit 220 and the entity 230, or may be a connection via another network such as, for example, an intranet or the Internet.

[0051] According to yet another embodiment of the method of the present invention, the destination 220 may be one or more network elements, for example, one or more base stations described above with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. In such a scenario, the additional entity 230 is connected to the mobile communication network shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 or is directly connected to one of the network elements such as one of the base stations. For example, considering FIG. 4, the external unit 220 may be coupled to one or more of base stations BS1 to BS n of them.

[0052] In the example described with reference to FIG. 5, the entity forming the destination of the UE's communication is shown as the machine 230 coupled to the external unit 220. In other words, the destination may be directed towards the next network node, for example, a base station, or may be a multi-hop to another node such as another UE or a vehicle, thereby making the UE a kind of relay or transfer node.

[0053] According to other embodiments, the entity that is the destination may be a mobile device such as a vehicle. Depending on the location where the UE200 is provided, for example, if it is provided to another machine or another vehicle, M2M, V2V or V2X communication may be performed.

[0054] Figure 6a shows an embodiment in which the UE 200 implemented according to the teachings described herein is coupled to a vehicle 300 and provides a plurality of wireless communication links 2081 - 2085 using respective spatial or directive beams formed by the antenna array 202 of the user device 200. The wireless communication links 2081 - 2084 provide V2X communication to a plurality of roadside units 3021 - 3024, each including a wireless network element (not shown), such as a small cell base station, to establish the wireless communication link 208. The roadside entities 302 can be lanterns, traffic signs, or buildings along the road 304, and each unit 302 may be connected to a common network or different networks for communication with external entities as described above with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Further, the vehicle 300 can establish V2V communication to a further vehicle 306 via a wireless communication link 2085, which is also formed by one of the spatial or directive beams generated by the antenna of the UE 200 via the UE 200 of the present invention. The further vehicle 306 includes a network element 210 for wireless communication in a similar manner to the roadside entity. The network element 210 can be any device providing network connectivity, and according to an embodiment, the wireless network element 210 can also be formed by the user device 200 according to the method of the present invention. As indicated by the dashed lines 3081, 3082, the further vehicle 306 is also connected to the roadside entities 3022 and 3024. For reliable communication between the two vehicles 300, 306, the user device 200 of the present invention provides multi - connection via additional independent wireless communication links 2082, 2084 in addition to the direct link 2085, and via wireless links 3081, 3082 from two roadside units 3022 and 3024 that can relay communication from the vehicle 300 to the vehicle 306.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 6a, it should be noted that according to other embodiments, instead of a ground vehicle, an aircraft such as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) like a drone can also be used. The user device 200 of the present invention for multi-connection to a plurality of fixed elements provided along the flight path of the device can be included, which receives control information and provides a more reliable connection of the drone to a network for sending back position information to the system, for example.

[0056] FIG. 6b shows another embodiment in which a UE implemented according to the teachings described herein is connected to an air transporter, an aircraft, or a drone. FIG. 6b shows a drone including the user device 200 of the present invention connected to a ground base station BS via respective beams 206. In the situation shown in FIG. 6b, the UL connection from the UE 200 to BS' may cause interference with BS'' because BS' and BS'' are in the same sector covered by the beam 206'. All potentially interference-affected BSs having knowledge of the UE 200 and its associated UL RS report the perceived interference experienced for the UE 200, and a multi-link orchestrator (see below) in the network can manage the link 206 accordingly to reduce the interference level. For example, instead of the beam 206', another beam 206'' directed towards BS''' may be used for UL.

[0057] The same applies to the downlink selection. That is, the UE 200 recognizes the interference level from BS'' during the DL connection from BS' to the UE 200 interfered by BS'', and accordingly switches the active beam to 206''.

[0058] According to further embodiments, the air device can utilize the extended coverage of the BS to multi-link anchor to the BS beyond those in the published neighbor list of the neighboring BSs.

[0059] FIG. 7 shows another embodiment in which the user device 200 of the present invention is coupled to the machine control 310 or is part of it within a factory including, for example, a plurality of machines M1, M2, and M3. The user device 200 of the present invention provides multi-connectivity by establishing three wireless communication links 2081-2083 to the respective machines M1-M3, each coupled or incorporated into the respective wireless network elements 2101-2103 by its antenna 202. Each wireless link 208 is formed using independent space / directional beams 2061, 2062, and 2063 generated by the antenna or antenna array 202 of the user device 200. The machine control 310 can transmit / receive signals to / from each machine to monitor the operation of the machine and control the operation of the machine via independent links. The machines can be any type of machine including, for example, robots.

[0060] FIG. 8a shows a block diagram of a user device of the present invention according to one embodiment. The UE200 includes an antenna array 202 having a plurality of antennas or antenna elements 202 x According to other embodiments, a plurality of such antenna arrays 202 can be provided in the UE200. The antenna array 202 is coupled to a precoder 320. The precoder 320 includes or is coupled to a codebook to form at least two spatially separated electromagnetic transmission / reception beams for each individual independent wireless communication link. Further, the UE200 includes one or more signal processors coupled to the precoder and also coupled to an interface 218 for inputting / outputting signals, defining the respective signal processing chains 2041-204 n According to an embodiment, the antenna array 202 may be a large-scale MIMO antenna array having a large number of antenna elements. As described above, the plurality of signal processing chains 2044-204 n, for example, a single signal processor or multiple signal processors may be provided to implement a signal processing chain for each of the wireless communication links. The signal processing chain supports one or more of the following for each link, each base station, and each mobile network operator.

[0061] DL time and frequency synchronization, processing of neighbor lists, processing of resource allocation such as DL / UL and H-ARQ, UL timing advance TA, power control, triggering and processing of handover procedures.

[0062] Hereinafter, embodiments of the method of the present invention dealing with communication via multiple wireless communication links will be described. done.

[0063] Physical layer retransmission mechanism According to an embodiment, the system shown in any one of FIGS. 2 to 7 may implement a physical layer retransmission mechanism such as H-ARQ that includes an indication of a link suitable for retransmission. For example, in order to improve spectral efficiency, a physical layer retransmission mechanism such as H-ARQ can be applied to each wireless network element such as the multi-link UE200 and the base station BS. When the destination such as the base station cannot decode the message, an acknowledgment, NACK message can be sent to request retransmission from the multi-link UE200. The destination can indicate which of the multiple links is the priority link for retransmission. Information regarding the quality / reliability of the links can be shared at the base station via, for example, the X2 interface or other backhaul connections when each base station connected to the UE via different independent wireless links recognizes each other. The link quality / reliability can be found by analyzing the likelihood ratio of the encoded information for each link, and a link having a quality / reliability exceeding a predetermined threshold may be selected for retransmission.

[0064] Handover According to an embodiment, the system shown in any one of FIGS. 2 to 7 may trigger, request, and execute an independent handover procedure to another wireless network element such as another anchor point or base station in the network for each wireless transmission link 208. For example, advanced triggers and delay triggers for handover can implement "crawling" via the network and maintain as many of the necessary number of links 208 as possible in connection mode to simultaneously meet specific target data rates, latencies, redundancies, etc.

[0065] According to other embodiments, using a neighbor list such as an extended neighbor list that can be loaded from the network or the Internet, the ML-UE 200 can connect to simultaneous links across two or more tiers of wireless network elements, different mobile network operators, different radio access technologies, etc. beyond the range specified by the conventional neighbor list.

[0066] According to yet another embodiment, the system can perform predicted handovers and / or establish new links based on knowledge of a predetermined path of the using device and / or knowledge of wireless communication links to available wireless network elements.

[0067] According to further embodiments, the handover may use a conventional handover from one BS to an adjacent BS from an announced neighbor list or a conventional link connection / establishment procedure such as RACH, and be a handover based on the establishment of a new link to another wireless network element not announced in the neighbor list that provides an end-to-end connection via the new link.

[0068] Utilization of Downlink DL Signaling According to an embodiment, the UE 200 of the present invention can utilize downlink (DL) signaling from different radio network elements such as different base stations to distinguish between two or more radio network elements, synchronize independently with the elements, and provide parallel decoding / processing / handling of the DL control channel. In other words, the DL signaling is transmitted from different base stations / access points, and the UE can distinguish between two or more base station signals and synchronize the communication of parallel decoding / processing of the downlink control channel. Therefore, the UE 200 implemented according to the teachings described herein can, for example, maintain multiple links in the same active or ready-to-be-activated state over several radio frames over a long period of time.

[0069] Increased diversity According to an embodiment, the method of the present invention increases diversity, such as an increase in code diversity, spatial diversity, temporal diversity, or frequency diversity. To enhance diversity, the UE 200 can transmit and / or receive messages via multiple wireless communication links, for example, simultaneously via a first wireless communication link and a second wireless communication link. According to still other embodiments, the message may be split, and a part of the message may be multiplexed and transmitted simultaneously via the first and second wireless communication links.

[0070] When simultaneously transmitting and receiving a message or a part of a message via a plurality of wireless communication links, communication via one of the wireless communication links may not be successfully decoded or received. In such a situation, retransmission of the message or a part of the message is necessary, and the UE can transmit or request a retransmission message such as an H-ARQ retransmission message via one or more different wireless communication links. According to an embodiment, the retransmission message can include redundancy of data within the message or within a part of the message, and the redundancy can include chase combining or incremental redundancy. According to still other embodiments, in response to a retransmission request, a complete retransmission of the entire message or a part of the message can be initiated.

[0071] If each network element such as a base station does not recognize the existing independent parallel wireless communication links from the UE to the network, the retransmission may be controlled by a top entity that can also control the flow of data to the UE via each network element via different links, i.e., the retransmission may be processed outside the actual network elements and above by a service provider, as described above with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 for example. If a wireless network element such as a base station or an entity coupled thereto recognizes different wireless communication links, the retransmission messages may be transmitted cooperatively via different wireless communication links under the control of each base station. In such a situation, the retransmission may utilize two or more links as multiplexed links or redundant links.

[0072] Thus, according to the above embodiments, the original message may be transmitted in a multi-mode, but the repetition as used in H-ARQ may use different diversities on a selected alternative path, or available paths, spatial / directional streams, and / or frequencies.

[0073] Increased code diversity According to an embodiment, according to the idea of the present invention that UE200 forms N (N>1) spatial beams or directional beams for N different wireless communication links, increased code diversity is provided. A message to be transmitted or a part of the message to be transmitted can be encoded, and N copies of the codeword are generated and transmitted via N different wireless communication links. According to another embodiment, a message or a part of the message can be encoded, and the obtained codeword can be divided into N sub-codewords and transmitted via N different wireless communication links.

[0074] In such a scenario, each wireless network element, such as a base station, can collect parts of the message and perform joint processing of the parts of the message that may include the exchange of data via a backhaul interface. This is possible in a situation where each wireless network element recognizes a plurality of independent wireless communication links provided from the UE to different base stations. If each network element does not recognize an independent link, according to another embodiment, the wireless network element transfers a part of the message to one or more entities to which it is connected, and then the entity collects the parts of the message and performs joint or distributed processing of the parts of the message. In other words, the final combination of parts or fragments of the codeword is performed somewhere in the network entity or at the service level where the service is anchored / hosted.

[0075] ​According to an embodiment, the delivery of each part of the messages of multiple links may not be able to obtain the actual content even when all parts are received, and additional processing such as network coding is required. Each part of the message / data flow is processed / decoded in a distributed manner in a first step / stage, and then further processing is executed by a joint process that combines the parts of the first stage in a second stage / step. For example, at each base station or network element, soft bits indicating the probability that a specific bit has a specific value are generated, and these soft bits are distributed to a shared entity that generates hard bits based on the received soft bits to define the final value of the bit. For example, when receiving different soft bits via different links for the same part of a message or from different network elements, the shared entity that generates hard bits can select the soft bit with the highest probability for a specific value.

[0076] According to a further embodiment, the user device can encrypt the message.

[0077] Increased spatial / temporal diversity According to an embodiment, by transmitting multiple copies of a data packet or message via multiple links, spatial and temporal diversity can be increased. The UE 200 can copy a message or a part of the message to be transmitted, and then transmit the message, the copies of the first and second wireless communication links, and other parts of the message. For example, the multi-link UE 200 can generate N copies of the same message or data packet, and apply a channel coding scheme and an interleaver pattern, which can be either the same scheme / pattern or different schemes / patterns, to each copy of the message or data packet. The N codewords obtained after channel coding are transmitted in parallel to the destination via N different wireless communication links 208, and the destination may be one or more base stations. At the destination, if the base station has knowledge about multiple independent links, for example, via the X2 interface, the received information is exchanged and jointly processed by the base station. The joint channel decoder can utilize the correlation of multiple copies of the message during the decoding process. By accumulating sufficient information of the data from multiple links, the destination can decode the message. If the message cannot be decoded, the destination can send a NACK to the multi-link UE to request retransmission of the message. The destination can also indicate the preferred link for retransmission to the multi-link UE. In each retransmission, the multi-link UE can optionally encode and interleave the message with different channel coding schemes and interleaver patterns respectively.

[0078] According to an embodiment, in order to simply maintain the channel coding method, a doped accumulator code with a simple generator is used. Such a code does not introduce redundancy, and the corresponding channel decoder only requires medium complexity. According to a further embodiment, the Fountain code can be used to lead to a transmission method that transmits many parts of the entire message until a sufficient number of parts such as a receiver or a decoder arrive at the destination in order to correctly decode the message. In such a scenario, feedback similar to H-ARQ can be used to terminate further transmission of the packet.

[0079] UL / DL Scheduling According to an embodiment, the UE 200 of the present invention can control or adjust the uplink UL and / or the downlink DL, and / or can control or adjust link adaptation in uplink communication and / or downlink communication. According to an embodiment, the UE 200 can access the link control of one or more radio network elements, for example, the link control of a base station as shown in the above figure, and directly control the scheduling of uplink / downlink resources via each radio communication link. According to another example, direct access to link control may not be available, but the transmission of information regarding the link control of each base station can be controlled so as to avoid specific situations. For example, the indirect control of scheduling can be implemented by simultaneous handover of two radio communication links at the same time.

[0080] According to a further embodiment, the UE can control / adjust resources and link adaptation in the uplink / downlink to provide a dedicated set of resources such as physical resource blocks that the UE itself can select, and for such PRBs, the UE can select modulation, coding, and codeword distribution on each radio communication link. This approach is beneficial in the downlink where the UE is the receiver, observes the channel state including the interference level, and typically reports several indicators such as PMI, CQI to the base station to request a specific load / usage of resources. If such values lead to transmission success, the base station decides and the UE reports another round of feedback.

[0081] According to a further embodiment related to uplink / downlink scheduling, the ML-UE200 according to the method of the present invention can transmit and receive as many as possible, so-called streams, i.e., directional / space beams, by spatial multiplexing using an antenna array such as a massive MIMO array. The common resources may include common time / frequency resources. Conventional methods such as the LTE standard perform uplink / downlink scheduling only at the base station, but according to the method of the present invention, it is possible to handle situations where there is no sufficient backhaul or no backhaul between different base stations, as is the case when connecting to base stations of different mobile network operators. In such a case, the base station does not know a method for providing an acceptable ML-UE-centered scheduling decision and a corresponding rate allocation or link adaptation. This is because there is no global CSI available at the base station and each base station has only local CSI. In the case of the uplink, there is difficulty or uncertainty in scheduling in the sense that each BS does not know how much interference its uplink stream has with other simultaneously scheduled base stations of a particular ML-UE. In such a scenario, according to an embodiment, uplink scheduling can be performed on the UE side, because otherwise such uplink interference is most likely to significantly reduce the uplink throughput of the ML-UE.

[0082] For example, a UE can request the same uplink / downlink resource block (also referred to as a common uplink / downlink resource block) from multiple potential base stations. When the UE obtains permissions from several base stations, the UE can trigger CSI feedback from the permitted base stations. Considering the reported CSI (RI / PMI / CQI), the UE schedules an optimal set of beamforming matrices provided by the precoder. Next, the UE can also perform link adaptation by signaling UL / DL control information to the base station. In other words, according to such an embodiment, the ML-UE 200 of the present invention can play the same role as the base station in a conventional large-scale MIMO system.

[0083] Independent power control According to a further embodiment, the user device 200 may provide independent management of the wireless communication link for independent link feedback, including, for example, CSI, CQI, PMI, and H-ARQ handover.

[0084] Aggregation node According to an embodiment of the present invention, as briefly described above, the UE 200 may also operate as an aggregation node for a plurality of further devices connected to the aggregation node.

[0085] For example, the UE 200 of the present invention may be an aggregation node of a mobile hot spot such as a bus, a train, or an airplane, and several devices located in the vehicle may be connected to the aggregation node. The connected devices can transfer their unique IDs, specific properties, etc. to the spatial link ID, and vice versa. The multi-link connection can be connected to the networks of different MNOS, and the opposite-side devices can be grouped by MNO. The devices can obtain a "transcoded" link anchored to any one of the networks, for example, by multi-MNO anchoring of services.

[0086] Multiplexing of Analog Beamforming Components According to a further embodiment, the user device may include, for example, a modulator / demodulator implemented in the signal processor shown in FIG. 8a for each signaling chain 204. The antenna array may include a large-scale MIMO antenna array 202, and all or a group of antenna elements 202 within the antenna array 202 x may transmit and receive the same RF signal to and from the modulator / demodulator. When referring to an RF signal, it means an analog signal coming from the modulator. This may be a baseband signal in the analog domain after the DAC or may be mixed up to an intermediate frequency. Since beamforming is performed, for example, by a combination of phase shifters or fixed phase delays in parallel stages to generate analog beamforming, not all antenna elements have their own transceiver chain. In other words, in the case of analog beamforming or hybrid beamforming respectively, all antennas within the antenna array 202 or antenna group 202 x may receive the same RF signal from the modulator. This signal may be phase-shifted with a phase that can be parameterized individually for each antenna, and using all antennas parameterized by phase results in the maximum SINR towards the target receiver while minimizing interference at all other receivers. However, if the current data rate and interference cancellation requirements are not very high, a smaller number of antennas or groups necessary for signaling to the target receiver may be sufficient. The transmitter is the ML-UE 200, and the receiver may be another network element such as a base station or another UE. Establishing multiple links in parallel from a single ML-UE to multiple base stations results in a statistical multiplexing gain regarding the necessary beamforming hardware. For example, when supporting three parallel beams to three base stations, the number of antennas or groups may be significantly less than three times the hardware for a single link.

[0087] Accordingly, according to a further embodiment, a controller, such as controller 322 of FIG. 8a, may be configured to dynamically increase or decrease the number of antennas per wireless communication link, and / or the number of wireless communication links, and / or the number of antenna elements of an antenna array used to generate a wireless communication link, and / or the number of spatial beams per wireless communication link, for example, according to the current data rate requirements of each wireless communication link.

[0088] FIG. 8b shows an embodiment for implementing one or more antenna arrays of a user device of the present invention. The one or more antenna arrays may include a plurality of antenna elements 202x operating in the millimeter wave band, for example, from 8×8 to several hundred. According to a first embodiment, the array 200 may be controlled to form a plurality of beams 206 using all of the antenna elements 202. According to a second embodiment, the array may be controlled such that a plurality of sub-arrays 2021, 2022 are used to form respective beams 206. A protocol regarding link status x According to a second embodiment, the array may be controlled such that a plurality of sub-arrays 2021, 2022 are used to form respective beams 206.

[0089] A protocol regarding link status According to a further embodiment, the method of the present invention can include obtaining information regarding the state of one or more wireless communication links at any network level, for example, by performing appropriate measurements by each network element such as a base station, or by measurements performed at UE200 to obtain each parameter such as a KPI related to a wireless communication link, or by monitoring the operation of communication, for example, the number of required retransmissions providing some information regarding the communication operation, i.e., how good the communication link is for transmitting specific data. Information regarding the state of one or more channels may be transmitted or distributed among all entities of the entire system, for example, when the measurement is completed, when a specific request is issued, or at specific times or intervals. For example, according to an embodiment, the obtained information can be used to dynamically adapt the communication on different wireless communication links, for example, in response to information received from a user device or other entities.

[0090] E2E Multi-Link Orchestration According to a further embodiment, the method of the present invention can provide E2E multi-link orchestration.

[0091] According to an embodiment, E2E multi-link orchestration includes the orchestration of link IDs and user IDs that may be required for network access and services.

[0092] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a network including an orchestrator according to an embodiment of the present invention. The UE 200 of the present invention provides three independent links 2081 to 2083 to services located, for example, on the Internet or other locations in the illustrated environment via their respective base stations BS1 to BS3. In Figure 9, the logical connection between the UE and the service is represented by an arrow E2E. The base stations are connected to the service by their respective backhaul connections BH1 to BH3. The orchestrator 400 may be a multi-link orchestrator or a multi-ID orchestrator or both. The multi-link orchestrator and the multi-ID orchestrator may be the same entity or separate entities and can be implemented in a centralized or decentralized manner. The orchestrator may be an entity behind an actual network such as a server on the Internet, may be in the UE to provide UE-centric multi-connection or multi-link orchestration, or may be in one or more network elements such as the above base stations to provide network-centric multi-connection orchestration.

[0093] The multi-link orchestrator controls the transmission or data flow for the E2E connection via the link 208 and the backhaul connection BH. The multi-link orchestrator utilizes knowledge about the conditions of the link 208 and the backhaul connection BH, described by KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) such as data rate, interference level, congestion, load, etc., in order to utilize the links coupled to the E2E connection according to specific criteria of E2E communication, as schematically represented by reference numeral 410. Such knowledge may be provided by a service or a network, such as a network element, any entity within the network, or the UE 200. The multi- link orchestrator can also interact with entities of the core network, such as the EPC, evolved packet core, functions of the 4G network, etc.

[0094] The multi-link orchestrator can control link performance-related parameters directly, for example, via control signaling, with entities related to network elements or links, such as schedulers, link controllers, handover controllers, etc., or indirectly based on service or link-specific parameters, such as guaranteed bit rate service, ULLRC, etc.

[0095] According to an embodiment, the UE-centric multi-link orchestrator can control the links required for important services such as URLLC by adjusting / coordinating the base station scheduler, especially for UL using grant-free access procedures, or by data root / flow selection or prioritization. Further, the UE and / or service can trigger end-to-end link performance tests on demand or at predetermined intervals such as response time, retransmission attempts, etc.

[0096] For example, latency-critical data may always be routed by the UE200 via the fastest link, e.g., the link where the required resource block RB is available and / or the link with the minimum number of H-ARQ retransmissions expected, and / or the lowest end-to-end latency is expected. Further, latency-sensitive data may be split and transmitted via links. The scheduling preference decision for scheduling may be made at the UE and appropriately communicated to related network elements such as the base station.

[0097] The multi-ID orchestrator controls different IDs such as subscriber identification of the radio communication link 208 used for access to one or more radio networks. The ID may be used to authenticate the user device and permit access to specific network functions such as the network and / or network slice, service, KPI report request, etc. Different IDs may be combined into a common multi-link UE ID. Such a multi-link UE ID may be processed more efficiently in one or more networks.

[0098] Advantages The method of the present invention described in detail above provides more advantages than the methods of the prior art. According to the teachings described herein, aggregation of links to several network elements such as base stations becomes possible simultaneously, and the data rate increases by spatial or frequency multiplexing to several base stations, so that link diversity is provided, the stability of the links is improved, outages are reduced, and load balancing of the backhaul connections between multiple base stations is provided. Further, significant inter-cell interference reduction is achieved on the UE side, and energy-reduced multi-link transmission between the network and the ML-UE200 is available. Further, embodiments of the method of the present invention are advantageous, especially in mobile edge computing MEC, as they provide multi-handover simultaneously and / or at different time instances, reducing the number of handover failures, balancing traffic handover, reducing latency, and improving continuous support. Further advantages of the approach of the present invention are that multi-path routing of packets of several working elements such as base stations in the same or different networks using the same or different radio access technologies becomes possible, which is an improvement in E2E service delivery, and further embodiments provide statistical multiplexing in the backhaul via several base stations, which is advantageous, for example, in reducing the variation of the effective data rate, delay, and jitter when a handover occurs.

[0099] Although some aspects of the described concepts have been described in the context of an apparatus, these aspects also represent descriptions of corresponding methods, and it is clear that a block or device corresponds to a method step or a feature of a method step. Similarly, aspects described in the context of a method step also represent descriptions of the corresponding block or item or the function of the corresponding apparatus.

[0100] The various elements and features of the present invention can be implemented through hardware using analog and / or digital circuits, software, execution of instructions by one or more general-purpose or dedicated processors, or as a combination of hardware and software. For example, embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the environment of a computer system or another processing system. FIG. 10 shows an example of a computer system 900. Units or modules, as well as the steps of the methods executed by these units, can be executed on one or more computer systems 900. The computer system 900 includes one or more processors 902 such as a special-purpose or general-purpose digital signal processor. The processor 902 is connected to a communication infrastructure 904 such as a bus or network. The computer system 900 further includes a main memory 906 such as random access memory (RAM), and a secondary memory 908 such as a hard disk drive and / or a removable storage drive. The secondary memory 908 may enable a computer program or other instructions to be loaded into the computer system 900. The computer system 900 may further include a communication interface 9010 that enables the transfer of software and data between the computer system 900 and external devices. The communication may be in the form of electronic, electromagnetic, optical, or other signals that can be processed by the communication interface. The communication can use wires or cables, optical fibers, telephone lines, cellular phone links, RF links, and other communication channels 912.

[0101] The terms "computer program medium" and "computer readable medium" are generally used to refer to tangible storage media such as removable storage units or hard disks installed in hard disk drives. These computer program products are means for providing software to a computer system 900. A computer program, also called computer control logic, is stored in main memory 906 and / or secondary memory 908. A computer program may be received via communication interface 910. When executed, the computer program enables the computer system 900 to implement the present invention. In particular, when executed, the computer program enables the processor 902 to implement a process of the present invention such as any of the methods described herein. Thus, such a computer program may represent a controller of the computer system 900. When the present disclosure is implemented using software, the software is stored in a computer program product and may be loaded into the computer system 900 using an interface such as a removable storage drive, communication interface 910.

[0102] Implementation in hardware or software may be carried out using a digital storage medium, such as a cloud storage, floppy disk, DVD, Blu-ray, CD, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM or flash memory, electronically readable control signals are stored therein and which cooperate (or are capable of cooperating) with a programmable computer system so that respective methods are executed. Thus, the digital storage medium may be computer readable.

[0103] Some embodiments according to the present invention include a data carrier having electronically readable control signals capable of cooperating with a programmable computer system so that one of the methods described herein is executed.

[0104] In general, embodiments of the present invention can be implemented as a computer program product having program code, and the program code is operative to perform one of the methods when the computer program product is executed on a computer. The program code may be stored, for example, in a machine-readable carrier.

[0105] Other embodiments include a computer program for performing one of the methods described herein, stored in a machine-readable carrier. In other words, thus, an embodiment of the method of the present invention is a computer program having program code for performing one of the methods described herein when the computer program is executed on a computer.

[0106] Thus, a further embodiment of the method of the present invention includes a computer program for performing one of the methods described herein, which is a data carrier (or digital storage medium, or computer-readable medium) on which it is recorded. Thus, a further embodiment of the method of the present invention is a data stream or signal sequence representing a computer program for performing one of the methods described herein. The data stream or signal sequence may be configured to be transferred via a data communication connection, such as the Internet. A further embodiment includes processing means, such as a computer or a programmable logic device, configured or adapted to perform one of the methods described herein. A further embodiment includes a computer on which a computer program for performing one of the methods described herein is installed.

[0107] In some embodiments, a programmable logic device (e.g., a field programmable gate array) can be used to perform some or all of the functions of the methods described herein. In some embodiments, the field programmable gate array may cooperate with a microprocessor to perform one of the methods described herein. Generally, these methods are preferably performed by any hardware device.

[0108] It should be understood that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention. Modifications and changes to the arrangements and details described herein will be apparent to other those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to be limited only by the claims that follow and not by the specific details presented as descriptions and explanations of the embodiments herein.

Claims

1. A user device (UE) for wireless communication with a plurality of wireless network elements, the user device (UE) comprising: a plurality of antennas configured to form a plurality of spatial beams or directive beams; the user device is configured to use the plurality of spatial beams or directive beams to simultaneously provide a plurality of independent wireless communication links, the user device provides a first wireless communication link with a first wireless network element using a first spatial beam or directive beam, and is configured to provide a second wireless communication link with a second wireless network element using a second spatial beam or directive beam, the user device processes the connection to the first wireless network element via the first wireless communication link independently of the connection to the second wireless network element via the second wireless communication link, and is configured to keep the wireless communication links active simultaneously or be ready to become active over a long period of time. A user device (UE).

2. The wireless network element is part of one or more wireless communication networks, the one or more wireless communication networks are (a) a wireless communication network operated by the same MNO, or (b) a wireless communication network operated by different MNOs, or (c) a wireless communication network having the same RAT, or (d) a wireless communication network having different RATs, or (e) a combination of (a), (b), (c) and / or (d), the RAT is one or more of 3G, 4G LTE / LTE-A / LTE-A Pro, 5G / NR, LTE V2X (including V2V / V2I / V2P), extended V2X (eV2X) of 5G / NR, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.11p DSRC, and other technologies including Bluetooth, WiFi variants (including at least IEEE 802.11ad, IEEE 802.11ay, IEEE 802.11ac), ETSI Dect and its variants. The user device (UE) according to claim 1.

3. The plurality of wireless network elements operate using the same or different network resources, which are the same or different frequencies, the same or different frequency bands, or the same or different portions of a certain frequency band, provided by one or more wireless communication networks. The user device (UE) according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The plurality of antennas are configured to simultaneously form the plurality of spatial beams or directive beams at the same or different frequencies in order to enable parallel transmission via a plurality of wireless communication links. The user device (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The user device is configured to receive control information from or via one or more wireless network elements in order to adjust data transmission via the first and second wireless communication links. The user device (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. One or more of an electronic device, software, sensors and actuators, A network connection configured such that the user device can scan / search, detect, initiate, establish, abort / terminate, hand over, maintain, or monitor connections to the wireless network elements via the respective wireless communication links to exchange data and / or follow or track a control channel. The user device (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising:

7. The user device is a fixed device or a mobile device, The mobile device includes handheld devices such as smartphones, PDAs, IoT devices, computers, ground vehicles such as robots or cars, or aircraft such as manned or unmanned aircraft (UAVs), the latter also being referred to as drones. The fixed device includes or is connected to a physical device, a building, or any item in which a network connection is embedded such that the device can scan / search, detect, initiate, establish, abort / terminate, maintain, or monitor connections to the wireless network elements via the respective wireless communication links. The user device (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The wireless network element includes one or more base stations (BSs) and / or one or more link transfer elements for one or more additional user devices (UEs). The user device (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The user device is configured to communicate with a specific destination, and the destination is one or more of the wireless network elements or one or more entities coupled to one or more of the wireless network elements. The user device (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The one or more entities are a service provider that provides a specific service, such as a URLLC service for the operation of a remote machine or closed-loop control, and a mobile device or fixed device, such as a machine, vehicle, or robot, coupled to or including the wireless network element to provide machine-to-machine (M2M), V2V, or V2X communication. including one or more of The user device (UE) according to claim 9.

11. At least one antenna array including the plurality of antennas, a precoder connected to the antenna array, the precoder being configured to form the plurality of spatial beams or directive beams by the antenna array, and a plurality of signal processing chains for the plurality of wireless communication links. The user device (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, including

12. The user device is configured to distinguish the two or more wireless network elements and utilize downlink (DL) signaling from the first and second wireless network elements to synchronize and decode / process / handle DL control channels in parallel and / or independently. The user device (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. The user device is configured to control or adjust uplink UL and / or downlink resources and / or configured to control or adjust link adaptation in uplink communication and / or downlink communication. The user device (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication with a plurality of wireless network elements, wherein the user equipment (UE) includes a plurality of antennas configured to form a plurality of spatial beams or directional beams, the user equipment is configured to simultaneously provide a plurality of independent wireless communication links using the plurality of spatial beams or directional beams, the user equipment is configured to provide a first wireless communication link with a first wireless network element using a first spatial beam or directional beam and to provide a second wireless communication link with a second wireless network element using a second spatial beam or directional beam, the user equipment is configured to control or adjust uplink UL and / or downlink resources and / or is configured to control or adjust link adaptation in uplink communication and / or downlink communication, the user equipment accesses link control of one or more of the wireless network elements and / or is configured to control the transmission of any information regarding link control of one or more of the wireless network elements so as to avoid specific situations such as simultaneous handover of two wireless communication links. A user equipment (UE).

15. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication with a plurality of wireless network elements, wherein the user equipment (UE) includes a plurality of antennas configured to form a plurality of spatial beams or directional beams, the user equipment is configured to simultaneously provide a plurality of independent wireless communication links using the plurality of spatial beams or directional beams, the user equipment is configured to provide a first wireless communication link with a first wireless network element using a first spatial beam or directional beam and to provide a second wireless communication link with a second wireless network element using a second spatial beam or directional beam, the user equipment is configured to select modulation, coding, and codeword distribution via the wireless communication link for a dedicated resource set such as PRB. A user equipment (UE).

16. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication with a plurality of wireless network elements, wherein the user equipment (UE) including a plurality of antennas configured to form a plurality of spatial beams or directive beams, the user device is configured to simultaneously provide a plurality of independent wireless communication links using the plurality of spatial beams or directive beams, the user device is configured to provide a first wireless communication link with a first wireless network element using a first spatial beam or directive beam, and to provide a second wireless communication link with a second wireless network element using a second spatial beam or directive beam, the user device, requests a common UL / DL resource block from a plurality of the wireless network elements, in response to grants from some of the wireless network elements, triggers CSI feedback from the granted wireless network elements, A user equipment (UE) configured to schedule a set of beamforming matrices and wireless network elements according to specific performance metrics using the reported CSI such as RI / PMI / CQI / PT.

17. The user device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the user device is configured to provide link feedback including CSI, CQI, PMI, and H-ARQ for independent management of the wireless communication link.

18. including a plurality of signal processing chains for the plurality of wireless communication links, the plurality of signal processing chains are for each wireless communication link, DL time and frequency synchronization, processing of the neighbor list, processing of resource allocation such as DL / UL or H-ARQ, UL timing advance TA, power control, triggering and processing of handover procedures, The user equipment (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 17, configured to support one or more of them.

19. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication with a plurality of wireless network elements, the user equipment (UE) including a plurality of antennas configured to form a plurality of spatial beams or directive beams, The user device is configured to simultaneously provide a plurality of independent wireless communication links using the plurality of spatial beams or directive beams, and the user device provides a first wireless communication link with a first wireless network element using a first spatial beam or directive beam, and is configured to provide a second wireless communication link with a second wireless network element using a second spatial beam or directive beam. The user device (UE) is configured to operate as the aggregation node for a plurality of further devices connected to the aggregation node. **Claim 20** including a modulator / demodulator The antenna includes at least one large-scale MIMO antenna array. The user device (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein all or a group of the antennas in the large-scale MIMO antenna array are configured to receive / transmit the same RF signal from / to the modulator / demodulator. **Claim 21** A user device (UE) for wireless communication with a plurality of wireless network elements, the user device (UE) includes a plurality of antennas configured to form a plurality of spatial beams or directive beams. The user device is configured to simultaneously provide a plurality of independent wireless communication links using the plurality of spatial beams or directive beams, and the user device provides a first wireless communication link with a first wireless network element using a first spatial beam or directive beam, and is configured to provide a second wireless communication link with a second wireless network element using a second spatial beam or directive beam. The user device includes a controller, and the controller the number of antennas for each wireless communication link, and / or the number of wireless communication links, and / or the number of antenna elements of the antenna array used to generate the wireless communication link, and / or the number of spatial beams for each wireless communication link, is configured to dynamically increase / decrease. The user device (UE). **Claim 22** A user device (UE) for wireless communication with a plurality of wireless network elements, the user device (UE) including a plurality of antennas configured to form a plurality of spatial beams or directive beams, the user device is configured to simultaneously provide a plurality of independent wireless communication links using the plurality of spatial beams or directive beams, the user device is configured to provide a first wireless communication link with a first wireless network element using a first spatial beam or directive beam, and to provide a second wireless communication link with a second wireless network element using a second spatial beam or directive beam, the user device, obtains information regarding the state of the one or more wireless communication links by measuring one or more parameters associated with the wireless communication links or by monitoring communication operations such as the number of retransmission requests, a user equipment (UE) configured to transmit the information according to a schedule at a predetermined time or interval upon completion of the measurement in response to a request received by the user device.

23. The user equipment (UE) according to claim 22, wherein the wireless network element dynamically adapts the communication via the different wireless communication links in response to the information from the user device.

24. The user equipment (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein the wireless network element includes one or more user devices according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

25. Forming the spatial beam or directive beam includes analog and / or digital beamforming, space-time block coding (STBC), space-frequency block coding (SFBC), cyclic delay diversity (CDD), multiplexing, precoding using CSI or a transmission precoding matrix, The user equipment (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 24, including one or more of the above.

26. The plurality of antennas one or more antenna arrays each including a plurality of antenna elements, a steerable antenna having a fixed or adjustable beam pattern, such as a gimbal antenna like a horn antenna, controllable to be directed towards the respective network elements associated with the respective wireless communication links. The user device (UE) according to any one of claims 1 to 25, comprising one or more of

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