Radio base station and radio communication method

Abstract

This radio base station includes a first device, and one or more second devices are connected to the first device. The first device receives a downlink message relating to a downlink from a core network and receives an uplink message relating to an uplink from a second device. Further, the first device transmits the downlink message to a second device and transmits the uplink message to the core network.

Description

Wireless Base Station and Wireless Communication Method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wireless base station and a wireless communication method having a CU-DU separation configuration.

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP: registered trademark) has standardized the 5th generation mobile communication system (also called 5G, New Radio (NR) or Next Generation (NG)), and is also promoting the standardization of the next generation, called Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution or 6G.

[0003] In the 5G specifications (e.g., 3GPP Release-18), a wireless base station (gNB) may be composed of a CU (Central Unit, first device) and a DU (Distributed Unit, second device), and the interface (F1) between the CU and the DU and the interface (Xn) between CUs are defined (Non-Patent Documents 1, 2).

[0004] Also, the CU can receive downlink (DL) messages from the core network (CN) via the NG interface and transmit uplink (UL) messages to the CN.

[0005] 3GPP TS 38.473 V18.3.0, 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NG-RAN; F1 application protocol (F1AP) (Release 18), 3GPP, September 2024 3GPP TS 38.423 V18.3.0, 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NG-RAN; Xn application protocol (XnAP) (Release 18), 3GPP, September 2024

[0006] While the CU-DU separation configuration is expected to continue in 6G, there are plans to have the DU have an RRC entity. In this case, the DU would need to process DL / UL messages that were previously sent and received between the CU and CN, but under the current specifications, the DU cannot send or receive these messages and therefore cannot operate correctly.

[0007] Therefore, the following disclosure is made in light of these circumstances and aims to provide a radio base station and wireless communication method that can successfully send and receive DL / UL messages with the core network even when an RRC entity is provided in the DU.

[0008] One aspect of the present disclosure is a radio base station including a first device, wherein one or more second devices are connected to the first device, the first device comprising: a receiving unit (NG interface unit 111, F1 interface unit 115) that receives downlink messages relating to downlinks from a core network and uplink messages relating to uplinks from the second device; and a transmitting unit (NG interface unit 111, F1 interface unit 115) that transmits the downlink messages to the second device and transmits the uplink messages to the core network.

[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure is a radio base station including one or more second devices connected to a first device, the second device comprising a receiving unit (NGn interface unit 156) that directly receives downlink messages relating to a downlink from a core network, and a transmitting unit (NGn interface unit 156) that directly transmits uplink messages relating to an uplink to the core network.

[0010] Figure 1 is an overall schematic diagram of the wireless communication system 10. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the connection configuration of the CU and DU. Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of the 6G CU110. Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of the 6G DU150. Figure 5 is a diagram showing examples of DL messages and UL messages transferred via the gNB-CU. Figure 6 is a diagram showing examples of DL messages and UL messages directly transmitted and received between the core network and the gNB-DU. Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the transfer sequence of a DL message. Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the transfer sequence of a UL message. Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of the transmission sequence of a DL message. Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the transmission sequence of a UL message. Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the gNB100 (6G CU110, 6G DU150) and UE200. Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle 2001.

[0011] The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that identical or similar reference numerals are used to denote the same functions and components, and their descriptions will be omitted as appropriate.

[0012] (1) Overall schematic diagram 1 of the wireless communication system is an overall schematic diagram of the wireless communication system 10 according to this embodiment. The wireless communication system 10 is a wireless communication system that conforms to a method called Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G (hereinafter referred to as 6G), and includes a Radio Access Network 20 (hereinafter referred to as 6G-RAN20) and a terminal 200 (hereinafter referred to as UE200, User Equipment, UE). Note that the wireless communication system 10 may also be a wireless communication system that conforms to 5G New Radio (NR).

[0013] 6G-RAN20 includes a wireless base station 100 (hereinafter referred to as gNB100). Note that gNB may also be simply called Node B, and the specific configuration of the wireless communication system 10, including the number of gNBs and UEs, is not limited to the example shown in Figure 1.

[0014] 6G-RAN20 is actually connected to 6G-CN30, a core network conforming to 6G, which includes multiple RAN Nodes, specifically gNBs. Note that 6G-RAN20 and 6G-CN30 may simply be referred to as the "network." 6G-CN30 is connected to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), which provides access and mobility management functions for the UE200, and the Session Management Function (SMF), which provides session management functions. Furthermore, the AMF and / or SMF may be connected to a UDM / UDR (Unified Data Management / User Data Repository).

[0015] The gNB100 is a 6G-compliant wireless base station that performs 6G-compliant wireless communication with the UE200. The gNB100 and UE200 can support Massive MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), which generates a more directional antenna beam by controlling the radio signals transmitted from multiple antenna elements; carrier aggregation (CA), which uses multiple component carriers (CCs) bundled together; and dual connectivity (DC), which enables simultaneous communication between the UE and two or more RAN Nodes.

[0016] The gNB100 may also be configured to include a CU (Central Unit, first device) and a DU (Distributed Unit, second device), and the DU may be installed separately from the CU in a geographically different location (CU-DU split). One or more DUs may be connected to the CU. In this embodiment, the CU may be called a communication device or a central device, etc. The DU may be called a distributed device, etc.

[0017] gNB100 (gNB-CU) may be connected via the Xn interface, and CU and DU may be connected via the F1 interface. Furthermore, DUs may also be connected via the Xn interface.

[0018] Figure 2 shows an example of the connection configuration of the CU and DU. As shown in Figure 2, the 6G-CN30 and the 6G CU110 may be connected via the Xn interface. The 6G CU110 and the 6G DU150 may be connected via the F1 interface.

[0019] Furthermore, 6G DU150s may also be connected to each other via the Xn interface. As shown in Figure 2, 6G DU150s connected to the same 6G CU110 (for example, 6G DU1 and 6G DU2, 6G DU3 and 6G DU4) may be connected to each other via the Xn interface. Also, 6G DU150s connected to different 6G CU110s (for example, 6G DU2 and 6G DU3) may be connected to each other via the Xn interface.

[0020] Furthermore, in the Xn interface between 6G DU150s, only the control plane (Xn-C) may be targeted, and in the Xn interface between 6G CU110s, only the user plane (Xn-U) may be targeted. However, in the Xn interface between 6G DU150s, both the control plane and the user plane may be targeted.

[0021] The 6G DU150 may include entities for the Physical Layer (PHY), Media Access Control Layer (MAC), Radio Link Control Layer (RLC), and Radio Resource Control Layer (RRC). On the other hand, the 6G CU110 may include entities for the Packet Data Convergence Protocol Layer (PDCP) and Service Data Application Protocol Layer (SDAP). An entity may refer to a real-world entity that performs processing at that layer, a specific unit of information, or an object.

[0022] Thus, gNB100 may be interpreted as a radio base station including a 6G CU110 (first device) and one or more 6G DU150s (second devices) connected to the 6G CU110. Alternatively, gNB100 may be interpreted as a radio base station including one or more 6G DU150s connected to the 6G CU110. Furthermore, gNB100 may be interpreted as a radio base station including a 6G CU110 and one or more 6G DU150s connected to the 6G CU110.

[0023] In the wireless communication system 10, not only Layer 3 mobility control of the UE200 (which may also be called L3 Mobility) but also Layer 1 and / or Layer 2 mobility control (L1 / L2 Mobility) may be applied. L1 / L2 mobility may also be called LTM, and the name LTM will be used primarily below.

[0024] L3 Mobility may be interpreted as mobility control at the Radio Resource Control Layer (RRC). On the other hand, L1 / L2 Mobility may be interpreted as mobility control at the Physical Layer (PHY), Medium Access Control Layer (MAC), Radio Link Control Layer (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol Layer (PDCP) (mobility control by lower layers).

[0025] In a broad sense, the mobility of the UE200 may refer to the ease of movement and maneuverability of the UE200, but in this embodiment, it may also refer to the minimization of call drop, radio link (including beam) failure, unnecessary handovers, ping-pong situations, etc.

[0026] LTM may include network-triggered LTM and UE-triggered LTM (Conditional LTM, UE-triggered LTM).

[0027] Furthermore, in a Conditional LTM (which may also be called a UE-triggered LTM or UE-based LTM), similar to a Conditional Handover (CHO), the UE may, after the ground network base station (gNB) receives a specific execution condition, monitor the status according to that execution condition, and execute the LTM if the execution condition is satisfied.

[0028] (2) Functional Block Configuration of the Wireless Communication System Next, the functional block configuration of the wireless communication system 10 will be described. Specifically, the functional block configurations of the 6G CU110 and 6G DU150 will be described. Figure 3 is a functional block configuration diagram of the 6G CU110. Figure 4 is a functional block configuration diagram of the 6G DU150.

[0029] (2.1) 6G CU110 As shown in Figure 3, the 6G CU110 comprises an NG interface unit 111, an Xn interface unit 113, an F1 interface unit 115, and a control unit 117.

[0030] The NG interface unit 111 provides an NG interface with the 6G-CN30. Specifically, the NG interface unit 111 may provide a function to send and receive data (which may include control data and user data) via the NG interface in accordance with the specifications of the NG interface defined by 3GPP. The NG interface unit 111 may also provide a function to send and receive such data with, for example, the AMF that constitutes the 6G-CN30.

[0031] The NG interface unit 111 may receive downlink messages related to the downlink (DL) from the 6G-CN30 (core network). For example, the NG interface unit 111 may receive DL messages such as an Initial context setup request. The NG interface unit 111 may also send uplink messages related to the uplink (UL) to the 6G-CN30. The DL messages and UL messages in question will be described later.

[0032] The Xn interface unit 113 provides an Xn interface with other 6G CUs 110. Specifically, the Xn interface unit 113 may provide the function of sending and receiving data (which may include control data and user data) via the Xn interface in accordance with the specifications of the Xn interface defined by 3GPP. As mentioned above, the Xn interface unit 113 may perform processing targeting only user data (Xn-U).

[0033] The F1 interface unit 115 provides an F1 interface with the 6G DU150. Specifically, the F1 interface unit 115 may provide the function of sending and receiving data (which may include control data and user data) via the F1 interface in accordance with the F1 interface specifications defined by 3GPP.

[0034] Furthermore, the F1 interface unit 115 may receive uplink messages related to the uplink (UL) from the 6G DU150 (second device). For example, the F1 interface unit 115 may receive UL messages such as an Initial context setup response. The F1 interface unit 115 may also send DL messages to the 6G DU150 (second device).

[0035] In this embodiment, the NG interface unit 111 and the F1 interface unit 115 may constitute a receiving unit that receives downlink messages from the core network and uplink messages from the second device. In addition, in this embodiment, the NG interface unit 111 and the F1 interface unit 115 may constitute a transmitting unit that transmits downlink messages to the second device and uplink messages to the core network.

[0036] The control unit 117 controls each functional block that constitutes the 6G CU 110. Specifically, the control unit 117 may perform control related to the transmission and reception of data by the NG interface unit 111, the Xn interface unit 113, and the F1 interface unit 115.

[0037] In particular, the control unit 117 may perform control related to transitions to other cells of the UE200, specifically, handovers (which may include LTM). Specifically, the control unit 117 may perform control related to messages concerning such transitions, and the sending and receiving of the DL message and UL message described above.

[0038] Furthermore, the control unit 117 may recognize the contents of the DL message and UL message and control the transmission of the DL message and UL message. Specifically, the control unit 117 may read the contents of the DL message and UL message relayed by the 6G CU 110 via the NG interface unit 111 and the F1 interface unit 115, confirm (acquire) the contents, and then relay the message. Note that the control unit 117 may omit such content confirmation depending on the type of message.

[0039] (2.2) 6G DU150 As shown in Figure 4, the 6G DU150 includes a Uu interface unit 151, an Xn interface unit 153, an F1 interface unit 155, an NGn interface unit 156, and a control unit 157.

[0040] The Uu interface unit 151 provides a Uu interface with the UE 200. Specifically, the Uu interface unit 151 may provide a function of transmitting and receiving data (which may include control data and user data) via the Uu interface in accordance with the specifications of the Uu interface defined by 3GPP.

[0041] The Xn interface unit 153 provides an Xn interface with other 6G DUs 150. Specifically, the Xn interface unit 153 may provide a function of transmitting and receiving data (which may include control data and user data) via the Xn interface in accordance with the specifications of the Xn interface defined by 3GPP. Note that, as described above, the Xn interface unit 153 may execute processing only for control data (Xn-C).

[0042] The F1 interface unit 155 provides an F1 interface with the 6G CU 110. Specifically, the F1 interface unit 155 may provide a function of transmitting and receiving data (which may include control data and user data) via the F1 interface in accordance with the specifications of the F1 interface defined by 3GPP.

[0043] The NGn interface unit 156 provides an NGn (provisional name) interface (see FIG. 2) with the 6G-CN 30. The NGn interface may be interpreted as a new interface. The NGn interface unit 156 may be optional and does not necessarily have to be provided. The NGn interface unit 156 may provide a function of transmitting and receiving data (which may include control data and user data) via the NGn interface.

[0044] The NGn interface unit 156 directly receives a downlink message related to the downlink, specifically, a DL message, from the 6G-CN 30 (core network). In the present embodiment, the NGn interface unit 156 may constitute a receiving unit that directly receives a downlink message from the core network.

[0045] Further, the NGn interface unit 156 directly transmits an uplink message regarding the uplink, specifically, a UL message, to the 6G-CN 30. In the present embodiment, the NGn interface unit 156 may constitute a transmission unit that directly transmits an uplink message to the core network.

[0046] Specifically, the NGn interface unit 156 may directly transmit and receive a DL message and a DL message with the 6G-CN 30 via the NGn interface without passing through the 6G CU 110.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 2, the 6G DU 150 may include an entity of a radio resource control layer (RRC). Specifically, the 6G DU 150 may include entities of PHY, MAC, RLC, and RRC (see FIG. 2), and these entities may provide functions via the Xn interface unit 153, the F1 interface unit 155, and the NGn interface unit 156.

[0048] The control unit 157 controls each functional block constituting the 6G DU 150. Specifically, the control unit 157 may execute control regarding data transmission and reception by the Uu interface unit 151, the Xn interface unit 153, the F1 interface unit 155, and the NGn interface unit 156.

[0049] In particular, the control unit 157 may execute control regarding the transition of the UE 200 to other cells, specifically, handover (which may include LTM). Specifically, the control unit 157 may execute control regarding messages related to the transition and the transmission and reception of the above-described DL message and UL message.

[0050] (3) Operation of the wireless communication system Next, the operation of the wireless communication system 10 will be described. Specifically, the operation regarding the transmission and reception of the DL message and the UL message between the gNB-DU and the core network will be described.

[0051] (3.1) Premise and Issues As described above, in the wireless communication system 10, the 6G RAN node (gNB100) may employ a CU-DU split architecture. The 6G DU150 may also have RRC entities. Furthermore, the DUs may be connected by an Xn interface.

[0052] In this case, the DU needs to process the DL / UL messages that were being sent and received between the CU and CN, but under the existing specifications, the DU is unable to send or receive these messages and therefore cannot operate properly.

[0053] (3.2) Example of Operation The gNB-CU (6G CU110) may forward DL messages received from the core network (6G-CN30) to the gNB-DU (6G DU150). The gNB-CU may also forward UL messages received from the gNB-DU to the core network.

[0054] Figure 5 shows examples of DL messages and UL messages transmitted via gNB-CU. Specifically, Figure 5 shows examples of DL messages transmitted from the core network to gNB-DU via gNB-CU, and UL messages transmitted from DU to the core network via gNB-CU. DL messages marked with an asterisk (*) in Figure 5 indicate that the content needs to be checked by the gNB-CU.

[0055] Figure 6 shows examples of DL messages and UL messages sent and received directly between the core network and the gNB-DU. Specifically, Figure 6 shows examples of DL messages and UL messages sent and received between the DU and the core network without going through the gNB-CU.

[0056] Figure 7 shows an example of a DL message forwarding sequence. As shown in Figure 7, the core network sends a DL message to the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU checks the content of the DL message depending on the type of DL message (see Figure 5) and may forward the DL message to the gNB-DU.

[0057] Figure 8 shows an example of a UL message forwarding sequence. As shown in Figure 8, the gNB-DU sends a UL message to the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU checks the content of the UL message depending on the type of UL message (see Figure 5) and may forward the UL message to the core network.

[0058] Figure 9 shows an example of a DL message transmission sequence. As shown in Figure 9, the core network may send the DL message directly to the gNB-DU via a new interface (e.g., an NGn interface) without going through the gNB-CU.

[0059] Figure 10 shows an example of a UL message transmission sequence. As shown in Figure 10, the gNB-DU may send the UL message directly to the core network via a new interface (e.g., an NGn interface) without going through the gNB-CU.

[0060] According to the example operation described above, the gNB-CU can forward the DL message / UL message described above to the gNB-DU / core network. Alternatively, the core network and the gNB-DU can directly send and receive the DL message / UL message described above via the new interface. Therefore, even when the RRC entity is provided on the 6G DU, DL message / UL message can be sent and received normally between the gNB-DU and the core network.

[0061] (4) Other Embodiments Although embodiments have been described above, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the embodiments are not limited to those described and that various modifications and improvements are possible.

[0062] For example, in the above description, configure, activate, update, indicate, enable, specify, and select may be interpreted as interchangeable. Similarly, link, associate, correspond, and map may be interpreted as interchangeable, and allocate, assign, monitor, and map may also be interpreted as interchangeable.

[0063] Furthermore, "specific," "dedicated," "UE specific," and "UE individual" may be interpreted interchangeably. Similarly, "common," "shared," "group-common," "UE common," and "UE shared" may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0064] In this disclosure, terms such as “precoding,” “precoder,” “weight (precoding weight),” “quasi-co-location (QCL),” “transmission configuration indication state (TCI state),” “spatial relation,” “spatial domain filter,” “transmit power,” “phase rotation,” “antenna port,” “antenna port group,” “layer,” “number of layers,” “rank,” “resource,” “resource set,” “resource group,” “beam,” “beam width,” “beam angle,” “antenna,” “antenna element,” and “panel” may be used interchangeably.

[0065] Furthermore, the block diagram (Figure 3.4) used in the description of the embodiments above shows functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Moreover, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or it may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wired or wireless connections). A functional block may also be realized by combining software with the one or more of the above devices.

[0066] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, decision, judgment, calculation, calculation, processing, derivation, investigation, exploration, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, assumption, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating (mapping), and assigning. For example, a functional block (configuration part) that enables transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. In any case, as mentioned above, the method of implementation is not particularly limited.

[0067] Furthermore, the gNB100 (6G CU110, 6G DU150) and UE200 (the device) described above may function as a computer that processes the wireless communication method of this disclosure. Figure 11 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the device. As shown in Figure 11, the device may be configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, memory 1002, storage 1003, communication device 1004, input device 1005, output device 1006, and bus 1007.

[0068] In the following explanation, the term "device" can be replaced with "circuit," "device," "unit," etc. The hardware configuration of the device may include one or more of the devices shown in the diagram, or it may be configured to omit some of the devices.

[0069] Each functional block of the device (see Figures 3 and 4) is implemented by any hardware element of the computer device, or a combination of such hardware elements.

[0070] Furthermore, each function in the device is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, which allows the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 1004, and control at least one of the reading and writing of data in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0071] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer, for example, by running an operating system. The processor 1001 may consist of a central processing unit (CPU) that includes interfaces with peripheral devices, control units, arithmetic units, registers, and so on.

[0072] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads programs (program code), software modules, data, etc., from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002 and executes various processes accordingly. The program used is one that causes the computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above embodiment. Moreover, the above-mentioned various processes may be executed by one processor 1001, or by two or more processors 1001 simultaneously or sequentially. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may also be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0073] Memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), etc. Memory 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory, etc. Memory 1002 can store a program (program code), software module, etc., that can execute a method according to one embodiment of this disclosure.

[0074] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: an optical disc such as a Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., Compact Disc, Digital Multipurpose Disc, Blu-ray® Disc), a smart card, flash memory (e.g., a card, stick, key drive), a floppy® disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device. The recording medium described above may also be, for example, a database, server, or other suitable medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0075] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transceiver / receiver device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as a network device, network controller, network card, communication module, etc.

[0076] The communication device 1004 may be configured to include, for example, a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc., in order to implement at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD).

[0077] The input device 1005 is an input device that accepts input from an external source (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.). The output device 1006 is an output device that outputs to an external source (e.g., a display, speaker, LED lamp, etc.). The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be configured as an integrated unit (e.g., a touch panel).

[0078] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or different buses may be configured for each device.

[0079] Furthermore, the device may include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of each functional block may be implemented by such hardware. For example, processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these hardware components.

[0080] Furthermore, notification of information is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be carried out by other means. For example, notification of information may be carried out by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), upper layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or combinations thereof. RRC signaling may also be called RRC messages, and may be, for example, RRC Connection Setup messages, RRC Connection Reconfiguration messages, etc.

[0081] Each aspect / embodiment described herein may be applied to at least one of the following: Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (where x is, for example, an integer or decimal), Future Radio Access (FRA), New Radio (NR), W-CDMA®, GSM®, CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi®), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX®), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth®, and other appropriate systems, as well as next-generation systems extended based thereon. Furthermore, multiple systems may be applied in combination (for example, a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G).

[0082] The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc., of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be reordered, provided they do not contradict each other. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present various step elements using exemplary order and are not limited to the specific order presented.

[0083] The specific operations described in this disclosure as being performed by a base station may, in some cases, be performed by its upper node. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal can be performed by the base station and at least one other network node (for example, an MME or S-GW, but not limited to these). Although the above example illustrates the case where there is one other network node besides the base station, it may also be a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW).

[0084] Information and signals (such as data) can be output from a higher layer (or lower layer) to a lower layer (or higher layer). Input and output may occur via multiple network nodes.

[0085] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or appended to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be sent to other devices.

[0086] The determination may be made by a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), by a boolean value (true or false), or by a numerical comparison (for example, a comparison with a predetermined value).

[0087] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be used individually, in combination, or switched between as needed during implementation. Furthermore, notification of specific information (e.g., notification that "X is") is not limited to explicit notification, but may also be implicit (e.g., by not providing such notification).

[0088] Software should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, and so on, whether they are called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or by any other name.

[0089] Furthermore, software, instructions, information, etc., may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) and wireless technologies (such as infrared or microwave), then at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included in the definition of a transmission medium.

[0090] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of the various different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0091] In addition, terms used in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of the channel and symbol may be a signal (signaling). Also, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, cell, frequency carrier, etc.

[0092] The terms “system” and “network” as used in this disclosure are interchangeable.

[0093] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc., described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a given value, or other corresponding information. For example, wireless resources may be indicated by an index.

[0094] The names used for the parameters described above are not restrictive in any way. Furthermore, the formulas and other expressions using these parameters may differ from those expressly disclosed in this disclosure. Since various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements can be identified by any suitable name, the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not restrictive in any way.

[0095] In this disclosure, terms such as "Base Station (BS)," "wireless base station," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNodeB (eNB)," "gNodeB (gNB)," "access point," "transmission point," "reception point," "transmission / reception point," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.

[0096] A base station can house one or more (e.g., three) cells (also called sectors). If a base station houses multiple cells, the entire coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, each of which can also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (Remote Radio Head: RRH)).

[0097] The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to a portion or all of the coverage area of ​​at least one of the base stations and base station subsystems that provide communication services in this coverage.

[0098] In this disclosure, the transmission of information by a base station to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to perform control or operation based on the information.

[0099] In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

[0100] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other appropriate term.

[0101] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may also be a device mounted on a mobile body, the mobile body itself, etc. The mobile body refers to a movable object, and its speed of movement is arbitrary. This also includes the case when the mobile body is stationary. The mobile body includes, but is not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcarts, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, satellites, drones (registered trademark), multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and items mounted on them. The mobile body may also be a mobile body that moves autonomously based on operation commands. It may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile body (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). Furthermore, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may include devices that do not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

[0102] Furthermore, the term "base station" in this disclosure may be interpreted as "mobile station" (user terminal, hereinafter the same). For example, the various aspects / embodiments of this disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a mobile station is replaced with communication between multiple mobile stations (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the mobile station may have the functions that a base station has. Also, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be interpreted as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc. may be interpreted as side channel (or side link).

[0103] Similarly, the term "mobile station" in this disclosure may be interpreted as "base station." In this case, the base station may be configured to have the functions that a mobile station has.

[0104] A wireless frame may consist of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of these one or more frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further consist of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0105] Numerology may be communication parameters applied to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. Numerology may include, for example, at least one of the following: subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame configuration, specific filtering processes performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing processes performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

[0106] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols or Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbols). A slot may also be a time unit based on neurology.

[0107] A slot may include multiple mini-slots. Each mini-slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain. Mini-slots may also be called sub-slots. Mini-slots may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a mini-slot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a mini-slot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0108] Wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols all represent units of time when transmitting a signal. Different names may be used for each of these terms.

[0109] For example, one subframe may be called a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. In other words, at least one of a subframe and a TTI may be a subframe in existing LTE (1ms), a period shorter than 1ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.

[0110] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest unit of time for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, the base station schedules each user terminal to allocate wireless resources (such as the frequency bandwidth and transmission power available to each user terminal) in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0111] TTI may be a transmission time unit for channel-encoded data packets (transport blocks), code blocks, code words, etc., or it may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. Note that when a TTI is given, the actual time interval (e.g., number of symbols) in which the transport block, code block, code word, etc. are mapped may be shorter than the given TTI.

[0112] Furthermore, if one slot or one mini-slot is referred to as TTI, then one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more mini-slots) may constitute the minimum time unit of scheduling. In addition, the number of slots (number of mini-slots) that constitute the minimum time unit of scheduling may be controlled.

[0113] A TTI with a time length of 1ms may also be called a normal TTI, long TTI, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may also be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, mini slot, sub slot, slot, etc.

[0114] Furthermore, long TTIs (e.g., normal TTIs, subframes, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a time length exceeding 1 ms, and short TTIs (e.g., shortened TTIs, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a TTI length less than that of a long TTI but 1 ms or more.

[0115] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and in the frequency domain, it may contain one or more consecutive subcarriers. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be the same regardless of the neurology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be determined based on the neurology.

[0116] Furthermore, the time domain of RB may contain one or more symbols and may be the length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc., may each consist of one or more resource blocks.

[0117] One or more RBs may also be called a Physical RB (PRB), Sub-Carrier Group (SCG), Resource Element Group (REG), PRB pair, RB pair, etc.

[0118] Furthermore, a resource block may consist of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource area comprising one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0119] A Bandwidth Part (BWP), also known as a partial bandwidth, may represent a subset of consecutive common resource blocks (RBs) for a given neurology in a given carrier. Here, the common RBs may be identified by an index of the RBs relative to the carrier's common reference point. PRBs may be defined and numbered within a given BWP.

[0120] A BWP may include BWPs for UL (UL BWP) and BWPs for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be set within a single carrier for a UE.

[0121] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE does not need to assume that it will send or receive a given signal / channel outside of the active BWP. In this disclosure, terms such as "cell" and "carrier" may be read as "BWP".

[0122] The structures described above, such as wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols, are merely illustrative. For example, the number of subframes included in a wireless frame, the number of slots per subframe or wireless frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, and the number of symbols, symbol length, and cyclic prefix (CP) length within a TTI can be varied in various ways.

[0123] The terms “connected,” “coupled,” and any variations thereof mean any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are “connected” or “coupled” with each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, “connection” may be reinterpreted as “access.” As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be “connected” or “coupled” with each other using at least one of one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, and, in some non-limiting and non-exclusive examples, electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency domain, microwave domain, and optical (both visible and invisible) domain.

[0124] The reference signal can also be abbreviated as Reference Signal (RS), and may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0125] In this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based solely on" unless otherwise specified. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based solely on" and "based at least on."

[0126] In the configuration of each of the above devices, "means" may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0127] Any reference to elements using designations such as “First,” “Second,” etc., as used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Accordingly, references to the First and Second elements do not imply that only two elements may be employed therein, or that the First element must precede the Second element in any way.

[0128] Where the terms “include,” “including,” and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, as is the term “comprising.” Furthermore, the term “or” as used in this disclosure is not intended to be exclusive OR.

[0129] In this disclosure, if articles are added through translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include the fact that the noun following these articles is plural.

[0130] The terms “determining” and “determining” as used in this disclosure may encompass a wide variety of actions. “Determining” and “determining” may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, or inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), or ascertaining. “Determining” and “determining” may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), inputting, outputting, or accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory). Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering something as having "judgmented" or "decided" after resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering something as having "judgmented" or "decided" about some action. Also, "judgment (decision)" can be reinterpreted as "assuming," "expecting," or "considering."

[0131] In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combine" may be interpreted similarly to "different."

[0132] Figure 12 shows an example of the configuration of vehicle 2001. As shown in Figure 12, vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right rear wheels 2008, an axle 2009, an electronic control unit 2010, various sensors 2021 to 2029, an information service unit 2012, and a communication module 2013.

[0133] The drive unit 2002 consists of, for example, an engine, a motor, or a hybrid of an engine and a motor. The steering unit 2003 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle) and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels and rear wheels based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user. The electronic control unit 2010 consists of a microprocessor 2031, memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and communication ports (IO ports) 2033. Signals from various sensors 2021 to 2027 provided in the vehicle are input to the electronic control unit 2010. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

[0134] Signals from various sensors 2021 to 2028 include current signals from the current sensor 2021 that senses motor current, front and rear wheel rotation speed signals obtained by the rotation speed sensor 2022, front and rear wheel air pressure signals obtained by the air pressure sensor 2023, vehicle speed signals obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 2024, acceleration signals obtained by the acceleration sensor 2025, accelerator pedal depression signals obtained by the accelerator pedal sensor 2029, brake pedal depression signals obtained by the brake pedal sensor 2026, shift lever operation signals obtained by the shift lever sensor 2027, and detection signals obtained by the object detection sensor 2028 for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc.

[0135] The Information Services Unit 2012 consists of various devices for providing (outputting) various types of information such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, including a car navigation system, audio system, speakers, television, and radio, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The Information Services Unit 2012 uses information acquired from external devices via a communication module 2013, etc., to provide various multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of Vehicle 1.

[0136] Information Services Unit 2012 may include input devices that accept input from external sources (e.g., keyboards, mice, microphones, switches, buttons, sensors, touch panels, etc.) and output devices that perform output to external sources (e.g., displays, speakers, LED lamps, touch panels, etc.).

[0137] The driver assistance system unit 2030 consists of various devices that provide functions to prevent accidents or reduce the driver's workload, such as millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), cameras, positioning locators (e.g., GNSS), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) maps, autonomous vehicle (AV) maps), gyro systems (e.g., IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), INS (Inertial Navigation System)), AI (Artificial Intelligence) chips, and AI processors, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. The driver assistance system unit 2030 also sends and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize driver assistance functions or autonomous driving functions.

[0138] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 1 via its communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 sends and receives data via the communication port 2033 between the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, the microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021 to 2028 provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0139] The communication module 2013 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 2031 of the electronic control unit 2010 and can communicate with external devices. For example, it can send and receive various types of information to and from external devices via wireless communication. The communication module 2013 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 2010. The external device may be, for example, a base station or a mobile station.

[0140] The communication module 2013 may transmit at least one of the following to an external device via wireless communication: signals from the various sensors 2021 to 2028 input to the electronic control unit 2010, information obtained based on said signals, and information based on input from an external source (user) obtained via the information service unit 2012. The electronic control unit 2010, the various sensors 2021 to 2028, the information service unit 2012, etc., may also be called input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 2013 may include information based on the above input.

[0141] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, signal information, vehicle-to-vehicle information, etc.) transmitted from an external device and displays it on the information service unit 2012 installed in the vehicle. The information service unit 2012 may also be called an output unit, which outputs information (for example, outputs information to devices such as displays and speakers based on the PDSCH (or data / information decoded from the PDSCH) received by the communication module 2013). The communication module 2013 also stores the various information received from the external device in a memory 2032 that is available to the microprocessor 2031. Based on the information stored in memory 2032, the microprocessor 2031 may control the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right rear wheels 2008, axles 2009, sensors 2021-2028, etc., installed in the vehicle 2001.

[0142] 10 Wireless communication system 20 6G-RAN 30 6G-CN 100 gNB 110 6G CU 111 NG interface unit 113 Xn interface unit 115 F1 interface unit 117 Control unit 150 6G DU 151 Uu interface unit 153 Xn interface unit 155 F1 interface unit 156 NGn interface unit 157 Control unit 200 UE 1001 Processor 1002 Memory 1003 Storage 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device 1007 Bus 2001 Vehicle 2002 Drive unit 2003 Steering unit 2004 Accelerator pedal 2005 Brake pedal 2006 Shift lever 2007 Left and right front wheels 2008 Left and right rear wheels 2009 Axle 2010 Electronic Control Unit 2012 Information Service Unit 2013 Communication Module 2021 Current Sensor 2022 Rotation Speed ​​Sensor 2023 Pneumatic Sensor 2024 Vehicle Speed ​​Sensor 2025 Acceleration Sensor 2026 Brake Pedal Sensor 2027 Shift Lever Sensor 2028 Object Detection Sensor 2029 Accelerator Pedal Sensor 2030 Driving Assistance System Unit 2031 Microprocessor 2032 Memory (ROM, RAM) 2033 Communication Port

Claims

1. A radio base station comprising a first device, wherein one or more second devices are connected to the first device, the first device comprising: a receiving unit that receives downlink messages relating to downlinks from a core network and uplink messages relating to uplinks from the second device; and a transmitting unit that transmits the downlink messages to the second device and transmits the uplink messages to the core network.

2. The wireless base station according to claim 1, wherein the first device includes a control unit that recognizes the contents of the downlink message and the uplink message and controls the transmission of the downlink message and the uplink message.

3. A radio base station comprising one or more second devices connected to a first device, wherein the second device includes a receiving unit that directly receives downlink messages relating to a downlink from a core network, and a transmitting unit that directly transmits uplink messages relating to an uplink to the core network.

4. The wireless base station according to claim 3, wherein the receiving unit and the transmitting unit transmit and receive the downlink message and the uplink message via an interface that directly connects the core network and the second device.

5. A wireless communication method in a radio base station, which includes a first device and to which one or more second devices are connected, comprising the steps of: the first device receiving a downlink message relating to a downlink from a core network and an uplink message relating to an uplink from the second device; and the first device transmitting the downlink message to the second device and the uplink message to the core network.

6. A wireless communication method in a radio base station including one or more second devices connected to a first device, comprising the steps of: the second device directly receiving a downlink message relating to a downlink from a core network; and the second device directly transmitting an uplink message relating to an uplink to the core network.

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