Communication device and measurement method

Abstract

A communication device according to the present invention comprises: a control unit that determines the transmission of protocol data unit (PDU) for delay measurement in a round-trip path of a radio access network; and a transmission unit that transmits the PDU. The control unit determines the transmission of the PDU in the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP).

Description

Communication device and measurement method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication device and a measurement method.

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP: registered trademark) is developing 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] 5G Evolution and the next-generation 6G communications technology are expected to further enhance the 5G characteristics of "high speed and large capacity," "low latency," and "multiple connections," while also expanding the technology into new areas such as "expanding communication areas to the sky, sea, and space," "realizing ultra-low power consumption and low-cost communications," and "ultra-reliable communications for industrial applications."

[0004] Therefore, in 5G Evolution and 6G, it is expected that fluctuations in delay time within the Radio Access Network (RAN) will have a significant impact on communication quality.

[0005] 3GPP TS 38.300 V17.6.0 (2023-09)3GPP TS 38.323 V17.5.0 (2023-06)3GPP TS 38.425 V17.3.0 (2023-03)3GPP TS 38.314 V17.3.0 (2023-06)

[0006] In future wireless communication systems, it is expected that fluctuations in delay time will have a significant impact on communication quality, as described above. Therefore, an appropriate method for measuring delay time within the RAN is desired.

[0007] One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a communication device and a measurement method that can appropriately measure delay time.

[0008] A communication device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a control unit that determines the transmission of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) for measuring delay in a round-trip path of a radio access network, and a transmission unit that transmits the PDU, wherein the control unit determines the transmission of the PDU in Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP).

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a radio frame, a subframe, and a slot used in the wireless communication system. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an NR protocol stack. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a PDCP control PDU format for a PDCP status report. FIG. 5 is a diagram explaining a D / C field. FIG. 6 is a diagram explaining a PDU Type field. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a procedure for delay measurement using a PDCP control PDU. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a format of a Delay Measurement Request PDU. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a format of a Delay Measurement Report PDU. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a format of a PDCP control PDU in option 2. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a format of a PDCP control PDU in option 3. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a base station according to an embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal according to an embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and a terminal according to an embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle.

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment according to one aspect of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] <Wireless System Configuration> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system 10 according to an embodiment. The wireless communication system 10 is a wireless communication system conforming to New Radio (NR) and includes a Next Generation-Radio Access Network (hereinafter referred to as NG-RAN 20 and a terminal 200). The wireless communication system 10 may be a wireless communication system conforming to a scheme called 5G, Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G. The terminal is also referred to as User Equipment (UE).

[0012] The NG-RAN 20 includes a base station 100. The base station 100 may be, for example, a gNB or an ng-eNB. The NG-RAN 20 is connected to a core network (e.g., 5GC, not shown) conforming to NR. The NG-RAN 20 and the 5GC may be simply referred to as a network.

[0013] The base station 100 is a radio base station conforming to NR, and performs NR radio communication with the terminal 200. The base station 100 and the terminal 200 are capable of supporting Massive MIMO (Multi-Input Multi-Output), which generates a more directional beam by controlling radio signals transmitted from multiple antenna elements, Carrier Aggregation (CA), which uses multiple component carriers (CCs) by bundling them together, and Dual Connectivity (DC), which performs simultaneous communication between multiple NG-RAN nodes and the terminal.

[0014] The wireless communication system 10 supports FR1 and FR2. The frequency bands of each FR (Frequency Range) are as follows: FR1: 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz FR2: 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz

[0015] FR1 may use a sub-carrier spacing (SCS) of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, or 60 kHz, and may use a bandwidth (BW) of 5 to 100 MHz. FR2 is a higher frequency than FR1, and may use an SCS of 60 kHz or 120 kHz (including 240 kHz), and may use a bandwidth (BW) of 50 to 400 MHz.

[0016] Note that SCS may be interpreted as numerology, which is defined in 3GPP TS38.300 and corresponds to one subcarrier spacing in the frequency domain.

[0017] Furthermore, the wireless communication system 10 may also support frequency bands higher than the FR2 frequency band. Specifically, the wireless communication system 10 may support frequency bands above 52.6 GHz up to 114.25 GHz. For convenience, such high frequency bands may be referred to as "FR2x." When using a frequency band above 52.6 GHz, Cyclic Prefix-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) / Discrete Fourier Transform-Spread-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) with a larger SCS may be applied.

[0018] <Radio Frame, Subframe, and Slot Configuration> Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a radio frame, subframe, and slot used in the wireless communication system 10. As shown in Figure 2, one slot is composed of 14 symbols, and the larger (wider) the SCS, the shorter the symbol period (and slot period). Note that the number of symbols constituting one slot does not necessarily have to be 14 symbols (e.g., 28 or 56 symbols). Also, the number of slots per subframe may differ depending on the SCS. Furthermore, the SCS may be wider than 240 kHz.

[0019] The time direction (t) shown in Fig. 2 may be called a time domain, a time region, a symbol period, a symbol time, etc. The frequency direction may be called a frequency domain, a resource block, a resource block group, a subcarrier, a BWP (Bandwidth Part), a subchannel, a common frequency resource, etc.

[0020] <Protocol Stack> Fig. 3 shows an example of a protocol stack for NR. As shown in Fig. 3, the NR protocol stack is divided into a user plane (U-Plane) protocol stack and a control plane (C-Plane) protocol stack (see, for example, Chapter 4.4 of Non-Patent Document 1).

[0021] The U-plane protocol stack processes user data. The terminal (UE) and base station (gNB) have a protocol stack consisting of PHY (physical), MAC (medium access control), RLC (radio link control), PDCP (packet data convergence protocol), and SDAP (service data adaptation protocol) in the U-plane protocol stack. NR Layer 2 (L2) is divided into MAC, RLC, PDCP, and SDAP sublayers.

[0022] The C-Plane protocol stack processes control data such as signaling messages. In the C-Plane protocol stack, the terminal and the base station have protocol stacks of PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC (Radio Resource Control). In addition, the terminal and the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) have a protocol stack of NAS (Medium Access Control).

[0023] <PDCP Functions> PDCP (PDCP layer) supports, for example, the following functions (see, for example, Chapter 4.4 of Non-Patent Document 2): Data transfer (U-Plane or C-Plane) Maintenance of PDCP SN (Sequence Number) Compression and decompression of headers using the RObust Header Compression (ROHC) protocol Compression and decompression of headers using the Ethernet Header Compression (EHC) protocol Compression and decompression of uplink data using the Uplink Data Compression (UDC) protocol Ciphering and deciphering (deciphering) Integrity protection and integrity verification Timer-based SDU (Service Data Unit) discarding Routing for split bearers and DAPS (Dual Active Protocol Stack) bearers Duplication Reordering and in-order delivery (or delivery or sending) Out-of-order delivery Duplicate discarding

[0024] <PDCP PDU> PDCP PDU (Protocol Data Unit) is divided into data PDU and control PDU.

[0025] The data PDU includes a PDCP SN, which is assigned by the sender (PDCP sender entity). The receiver (receiving PDCP entity) uses the PDCP SN to determine, for example, whether the received data is delivered in order, whether there is any duplicate data, etc.

[0026] Control PDUs are divided into a control PDU for a PDCP status report, a control PDU for interspersed ROHC feedback, a control PDU for EHC feedback, and a control PDU for UDC feedback (see, for example, Chapter 6.2.3 of Non-Patent Document 2). The format of the control PDU for a PDCP status report is described below.

[0027] 4 shows the format of a PDCP control PDU for a PDCP status report. As shown in FIG. 4, the PDCP control PDU for a PDCP status report has fields for D / C, PDU Type, R (Reserved), FMC (First Missing COUNT), and Bitmap.

[0028] The D / C field indicates whether the corresponding PDCP PDU is a PDCP data PDU or a PDCP control PDU.

[0029] 5 is a diagram illustrating the D / C field. As shown in FIG. 5, the D / C field has a 1-bit field. When the D / C field is "0," it indicates that the corresponding PDCP PDU is a control PDU. When the D / C field is "1," it indicates that the corresponding PDCP PDU is a data PDU.

[0030] Since FIG. 4 shows the PDCP control PDU format for a PDCP status report, "0" is stored in the D / C field in FIG.

[0031] The PDU Type field indicates the type of control information contained in the corresponding PDCP control PDU.

[0032] 6 is a diagram illustrating the PDU Type field. As shown in FIG. 6, the PDU Type field has a 3-bit field. If the PDU Type field is "000", it indicates that the corresponding PDCP control PDU is a control PDU for a PDCP status report. If the PDU Type field is "001", it indicates that the corresponding PDCP control PDU is a control PDU for interspersed ROHC feedback. If the PDU Type field is "010", it indicates that the corresponding PDCP control PDU is a control PDU for EHC feedback. If the PDU Type field is "011", it indicates that the corresponding PDCP control PDU is a control PDU for UDC feedback.

[0033] Since FIG. 4 shows the PDCP control PDU format for a PDCP status report, "000" is stored in the PDU Type field in FIG.

[0034] The R field has a 4-bit field and is a reserved field.

[0035] The FMC field has a length of 32 bits and indicates the COUNT value (RX_DELIV) of the first (oldest) missing PDCP SDU within the reordering window.

[0036] The Bitmap field has a variable bit field, which indicates which SDUs are missing and which SDUs are correctly received by the receiving PDCP entity.

[0037] <U-Plane Delay Measurement> The NR user plane protocol provides a delay measurement method using NR-U SN (PDCP SN) and DDDS (DL DATA DELIVERY STATUS) (see, for example, Chapter 5.4.2 of Non-Patent Document 3). For example, when an NR-U SN is specified and reception of the specified NR-U SN is confirmed, the DDDS is transmitted. The communication device that receives the DDDS measures the data delay based on the transmission timing of the specified NR-U SN and the reception timing of the DDDS.

[0038] Also, in L2 measurements, several delay measurement methods are defined (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 4).

[0039] <Analysis> It is expected that in future wireless communication systems, fluctuations in latency within the RAN will have a significant impact on communication quality. For example, in future wireless communication systems such as 5G Evolution and 6G, which require ultra-high speed communication speeds, extended communication distances by expanding communication areas to the air, sea, and space, and ultra-reliable communication, it is expected that fluctuations in latency within the RAN will have a significant impact on communication quality.

[0040] Therefore, an appropriate method for measuring latency within the RAN is needed. If the latency between the base station and the terminal can be measured properly, it will be possible to deal with the fluctuations in latency within the RAN and prevent degradation of communication quality.

[0041] However, in the delay measurement method using NR-U SN and DDDS, there is no provision for an immediate response of DDDS after acknowledging receipt of NR-U SN. Also, if the RLC status prohibit is set, DDDS transmission may be delayed. Therefore, there may be an extra delay between acknowledging receipt of NR-U SN and sending DDDS.

[0042] Furthermore, the delay measurement method for L2 measurements is one-way delay measurement, and there is no provision for measuring round-trip delay.

[0043] Therefore, the present disclosure proposes a technique that can appropriately measure the round-trip delay time within the RAN.

[0044] <Proposal> This disclosure proposes a delay measurement procedure using PDCP control PDU. In other words, this disclosure uses PDCP to measure the round-trip delay of a signal in the U-Plane. This may be considered as PDCP having the function of measuring round-trip delay. PDCP may be read as the PDCP layer. A signal in the U-Plane may be read as a radio signal, a packet, or data.

[0045] 7 is a diagram showing a procedure for measuring delay using a PDCP control PDU. As shown in Fig. 7, base station 100 transmits a PDCP control PDU to terminal 200 (S1).

[0046] When the terminal 200 receives the PDCP control PDU, it transmits the PDCP control PDU to the base station 100 (S2).

[0047] For example, after receiving the PDCP control PDU, terminal 200 transmits the PDCP control PDU to base station 100 at a predetermined timing or a predetermined time, or within a predetermined time. The predetermined timing or the predetermined time may be indicated by higher layer signaling such as RRC, or by lower layer signaling such as RLC, MAC, or PHY, or may be defined by a specification. Alternatively, terminal 200 may transmit the PDCP control PDU to base station 100 immediately (e.g., with a minimum of processing steps) after receiving the PDCP control PDU.

[0048] The base station 100 that transmitted the PDCP control PDU (the base station 100 that triggered the delay measurement) measures (calculates) the round-trip delay time in the U-Plane based on the timing (time) at which the PDCP control PDU was transmitted to the terminal 200 and the timing (time) at which the PDCP control PDU was received from the terminal 200 (S3).

[0049] In the above, base station 100 triggers delay measurement, but terminal 200 may also trigger delay measurement. That is, terminal 200 transmits a PDCP control PDU to base station 100. Having received the PDCP control PDU, base station 100 transmits the PDCP control PDU to terminal 200. Terminal 200 then measures the round-trip delay time in the U-Plane.

[0050] In the following, when there is no need to distinguish between the base station 100 and the terminal 200, they may be simply referred to as communication devices. Also, the communication device that triggers delay measurement may be referred to as the transmitting side, and the communication device from which delay measurement is triggered may be referred to as the receiving side.

[0051] The following options 1 to 6 are proposed for the procedure of delay measurement using PDCP control PDUs.

[0052] <Proposal: Option 1> The transmitting side transmits a PDCP control PDU for a delay measurement request. For example, the transmitting side transmits a PDCP control PDU for a delay measurement request at S1 in Fig. 7. As will be explained in Fig. 8, the PDCP control PDU for a delay measurement request includes information indicating a delay measurement request. Hereinafter, the PDCP control PDU for a delay measurement request may be referred to as a delay measurement request PDU.

[0053] The receiving side that has received the delay measurement request PDU transmits a PDCP control PDU for reporting (response to) delay measurement. For example, the receiving side transmits a PDCP control PDU for reporting delay measurement at S2 in Fig. 7. As will be explained with reference to Fig. 9, the PDCP control PDU for reporting delay measurement includes information indicating the report (response) of delay measurement. Hereinafter, the PDCP control PDU for reporting delay measurement may be referred to as a delay measurement report PDU.

[0054] Fig. 8 shows the format of a delay measurement request PDU. As shown in Fig. 8, the delay measurement request PDU has the following fields: D / C, PDU Type, R, delay measurement request, and delay measurement identity. The transmitting side generates the delay measurement request PDU shown in Fig. 8 and transmits it to the receiving side.

[0055] The D / C field and R field are the same as the D / C field and R field shown in FIG. 4, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0056] The PDU Type field has a 3-bit field and indicates the type of control information included in the PDCP control PDU to be generated.

[0057] The PDU Type field shown in Fig. 8 stores a bit indicating that the delay measurement request PDU shown in Fig. 8 is a PDCP control PDU for delay measurement. The bit indicating that the PDU is a PDCP control PDU for delay measurement may use, for example, any of the values ​​shown in "Reserved" in Fig. 6. For example, the bit indicating that the PDU is a PDCP control PDU for delay measurement may be "100".

[0058] The delay measurement request field is an 8-bit field and stores information (bits) indicating that the delay measurement request PDU shown in FIG. 8 is a PDCP control PDU for a delay measurement request.

[0059] The delay measurement identifier field has an 8-bit field, and stores information (bit values) for identifying a delay measurement (triggered delay measurement).

[0060] A sender can trigger multiple delay measurements. That is, a sender can send multiple PDCP control PDUs (Delay Measurement Request PDUs) for requesting delay measurements to multiple receivers. The sender identifies the triggered delay measurements based on the delay measurement identifier stored in the delay measurement identifier field.

[0061] 9 shows the format of the Delay Measurement Report PDU. As shown in FIG. 9, the Delay Measurement Report PDU has the following fields: D / C, PDU Type, R, Delay Measurement Report, and Delay Measurement Identity. A receiving side that receives the Delay Measurement Request PDU generates the Delay Measurement Report PDU shown in FIG. 9 and transmits it to a transmitting side.

[0062] The D / C field and R field are the same as the D / C field and R field shown in FIG. 4, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0063] The PDU Type field has a 3-bit field and indicates the type of control information included in the PDCP control PDU to be generated.

[0064] The PDU Type field shown in Fig. 9 stores a bit indicating that the Delay Measurement Report PDU shown in Fig. 9 is a PDCP control PDU for delay measurement. The bit indicating that the PDU is a PDCP control PDU for delay measurement may use, for example, any of the values ​​shown in "Reserved" in Fig. 6. For example, the bit indicating that the PDU is a PDCP control PDU for delay measurement may be "100".

[0065] The Delay Measurement Report field has an 8-bit field, and stores information (bits) indicating that the Delay Measurement Report PDU shown in Fig. 9 is a PDCP control PDU for reporting delay measurements.

[0066] The delay measurement identifier field has an 8-bit field, and stores information (bit values) for identifying a delay measurement (triggered delay measurement).

[0067] The receiving side that receives the Delay Measurement Request PDU stores the delay measurement identifier included in the Delay Measurement Request PDU in the delay measurement identifier field of the Delay Measurement Report PDU. That is, the receiving side returns the delay measurement identifier received from the sending side to the sending side. This allows the sending side that has sent multiple Delay Measurement Request PDUs and received multiple Delay Measurement Report PDUs to identify the multiple received delay measurement reports (delay measurements triggered by PDUs).

[0068] In option 1, the format of the existing PDCP control PDU is extended and used. For example, in option 1, the PDU Type of the existing PDCP control PDU is extended. This, for example, reduces the development costs of communication devices.

[0069] <Proposal: Option 2> The transmitting side sets (stores) the transmitting side's SFN (System Frame Number) and subframe number in a PDCP control PDU and sends it to the receiving side. The receiving side sets the SFN and subframe number contained in the received PDCP control PDU in the PDCP control PDU and sends it to the transmitting side. In other words, the receiving side sends back to the transmitting side the SFN and subframe number received from the transmitting side. The SFN is, for example, a number assigned to each 10 ms radio frame. The SFN is, for example, incremented by 1 within the range from 0 to 1023.

[0070] Fig. 10 shows the format of a PDCP control PDU in option 2. As shown in Fig. 10, the PDCP control PDU has fields for R or S / F, R, SFN, and subframe number. The format of the PDCP control PDU in option 2 is common to both the transmitting and receiving sides.

[0071] The 1-bit field indicated by an arrow A10a in FIG. 10 is used as an R field or an S / F field.

[0072] The S / F field is a field that notifies the success or failure of delay measurement on the receiving side. If the receiving side determines that the measurement is successful, it stores, for example, "1" in the S / F field. If the receiving side determines that the measurement is unsuccessful, it stores, for example, "0" in the S / F field. How the receiving side determines whether the measurement is successful or unsuccessful is explained in Option 4.

[0073] If the receiving side does not have the function to determine (notify) the success of delay or failure of measurement, the 1-bit field indicated by the arrow A10a becomes the R field. The transmitting side may store either "0" or "1" in the S / F field.

[0074] The SFN field has a 10-bit field. The transmitter stores its own SFN in the SFN field. For example, the transmitter stores the SFN at the time of transmission of the PDCP control PDU in the SFN field. The receiver stores the SFN stored in the PDCP control PDU received from the transmitter in the SFN field. In other words, the receiver sends back to the transmitter the transmitter's SFN received from the transmitter.

[0075] The subframe number field has a 4-bit field. The transmitter stores the transmitter's subframe number in the subframe number field. For example, the transmitter stores the subframe number at the time of transmission of the PDCP control PDU in the subframe number field. The receiver stores the subframe number stored in the PDCP control PDU received from the transmitter in the subframe number field. In other words, the receiver sends back to the transmitter the transmitter's subframe number received from the transmitter.

[0076] The transmitter transmits the SFN and subframe number to the receiver, and the receiver transmits the SFN and subframe number received from the transmitter back to the transmitter. This allows the transmitter to identify the multiple delay measurements it has triggered if it has triggered multiple delay measurements.

[0077] In addition, by having the transmitting side transmit the SFN and subframe number to the receiving side, and the receiving side transmit the SFN and subframe number received from the transmitting side back to the transmitting side, the format of the PDCP control PDU transmitted by the transmitting side and the format of the PDCP control PDU transmitted by the receiving side can be made the same.

[0078] In Option 2, the following Alt.1 to Alt.4 are proposed.

[0079] <Proposal: Option 2: Alt.1> The SFN and subframe number described in Option 2 may be an SFT and a slot number. That is, in Option 2, the transmitting side may transmit the SFN and slot number to the receiving side. The receiving side may transmit the SFN and slot number received from the transmitting side to the transmitting side.

[0080] The slot length may be changed by Numerology (SCS). If the slot length is shortened, the unit (granularity) of the measured delay time becomes smaller, enabling more precise delay time measurement.

[0081] <Proposal: Option 2: Alt.2> An HSFN (hyper SFN) may be added to the SFN and subframe number described in Option 2. That is, in Option 2, the transmitting side may transmit the SFN, subframe number, and HSFN to the receiving side. The receiving side may transmit the SFN, subframe number, and HSFN received from the transmitting side to the transmitting side.

[0082] The HSFN is incremented by 1 within the range of, for example, 0 to 1023. When the SFN reaches 1023, the HSFN is incremented by 1. When the HSFN reaches 1023, the HSFN is reset to 0. The HSFN may also be referred to as an HFN (Hyper Frame Number).

[0083] <Proposal: Option 2: Alt.3> Instead of the SFN and subframe number described in Option 2, absolute time with a certain time as the reference point may be used. The absolute time may be a fixed-length integer expressed at a predetermined time granularity. The reference point of the absolute time may be determined using, for example, the SFN. The transmitting side may transmit absolute time with a certain time as the reference point instead of the SFN and subframe number, and the receiving side may transmit the absolute time received from the transmitting side to the transmitting side. The subframe number in Alt.3 may be replaced with a slot number.

[0084] <Proposal: Option 2: Alt. 4> The PDCP control PDUs of option 1 and option 2 may be combined.

[0085] For example, the PDCP control PDU of option 1 shown in Figure 8 may have the R or S / F, R, SFN, and subframe number fields of option 2 shown in Figure 10 instead of the delay measurement request field in Oct2 and the delay measurement identifier field in Oct3 shown in Figure 8. For example, the PDCP control PDU of option 1 shown in Figure 9 may have the R or S / F, R, SFN, and subframe number fields of option 2 shown in Figure 10 instead of the delay measurement report field in Oct2 and the delay measurement identifier field in Oct3 shown in Figure 9.

[0086] In other words, the PDCP control PDU of option 2 shown in FIG. 10 may have D / C, PDU Type, and R fields.

[0087] <Proposal: Option 3> In option 2, the receiving side transmits (sends back) the SFN and subframe number received from the transmitting side to the transmitting side. In option 3, the receiving side transmits the SFN and subframe number of the receiving side to the transmitting side in addition to the SFN and subframe number received from the transmitting side.

[0088] Figure 11 shows the format of a PDCP control PDU in option 3. Oct1 and Oct2 shown in Figure 11 are the same as Oct1 and Oct2 described in Figure 10. That is, the receiving side stores the SFN and subframe number transmitted from the transmitting side in the SFN field and subframe number field of Oct1 and Oct2 shown in Figure 11 in the PDCP control PDU.

[0089] In addition, if the receiving side has the function of determining whether the delay was successful or the measurement failed, the receiving side stores information (bits) indicating whether the measurement was successful or failed in the S / F field (how the receiving side determines whether the measurement was successful or failed is explained in Option 4).

[0090] The SFN and subframe number of the receiving side are stored in the SFN field and subframe number field of Oct3 and Oct4 in Fig. 11. The SFN and subframe number of the receiving side may be, for example, the SFN and subframe number when the receiving side transmits the PDCP control PDU.

[0091] That is, the transmitting side transmits the SFN and subframe number to the receiving side using the PDCP control PDU shown in Fig. 10. The receiving side transmits the SFN and subframe number (Oct1, Oct2) received from the transmitting side and the SFN and subframe number (Oct3, Oct4) at the receiving side to the transmitting side using the PDCP control PDU shown in Fig. 11.

[0092] In Option 3, the following Alt.1 to Alt.4 are proposed.

[0093] <Proposal: Option 3: Alt.1> The SFN and subframe number described in Option 3 may be an SFT and a slot number. That is, in Option 3, the transmitting side may transmit the SFN and slot number to the receiving side. The receiving side may transmit the SFN and slot number received from the transmitting side and the SFN and slot number at the receiving side to the transmitting side.

[0094] The slot length may be changed by Numerology. If the slot length is shortened, the unit (granularity) of the measured delay time becomes smaller, enabling more precise delay time measurement.

[0095] <Proposal: Option 3: Alt.2> The HSFN may be added to the SFN and subframe number described in Option 3. That is, in Option 3, the transmitting side may transmit the SFN, subframe number, and HSFN to the receiving side. The receiving side may transmit to the transmitting side the SFN, subframe number, and HSFN received from the transmitting side, and the SFN, subframe number, and HSFN at the receiving side.

[0096] <Proposal: Option 3: Alt.3> Instead of the SFN and subframe number described in Option 3, absolute time with a certain time as the reference point may be used. The absolute time may be a fixed-length integer expressed with a predetermined time granularity. The reference point of the absolute time may be determined and synchronized, for example, by the transmitting side and the receiving side using the SFN. The transmitting side may transmit absolute time with a certain time as the reference point instead of the SFN and subframe number. The receiving side may transmit the absolute time received from the transmitting side and the absolute time at the receiving side to the transmitting side. The subframe number in Alt.3 may be replaced with a slot number.

[0097] <Proposal: Option 3: Alt. 4> The PDCP control PDUs of option 1 and option 3 may be combined.

[0098] For example, the PDCP control PDU of option 1 shown in Figure 8 may have the R or S / F, R, SFN, and subframe number fields of option 3 shown in Figure 11 instead of the delay measurement request field in Oct2 and the delay measurement identifier field in Oct3 shown in Figure 8. For example, the PDCP control PDU of option 1 shown in Figure 9 may have the R or S / F, R, SFN, and subframe number fields of option 2 shown in Figure 11 instead of the delay measurement report field in Oct2 and the delay measurement identifier field in Oct3 shown in Figure 9.

[0099] In other words, the PDCP control PDU of option 3 shown in FIG. 11 may have fields D / C, PDU Type, and R.

[0100] <Proposal: Option 4> The receiver determines whether the delay measurement was successful or unsuccessful using the sender's SFN and the receiver's SFN sent from the sender. The receiver notifies the sender of the information (bit) indicating the result of the determination using the S / F field described in Option 2 and Option 3.

[0101] If the receiving side meets the following condition 1 or 2, it determines that the measurement has failed and stores information indicating the measurement failure in the S / F field. Here, the SFN of the sending side (SFN received from the sending side) is S_SFN, and the SFN of the receiving side is R_SFN. - If the SFN is not circulating, that is, if R_SFN >= S_SFN, then R_SFN - S_SFN >= 512 Condition 1 - If the SFN is circulating, that is, if R_SFN < S_SFN, then S_SFN - R_SFN <= 512 Condition 2

[0102] If the receiving side meets the following condition 3 or 4, it determines that the measurement is successful and stores information indicating the measurement success in the S / F field. - If the SFN is not rotating, that is, if R_SFN >= S_SFN, then R_SFN - S_SFN < 512 Condition 3 - If the SFN is rotating, that is, if R_SFN < S_SFN, then S_SFN - R_SFN > 512 Condition 4

[0103] For example, if the timing of transmitting the PDCP control PDU on the transmitting side is inappropriate, conditions 3 and 4 may not be met, but conditions 1 and 2 may be met, which may result in measurement failure. For example, if the timing of receiving the PDCP control PDU on the receiving side is inappropriate, conditions 3 and 4 may not be met, but conditions 1 and 2 may be met, which may result in measurement failure.

[0104] If the transmitting side receives information from the receiving side indicating that the measurement was successful, it performs delay measurement. If the transmitting side receives information from the receiving side indicating that the measurement was unsuccessful, it does not perform delay measurement.

[0105] In option 4, the receiving side determines whether the measurement was successful or not and sends the result to the transmitting side. If the transmitting side receives a notification that the measurement was successful from the receiving side, it performs a delay measurement. This operation eliminates the need for the transmitting side to perform a delay measurement if the measurement failed on the receiving side, and enables appropriate delay measurement.

[0106] In Option 4, the following Alt. 1 is proposed:

[0107] <Proposal: Option 4: alt.1> In option 3, the transmitting side may determine whether the delay measurement is successful or unsuccessful. For example, in option 3, the receiving side transmits to the transmitting side the SFN and subframe number received from the transmitting side (e.g., see Oct1 and Oct2 in FIG. 11 ) and the SFN and subframe number of the receiving side (e.g., see Oct3 and Oct4 in FIG. 11 ). The transmitting side determines whether the delay measurement is successful or unsuccessful using the transmitting side's SFN (S_SFN) and the receiving side's SFN (R_SFN) received from the receiving side.

[0108] <Proposal: Option 5> In Option 1, the same control information is stored in the PDU Type field of the Delay Measurement Request PDU and the PDU Type field of the Delay Measurement Report PDU, but this is not limited to this. For example, in the description of Option 1, it was stated that "100" is stored in the PDU Type field of the Delay Measurement Request PDU in Fig. 8 and "100" is stored in the PDU Type field of the Delay Measurement Report PDU in Fig. 9, but this is not limited to this. Different bit values ​​may be stored in the PDU Type field of the Delay Measurement Request PDU and the PDU Type field of the Delay Measurement Report PDU.

[0109] For example, the PDU Type field of the delay measurement request PDU may store "100" shown as "Reserved" in Figure 6, and the PDU Type field of the delay measurement report PDU may store "101" shown as "Reserved" in Figure 6.

[0110] That is, the PDU Type field shown in Fig. 8 may store a bit indicating that the PDU is a PDCP control PDU for a delay measurement request, and the PDU Type field shown in Fig. 9 may store a bit indicating that the PDU is a PDCP control PDU for a delay measurement report.

[0111] In the case of option 5, the delay measurement request field of the delay measurement request PDU (see Oct2 in FIG. 8) may be omitted, and the delay measurement report field of the delay measurement report PDU (see Oct2 in FIG. 9) may be omitted.

[0112] <Proposal: Option 6> The PDCP control PDUs for status reports are set to a different scheduling queue from the data PDUs, and the control PDUs are sent first even when data PDUs are queued. The PDCP control PDUs for delay measurement are added to the end of the same queue as the data PDUs when data PDUs are queued, so that scheduling delay is also measured.

[0113] <Proposal: Summary> The communication device decides to transmit a PDCP control PDU to measure the delay in the round-trip path of the RAN. This operation allows the communication device to properly measure the delay time in the round-trip delay within the RAN. Furthermore, by properly measuring the delay time of the RAN, it is possible to perform delay analysis of the RAN and to reduce the delay of signals in the RAN.

[0114] <Modification> The communication device may measure (calculate) the one-way delay. For example, the communication device may calculate half the time of the round-trip delay as the one-way delay time. Note that in TDD (Time Division Duplex), the uplink and downlink frequencies are the same and the communication characteristics are considered to be similar. Therefore, half the time of the round-trip delay may be calculated as the one-way delay time.

[0115] Although the communication device has been described as measuring the round trip delay in the U-Plane, this is not limiting, and the communication device may measure the round trip delay of a signal in the C-Plane in PDCP.

[0116] Although the PDCP control PDU is used for delay measurement, the PDCP data PDU may also be used for delay measurement.

[0117] <Terminal Capability> The terminal 200 reports information on whether it supports the function of the delay measurement procedure in PDCP as terminal capability.

[0118] The terminal 200 reports information on which of the above-mentioned optional and Alt. functions it supports as terminal capability (UE capability).

[0119] The terminal 200 reports information on whether it supports the function of determining whether measurement is successful or not as terminal capability.

[0120] <Configuration of Base Station> Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a base station 100 according to an embodiment. The base station 100 includes, for example, a transmitting unit 101, a receiving unit 102, and a control unit 103. The base station 100 communicates with a terminal 200 (see Fig. 13) by radio. The base station 100 may be an intermediate node, a support node, or a terminal (a terminal in SL that communicates with the terminal 200).

[0121] The transmitter 101 transmits a downlink (DL) signal to the terminal 200. For example, the transmitter 101 transmits the DL signal under the control of the controller 103.

[0122] The DL signal may include, for example, a downlink data signal and control information (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI)). The DL signal may also include information indicating scheduling related to signal transmission of terminal 200 (e.g., an UL grant). The DL signal may also include control information of higher layers (e.g., control information of Radio Resource Control (RRC)). The DL signal may also include a reference signal.

[0123] Channels used for transmitting DL signals include, for example, data channels and control channels. For example, the data channels may include a PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), and the control channels may include a PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel). For example, the base station 100 transmits control information to the terminal 200 using the PDCCH and transmits downlink data signals using the PDSCH.

[0124] The reference signal included in the DL signal may include at least one of a demodulation reference signal (Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS)), a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS), a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), and a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) for position information. For example, reference signals such as DMRS and PTRS are used for demodulating downlink data signals and are transmitted using the PDSCH.

[0125] The receiving unit 102 receives an uplink (UL) signal transmitted from the terminal 200. For example, the receiving unit 102 receives the UL signal under the control of the control unit 103.

[0126] The control unit 103 controls the communication operations of the base station 100 , including the transmission processing of the transmission unit 101 and the reception processing of the reception unit 102 .

[0127] For example, the control unit 103 acquires information such as data and control information from the upper layer and outputs it to the transmitting unit 101. The control unit 103 also outputs the data, control information, etc. received from the receiving unit 102 to the upper layer.

[0128] For example, the control unit 103 allocates resources (or channels) used for transmitting and receiving DL signals and / or resources used for transmitting and receiving UL signals based on signals (e.g., data and control information, etc.) received from the terminal 200 and / or data and control information, etc. acquired from a higher layer. Information related to the allocated resources may be included in control information transmitted to the terminal 200.

[0129] Control unit 103 configures PUCCH resources as an example of allocation of resources used for transmitting and receiving UL signals. Information related to PUCCH configuration such as a PUCCH cell timing pattern (PUCCH configuration information) may be reported to terminal 200 by RRC.

[0130] Here, the control unit 103 may determine to transmit a PDCP PDU, which is a PDU for measuring delay in a round-trip path of the RAN. The transmission unit 103 may transmit the PDU for measuring delay of the PDCP. The round-trip path of the RAN may be, for example, a wireless section between the base station 100 and the terminal 200. PDCP is one of the L2 sublayers in the wireless interface, and is a protocol that performs processes such as confidentiality, validation, reordering, and header compression.

[0131] The control unit 103 may store information indicating that the PDU is for delay measurement in a field indicating the type of PDCP-based PDU. For example, the control unit 103 may store information (bits) indicating that the PDU is for delay measurement in a 3-bit PDU Type field of the PDCP control PDU.

[0132] The control unit 103 may store the SFN and subframe number in the base station 100 or may store the SFN and slot number in the base station 100 in the PDCP-based PDU to be transmitted to the terminal 100 .

[0133] The receiving unit 102 may receive a PDCP-based PDU for delay measurement. When the control unit 103 receives the PDCP-based PDU for delay measurement, the control unit 103 may determine to transmit a PDU for responding to the delay measurement. The control unit 103 may store the SFN and subframe number of the base station 100, or may store the SFN and slot number, in the PDCP-based PDU for responding to the delay measurement.

[0134] 13 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal 200 according to an embodiment. The terminal 200 includes, for example, a receiving unit 201, a transmitting unit 202, and a control unit 203. The terminal 200 communicates with the base station 10 wirelessly, for example.

[0135] The receiving unit 201 receives a DL signal transmitted from the base station 10. For example, the receiving unit 201 receives the DL signal under the control of the control unit 203.

[0136] The transmitting unit 202 transmits the UL signal to the base station 10. For example, the transmitting unit 202 transmits the UL signal under the control of the control unit 203.

[0137] The UL signal may include, for example, an uplink data signal and control information (e.g., UCI). For example, information related to the processing capability of the terminal 200 (e.g., UE capability) may be included. The UL signal may also include a reference signal.

[0138] Channels used for transmitting UL signals include, for example, data channels and control channels. For example, the data channels include a PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), and the control channels include a PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel). For example, the terminal 200 receives control information from the base station 10 using the PUCCH and transmits uplink data signals using the PUSCH.

[0139] The reference signals included in the UL signal may include, for example, at least one of DMRS, PTRS, CSI-RS, SRS, and PRS. For example, the reference signals such as DMRS and PTRS are used for demodulating the uplink data signal and are transmitted using an uplink channel (for example, PUSCH).

[0140] The control unit 203 controls the communication operations of the terminal 200 , including the reception processing in the receiving unit 201 and the transmission processing in the transmitting unit 202 .

[0141] For example, the control unit 203 acquires information such as data and control information from the upper layer and outputs it to the transmitting unit 202. Also, the control unit 203 outputs, for example, the data and control information received from the receiving unit 201 to the upper layer.

[0142] For example, the control unit 203 controls transmission of information to be fed back to the base station 10. The information to be fed back to the base station 10 may include, for example, HARQ-ACK, channel state information (CSI), or a scheduling request (SR). The information to be fed back to the base station 10 may be included in UCI. The UCI is transmitted in the resources of the PUCCH.

[0143] The control unit 203 sets PUCCH resources based on configuration information (for example, configuration information such as a PUCCH cell timing pattern notified by RRC and / or DCI) received from the base station 10. The control unit 203 determines the PUCCH resources to be used for transmitting information to be fed back to the base station 10. Under the control of the control unit 203, the transmission unit 202 transmits the information to be fed back to the base station 10 in the PUCCH resources determined by the control unit 203.

[0144] Note that the channel used for transmitting the DL signal and the channel used for transmitting the UL signal are not limited to the above-mentioned examples. For example, the channel used for transmitting the DL signal and the channel used for transmitting the UL signal may include a Random Access Channel (RACH) and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). The RACH may be used to transmit Downlink Control Information (DCI) including a Random Access Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI), for example.

[0145] Here, the control unit 203 may determine to transmit a PDCP PDU, which is a PDU for measuring delay in a round-trip path of the RAN. The transmission unit 202 may transmit the PDU for measuring delay of the PDCP. The round-trip path of the RAN may be, for example, a radio section between the base station 100 and the terminal 200.

[0146] The control unit 203 may store information indicating that the PDU is for delay measurement in a field indicating the type of PDCP-based PDU. For example, the control unit 203 may store information (bits) indicating that the PDU is for delay measurement in a 3-bit PDU Type field of the PDCP control PDU.

[0147] The control unit 203 may store the SFN and subframe number of the terminal 200 or the SFN and slot number of the terminal 200 in the PDCP-based PDU transmitted to the base station 100 .

[0148] Receiving section 201 may receive a PDCP-based PDU for delay measurement. When receiving the PDCP-based PDU for delay measurement, control section 203 may determine to transmit a PDU for responding to the delay measurement. Control section 203 may store the SFN and subframe number of terminal 100, or may store the SFN and slot number of terminal 100, in the PDCP-based PDU for responding to the delay measurement.

[0149] The present disclosure has been described above. Note that the division of items in the above description is not essential to the present disclosure, and items described in two or more items may be used in combination as needed, and items described in one item may be applied to items described in another item (unless they are inconsistent).

[0150] <Hardware Configuration, etc.> The block diagrams 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 directly or indirectly connected (e.g., using wires, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may also be realized by combining software with the single device or the multiple devices.

[0151] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, assessment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, 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 these functions are implemented.

[0152] For example, the base station 100, the terminal 200, 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. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the base station 100 and the terminal 200 according to the embodiment. The base station 100 and the terminal 200 described above may be physically 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.

[0153] In the following description, the term "apparatus" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of base station 100 and terminal 200 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.

[0154] Each function in the base station 100 and the terminal 200 is realized by loading specified software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 1004, and control at least one of reading and writing data in the memory 1002 and the storage 1003.

[0155] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be configured by 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 103 and control unit 203 may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0156] 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-described embodiments. For example, the control unit 203 of the terminal 200 may be implemented by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001, and similar implementations may be made for other functional blocks. 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 also be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0157] 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 executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0158] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, 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 (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other appropriate medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0159] 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, a communication module, etc. 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, the above-mentioned transmitter 101, receiver 102, receiver 201, transmitter 202, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004.

[0160] The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., 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 (e.g., 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 (e.g., a touch panel).

[0161] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the memory 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.

[0162] Furthermore, base station 100 and terminal 200 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.

[0163] <Notification of Information, Signaling> Notification of information is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure and may be performed using other methods. For example, 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, 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.

[0164] <Applicable Systems> The embodiments described in the present disclosure are applicable to 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 a decimal)), 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 802.17 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.19 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.21 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.22 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.23 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.24 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.25 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.26 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.27 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.28 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.29 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.30 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.31 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.32 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.33 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.34 (WiMAX (registered trademark The present invention may be applied to at least one of systems using 802.20, UWB (Ultra-Wide Band), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable 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 LTE and / or LTE-A with 5G).

[0165] <Processing Procedures, etc.> The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be rearranged unless inconsistent. 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.

[0166] <Operation of Base Station> In the present disclosure, specific operations 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.

[0167] <Direction of Input / Output> Information, etc. (see <Information, Signal>) can be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer). It may also be input / output via multiple network nodes.

[0168] <Handling of Input / Output Information, etc.> Input / output information, etc. may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input / output information, etc. may be overwritten, updated, or added. Output information, etc. may be deleted. Input information, etc. may be sent to another device.

[0169] <Determination method> The determination may be made based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a comparison of numerical values ​​(e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0170] <Variations of Aspects, etc.> Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. In addition, 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).

[0171] 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.

[0172] <Software> 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.

[0173] 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.

[0174] 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., which 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.

[0175] Note that terms described 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.

[0176] <System, Network> As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0177] <Parameter and Channel Names> Furthermore, the information, parameters, and the like described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.

[0178] 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.

[0179] <Base Station> In the present 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. A base station may also be referred to by terms such as a macrocell, a small cell, a femtocell, and a picocell.

[0180] 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 partitioned into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a remote radio head (RRH)). The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to part or the entire coverage area of ​​a base station and / or base station subsystem that provides communication services within that coverage area.

[0181] In the present disclosure, the base station transmitting information to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to control or operate based on the information.

[0182] Mobile Station In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," "terminal," and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0183] 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.

[0184] <Base Station / Mobile Station> At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be referred to as 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, the mobile object itself, etc. The mobile object refers to a movable object, and may move at any speed. Naturally, this also includes cases where the mobile object is stationary. Examples of the mobile object include, but are not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcars, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, satellites, drones (registered trademark), multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and objects mounted thereon. The mobile object may also be an autonomous mobile object operating based on an operational command. It 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 be a device that does 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.

[0185] Furthermore, the base station in the present disclosure may be read as a terminal. For example, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a terminal is replaced with communication between multiple terminals (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D) or Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)). In this case, the terminal 200 may be configured to have the functions of the base station 100 described above. 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 an uplink channel and a downlink channel may be read as a side channel.

[0186] Similarly, the term "terminal" in the present disclosure may be read as "base station." In this case, the base station 100 may be configured to have the functions of the terminal 200 described above.

[0187] Fig. 15 shows an example configuration of a vehicle 2001. As shown in Fig. 15, 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.

[0188] 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.

[0189] 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).

[0190] 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.

[0191] 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 (outputting) various types of information, such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The information service unit 2012 provides various types of multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of the vehicle 2001 by using information acquired from external devices via the communication module 2013, etc.

[0192] The information service unit 2012 may include input devices (e.g., keyboards, mice, microphones, switches, buttons, sensors, touch panels, etc.) that accept input from the outside, and may also include output devices (e.g., displays, speakers, LED lamps, touch panels, etc.) that output to the outside.

[0193] The driving assistance system unit 2030 is composed of various devices that provide functions for preventing accidents and reducing the driving burden on the driver, such as millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), cameras, positioning locators (e.g., GNSS, etc.), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) maps, autonomous vehicle (AV) maps, etc.), gyro systems (e.g., IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), INS (Inertial Navigation System), etc.), AI (Artificial Intelligence) chips, and AI processors, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. In addition, the driving assistance system unit 2030 transmits and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize the driving assistance function or the autonomous driving function.

[0194] 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.

[0195] 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.

[0196] The communication module 2013 may transmit at least one of signals from the above-mentioned various sensors 2021 to 2029 input to the electronic control unit 2010, information obtained based on the signals, and information based on input from the outside (user) obtained via the information service unit 2012 to an external device via wireless communication. The electronic control unit 2010, the various sensors 2021 to 2029, the information service unit 2012, etc. may be referred to as input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 2013 may include information based on the above-mentioned input.

[0197] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, traffic signal information, vehicle distance information, etc.) transmitted from an external device and displays it on the information service unit 2012 provided in the vehicle 2001. The information service unit 2012 may also be called an output unit that outputs information (for example, outputs information to a device such as a display or speaker based on the PDSCH received by the communication module 2013 (or data / information decoded from the PDSCH)).

[0198] Furthermore, the communication module 2013 stores various information received from 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, and the like provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0199] <Meaning and Interpretation of Terms> 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 a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining something that is considered to be a "judging" or "determining," 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 that are considered to be a "judging" or "determining." 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.

[0200] 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.

[0201] <Reference Signal> A reference signal can also be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal), and may also be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0202] <Meaning of "based on"> 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."

[0203] "First," "Second" Any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc., used in this disclosure 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 precede the second element in some way.

[0204] <Means> The "means" in the configuration of each device above may be replaced with "section," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0205] Open Format: When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, when the term "or" is used in this disclosure, it is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0206] <Time Units such as TTI, Frequency Units such as RB, and Radio Frame Configuration> 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.

[0207] Numerology may be a communication parameter that applies to the transmission and / or reception of a signal or channel, and may indicate, for example, at least one of 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.

[0208] A slot may be composed of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol). A slot may be a time unit based on numerology.

[0209] 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.

[0210] 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.

[0211] 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.

[0212] 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. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0213] 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.

[0214] 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.

[0215] 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.

[0216] 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 greater than or equal to 1 ms.

[0217] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and the 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 be determined based on numerology.

[0218] 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.

[0219] 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, etc.

[0220] 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.

[0221] 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 BWP and numbered within the BWP.

[0222] 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.

[0223] 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."

[0224] The above-described structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, symbols, etc. are merely examples, and various changes may be made to 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.

[0225] <Maximum Transmit Power> The "maximum transmit power" in the present disclosure may refer to the maximum value of transmit power, the nominal UE maximum transmit power, or the rated UE maximum transmit power.

[0226] Articles 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.

[0227] <"Different"> In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." Note that 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."

[0228] One aspect of the present disclosure is useful in wireless communication systems.

[0229] 10 Wireless communication system 100 Base station 200 Device 101, 202 Transmitter 102, 201 Receiver 103, 203 Controller

Claims

1. A communication device comprising: a control unit that determines transmission of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) for delay measurement in a round-trip path of a radio access network; and a transmission unit that transmits the PDU, wherein the control unit determines transmission of the PDU in Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP).

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores information indicating that the PDU is for delay measurement in a field indicating the type of the PDU.

3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores a system frame number and a subframe number, or the system frame number and a slot number in the communication device in the PDU.

4. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a reception unit that receives the PDU for delay measurement, wherein the control unit determines transmission of the PDU for delay measurement response when receiving the PDU for delay measurement.

5. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit stores a system frame number and a subframe number, or the system frame number and a slot number in the communication device in the PDU for delay measurement response.

6. A measurement method in which a communication device determines transmission of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) for delay measurement in a round-trip path of a radio access network, transmits the PDU, and determines transmission of the PDU in Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP).