KR20060042858A - Method and apparatus for signaling control information of up-nk packet data service in mobile telecommunication system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile communication system for transmitting packet data through an uplink, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for a user terminal (UE) to transmit control information to a base station. In the uplink, a packet transmitted by the UE during one transmission period is multiplexed with data of several upper layers and control information of the MAC layer. Multiplexed information is stored in the header of the packet, so that the base station demultiplexes higher layer data from the packet. The terminal stores MAC layer control information in a payload of the packet, and stores information for demultiplexing MAC layer control information in a header of the packet. At this time, the information for demultiplexing the MAC layer control information has the same structure as the information for demultiplexing general user data, thereby simplifying the structure of the packet header and minimizing the size of the packet header.

WCDMA, UPLINK PACKET DATA SERVICE, E-DCH, EUDCH, MAC-e, MUX ID, DDI

Description

TECHNICAL AND APPARATUS FOR SIGNALING CONTROL INFORMATION OF UP-NK PACKET DATA SERVICE IN MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM}             

1A is a diagram illustrating a change in uplink radio resources of a base station when base station control scheduling is not used.

1B is a diagram illustrating a change in uplink radio resources of a base station when using base station control scheduling.

2 is a diagram illustrating a user terminal and a base station for performing uplink packet transmission.

3 is a diagram illustrating information transmitted and received between a user terminal and a base station to perform uplink packet transmission.

4A and 4B schematically illustrate the structure of a user terminal, a base station, and a base station controller according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a structure of packet data used in an uplink packet data service according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a user terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention.                 

7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a base station according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

8 illustrates a structure of a MAC-e PDU using typical DDI.

9 illustrates a structure of a MAC-e PDU according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a user terminal according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

11 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a base station according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

12 illustrates a structure of a MAC-e PDU according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

13 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a user terminal according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

14 is a flowchart showing the operation of a base station according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

The present invention relates to a mobile communication system for transmitting packet data through uplink, and more particularly, to a method for more efficiently signaling control information for controlling uplink packet data service.

Asynchronous Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WWDMA) The communication system uses an enhanced uplink dedicated channel (hereinafter referred to as "E-DCH" or "EUDCH"). do. The EUDCH is a channel proposed to improve the performance of packet transmission in reverse communication in an asynchronous code division multiple access communication system.

A mobile communication system supporting EUDCH maximizes the efficiency of uplink transmission by using Node B-controlled scheduling and Hybrid Automatic Retransmission Request (HARQ). The base station scheduling technique is a base station (Node B) to report the channel status and buffer status of the user equipment (User Equipment (UE)), and to control the reverse transmission of the UE based on the received information. The base station allows efficient use of limited uplink transmission resources by allowing large amounts of data transmission to UEs in good channel conditions and minimizing the amount of data transmission for UEs in poor channel conditions. The HARQ technique increases the transmission success rate compared to the transmission output by executing HARQ between the UE and the base station. Through the HARQ technique, the base station performs soft combining with the retransmitted data block without discarding the data block in which an error occurs during transmission, thereby increasing the probability of success of receiving the data block.

In the uplink, orthogonality is not maintained between signals transmitted by a plurality of user terminals (UEs), thus acting as interference signals. Therefore, as the number of uplink signals received by the base station increases, the amount of interference signals for the uplink signals transmitted by a specific UE also increases. Therefore, as the amount of the interference signal for the uplink signal transmitted by a specific UE increases, the reception performance of the base station is degraded. This limits the amount of uplink signals that the base station can receive while guaranteeing overall reception performance. The radio resource of the base station is represented by Equation 1 below.                         

RoT = Io / No

Io is the total received broadband power spectral density of the base station, and No represents the thermal noise power spectral density of the base station. Accordingly, the ROT becomes a radio resource that the base station can allocate for the EUDCH packet data service on the uplink.

1A and 1B show a change in uplink radio resources that can be allocated by a base station.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, an uplink radio resource allocated by the base station may be represented by a sum of inter-cell interference (ICI), voice traffic, and EUDCH packet traffic. FIG. 1A illustrates a change in the total ROT when Node B scheduling is not used. Since scheduling is not performed on the EUDCH packet traffic, when a plurality of UEs simultaneously transmit the packet data using a high data rate, the total ROT may be higher than a target ROT. In this case, the reception performance of the uplink signal is degraded.

1B shows the change in the total ROT when using Node B scheduling. When using the Node B scheduling, Node B prevents the plurality of UEs from simultaneously transmitting the packet data using a high data rate. That is, the base station scheduling prevents the total ROT from increasing above the target ROT by allowing a lower data rate to other UEs when allowing a higher data rate to a specific UE.

The higher the data rate of a particular UE, the greater the received power received by the base station from the UE. Therefore, the ROT of the UE occupies a large part of the total ROT. On the other hand, when the data rate of the UE decreases, the reception power received by the base station from the UE decreases. Therefore, the ROT of the UE occupies a small part of the total ROT. The base station performs base station scheduling for the EUDCH packet data in consideration of the relationship between the data rate and radio resources and the data rate requested by the UE.

The base station notifies whether EUDCH data transmission is possible for each UE by using request data rate or channel state information of UEs using the EUDCH or performs base station scheduling to adjust the EUDCH data rate. The base station scheduling may be regarded as an operation in which the Node B distributes RoT to each terminal based on channel conditions and buffer states of terminals performing EUDCH communication.

2 illustrates a user terminal and a base station for performing uplink packet transmission.

According to FIG. 2, the UEs 210, 212, 214, and 216 are transmitting uplink packet data at different transmit powers of reverse channels according to the distance from the base station 200. The UE 210 farthest from the base station 200 transmits packet data at the transmit power 220 of the highest reverse channel, and the UE 214 closest from the base station 200 is lowest. The packet data is transmitted at the transmit power 224 of the reverse channel. The base station 200 may schedule the data to be inversely proportional to the strength of the transmit power of the reverse channel in order to improve the performance of the mobile communication system while reducing the ICI for other cells while maintaining the total ROT. Therefore, the base station 200 allocates a small transmission resource to the UE having the highest transmission power of the reverse channel, and allocates many transmission resources to the UE having the lowest transmission power of the reverse channel to efficiently maintain the total ROT. .

3 illustrates an operation in which a UE is allocated a transmission resource for EUDCH packet data transmission from a base station and transmits the packet data using the allocated transmission resource.

Referring to FIG. 3, in step 310, an EUDCH is set between the base station 300 and the UE 302. Step 310 includes a process of transmitting and receiving messages through a dedicated transport channel. The UE 302 having configured the EUDCH transmits information on necessary transmission resources and information on uplink channel conditions to the base station 300 in step 312. The information includes uplink transmission power transmitted by the UE 302, transmission power margin of the UE 303, buffer status information of the terminal, and the like.

The base station 300 receiving the information estimates a forward channel situation by comparing the transmission power of the uplink channel with the actual measured reception power. That is, if the difference between the uplink transmit power and the uplink receive power is small, the reverse channel situation is good. If the difference between the transmit power and the receive power is large, the reverse channel situation is poor. When the UE transmits a transmission power margin to estimate an uplink channel condition, the base station 300 estimates the uplink transmission power by subtracting the transmission power margin from the maximum possible transmission power of a known UE. . The base station 300 uses the estimated channel status of the UE and buffer status information of the UE 302 to determine possible transmission resources for an uplink packet channel of the UE.

The determined transmission resource is notified to the UE 302 in step 314. In this case, the transmission resource may be a size of data that can be transmitted, that is, a transmission rate, or a transmission output that can be used. The UE 302 determines the size of packet data to be transmitted to the informed transmission resource, and transmits the determined size data to the base station 300 in step 316. In this case, one unit of the packet data transmitted through the EUDCH is called a MAC-e PDU (Media Access Control-enhanced Protocol Data Unit).

As described above, buffer state information necessary for uplink packet data service through EUDCH is essential control information for the base station to perform proper scheduling. A protocol for transmitting and receiving the above control information between the terminal and the base station is referred to as MAC-e (Medium Access Control-EUDCH). In this sense, the information is referred to as MAC-e control information. Therefore, there is a need for a specific scheme for signaling the MAC-e control information more efficiently.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems of the prior art is to provide a method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving MAC-e control information as part of a MAC-e PDU in a mobile communication system supporting uplink.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A main feature of the present invention described below is to transmit and receive control information for the uplink packet data service as part of uplink packet data in a mobile communication system supporting an uplink packet data service. In the following description, the uplink packet data service will use EUDCH (Enhanced Uplink Dedicated CHannel) of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication Service), which is one of third generation mobile communication. It should be understood that the description below is to be understood as all kinds of communication systems to which the following description is applicable.

The UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (hereinafter referred to as UTRAN) of a UMTS system includes a base station (Node B) consisting of a plurality of cells and a radio network controller managing radio resources of the base stations and cells. Controller: hereinafter referred to as RNC).

4A and 4B illustrate structures of a terminal, a base station, and an RNC supporting uplink packet data service according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the terminal 402 inserts multiplexed information into radio link control (RLC) layers 405a to 405c, 407a and 407b and data transmitted from the RLC layers 405 and 407. The C / T multiplexer 410a and 410b and the MAC-e / es (Media Access Control for EUDCH / Serving RNC) layer 420 are provided.

The RLC entities of the RLC layers 405 and 407 are configured for each logical channel or radio bearer, and store data generated in an upper layer and have a size suitable for transmitting data generated in the upper layer in the radio layer. For reference, the radio bearer is a term referring to an RLC layer and an upper layer configured to process data of a specific application, and the logical channel is a logical channel between the RLC layer and the MAC layer. It is composed.

The C / T multiplexer 410 inserts multiplexing information into the data transmitted from the RLC layer 405. The multiplexing information may be an identifier of a logical channel, and a receiver sends data received with reference to the identifier to an appropriate RLC layer. The C / T multiplexer 410 is also called a MAC-d layer.

Data output from one C / T multiplexer 410a or 410b is called a MAC-d flow 415. The MAC-d flow 415 assigns logical channels to a Quality of Service (QoS). It is classified according to. Data of logical channels requiring the same quality of service are classified into the same MAC-d flow, and the MAC-e / es layer 420 may provide a specialized quality of service for each MAC-d flow. The quality of service may be adjusted by, for example, the number of HARQ retransmissions or the transmission power.

The MAC-e / es layer 420 includes an E-DCH Control Block (425), a Multiplexing and Transmission Sequence Number (TSN) setting block (430), and an HARQ block (420). HARQ entity) 435.

The E-DCH control unit 425 generates control information related to the EUDCH. The EUDCH related control information includes information such as a buffer status and an uplink transmission power. The information is referred to when the base station is scheduled, and is piggybacked on the MAC-e PDU, which is E-DCH packet data, and transmitted.

The multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 inserts multiplexing information and a transmission sequence number into data transmitted from an upper layer. The HARQ block 435 controls HARQ transmission and retransmission of E-DCH packet data. The HARQ block 435 controls transmission and retransmission of the MAC-e PDU according to an ACK (Acknowledge) or NACK (Non-Acknowledge) signal transmitted by the base station 437.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the base station 437 includes a HARQ entity 450, a demultiplexing unit 455, and an E-DCH control block 445. The HARQ block 450 controls HARQ transmission and retransmission. That is, the HARQ block 450 generates an ACK / NACK signal for the MAC-e PDU and transmits the ACK / NACK signal to the terminal 402. The HARQ block 450 receives the retransmitted MAC-e PDU and combines it with the buffered MAC-e PDU. do.

The demultiplexing block 455 divides the MAC-e PDU into MAC-es PDUs using the header information of the MAC-e PDU, and then delivers the MAC-e PDU to the RNC 462. If MAC-e control information is included in the header information of the MAC-e PDU, the MAC-e control information is transmitted to the E-DCH control unit 445 by the demultiplexing block 455.

The E-DCH control unit 445 receives and processes the MAC-e control information. If a MAC-e PDU includes the MAC-e control information, the MAC-e control information is transmitted to the E-DCH control unit 445, and the E-DCH control unit 445 displays the control information in a scheduler (not shown). And the like).

The RNC 462 includes reordering queues 465 and 470, disassembly units 475 and 480, C / T demultiplexers 485 and 487 and a radio link control (RLC) layer. 490a to 490c, 492a and 492b are provided.

Order reordering buffers 465 and 470 are configured for each MAC-d flow, and reorder MAC-es PDUs. The TSN inserted by the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 is used for reordering. Deconstructions 475 and 480 decompose MAC-es PDUs into RLC PDUs in each MAC-e flow. The C / T demultiplexers 485 and 487 are responsible for delivering RLC PDUs to the appropriate RLC entity of the RLC layer 490 and 492 in each MAC-e flow. The RLC layers 490 and 492 reconstruct RLC PDUs into original upper layer data and then deliver them to the upper layer.                     

A terminal is provided with a plurality of RLC entities 405 and 407, and one RLC entity corresponds to one logical channel. The multiple logical channels correspond to one order reorder buffer. For example, RLC 1, RLC 2, and RLC 3 405a through 405b correspond to the order reorder buffer 465, and RLC 4 and RLC 5 407a and 407b correspond to the order reorder buffer 470.

When the UE 402 receives the uplink transmission resource from the base station 437 at a specific time point, the terminal 402 obtains as much data as can be transmitted to the transmission resource from each of the RLC entities 405a to 407b to configure a MAC-e PDU. Send it. The RLC PDUs transmitted from the RLC entities 405a to 407b are inserted into the MAC-e PDU by inserting MAC-e header information in the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430. At this time, if there is E-DCH related control information, the control information is also inserted into the MAC-e PDU and transmitted together.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.

<< first embodiment >>

5 shows the structure of a MAC-e PDU according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the MAC-e PDU 505 is data actually transmitted over a wireless channel, and is composed of a MAC-e header 510 and a MAC-e payload 515.

The MAC-e payload 515 of the MAC-e PDU 505 may store RLC PDUs generated from several RLC entities, and RLC PDUs generated from the same RLC entity may be stored in an adjacent position in one MAC-e PDU. RLC PDUs and TSNs generated in the same RLC entity constitute a MAC-es PDU 550. The TSN is information used for reordering the MAC-es PDU 550.

A plurality of MAC-es PDUs 540 and 550 may be stored in the MAC-e PDU 505, and the MAC-e header 510 includes multiplexing information for the MAC-es PDUs 540 and 550.

The MAC-e header 510 consists of k header parts 520, 530, where k is a positive integer, and the header parts 520, 530 are in the order in which they are located within the MAC-e header 510. One-to-one correspondence with MAC-es PDUs 540 and 550. For example, the k th header part 530 corresponds to the k th MAC-es PDU ([k]: MAC-es PDU) 550. The header parts 520 and 530 contain multiplexing identifiers (Mux ids) 522 and 532, PDU numbers N 524 and 534 and flags F 526 and 536.

The multiplexing identifier 532 may be a logical identifier in which a logical channel identifier, an order reordering buffer identifier, and PDU size information are combined. The MAC-es PDU 550 stores PDUs of one RLC entity, and the multiplexing identifier may include size information of the RLC PDUs stored in the MAC-es PDU 550. For example, if the RLC PDUs generated in the RLC 1 405a are stored in the MAC-es PDU 550, the multiplexing identifier 532 of the corresponding kth header part 530 corresponds to the RLC 1 405a. A value indicating the identifier of the logical channel, the identifier of the order reordering buffer 465 and the size of the RLC PDU included in the MAC-es PDU 550 is inserted.

The relationship between the multiplexing identifier and the logical channel / order reordering buffer / RLC PDU size is determined by the RNC 462 at the time of call setup and notified to the terminal 402 and the base station 437. Table 1 below illustrates the relationship between the values of the multiplexing identifier and the logical channel / order reordering buffer / RLC PDU size.

Multiplexing identifier Logical channel identifier Reorder buffer identifier RLC PDU Size Mux id 0 LCH 0 Reorder buffer 0 336 bit Mux id 1 LCH 1 Reorder buffer 0 336 bit Mux id 2 LCH 2 Sequence reorder buffer 1 336 bit Mux id 3 LCH 2 Sequence reorder buffer 1 168 bit

The multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 of the terminal 402 stores the relationship information as shown in Table 1, and when RLC PDUs are received through a logical channel, the RLC is referred to by referring to the identifier of the logical channel. Determine the multiplexing identifier for the PDUs. If a plurality of multiplexing identifiers correspond to the logical channel, corresponding multiplexing identifiers are determined by referring to the size of the received RLC PDUs. For example, when RLC PDUs having a size of 336 bits are transferred from LCH 2, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 configures a MAC-es PDU with the RLC PDUs, and sets a multiplexing identifier to 2. In the present specification, the size of the multiplexing identifier is described as 4 bits. However, these values do not limit the scope of the present invention.

N 534 is information indicating the number of RLC PDUs 560 stored in the MAC-es PDU 550. N may have a variable size between 0 and 8 bits. F 536 is 1-bit information indicating whether the following information is another header part or MAC-e payload, and indicates the end of the MAC-e header 510.

When the MAC-e control information 545 occurs at a specific time, the MAC-e control information 545 is included in the MAC-e PDU 505 and transmitted by the E-DCH control unit 445 of the terminal 402. do. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the MAC-es PDU 540 containing the MAC-e control information 545 is called a MAC-e control service data unit (hereinafter referred to as an SDU). For this purpose, a specific value of the multiplexing identifier is assigned to indicate the MAC-e control information 545. That is, no separate header information is defined for the MAC-e control information 545. For convenience of description, a specific value of the multiplexing identifier corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU 540 is called Mux_id_control.

When the MAC-e control information 545 is generated, the terminal 402 transmits the MAC-e control information 545 to the MAC-e control SDU 540 of the MAC-e PDU 505. In this case, the multiplexing identifier 522 of the header part 520 corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU 540 is set as the Mux_id_control.

When the base station 437 receives the MAC-e PDU 505, the base station 437 divides the MAC-e PDU 505 into MAC-es PDUs 540 and 550 with reference to the MAC-e header 510. Since the MAC-es PDU 540 having the multiplexing identifier Mux_id_control is a MAC-e control SDU, the MAC-es PDU 540 transfers it to the E-DCH controller 445.

The N field 524 of the header part 520 corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU 540 may be coded in one of three ways.

The value of the N field 524 indicates the number of MAC-e control SDUs 540. In this case, since the value of the N field 524 is always 1, the value of the N field 524 is meaningless information.

The value of the N field 524 indicates the size of the MAC-e control SDU 540. In this case, a value obtained by multiplying a value of the N field 524 by a predetermined integer becomes the size of the MAC-e control SDU 540. However, if the size indicating information is included in the MAC-e control SDU 540, the value of the N field 524 is redundant information.

N field 524 is not used for MAC-e control SDU 540.

6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the terminal 402 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, when MAC-e control information is generated in the E-DCH control unit 425 of the terminal 402 in step 605, the E-DCH control unit 425 uses the MAC-e control information as a MAC in step 610. -e Configured as a control SDU and transmitted to the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430. In addition, as mentioned above, MAC-es PDUs including RLC PDUs generated in the RLC entities 405 are delivered to the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430. Although not shown, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 generates a header including header parts corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU and the MAC-es PDUs. As described above, each of the header parts includes a multiplex identifier field, an N field, and an F field, and fields of header parts corresponding to the MAC-es PDUs are set according to the RLC PDUs.

In step 615, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 sets the multiplexing identifier of the MAC-e header part corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU to Mux_id_control, which is a predetermined value. In operation 620, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 sets an N value for the MAC-e control SDU. If it is determined that there is no N field for the MAC-e control SDU, step 620 is omitted. In operation 625, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 sets an F value. If there is a MAC-es PDU after the MAC-e header part corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU, the F becomes 1, otherwise the F becomes 0.

In step 630, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit concatenates the MAC-e header including the MAC-e header parts, the MAC-e control SDU and the MAC-es PDUs to form a MAC-e PDU, and transmits the MAC-e PDU to the base station.

7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the base station 437 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, in step 705, the base station 437 receives the MAC-e PDU from the terminal 402 and delivers the MAC-e PDU to the demultiplexer 455. In operation 710, the demultiplexer 455 interprets the MAC-e header of the MAC-e PDU to separate the MAC-es PDU payload into MAC-es PDUs.

The demultiplexer 455 checks the multiplexing identifiers of each of the MAC-es PDUs. If there is a multiplexing identifier that matches a predetermined value Mux_id_control, the process proceeds to step 725; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 720. Since the multiplexing identifier does not match the Mux_id_control means that the corresponding MAC-es PDU is a general MAC-es PDU composed of TSN and RLC PDUs, the corresponding MAC-es PDU is transmitted to the RNC 462 in step 720. do. Since the multiplexing identifier matches the Mux_id_control means that the corresponding MAC-es PDU is a MAC-e control SDU containing MAC-e control information. In step 725, the MAC-e control SDU is the E-DCH controller 445. Is delivered to. After confirming the control information included in the MAC-e control SDU, the E-DCH control unit 445 performs appropriate operations such as scheduling using the control information.                     

<< 2nd Example >>

In the above-described first embodiment, the order reordering buffer is identified using a multiplexing identifier (Mux id) included in the MAC-e header of the MAC-e PDU. In contrast, in the second embodiment, the MAC-d flow is identified instead of the order reorder buffer by using a data description identifier (hereinafter, referred to as DDI). In fact, the combination of [logical channel + order reorder buffer + RLC PDU size] and [logical channel + MAC-d flow + RLC PDU size] are combined with the size of the RLC PDUs constituting the MAC-es PDU and the RLC PDUs. The same is true in that it includes information of higher layers to be delivered. In the second embodiment, the MAC-e control SDU is represented using DDI, which is a logical identifier for identifying the logical channel, the MAC-d flow, and the size of the RLC PDU.

One of the values of the DDI may replace the flag F. As already explained, F indicates whether the following field is a new MAC-e header part or a MAC-e payload. However, if one of the values of DDI, for example, '111111' is assigned as a special DDI value, the special DDI value indicates the end of the MAC-e header to distinguish between the MAC-e header and the MAC-e payload.

8 illustrates the structure of a MAC-e PDU using a typical DDI. As shown, the MAC-e PDU 835 is the data actually transmitted over the wireless channel and consists of a MAC-e header 840 and a MAC-e payload 845.

The MAC-e payload 845 of the MAC-e PDU 835 is composed of MAC-es PDUs 850 containing a TSN and a plurality of RLC PDUs. The k header parts 805, 810, 815 of the MAC-e header 840 correspond one-to-one with the components included in the MAC-e payload 845. Herein, the MAC-e header part 1 805 corresponding to the MAC-es PDU 845 has a DDI 820 indicating a corresponding logical channel / MAC-d flow / RLC PDU size and an N 825 indicating the number of RLC PDUs. It is composed of MAC-e header part 2 810 consists of DDI and N for the next MAC-es PDU (not shown). The DDI 830 of the last k-th header part 815 is set to the aforementioned special DDI value, that is, '111111' to indicate the end of the MAC-e header 840. The portion corresponding to the special DDI value is filled with padding 855. Therefore, the special DDI value means whether padding bits exist in a portion corresponding to the DDI of the MAC-e payload 845.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the meaning of the special DDI value is used for indicating the presence of control information rather than the presence of padding bits. The padding bits are then considered to be a kind of control information.

9 illustrates a structure of a MAC-e PDU according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the MAC-e PDU 940 consists of a MAC-e header 945 and a MAC-e payload 950, and the MAC-e header 945 includes k header parts 905, 910, 915). The header parts 905-915 correspond one-to-one with components included in the MAC-e payload 950. Herein, the MAC-e header part 1 905 corresponding to the MAC-es PDU 955 may include a DDI 920 indicating a corresponding logical channel / MAC-d flow / RLC PDU size and an N field indicating the number of RLC PDUs. 925). MAC-e header part 2 910 is composed of a DDI field and an N field for the next MAC-es PDU (not shown).                     

The DDI field 930 of the kth header part 915 is set to a special DDI value, for example '111111', to indicate the corresponding MAC-e control SDU 960. In the last header part 915, the N field is not used.

The special DDI value indicates a MAC-e control SDU containing padding bits or MAC-e control information. The control information is information referred to by the scheduler of the base station to perform scheduling. For example, the control information indicates information on a transmission output margin of the terminal or buffer status information of the terminal. The transmission output margin means the transmission output that the terminal can use to the maximum. A terminal performing communication using a dedicated channel always transmits pilot bits, a transport format combination indicator (TFCI), and the like through a dedicated physical control channel (DPCCH). Therefore, the transmission output available to the terminal is the transmission output excluding the transmission output of the DPCCH from the total transmission output. Since the DPCCH is power controlled, the worse the radio channel condition of the terminal, the lower the transmission output margin. Therefore, the base station scheduler estimates the radio channel status of the terminal by using the transmission output margin information. The buffer status information of the terminal is information indicating the amount of data stored in the buffer by the terminal.

The structure of the MAC-e control SDU 960 in which the MAC-e control information is stored will be described below.

The MAC-e control SDU 960 first receives a type field. The type field is a value indicating the type of control information stored in the MAC-e control SDU 960. For example, type 0 may indicate padding, type 1 may indicate transmission output margin information, and type 2 may indicate buffer status information. Since the MAC-e control SDU 960 includes all parts of the MAC-e PDU 940 except for the MAC-e header 945 and the MAC-es PDUs, the size thereof is variable. However, since the control information has a predetermined size, in the MAC-e control SDU 960, the type information and the control information are stored and the remaining portion may be filled with padding bits.

The MAC-e control SDU 965 of type 0 receives padding bits which are meaningless information.

Type 1 MAC-e control SDU 970 contains transmit output margin information and padding bits 980, if necessary.

Type 2 MAC-e control SDU 975 houses a Buffer Status Report (BSR) indicating buffer status and padding bits 985, if necessary.

Although only three types of values are disclosed herein, more types of values may be used depending on the type of control information stored in the MAC-e control SDU 960. For example, the new type value may represent control information including both transmission output margin information and buffer status reporting.

As described above, the second embodiment using one of the DDI values to indicate whether the control information is included can prevent a waste of transmission resources caused by using the flag F, unlike the first embodiment.

The structure of the system to which the third preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied is as already shown in Figs. 4A and 4B. The operation of the terminal 402 and the base station 437 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the user terminal 402 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, when MAC-e control information is generated in the E-DCH control unit 425 of the terminal 402 in step 1005, the E-DCH control unit 425 uses the MAC-e control information as a MAC in step 1010. -e Configured as a control SDU and transmitted to the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430. At this time, the MAC-e control SDU is configured to include type information and control information as shown in FIG. The MAC-e control SDU may be configured with other information not shown or mentioned. In addition, MAC-es PDUs including RLC PDUs generated from RLC entities 405 are delivered to the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430.

Although not shown, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 generates a header including header parts corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU and the MAC-es PDUs. Each of the header parts corresponding to the MAC-es PDUs includes a DDI field and an N field as described above, and the fields are set according to the size and number of RLC PDUs included in the MAC-es PDUs. . The header part corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU consists of a DDI field. In operation 1015, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 sets the DDI field of the MAC-e header part corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU to a predetermined specific value, that is, a special DDI value.

In step 1020, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 configures a MAC-e PDU by concatenating a MAC-e header including the MAC-e header parts, MAC-es PDUs, and a MAC-e control SDU. Transmit to base station.

11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the base station 437 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, in step 1105, the base station 437 receives the MAC-e PDU from the terminal 402 and delivers the MAC-e PDU to the demultiplexer 455. In operation 1110, the demultiplexer 455 interprets the MAC-e header of the MAC-e PDU to separate the MAC-e payload into MAC-es PDUs.

The demultiplexer 455 identifies the DDI fields of each of the MAC-es PDUs. If there is a DDI that matches the predetermined special DDI value, the process proceeds to step 1125, and if there is no DDI, the process proceeds to step 1120. Since a DDI does not match a special DDI value means that the corresponding MAC-es PDU is a general MAC-es PDU composed of TSN and RLC PDUs, the MAC-es PDU is transmitted to the RNC 462 in step 1120. do. Since a DDI coincides with a special DDI value means that the corresponding MAC-es PDU is a MAC-e control SDU containing MAC-e control information. In step 1125, the MAC-e control SDU is an E-DCH control unit. 445). The E-DCH control unit 445 confirms MAC-e control information included in the MAC-e control SDU by using a type value included in the MAC-e control SDU, and then uses the control information to perform scheduling and the like. Perform the appropriate action.

<< third embodiment >>

The third embodiment shows a type of control information inserted into a MAC-e control SDU as an N field associated with the DDI while using a special DDI value representing a MAC-e control SDU.

12 shows a structure of a MAC-e PDU according to a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the MAC-e PDU 1240 consists of a MAC-e header 1245 and a MAC-e payload 1250, and the MAC-e header 1245 includes a plurality of header parts 1205, 1210. 1215). The header parts 1205-1215 correspond one-to-one with components included in the MAC-e payload 1250. Herein, the MAC-e header part 1205 corresponding to the MAC-es PDU 1255 may include a DDI field 1220 indicating a corresponding logical channel / MAC-d flow / RLC PDU size and an N field indicating the number of RLC PDUs. 1225. The MAC-e header part 21210 is composed of a DDI field and an N field for a next MAC-es PDU (not shown).

The k th header part 1215 is also composed of a DDI field 1230 and an N field 1235. The DDI field 1230 is set to a special DDI value, for example '111111', to indicate the corresponding MAC-e control SDU 1260. The special DDI value indicates a MAC-e control SDU containing padding bits or MAC-e control information. The control information similarly indicates a transmission output margin of the terminal, buffer status information of the terminal, and the like. The N field 1235 of the k-th header part 1215 indicates a type of the MAC-e control information. For example, a predetermined type value such as 0 for padding, 1 for transmission output margin information and 2 for buffer status information may be used in the N field 1235 associated with the special DDI.

The MAC-e control SDU 1260 in which the MAC-e control information is stored receives the MAC-e control information and the padding bits except for the type field. For example, the MAC-e control SDU 1235 of type 0 receives padding bits which are meaningless information. Type 1 MAC-e control SDU 1270 contains transmit output margin information and padding bits 1280, if necessary. Type 2 MAC-e control SDU 1275 houses a buffer status report (BSR) indicating buffer status and padding bits 1285, if necessary. Of course, more type values not disclosed may be used.

The structure of the system to which the third preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied is as already shown in Figs. 4A and 4B. The operation of the terminal 402 and the base station 437 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

13 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the terminal 402 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 13, when MAC-e control information is generated in the E-DCH control unit 425 of the UE 402 in step 1305, the E-DCH control unit 425 uses the MAC-e control information as a MAC in step 1310. -e Configured as a control SDU and transmitted to the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430. In addition, MAC-es PDUs including RLC PDUs generated from RLC entities are delivered to the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430.

Although not shown, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 generates a header including header parts corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU and the MAC-es PDUs. As described above, each of the header parts includes a DDI field and an N field, and fields of the header parts corresponding to the MAC-es PDUs include the size and number of RLC PDUs included in the MAC-es PDUs. Is set accordingly.

In step 1315, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 sets the DDI field of the MAC-e header part corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU to a predetermined special DDI value. In step 1320, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit sets the N field of the MAC-e header part corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU to a value indicating the type of control information included in the MAC-e control SDU. The MAC-e control SDU type and corresponding N values are already known to the terminal and the base station.

In step 1325, the multiplexing and serial number setting unit 430 configures a MAC-e PDU by concatenating a MAC-e header and MAC-es PDUs including the MAC-e header parts and the MAC-e control SDU. Transmit to base station.

14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the base station 437 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 14, in step 1405, the base station 437 receives the MAC-e PDU from the terminal 402 and delivers the MAC-e PDU to the demultiplexer 455. In operation 1410, the demultiplexer 455 interprets the MAC-e header of the MAC-e PDU to separate the MAC-e payload into MAC-es PDUs.

The demultiplexer 455 identifies the DDI fields of each of the MAC-es PDUs. If there is a DDI that matches the predetermined special DDI value, the process proceeds to step 1425; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 1420. Since a DDI does not match a special DDI means that the corresponding MAC-es PDU is a general MAC-es PDU consisting of TSN and RLC PDUs, the MAC-es PDU is transmitted to the RNC 462 in step 1420. . Since a DDI coincides with a special DDI value means that the corresponding MAC-es PDU is a MAC-e control SDU including MAC-e control information. In step 1425, the MAC-e control SDU is an E-DCH controller ( 445). At this time, the value of the N field corresponding to the MAC-e control SDU is transmitted to the E-DCH control unit 445 together. The E-DCH control unit 445 checks MAC-e control information included in the MAC-e control SDU using the N value, and then performs an appropriate operation such as scheduling using the control information.

Meanwhile, in the detailed description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but 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 those equivalent to the scope of the claims.

In the present invention operating as described in detail above, the effects obtained by the representative ones of the disclosed inventions will be briefly described as follows.

The present invention uses the same header structure for user data and MAC-e control information, thereby making the header structure of the MAC-e PDU consistent. In addition, by not defining an additional header field for the MAC-e control information, the MAC-e control information can be transmitted without increasing the size of the MAC-e header.

Claims (32)

A method of transmitting control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, Configuring a protocol data unit (PDU) including uplink packet data, Configuring a control service data unit (SDU) including control information for an uplink packet data service; Generating a header having header parts corresponding to the protocol data unit and the control service data unit, and setting a header part corresponding to the protocol data unit; Setting a multiplexing identifier set to a predetermined specific value representing the control service data unit in a header part corresponding to the control service data unit; And constructing an uplink packet data unit by concatenating the control service data unit and the protocol data unit to the header, and transmitting the uplink packet data unit. The method of claim 1, wherein the setting of the header part corresponding to the control service data unit comprises: Inserting a value representing the number of the control service data units or a value representing the size of the control service data unit into a header part corresponding to the control service data unit. The method of claim 1, wherein the setting of the header part corresponding to the control service data unit comprises: Inserting a flag in the header part corresponding to the control service data unit indicating whether a header part corresponding to the control service data unit is the end of the header. The method of claim 1, wherein the control information, And at least one of information on uplink transmission power and buffer state information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service. A method for receiving control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, Receiving an uplink packet data unit consisting of a header and a payload, Dividing the payload into a plurality of data units according to header parts included in the header; Identifying multiplexing identifiers of header parts corresponding to the data units; Detecting a data unit corresponding to a multiplexing identifier set to a predetermined specific value among the multiplexing identifiers; And obtaining control information for an uplink packet data service from the detected data unit. The method of claim 5, wherein the control information, And at least one of information on uplink transmission power and buffer state information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service. A terminal apparatus for transmitting control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, At least one entity constituting a protocol data unit (PDU) including uplink packet data, A control unit constituting a control service data unit (SDU) including control information for an uplink packet data service; Generate a header having header parts corresponding to the control service data unit and the protocol data unit, set a header part corresponding to the protocol data unit and a header part corresponding to the control service data unit, and in the header, A multiplexing and serial number setting unit for transmitting an uplink packet data unit configured by concatenating a control service data unit and the protocol data unit, Wherein the multiplexing identifier set to a predetermined specific value representing the control service data unit is inserted into a header part corresponding to the control service data unit. The method of claim 7, wherein the multiplexing and serial number setting unit, And a value indicating the number of the control service data unit or a value indicating the size of the control service data unit is inserted into a header part corresponding to the control service data unit. The method of claim 7, wherein the multiplexing and serial number setting unit, And a flag indicating whether a header part corresponding to the control service data unit is the end of the header is inserted into the header part corresponding to the control service data unit. The method of claim 7, wherein the control information, And at least one of information on uplink transmission power and buffer state information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service. A base station apparatus for receiving control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, Receiving an uplink packet data unit consisting of a header and a payload, separating the payload into a plurality of data units according to header parts included in the header, and multiplexing identifiers of header parts corresponding to the data units A demultiplexer which detects a data unit corresponding to a multiplexing identifier set to a predetermined predetermined value among these; And a control unit obtaining control information for an uplink packet data service from the detected data unit. The method of claim 11, wherein the control information, And at least one of information on uplink transmission power and buffer state information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service. A method of transmitting control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, Configuring a protocol data unit (PDU) including uplink packet data, Configuring a control service data unit (SDU) including control information for an uplink packet data service; Generating a header having header parts corresponding to the protocol data unit and the control service data unit, and setting a header part corresponding to the protocol data unit; Setting a data detail information identifier (DDI) set in a header part corresponding to the control service data unit to a predetermined specific value indicating that the control service data unit exists; And constructing an uplink packet data unit by concatenating the control service data unit and the protocol data unit to the header, and transmitting the uplink packet data unit. The method of claim 13, wherein the configuring of the control service data unit comprises: The control service data unit comprising a type value indicating the type of the control information included in the control service data unit, the control information, and padding bits if necessary. The method of claim 13, wherein the control information, And at least one of transmission power margin information and buffer status information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service. A method for receiving control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, Receiving an uplink packet data unit consisting of a header and a payload, Dividing the payload into a plurality of data units according to header parts included in the header; Identifying data detail identifiers (DDIs) of header parts corresponding to the data units; Detecting a data unit corresponding to a DDI set to a predetermined value among the DDIs; And acquiring control information for an uplink packet data service from the detected data unit according to a type value included in the detected data unit. The method of claim 16, wherein the control information, And at least one of information on uplink transmission power and buffer state information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service. A terminal apparatus for transmitting control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, At least one entity constituting a protocol data unit (PDU) containing uplink packet data, A control unit constituting a control service data unit (SDU) including control information for an uplink packet data service; Generate a header having header parts corresponding to the protocol data unit and the control service data unit, set a header part corresponding to the protocol data unit and a header part corresponding to the control service data unit, and in the header, A multiplexing and serial number setting unit for transmitting an uplink packet data unit configured by concatenating a control service data unit and the protocol data unit, Wherein the multiplexing identifier set to a predetermined specific value representing the control service data unit is inserted into a header part corresponding to the control service data unit. The method of claim 18, wherein the multiplexing and serial number setting unit, And the control service data unit including a type value indicating the type of the control information included in the control service data unit, the control information, and padding bits if necessary. The method of claim 18, wherein the control information, And at least one of transmission power margin information and buffer status information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service. A base station apparatus for receiving control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, Receives an uplink packet data unit consisting of a header and a payload, divides the payload into a plurality of data units according to the header parts included in the header, and details data of the header parts corresponding to the data units. A demultiplexer for detecting a data unit corresponding to a DDI set to a predetermined value among information identifiers (DDIs); And a control unit obtaining control information for an uplink packet data service from the detected data unit according to a type value included in the detected data unit. The method of claim 21, wherein the control information, And at least one of information on uplink transmission power and buffer state information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service. A method of transmitting control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, Configuring a protocol data unit (PDU) including uplink packet data, Configuring a control service data unit (SDU) including control information for an uplink packet data service; Generating a header having header parts corresponding to the protocol data unit and the control service data unit, and setting a header part corresponding to the protocol data unit; Setting, in a header part corresponding to the control service data unit, a data detail information identifier (DDI) set to a predetermined specific value indicating that the control service data unit exists and a type value indicating the type of the control information; and, And constructing an uplink packet data unit by concatenating the control service data unit and the protocol data unit to the header, and transmitting the uplink packet data unit. The method of claim 23, wherein configuring the control service data unit comprises: The control service data unit comprising the control information according to the type value and padding bits if necessary. The method of claim 23, wherein the control information, And at least one of transmission power margin information and buffer status information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service. A method for receiving control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, Receiving an uplink packet data unit consisting of a header and a payload, Dividing the payload into a plurality of data units according to header parts included in the header; Identifying data detail identifiers (DDIs) of header parts corresponding to the data units; Detecting a data unit corresponding to a DDI set to a predetermined value among the DDIs; And obtaining control information for uplink packet data service from the detected data unit according to a type value included in a header part corresponding to the detected data unit. The method of claim 26, wherein the control information, And at least one of information on uplink transmission power and buffer state information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service. A terminal apparatus for transmitting control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, At least one entity constituting a protocol data unit (PDU) including uplink packet data, A control unit constituting a control service data unit (SDU) including control information for an uplink packet data service; Generate a header having header parts corresponding to the protocol data unit and the control service data unit, set a header part corresponding to the protocol data unit and a header part corresponding to the control service data unit, and in the header, A multiplexing and serial number setting unit for transmitting an uplink packet data unit configured by concatenating a control service data unit and the protocol data unit, Wherein a data detail information identifier (DDI) set to a predetermined specific value representing the control service data unit and a type value representing the type of the control information are inserted into a header part corresponding to the control service data unit. The device. The method of claim 28, wherein the multiplexing and serial number setting unit, The control service data unit comprising the control information according to the type value and padding bits if necessary. The method of claim 28, wherein the control information, And at least one of transmission power margin information and buffer status information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service. A base station apparatus for receiving control information of an uplink packet data service in a mobile communication system, Receives an uplink packet data unit consisting of a header and a payload, divides the payload into a plurality of data units according to the header parts included in the header, and details data of the header parts corresponding to the data units. A demultiplexer for detecting a data unit corresponding to a DDI set to a predetermined value among information identifiers (DDIs); And a control unit for obtaining control information for an uplink packet data service from the detected data unit according to a type value included in a header part corresponding to the detected data unit. The method of claim 31, wherein the control information, And at least one of information on uplink transmission power and buffer state information of a terminal transmitting the uplink packet data service.

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