Method and apparatus for requesting system information in wireless communication system

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting data transmission rates higher than those of a 4G communication system such as LTE. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method and an apparatus for requesting system information in a wireless communication system can be provided. The method may comprise the steps of receiving a system information block (SIB) including system information (SI) scheduling information; and transmitting, to a base station, a message for an SI request on the basis of the SIB.

Description

Method and device for requesting system information in a wireless communication system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the operation of a terminal or a base station in a mobile communication system. More specifically, it relates to a method and device for requesting system information in a wireless communication system.

[0002] Looking back at the evolution of wireless communication over successive generations, technologies have primarily been developed for human-facing services such as voice, multimedia, and data. With the commercialization of 5G (5th-generation) communication systems, an explosive increase in connected devices is expected to be connected to communication networks. Examples of networked objects include vehicles, robots, drones, home appliances, displays, smart sensors installed in various infrastructures, construction equipment, and factory equipment. Mobile devices are expected to evolve into diverse form factors, including augmented reality glasses, virtual reality headsets, and holographic devices. In the 6th-generation (6G) era, efforts are being made to develop improved 6G communication systems to connect hundreds of billions of devices and objects and provide diverse services. For this reason, 6G communication systems are often referred to as "beyond 5G."

[0003] The 6G communication system, expected to be realized in the future, will have a maximum transmission speed of terabytes per second (i.e., 1,000 gigabits per second) and a wireless latency of 100 microseconds (μsec). In other words, compared to 5G, the transmission speed in a 6G communication system will be 50 times faster, while the wireless latency will be reduced to one-tenth.

[0004] To achieve these high data rates and ultra-low latency, 6G communication systems are being considered for implementation in the terahertz band (e.g., from 95 gigahertz (GHz) to 3 terahertz (THz)). Compared to the millimeter wave (mmWave) band introduced in 5G, the terahertz band is expected to experience more severe path loss and atmospheric absorption, making it more crucial to ensure signal reach, or coverage, in this band. Key technologies to ensure coverage include radio frequency (RF) components, antennas, new waveforms that offer better coverage than OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing), beamforming, and multiple antenna transmission technologies such as massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and large-scale antennas. In addition, new technologies such as metamaterial-based lenses and antennas, high-dimensional spatial multiplexing using orbital angular momentum (OAM), and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) are being discussed to improve the coverage of terahertz band signals.

[0005] In addition, in order to improve frequency efficiency and system network, 6G communication systems are developing full duplex technology that utilizes the same frequency resources for uplink and downlink at the same time; network technology that integrates satellites and high-altitude platform stations (HAPS); network structure innovation technology that supports mobile base stations and enables optimization and automation of network operation; dynamic spectrum sharing technology through collision avoidance based on spectrum usage prediction; AI-based communication technology that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) from the design stage and internalizes end-to-end AI support functions to realize system optimization; and next-generation distributed computing technology that realizes services with complexity that exceeds the limits of terminal computing capabilities by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources (mobile edge computing (MEC), cloud, etc.). In addition, efforts are being made to further strengthen connectivity between devices, further optimize networks, promote softwareization of network entities, and increase the openness of wireless communications through the design of new protocols to be used in 6G communication systems, the implementation of hardware-based security environments, the development of mechanisms for the safe use of data, and the development of technologies for maintaining privacy.

[0006] Research and development of these 6G communication systems are expected to enable a new level of hyper-connected experience through the hyper-connectivity of 6G communication systems, which encompass not only connections between things but also connections between people and things. Specifically, 6G communication systems are expected to enable services such as truly immersive extended reality (Truly Immersive XR), high-fidelity mobile holograms, and digital replicas. Furthermore, services such as remote surgery, industrial automation, and emergency response, which are provided through enhanced security and reliability, will find application in diverse fields such as industry, healthcare, automotive, and home appliances.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a terminal in a wireless communication system may be provided. The method may include receiving a System Information Block (SIB) containing SI (system information) scheduling information. The method may include transmitting a message for an SI request to a base station based on the SIB.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of a base station in a wireless communication system may be provided. The method may include a step of broadcasting a System Information Block (SIB) containing SI (system information) scheduling information. The method may include a step of receiving a message for an SI request from a terminal.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal may be provided in a wireless communication system. The terminal may include at least one transceiver, at least one processor connected to the at least one transceiver, and at least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions. By executing the instructions individually or in any combination by the at least one processor, the terminal may receive a System Information Block (SIB) including SI (system information) scheduling information. By executing the instructions individually or in any combination by the at least one processor, the terminal may transmit a message for an SI request to a base station.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a base station may be provided in a wireless communication system. The base station may include at least one transceiver, at least one processor connected to the at least one transceiver, and at least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions. By executing the instructions individually or in any combination by the at least one processor, the base station may broadcast a System Information Block (SIB) including SI (system information) scheduling information. By executing the instructions individually or in any combination by the at least one processor, the base station may receive a message for an SI request from a terminal.

[0011] FIG. 1a is a diagram illustrating the structure of a next-generation mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 1b is a diagram for explaining a method for providing system information in a next-generation mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 1c is a diagram for explaining a random access process in a next-generation mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 1d is a diagram for explaining a process of selecting a msg1-based or msg3-based SI request method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 1e is a diagram illustrating a msg1-based SI request process according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 1f is a diagram for explaining a msg3-based SI request process according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 1g is a diagram illustrating beams used to transmit a requested SI message in an SI request process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 1h is a diagram illustrating beams that are optionally used to transmit a requested SI message in an SI request process according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 1i is a flowchart of a terminal operation for requesting and receiving an SI message according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 1J is a flowchart of a base station operation for transmitting an SI message requested from a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the internal structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a terminal or user equipment according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] In the following description of the present invention, detailed descriptions of related known functions or configurations will be omitted if they are deemed to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

[0026] The advantages and features of the present disclosure, and methods for achieving them, will become clearer with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms. These embodiments are provided only to ensure that the disclosure of the present disclosure is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the disclosure, and the present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification. In addition, the terms described below are terms defined in consideration of the functions of the present disclosure and may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user or operator. Therefore, the definitions should be made based on the contents throughout the specification. Terms used in the following description, such as terms for identifying connection nodes, terms referring to network entities, terms referring to messages, terms referring to interfaces between network entities, and terms referring to various identification information, are examples for the convenience of explanation. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the terms described below, and other terms with equivalent technical meanings may be used. Furthermore, where appropriate, these terms may be replaced with terms defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) Technical Specifications (TS).

[0027] Hereinafter, the base station is an entity that performs resource allocation of a terminal, and may be at least one of a gNode B (gNB), an eNode B (eNB), a Node B, a BS (Base Station), a radio access unit, a base station controller, or a node on a network. In addition, the base station of the present disclosure may include a structure that is split into a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). In this structure, the CU is responsible for upper layers of the control and user planes, and the DU is responsible for radio resource processing of lower layers. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be equally applied to a 5G base station structure in which functions are separated into the CU and DU.

[0028] The terminal may include a UE (User Equipment), an MS (Mobile Station), a cellular phone, a smartphone, a computer, or a multimedia system capable of performing communication functions.

[0029] In the present disclosure, downlink (DL) refers to a wireless transmission path of a signal transmitted from a base station to a terminal, and uplink (UL) refers to a wireless transmission path of a signal transmitted from a terminal to a base station. In addition, although LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), 5G (5th-generation) system 5G-A (5G-advanced) system, or 6G (6th-generation) system may be described below as an example, embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applied to other communication systems having similar technical backgrounds or channel types.

[0030] For example, the 5th generation mobile communication technology (5G, new radio, NR) developed after LTE-A may be included in a system to which the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied, and the 5G or 6G of the present disclosure may be a concept that includes existing LTE, LTE-A, 5G-A, and other similar services. In addition, the present disclosure may be applied to other communication systems through some modifications within a scope that does not significantly deviate from the scope of the present disclosure, as determined by a person having skilled technical knowledge. In this case, it will be understood that each block of the processing flow diagrams and combinations of the flow diagrams may be performed by computer program instructions.

[0031] These computer program instructions may be installed in a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment create means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s). These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-available or computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to perform functions in a particular manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-available or computer-readable memory can produce an article of manufacture that includes instruction means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s). The computer program instructions may also be installed on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, so that a series of operations or steps are performed on the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable data processing equipment can provide operations or steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0032] Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that contains one or more executable instructions for executing a specific logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementation examples, the functions mentioned in the blocks may occur out of order. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially simultaneously, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order depending on the corresponding function. In this case, the term '~unit' used in the present embodiment means software or a hardware component such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and the '~unit' may perform certain roles. However, the '~unit' is not limited to software or hardware. The '~unit' may be configured to be on an addressable storage medium and may be configured to execute one or more processors. Thus, as an example, the '~ unit' includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functionality provided within the components and '~ units' may be combined into a smaller number of components and '~ units' or further separated into additional components and '~ units'. In addition, the components and '~ units' may be implemented to reproduce one or more CPUs within a device or a secure multimedia card. Also, in an embodiment, the '~ unit' may include one or more processors.

[0033] As described above, it should be noted that the blocks and combinations of flowcharts described in the present disclosure may be implemented by one or more computer programs containing instructions. One or more computer programs may be stored entirely in a single memory device, or one or more computer programs may be divided and stored in different portions across multiple memory devices.

[0034] Additionally, any / any function or operation described in the present disclosure may be processed by a single processor or a combination of processors. The single processor or the combination of processors may include circuitry that performs processing, such as an application processor (AP, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)), a communication processor (CP, e.g., a modem), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU) (e.g., an artificial intelligence (AI) chip), a Wi-Fi chip, a Bluetooth® chip, a global positioning system (GPS) chip, a near-field communication (NFC) chip, a connectivity chip, a sensor controller, a touch controller, a fingerprint sensor controller, a display driver integrated circuit (IC), an audio codec (CODEC) chip, a universal serial bus (USB) controller, a camera controller, an image processing IC, a microprocessor unit (MPU), a system on a chip (SoC), an IC, or similar circuitry.

[0035] It should also be noted that the various embodiments in the claims and description of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0036] Such software may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores one or more computer programs (software modules), wherein the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions that, when executed alone or collectively by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform a method according to the present disclosure.

[0037] The software may be stored in a temporary or non-transitory storage device, for example, in the form of a read-only memory (ROM) (whether erasable or rewritable), a random access memory (RAM), a memory chip, a device, or an integrated circuit (IC). The software may also be stored in an optically or magnetically readable medium, for example, a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a magnetic disk, or a magnetic tape. It should be understood that the storage device and the storage medium are examples of non-transitory machine-readable storage media suitable for storing a program for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, various embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a program comprising code for implementing a device or method according to any one of the claims of the present specification, and a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing such a program.

[0038] All functions or operations described in this document may be performed by a single processor or a combination of processors. A single processor or a combination of processors is a circuitry that performs processing, and may include circuitry such as an Application Processor (AP), a Communication Processor (CP), a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), a Microprocessor Unit (MPU), a System on Chip (SoC), an Integrated Chip (IC), or an AI accelerator.

[0039] The expression “configured to” used in the present disclosure can be used interchangeably with, for example, “suitable for”, “having the capacity to”, “designed to”, “adapted to”, “made to”, or “capable of”, depending on the context.

[0040] The term "configured (or set up) to" may not necessarily mean "specifically designed to" hardware. Instead, in some contexts, the phrase "a system configured to" may mean that the system, in conjunction with other devices or components, is "capable of" doing something.

[0041] For example, the phrase "a processor configured (or set) to perform A, B, and C" may include a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor) for performing those operations, or a generic-purpose processor (e.g., a CPU or application processor) that enables the device to perform those operations by executing one or more program codes, instructions, or software stored in memory.

[0042] Singular expressions may include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art described herein.

[0043] For convenience of explanation, the present invention uses terms and names defined in the 5GS and NR standards, which are standards defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) among the existing communication standards. However, the present invention is not limited to the above terms and names and can be equally applied to wireless communication networks that follow other standards. For example, the present invention can be applied to the 3GPP 5GS / NR (5th generation mobile communication standard).

[0044] In the present disclosure, determining the priority between A and B may be referred to in various ways, such as selecting a higher priority according to a predetermined priority rule and performing an action corresponding to it, or omitting or dropping an action for a lower priority.

[0045] Hereinafter, 'A or B' described in the present disclosure may be understood as 'A and / or B', which may be understood to include 'A', or 'B', or 'A and B'.

[0046] Additionally, 'at least one of A, B, and C' described in the present disclosure may be understood to include 'A', or 'B', or 'C', or 'any combination of A, B, and C'.

[0047] Additionally, 'at least one of A, B, or C' described in the present disclosure may be understood to include 'A', or 'B', or 'C', or 'any combination of A, B, and C'.

[0048] Additionally, 'A / B' described in the present disclosure may be understood as 'A and / or B', which may be understood to include 'A', or 'B', or 'A and B'.

[0049] Additionally, 'A, B' described in the present disclosure may be understood as 'A and / or B', which may be understood to include 'A', or 'B', or 'A and B'.

[0050] Additionally, 'A and B' described in the present disclosure may be understood as 'A and / or B', which may be understood to include 'A', or 'B', or 'A and B'.

[0051] In addition, it can be understood that the 'case where conditions A and B are satisfied' described in the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to the case where both conditions A and B are satisfied, but may include the case where each of conditions A or B is satisfied, the case where both conditions A and B are satisfied, or the case where one or more additional conditions are satisfied together.

[0052] Additionally, throughout this specification, ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third," and the like (and modifiers thereof) are used solely to distinguish between various instances, occurrences, configurations, messages, stages, or aspects of elements, operations, or information, as described below. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the use of such ordinal terms does not require that the elements, operations, or information distinguished by them be structurally, numerically, or inherently different. For example, "a first signal" and "a second signal" may represent instances of the same signal transmitted at different times, may represent signals containing the same core information albeit with some modifications, or may represent signals having different content or characteristics depending on the specific context. Similarly, "a first value" and "a second value" may represent measurements or applications of the same magnitude in different circumstances, or may represent different magnitudes. Such interpretation should be determined by the specific technical context, functions and relationships described in the relevant portions of the specification and claims.

[0053] Furthermore, although terms such as "first" and "second" described in this disclosure are used to refer to various elements such as information, objects, actions, and sequences, they are not intended to limit such elements to a specific order. These terms may be understood to be used merely to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element.

[0054] Additionally, it may be understood that the terms "first~" and "second~" described in this disclosure may refer to the same or different elements. For example, if the elements are information, the first information and the second information may both be information, and in some cases, they may be the same information or different information.

[0055] In addition, the expressions "if" and "in case that" described in the present disclosure or claims may be interpreted to mean "when or upon," "in response to," or "based on," or "according to," depending on the context, and these expressions may be used interchangeably. In addition, in addition to these expressions, other expressions having substantially the same meaning may be used interchangeably, within the scope that does not impair the technical features of the present disclosure.

[0056] Additionally, the term "not perform" as used in this disclosure or claims may be understood to mean omitting or skipping a step, depending on the context. Such terms may be replaced with other terms having the same or substantially similar meaning.

[0057] Additionally, "transmitting a message including A and B" as described herein may be interpreted to include both (i) cases where A and B are transmitted in a single message, as well as (ii) cases where A and B are transmitted individually via multiple messages (e.g., transmitting a first message including A and a second message including B). This interpretation may also apply when a message including two or more items, such as A, B, and C, is transmitted together or individually.

[0058] Additionally, 'sending a message containing A and sending a message containing B' can also be interpreted as sending a single message containing A and B.

[0059] In the specific embodiments of the present disclosure described below, terms or components included in the disclosure will be expressed in the singular or plural, depending on the specific embodiment presented. However, the singular or plural expressions are selected to suit the presented situation for convenience of explanation, and the present disclosure is not limited to singular or plural components. Components expressed in the plural may be composed of singular elements, or components expressed in the singular may be composed of plural elements.

[0060] The drawings or flowcharts described below illustrate exemplary methods that may be implemented according to the principles of the present disclosure, and various modifications may be made to the methods depicted in the flowcharts of the present disclosure. For example, although depicted as a series of steps, various steps in each drawing or flowchart may overlap, occur in parallel, occur in different orders, or occur multiple times. In other instances, any step may be omitted or replaced with another step.

[0061] The methods and devices proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to each embodiment, and may be utilized as a combination of one or more embodiments, all or part of the embodiments proposed in the disclosure. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied with some modifications within a scope that does not significantly deviate from the scope of the present disclosure, as determined by a person skilled in the art.

[0062] In this case, even if any wording is mentioned in different embodiments, if the concepts correspond, they may be used interchangeably, combined, or substituted. For example, for identical or corresponding concepts, even if one embodiment uses the expression "A" and another embodiment uses the expression "B," these may be understood interchangeably, substituted, or combined.

[0063] In the following description of the present disclosure, upper layer signaling may be signaling corresponding to at least one or a combination of one or more of MIB (master information block), SIB (system information block), SIB M (M=1, 2, …), RRC (radio resource control), MAC (medium access control) CE (control element), NAS (non-access stratum) signaling, or application layer messages. The RRC signaling may also be referred to as L3 signaling (layer 3 signaling).

[0064] In addition, L1 signaling may be signaling corresponding to at least one or a combination of one or more signaling methods using a physical layer channel or signaling of PDCCH (physical downlink control channel), DCI (downlink control information), UE-specific DCI, group common DCI, common DCI, scheduling DCI (e.g., DCI used for the purpose of scheduling downlink or uplink data), non-scheduling DCI (e.g., DCI not for the purpose of scheduling downlink or uplink data), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or uplink control information (UCI). The L1 signaling may also be referred to as physical layer signaling.

[0065] Hereinafter, the expression that information can be configured from a base station in the present disclosure or claims may mean that a terminal receives the information from the base station through physical layer signaling or upper layer signaling, depending on the context, and such expression may be replaced with other terms having the same or substantially similar meaning.

[0066] The operating principle of the present disclosure is described in detail with reference to the attached drawings below.

[0067] FIG. 1a is a diagram illustrating the structure of a next-generation mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0068] Referring to Fig. 1a, as illustrated, a wireless access network of a next-generation mobile communication system (New Radio, NR) is composed of a next-generation base station (New Radio Node B, hereinafter referred to as gNB) (1a-10) and an AMF (1a-05, New Radio Core Network). A user terminal (New Radio User Equipment, hereinafter referred to as NR UE or terminal) (1a-15) accesses an external network through the gNB (1a-10) and the AMF (1a-05).

[0069] In Figure 1a, the gNB can correspond to the eNB (Evolved Node B) of the existing LTE system. The gNB is connected to the NR UE via a wireless channel and can provide superior service than the existing Node B (1a-20). In the next-generation mobile communication system, since all user traffic is serviced through a shared channel, a device that collects status information such as the buffer status of UEs, available transmission power status, and channel status and performs scheduling is required, and this is handled by the gNB (1a-10). A single gNB typically controls multiple cells. In order to implement ultra-high-speed data transmission compared to the existing LTE, it can have a bandwidth higher than the existing maximum, and beamforming technology can be additionally incorporated using the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) as a wireless access technology. In addition, an adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) method is applied, which determines the modulation scheme and channel coding rate according to the channel status of the terminal.

[0070] The AMF (1a-05) performs functions such as mobility support, bearer setup, and QoS setup. The AMF is a device that handles various control functions as well as mobility management for terminals and is connected to multiple base stations. Furthermore, the next-generation mobile communication system can also be interoperable with the existing LTE system, and the AMF is connected to the MME (1a-25) via a network interface. The MME is connected to the existing base station, the eNB (1a-30). Terminals that support LTE (E-UTRA)-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) can transmit and receive data while maintaining connections to both the gNB and the eNB (1a-35).

[0071] FIG. 1b is a diagram for explaining a method for providing system information in a next-generation mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0072] In a next-generation mobile communication system, system information broadcast by a base station (1b-10) is broadly divided into minimum SI (system information) and other system information. The minimum SI may be broadcast periodically (1b-15). The minimum SI may include configuration information required for initial access and SI scheduling information required to receive other SI broadcast periodically or on a request basis. MIB and SIB1 belong to the minimum SI.

[0073] Basically, the other SI includes all configuration information not included in the minimum SI. The other SI may be broadcast periodically (1b-20). Alternatively, the other SI may be broadcast based on a terminal request or provided to the terminal using dedicated signaling (1b-25).

[0074] When a terminal requests and receives other SI, the terminal needs to check whether the other SI is valid in the cell or whether the other SI is currently being broadcast (at the request of another terminal) before performing the request. This check is possible through specific information provided by the minimum SI.

[0075] A terminal in standby mode (RRC_IDLE) or inactive mode (RRC_INACTIVE) can request other SI without changing the current RRC state. A terminal in connected mode (RRC_CONNECTED) can request and receive other SI through dedicated RRC signaling. The other SI is broadcasted for a set period at set intervals. Public warning system (PWS) information is provided as classified other SI. Whether the other SI is broadcast or provided to the terminal through dedicated RRC signaling is a network implementation decision.

[0076] Another feature of other SIs in next-generation mobile communication systems is that they can notify the UE through SIB1 that the same information is being broadcast in neighboring cells for each SIB. This prevents the unnecessary operation of re-acquiring SIBs with identical information when the UE moves to a neighboring cell. SIB1 uses the areaScope field for each SIB belonging to other SIs, excluding MIB and SIB1, to indicate that it is an area-based SIB that can have the same information as the neighboring cell. In addition, SIB1 also provides the area ID of the corresponding cell, systemInformationAreaID. After moving to a neighboring cell, if the area ID provided in the SIB1 broadcast by the neighboring cell has the same value, there is no need to re-acquire the area-based SIB.

[0077] FIG. 1c is a diagram for explaining a random access process in a next-generation mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0078] Random access is performed when uplink synchronization is achieved or when data is transmitted to the network. For example, random access may be performed during at least one of the following: transition from standby mode to connected mode, RRC re-establishment, handover, or the start of uplink or downlink data.

[0079] When the terminal (1c-05) receives a dedicated preamble from the base station (1c-10), the terminal (1c-05) can apply the preamble and transmit the preamble to the base station (1c-10). Otherwise (e.g., when the dedicated preamble is not received), the terminal (1c-05) selects one of two preamble groups and selects a preamble belonging to the selected group. The groups are referred to as group A and group B. If the channel quality condition is better than a specific threshold and the size of msg 3 is greater than a specific threshold, the preamble belonging to group B is selected, otherwise, the preamble belonging to group A is selected. The terminal (1c-05) can transmit the preamble to the base station (1c-10) in the nth subframe (1c-15).

[0080] If the above preamble is transmitted in the nth subframe, the terminal (1c-05) can start the RAR window from the n+3rd subframe. The terminal (1c-05) can monitor whether the RAR is transmitted within the window time period (1c-20). The scheduling information of the RAR is indicated by the RA-RNTI of the PDCCH. The RA-RNTI is derived using the time used to transmit the preamble and the radio resource location on the frequency axis. The RAR includes a Timing Advance Command, an UL grant, and a temporary C-RNTI. If the RAR is successfully received in the RAR window, the terminal (1c-05) can transmit msg3 to the base station (1c-10) using the UL grant information included in the RAR (1c-25). Msg3 includes different information depending on the purpose of the random access. The following [Table 1] is an example of the information included in msg 3.

[0081] CASE Message 3 Contents RRC CONNECTION SETUP CCCH SDURRC RE-ESTABLISHMENT CCCH SDU, BSR (if grant is enough), PHR (if triggered & grant is enough) Handover (random preamble) C-RNTI CE, BSR, PHR, (part of) DCCH SDU Handover (dedicate preamble) BSR, PHR , (part of) DCCH SDUUL resumeC-RNTI CE, BSR, PHR, (part of) DCCH / DTCH SDUPDCCH order (random preamble)C-RNTI CE, BSR, PHR, (part of) DCCH / DTCH SDUPDCCH order (dedicate preamble)BSR, PHR, (part of) DCCH / DTCH SDU

[0082] If Msg3 is received in the nth subframe, it is transmitted in the (n+6th) subframe. HARQ is applied from Msg3. After transmitting Msg3, the terminal (1c-05) starts a specific timer, and monitors the Contention Resolution (CR) message until the timer expires (1c-30). In addition to the CR MAC CE, the CR message includes an RRC Connection Setup or RRC Connection Reestablishment message depending on the purpose of random access.

[0083] FIG. 1d is a diagram for explaining a process of selecting a msg1-based or msg3-based SI request method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0084] To request system information other than minimum SI (MIB, SIB1), the terminal uses random access. Using msg1 (preamble) or msg3, the terminal requests the network for the SI (System Information) message it wishes to receive. The SI message consists of one or more SIBs, and which SIBs are included in an SI message is determined by the base station implementation.

[0085] In operation 1d-05, the terminal can determine whether the periodically broadcast MIB or SIB1 includes PRACH resource information that can be used for SI request. The PRACH resource information may include preamble ID (or index) information (prach-ConfigIndex) used in the SI request and radio resource information that can transmit the preamble. If the PRACH resource information or preamble configuration information for the SI request is included, the terminal can request system information other than minimum SI using msg1 dedicated to the SI request in operation 1d-10. Otherwise (e.g., if the information is not included), the terminal can request system information other than minimum SI using msg3 in operation 1d-15. At this time, the terminal transmits a preamble used in normal random access.

[0086] FIG. 1e is a diagram illustrating a msg1-based SI request process according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0087] The base station (1e-10) can provide the terminal (1e-05) with the necessary configuration information in the msg1-based SI request process using predetermined system information (e.g., SIB1) (1e-15). The configuration information includes information on which SI message each preamble allocated for the SI request can be used to request. The system information may include SI-RequestConfig, si-RequestConfigSUL, etc. If the configuration information or information on which SI message each preamble can be used to request is not provided, the preamble(s) allocated for the SI request are considered to be used to request all SI messages that are not currently being broadcast. Scheduling information for each SI message and whether each SI message is currently being broadcast are provided to the terminal via SIB1.

[0088] The terminal can determine whether it needs to obtain a given SI message that is not currently being broadcast (1e-20). If the terminal needs to obtain a given SI message that is not currently being broadcast and the terminal has received configuration information related to the msg1-based SI request, the terminal can trigger the msg1-based SI request process (1e-25).

[0089] The terminal may transmit a preamble corresponding to the requested SI message to the base station (1e-30). The base station, which has successfully received the preamble, may transmit a RAR message to the terminal (1e-35). The RAR message may only include RAPID. If information regarding which SI message each preamble can be used to request is not provided, the preamble(s) allocated for the SI request may be considered to be used to request all SI messages that are not currently being broadcast.

[0090] The base station may broadcast the SI message requested by the terminal. The terminal, upon receiving the RAR, may consider that the SI request has been successfully delivered to the base station (1e-40). Using the scheduling information of the requested SI message included in the SIB1, the terminal may receive the requested SI message (1e-45).

[0091] FIG. 1f is a diagram for explaining a msg3-based SI request process according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0092] The base station (1f-10) can provide scheduling information for each SI message and whether each SI message is currently being broadcast to the terminal (1f-05) using predetermined system information (e.g., SIB1) (1f-15). In this case, the SIB1 does not include configuration information related to the msg1-based SI request.

[0093] The terminal can determine whether it needs to obtain a given SI message that is not currently being broadcast (1f-20). If the terminal needs to obtain a given SI message that is not currently being broadcast and the terminal has not received configuration information related to the msg1-based SI request, the terminal can trigger a msg3-based SI request process (1f-25).

[0094] The terminal can transmit a predetermined preamble to the base station (1f-30). The base station that successfully receives the preamble can transmit an RAR message to the terminal (1f-35). The terminal that receives the RAR can report msg3 to the base station using the UL grant (uplink scheduling information) indicated by the RAR (1f-40). The msg3 includes an RRCSystemInfoRequest message. The RRC message stores a list of SI messages requested by the terminal. In the Rel-16 NR standard, a Positioning-related SI message (PosSI) was also introduced, and the terminal can request a Positioning-related SI message that is not being broadcast from the base station through the RRC message. The base station that receives the msg3 can transmit a msg4 message to the terminal (1f-45). The base station can broadcast the SI message requested by the terminal. The terminal that received the above msg4 can consider that the random access process has been successfully completed (1f-50). The terminal can receive the requested SI message from the base station (1f-55).

[0095] FIG. 1g is a diagram illustrating beams used to transmit a requested SI message in an SI request process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0096] A terminal (1g-10) that has entered the service area of ​​a given cell (1g-05) can request system information from the cell according to the procedure described above. The cell can broadcast system information through multiple downlink beams. Each beam is used to provide predetermined downlink information to terminals located in a part of the service area of ​​the cell. In each beam, a corresponding reference signal, i.e., a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or CSI-RS, is periodically transmitted, and the reference signal also serves to indicate each beam. Each reference signal is indicated by a predetermined index value. SSB is used for terminals in all RRC states, and CSI-RS is used for terminals in connected mode (RRC_CONNECTED).

[0097] If the terminal requests the cell for a specific SI message it needs using a predetermined preamble or a predetermined RRC message contained in MSG3, the cell broadcasts the requested SI message (1g-15) using the beams (1g-20) it provides. At this time, the cell sets a predetermined field (e.g., si-BroadcastStatus field) included in SIB1 to a value of 'broadcasting'. The si-BroadcastStatus field corresponding to each SI message is used to indicate whether the SI message is currently being broadcast. Since the si-BroadcastStatus field present for each SI message is not defined in SIB1 so as to be able to indicate for each beam mentioned above, the cell can set the si-BroadcastStatus field corresponding to the SI message to 'broadcasting' when the SI message requested by the terminal is broadcast on all beams.

[0098] In current standard technology, a base station broadcasts a requested SI message across all beams, regardless of the location of the terminal requesting the SI message. This can result in unnecessary power consumption at the base station. To reduce base station power consumption, this embodiment proposes a method for spatially selectively broadcasting system information. This embodiment refers to this as spatial SI broadcast.

[0099] In the current standard, if the terminal fails to receive the requested SI message, subsequent terminal actions are determined by the terminal implementation. In the current standard, when the terminal requests a specific SI message from the base station, the terminal performs an operation to receive the requested SI message in the SI-windows corresponding to the requested SI message within the current SI modification period. At this time, if the terminal does not successfully receive the requested SI message by the arrival of the next SI modification period, the subsequent terminal actions are implemented. However, this method may cause the terminal to take a long time to successfully receive the required SI message. Such delay is undesirable when supporting delay-sensitive XR services. Moreover, since a technology to provide even SIB1 on a terminal request basis for network energy saving (NES) is being discussed recently, a method for quickly obtaining SI is needed when an SI request fails. Therefore, this embodiment proposes a method in which the terminal re-performs the SI request operation or performs cell reselection according to certain conditions. This SI request retry is also useful for the spatial SI broadcast proposed in this embodiment. For example, since a terminal may always be mobile, there may be limitations in successfully receiving SI through the optimal downlink beam. If SI acquisition fails, the terminal may request SI again.

[0100] FIG. 1h is a diagram illustrating beams that are optionally used to transmit a requested SI message in an SI request process according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0101] In the present embodiment, when a terminal requests SI message(s) from a base station, the requested SI message(s) are not broadcast through all downlink transmission beams of a serving cell, but, for the purpose of reducing power consumption of the serving base station, the serving cell selects some downlink beam(s) from among all beams, considering the uplink reception beam(s) through which the preamble or msg3 for the purpose of the SI request is received, and the requested SI message is broadcast through the downlink beam(s). In addition, it is proposed to introduce a new indicator to SIB1 that indicates through which beam the SI message is being broadcast.

[0102] A terminal (1h-10) that has entered the service area of ​​a given cell (1h-05) can request system information from the cell according to the procedure described above. In order to request a given SI message(s) (1h-25), the terminal transmits a corresponding msg1 to the cell, or transmits an msg3 containing an RRC message including information indicating the requested SI message(s) to the cell.

[0103] The cell, which has received msg1 or msg3 for the purpose of requesting SI from the terminal, implementally selects at least one downlink transmission beam(s) (1h-10, 1h-20) corresponding to the uplink beam through which the msg1 or msg3 was received. The cell broadcasts the SI message(s) requested by the terminal only through the selected downlink beam. The downlink beam corresponding to the uplink beam means a downlink beam having a radiation direction identical to or close to the beam radiation direction of the uplink beam. Therefore, if the cell broadcasts the requested SI message through the downlink transmission beam corresponding to the uplink beam through which the msg1 or msg3 was received, the probability that the terminal receives the transmitted SI message may be highest. Selection of multiple downlink beams may be determined by the implementation of the cell. In addition, the cell may select multiple downlink transmission beams corresponding to the uplink beam that received msg1 or msg3, taking into account the movement characteristics of the terminal (movement speed or movement direction, etc.). The cell may select multiple beams in an order similar to the radiation pattern of the uplink beam. This will increase the probability that the terminal will successfully receive the requested SI message.

[0104] The above cell broadcasts SIB1 or predetermined system information including information indicating which beam a specific SI message is being broadcast through. For example, SIB1 may include, for each SI message, a list of SSB indexes on which the SI message is being broadcast. Alternatively, SIB1 may include, for each SSB, a list of SI messages currently being broadcast. The information allows the terminal to determine whether the required SI message is being broadcast on its best beam or a beam that satisfies a predetermined signal strength. If the required SI message is being broadcast on a beam other than the best beam or a beam that satisfies the predetermined signal strength, or is not being broadcast on any beam, the terminal will trigger a predetermined SI request operation of the present disclosure.

[0105] As previously mentioned, the terminal may not successfully obtain the requested SI message (or SIB1) during a single SI modification period. Therefore, the present embodiment proposes a method for the terminal to re-request the SI message (or SIB1) or perform cell reselection using the following options.

[0106] - Option 1: The terminal starts a timer when transmitting msg1 or msg3 for the purpose of requesting SI. Alternatively, the timer may be started when a random access procedure is triggered for the purpose of requesting SI. The timer is stopped when the requested SI message is successfully received. If the timer expires, the terminal may perform the SI request operation again. If the repeatedly attempted SI request operation fails a preset or predetermined number of times, or if the SI request is retried for a predetermined period of time after the timer expires but fails, the terminal may perform a cell reselection operation. For example, a failure of an SI request operation may mean a final failure to receive the requested SI message within a predetermined period of time, such as an SI modification period. The terminal may perform a cell reselection operation immediately when the first SI request operation fails. In particular, since SIB1 contains essential system information, the terminal may perform a cell reselection operation immediately if it does not successfully receive the requested SIB1 within a predetermined period of time after the request. At this time, the terminal may regard the cell that requested SI as a barred cell for a predetermined period of time.

[0107] - Option 2: If the terminal does not successfully receive the requested SI message(s) by the time the next SI modification period arrives, the terminal may perform the SI request operation again. If the repeated SI request operation fails a preset or predetermined number of times, or if the SI request is retried but fails for a predetermined period of time after the expiration of a timer (e.g., the timer in the first option), the terminal may perform a cell reselection operation. For example, the failure of an SI request operation may mean a final failure to receive the requested SI message within a predetermined period of time, such as the SI modification period. The terminal may perform the cell reselection operation immediately when the first SI request operation fails. In particular, since SIB1 contains essential system information, the terminal may perform the cell reselection operation immediately if it does not successfully receive the requested SIB1 within a predetermined period of time after making the request. In this case, the terminal may regard the cell from which the SI was requested as a barred cell for a predetermined period of time.

[0108] - Option 3: After the SI request, the terminal checks through SIB1 whether the SI message(s) it requested are currently being broadcast after a preset or defined time or at a predetermined point in time (e.g., at the start of the next SI modification period). If, through a predetermined IE or field included in SIB1, it determines that the requested SI message is not being broadcast, or the requested SI message is not being broadcast on a downlink beam that provides a signal strength that does not exceed the best beam or a specific signal strength threshold from the terminal's perspective, the terminal may perform the SI request operation again. If the SI message is being broadcast but the terminal has not yet successfully received the requested SI message, the operation of receiving the SI message may continue until a predetermined point in time. If the repeated SI request operation has failed a preset or determined number of times, or if the SI request has been retried for a predetermined time after the timer has expired but failed, the terminal may perform a cell reselection operation. For example, failure of one SI request operation may mean final failure to receive the requested SI message within a predetermined time period, such as an SI modification period. The terminal may immediately perform a cell reselection operation when the first SI request operation fails. In particular, since SIB1 contains essential system information, the terminal may immediately perform a cell reselection operation if it fails to successfully receive the requested SIB1 within a predetermined time period after making the request. In this case, the terminal may regard the cell from which the SI was requested as a barred cell for a predetermined time period.

[0109] For some terminals, they may move very quickly. In such cases, if the spatial SI broadcast is applied, the terminal may leave the area covered by the beam(s) through which the requested SI message is broadcast. Therefore, in such cases, it may be advantageous for the terminal to broadcast the requested SI message through all downlink beams as before. In the present embodiment, the terminal can request the base station to broadcast the requested SI message through all downlink beams. For this purpose, a specific preamble may be defined, or a new indicator indicating this may be defined in the RRC message included in msg3.

[0110] If a separate preamble or new RRC signaling for the above spatial SI broadcast purpose is introduced, the existing preamble and RRC signaling for the SI request purpose can be used for the purpose of requesting the base station to broadcast the requested SI message through all downlink beams.

[0111] To reduce base station power consumption, SIB1 can also be provided to terminals on-demand. That is, the base station broadcasts SIB1 only during a specified time interval based on terminal requests.

[0112] If the on-demand SIB1 is introduced to terminals in standby or inactive mode, a new 1-bit indicator indicating whether the SIB1 is being broadcast can be defined in the MIB. In the dual connectivity state, the PSCell of the SN can also provide on-demand SIB1. At this time, the indicator information indicating whether the SIB1 is being broadcast in the PSCell can be provided to the terminal from a predetermined serving cell of the MN. The terminal can directly request SIB1 from the PSCell through a msg1-based or msg3-based SI request operation. If the terminal fails to acquire the SIB1 from the PSCell, the terminal can report the failure status to a predetermined serving cell of the MN, for example, the PCell.

[0113] FIG. 1i is a flowchart of a terminal operation for requesting and receiving an SI message according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0114] In operation 1i-05, the terminal may receive SIB1 including SI scheduling information from the base station. The SI scheduling information may include SSB index list information on which each SI message is being broadcast. Alternatively, the SI scheduling information may provide SI message list information on which SI messages are being broadcast for each SSB.

[0115] In action 1i-10, the terminal may initiate or trigger an SI request action.

[0116] In action 1i-15, the terminal can trigger a msg1-based or msg3-based SI request action.

[0117] In operation 1i-20, the terminal may consider the SI request to have failed according to a predetermined rule. For example, in the above-mentioned case (in the case of the first option, the second option, or the third option), the terminal may consider the SI request to have failed. For example, if the requested SI message(s) are not received by the arrival of the next SI modification period, the terminal may consider this as an SI request failure.

[0118] In operation 1i-25, when the SI request fails, the terminal may re-perform the SI request or perform a cell reselection operation. If the terminal has not received the requested SI message even after performing the SI request operation a preset or defined number of times, the terminal may regard the cell from which the SI message was requested as barred for a predetermined period of time and perform cell reselection. The terminal may also perform the cell reselection operation immediately when the first SI request operation fails. In this case, the terminal may regard the cell from which the SI was requested as a barred cell for a predetermined period of time.

[0119] FIG. 1J is a flowchart of a base station operation for transmitting an SI message requested from a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0120] In operation 1j-05, the base station broadcasts SIB1 including SI scheduling information. The SI scheduling information may include a list of SSB indexes for each SI message being broadcast. Alternatively, the SI scheduling information may provide a list of SI messages being broadcast for each SSB.

[0121] In operation 1j-10, the base station can receive a preamble or msg3 for SI request purpose from a specific uplink reception beam.

[0122] In operation 1j-15, the base station may broadcast the requested SI message using at least one downlink transmission beam corresponding to the uplink reception beam.

[0123] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the internal structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2, the terminal may include an RF (Radio Frequency) processing unit (1x-10), a baseband processing unit (1x-20), a storage unit (1x-30), and a control unit (1x-40).

[0124] The RF processing unit (1x-10) performs functions for transmitting and receiving signals through a wireless channel, such as signal band conversion and amplification. That is, the RF processing unit (1x-10) up-converts the baseband signal provided from the baseband processing unit (1x-20) into an RF band signal and transmits it through an antenna, and down-converts the RF band signal received through the antenna into a baseband signal. For example, the RF processing unit (1x-10) may include a transmission filter, a reception filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a digital to analog convertor (DAC), an analog to digital convertor (ADC), etc. In the drawing, only one antenna is illustrated, but the terminal may be equipped with multiple antennas. In addition, the RF processing unit (1x-10) may include multiple RF chains. Furthermore, the RF processing unit (1x-10) may perform beamforming. For the above beamforming, the RF processing unit (1x-10) can adjust the phase and size of each signal transmitted and received through multiple antennas or antenna elements. In addition, the RF processing unit can perform MIMO and can receive multiple layers when performing the MIMO operation.

[0125] The baseband processing unit (1x-20) performs a conversion function between a baseband signal and a bit stream according to the physical layer specifications of the system. For example, when transmitting data, the baseband processing unit (1x-20) generates complex symbols by encoding and modulating a transmission bit stream. In addition, when receiving data, the baseband processing unit (1x-20) restores the reception bit stream by demodulating and decoding the baseband signal provided from the RF processing unit (1x-10). For example, in the case of OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) method, when transmitting data, the baseband processing unit (1x-20) generates complex symbols by encoding and modulating a transmission bit stream, maps the complex symbols to subcarriers, and then configures OFDM symbols by performing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) operation and inserting a cyclic prefix (CP). In addition, when receiving data, the baseband processing unit (1x-20) divides the baseband signal provided from the RF processing unit (1x-10) into OFDM symbol units, restores signals mapped to subcarriers through FFT (fast Fourier transform) operation, and then restores the received bit string through demodulation and decoding.

[0126] The baseband processing unit (1x-20) and the RF processing unit (1x-10) transmit and receive signals as described above. Accordingly, the baseband processing unit (1x-20) and the RF processing unit (1x-10) may be referred to as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, or a communication unit. Furthermore, at least one of the baseband processing unit (1x-20) and the RF processing unit (1x-10) may include a plurality of communication modules to support a plurality of different wireless access technologies. In addition, at least one of the baseband processing unit (1x-20) and the RF processing unit (1x-10) may include different communication modules to process signals of different frequency bands. For example, the different wireless access technologies may include a wireless LAN (e.g., IEEE 802.11), a cellular network (e.g., LTE), etc. Additionally, the different frequency bands may include a super high frequency (SHF) (e.g., 2.NRHz, NRhz) band and a millimeter wave (mm wave) (e.g., 60GHz) band.

[0127] The above storage unit (1x-30) stores data such as basic programs, application programs, and setting information for the operation of the terminal. In particular, the storage unit (1x-30) can store information related to a second access node that performs wireless communication using a second wireless access technology. In addition, the storage unit (1x-30) provides the stored data upon request from the control unit (1x-40).

[0128] The above control unit (1x-40) controls the overall operations of the terminal. For example, the control unit (1x-40) transmits and receives signals through the baseband processing unit (1x-20) and the RF processing unit (1x-10). In addition, the control unit (1x-40) records and reads data in the storage unit (1x-40). For this purpose, the control unit (1x-40) may include at least one processor. For example, the control unit (1x-40) may include a communication processor (CP) that performs control for communication and an application processor (AP) that controls upper layers such as application programs.

[0129] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 3, the base station may be configured to include an RF processing unit (1y-10), a baseband processing unit (1y-20), a backhaul communication unit (1y-30), a storage unit (1y-40), and a control unit (1y-50).

[0130] The RF processing unit (1y-10) performs functions for transmitting and receiving signals through a wireless channel, such as signal band conversion and amplification. That is, the RF processing unit (1y-10) up-converts the baseband signal provided from the baseband processing unit (1y-20) into an RF band signal and transmits it through an antenna, and down-converts the RF band signal received through the antenna into a baseband signal. For example, the RF processing unit (1y-10) may include a transmission filter, a reception filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a DAC, an ADC, etc. In the drawing, only one antenna is shown, but the first access node may have multiple antennas. In addition, the RF processing unit (1y-10) may include multiple RF chains. Furthermore, the RF processing unit (1y-10) may perform beamforming. For the above beamforming, the RF processing unit (1y-10) can adjust the phase and magnitude of each signal transmitted and received through multiple antennas or antenna elements. The RF processing unit can perform a downlink MIMO operation by transmitting one or more layers.

[0131] The baseband processing unit (1y-20) performs a conversion function between a baseband signal and a bit stream according to the physical layer specifications of the first wireless access technology. For example, when transmitting data, the baseband processing unit (1y-20) generates complex symbols by encoding and modulating a transmission bit stream. In addition, when receiving data, the baseband processing unit (1y-20) restores the reception bit stream by demodulating and decoding the baseband signal provided from the RF processing unit (1y-10). For example, in the case of OFDM, when transmitting data, the baseband processing unit (1y-20) generates complex symbols by encoding and modulating a transmission bit stream, maps the complex symbols to subcarriers, and then configures OFDM symbols through IFFT operation and CP insertion. In addition, when receiving data, the baseband processing unit (1y-20) divides the baseband signal provided from the RF processing unit (1y-10) into OFDM symbol units, restores signals mapped to subcarriers through FFT operation, and then restores the received bit string through demodulation and decoding. The baseband processing unit (1y-20) and the RF processing unit (1y-10) transmit and receive signals as described above. Accordingly, the baseband processing unit (1y-20) and the RF processing unit (1y-10) may be referred to as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a communication unit, or a wireless communication unit.

[0132] The above backhaul communication unit (1y-30) provides an interface for communicating with other nodes within the network. That is, the backhaul communication unit (1y-30) converts a bit string transmitted from the main base station to another node, such as an auxiliary base station or core network, into a physical signal, and converts a physical signal received from the other node into a bit string.

[0133] The storage unit (1y-40) stores data such as basic programs, application programs, and setting information for the operation of the main base station. In particular, the storage unit (1y-40) can store information on bearers assigned to connected terminals, measurement results reported from connected terminals, and the like. In addition, the storage unit (1y-40) can store information that serves as a judgment criterion for whether to provide or terminate multiple connections to a terminal. In addition, the storage unit (1y-40) provides the stored data at the request of the control unit (1y-50).

[0134] The above control unit (1y-50) controls the overall operations of the base station. For example, the control unit (1y-50) transmits and receives signals through the baseband processing unit (1y-20) and the RF processing unit (1y-10) or through the backhaul communication unit (1y-30). In addition, the control unit (1y-50) records and reads data in the storage unit (1y-40). For this purpose, the control unit (1y-50) may include at least one processor.

[0135] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a terminal or user equipment (400) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0136] A terminal (400) is an electronic device capable of wireless communication, and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile phone, a smartphone with various form factors, a tablet, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc., and may perform wireless communication with a base station through a wireless channel.

[0137] Referring to FIG. 4, the terminal (400) may include at least one transceiver (401) (hereinafter, “transceiver”), at least one processor (402) (hereinafter, “processor”), and at least one memory (403) (hereinafter, “memory”). The transceiver (401), the processor (402), and the memory (403) of the terminal (400) may operate according to at least one or a combination of methods corresponding to embodiments of the present disclosure. However, the components of the terminal (400) are not limited to the examples of the components illustrated in FIG. 4. In other embodiments, the terminal (400) may further include additional components to the above-described components, or some components may be omitted. Furthermore, in some embodiments, any combination of the transceiver (401), the processor (402), or the memory (403) may be integrated into a single component.

[0138] The transceiver (401) may be a basic communication circuit or communication circuitry that enables the terminal (400) to perform wireless communication with nodes or entities of the network. For example, the transceiver (401) may enable the terminal (400) to transmit and receive signals with a base station through cellular wireless communication, or may enable the terminal (400) to transmit and receive signals with another terminal through cellular wireless communication. For example, the transceiver (401) may support at least one of various cellular wireless communication technologies including 3G (3rd generation), 4G (4th generation) LTE (long-term evolution), 5G (5th generation) NR (new radio), 6G (6th generation), etc., and the various cellular wireless communication technologies supported by the transceiver (401) may include all subsequent evolved generations of wireless communication.

[0139] According to one embodiment, the terminal (400) may include a plurality of transceivers, for example, when supporting EN-DC (E-UTRA (evolved-universal terrestrial radio access) -NR dual connectivity), the terminal (400) may include a first transceiver supporting 4G LTE wireless communication and a second transceiver supporting 5G NR wireless communication. According to another embodiment, when the terminal (400) supports NR-DC (NR Dual Connectivity), the terminal (400) may include a plurality of transceivers supporting 5G NR wireless communication. According to another embodiment, when the terminal (400) supports short-range wireless communication, the terminal (400) may separately include a transceiver that supports at least one of a family of wireless communication protocol standards, such as those defined by Bluetooth®, wireless LAN, or wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (including, but not limited to, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE) 802.11-2016 standard or amendments thereof, such as 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be).

[0140] According to one embodiment, the transceiver (401) may include various circuit structures used to transmit and receive signals with a base station via a wireless channel. The signals may include control information and data. For example, the transceiver (401) may be configured to include an RF (radio frequency) transmitter that up-converts and amplifies the frequency of a transmitted signal, and an RF receiver that low-noise amplifies and frequency-down-converts a received signal. The transceiver (401) may output a signal received via a wireless channel to the processor (402) and transmit a signal output from the processor (402) via the wireless channel.

[0141] The processor (402) may control the overall operation of the terminal (400) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The processor (402) may be implemented as one or more IC (integrated circuit (or circuitry)) chips and may perform various data processing operations. The processor (402) may include at least one electrical circuit and may execute instructions (or programs, codes, data, etc.) stored in the memory (403) individually, collectively, or in any combination. In addition, the processor (402) may include a single-core processor or a multi-core processor, and in a specific implementation manner, may be configured as a processor assembly including a plurality of processing circuits.

[0142] The processor (402) is electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the transceiver (401) to control the transceiver (401).

[0143] The processor (402) may include at least one processor (or processing circuitry), and the at least one processor may perform the following operations individually, collectively, or in any combination. For example, the processor (402) may include a communication processor (CP) that controls communication operations and an application processor (AP) that controls execution of a higher layer (e.g., an application layer). In a specific embodiment, at least a portion of the processor (402) may be included in one chip, and another portion of the processor (402) may be included in a separate chip. Alternatively, the at least one processor may be included in another component, for example, a transceiver (401), a memory (403).

[0144] The processor (402) may perform, cause, or control operations of the terminal to execute at least one or a combination of the methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the processor (402) may control operations of the terminal to process a downlink signal received from a base station, or to generate and transmit an uplink signal to the base station. To this end, the processor (402) may control other components of the terminal (400) to perform various operations by executing computer programs, codes, or instructions stored in the memory (403).

[0145] Memory (403) is a hardware storage device capable of temporarily or permanently storing information, and may include one or more storage media. For example, memory (403) may include a memory assembly including one or more storage media. For example, the one or more storage media may include a hard drive, flash memory, permanent memory such as read-only memory (ROM), semi-permanent memory such as random access memory (RAM), cache memory, or any combination thereof.

[0146] The memory (403) may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the processor (402) and may be accessed by the processor (402).

[0147] The memory (403) may store computer programs, codes, or instructions that can be executed by the processor (402). According to one embodiment, the computer programs, codes, or instructions that can be executed by the processor (402) may be stored in one memory device or may be stored separately and distributed across two or more memory devices. The processor (402) may perform various functions according to embodiments of the present disclosure by executing the instructions stored in the memory (403).

[0148] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the operation of the terminal (400) may be caused to be performed based on at least one processor (or processing circuit) configured to individually or collectively or in any combination perform the features of the present disclosure based on the execution of instructions (or computer program or code) stored in the memory (403), based on processing circuitry not configured to execute instructions, and / or based on components of a processing circuitry not configured to execute instructions.

[0149] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a base station (500) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0150] The base station (500) can perform wireless communication with at least one terminal within the area of ​​the base station (500) through a wireless channel.

[0151] Referring to FIG. 5, the base station (500) may include at least one transceiver (501) (hereinafter, “transceiver”), at least one processor (502) (hereinafter, “processor”), and at least one memory (503) (hereinafter, “memory”). The transceiver (501), the processor (502), and the memory (503) of the base station (500) may operate according to at least one or a combination of methods corresponding to embodiments of the present disclosure. However, the components of the base station (500) are not limited to the examples of the components illustrated in FIG. 5. In other embodiments, the base station (500) may further include additional components to the above-described components, or some components may be omitted. Furthermore, in some embodiments, any combination of the transceiver (501), the processor (502), or the memory (503) may be integrated into a single component.

[0152] The transceiver (501) may be a communication circuit or communication circuitry that enables the base station (500) to perform wireless communication with nodes or entities of a network. For example, the transceiver (501) may enable the base station (500) to transmit and receive signals with the terminal (400) through cellular wireless communication, or to transmit and receive signals with other network entities through wireless communication. For example, the transceiver (501) may support various cellular wireless communication technologies including 3G (3rd generation), 4G (4th generation) LTE (long-term evolution), 5G (5th generation) NR (new radio), 6G (6th generation), etc., and the various cellular wireless communication technologies supported by the transceiver (501) may include all subsequent evolved generations of wireless communication. According to one embodiment, the transceiver (501) may include various circuit structures used to transmit and receive signals with the terminal via a wireless channel. The signals may include control information and data. For example, the transceiver (501) may be configured to include an RF (radio frequency) transmitter that up-converts and amplifies the frequency of a transmitted signal, and an RF receiver that low-noise amplifies and down-converts the frequency of a received signal. The transceiver (501) may output a signal received via a wireless channel to the processor (502) and transmit a signal output from the processor (502) via the wireless channel.

[0153] Meanwhile, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station (500) can communicate with entities or nodes of a network via wired or wireless communication. For example, the base station (500) can perform wired or wireless communication with an adjacent base station or an entity or node of a core network via a backhaul network. Although not shown in the drawing, when the base station (500) performs wired communication, the base station (500) may include a separate network interface for wired communication in addition to the transceiver (501). The network interface may also be referred to as a network interface circuitry, a communication interface circuitry, or the like.

[0154] The processor (502) may control the overall operation of the base station (500) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The processor (502) may be implemented as one or more IC (integrated circuit or circuitry) chips and may perform various data processing operations. The processor (502) may include at least one electrical circuit and may individually, collectively, or in any combination execute instructions (or programs, codes, data, etc.) stored in the memory (503). In addition, the processor (502) may include a single-core processor or a multi-core processor, and in a specific implementation manner, may be configured as a processor assembly including a plurality of processing circuits.

[0155] The processor (502) can be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the transceiver (501) to control the transceiver (501).

[0156] The processor (502) may include at least one processor (or processor circuitry), and the at least one processor may perform the following operations individually, collectively, or in any combination. In certain embodiments, at least a portion of the processor (502) may be included in one chip, and another portion of the processor (502) may be included in a separate chip. Alternatively, the at least one processor may be included in another component, for example, a transceiver (501), a memory (503).

[0157] The processor (502) may perform, cause, or control the operation of the base station to perform at least one or a combination of the methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the processor (502) may control the operation of the base station to generate and transmit a downlink signal to a terminal, or to process an uplink signal received from a terminal. Alternatively, the base station may transmit and receive signals with an adjacent base station, transmit a signal received from a terminal to an upper node of the network, or receive a signal from an upper node of the network and transmit it to the terminal. To this end, the processor (502) may control other components of the base station (500) to perform various operations by executing computer programs, codes, and instructions stored in the memory (503).

[0158] Memory (503) is a hardware storage device capable of temporarily or permanently storing information, and may include one or more storage media. For example, memory (503) may include a memory collection including one or more storage media. For example, the one or more storage media may include a hard drive, flash memory, permanent memory such as read-only memory (ROM), semi-permanent memory such as random access memory (RAM), cache memory, or any combination thereof.

[0159] The memory (503) may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the processor (502) and may be accessed by the processor (502).

[0160] The memory (503) may store computer programs, codes, or instructions that can be executed by the processor (502). According to one embodiment, the computer programs, codes, or instructions that can be executed by the processor (502) may be stored in one memory device or may be stored separately and distributed across two or more memory devices. The processor (502) may perform various functions according to embodiments of the present disclosure by executing the instructions stored in the memory (503).

[0161] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the operation of the base station (500) may be caused to be performed based on at least one processor (or processing circuit) configured to individually or collectively or in any combination perform the features of the present disclosure based on the execution of instructions (or computer programs or codes) stored in the memory (503), based on processing circuitry not configured to execute instructions, and / or based on components of a processing circuitry not configured to execute instructions.

[0162] The methods according to the embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present invention may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0163] When implemented in software, a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs (software modules) may be provided. The one or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium are configured for execution by one or more processors within an electronic device. The one or more programs include instructions that cause the electronic device to execute methods according to the embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present invention.

[0164] These programs (software modules, software) may be stored in random access memory, non-volatile memory including flash memory, read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disc storage device, compact disc ROM (CD-ROM), digital versatile discs (DVDs) or other forms of optical storage device, magnetic cassette. Or, they may be stored in a memory configured as a combination of some or all of these. In addition, each configuration memory may be included in multiple numbers.

[0165] Additionally, the program may be stored in an attachable storage device that is accessible via a communication network such as the Internet, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), a wide local area network (WLAN), a storage area network (SAN), or a combination thereof. Such a storage device may be connected to a device implementing an embodiment of the present invention via an external port. Additionally, a separate storage device on the communication network may be connected to a device implementing an embodiment of the present invention.

[0166] In the specific embodiments of the present invention described above, components included in the invention are expressed in the singular or plural form depending on the specific embodiment presented. However, the singular or plural expressions are selected to suit the presented situation for convenience of explanation, and the present invention is not limited to singular or plural components. Even components expressed in the plural form may be composed of singular elements, or even components expressed in the singular form may be composed of plural elements.

[0167] While the detailed description of the present invention has described specific embodiments, it is clear that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the scope of the following claims but also by equivalents thereof.

[0168] The specific examples used to explain embodiments according to the present disclosure are merely one combination of each criterion, method, detailed method, and operation, and through a combination of at least two or more of the various techniques described, a terminal or base station can perform operations in a wireless mobile communication system. Furthermore, at this time, the operations may be performed according to a method determined through one or a combination of at least two or more of the aforementioned techniques. For example, it may be possible to perform some of the operations of one embodiment in combination with some of the operations of another embodiment. It may also be possible to perform the operations by omitting some of the operations.

[0169] A device-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, the term "non-transitory storage medium" simply means a tangible device that does not contain signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves). This term does not distinguish between cases where data is permanently stored in the storage medium and cases where data is temporarily stored. For example, a "non-transitory storage medium" may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored.

[0170] According to one embodiment, the method according to various embodiments disclosed in the present document may be provided as included in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) through an application store or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones). In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product (e.g., a downloadable app) may be temporarily stored or temporarily generated in a machine-readable storage medium, such as the memory of a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or an intermediary server.

Claims

1. In a method of a terminal in a wireless communication system, A step of receiving a SIB (System information block) containing SI (system information) scheduling information; A method comprising the step of transmitting a message for SI request to a base station based on the above SIB.

2. In the first paragraph, the SI scheduling information is A method wherein each SI message includes information on a list of SSB (synchronization signal blocks) or beam indexes being broadcast.

3. In the first paragraph, the SI scheduling information is A method including information on a list of SI messages being broadcast by SSB (synchronization signal block) or beam.

4. A method further comprising the step of retransmitting the message for the SI request to the base station when it is determined that the SI request has failed in the first paragraph.

5. A method further comprising a step of performing a cell reselection procedure when it is determined that the SI request has failed in the first paragraph.

6. A method according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising a step of determining that the SI request has failed if the requested SI message is not received until the next SI modification period arrives.

7. In the fourth or fifth paragraph, when a message for the SI request is transmitted, a step of starting a timer; A method further comprising the step of determining that the SI request has failed based on the timer expiring.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the message for the SI request includes message 1 (msg1) or message 3 (msg 3).

9. In a wireless communication system, at the terminal, At least one transceiver; At least one processor connected to said at least one transceiver; and At least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions, By executing the instructions individually or in any combination by at least one processor, the terminal, Receive a SIB (System information block) containing SI (system information) scheduling information, A terminal that transmits a message for SI request to a base station based on the above SIB.

10. In a method of a base station in a wireless communication system, A step of broadcasting a SIB (System information block) containing SI (system information) scheduling information; and A method comprising the step of receiving a message for SI request from a terminal.

11. In the 10th paragraph, the SI scheduling information is: A method wherein each SI message includes information on a list of SSB (synchronization signal blocks) or beam indexes being broadcast.

12. In the 10th paragraph, the SI scheduling information is: A method including information on a list of SI messages being broadcast by SSB (synchronization signal block) or beam.

13. In the 10th paragraph, the message for the SI request is received using at least one uplink beam, A method further comprising the step of broadcasting an SI message using at least one downlink beam corresponding to the at least one uplink beam.

14. A method according to claim 10, wherein the message for the SI request includes message 1 (msg1) or message 3 (msg 3).

15. In a base station in a wireless communication system, At least one transceiver; At least one processor connected to said at least one transceiver; and At least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions, By executing the instructions individually or in any combination by at least one processor, the base station, Broadcasting a SIB (System Information Block) containing SI (system information) scheduling information, A base station that receives a message for SI request from a terminal.

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