Terminal and wireless communication method
The control unit simplifies wireless communication for reduced capability terminals by applying common or separate settings to physical channels, addressing performance limitations and complexity in non-terrestrial networks, thereby enhancing communication efficiency.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/JP2023/027279
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-07-25
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-30
AI Technical Summary
Reduced capability terminals, such as Redcap UE, face performance limitations due to restricted antenna gain and transmitting power, particularly when using non-terrestrial networks, leading to complex setting requirements and increased overhead, especially regarding Timing Advance (TA) adjustments.
A control unit that sets common or separate physical channel settings for normal and reduced capability terminals, allowing efficient wireless communication via non-ground networks by applying specific settings based on received information, thereby simplifying the configuration and optimizing performance.
This approach enables efficient wireless communication for both normal and reduced capability terminals over non-ground networks, reducing complexity and overhead while optimizing performance, particularly in non-terrestrial scenarios.
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Figure JP2023027279_30012025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
Terminal and wireless communication method
[0001] The present disclosure relates to reduced capability terminals and wireless communication methods.
[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] 3GPP Release-17 specifies support for reduced-capability terminals (User Equipment, UE). Such UEs are also called RedCap UEs (reduced UE capability) and are suitable for industrial wireless sensors, video surveillance, and wearable terminals. RedCap UEs are limited in the number of receive antennas (also called RX branches).
[0004] In addition, 3GPP Release-18 is considering the introduction of a new RedCap UE (which may also be called eRedCap UE) that may further restrict bandwidth, peak data rate, etc. (Non-Patent Document 1).
[0005] "Revised WID on Enhanced support of reduced capability NR devices", RP-223544, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #98-e, 3GPP, December 2022
[0006] RedCap UE (which may include eRedCap UE) has limitations on antenna gain and transmission power due to the above-mentioned capacity limitations, and therefore has inferior performance compared to normal handheld UEs such as smartphones.
[0007] In particular, when using a non-terrestrial network (NTN), individual settings for RedCap UE may be required to take into account such performance differences, including Timing Advance (TA) for adjusting the uplink (UL) transmission timing. However, specifying settings that are separate from those for normal UEs could complicate the settings and increase the overhead associated with the settings.
[0008] Therefore, the following disclosure has been made in consideration of this situation, and aims to provide a terminal and a wireless communication method that can efficiently perform appropriate settings for normal UE or RedCap UE even when using a non-terrestrial network.
[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure is a terminal (UE200) that includes a control unit (control unit 270) that sets a physical channel to which a common setting is applied to a normal terminal and a reduced-capability terminal that has reduced capabilities compared to the normal terminal, and a communication unit (radio signal transceiver unit 210) that performs wireless communication via a non-terrestrial network using the physical channel.
[0010] One aspect of the present disclosure is a terminal (UE200) that includes a control unit (control unit 270) that sets a physical channel to which a different setting is applied to a reduced-capability terminal having reduced capabilities compared to a normal terminal, and a communication unit (radio signal transceiver unit 210) that performs wireless communication via a non-terrestrial network using the physical channel.
[0011] One aspect of the present disclosure is a terminal (UE200) that includes a receiving unit (control signal / reference signal processing unit 240) that receives notification information in which settings that are different from those applied to a reduced-capability terminal having reduced capabilities compared to a normal terminal are applied to the reduced-capability terminal, and a control unit (control unit 270) that executes settings that are applied when passing through a non-terrestrial network based on the notification information.
[0012] One aspect of the present disclosure is a terminal (UE200) that includes a receiving unit (control signal / reference signal processing unit 240) that receives notification information to which settings common to a normal terminal and a reduced-capability terminal with reduced capabilities compared to the normal terminal are applied, and a control unit (control unit 270) that, when passing through a non-terrestrial network, ignores at least a portion of the settings and executes settings for the reduced-capability terminal.
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a wireless communication system 10. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless frame, subframe, and slot used in the wireless communication system 10. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a gNB 100 and a UE 200. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a formula for calculating a TA value when passing through an NTN. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence between a UE and a gNB according to an operation example 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence (part 1) between a UE and a gNB according to an operation example 2. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence (part 2) between a UE and a gNB according to an operation example 2. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a gNB 100 and a UE 200. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle 2001.
[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or similar reference numerals are used to designate the same functions or configurations, and descriptions thereof will be omitted as appropriate.
[0015] (1) Overall Schematic Configuration of Wireless Communication System Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall schematic configuration of a wireless communication system 10 according to this embodiment. The wireless communication system 10 is a wireless communication system conforming to 5G New Radio (NR) and includes a Next Generation-Radio Access Network 20 (hereinafter, NG-RAN 20) and a terminal 200 (hereinafter, UE (User Equipment) 200).
[0016] The wireless communication system 10 may be a wireless communication system conforming to a system called Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.
[0017] The NG-RAN 20 includes a radio base station 100 (hereinafter, gNB 100). Note that the specific configuration of the radio communication system 10, including the number of gNBs 100 and UEs 200, is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1 .
[0018] The NG-RAN 20 actually includes a plurality of NG-RAN nodes, specifically, gNBs (or ng-eNBs), and is connected to a core network conforming to 5G (for example, 5GC). Note that the NG-RAN 20 and the core network may be simply referred to as a "network."
[0019] The gNB100 is a 5G-compliant radio base station that performs 5G-compliant radio communication with the UE 200. The gNB100 and UE 200 are capable of supporting Massive MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), which generates a more directional beam (BM) by controlling radio signals transmitted from multiple antenna elements, Carrier Aggregation (CA), which aggregates multiple component carriers (CCs), and Dual Connectivity (DC), which simultaneously communicates between the UE and two NG-RAN nodes.
[0020] In an embodiment, the wireless communication system 10 may include a non-terrestrial network (NTN). In an NTN, services are provided to areas that cannot be covered by a terrestrial network (TN) due to cost or other reasons by utilizing an NTN such as an artificial satellite 150 (hereinafter, satellite 150). The NTN can provide more reliable services. For example, the NTN is expected to be applied to IoT (Internet of Things), ships, buses, trains, and critical communications. The NTN also has scalability through efficient multicast or broadcast.
[0021] A network including the gNB 100 and the UE 200 but not including the satellite 150 may be referred to as a TN in contrast to an NTN. The satellite 150 may have the function of a gNB (radio base station). The type of satellite 150 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a geostationary orbit satellite (GEO) or a low earth orbit satellite (LEO). Alternatively, a high-altitude platform station (HAPS) may be used.
[0022] In this embodiment, the gNB 100 may include an NTN gateway 100X. The NTN gateway 100X transmits downlink signals to the satellite 150. The NTN gateway 100X receives uplink signals from the satellite 150.
[0023] The satellite 150 relays the downlink signal received from the NTN gateway 100X to the UE 200. The satellite 150 relays the uplink signal received from the UE 200 to the NTN gateway 100X. The satellite 150 may be interpreted as a TRP (Transmission-Reception Point), or as a repeater or relay.
[0024] To achieve Coverage Enhancement (CE), the UE 200 may support repetition of uplink channels (e.g., PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) and PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel)). The UE 200 may support CE Mode A and CE Mode B (see 3GPP TS38.213, etc.) as coverage enhancement modes (CE Mode). CE Mode is a technology that effectively enhances cell coverage by gradually lowering the threshold of the received power level (RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power / RSRQ: Reference Signal Received Quality). The number of attempts of a random access procedure (RA procedure) according to the mode is also specified.
[0025] Furthermore, for coverage extension, TB processing over multi-slot PUSCH (TBoMS) may be applied, which processes a transport block (TB) via a PUSCH allocated to multiple slots.
[0026] Although the type of UE 200 is not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, the capability of UE 200 may be reduced. The reduced capability is not particularly limited, but for example, capability (operation) related to measurements for radio resource management (RRM) may be reduced (which may be restricted, reduced, or the like).
[0027] Such a UE may be called a RedCap UE (reduced UE capability), etc. RedCap UE may be interpreted as a category of UE used for, for example, industrial wireless sensors, video surveillance, and wearable devices.
[0028] Alternatively, the RedCap UE may not necessarily have reduced capabilities and may be interpreted as a UE for IoT (Internet of Things), etc. The RedCap UE may also be referred to as a specific type of UE.
[0029] On the other hand, a non-RedCap UE (Non-RedCap UE) may be interpreted as a normal UE (normal UE, normal terminal) having normal capabilities, or a UE for eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), or URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications). Note that a normal UE may include a UE for eMBB or URLLC.
[0030] The RedCap UE is specified in 3GPP Release-17 and may have different numbers of receive antennas (also called RX branches). Specifically, there may be RedCap UEs with one receive antenna (1 RX branch) and RedCap UEs with two receive antennas (2 RX branches). However, the number of receive antennas does not necessarily have to be limited to 1 RX branch and 2 RX branches.
[0031] Furthermore, the functionality (capabilities) of a RedCap UE may be further reduced. Specifically, the bandwidth and peak data rate may be further restricted compared to a RedCap UE. Such a RedCap UE may be specified in 3GPP Release-18 and may be called an eRedCap UE (enhanced reduced UE capability) to distinguish it from a RedCap UE of Release-17. Note that when a term "RedCap UE" is used, it may be interpreted as including an eRedCap UE unless otherwise specified.
[0032] For example, in the case of an eRedCap UE, the baseband (BB) bandwidth used for transmitting and receiving a specific channel may be limited to 5 MHz or 10 MHz (usually 20 MHz), and the peak data rate may be further reduced by changing certain parameters. Note that the subcarrier spacing (SCS) may be 15 kHz or 30 kHz.
[0033] Furthermore, the UE 200 may include a UE for Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC). In such a UE 200 (including RedCap UE), multi-TB scheduling, which performs scaling for multiple transport blocks (TBs), may be applied.
[0034] FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of radio frames, subframes, and slots used in the radio communication system 10.
[0035] As shown in Figure 2, one slot consists of 14 symbols, and the larger (wider) the SCS, the shorter the symbol period (and slot period). The SCS is not limited to the interval (frequency) shown in Figure 2. For example, 480 kHz, 960 kHz, etc. may be used.
[0036] Furthermore, the number of symbols constituting one slot does not necessarily have to be 14 (for example, 28 symbols or 56 symbols). Furthermore, the number of slots per subframe may differ depending on the SCS.
[0037] The time direction (t) shown in Fig. 2 may be called a time domain, a symbol period, or a symbol time, etc. The frequency direction may be called a frequency domain, a resource block, a subcarrier, a bandwidth part (BWP), etc.
[0038] (2) Functional Block Configuration of Wireless Communication System Next, a functional block configuration of the wireless communication system 10 will be described. Specifically, the functional block configurations of the gNB 100 and the UE 200 will be described.
[0039] 3 is a functional block diagram of the gNB 100 and the UE 200. The following describes the UE 200. As shown in FIG. 3, the UE 200 includes a radio signal transmitting / receiving unit 210, an amplifier unit 220, a modulation / demodulation unit 230, a control signal / reference signal processing unit 240, an encoding / decoding unit 250, a data transmitting / receiving unit 260, and a control unit 270.
[0040] The radio signal transmission / reception unit 210 transmits and receives radio signals conforming to NR. The radio signal transmission / reception unit 210 supports Massive MIMO, CA that uses a bundle of multiple CCs, and DC that simultaneously communicates between a UE and two NG-RAN nodes.
[0041] Furthermore, the wireless signal transmitting / receiving unit 210 performs wireless communication via a non-terrestrial network (NTN) using a physical channel. In this embodiment, the wireless signal transmitting / receiving unit 210 may constitute a communication unit.
[0042] The physical channels may include uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) channels. Specifically, the physical channels may include PUCCH and PDSCH. The PUCCH may be interpreted as a control channel in the UL direction (uplink control channel). The PDSCH may be interpreted as a data channel in the DL direction (downlink data channel).
[0043] In addition to the PUCCH and the PDSCH, the physical channels may include a PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel), a PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), etc. Also, a PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) may or may not be included in the physical channels.
[0044] The amplifier unit 220 is configured by a PA (Power Amplifier) / LNA (Low Noise Amplifier), etc. The amplifier unit 220 amplifies the signal output from the modulation / demodulation unit 230 to a predetermined power level. The amplifier unit 220 also amplifies the RF signal output from the radio signal transmission / reception unit 210.
[0045] The modem unit 230 performs data modulation / demodulation, transmission power setting, resource block allocation, etc. for each predetermined communication destination (e.g., gNB 100). The modem unit 230 may apply Cyclic Prefix-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) / Discrete Fourier Transform - Spread (DFT-S-OFDM). Furthermore, DFT-S-OFDM may be used not only for the uplink (UL) but also for the downlink (DL).
[0046] The control signal and reference signal processor 240 executes processing related to various control signals transmitted and received by the UE 200 and processing related to various reference signals transmitted and received by the UE 200 .
[0047] Specifically, the control signal / reference signal processing unit 240 receives various control signals, for example, control signals of a radio resource control layer (RRC), transmitted via a predetermined control channel from the gNB 100. In addition, the control signal / reference signal processing unit 240 transmits various control signals to the gNB 100 via a predetermined control channel.
[0048] The control signal / reference signal processor 240 performs processing using reference signals (RS) such as a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) and a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS).
[0049] DMRS is a terminal-specific reference signal (pilot signal) known between the base station and the terminal to estimate the fading channel used for data demodulation, while PTRS is a terminal-specific reference signal intended to estimate phase noise, which is an issue in high frequency bands.
[0050] In addition to the DMRS and PTRS, the reference signals may also include a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), and a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) for position information.
[0051] The channels include a control channel and a data channel. The control channels may include a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a random access channel (RACH, DCI including a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI)), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), etc.
[0052] Furthermore, the data channel includes a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), etc. Data may refer to data transmitted via a data channel.
[0053] In this embodiment, the control signal and reference signal processing unit 240 may receive broadcast information in which a different setting from that for a normal UE is applied to a redcap UE (reduced capability terminal) whose capability is reduced compared to that of a normal UE (normal terminal). In this embodiment, the control signal and reference signal processing unit 240 may constitute a receiving unit.
[0054] Furthermore, control signal and reference signal processor 240 may receive broadcast information to which a common setting is applied to Normal UE and RedCap UE, which has reduced capabilities compared to Normal UE.
[0055] The broadcast information here typically corresponds to system information (SIB: System Information Block) broadcast from the network, and in particular may be an NTN-related SIB (NTN-specific SIB). However, it is not limited to such an SIB, and may be an MIB (Master Information Block) or control information of a lower layer, such as DCI.
[0056] The encoding / decoding unit 250 performs data division / concatenation and channel coding / decoding for each predetermined communication destination (gNB 100 or another gNB).
[0057] Specifically, the encoding / decoding unit 250 divides the data output from the data transmitting / receiving unit 260 into pieces of a predetermined size, performs channel coding on the divided data, decodes the data output from the modem unit 230, and concatenates the decoded data.
[0058] The data transmitter / receiver 260 transmits and receives Protocol Data Units (PDUs) and Service Data Units (SDUs). Specifically, the data transmitter / receiver 260 assembles and disassembles PDUs / SDUs in multiple layers (such as a Medium Access Control layer (MAC), a Radio Link Control layer (RLC), and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer (PDCP)). The data transmitter / receiver 260 also performs data error correction and retransmission control based on Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Hybrid ARQ).
[0059] The control unit 270 controls each functional block that configures the UE 200. In particular, in this embodiment, the control unit 270 can execute settings related to RedCap UE when using NTN.
[0060] Specifically, the control unit 270 may configure a physical channel to which a common setting is applied to a normal UE (normal terminal) and a redcap UE having reduced capabilities compared to a normal UE. Specifically, the control unit 270 may configure a PUCCH and / or a PDSCH to which a common setting is applied to a normal UE and a redcap UE.
[0061] Here, the common setting may mean that the same parameters are set for Normal UE and RedCap UE. The parameters include, for example, the number of repetitions of the physical channel, which will be described in detail later.
[0062] Alternatively, the control unit 270 may set a physical channel to which a different setting is applied to a RedCap UE having a lower capability than a Normal UE. The physical channel and parameters to be set may be the same as those when a common setting is applied, or may be partially different.
[0063] The control unit 270 may configure at least one of the PUCCH and the PDSCH, for example, with different settings for the number of repeated transmissions applied to Normal UE and RedCap UE. In this case, the configuration content of the channel when the UE 200 is a Normal UE may be different from the configuration content of the channel when the UE 200 is a RedCap UE. However, it is not excluded that the configuration content of both channels may be the same.
[0064] Furthermore, the control unit 270 may execute a setting that is applied when wireless communication passes through a non-terrestrial network (NTN) based on the broadcast information (SIB) received by the control signal and reference signal processing unit 240. Specifically, when the control signal and reference signal processing unit 240 receives an SIB (NTN-specific SIB) in which a different setting is applied to RedCap UE than to Normal UE, the control unit 270 may execute a setting that is applied to wireless communication passing through the NTN based on the setting content included in the SIB.
[0065] Alternatively, when the control signal / reference signal processing unit 240 receives an SIB (NTN-specific SIB) to which settings common to RedCap UE and Normal UE are applied in the case of going via an NTN, the control unit 270 may ignore at least a part of the settings included in the SIB and execute settings for the RedCap UE. Note that the control unit 270 may ignore at least a part of the settings included in the SIB in this way only in the case of going via an NTN, and when going via only a TN, may execute settings applied to wireless communication going via the TN based on the setting contents of the SIB.
[0066] (3) Operation of the Wireless Communication System Next, a description will be given of the operation of the wireless communication system 10. Specifically, a description will be given of the operation related to the execution of wireless communication via the NTN when the UE 200 is a Normal UE or a RedCap UE.
[0067] (3.1) Background and Issues 3GPP is considering the following items regarding RedCap UE (which may include eRedCap UE):
[0068] - Reduction of maximum bandwidth - Reduction of minimum number of receiving antennas (RX branch) / DL MIMO layers - Maximum modulation method - Half-duplexing of frequency division duplex (FDD) - Relaxation of processing time regulations - Relaxation of RRM requirements for UEs located at the center of the cell 3GPP is also considering the following NTN-specific features that may affect RedCap UEs:
[0069] - DL / UL performance common to Normal UE and RedCap UE - NTN-specific Timing Advance (TA) adjustment - Simultaneous operation of GNSS (global navigation satellite system) and Uu (UE-gNB) interface - Common TA parameters - TA update during UL repeat transmission - Two-step RACH In relation to these considerations, the following issues are expected regarding the channel (common channel) set in common for Normal UE and RedCap UE and parameters related to TA adjustment.
[0070] (i) Common Channels RedCap UEs are likely to have inferior performance in terms of antenna gain, transmission power, etc. compared to normal UEs (handheld UEs such as smartphones). To support RedCap UEs in NTN, repeated transmission of channels (repletion) in DL / UL is essential. Furthermore, due to this performance difference, the required settings for normal UEs and RedCap UEs may differ.
[0071] (ii) Common parameters related to TA adjustment Figure 4 shows an example of the formula for calculating the TA value when going through an NTN. As shown in Figure 4, when going through an NTN, the UE-specific TA (N TA, UE-specific ) and the feeder link side, specifically, the common TA (N TA, common ) is used. N TA, UE-specific may be calculated using the current location (location information) of the UE.
[0072] When using NTN, the following parameters may be included in the NTN-specific SIB (SIB19) ntn-Config for TA adjustment:
[0073] - Satellite orbit information (Satellite ephemeris) - Common TA parameters - ta-Common-r17 (Network controlled common TA value) - ta-CommonDrift-r17 (Common TA drift rate) - ta-CommonDriftVariant-r17 (Common TA drift variation) - Validity period - TA report enablement The following parameters may be set in the NTN-specific SIB.
[0074] distanceThresh-r17 (distance from the reference position of the serving cell) ntn-NeighCellConfigList-r17 (NTN neighbor cell list) ntn-NeighCellConfigListExt-v1720 (NTN neighbor cell list) For RedCap UEs, the UE operations related to the above parameters may be complicated. Below, we will explain an example operation that can solve the above-mentioned issues regarding common parameters related to common channels and TA adjustment. Note that the following example operation may be applied to the parameters included in the above NTN-specific SIB.
[0075] (3.2) Operation Overview When a RedCap UE performs wireless communication with the gNB 100 via an NTN, a channel setting common to that of a Normal UE may be applied. Also, when a RedCap UE performs wireless communication with the gNB 100 via an NTN, specific SIB parameters (NTN-specific SIBs) may be set when communicating via the NTN.
[0076] For a channel common to both Normal UE and RedCap UE (which may be interpreted as a channel to which a common configuration is applied), separate configurations for the Normal UE and RedCap UE or joint configurations (common configurations) for the Normal UE and RedCap UE may be applied. Such a method for configuring a channel common to both Normal UE and RedCap UE can clarify the configuration format of the common channel.
[0077] (3.3) Operation Example 1 In this operation example, for a common channel, either a separate configuration for a normal UE and a redcap UE or a joint configuration for a normal UE and a redcap UE may be applied. Note that the common channel is a specific physical channel, and may typically include a PUCCH and a PDSCH. Note that, as described above, in addition to the PUCCH and the PDSCH, a PRACH, a PDCCH, and a PUSCH may also be targeted. However, the PUSCH may be excluded.
[0078] 5 shows an example of a sequence between a UE and a gNB according to Operation Example 1. Specifically, any of the following settings may be applied to repeated transmission (Repetition) of a PUCCH.
[0079] (i): Joint setting between Normal UE and RedCap UE (ii): Individual setting between Normal UE and RedCap UE In this case, the range of values for the number of repeated transmissions may be different between Normal UE and RedCap UE. For example, for Normal UE, it may be 1 / 2 / 4 / 8, and for RedCap UE, it may be 1 / 2 / 4 / 8 / 12 / 16.
[0080] Regarding PUCCH repetition, the following parameters may be included:
[0081] - repetition factor (number of repetitions) - whether repetition is applied to PUCCH after PUCCH transmission of HARQ-ACK (hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement) corresponding to PDSCH scheduled by DCI CRC-scrambled by TC-RNTI (Temporary C-RNTI) and before a dedicated PUCCH setting is provided (note that repetition may be applied to PUCCH transmission of HARQ-ACK corresponding to PDSCH scheduled by DCI CRC-scrambled by TC-RNTI regardless of this parameter).
[0082] - RSRP threshold that determines whether to transmit repetition-related information (e.g., UE capabilities) via Msg3 PUSCH (or via PRACH) in the random access procedure. Also, for PDSCH, any of the following settings may be applied.
[0083] (iii) Joint setting between normal UE and RedCap UE (iv) Individual setting between normal UE and RedCap UE In this case, the range of values for the number of repeated transmissions may be different between normal UE and RedCap UE, as with PUCCH. For example, for normal UE, it may be 1 / 2 / 4 / 8, and for RedCap UE, it may be 1 / 2 / 4 / 8 / 12 / 16.
[0084] For PDSCH, the following parameters may be included:
[0085] DL aggregation / repetition, DMRS bundling (joint channel estimation), and PDSCH TBoMS. The above-mentioned PUCCH repetition and PDSCH related parameters may be determined by the network and instructed to the UE. For example, when a dedicated configuration for RedCap UE is applied, the RedCap UE may use the parameters specified by the dedicated configuration.
[0086] If the individual configuration for RedCap UE is not applied, RedCap UE (and Normal UE) may use the parameters configured for Normal UE. Note that the parameters (individual configuration or combined configuration) may be included in the NTN-specific SIB.
[0087] According to this operation example, individual configuration of the common channel can be applied, thereby optimizing performance for each Normal UE and RedCap UE individually, while joint configuration of the common channel can also be applied, thereby standardizing the configuration content and optimizing performance for each UE while reducing the configuration overhead for all types of UE.
[0088] (3.4) Operation Example 2 In this operation example, any of the following settings may be applied to the NTN-specific SIB.
[0089] (i) Separate configuration for Normal UE and RedCap UE (separate configuration) (ii): When the NTN-specific SIB indicates a joint configuration for Normal UE and RedCap UE, the RedCap UE ignores at least some of the configuration by the NTN-specific SIB Figure 6 shows an example (part 1) of a sequence between a UE and a gNB according to operation example 2. Specifically, in the case of separate configuration for Normal UE and RedCap UE, the NTN-specific SIB may include the following parameters.
[0090] ・Parameters related to TA adjustment ・Satellite orbit information (Satellite ephemeris), Common TA parameters (ta-Common / ta-CommonDrift / ta-CommonDriftVariant), validity period ・Activation of TA report ・Parameters related to measurement ・distanceThresh (distance from the reference position of the serving cell) ・NTN neighbor cell list (ntn-NeighCellConfigList, ntn-NeighCellConfigListExt) In the case of individual configuration for Normal UE and RedCap UE, for example, individual configuration (SIB) or individual parameters (NTN-Config-RedCap, etc.) may be included in the same SIB. Specifically, ntn-NeighCellConfigList may include NTN-Config of neighbor cells, and ntn-NeighCellConfigRedCapList (may be a tentative name) may include NTN-Config-RedCap (configuration for RedCap UE) of neighbor cells.
[0091] Note that the parameters defined for Normal UE may include parameters that are not defined for RedCap UE (e.g., ta-CommonDriftVariant, TA report enablement). The value range of the parameter may differ between Normal UE and RedCap UE. For example, a smaller value may be available or set compared to the configured validity period (because ta-CommonDriftVariant is unavailable).
[0092] 7 shows a sequence example (part 2) between a UE and a gNB according to operation example 2. Specifically, when an NTN-specific SIB indicates a joint configuration between a normal UE and a redcap UE, common parameters may be set between the normal UE and the redcap UE, but the redcap UE may ignore some of these parameters.
[0093] Specifically, some parameters configured for a normal UE are not used for a RedCap UE. For example, a RedCap UE may ignore ta-CommonDriftVariant (common TA is calculated using ta-Common / ta-CommonDrift, see FIG. 4 ) and TA report enablement (TA report is not performed). Furthermore, not using some of the parameters or not using any of the parameters may be configured and / or notified. For the configuration and / or notification, individual parameters in an NTN-specific SIB may be used, or individual signaling for each UE may be used.
[0094] Furthermore, with respect to the NTN-specific SIB, the individual settings for the Normal UE and the RedCap UE and the combined setting may be combined. Note that, in the combined setting, the ignoring of at least some of the settings described above may or may not be applied. Also, with respect to the NTN-specific SIB, the individual settings for the Normal UE and the RedCap UE and a setting that ignores at least some of the settings by the NTN-specific SIB may be combined. For example, the individual settings may be applied to some parameters, and a setting that ignores other parameters may be applied. Note that even when such settings are combined, or when a setting that ignores at least some of the settings by the NTN-specific SIB is applied, the individual settings may be applied to all parameters, and the setting that ignores some of the settings may not be applied.
[0095] According to this operation example, the NTN-specific SIB may be configured separately for the Normal UE and the RedCap UE. Alternatively, if the NTN-specific SIB indicates a joint configuration between the Normal UE and the RedCap UE, the RedCap UE may ignore at least some of the configuration by the NTN-specific SIB. This eliminates the need for NTN-specific operation rules for the RedCap UE, which may contribute to cost reduction for the RedCap UE.
[0096] (4) Other Embodiments Although the embodiments have been described above, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the description of the embodiments, and that various modifications and improvements are possible.
[0097] For example, in the above-described embodiment, RedCap UE and eRedCap UE are described under the assumption that they have some reduced capability, but as described above, RedCap UE and eRedCap UE do not necessarily have reduced capability and may be interpreted as UE for URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications) or IoT (Internet of Things), etc., as long as they are a specific type of UE that can be distinguished from Non-RedCap UE.
[0098] Also, in the above description, configure, activate, update, indicate, enable, specify, and select may be interchangeable. Similarly, link, associate, correspond, and map may be interchangeable, and allocate, assign, monitor, and map may be interchangeable.
[0099] Furthermore, specific, dedicated, UE-specific, and UE-dedicated may be interchangeable. Similarly, common, shared, group-common, UE-common, and UE-shared may be interchangeable.
[0100] The block diagram ( FIG. 3 ) used to explain the above-described embodiment shows functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of hardware and / or 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., wired, wireless, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may also be realized by combining software with the single device or multiple devices.
[0101] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, judgment, 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 each is implemented.
[0102] Furthermore, the above-described gNB100 and UE200 (the devices) may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the devices. As shown in Figure 8, the devices may be configured as a computer 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.
[0103] In the following description, the term "apparatus" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the apparatus may be configured to include one or more of the apparatuses shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the apparatuses.
[0104] Each functional block of the device (see FIG. 3) is realized by any hardware element of the computer device or a combination of the hardware elements.
[0105] In addition, each function of the device is realized by loading specified software (programs) onto hardware such as processor 1001 and memory 1002, causing processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication via communication device 1004, and control at least one of reading and writing data in memory 1002 and storage 1003.
[0106] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system, and may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control unit, an arithmetic unit, and registers.
[0107] 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. Furthermore, the various processes described above may be executed by a single processor 1001, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.
[0108] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured by at least one of, for example, 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 may store a program (program code), a software module, etc., capable of executing a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0109] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be, for example, at least one of an optical disk such as a Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray disc), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned recording medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other suitable medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.
[0110] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module.
[0111] The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize, for example, at least one of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD).
[0112] 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. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (e.g., a touch panel).
[0113] Furthermore, each device such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 is connected to a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.
[0114] Furthermore, the device may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.
[0115] Furthermore, the notification of information is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, the RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or the like.
[0116] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to at least one of a system using Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, a 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), a 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), a 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), an xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (where x is, for example, an integer or a decimal), Future Radio Access (FRA), New Radio (NR), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable system, and a next-generation system extended based on these. Furthermore, a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G) may also be applied.
[0117] The order of the procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be changed unless it is consistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.
[0118] In the present disclosure, a specific operation described as being performed by a base station may also be performed by its upper node in some cases. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal may be performed by at least one of the base station and another network node other than the base station (e.g., MME or 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 (e.g., MME and S-GW) may also be used.
[0119] Information, signals (information, etc.) may be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer), or may be input and output via multiple network nodes.
[0120] The input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, a memory) or may be managed using a management table. The input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. The output information may be deleted. The input information may be transmitted to another device.
[0121] 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).
[0122] The aspects / embodiments described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to explicit notification, but may be implicit (e.g., not notifying the predetermined information).
[0123] 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.
[0124] 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.
[0125] 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.
[0126] 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.
[0127] As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.
[0128] 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.
[0129] 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.
[0130] In this disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNodeB (eNB)," "gNodeB (gNB)," "access point," "transmission point," "reception point," "transmission / reception point," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.
[0131] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells (also called sectors). When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the overall coverage area of the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (Remote Radio Head: RRH)).
[0132] The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to part or all of the coverage area of a base station and / or base station subsystem that provides communication services within that coverage area.
[0133] 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.
[0134] In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," "terminal," etc. may be used interchangeably.
[0135] 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.
[0136] 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 may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile object (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may also include devices that do not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as a sensor.
[0137] Furthermore, a base station in the present disclosure may be read as a mobile station (user terminal, the same applies hereinafter). For example, the aspects / embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a mobile station is replaced with communication between multiple mobile stations (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D) or Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)). In this case, the mobile station may be configured to have the functions of a base station. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to 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 (or sidelink).
[0138] Similarly, a mobile station in the present disclosure may be interpreted as a base station, in which case the base station may have the functions of a mobile station.
[0139] 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.
[0140] Numerology may be communication parameters that apply to the transmission and / or 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.
[0141] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol, etc.) A slot may be a numerology-based time unit.
[0142] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.
[0143] 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.
[0144] For example, one subframe may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be referred to as a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be referred to as a TTI. That is, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.
[0145] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station schedules each user terminal to allocate radio resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each user terminal) in TTI units. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.
[0146] 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.
[0147] In addition, 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, and the number of slots (minislots) constituting the minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.
[0148] A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be referred to as 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 referred to as a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.
[0149] 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.
[0150] 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.
[0151] 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, each of which may consist of one or more resource blocks.
[0152] 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.
[0153] 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.
[0154] 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.
[0155] 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.
[0156] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a predetermined signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell," "carrier," etc. in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."
[0157] The above-described structures of the radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol are merely examples. For example, the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, and other configurations may be changed in various ways.
[0158] 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.
[0159] The reference signal may also be abbreviated as Reference Signal (RS) and may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.
[0160] 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."
[0161] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.
[0162] As used in this disclosure, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed therein or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.
[0163] 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.
[0164] 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.
[0165] 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.
[0166] 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."
[0167] 9 shows an example of the configuration of a vehicle 2001. As shown in Fig. 9, the vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right 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.
[0168] The drive unit 2002 is composed of, for example, 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. The electronic control unit 2010 is composed of a microprocessor 2031, memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and a communication port (IO port) 2033. Signals from various sensors 2021 to 2027 provided in the vehicle are input to the electronic control unit 2010. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).
[0169] The signals from the various sensors 2021 to 2028 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.
[0170] 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 for controlling these devices. The information service unit 2012 uses information acquired 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 1.
[0171] 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.
[0172] 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 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. The driving assistance system unit 2030 also transmits and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize driving assistance functions or autonomous driving functions.
[0173] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 1 via the communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 transmits and receives data via the communication port 2033 to and from a driving unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right rear wheels 2008, an axle 2009, a microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021 to 2028, which are provided in the vehicle 2001.
[0174] 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.
[0175] The communication module 2013 may transmit at least one of signals from the above-mentioned various sensors 2021 to 2028 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 2028, 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.
[0176] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, traffic signal information, vehicle-to-vehicle information, etc.) transmitted from external devices and displays it on an information service unit 2012 provided in the vehicle. 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 (or data / information decoded from the PDSCH) received by the communication module 2013). The communication module 2013 also stores the 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, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right rear wheels 2008, axles 2009, sensors 2021 to 2028, and the like provided in the vehicle 2001.
[0177] 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.
[0178] (Additional Note) The above disclosure may be expressed as follows: A first feature is a terminal including: a control unit that sets a physical channel to which a common setting is applied to a normal terminal and a reduced-capability terminal having reduced capabilities compared to the normal terminal; and a communication unit that performs wireless communication via a non-terrestrial network using the physical channel.
[0179] The second feature is that the terminal is equipped with a control unit that sets a physical channel to which a different setting is applied to a reduced-capability terminal having reduced capabilities compared to a normal terminal, and a communication unit that uses the physical channel to perform wireless communication via a non-terrestrial network.
[0180] A third feature based on the first or second feature is that the control unit sets at least one of an uplink control channel and a downlink data channel to which separate settings are applied for the number of repeated transmissions.
[0181] The fourth feature is a terminal that includes a receiving unit that receives notification information in which settings that are different from those applied to a reduced-capability terminal, which has reduced capabilities compared to a normal terminal, are applied to the reduced-capability terminal, and a control unit that executes settings that are applied when passing through a non-terrestrial network based on the notification information.
[0182] A fifth feature is a terminal that includes a receiving unit that receives notification information to which settings common to a normal terminal and a reduced-capability terminal with reduced capabilities compared to the normal terminal are applied, and a control unit that, when passing through a non-terrestrial network, ignores at least part of the settings and executes settings for the reduced-capability terminal.
[0183] 10 Wireless communication system 20 NG-RAN 100 gNB 100X NTN Gateway 150 Satellite 200 UE 210 Wireless signal transceiver 220 Amplifier 230 Modulation / demodulation unit 240 Control signal / reference signal processing unit 250 Encoding / decoding unit 260 Data transceiver 270 Control unit 1001 Processor 1002 Memory 1003 Storage 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device 1007 Bus 2001 Vehicle 2002 Drive unit 2003 Steering unit 2004 Accelerator pedal 2005 Brake pedal 2006 Shift lever 2007 Left and right front wheels 2008 Left and right rear wheels 2009 Axle 2010 Electronic control unit 2012 Information service unit 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 system section 2031 Microprocessor 2032 Memory (ROM, RAM) 2033 Communication port
Claims
1. A terminal comprising: a control unit that sets a physical channel to which a common setting is applied to a normal terminal and a reduced-capability terminal having reduced capabilities compared to the normal terminal; and a communication unit that uses the physical channel to perform wireless communication via a non-terrestrial network.
2. A terminal comprising: a control unit that sets a physical channel to which a different setting is applied to a reduced capability terminal having reduced capabilities compared to a normal terminal, and a communication unit that uses the physical channel to perform wireless communication via a non-terrestrial network.
3. The terminal according to claim 2, wherein the control unit sets at least one of an uplink control channel and a downlink data channel to which separate settings are applied for the number of repeated transmissions.
4. A terminal comprising: a receiving unit that receives notification information in which settings different from those applied to normal terminals are applied to reduced-capability terminals having reduced capabilities compared to normal terminals; and a control unit that executes settings to be applied when passing through a non-terrestrial network based on the notification information.
5. A terminal comprising: a receiving unit that receives notification information to which settings common to a normal terminal and a reduced-capability terminal having reduced capabilities compared to the normal terminal are applied; and a control unit that, when passing through a non-terrestrial network, ignores at least a portion of the settings and executes settings for the reduced-capability terminal.
6. A wireless communication method in a terminal, comprising: a step of setting a physical channel to which a common setting is applied to a normal terminal and a reduced capability terminal having reduced capability compared to the normal terminal; and a step of using the physical channel to perform wireless communication via a non-terrestrial network.