Network node of core network in mobile communication network, device having application function mounted thereon, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

This network node of a core network in a mobile communication network comprises: a determination means configured to determine a first base station device that is caused to perform a sensing process in order to provide a result of sensing requested in a sensing request; and an acquisition means configured to acquire the sensing result by communicating with the first base station device and causing the first base station device to perform the sensing process.

Description

Network node of core network of mobile communication network, device implementing application function, and computer-readable storage medium

[0001] The present disclosure relates to techniques for providing sensing services in mobile communication networks.

[0002] Non-Patent Document 1 discloses various use cases of sensing services in mobile communication networks. In one of the configurations disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, a base station (BS), which is a wireless communication device, transmits a sensing signal (hereinafter referred to as a sensing signal), and a wireless device (WD) feeds back the reception result of the sensing signal to the base station, thereby allowing the mobile communication network to collect sensing data. Non-Patent Document 1 also discloses other configurations for a mobile communication network to collect sensing data. Based on the collected sensing data, the mobile communication network can detect the environment of the area where the mobile communication network provides service, such as the distribution of obstacles that obstruct the propagation of wireless signals and rainfall conditions that cause wireless signal loss.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an architecture for providing sensing services, in which a mobile communication network includes a network function (NF) that manages sensing services.

[0004] Special Publication No. 2024-504011

[0005] 3GPP TR 22.837, V19.0.0, June 2023

[0006] 1 is a sequence diagram for providing sensing data to an application function (AF). Note that a device implementing the AF may be a device (network node) inside a mobile communication network, or a device (server) provided on an external network of the mobile communication network, for example, the Internet.

[0007] The sensing function (SF) in Figure 1 is a network function (NF) provided in the core network (CN) of a mobile communication network to manage sensing services. Furthermore, the NRF in Figure 1 indicates a network repository function, and the AMF indicates an access and mobility management function. The NRF and AMF are also NFs of the CN. The CN may include multiple AMFs.

[0008] It is assumed that the NRF stores information indicating the area for which each AMF is responsible for processing in advance. Also, each AMF stores information indicating the content of sensing data that can be acquired by each BS located in the area for which the AMF is responsible, that is, information indicating what kind of sensing data each BS can acquire.

[0009] In S1, the AF sends a sensing request to the SF. Note that if the device implementing the AF is installed in a network external to the mobile communication network, communication between the AF and the device within the mobile communication network can be configured to go via the Network Publish Function (NEF) of the CN.

[0010] The sensing request includes information indicating an area where sensing data is desired to be collected and information indicating the content of the sensing data to be collected. In S2, the SF communicates with the NRF to find an AMF appropriate for processing the sensing request from the AF. Specifically, the SF notifies the NRF of information indicating an area where sensing data is desired to be collected, and obtains identification information of the AMF responsible for the area from the NRF. The identification information of the AMF may be, for example, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the AMF or the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the AMF. In S3, the SF sends the sensing request from the AF to the AMF discovered in S2.

[0011] Based on the sensing request received from the SF, the AMF selects a BS suitable for obtaining the sensing data specified in the sensing request in the area specified in the sensing request, and transmits the sensing request to the selected BS in S4. The sensing request transmitted to the BS includes information indicating the sensing data that the BS should acquire. The BS collects sensing data based on the sensing request received in S4, and transmits the collected sensing data to the AMF in S5. The AMF transmits the sensing data to the SF in S6, and the SF transmits the sensing data to the AF in S7.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2 , the CN employs a service-based architecture (SBA), and each NF within the CN, such as the AMF and the NRF, communicates according to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). In other words, HTTP is used as the communication protocol for communication between the NFs within the CN and for communication between the NFs of the CN and devices installed in networks external to the mobile communication network. Therefore, IP addresses or FQDNs are used as identification information for the AFs and each NF in the CN. Meanwhile, the BS, which is a node in the radio access network (RAN), communicates with the AMF using the Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP). NGAP is standardized by 3GPP (registered trademark). In NGAP, the so-called global RAN node ID is used as identification information for the BS.

[0013] 1, solid arrows indicate communication using HTTP, and dotted arrows indicate communication using NGAP. When relaying sensing data from a BS, the AMF needs to perform protocol conversion from NGAP to HTTP.

[0014] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a network node of a core network of a mobile communication network includes a determination means configured to determine a first base station device that will perform a sensing process in order to provide a sensing result requested in a sensing request, and an acquisition means configured to communicate with the first base station device and acquire the sensing result by having the first base station device perform the sensing process.

[0015] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same or similar elements are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0016] 1 is a sequence diagram of a process for providing sensing data; 2 is a diagram showing protocols used by each NF and BS; 3 is a diagram showing protocols used by each NF and BS in some embodiments; 4 is a sequence diagram of a process for providing sensing results according to one embodiment; 5 is a sequence diagram of a process for providing sensing results according to one embodiment; 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sensing function according to some embodiments; 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of an application function according to some embodiments;

[0017] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are used for the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0018] First Embodiment In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 , SBA is also applied to the BSs constituting the RAN. By applying SBA to the RAN, each NF of the CN can communicate directly with the BS without going through the AMF. Note that, when the BS is composed of multiple units, for example, a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), and a radio unit (RU), SBA is applied to at least the CU. Furthermore, when the BS employs a CUPS configuration in which the control plane (CP) and the user plane (UP) are separated, SBA is applied to the CP unit of the BS. Therefore, when the BS employs a CUPS configuration and is composed of a CU, DU, and RU, SBA is applied to at least the CU of the CP (CU-CP). Since SBA is also applied to the BS, an IP address or FQDN is used as the BS identification information.

[0019] 4 is a sequence diagram of a process for providing sensing results to an AF. In this embodiment, information collected by the BS through sensing processing is referred to as "sensing data." Information obtained by processing the sensing data is referred to as "sensing results." The sensing results are, for example, rainfall conditions and the distribution of obstacles. When obtaining the rainfall conditions as sensing results, the BS collects, for example, the distance to the WD and the received power of the sensing signal at the WD from each WD as sensing data. The BS or SF can determine the amount of rainfall around the BS that collected the sensing data based on the distance to the WD and the received power at the WD, and generate the sensing results.

[0020] The AF may be implemented in a device inside the mobile communication network or in a device in a network external to the mobile communication network. The NRF pre-stores information for each of multiple BSs in the mobile communication network, indicating the area from which the BS collects sensing data and the type of sensing result that can be generated based on the sensing data collected by the BS. The type of sensing result refers to the type (content) of information indicated by the sensing result, such as rainfall conditions or the distribution of obstacles.

[0021] At S10, the AF sends a sensing request to the SF. The sensing request includes the type of sensing result that the AF requests to acquire and information indicating the area where the sensing result should be acquired. At S11, the SF communicates with the NRF to find a BS appropriate for processing the sensing request from the AF. Specifically, the SF notifies the NRF of information indicating the type of sensing result and the area where the sensing result should be acquired, and acquires from the NRF identification information of a BS appropriate for performing sensing processing to acquire the sensing result of that type in the area. Note that there may be multiple BSs performing the sensing processing. The identification information of the BS may be, for example, an IP address or an FQDN.

[0022] In S12, the SF transmits a sensing request to the BS discovered in S11. The sensing request transmitted in S12 includes information indicating the type of sensing result. The BS executes sensing processing in response to the sensing request to collect sensing data necessary to obtain the sensing result of the type indicated in the sensing request. Then, in S13, the BS transmits the collected sensing data or the sensing result calculated based on the collected sensing data to the SF.

[0023] When the SF acquires sensing results from the BS, it transmits the sensing results to the AF in S14. Also, when the SF acquires sensing data from the BS, it generates sensing results based on the sensing data and transmits the generated sensing results to the AF in S14.

[0024] As shown in Figure 4, in this embodiment, the SF directly acquires sensing data or sensing results from the BS, so that the AMF does not intervene when acquiring the sensing data or sensing results from the BS, thereby reducing the processing load of the core network for providing sensing services.

[0025] In this embodiment, the BS is discovered using the NRF in S11. However, it is also possible to provide a new NF different from the NRF, use the new NF to discover RAN nodes such as the BS, and use the NRF only to discover the NF of the CN.

[0026] 4, the BS processes the sensing data collected and transmits the sensing results to the AF, but the BS may provide the AF with the sensing data itself collected by the BS. In other words, if the sensing results to be provided to the AF are obtained by processing the sensing data collected by the BS, the sensing results are generated at the BS or SF, but if the sensing results requested by the AF are the sensing data itself collected by the BS, the sensing data collected by the BS can be transmitted to the AF as the sensing results.

[0027] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram of the process of providing a sensing result according to this embodiment. Note that the same sequence numbers are assigned to processing steps that show the same processes as in the sequence of Fig. 4, and descriptions thereof will basically be omitted.

[0028] In S20, the SF notifies the AF of the identification information of one or more BSs discovered in S11. The identification information of the BSs may be information used to communicate with the BSs, such as an IP address or an FQDN. In S21, the AF transmits a sensing request to the BSs notified in S20. The sensing request transmitted in S21 includes information indicating the type of sensing result to be obtained. In response to the sensing request, the BSs execute sensing processing and collect sensing data necessary to obtain the sensing result of the type notified in S21. In S22, the BSs transmit the sensing results calculated based on the collected sensing data to the AF.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 5, in this embodiment, the AF directly acquires the sensing result from the BS. Therefore, when acquiring the sensing result from the BS, the AMF and the SF are not involved, and the processing load of the core network for providing the sensing service can be reduced. Note that in Fig. 5, the BS generates the sensing result based on the collected sensing data and transmits it to the AF, but the BS may be configured to transmit the collected sensing data itself to the AF.

[0030] <Device Configuration> Fig. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a network node 1 that implements SF. The network node 1 has, for example, one or more processors and one or more memory devices. The one or more memory devices may include volatile memory devices and non-volatile memory devices. Each functional block shown in Fig. 6 may be realized by one or more processors executing a computer program stored in the one or more memory devices.

[0031] Although the network node 1 in Fig. 6 is a single device, the network node 1 may be multiple devices that can communicate with each other. Furthermore, the network node 1 may implement other NFs in addition to SFs. Note that Fig. 6 shows only the functional blocks necessary for understanding the present disclosure, and the network node 1 may have functional blocks other than those shown in Fig. 6.

[0032] The determination unit 10 determines a first BS that will perform a sensing process to provide a sensing result requested in a sensing request from the AF. The determination unit 10 may determine the first BS by, for example, communicating with a first network node of the CN. The first network node is a node that stores, for each of a plurality of BSs in the mobile communication network, information indicating sensing results that can be obtained by the BS and areas where the sensing results can be obtained, and may be, for example, an NRF.

[0033] In the first embodiment, the acquisition unit 11 acquires sensing results by communicating with the first BS and causing the first BS to perform sensing processing. The communication protocol used by the acquisition unit 11 to communicate with the first BS may be the same as the communication protocol used by the network node 1 to communicate with other network nodes in the CN. For example, the communication protocol used by the acquisition unit 11 to communicate with the first BS may be Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

[0034] The acquisition unit 11 may acquire the sensing result from the first BS. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 11 may receive sensing data collected by the first BS in the sensing process from the first BS and process the sensing data to acquire the sensing result.

[0035] In the first embodiment, the notification unit 12 can notify the AF, which is the device that sent the sensing request, of the sensing result.

[0036] In the second embodiment, the acquisition unit 11 is not provided in the network node 1. In the second embodiment, the notification unit 12 notifies the AF, which is the device that sent the sensing request, of information for communicating with the first BS, for example, the IP address or FQDN of the first BS.

[0037] 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a device 2, such as a server or node, that implements AF. The device 2 includes, for example, one or more processors and one or more memory devices. The one or more memory devices may include volatile memory devices and non-volatile memory devices. Each functional block shown in FIG. 7 may be realized by the one or more processors executing a computer program stored in the one or more memory devices.

[0038] 7 shows a single device, but the device 2 may be multiple devices that can communicate with each other. Also, Fig. 7 shows only the functional blocks necessary for understanding the present disclosure, and the device 2 may have functional blocks other than those shown in Fig. 7.

[0039] The transmitter 21 transmits a sensing request to the SF of the CN of the mobile communication network. The receiver 22 receives information for communicating with a first BS of the mobile communication network from the SF in response to the sensing request. The information for communicating with the first BS may be, for example, the IP address or FQDN of the first BS. The acquirer 20 acquires sensing results by communicating with the first BS and causing the first BS to perform sensing processing. The communication protocol used by the acquirer 20 to communicate with the first BS may be the same as the communication protocol used by the transmitter 21 and the receiver 22 to communicate with the SF. The communication protocol used by the acquirer 20 to communicate with the first BS may be, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

[0040] Furthermore, the present disclosure provides a computer program, or a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon, that, when executed by one or more processors in an apparatus having one or more processors, causes the apparatus to function as the above-described network node 1 or apparatus 2. Furthermore, the present disclosure provides a method performed by an apparatus implementing SF or an apparatus implementing AF with respect to the processes shown in Figures 4 and 5, a computer program causing an apparatus having one or more processors to perform the method, and a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the computer program.

[0041] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

[0042] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-145819, filed August 27, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A network node in a core network of a mobile communication network, comprising: a determination means configured to determine a first base station device to cause to perform a sensing process in order to provide a sensing result requested in a sensing request; and an acquisition means configured to communicate with the first base station device and cause the first base station device to perform the sensing process, thereby acquiring the sensing result.

2. The network node according to claim 1, further comprising a notification means configured to notify the device that sent the sensing request of the sensing result.

3. A network node as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the acquisition means is further configured to acquire the sensing result by receiving the sensing result from the first base station device, or to acquire the sensing result by receiving data collected by the first base station device in the sensing process from the first base station device and processing the data.

4. A network node according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the communication protocol used by the acquisition means for communication with the first base station device is the same as the communication protocol used by the network node for communication with other network nodes in the core network.

5. A network node according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the communication protocol used by said acquisition means for communication with said first base station device is Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

6. A network node according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the core network comprises a first network node configured to store, for each of a plurality of base station devices including the first base station device of the mobile communications network, information indicating sensing results that can be acquired by the base station device and areas in which the sensing results can be acquired by the base station device, and the determination means is further configured to determine the first base station device by communicating with the first network node.

7. A network node in a core network of a mobile communication network, comprising: a determination means configured to determine a first base station device to perform sensing processing in order to provide sensing results requested in a sensing request; and a notification means configured to notify the device that sent the sensing request of information for communicating with the first base station device.

8. The network node according to claim 7, wherein the core network comprises a first network node configured to store, for each of a plurality of base station devices including the first base station device of the mobile communication network, information indicating sensing results that can be acquired by the base station device and areas in which the sensing results can be acquired by the base station device, and the determination means is further configured to determine the first base station device by communicating with the first network node.

9. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program that, when executed by one or more processors of a device having one or more processors, causes the device to function as a network node according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A device that implements an application function, comprising: a transmitting means configured to transmit a sensing request to a network node of a core network of a mobile communication network; a receiving means configured to receive information for communicating with a first base station device of the mobile communication network from the network node in response to the sensing request; and an acquiring means configured to communicate with the first base station device and acquire sensing results by having the first base station device perform sensing processing.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the communication protocol used by said obtaining means for communication with said first base station apparatus is the same as the communication protocol used by said transmitting means for communication with said network node.

12. The device according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the communication protocol used by said acquisition means for communication with said first base station device is Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

13. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program that, when executed by one or more processors of an apparatus having one or more processors, causes the apparatus to function as an apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 12.

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