Network node and communication method

Abstract

This network node comprises a reception unit that receives an incoming call from an external terminal or an external application, and a control unit that transfers the incoming call to a calculation resource set for each subscriber.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a network node and a communication method in a wireless communication system. [Background technology]

[0002] In NR (New Radio) (also referred to as "5G"), the successor system to LTE (Long Term Evolution), a network architecture is being considered that includes 5GC (5G Core Network), which corresponds to EPC (Evolved Packet Core), which is the core network in the LTE (Long Term Evolution) network architecture, and NG-RAN (Next Generation - Radio Access Network), which corresponds to E-UTRAN (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network), which is the RAN (Radio Access Network) in the LTE network architecture (for example, Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] 3GPP TS 23.501 V17.2.0(2021-09) [Non-patent document 2] 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.2.1(2021-09) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It is expected that telecommunications carriers will provide a service that lends computing resources within their networks to subscribers. Subscribers can use these computing resources as the termination point for incoming and outgoing communications related to them. Subscribers may install an application program equipped with AI or other technology that acts on their behalf in these computing resources. Subscribers have a total of two termination points for incoming and outgoing communications: their terminal and the computing resource. Subscribers may request that the application handle the processing of communications terminating at their terminal. However, with existing technology, it is difficult for subscribers to forward packets terminating at their terminal to these computing resources.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to allow subscribers to use computational resources on a network and to forward incoming packets from terminals or applications to the computational resources. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the disclosed technology, a network node is provided that includes a receiving unit that receives an incoming call from an external terminal or an external application, and a transmitting unit that transfers the incoming call to a computing resource set for each subscriber. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The disclosed technology provides a technology that allows subscribers to use computing resources on a network and forwards incoming packets from terminals or applications to the computing resources. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a core network according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a CRMF session establishment procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a CRMF session change procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a flow of a service request procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a CRMF session release procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a CRMF registration procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] A sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a PDU session establishment procedure in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a flow of an incoming packet forwarding decision procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a flow of an incoming packet forwarding procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a flow of a container registration procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a flow of an inter-container communication procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a flow of a container movement procedure according to container movement mode 2 in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a container movement procedure according to container movement mode 3 in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a base station or a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0010] In operation of the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention, existing technologies may be used as appropriate. The existing technologies include, but are not limited to, existing NR or LTE. Furthermore, the term "LTE" used in this specification has a broad meaning including LTE-Advanced and systems subsequent to LTE-Advanced (e.g., NR) unless otherwise specified.

[0011] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention described below, terms used in existing LTE, such as SS (Synchronization signal), PSS (Primary SS), SSS (Secondary SS), PBCH (Physical broadcast channel), PRACH (Physical random access channel), PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), and PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), are used. This is for convenience of description, and similar signals, functions, etc. may be referred to by other names. Furthermore, the above-mentioned terms in NR correspond to NR-SS, NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, NR-PRACH, etc. However, even signals used in NR are not necessarily designated as "NR-".

[0012] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention, the duplex method may be a TDD (Time Division Duplex) method, an FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) method, or other methods (for example, Flexible Duplex, etc.).

[0013] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention, "configuring" radio parameters and the like may mean that predetermined values ​​are pre-configured, or that radio parameters notified from a base station or a terminal are set.

[0014] (System Configuration) FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a base station 10 and a terminal 20. Although Fig. 1 shows one base station 10 and one terminal 20, this is an example, and there may be a plurality of each.

[0015] The base station 10 is a communication device that provides one or more cells and performs wireless communication with the terminal 20. The physical resources of a wireless signal are defined in the time domain and the frequency domain, and the time domain may be defined by the number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, and the frequency domain may be defined by the number of subcarriers or the number of resource blocks. Furthermore, a TTI (Transmission Time Interval) in the time domain may be a slot, or a TTI may be a subframe.

[0016] The base station 10 transmits a synchronization signal and system information to the terminal 20. The synchronization signal is, for example, NR-PSS and NR-SSS. The system information is transmitted, for example, via the NR-PBCH and is also referred to as broadcast information. The synchronization signal and system information may be referred to as an SSB (SS / PBCH block). As shown in FIG. 1 , the base station 10 transmits control signals or data to the terminal 20 via DL (Downlink) and receives control signals or data from the terminal 20 via UL (Uplink). Both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 are capable of transmitting and receiving signals by performing beamforming. Furthermore, both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 are capable of applying MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) communication to DL or UL. Furthermore, both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may communicate via a secondary cell (SCell) and a primary cell (PCell) using Carrier Aggregation (CA). Furthermore, the terminal 20 may perform communication via a primary cell of the base station 10 and a primary secondary cell group cell (PSCell: Primary SCG Cell) of another base station 10 using DC (Dual Connectivity).

[0017] The terminal 20 is a communication device equipped with a wireless communication function, such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal, or an M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communication module. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal 20 receives control signals or data from the base station 10 via DL and transmits control signals or data to the base station 10 via UL, thereby utilizing various communication services provided by the wireless communication system. The terminal 20 also receives various reference signals transmitted from the base station 10 and measures the propagation path quality based on the reception results of the reference signals. The terminal 20 may also be referred to as a UE, and the base station 10 may also be referred to as a gNB.

[0018] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a core network configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless communication system includes a Radio Access Network (RAN) 10, a terminal 20, a core network 30, and a Data Network (DN) 40.

[0019] The core network 30 is a network including an exchange, a subscriber information management device, etc. The core network 30 includes a network node that realizes a U-Plane function and a group of network nodes that realizes a group of C-Plane functions.

[0020] The U-Plane function is a function that executes transmission and reception processing of user data. A network node that realizes the U-Plane function is, for example, the UPF (User plane function) 380. The UPF 380 is a network node that has functions such as a PDU (Protocol Data Unit) session point to the outside for interconnection with the DN 40, packet routing and forwarding, and user plane QoS (Quality of Service) handling. The UPF 380 controls transmission and reception of data between the DN 40 and the terminal 20. The UPF 380 and the DN 40 may be composed of one or more network slices.

[0021] The C-Plane function group is a function group that executes a series of control processes for establishing communications, etc. The network nodes that realize the C-Plane function group include, for example, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 310, a Unified Data Management (UDM) 320, a Network Exposure Function (NEF) 330, a Network Repository Function (NRF) 340, an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 350, a Policy Control Function (PCF) 360, a Session Management Function (SMF) 370, and an Application Function (AF) 390.

[0022] The RAN 10 is a network node that is communicably connected between the core network 30 and the terminal 20 and includes a base station, a line control device, etc. The RAN 10 is communicably connected to the AMF 310 and the UPF 380. Note that, hereinafter, the base station 10 is also referred to as the RAN 10.

[0023] The AMF 310 is a network node that has functions such as terminating the RAN interface, terminating the NAS (Non-Access Stratum), and managing registration, connection, reachability, and mobility. The NRF 340 is a network node that has a function of discovering NF (Network Function) instances that provide services. The UDM 320 is a network node that manages subscriber data and authentication data. The UDM 320 includes a UDR (User Data Repository) 321 that holds the data, and an FE (Front End) 322. The FE 322 processes subscriber information.

[0024] The SMF 370 is a network node that has functions such as session management, IP (Internet Protocol) address allocation and management for the terminal 20, DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) function, ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) proxy, and roaming function. The NEF 330 is a network node that has a function of notifying other NFs (Network Functions) of capabilities and events. The PCF 360 is a network node that has a function of controlling network policies.

[0025] An AF (Application Function) 390 is a network node that has the function of controlling an application server.

[0026] The terminal 20 and the AMF 310 are connected to be able to communicate as an N1 link. The AMF 310 and the RAN 10 are connected to be able to communicate as an N2 link. The UPF 380 and the RAN 10 are connected to be able to communicate as an N3 link. The UPF 380 and the SMF 370 are connected to be able to communicate as an N4 link. The UPF 380 and the DN 40 are connected to be able to communicate as an N6 link.

[0027] Furthermore, the core network 30 according to this embodiment further includes a CRMF (Computing Resource Management Function) 371 and a UCRF (User Computing Resource Function) 381 in addition to the conventional configuration described above.

[0028] The UCRF 381 is a function (hereinafter also referred to as a user computational resource function) that provides computational resources that can be used by users (subscribers). The computational resources are also referred to as containers hereinafter. The computational resources may include an execution environment for executing various applications that are installed on the computational resources. That is, the UCRF 381 includes one or more containers 382. The UCRF 381 is included in the U-Plane function, and is communicatively connected to the UPF 380 via an Ny link. The UCRF 381 and the DN 40 are communicatively connected via an N6 link.

[0029] The CRMF 371 is a function for managing computational resources (hereinafter also referred to as a computational resource management function). The CRMF 371 is included in the C-Plane function group and is connected to other network nodes included in the C-Plane function group so that they can communicate with each other.

[0030] The CRMF 371 and the UCRF 381 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other as an Nx link. Note that the names Nx link and Ny link are merely examples and may be other names.

[0031] 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a CRMF session establishment procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step S101, terminal 20 sends a CRMF session establishment request to AMF 310. Terminal 20 may set in the CRMF session establishment request a CRMF session ID relating to the termination in the AMF and a requested resource capability capacity indicating the requested capacity of computational resources. Note that the "capacity of computational resources" described below may include the execution environment, capabilities, etc. in addition to the capacity of computational resources.

[0032] In the following step S102, the AMF 310 sends a CRMF session establishment request to the CRMF 371. The AMF 310 includes in the CRMF session establishment request the CRMF session ID set by the terminal 20. The AMF 310 may also include in the CRMF session establishment request the requested resource capability capacity set by the terminal 20.

[0033] In the following step S103, the CRMF 371 sends a subscriber information confirmation to the UDM 320 to acquire subscriber information. In the following step S104, the UDM 320 sends a subscriber information response to the CRMF 371. The CRMF 371 determines whether the CRMF session establishment request from the terminal 20 is permitted based on the acquired subscriber information. If the determination indicates that the CRMF session establishment request from the terminal 20 is permitted, the process may proceed to step S105. On the other hand, if the determination indicates that the CRMF session establishment request from the terminal 20 is not permitted, the CRMF 371 may send a response to the AMF 310 indicating that the CRMF session establishment request has been rejected. The AMF 310 may send the response to the terminal 20.

[0034] In the following step S105, the CRMF 371 transmits the requested resource capacity acquired by the CRMF session establishment request to the PCF 360. In the following step S106, the PCF 360 determines the capacity of the computing resources to be provided to the terminal 20 based on the information included in the acquired requested resource capacity and the policy of the telecommunications carrier, and transmits information including the determined capacity to the CRMF 371 as a requested resource capacity response.

[0035] For example, PCF360 may decide to provide terminal 20 with computational resources of the same capacity as the requested resource capacity, or may decide to provide terminal 20 with computational resources of a capacity less than the requested resource capacity, or may decide to provide terminal 20 with computational resources of a capacity greater than the requested resource capacity.

[0036] In the following step S107, the CRMF 371 selects a UCRF 381. For example, the CRMF 371 may select a UCRF 381 that is close to the terminal 20 based on location information of the terminal 20. In the following step S108, the CRMF 371 transmits a UCRF session establishment request to the UCRF 381. The CRMF 371 sets a computational resource creation request in the UCRF session establishment request. The computational resource creation request may be set based on the requested resource capability capacity, or may include information indicating the capacity of the computational resource based on the requested resource capability response obtained from the PCF 360.

[0037] In the following step S109, the UCRF 381 configures a container. The container may be configured based on the capacity of the computational resources obtained from the CRMF 371. In the following step S110, the UCRF 381 transmits a UCRF session establishment response to the CRMF 371.

[0038] In the following step S111, the CRMF 371 transmits a CRMF session establishment response to the AMF 310. In the following step S112, the AMF 310 transmits the CRMF session establishment response to the terminal 20.

[0039] In step S113, the UCRF 381 may acquire an IP address for external communication from an interface with the DN, for example. In step S114, the UCRF 381 may launch an application in the container. This application may be a communication application that uses the acquired IP address for external communication.

[0040] After step S114, the terminal 20 may use the container set in the UCRF 381 to receive the service of the telecommunications carrier.

[0041] 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a CRMF session change procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step S200, it is assumed that the CRMF session is already established.

[0042] In step S201, the terminal 20 specifies a CRMF session ID and sends a CRMF session change request to the AMF 310. The terminal 20 may set a change resource capability capacity, which is information requesting a change to the capacity, capability, execution environment, etc. of the computational resources of the container to be changed, in the CRMF session change request.

[0043] In the following step S202, the AMF 310 sends a CRMF session change request to the CRMF 371. The AMF 310 includes in the CRMF session change request the CRMF session ID set by the terminal 20. The AMF 310 may also include in the CRMF session change request the changed resource capability capacity set by the terminal 20.

[0044] In the following step S203, the CRMF 371 determines, based on the subscriber information already acquired by its own node, whether the CRMF session change request from the terminal 20 is permitted. If the determination indicates that the CRMF session change request from the terminal 20 is permitted, the process may proceed to step S204.

[0045] In the following step S204, the CRMF 371 transmits the changed resource capacity acquired by the CRMF session change request to the PCF 360. In the following step S205, the PCF 360 determines the capacity of the computing resources to be provided to the terminal 20 based on the information included in the acquired changed resource capacity and the carrier's policy, and transmits information including the determined capacity to the CRMF 371 as a changed resource capacity response.

[0046] For example, PCF360 may decide to provide terminal 20 with computing resources of the same capacity as the changed resource capacity, or may decide to provide terminal 20 with computing resources of a capacity less than the changed resource capacity, or may decide to provide terminal 20 with computing resources of a capacity greater than the changed resource capacity.

[0047] In the following step S206, the CRMF 371 sends a UCRF session change request to the UCRF 381. The CRMF 371 sets a computational resource change request in the UCRF session change request. The computational resource change request may be set based on the change resource capability capacity, or may include information indicating the capacity of the computational resource based on the change resource capability response obtained from the PCF 360.

[0048] In the following step S207, the UCRF 381 modifies the container based on the UCRF session modification request. The container may be modified based on the capacity of the computational resources obtained from the CRMF 371. In the following step S208, the UCRF 381 sends a UCRF session modification response to the CRMF 371.

[0049] In the following step S209, the CRMF 371 transmits a CRMF session change response to the AMF 310. In the following step S210, the AMF 310 transmits the CRMF session change response to the terminal 20.

[0050] 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a service request procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step S300, it is assumed that a CRMF session has already been established.

[0051] In step S301, the UCRF 381 detects that a container is not in use. In the following step S302, the UCRF 381 deactivates the container. If a container has not been used for a certain period of time, the UCRF 381 may deactivate the container based on the policy of the carrier.

[0052] In step S303, the terminal 20 specifies the CRMF session ID in the container to be activated list and transmits a service request to the AMF 310. In the following step S304, the AMF 310 transmits a context update request including an information element (IE) indicating the container status set to "activating" to the CRMF 371. Note that the value of the information element indicating the container status may be set to "activating," "activated," or "deactivated."

[0053] In the following step S305, the CRMF 371 sends a UCRF session change request to the UCRF 381. The CRMF 371 sets a computational resource change request in the UCRF session change request. The CRMF 371 may set an information element indicating the container state acquired from the context update request in the computational resource change request.

[0054] In the following step S306, the UCRF 381 activates the container based on the UCRF session change request, and in the following step S307, the UCRF 381 sends a UCRF session change response to the CRMF 371.

[0055] In the following step S308, the CRMF 371 transmits a context update response to the AMF 310. In the following step S309, the AMF 310 transmits a service response to the terminal 20.

[0056] 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a CRMF session release procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step S400, it is assumed that the CRMF session is already established.

[0057] In step S401, the terminal 20 specifies a CRMF session ID and sends a CRMF session release request to the AMF 310. In the following step S402, the AMF 310 sends the CRMF session release request to the CRMF 371. The AMF 310 includes the CRMF session ID set by the terminal 20 in the CRMF session release request.

[0058] In the following step S403, the CRMF 371 sends a UCRF session release request to the UCRF 381 to release the UCRF session corresponding to the CRMF session specified in the received CRMF session release request. In the following step S404, the UCRF 381 releases the corresponding container based on the received UCRF session release request. In the following step S405, the UCRF 381 sends a UCRF session release response to the CRMF 371.

[0059] In the following step S406, the CRMF 371 transmits a CRMF session release response to the AMF 310. In the following step S407, the AMF 310 transmits the CRMF session release response to the terminal 20.

[0060] (Forwarding incoming packets to the container) Next, a procedure for transferring an incoming call to the terminal 20 to the container 382 will be described.

[0061] 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a CRMF registration procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. The CRMF registration procedure is a procedure for registering a CRMF 371 in the UDM 320. As a prerequisite, the "Ncrmf_CRMFSession" service, which controls the CRMF session context included in the CRMF 371, is introduced into the C-Plane function group.

[0062] After the container 382 is generated, the CRMF 371 sends a "Nudm_UECM_Registration" request to the UDM 320 (step S451). The "Nudm_UECM_Registration" request may include the NF instance ID of the CRMF 371, the CRMF session ID assigned by the terminal 20 when the container generation request was made, the SUPI (Subscription Permanent Identifier) ​​of the terminal, etc. The "Nudm_UECM_Registration" request is an example of a registration request for the CRMF 371 to the UDM 320.

[0063] The UDM 320 sends a "Nudm_UECM_Registration" response to the CRFM 371 (step S452).

[0064] This enables the SMF 370 to access the UDM 320 and find the CRMF 371 that manages the destination container and the destination UCRF 381 .

[0065] 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a PDU session establishment procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. The PDU session establishment procedure is a procedure for establishing a PDU session, and follows the same flow as in the past. The following description will focus on the differences from the past.

[0066] The terminal 20 transmits a PDU session establishment request to the AMF 310 (step S501). Here, the PDU session establishment request may include, in addition to the conventional information element, an information element requesting "unresponsive container transfer." "Unresponsive container transfer" refers to transferring a container without a response.

[0067] The AMF 310 transmits a PDU session establishment request to the SMF 370 (step S502). The SMF 370 transmits a PDU session correspondence policy request to the PCF 360 (step S503). The PCF 360 transmits a PDU session correspondence policy response to the SMF 370 (step S504).

[0068] The SMF 370 transmits a response to the PDU session establishment to the AMF 310 (step S505). The AMF 310 notifies the terminal 20 of the response to the PDU session establishment (step S506).

[0069] Here, the PDU session corresponding policy may include an information element requesting "unresponsive container transfer" in addition to the conventional one. The subscriber can set or change the PDU session corresponding policy held by the PCF 360 via the NEF 330. When the SMF 370 receives a request for "unresponsive container transfer" from the terminal 20 or the PCF 360, it may store the information element requesting "unresponsive container transfer" as the context of the PDU session.

[0070] The established PDU session is in a preservation state. The following describes the transfer procedure when a packet arrives at the PDU session.

[0071] 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of an incoming packet forwarding determination procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. The incoming packet forwarding determination procedure is a procedure for determining whether or not to forward an incoming packet to the container 382.

[0072] The UPF 380 receives a packet from the originating terminal 20A (step S601). The originating terminal 20A is an example of a call source. The call source may be an external terminal or an external application (such as a network node that executes processing defined in an application program). The UPF 380 buffers (stores) the packet. The UPF 380 is an example of a first network node that stores packets to be forwarded to computational resources set for each subscriber. Next, the UPF 380 notifies the SMF 370 of the packet arrival (step S602).

[0073] The SMF 370 determines whether the context of the PDU session includes "unresponsive container transfer" (step S603). If the SMF 370 determines that the context of the PDU session includes "unresponsive container transfer," it determines that the incoming packet should be transferred to the container (step S604).

[0074] Furthermore, if the SMF 370 determines that the context of the PDU session does not include "unresponsive container transfer," it transmits a terminal call request to the AMF 310 (step S605). The AMF 310 transmits the terminal call to the terminating terminal 20B (step S606). The terminating terminal 20B transmits a service request to the AMF 310 (step S607).

[0075] The AMF 310 determines whether or not "container forwarding" is included in the service request (step S608). If the AMF 310 determines that "container forwarding" is included in the service request, it sends an "Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext" request including an information element requesting that the incoming packet be forwarded to a container to the SMF 370 (step S609). Therefore, the SMF 370 determines that the incoming packet should be forwarded to the container 382 (step S610).

[0076] Furthermore, if the AMF 310 determines that the service request does not include "container forwarding," it sends an "Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext" request to the SMF 370 that does not include an information element requesting forwarding of the incoming packet to the container (step S611). Therefore, the SMF 370 determines that the incoming packet should not be forwarded to the container 382 (step S612).

[0077] 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of an incoming packet forwarding procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. The incoming packet forwarding procedure is a procedure for forwarding an incoming packet when the SMF 370 determines in the incoming packet forwarding decision procedure shown in FIG. 9 that the incoming packet should be forwarded to the container 382.

[0078] The SMF 370 transmits a "Nudm_UECM_Get" request to the UDM 320 (step S701). The "Nudm_UECM_Get" request is set with NF type=CRMF 371 and SUPI=SUPI of the receiving terminal 20B.

[0079] The UDM 320 sends a "Nudm_UECM_Get" response to the SMF 370 (step S702). The "Nudm_UECM_Get" response includes the CRMF-NF instance ID and the CRMF session ID.

[0080] Next, the SMF 370 sends an "Ncrmf_CRMFSession_UpdateCRMContext" request to the CRMF 371 (step S703). The "Ncrmf_CRMFSession_UpdateCRMContext" request includes the CRMF session ID and termination point information of the UPF 380. Note that the SMF 370 is an example of a third network node that sends a notification to the CRMF 371 that the UPF 380 has stored a packet to be forwarded to the container 382.

[0081] The CRMF 371 sets the endpoint of the UPF 380 to the UCRF 381 (and container 382) corresponding to the CRMF session ID (step S704). The endpoint of the UPF 380 is the endpoint that receives packets transmitted from the UCRF 381 (and container 382). The CRMF 371 is an example of a second network node that notifies the UCRF 381 (and container 382) of configuration information for forwarding packets. The UCRF 381 transmits to the CRMF 371 endpoint information for the UCRF 381 (and container 382) that receives packets transmitted from the UPF 380 (step S705).

[0082] The CRMF 371 sends an "Ncrmf_CRMFSession_UpdateCRMContext" response to the SMF 370 (step S706). The SMF 370 sets the endpoint of the UCRF 381 (and the container 382) to the UPF 380 (step S707). The endpoint of the UCRF 381 (and the container 382) is the endpoint that receives packets sent from the UPF 380.

[0083] Then, the UPF 380 transfers the incoming packet to the container 382 (step S708). The incoming packet is a packet that the UPF 380 received from the originating terminal 20A in step S601 of the incoming packet transfer determination procedure shown in FIG. 9 and buffered.

[0084] The core network 30 can forward the incoming packet to the container 382 by the incoming packet forwarding decision procedure shown in FIG. 9 and the incoming packet forwarding procedure shown in FIG.

[0085] (Inter-container communication) Next, we will explain an example in which a container discovers and communicates with other containers. For example, it is assumed that a container searches for other containers by executing an application program equipped with AI, etc., and autonomously communicates with the discovered other containers.

[0086] Hereinafter, a container is considered to be a UF (User Function) similar to an NF (Network Function). As a premise, a new service "Nnrf_UFManagement" similar to the existing service "Nnrf_NFManagement" and a new service "Nnrf_UFDiscovery" similar to the existing service "Nnrf_NFDiscovery" are defined in the NRF 340. Also, a new information element "UFProfile" is defined as similar to the existing information element "NFProfile".

[0087] 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a container registration procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that, as a prerequisite, the container 382 (or CRMF 371) acquires the internal communication IP address and external communication IP address of the container 382 when the container 382 is generated.

[0088] The CRMF 371 creates a "UFProfile" for the container 382 (step S801). The "UFProfile" includes a UF instance ID, a SUPI, an IP address for internal communication, an IP address for external communication, a CRMF-NF instance ID, and the like.

[0089] The CRMF 371 sends a "Nnrf_UFManagement_UFRegister" request to the NRF 340 (step S802). The NRF 340 is an example of a network management node that manages a network to discover NF instances that provide services.

[0090] The container 382 may create its own “UFProfile.” In this case, the container 382 creates its own “UFProfile” and sends a “Nnrf_UFManagement_UFRegister” request to the NRF 340.

[0091] 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a procedure for inter-container communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. The source container 382-1 sends an "Nnrf_UFDiscovery_Request" to the NRF 340 (step S901). The "Nnrf_UFDiscovery_Request" has the destination SUPI and the like set as search keys.

[0092] The NRF 340 sends the "Nnrf_UFDiscovery_Response" to the source container 382-1 (step S902). The "Nnrf_UFDiscovery_Response" includes the "UFProfile" of the destination container 382-2.

[0093] Next, the communication source container 382-1 starts communication with the communication destination container 382-2 (step S903).

[0094] The container registration procedure and the inter-container communication procedure enable the source container to discover and communicate with the destination container.

[0095] (container movement) Next, an example of moving a container in accordance with the movement of a subscriber will be described.

[0096] The core network 30 (CRMF 371) may operate in one of the following three modes of operation for container movement.

[0097] In container movement mode 1, the CRMF 371 does not move the container. Container movement mode 1 is expected to be used when a network in which UCRFs are aggregated and deployed is adopted.

[0098] In container movement mode 2, the CRMF 371 stops and deletes the container in use, and then sets a new container at the movement destination.

[0099] In container migration mode 3, the CRMF 371 sets a new container at the migration destination while keeping the currently used container running. After the application in the container migrates the context, the CRMF 371 stops and deletes the currently used container.

[0100] Container movement mode 2 and container movement mode 3 are expected to be used when a network in which UCRFs are distributed is adopted.

[0101] The CRMF 371 may determine the necessity of container movement and the selection of the container movement mode by following the judgment of the PCF 360 or by itself. The PCF 360 or CRMF 371 may receive the terminal location (e.g., information obtained from the AMF terminal location disclosure service), the subscriber's preferences regarding container movement (e.g., information notified by the terminal when the target container was generated, subscriber information), etc., and may determine the necessity of container movement or select the container movement mode based on the received information.

[0102] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a container movement procedure according to container movement mode 2 in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0103] The CRMF 371 determines the movement of a container (step S1001). Next, the CRMF 371 requests the "UFProfile" of the source container from the NRF 340 (step S1002). The NRF 340 responds by sending the "UFProfile" of the source container to the CRMF 371 (step S1003).

[0104] Next, the CRMF 371 stops and deletes the source container (step S1004). Subsequently, the CRMF 371 sets the destination container (step S1005). These specific procedures may be the same as steps S108 to S110 of the CRMF session establishment procedure shown in FIG. 3.

[0105] The destination container may also be a container with the same "UFProfile" as the source container. In this case, CRMF 371 may assign the same CRMF session ID to the destination container as the source container and add a CRMF session ID sub-number. The destination container obtains an IP address for internal communication and an IP address for external communication.

[0106] The CRMF 371 sends a "Nnrf_UFManagement_UFUpdate" request to the NRF 340 (step S1006). The NRF 340 registers the "UFProfile" corresponding to the destination container as an overwrite of the "UFProfile" of the source container.

[0107] FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a container movement procedure according to container movement mode 3 in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0108] The CRMF 371 determines the movement of the container (step S1101). Next, the CRMF 371 requests the "UFProfile" of the source container 382-3 from the NRF 340 (step S1102). The NRF 340 responds by sending the "UFProfile" of the source container 382-3 to the CRMF 371 (step S1103).

[0109] Next, the CRMF 371 sets the destination container 382-4 (step S1104). The specific procedure may be the same as steps S108 to S110 of the CRMF session establishment procedure shown in FIG.

[0110] The destination container 382-4 may be a container having the same "UFProfile" as the source container 382-3. In this case, the CRMF 371 may assign the same CRMF session ID as the source container 382-3 to the destination container 382-4 and add a CRMF session ID sub-number. The CRMF session ID sub-number may be a consecutive number starting from 1, for example. The destination container 382-4 obtains an IP address for internal communication and an IP address for external communication.

[0111] Next, the CRMF 371 notifies the destination container 382-4 of the internal communication IP address of the source container 382-3 (step S1105). Then, the CRMF 371 notifies the source container 382-3 of the internal communication IP address of the destination container 382-4 (step S1106).

[0112] The source container 382-3 moves the context to the destination container 382-4 (step S1107). The context may be, for example, various data, application programs, setting information, and the like.

[0113] Next, the CRMF 371 stops and deletes the source container 382-3, for example, when the timer expires (step S1108). Then, the CRMF 371 sends an "Nnrf_UFManagement_UFUpdate" request to the NRF 340 (step S1109). The NRF 340 registers the "UFProfile" corresponding to the destination container 382-4 as an overwrite of the "UFProfile" of the source container 382-3.

[0114] By using the container movement procedure shown in FIG. 13 or 14, the core network 30 can move the container in accordance with subscriber movement or the like.

[0115] (Device configuration) Next, a description will be given of examples of the functional configurations of the base station 10, the terminal 20, and various network nodes that perform the processes and operations described above. The base station 10, the terminal 20, and various network nodes include functions for performing the above-described embodiments. However, the base station 10, the terminal 20, and various network nodes may each include only a portion of the functions of the embodiments.

[0116] <Base Station 10 and Network Nodes> FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the base station 10. As shown in FIG. 15, the base station 10 has a transmitting unit 110, a receiving unit 120, a setting unit 130, and a control unit 140. The functional configuration shown in FIG. 15 is merely an example. As long as the operations according to the embodiment of the present invention can be performed, the names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any. Note that a network node may have the same functional configuration as the base station 10. Furthermore, a network node having multiple different functions in the system architecture may be composed of multiple network nodes separated by function.

[0117] The transmitter 110 has a function of generating a signal to be transmitted to the terminal 20 or another network node and transmitting the signal by wire or wirelessly. The receiver 120 has a function of receiving various signals transmitted from the terminal 20 or another network node and acquiring, for example, information of a higher layer from the received signal.

[0118] The setting unit 130 stores preset setting information and various setting information to be transmitted to the terminal 20 in a storage device, and reads the information from the storage device as needed. The content of the setting information includes, for example, settings related to communication using NTN.

[0119] As described in the embodiment, the control unit 140 performs processing related to communication using NTN. The control unit 140 also performs processing related to communication with the terminal 20. The control unit 140 also performs processing related to geographical position verification of the terminal 20. A functional unit related to signal transmission in the control unit 140 may be included in the transmitting unit 110, and a functional unit related to signal reception in the control unit 140 may be included in the receiving unit 120.

[0120] <Terminal 20> FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal 20. As shown in FIG. 16, the terminal 20 has a transmitting unit 210, a receiving unit 220, a setting unit 230, and a control unit 240. The functional configuration shown in FIG. 16 is merely an example. As long as the operations according to the embodiment of the present invention can be performed, the functional divisions and names of the functional units may be any. The USIM attached to the terminal 20 may have the transmitting unit 210, the receiving unit 220, the setting unit 230, and the control unit 240, similar to the terminal 20.

[0121] The transmitter 210 generates a transmission signal from transmission data and transmits the transmission signal wirelessly. The receiver 220 receives various signals wirelessly and acquires higher layer signals from the received physical layer signals. The receiver 220 also has a function of receiving NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, DL / UL control signals, reference signals, etc. transmitted from a network node.

[0122] The setting unit 230 stores various setting information received from the network node by the receiving unit 220 in a storage device, and reads it out from the storage device as needed. The setting unit 230 also stores setting information that is set in advance.

[0123] The network node of this embodiment may be configured as the network node shown in each of the following items. Also, the following communication method may be implemented.

[0124] <Configuration of this embodiment> (Section 1) a receiving unit that receives an incoming call from an external terminal or an external application; a transmitting unit that transfers the incoming call to a computing resource set for each subscriber; Network node. (Section 2) The receiving unit stores the received incoming packet and receives a determination result from another network node as to whether or not to transfer the incoming packet to the computational resource; The transmitting unit transfers the incoming call to the computational resource in accordance with the determination result. 2. The network node of claim 1. (Section 3) The transmitting unit transfers the incoming call to the computational resource based on information indicating a termination point of the computational resource set by the other network node. 3. The network node of claim 2. (Section 4) receiving an incoming call from an external terminal or an external application; and transferring the incoming call to a computing resource configured for each subscriber. The communication method implemented by network nodes. (Section 5) a receiver for receiving from a third network node a notification that the first network node has stored a packet to be forwarded to a computing resource configured for each subscriber; a transmitting unit that notifies the computing resource of setting information for forwarding packets; The second network node. (Section 6) the sending unit notifies a network management node that the computing resource has been configured for the subscriber after creating or modifying the computing resource, so that the third network node can find the second network node that manages the computing resource; 6. The second network node according to claim 5. (Section 7) receiving notification from a third network node that the first network node has stored a packet to be forwarded to a computational resource configured for the subscriber; notifying the computing resource of configuration information for forwarding packets; A communication method implemented by a second network node.

[0125] Any of the above configurations provides a technology that allows subscribers to use computational resources on a network and forwards terminal-terminated packets to the computational resources. According to paragraph 2, incoming calls can be forwarded to a computational resource based on a determination result by another network node. According to paragraph 3, incoming calls can be forwarded to a computational resource based on information indicating the termination point of the computational resource. According to paragraphs 4 and 5, the other network node can discover the network node that manages the computational resource.

[0126] (Hardware configuration) The block diagrams (FIGS. 15 and 16) used to explain the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method for 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 be realized by combining the single device or the multiple devices with software.

[0127] 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, allocation, 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 these functions are implemented.

[0128] For example, a network node, a terminal 20, etc. according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a base station 10 and a terminal 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The network node may have the same hardware configuration as the base station 10. The USIM may have the same hardware configuration as the terminal 20. The above-described base station 10 and terminal 20 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a storage device 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0129] In the following description, the term "apparatus" can be read as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the base station 10 and the terminal 20 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.

[0130] Each function in the base station 10 and the terminal 20 is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001, the memory device 1002, etc., so that the processor 1001 performs calculations, controls communication by the communication device 1004, and controls at least one of reading and writing data in the memory device 1002 and the auxiliary memory device 1003.

[0131] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, the above-mentioned control unit 140, control unit 240, etc. may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0132] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the auxiliary storage device 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the storage device 1002, and executes various processes in accordance with the programs. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-described embodiments. For example, the control unit 140 of the base station 10 shown in FIG. 15 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and running on the processor 1001. Furthermore, for example, the control unit 240 of the terminal 20 shown in FIG. 16 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and running on the processor 1001. While the above-described various processes have been described as being executed by one processor 1001, they may also 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.

[0133] The storage device 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured, for example, by 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 storage device 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory, etc. The storage device 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0134] The secondary storage device 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be, for example, at least one of an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc 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. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other suitable medium including at least one of the storage device 1002 and the secondary storage device 1003.

[0135] 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 referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, a transmission / reception antenna, an amplifier unit, a transmission / reception unit, a transmission path interface, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmission / reception unit may be implemented as a transmission unit and a reception unit that are physically or logically separated.

[0136] 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).

[0137] Furthermore, each device such as the processor 1001 and the storage device 1002 is connected by 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.

[0138] Furthermore, base station 10 and terminal 20 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, processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0139] Fig. 18 shows an example configuration of a vehicle 2001. As shown in Fig. 18, the vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, an axle 2009, an electronic control unit 2010, various sensors 2021 to 2029, an information service unit 2012, and a communication module 2013. Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to a communication device mounted on the vehicle 2001, and may be applied to the communication module 2013, for example.

[0140] The drive unit 2002 is configured, for example, by an engine, a motor, or a hybrid of an engine and a motor. The steering unit 2003 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle), and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels and the rear wheels based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user.

[0141] The electronic control unit 2010 is composed of a microprocessor 2031, a memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and a communication port (IO port) 2033. Signals are input to the electronic control unit 2010 from various sensors 2021 to 2029 provided in the vehicle 2001. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

[0142] The signals from the various sensors 2021 to 2029 include a current signal from a current sensor 2021 that senses the current of the motor, a rotation speed signal of the front and rear wheels obtained by a rotation speed sensor 2022, an air pressure signal of the front and rear wheels obtained by an air pressure sensor 2023, a vehicle speed signal obtained by a vehicle speed sensor 2024, an acceleration signal obtained by an acceleration sensor 2025, an accelerator pedal depression amount signal obtained by an accelerator pedal sensor 2029, a brake pedal depression amount signal obtained by a brake pedal sensor 2026, a shift lever operation signal obtained by a shift lever sensor 2027, and a detection signal for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc. obtained by an object detection sensor 2028.

[0143] The information service unit 2012 is composed of various devices, such as a car navigation system, an audio system, speakers, a television, and a radio, for providing various types of information such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, and one or more ECUs for controlling these devices. The information service unit 2012 uses information obtained from external devices via the communication module 2013, etc., to provide various types of multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of the vehicle 2001.

[0144] The driving assistance system unit 2030 is composed of various devices that provide functions for preventing accidents and reducing the driver's driving burden, such as a millimeter-wave radar, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a camera, a positioning locator (e.g., GNSS, etc.), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) map, autonomous vehicle (AV) map, etc.), a gyro system (e.g., an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), an INS (Inertial Navigation System), etc.), an AI (Artificial Intelligence) chip, and an AI processor, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. The driving assistance system unit 2030 also transmits and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize the driving assistance function or the autonomous driving function.

[0145] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 2001 via the communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 transmits and receives data via the communication port 2033 to and from the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021 to 29, which are provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0146] The communication module 2013 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 2031 of the electronic control unit 2010 and can communicate with an external device. For example, it transmits and receives various information to and from the external device via wireless communication. The communication module 2013 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 2010. The external device may be, for example, a base station, a mobile station, or the like.

[0147] The communication module 2013 transmits, via wireless communication to an external device, a current signal from the current sensor that is input to the electronic control unit 2010. The communication module 2013 also transmits, via wireless communication to an external device, the rotation speed signals of the front and rear wheels acquired by a rotation speed sensor 2022, the air pressure signals of the front and rear wheels acquired by an air pressure sensor 2023, the vehicle speed signal acquired by a vehicle speed sensor 2024, the acceleration signal acquired by an acceleration sensor 2025, the accelerator pedal depression amount signal acquired by an accelerator pedal sensor 2029, the brake pedal depression amount signal acquired by a brake pedal sensor 2026, the shift lever operation signal acquired by a shift lever sensor 2027, and the detection signals for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc. acquired by an object detection sensor 2028, which are input to the electronic control unit 2010.

[0148] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, traffic signal information, inter-vehicle information, etc.) transmitted from external devices and displays it on an information service unit 2012 provided in the vehicle 2001. The communication module 2013 also stores the various information received from the external devices in a memory 2032 that can be used by the microprocessor 2031. Based on the information stored in the memory 2032, the microprocessor 2031 may control the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, sensors 2021 to 2029, etc. provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0149] (Supplementary explanation of the embodiment) Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the disclosed invention is not limited to such embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand various modifications, alterations, alternatives, and substitutions. While specific numerical examples have been used to facilitate understanding of the invention, unless otherwise specified, these numerical values ​​are merely examples, and any appropriate values ​​may be used. The division of items in the above description is not essential to the present invention; two or more items may be combined as needed, and items described in one item may apply to items described in another item (unless inconsistent). The boundaries between functional units or processing units in the functional block diagram do not necessarily correspond to the boundaries between physical components. The operations of multiple functional units may be performed by a single physical component, or the operations of a single functional unit may be performed by multiple physical components. The order of the processing steps described in the embodiments may be reversed as long as there is no contradiction. For convenience of processing description, the base station 10 and terminal 20 have been described using functional block diagrams. However, such devices may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The software operated by the processor of the base station 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and the software operated by the processor of the terminal 20 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may each be stored in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk (HDD), removable disk, CD-ROM, database, server or any other suitable storage medium.

[0150] 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., Radio Resource Control (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.

[0151] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be any of the following: LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (xG (x is, for example, an integer or decimal number)), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE The present invention may be applied to at least one of systems using 802.20, UWB (Ultra-Wideband), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other appropriate systems, and next-generation systems that are extended, modified, created, or defined based on these systems. The present invention may also be applied to a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G).

[0152] The order of the procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described herein 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.

[0153] In this specification, a specific operation that is described as being performed by the base station 10 may also be performed by its upper node in some cases. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having the base station 10, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with the terminal 20 may be performed by at least one of the base station 10 and another network node other than the base station 10 (such as, but not limited to, an MME or an S-GW). Although the above example illustrates a case where there is one other network node other than the base station 10, the other network node may be a combination of multiple other network nodes (such as an MME and an S-GW).

[0154] The information or signals described in the present disclosure 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.

[0155] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be sent to another device.

[0156] In the present disclosure, 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).

[0157] 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.

[0158] 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.

[0159] 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.

[0160] 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.

[0161] As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0162] 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.

[0163] 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.

[0164] In this disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "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.

[0165] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. 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 service by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (RRH: Remote Radio Head)). The term "cell" or "sector" refers to a part or the entire coverage area of ​​a base station and / or base station subsystem that provides communication service within this coverage.

[0166] In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," "terminal," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0167] 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.

[0168] 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 body, or the mobile body itself. The mobile body may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile body (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 IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

[0169] Furthermore, a base station in the present disclosure may be read as a user terminal. For example, the aspects / embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a user terminal is replaced with communication between a plurality of terminals 20 (which may be called, for example, D2D (Device-to-Device) or V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything)). In this case, the terminal 20 may be configured to have the functions of the base station 10 described above. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, terms such as an uplink channel and a downlink channel may be read as a side channel.

[0170] Similarly, the user terminal in the present disclosure may be read as a base station, in which case the base station may be configured to have the functions of the user terminal described above.

[0171] 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.

[0172] 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.

[0173] The reference signal may be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal) or may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0174] 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."

[0175] 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 or that the first element must in some way precede the second element.

[0176] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0177] 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.

[0178] 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.

[0179] Numerology may be communication parameters that apply 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 the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing operations performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

[0180] A slot may be composed of one or more symbols (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol) in the time domain. A slot may be a time unit based on numerology.

[0181] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or multiple 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.

[0182] 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.

[0183] 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 (for example, 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.

[0184] 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 wireless resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each terminal 20) to each terminal 20 in TTI units. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0185] 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.

[0186] 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.

[0187] 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.

[0188] 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.

[0189] 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.

[0190] The time domain of an RB may include one or more symbols and may have a length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc. may each be composed of one or more resource blocks.

[0191] 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.

[0192] 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.

[0193] 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.

[0194] The BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be set for the terminal 20 within one carrier.

[0195] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the terminal 20 may not expect to transmit or receive a predetermined signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell," "carrier," and the like in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."

[0196] The above-described structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, symbols, etc. 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, etc. may be changed in various ways.

[0197] 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.

[0198] 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."

[0199] 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).

[0200] 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]

[0201] 10 Base station (RAN) 110 Transmitter 120 Receiver 130 Setting section 140 Control Unit 20 terminals 30 Core Network 40DN 210 Transmitter 220 Receiving unit 230 Setting Section 240 Control Unit 310 AMF 320 UDM 330 NEF 340 NRF 350 AUSF 360 PCF 370 SMF 371 CRMF 380 UPF 381 UCRF 382 Container 390 AF 1001 processor 1002 Storage device 1003 Auxiliary storage device 1004 Communication equipment 1005 Input Device 1006 Output Device 2001 Vehicle 2002 Drive unit 2003 Steering Section 2004 accelerator pedal 2005 brake pedal 2006 Shift Lever 2007 front wheel 2008 rear wheel 2009 Axle 2010 Electronic Control Unit 2012 Information Services Department 2013 Communication Module 2021 Current Sensor 2022 RPM Sensor 2023 Air Pressure Sensor 2024 Vehicle speed sensor 2025 Acceleration Sensor 2026 Brake pedal sensor 2027 Shift lever sensor 2028 Object Detection Sensor 2029 Accelerator pedal sensor 2030 Driving Assistance Systems Department 2031 microprocessor 2032 memory (ROM, RAM) 2033 Communication port (IO port)

Claims

1. a receiving unit that receives an incoming call from an external terminal or an external application; a transmitting unit that transfers the incoming call to a computing resource set for each subscriber; The receiving unit stores the received incoming packet and receives a determination result from another network node as to whether or not to transfer the incoming packet to the computational resource; The transmitting unit transfers the incoming call to the computational resource in accordance with the determination result. Network node.

2. The transmitting unit transfers the incoming call to the computational resource based on information indicating a termination point of the computational resource set by the other network node. The network node of claim 1 .

3. receiving an incoming call from an external terminal or an external application; and transferring the incoming call to a computing resource set for each subscriber; The step of receiving the incoming call includes storing the received packet of the incoming call and receiving a decision result of whether to transfer the incoming call to the computational resource from another network node; the step of transferring the incoming call includes transferring the incoming call to the computational resource according to the determination result; The communication method implemented by network nodes.

4. a receiving unit for receiving a notification from a third network node that the first network node has stored a packet to be forwarded to a computing resource configured for each subscriber; a transmitting unit that notifies the computing resource of setting information for forwarding packets; The second network node.

5. the sending unit notifies a network management node that the computing resource has been configured for the subscriber after creating or modifying the computing resource, so that the third network node can find the second network node that manages the computing resource; A second network node according to claim 4.

6. receiving notification from a third network node that the first network node has stored a packet to be forwarded to a computational resource configured for the subscriber; notifying the computing resource of configuration information for forwarding packets; A communication method implemented by a second network node.

Images