Radio base station, terminal, and radio communication method

Abstract

To provide a wireless base station and a terminal that enable appropriate cell selection while taking into account the slices supported by a RAN node (cell).SOLUTION: In 3GPP (10), a gNB (100A) transmits broadcast information to a terminal (200) in a cell. The gNB (100A) includes information on slices for each frequency supported via the cell in the broadcast information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a radio base station and a terminal that support network slicing. [Background technology]

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has developed specifications for the 5th generation mobile communication system (5G, also known as New Radio (NR) or Next Generation (NG)), and is also developing specifications for the next generation, known as Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.

[0003] For example, 3GPP Release 17 is considering network slicing, which divides the radio access network (RAN) into multiple slices according to different service requirements, so that a terminal (User Equipment, UE) can perform cell selection (including reselection) while being aware of the slices supported by the RAN node (Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] "Study on enhancement of RAN Slicing", RP-193254, 3GPP TSG-RAN meeting #86, 3GPP, December 2019 [Non-patent document 2] "Key Issue on 5GC assisted cell selection to access network slice", S2-2001467, 3GPP SA WG2 Meeting #136 Ad-hoc, 3GPP, January 2020 Summary of the Invention

[0005] However, in the current 3GPP specifications (Release 16), the UE cannot recognize the slices supported by the RAN node (cell).

[0006] Therefore, if a UE requests a slice (which may also be interpreted as a service type) that is not supported by the RAN node (cell), the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) must reject the request.

[0007] Therefore, the following disclosure has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and aims to provide a radio base station and a terminal that can realize appropriate cell selection taking into account the slices supported by a RAN node (cell).

[0008] One aspect of the present disclosure is to System Information Block and a transmitter (system information transmitter 140) that transmits the system information supported via the cell. For each frequency Information about the slice and frequency priority are the same as the system information block The radio base station (for example, gNB100A) includes a control unit (control unit 150) included in the

[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure is a radio base station (e.g., gNB100A) comprising a transmitter (radio transmitter 110) that transmits a radio resource control layer message to a terminal (UE200) within a cell, and a control unit (control unit 150) that includes information regarding slices supported via the cell in the message.

[0010] One aspect of the present disclosure is a method for broadcasting a signal to a cell. System Information Block a receiving unit (system information receiving unit 225) that receives the The same system information block Included in R , supported via said cell For each frequency Information about the slice and frequency priority and a control unit (control unit 250) that executes cell selection based on the received signal.

[0011] One aspect of the present disclosure is a terminal (UE200) having a receiver (radio receiver 220) that receives a message of a radio resource control layer, and a control unit (control unit 250) that performs cell selection based on information contained in the message regarding slices supported via the waiting cell.

[0012] One aspect of the present disclosure is a radio base station (e.g., gNB100A) that includes a receiver (handover processing unit 145) that receives a handover request for a terminal (UE200) in a cell from a handover source radio base station, a control unit (control unit 150) that determines settings for initial access based on information included in the handover request and regarding slices supported via the cell, and a transmitter that transmits setting information indicating the determined settings to the handover source radio base station. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall schematic configuration of a wireless communication system 10. As shown in FIG. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the gNB100A. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the UE 200. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional communication sequence regarding cell selection when slices are used. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a communication sequence regarding cell selection according to operation example 1-1. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a communication sequence regarding cell selection according to operation example 1-2. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a communication sequence regarding handover according to the second operation example. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of PLMN-IdentityInfoList included in cellAccessRelatedInfo. [Figure 9]FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the SIB4. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the RRCRelease message. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the RRCRelease message. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of Handover Preparation information. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of gNB100A, gNB100B, and UE200. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or similar reference numerals are used to designate the same functions or configurations, and descriptions thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0015] (1) Overall configuration of wireless communication system 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a wireless communication system 10 according to this embodiment. The wireless communication system 10 is a wireless communication system conforming to 5G New Radio (NR), and includes a Next Generation-Radio Access Network 20 (hereinafter, NG-RAN 20) and a user equipment 200 (hereinafter, UE 200).

[0016] The wireless communication system 10 may be a wireless communication system conforming to a system called Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.

[0017] The NG-RAN 20 includes a radio base station 100A (hereinafter, gNB100A) and a radio base station 100B (hereinafter, gNB100B). Note that the specific configuration of the radio communication system 10, including the number of gNBs and UEs, is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1.

[0018] The NG-RAN 20 actually includes a plurality of NG-RAN nodes (which may be abbreviated as RAN nodes), specifically, gNBs (or ng-eNBs), and is connected to a 5GC 30, which is a core network conforming to 5G. Note that the NG-RAN 20 and the 5GC 30 may be simply referred to as a "network."

[0019] The 5GC30 may be provided with an Access and Mobility Management Function 35 (hereinafter referred to as AMF35), which is included in the 5G system architecture and provides mobility management functions for the UE200.

[0020] The wireless communication system 10 also supports network slicing. Network slicing is a technology that divides a single network into multiple slices according to different service requirements. Network slicing may be interpreted as a technology that logically divides configurations or resources according to various requests and characteristics of communication services.

[0021] In network slicing, slices can be formed using an identifier called S-NSSAI (Single-Network Slice Selection Assistance Information). The S-NSSAI may be used (shared) among the UE 200, the NG-RAN 20, and the 5GC 30.

[0022] In addition, service types (SST) may include enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB (high speed, large capacity)), massive Internet of Things (mIoT (multiple connections, low power consumption, low cost)), and Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC (low latency, high reliability)).

[0023] (2) Functional block configuration of wireless communication system Next, a description will be given of the functional block configuration of the wireless communication system 10. Specifically, the functional block configurations of the gNB100A and the UE200 will be described.

[0024] (2.1) gNB100A Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram of the gNB 100A. As shown in Fig. 2, the gNB 100A includes a radio transmission unit 110, a radio reception unit 120, an RA processing unit 130, a system information transmission unit 140, a handover processing unit 145, and a control unit 150. The gNB 100B may also have a similar functional block configuration.

[0025] The radio transmission unit 110 transmits a radio signal conforming to NR, specifically, a downlink signal (DL signal), to the UE 200.

[0026] In this embodiment, the radio transmitting unit 110 can transmit a message of a radio resource control layer (RRC) to the UE 200 in the cell. In this embodiment, the radio transmitting unit 110 constitutes a transmitting unit that transmits a message of the radio resource control layer to the terminal in the cell.

[0027] The message may include various RRC messages defined in 3GPP TS38.331, such as RRCSetup, RRCReject, RRCReconfiguration, RRCReestablishment, and RRCRelease.

[0028] The radio receiving unit 120 receives a radio signal conforming to NR, specifically, an uplink signal (UL signal), from the UE 200. The radio receiving unit 120 may also receive an RRC message from the gNB 100A. The message may include various RRC messages defined in 3GPP TS38.331. Specifically, the message may include an RRC message corresponding to the above-mentioned RRC message.

[0029] UE200 in a cell may be interpreted as a UE that is waiting for or is present in the cell formed by gNB100A.

[0030] The RA processing unit 130 performs processing related to a random access procedure (RA procedure). Specifically, the RA processing unit 130 may support a contention-based RA procedure (CBRA) and a contention-free RA procedure (CFRA). The RA processing unit 130 may also support a four-step and two-step RA procedure. The random access procedure may be interpreted as a procedure for initial access by the UE 200.

[0031] The RA processing unit 130 can transmit configuration information indicating a configuration for initial access, specifically, a configuration of a random access channel (RACH), to a handover source radio base station (e.g., gNB100B) of the UE 200, based on an instruction from the control unit 150. In this embodiment, the RA processing unit 130 constitutes a transmission unit that transmits the configuration information to the handover source radio base station.

[0032] The RACH configuration may be determined based on information about slices supported via the cell, and such a RACH configuration may be referred to as a slice-based RACH configuration.

[0033] The system information transmission unit 140 transmits system information within the cell formed by the gNB 100A. Specifically, the system information transmission unit 140 can transmit various System Information Blocks (SIBs) to the UEs 200 within the cell. Such system information may be interpreted as broadcast information. In this embodiment, the system information transmission unit 140 constitutes a transmission unit that transmits broadcast information to terminals within the cell.

[0034] The SIBs may include SIB1 and SIB4. SIB1 may include information relevant when evaluating whether UE 200 is allowed to access the cell and may define scheduling of other system information. SIB1 may also include radio resource configuration information common to all UEs and barring information applicable to unified access control.

[0035] SIB4 may contain information related to inter-frequency cell reselection, i.e., information about other NR frequencies and inter-frequency neighboring cells that are relevant for cell reselection. Information elements (IEs) may include frequency-common cell reselection parameters and cell-specific reselection parameters.

[0036] The broadcast information may be an SIB other than SIB1 and SIB4, or may be of another type as long as it is intended to broadcast some information to UE 200. The broadcast information may be broadcast to multiple UEs or unicast to a specific UE.

[0037] The handover processing unit 145 executes processing related to handover of the UE 200. Specifically, the handover processing unit 145 can execute processing when the gNB 100A becomes a handover source radio base station (source radio base station) or when the gNB 100A becomes a handover destination radio base station (target radio base station).

[0038] More specifically, the handover processing unit 145 transmits and receives RRC messages between nodes and executes handover processing. For example, the handover processing unit 145 can transmit and receive a handover command, a handover request, a handover request Ack, etc. In this embodiment, the handover processing unit 145 constitutes a receiving unit that receives a handover request for the UE 200 in the cell from the handover source radio base station.

[0039] The control unit 150 controls each functional block constituting the gNB 100A. In particular, in this embodiment, the control unit 150 can include information about slices supported via a cell in the broadcast information. Specifically, the control unit 150 can include information about the slices in the system information (SIB) transmitted by the system information transmission unit 140.

[0040] Furthermore, the control unit 150 can include information about slices supported via the cell in the RRC message. Specifically, the control unit 150 can include information about slices in the RRC message transmitted by the radio transmission unit 110.

[0041] A slice supported via a cell may refer to a slice supported by the cell itself formed by gNB100A, or may refer to a slice supported by an area (e.g., RAN-AreaCode) including the cell or a radio access network (RAN).

[0042] Furthermore, the information about the slice may be any information that can identify a slice supported via a cell. For example, the information about the slice may be S-NSSAI.

[0043] The S-NSSAI (hereinafter referred to as NSSAI as appropriate) may include a Slice / Service type (SST) and a Slice Differentiator (SD) (see FIG. 5). Note that the SD is optional and does not have to be included. The S-NSSAI is specified in 3GPP TS23.003, Chapter 28.4.2.

[0044] The SST may indicate the expected behavior of the network slice in terms of functionality and services. The SST may be allocated 8 bits.

[0045] The SD may complement the SST and distinguish between multiple network slices of the same slice / service type. 24 bits may be allocated to the SD.

[0046] The S-NSSAI (NSSAI), SST, or SD may be referred to as a Slice ID. That is, a Slice ID may contain only an SST, or may include both an SST and an SD. Similarly, an NSSAI may contain only an SST, or may include both an SST and an SD.

[0047] Furthermore, the control unit 150 can determine resources for initial access based on a handover request from the handover source radio base station, specifically, information about the slice included in the handover request.

[0048] More specifically, the control unit 150 can determine the RACH configuration based on the Slice ID included in the Handover request. The control unit 150 can transmit a Handover request Ack including the determined RACH configuration (slice-based RACH configuration) to the handover source radio base station.

[0049] The RACH configuration may include ra-contentionResolutionTimer, PowerRampingStepHighPriority, ScalingFactorBI, etc. A specific example of determining the slice-based RACH configuration will be described later.

[0050] (2.2)UE200 3 is a functional block diagram of the UE 200. As shown in FIG. 3, the UE 200 includes a radio transmitter 210, a radio receiver 220, a system information receiver 225, an RA processor 230, a slice selector 240, and a controller 250.

[0051] The radio transmission unit 210 transmits an uplink signal (UL signal) conforming to NR toward gNB100A (or gNB100B, the same applies below).

[0052] The radio receiving unit 220 receives a downlink signal (DL signal) conforming to NR from the gNB 100A. The radio receiving unit 220 may also receive an RRC message from the gNB 100A. The message may include various RRC messages specified in 3GPP TS38.331. In this embodiment, the radio receiving unit 220 constitutes a receiving unit that receives messages of a radio resource control layer.

[0053] The system information receiving unit 225 receives system information broadcast within the cell. Specifically, the system information receiving unit 225 can receive various SIBs broadcast within the waiting (serving) cell. As described above, the SIBs may include SIB1 and SIB4. In this embodiment, the system information receiving unit 225 constitutes a receiving unit that receives broadcast information broadcast within the cell.

[0054] The RA processing unit 230 performs processing related to the random access procedure (RA procedure). The RA processing unit 230 corresponds to the RA processing unit 130 of the gNB 100A and may support the same RA procedure as the RA processing unit 130. Specifically, the RA processing unit 230 can transmit a random access preamble (msg. 1), receive a random access response (msg. 2), transmit a scheduled transmission (msg. 3), and receive contention resolution (msg. 4).

[0055] The slice selection unit 240 selects a slice (network slice) according to a service executed in the UE 200. As described above, the service may include eMBB, mIoT, URLLC, and the like.

[0056] The slice selector 240 can notify information about slices acquired from SIB1 and / or SIB4 from the Access Stratum (AS) layer to the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer. The slice selector 240 can select a slice based on a previously selected Slice ID (which may be a service type (SST)) or a Slice ID (which may be a service type (SST)) notified by a paging message, taking into consideration both the cellReselectionPriority and the service type broadcast by SIB4 (i.e., a frequency with a higher priority is selected, and the Slice ID (SST) supports that frequency).

[0057] The control unit 250 controls each functional block constituting the UE 200. In particular, in this embodiment, the control unit 250 can perform cell selection based on information on slices included in system information (broadcast information).

[0058] The control unit 250 may also perform cell selection based on slice-related information included in the received RRC message. As described above, the slice-related information is information about slices supported via a cell on which the UE 200 is camped, and may include an S-NSSAI (NSSAI), an SST, or an SD.

[0059] The control unit 250 can perform cell selection (which may include reselection) based on the slice selected by the slice selection unit 240. Specifically, the control unit 250 can select a cell that can use a slice according to the service executed in the UE 200.

[0060] (3) Operation of the wireless communication system Next, a description will be given of the operation of the wireless communication system 10. Specifically, a description will be given of the operation related to cell selection (including reselection) and handover taking into consideration the supported slices (service types).

[0061] (3.1) Example 1 In this operation example, gNB100A uses system information (SIB) to broadcast information regarding slices supported by the cell (which may be interpreted as a RAN node or RAN).

[0062] (3.1.1) Issues Figure 4 shows an example of a conventional communication sequence for cell selection when using slices. As shown in Figure 4, if a RAN node that does not support the slice requested by UE 200 (here, for convenience, it is assumed to be S-NSSAI #1; the same applies hereinafter) is selected and cell selection is performed, there is a problem that the Initial UE message to AMF 35 is rejected. The same applies to a registration request from UE 200.

[0063] As described above, the conventional example has a problem in that the UE 200 cannot perform cell selection taking into consideration the NSSAI supported by the radio access network (RAN).

[0064] (3.1.2) Example of operation (3.1.2.1) Example 1-1 5 shows an example of a communication sequence related to cell selection according to operation example 1-1. As shown in FIG. 5, prior to cell selection by UE 200, NG-RAN 20 (here, gNB 100A) broadcasts information related to slices within the cell using system information (SIB).

[0065] For example, the gNB 100A can transmit an SIB including a Slice ID to the UE 200. As the SIB, SIB1 and / or SIB4 may be used.

[0066] Specifically, gNB100A uses SIB1 to broadcast the slices / service types (SST) it supports and indicates to UE200 the slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) supported by the cell it is currently camped on.

[0067] More specifically, the cellAccessRelatedInfo included in SIB1 may include a Slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) supported for each Tracking Area. Alternatively, the cellAccessRelatedInfo may include a Slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) supported for each RAN-AreaCode.

[0068] Fig. 8 shows an example of the configuration of PLMN-IdentityInfoList included in cellAccessRelatedInfo. As shown in Fig. 8, PLMN-IdentityInfoList includes a field of supportedS-NSSAI-List. The field of supportedS-NSSAI-List may indicate a list of Slice IDs supported in the cell.

[0069] In addition, SIB4 may include the slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) supported for each frequency. Specifically, the interFreqCarrierFreqInfo may include the supported slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST). Alternatively, the frequency supported for each slice may be included.

[0070] Fig. 9 shows an example of the configuration of SIB4. As shown in Fig. 9, SIB4 includes a supportedS-NSSAI-List field. The supportedS-NSSAI-List field may indicate a list of Slice IDs supported in each inter-frequency band.

[0071] Upon receiving such an SIB, the UE 200 notifies the AS to the NAS within the UE 200 of information about the slices read from the SIB1 / SIB4.

[0072] UE200 may perform cell selection based on a previously selected Slice ID (which may be an SST) or a Slice ID (which may be an SST) notified by a paging message, taking into consideration both the cellReselectionPriority and service type notified by SIB4 (i.e., a frequency with a higher priority is selected and the Slice ID (SST) supports that frequency).

[0073] (3.1.2.2) Example 1-2 Fig. 6 shows an example of a communication sequence related to cell selection according to operation example 1-2. As shown in Fig. 6, UE 200 performs cell selection without recognizing the slices supported by the cell (which may be a RAN node or a RAN), as in the conventional example (see Fig. 4), and the Initial UE message for AMF 35 is rejected.

[0074] In this case, the gNB100A can recognize that the slice (S-NSSAI #1) has been rejected by the Initial context setup request. The gNB100A can include the Slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) in the RRCRelease message sent to the UE200.

[0075] Specifically, the gNB 100A may include a Slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) supported for each frequency in the cellReselectionPriorities of the RRCRelease. Alternatively, the gNB 100A may include a frequency supported for each slice.

[0076] 10 and 11 show example configurations of an RRCRelease message. As shown in Fig. 10 and 11, the RRCRelease may include fields of unsupportedSliceList, supportedS-NSSAI-List, and freqSliceListNR.

[0077] The unsupportedSliceList field may indicate a list of Slice IDs that are not supported in the current frequency, and the freqSliceListNR field may indicate a list of Slice IDs that are supported in each frequency band.

[0078] In this way, if gNB100A / AMF35 does not support the S-NSSAI (S-NSSAI #1) notified by the RRCSetupComplete sent from UE200, gNB100A may include the Slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) in the FreqPriorityNR IE of the RRCRelease.

[0079] UE200 may perform cell selection based on the previously selected Slice ID (which may be SST) or the Slice ID (which may be SST) notified by the paging message, taking into consideration both the cellReselectionPriority and service type notified by RRCRelease (i.e., a frequency with a higher priority is selected and the Slice ID (SST) supports that frequency).

[0080] In addition, gNB100A may notify UE200 of Slice IDs that are not supported on the current frequency by RRCRelease, or may include supported Slice IDs in RedirectedCarrierInfo of RRCRelease.

[0081] (3.2) Example 2 In this operation example, gNB100A, gNB100B and UE200 perform a random access procedure taking into account the slices they support.

[0082] (3.2.1) Issues Network slicing, specifically RAN slicing, aims to achieve slice-based RACH configuration.

[0083] However, during handover (which may also be called cell transition) of UE200, the target radio base station (gNB) cannot prepare resources for the random access channel (RACH) while taking into account the slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) used by UE200 in the cell (source cell) formed by the source radio base station.

[0084] (3.2.2) Example of operation Fig. 7 shows an example of a communication sequence related to handover according to operation example 2. As shown in Fig. 7, the gNB100A (source radio base station) may include a Slice ID (or a service type) that the UE200 is using in the source cell in Handover Preparation information included in a Handover request that is transmitted to the gNB100B (target radio base station).

[0085] The gNB 100B may determine the RACH configuration, specifically, the ra-contentionResolutionTimer, PowerRampingStepHighPriority, ScalingFactorBI, or RACH resources, based on the Slice ID / Service type set by the source radio base station side.

[0086] For example, if the Slice ID / Service type is a critical URLLC service, the value of ra-contentionResolutionTimer may be shortened, PowerRampingStepHighPriority may be set higher, and scalingFactorBI may be set lower to prioritize the RACH. Also, a highly reliable RACH resource may be prepared.

[0087] A highly reliable RACH resource may refer to the need to perform RACH resource isolation / RACH partitioning in advance within the radio base station, that is, to set aside highly reliable RACH resources and allow only UEs that require some highly reliable services to use the highly reliable RACH resources.

[0088] Fig. 12 shows an example of the configuration of Handover Preparation information. As shown in Fig. 12, the Handover Preparation information may include a sourceS-NSSAI field.

[0089] The field of the sourceS-NSSAI may indicate the Slice ID or service type that the UE uses in the source cell.

[0090] Note that the Handover request Ack and the Handover command may include RRC Reconfiguration, and the RRC Reconfiguration may include slice-based RACH configuration.

[0091] Furthermore, although this is not a direct solution to the above-described problem, when the UE 200 transmits a measurement report to the gNB 100A (source radio base station), the UE 200 may transmit to the source radio base station measurement results of neighbor cells that do not support the Slice ID / Service type used by the source radio base station without including them in the measurement report. This can reduce the risk that the target radio base station does not support the Slice ID / Service type used by the source radio base station.

[0092] (4) Actions and Effects According to the above-described embodiment, the following advantageous effects can be obtained. Specifically, according to the wireless communication system 10 (gNB100A, gNB100B, and UE200), information on slices supported via a cell on which UE200 is camped is provided to UE200 by broadcast information or a message of the RRC layer.

[0093] Therefore, the UE 200 can realize an appropriate cell selection that takes into consideration the slices supported by the RAN node (cell). In other words, the UE 200 can perform cell selection (reselection) that takes into consideration the slices (service types) supported by the RAN node, and it is expected that the UE 200 can quickly select an appropriate RAN node and attach to the 5GC 30, and that unnecessary radio connection requests (such as waste of radio resources and control plane overhead) can be avoided.

[0094] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the gNB100A and the gNB100B can determine initial access settings, specifically, RACH configurations, based on slice-related information included in a handover request. Therefore, RACH resources can be prepared in consideration of the slice ID ((NSSAI) / SST) used by the UE 200 in the source cell. This can increase the possibility of continuous service provision in consideration of the slice (service type) used by the UE 200.

[0095] (5) Other embodiments Although the embodiments have been described above, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the description of the embodiments and that various modifications and improvements are possible.

[0096] For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example of using a slice ID as information about a slice was mainly described, but information about a slice may also be interpreted as information indicating the type of service (eMBB, etc.) provided by the wireless communication system 10 (which may be a wireless access network or a core network).

[0097] Furthermore, the message for notifying the UE 200 of the information related to the slice is not limited to RRCRelease, and may be any other RRC message as long as it is a message of the RRC layer.

[0098] Furthermore, the block diagrams (FIGS. 2 and 3) used in the description of the above-described embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are connected directly or indirectly (for example, by wire, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may also be realized by combining the single device or multiple devices with software.

[0099] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, election, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on how each is implemented.

[0100] Furthermore, the above-described gNB100A, gNB100B, and UE200 (the devices) may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the devices. As shown in Fig. 13, the wireless transmitting unit 110 and the wireless receiving unit 120 may be configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0101] In the following description, the term "apparatus" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the apparatus may be configured to include one or more of the apparatuses shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the apparatuses.

[0102] Each functional block of the device (see FIGS. 2 and 3) is realized by any hardware element of the computer device or a combination of the hardware elements.

[0103] In addition, each function of the device is realized by loading specified software (programs) onto hardware such as processor 1001 and memory 1002, causing processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication via communication device 1004, and control at least one of reading and writing data in memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0104] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system, and may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control unit, an arithmetic unit, a register, and the like.

[0105] The processor 1001 also reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes in accordance with these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-mentioned embodiments. Furthermore, the various processes described above may be executed by one processor 1001, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0106] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured by, for example, at least one of a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc. The memory 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 1002 can store a program (program code), a software module, etc., that can execute a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0107] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be, for example, at least one of an optical disk such as a Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray disc), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned recording medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other appropriate medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0108] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module.

[0109] The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize, for example, at least one of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD).

[0110] The input device 1005 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (for example, a touch panel).

[0111] Furthermore, each device such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 is connected to a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0112] Furthermore, the device may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0113] Furthermore, the notification of information is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, the RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or the like.

[0114] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to at least one of a system using Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, a 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), a 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), Future Radio Access (FRA), New Radio (NR), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable system, and a next-generation system extended based on these. Furthermore, a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A and 5G) may also be applied.

[0115] The order of the procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be changed unless it is consistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0116] In the present disclosure, a specific operation described as being performed by a base station may also be performed by its upper node in some cases. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal may be performed by at least one of the base station and another network node other than the base station (for example, an MME or an S-GW, etc., but are not limited to these). Although the above example illustrates a case where there is one other network node other than the base station, a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW) may also be used.

[0117] Information, signals (information, etc.) may be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer), or may be input / output via multiple network nodes.

[0118] The input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a management table. The input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. The output information may be deleted. The input information may be sent to another device.

[0119] The determination may be made based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0120] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Furthermore, notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., by not notifying the predetermined information).

[0121] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0122] Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0123] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0124] Note that terms explained in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of a channel and a symbol may be a signal (signaling). Furthermore, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.

[0125] As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0126] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, may be expressed using relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or may be expressed using other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.

[0127] The names used for the above-described parameters are not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the mathematical expressions using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not intended to be limiting in any way.

[0128] In this disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNodeB (eNB)," "gNodeB (gNB)," "access point," "transmission point," "reception point," "transmission / reception point," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.

[0129] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells (also called sectors). When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the overall coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (Remote Radio Head: RRH)).

[0130] The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to part or all of the coverage area of ​​a base station and / or base station subsystem that provides communication services within that coverage area.

[0131] In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," "terminal," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0132] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0133] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a mobile object, or the mobile object itself. The mobile object may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile object (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may also include devices that do not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as a sensor.

[0134] Furthermore, a base station in the present disclosure may be read as a mobile station (user terminal, the same applies hereinafter). For example, the aspects / embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a mobile station is replaced with communication between multiple mobile stations (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D) or Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)). In this case, the mobile station may be configured to have the functions of a base station. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, terms such as uplink channel and downlink channel may be read as side channel.

[0135] Similarly, a mobile station in the present disclosure may be interpreted as a base station, in which case the base station may have the functions of a mobile station. A radio frame may be composed of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of the one or more frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further be composed of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0136] Numerology may be a communication parameter applied to at least one of transmission and reception of a signal or channel, such as subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame structure, specific filtering operations performed by a transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing operations performed by a transceiver in the time domain.

[0137] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol, etc.) A slot may be a numerology-based time unit.

[0138] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0139] The radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol all represent time units for transmitting signals, and may be referred to by other names corresponding to the radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol.

[0140] For example, one subframe may be called a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. That is, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.

[0141] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station performs scheduling to allocate radio resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each user terminal) to each user terminal in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0142] The TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-encoded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) to which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

[0143] When one slot or one minislot is called a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit for scheduling. Also, the number of slots (minislots) constituting the minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.

[0144] A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a regular TTI (TTI in LTE Rel. 8-12), normal TTI, long TTI, regular subframe, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a regular TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.

[0145] In addition, a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length of more than 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length shorter than the TTI length of a long TTI and equal to or greater than 1 ms.

[0146] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of numerology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may also be determined based on numerology.

[0147] The time domain of an RB may include one or more symbols and may be one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI in length. Each TTI, subframe, etc. may be composed of one or more resource blocks.

[0148] Note that one or more RBs may also be called a physical resource block (PRB), a sub-carrier group (SCG), a resource element group (REG), a PRB pair, an RB pair, or the like.

[0149] Furthermore, a resource block may be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource region of one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0150] A Bandwidth Part (BWP) (which may also be referred to as a fractional bandwidth) may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology on a given carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by their index relative to a common reference point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a given BWP and numbered within that BWP.

[0151] The BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be configured for a UE within one carrier.

[0152] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a given signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell," "carrier," etc. in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."

[0153] The above-described structures of the radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol are merely examples. For example, the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, and other configurations can be changed in various ways.

[0154] The terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using one or more wires, cables, and / or printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0155] The reference signal may also be abbreviated as Reference Signal (RS), and may also be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0156] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0157] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0158] As used in this disclosure, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed therein or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0159] When used in this disclosure, the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, when used in this disclosure, the term "or" is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0160] In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0161] As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0162] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0163] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0164] 10. Wireless communication systems 20 NG-RAN 30 5GC 35 AMF 100A, 100B gNB 110 Radio transmitter 120 Radio receiver 130 RA Processing Section 140 System information transmission unit 145 Handover processing unit 150 control section 200 UE 210 Radio transmitter 220 Radio receiving unit 225 System Information Receiver 230 RA Processing Section 240 Slice Selection 250 control section 1001 processor 1002 memory 1003 Storage 1004 Communication equipment 1005 Input Device 1006 Output Device 1007 Bus

Claims

1. a transmitter for transmitting a system information block to a terminal in the cell; a control unit including information about frequency slices supported via the cell and frequency priorities in the same system information block; A radio base station comprising:

2. The transmitter broadcasts the system information block via a downlink shared channel. The radio base station according to claim 1.

3. a receiving unit for receiving a system information block broadcast within a cell; a control unit that performs cell selection based on information about slices per frequency supported via the cell and frequency priorities included in the same system information block; A terminal comprising:

4. A wireless base station, including in the same system information block information about frequency slices supported via the cell and frequency priorities; transmitting the system information block to terminals within the cell; Wireless communication method.

5. A terminal, receiving a system information block broadcast in a cell; performing cell selection based on frequency priority and information about slices per frequency supported via the cell, the information being included in the same system information block; Wireless communication method.

Images