CN108738138B

CN108738138B - Method, network device and terminal device for wireless communication

Info

Publication number: CN108738138B
Application number: CN201710249939.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张应余
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-04-17
Filing date: 2017-04-17
Publication date: 2021-12-07
Anticipated expiration: 2037-04-17
Also published as: CN108738138A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure propose a method and apparatus for wireless communication. A communication device contains a set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in a wireless communication system. The method described herein comprises determining at least a first set of functional entities for control plane communication from a set of functional entities for communication, and processing control information transmitted for control plane communication between a communication device and another communication device with the first set of functional entities.

Description

Method, network device and terminal device for wireless communication

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly, to a method, a network device, and a terminal device for wireless communications.

Background

In a cellular system such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), the control plane functionality and the user plane functionality of its communication protocol stacks are tightly coupled and share the same radio protocol stack. When a new communication application scenario occurs, the functional design of both the control plane and the user plane needs to be optimized to adapt to the new application scenario, so that the technological innovation process is relatively long.

Furthermore, the functional requirements for the control plane and the user plane are quite different. For example, for an enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) scenario, the functional requirements for the control plane include good mobility, low handover rate, and wide coverage, while the functional requirements for the user plane include high transmission rate. However, the design of the protocol stack, which is adopted by the existing communication technology and is tightly coupled with the user plane, results in performance trade-offs for both the control information flow and the traffic data flow, and optimal performance cannot be achieved for the control information flow and the traffic data flow respectively.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure propose a method and apparatus for wireless communication.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method implemented at a communication device in a wireless communication system. A communication device comprises a set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in a wireless communication system. The set of functional entities comprises at least a first set of functional entities for control plane communication. The method comprises processing control information transmitted between the communication device and the other communication device with a first set of functional entities.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method implemented at a communication device in a wireless communication system. A communication device comprises a set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in a wireless communication system. The set of functional entities comprises at least a fourth set of functional entities for control plane communication. The method includes acquiring control information transmitted between the communication device and the other communication device using a fourth set of functional entities.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device operating in a wireless communication system. A communication device comprises a set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in a wireless communication system. The set of functional entities comprises at least a first set of functional entities for control plane communication. The communication device includes a controller and a memory coupled to the controller. The memory includes instructions. The instructions, when executed by the controller, cause the communication device to process control information transmitted between the communication device and another communication device with the first set of functional entities.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device operating in a wireless communication system. A communication device comprises a set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in a wireless communication system. The set of functional entities comprises at least a fourth set of functional entities for control plane communication. The communication device includes a controller and a memory coupled to the controller. The memory includes instructions. The instructions, when executed by the controller, cause the communication device to acquire control information transmitted between the communication device and another communication device using the fourth set of functional entities.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes computer-executable instructions. The computer executable instructions, when executed on the device, cause the device to perform the method according to the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes computer-executable instructions. The computer executable instructions, when executed on the device, cause the device to perform the method according to the second aspect.

It should be understood that the statements herein reciting aspects are not intended to limit the critical or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like or similar reference characters designate like or similar elements, and wherein:

fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example wireless communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a method 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

3A, 3B and 3C respectively show examples of a set of functional entities comprised by a terminal device when the method of FIG. 2 is implemented at the terminal device;

fig. 4A and 4B show examples of mapping of logical channels to transport channels and mapping of transport channels to physical channels, respectively;

fig. 5 shows a flow diagram of a method 500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 illustrates an example of signaling exchange between a network device and a terminal device in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure;

fig. 7 shows a block diagram of an apparatus 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 shows a block diagram of an apparatus 800 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

fig. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device suitable for use in implementing certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While certain embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather are provided for a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the disclosure are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

The term "communication device" as used herein refers to a device having the capability to transceive radio signals in a wireless communication network. Examples of the communication device include a network device and a terminal device.

The term "network device" as used herein refers to a base station or other entity or node having a particular function in a communication network. A "base station" may represent a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, or a low power node such as a pico base station, a femto base station, or the like. In the context of the present disclosure, the terms "network device" and "base station" may be used interchangeably for ease of discussion purposes, and refer primarily to an eNB as an example of a network device.

The term "terminal device" as used herein refers to any terminal device or User Equipment (UE) capable of wireless communication with a base station or with each other. As an example, the terminal device may include a sensor having a communication function, a detector, a Mobile Terminal (MT), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station (PSS), a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT), and the above-described devices in a vehicle, and the like. In the context of the present disclosure, the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" may be used interchangeably for purposes of discussion convenience, and UE is primarily taken as an example of a terminal device.

The terms "include" and variations thereof as used herein are inclusive and open-ended, i.e., "including but not limited to. The term "based on" is "based, at least in part, on". The term "one embodiment" means "at least one embodiment"; the term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment". Relevant definitions for other terms will be given in the following description.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example wireless communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the example shown in fig. 1, the wireless communication system 100 includes a network device 110,

terminal devices

121, 122, and 123. The wireless communication system 100 may be applied to different application scenarios, such as large-scale machine type communication (mtc), high-reliability low-latency communication (URLLC), and enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB). Under the above three scenarios, the network device 110 provides the mtc service, the URLLC service, and the eMBB service to the

terminal devices

121, 122, and 123, respectively.

It is understood that the protocol stack of a communication device is made up of a collection of functional entities for communicating with other communication devices. In the current protocol stack, control plane functions are tightly coupled with user plane functions. In other words, a single set of functional entities is used for both control plane and user plane communications. This makes it necessary to optimize the functional design of both the control plane and the user plane when new communication application scenarios arise. Furthermore, the tight coupling between the control plane functions and the user plane functions makes it impossible to achieve optimal performance for the control information flow and the traffic data flow, respectively.

To at least partially address the above and other potential drawbacks and problems in the conventional approaches, embodiments of the present disclosure propose to decouple the control plane from the user plane, such that the communication device comprises at least a set of functional entities for control plane communication, and the set of functional entities for user plane communication may be added according to a specific communication application scenario. An example method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is now described with reference to fig. 2-6. For ease of discussion, the description of fig. 2-6 will be developed with reference to the environment shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 2 shows a flow diagram of a method 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 200 is implemented at a communication device acting as a transmitting device in the wireless communication system 100. For example, the communication device may be network device 110 in fig. 1, or one of

terminal devices

121, 122, and 123. For ease of description, method 200 is described below in conjunction with fig. 1, taking as an example implementation at network device 110 of fig. 1 and network device 110 communicating with terminal device 121. It should be understood that method 200 may also include additional steps not shown and/or may omit steps shown, as the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

As shown in fig. 2, at block 210, network device 110 determines at least a first set of functional entities for control-plane communications from a set of functional entities for communicating with terminal device 121. At block 220, network device 110 processes control information transmitted between network device 110 and terminal device 121 using the first set of functional entities.

In some embodiments, the first set of functional entities for control plane communications may have functionality to deliver control signaling. Examples of the control signaling may include paging information, system information, configuration of traffic data pipes, user requests and user responses to the network, and the like.

Unlike the conventional way in which a single set of functional entities is used for both control plane and user plane communications, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the control plane is decoupled from the user plane, providing an independent set of functional entities for control plane communications. Therefore, when a new communication application scene appears, the function design of the control plane communication does not need to be optimized to adapt to the new communication application scene, and the technical innovation process is shortened. Furthermore, a set of functional entities for user plane communication may or may not be added depending on the specific communication application scenario.

In addition, the control plane becomes a single portal of a user to the system through the independent collection of the functional entities for controlling plane communication, thereby realizing the centralization of control and management and providing convenience for operators to manage the network. For example, mobility management, load balancing, radio resource management, management of functional entities for user plane communication, etc. may be implemented through the portal. In particular, regarding the control and management of the terminal device by the network device, the network device may send configuration information to the terminal device by using its own set of functional entities for control plane communication to configure the set of functional entities for user plane communication in the terminal device. Further, in case the terminal device comprises multiple sets of functional entities for user plane communication, the network device may send control information to the terminal device with its own set of functional entities for control plane communication to configure the multiple sets of functional entities for user plane communication comprised by the terminal device.

Furthermore, by decoupling the control plane from the user plane, cells can be established for control plane communications and user plane communications separately. In this case, the traffic data flow may be directed to any Transmission Reception Point (TRP) within the coverage area of the control plane communication as needed.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the network device 110 further determines the second set of functional entities for user plane communication from the set of functional entities for communication with the terminal device 121. The functional entities of the second set of functional entities for user plane communications are logically independent of the functional entities of the first set of functional entities for control plane communications. In such an embodiment, method 200 further includes network device 110 processing traffic data transmitted between network device 110 and terminal device 121 using the second set.

In some embodiments, the second set of functional entities for user plane communication may have functionality to communicate user data. Furthermore, control information to direct or facilitate user data transmission, such as data transmission status, physical control information related to radio resource allocation, etc., is also assumed to be a function of the functional entity for user plane communication. Even though the functional entities in the second set of functional entities for user plane communication may have similar functionality as the functional entities in the first set of functional entities for control plane communication, they are logically different entities.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide dedicated sets of functional entities for control plane communications and user plane communications, respectively, whereby the set of functional entities for user plane communications may be customized according to a specific user plane communication application scenario to achieve optimal performance for control information flows and traffic data flows, respectively.

In some embodiments, network device 110 further determines a third set of functional entities for user plane communication from the set of functional entities for communicating with terminal device 121. The third set is logically at least partially independent of the second set and shares the first set of functional entities for control plane communications. In such embodiments, the second and third sets of functional entities for user plane communications may be associated with different radio access technologies, whereby the different radio access technologies may share the same control plane functional entity.

As previously described, the method 200 may be implemented at one of the

terminal devices

121, 122, and 123 acting as a transmitting device. Fig. 3A to 3C show examples of sets of functional entities comprised by

terminal devices

121, 122 and 123, respectively, when method 200 is implemented at

terminal devices

121, 122 and 123.

As shown in fig. 3A, the mtc-enabled terminal device 121 includes only a first set 310 of functional entities for control plane communication. The first set 310 of functional entities for control plane communication may for example comprise entities for implementing the following functions: non-access stratum (NAS), Radio Resource Control (RRC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), and physical layer (PHY layer).

In the scenario shown in fig. 3A, since the payload for the mtc service is relatively small, traffic data for the mtc service may be transmitted embedded in the control information.

As shown in fig. 3B, the terminal device 122 comprises, in addition to the first set 310 of functional entities for control plane communication, a second set 320 of functional entities for user plane communication. The second set 320 is logically independent of the first set 310. The second set 320 may for example comprise entities for implementing the following functions: PDCP, RLC, MAC and physical layer. It should be understood that although the functional entities in the second set 320 may have similar functionality to some of the functional entities in the first set 310, they are also logically distinct entities.

As shown in fig. 3C, the terminal device 122 comprises, in addition to the first set 310 of functional entities for control plane communication and the second set 320 of functional entities for user plane communication, a third set 330 of functional entities for user plane communication. The third set 330 shares the first set 310 with the second set 320.

Further, in some embodiments, the third set 330 and the second set 320 may be logically completely independent. In this case, the third set 330 and the second set 320 will serve their information flows with their dedicated logical functional entities on the available radio resources, network resources, computation and storage resources coordinated by the system for the sets.

Typically, there are various types of channels in the radio protocol defined in LTE, such as logical channels, transport channels, and physical channels. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, to achieve decoupling of the control plane and the user plane, control information transmitted between the network device 110 and the terminal device 121 is sent on a control plane-specific physical channel using a set of functional entities for control plane communication. Furthermore, in embodiments where network device 110 further comprises a set of functional entities for user plane communication, traffic data transmitted between network device 110 and terminal device 121 is sent on a user plane specific physical channel. Therefore, the control information and the service data are sent on different physical channels, and the decoupling of the control plane and the user plane is realized.

In the downlink processing of the protocol stack of the current LTE system, logical channels from the RLC layer are multiplexed at the MAC layer into transport channels between the physical layer and the MAC layer, which are then mapped into physical channels at the physical layer. The logical channels may include control logical channels and traffic logical channels depending on the type of information carried. Since logical channels are multiplexed into transport channels at the MAC layer, control logical channels and traffic logical channels are tightly coupled at the MAC layer and/or the physical layer. In some embodiments, to send control information transmitted between network device 110 and terminal device 121 on a control-plane-specific physical channel, network device 110 maps a control logical channel between network device 110 and terminal device 121 to the control-plane-specific transport channel using a set of functional entities for control-plane communication and maps the control-plane-specific transport channel to the control-plane-specific physical channel, which in turn sends the control information on the physical channel.

In some embodiments, in order to send traffic data transmitted between network device 110 and terminal device 121 on a user plane-specific physical channel, network device 110 maps a traffic logical channel between network device 110 and terminal device 121 to the user plane-specific transport channel using a set of functional entities for user plane communication and maps the user plane-specific transport channel to the user plane-specific physical channel, thereby sending the traffic data on the physical channel.

Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure utilize a dedicated set of functional entities to process control logical channels and traffic logical channels separately so that control information and traffic data are not transmitted together on the same physical channel.

The mapping of logical channels to transport channels and the mapping of transport channels to physical channels will be described below with reference to fig. 4A and 4B.

Fig. 4A illustrates an example of mapping of logical channels to transport channels in the downlink and in the uplink according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4A, in the downlink, the control logical channels may include a Multicast Control Channel (MCCH)411, a Paging Control Channel (PCCH)412, a Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH)413, a Common Control Channel (CCCH)414, a Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH) 415. The traffic logical channels may include a Multicast Traffic Channel (MTCH)416 and a Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH) 417. The control plane-specific transport channels may include a control plane-specific multicast channel (C-MCH)421, a Paging Channel (PCH)422, a Broadcast Channel (BCH)423, and a control plane-specific downlink shared channel (C-DL-SCH) 424. The user plane specific transport channels may include a user plane specific multicast channel (U-MCH)425 and a user plane specific downlink shared channel (U-DL-SCH) 426.

Instead of mapping the control logical channel MCCH 411 and the traffic logical channel MTCH 416 to the same multicast channel (MCH, not shown), embodiments of the present disclosure map both to a control plane-specific multicast channel (C-MCH)421 and a user plane-specific multicast channel (U-MCH)425, respectively.

Furthermore, instead of mapping the control logical channels BCCH 413, CCCH 414, DCCH 415, and traffic logical channel DTCH 417 to the same downlink shared channel (DL-SCH, not shown), embodiments of the present disclosure map the control logical channels BCCH 413, CCCH 414, DCCH 415 to a control plane-specific downlink shared channel (C-DL-SCH)424, and the traffic logical channel DTCH 417 to a user plane-specific downlink shared channel (U-DL-SCH) 426.

In the uplink, the control logical channels may include a Common Control Channel (CCCH)431 and a Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH)432, and the traffic logical channels may include a Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH) 433. The control plane-specific transport channels may include a control plane-specific random access channel (C-RACH)441 and a control plane-specific uplink shared channel (C-UL-SCH) 442. The user plane specific transport channels may include a user plane specific random access channel (U-RACH)443 and a user plane specific uplink shared channel (U-UL-SCH) 444.

Instead of mapping control logical channels CCCH 431 and DCCH 432 and traffic logical channel DTCH 433 to the same uplink shared channel (UL-SCH, not shown), embodiments of the present disclosure map control logical channels CCCH 431 and DCCH 432 to a control plane-specific uplink shared channel (C-UL-SCH)442 and map traffic logical channel DTCH 433 to a user plane-specific uplink shared channel (U-UL-SCH) 444.

Fig. 4B illustrates an example of a mapping of transport channels to physical channels in the downlink and in the uplink according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4B, in the downlink, the control plane-specific physical channel may include a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH)451, a control plane-specific physical downlink shared channel (C-PDSCH)452, a control plane-specific physical downlink control channel or an enhanced physical downlink control channel (C-PDCCH or C-EPDCCH) 453. The user plane specific physical channels may include a physical broadcast channel (PMCH)456, a user plane specific physical downlink shared channel (U-PDSCH)457, a user plane specific physical downlink control channel or an enhanced physical downlink control channel (U-PDCCH or U-EPDCCH) 458.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, in the downlink, control plane-specific transport channels C-MCH 421, PCH 422, BCH 423, C-DL-SCH 424 are mapped to a control plane-specific physical downlink shared channel (C-PDSCH)452, while user plane-specific transport channels U-MCH 425 and U-DL-SCH 426 are mapped to a user plane-specific physical channel physical broadcast channel (PMCH)456 and a user plane-specific physical downlink shared channel (U-PDSCH)457, respectively.

In the uplink, the control plane-specific physical channels may include a control plane-specific physical uplink shared channel (C-PUSCH)462, a control plane-specific physical random access channel (C-PRACH)461, and a control plane-specific physical uplink control channel (C-PUCCH) 463. The user plane-specific physical channels may include a user plane-specific physical uplink shared channel (U-PUSCH)464, a user plane-specific physical random access channel (U-PRACH)465, and a user plane-specific physical uplink control channel (U-PUCCH) 466.

In the uplink, control plane-specific transport channels C-RACH 441 and C-UL-SCH 442 are mapped to control plane-specific physical channels C-PRACH 461 and C-PUSCH 462, respectively, and user plane-specific transport channels U-RACH 443 and U-UL-SCH 444 are mapped to user plane-specific physical channels U-PUSCH 464 and U-PRACH 465, respectively, in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

The method implemented at a communication device acting as a transmitting device in the wireless communication system 100 is described above with reference to fig. 2 to 4. A method 500 implemented at a communication device acting as a receiving device in the wireless communication system 100 will be described below with reference to fig. 5.

In an embodiment where the network device acts as a sending device, the communication device acting as a receiving device may be, for example, one of the

terminal devices

121, 122, and 123. Whereas in an embodiment where one of the

terminal devices

121, 122 and 123 acts as a transmitting device, the communication device acting as a receiving device may be, for example, the network device 110. For ease of description, method 500 is described below in conjunction with fig. 1, taking as an example implementation at terminal device 121 of fig. 1 and terminal device 121 communicating with network device 110. It should be understood that method 500 may also include additional steps not shown and/or may omit steps shown, as the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

As shown in fig. 5, at block 510, terminal device 121 determines at least a set of functional entities for control-plane communications from a set of functional entities for communicating with network device 110. At block 520, terminal device 121 obtains control information transmitted between network device 110 and terminal device 121 using the set of functional entities for control plane communication. It will be readily appreciated that the operations at

blocks

510 and 520 correspond to the operations at

blocks

210 and 220 described above with respect to fig. 2, and therefore will not be described in further detail herein.

Optionally, in some embodiments, terminal device 121 further determines the set of functional entities for user plane communication from the set of functional entities for communication with network device 110. The functional entities of the set of functional entities for user plane communication are logically independent from the functional entities of the set of functional entities for control plane communication. In such an embodiment, the method 500 may further include the terminal device 121 acquiring the service data transmitted between the network device 110 and the terminal device 121 by using the set of functional entities for user plane communication.

In some embodiments, acquiring control information using the set of functional entities for control plane communications comprises receiving control information on a control plane-specific physical channel between terminal device 121 and network device 110.

In some embodiments, obtaining control information using a set of functional entities for control plane communications further comprises: demap the control plane-specific physical channels to the control plane-specific transport channels with a set of functional entities for control plane communication; and demapping the control plane-specific transport channels to the control plane-specific control logical channels.

In some embodiments, acquiring the traffic data using the set of functional entities for user plane communication comprises receiving the traffic data on a user plane communication-specific physical channel between terminal device 121 and network device 110.

In some embodiments, obtaining the traffic data using the set of functional entities for user plane communication further comprises: demapping the user plane-specific physical channels to user plane-specific transport channels using a set of functional entities for user plane communication; and mapping the user plane specific transport channels to traffic logical channels.

In some embodiments, acquiring control information using a set of functional entities for control plane communications comprises: information for configuring the set of functional entities for user plane communications is obtained from the network device 110 using the set of functional entities for control plane communications.

In some embodiments, acquiring control information using a set of functional entities for control plane communications comprises: and acquiring the control information embedded with the service data by utilizing the set of functional entities for controlling plane communication.

As mentioned before, the network device may control and manage the terminal device with its own set of functional entities for control plane communication. Fig. 6 shows an example of network device 110 in fig. 1 interacting with terminal device 122 in signaling to control and manage terminal device 122.

In fig. 6, the network device 110 comprises a set 701 of functional entities for control plane communication and a set 702 of functional entities for user plane communication. The set of functional entities for control plane communications 701 and the set of functional entities for user plane communications 702 may be implemented on the same or different physical nodes, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. The terminal device 122 comprises a set of functional entities (not shown) for control plane communications and one or more sets of functional entities (not shown) for user plane communications.

As shown in fig. 6, the terminal device 122 communicates with the set of functional entities for control plane communication 701 of the network device 110 by using the set of functional entities for control plane communication to establish a control plane communication context (610).

Terminal device 122, utilizing its context at set 701 of functional entities for control plane communications, may initiate (620) a connection request to set 701 as needed to connect with set 702 of functional entities of network device 110. Where network device 110 includes multiple sets of functional entities for user plane communications, an indication of the set of functional entities (e.g., an index of the set) with which terminal device 122 desires to establish a connection may be included in the connection request.

Based on load information of the plurality of sets of functional entities for user plane communication, capability information of the terminal device 122, and the like, the set of functional entities 701 reserves communication resources at the set of functional entities for user plane communication indicated by the terminal device 122, and transmits connection establishment commands (630) and (640) to the terminal device 122 and the set of functional entities for user plane communication 702, respectively. Context information for terminal device 122 may be included in connection setup command 640. The connection setup command 630 may include an RRC container including configuration information for multiple sets of functional entities for user plane communication. The plurality of sets of functional entities for user plane communication may correspond to a plurality of radio access technologies. The connection establishment command 630 may have, for example, the following structure:

in the above example structure, the set of functional entities for user plane communication is defined by functional list, forwarding graph, ParameterSetting, and the like. The architecture may be designed for a set of functional entities for user plane communications as a set of functional entities with control signaling from a set of functional entities for control plane communications.

Terminal device 122 sends an acknowledgement message to set of functional entities 701 (650). The set of functional entities 702 sends an acknowledgement message 660 to the set of functional entities 701. The set of functional entities 701 sends an activation command to the terminal device 122 (670). The transmission of traffic data is performed between the terminal device 122 and the set 702 of functional entities (680).

The communication method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is described in detail above in conjunction with fig. 2 to 6. An apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below in conjunction with fig. 7 and 8.

Fig. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus 700 according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. It is understood that the apparatus 700 may be implemented on the network device 110 side shown in fig. 1 or on one of the terminal devices 121 to 123 side.

As shown in fig. 7, the apparatus 700 (e.g., the network device 110) includes a first determining unit 710. The first determining unit 710 is configured to determine at least a first set of functional entities for control plane communication from a set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in the wireless communication system. The apparatus 700 further comprises a first processing unit 720. The first processing unit 720 is configured to process control information transmitted between the apparatus 700 and another communication device with a first set of functional entities.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 700 further comprises a second determination unit. The second determining unit is configured to further determine the second set of functional entities for user plane communication from the set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in the wireless communication system. The functional entities in the second set are logically independent of the functional entities in the first set. In such embodiments, the apparatus 700 further comprises a second processing unit. The second processing unit is configured to process traffic data transmitted between the apparatus 700 and another communication device with the second set of functional entities.

In some embodiments, the first processing unit 720 includes a first sending unit. The first transmitting unit is configured to transmit control information on a first physical channel specific to control plane communication between the apparatus 700 and another communication device.

In some embodiments, the first processing unit 720 further includes a first mapping unit and a second mapping unit. The first mapping unit is configured to map the control logical channel to a first transport channel specific to control plane communications using a first set of functional entities. The second mapping unit is configured to map the first transport channel to the first physical channel.

In some embodiments, the first processing unit 720 includes a second transmitting unit. The second transmitting unit is configured to transmit traffic data on a second physical channel specific to user plane communication between the apparatus 700 and another communication device.

In some embodiments, the first processing unit 720 further includes a third mapping unit and a fourth mapping unit. The third mapping unit is configured to map the traffic logical channel to a second transport channel specific to the user plane communication using a second set of functional entities. The fourth mapping unit is configured to map the second transport channel to a second physical channel.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 700 comprises a network device and the other communication device comprises a terminal device. The terminal device comprises a third set of functional entities for user plane communication. The first processing unit 720 is further configured to process the information for configuring the third set with the first set of functional entities.

In some embodiments, the first processing unit 720 further comprises an embedding unit. The embedding unit is configured to embed the service data in the control information.

Fig. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus 800 according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. It is understood that the apparatus 800 may be implemented on the network device 110 side shown in fig. 1 or on one of the terminal devices 121 to 123 side.

As shown in fig. 8, the apparatus 800 (e.g., the terminal device 121) includes a third determining unit 810. The third determining unit 810 is configured to determine at least a fourth set of functional entities for control plane communication from the set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in the wireless communication system. The apparatus 800 further comprises a first obtaining unit 820. The first obtaining unit 820 is configured to obtain control information transmitted between the apparatus 800 and another communication device using the fourth set of functional entities.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 800 further comprises a fourth determination unit. The fourth determining unit is configured to determine a fifth set of functional entities for user plane communication from the set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in the wireless communication system. The functional entities in the fifth set are logically independent of the functional entities in the fourth set. In such an embodiment, the apparatus 800 further comprises a second acquisition unit. The second obtaining unit is configured to obtain traffic data transmitted between the apparatus 800 and another communication device using the fifth set of functional entities.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 800 further comprises a first receiving unit. The first receiving unit is configured to receive control information on a third physical channel specific to control plane communication between the apparatus 800 and another communication device.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 800 further comprises a fifth mapping unit and a sixth mapping. The fifth mapping unit is configured to demap the third physical channel to a third transport channel specific to control plane communications using a fourth set of functional entities. The sixth mapping unit is configured to demap the third transport channel to a control logical channel specific to control plane communications.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 800 further comprises a second receiving unit. The second receiving unit is configured to receive traffic data on a fourth physical channel specific to user plane communication between the apparatus 800 and another communication device.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 800 further comprises a seventh mapping unit and an eighth mapping. The seventh mapping unit is configured to demap the fourth physical channel to a fourth transport channel specific to the user plane communication using a fifth set of functional entities. The eighth mapping unit is configured to map the fourth transport channel to a traffic logical channel.

In some embodiments, the first obtaining unit 820 is further configured to obtain information for configuring the fifth set from the network device using the fourth set of functional entities.

In some embodiments, the first obtaining unit 820 is further configured to obtain the control information embedded with the service data by using the fourth set of functional entities.

It should be understood that each unit recited in the

apparatuses

700 and 800 corresponds to each action in the

methods

200 and 500 described with reference to fig. 2-5, respectively. Accordingly, the operations and features described above in connection with fig. 2-6 are equally applicable to the

apparatuses

700 and 800 and the units included therein, and have the same effects, and detailed description is omitted.

Note that the units included in the

apparatuses

700 and 800 may be implemented in various ways including software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, one or more of the units may be implemented using software and/or firmware, such as machine executable instructions stored on a storage medium. In addition to, or in the alternative to, machine-executable instructions, some or all of the elements in

apparatus

700 and 800 may be implemented at least in part by one or more hardware logic components. By way of example, and not limitation, exemplary types of hardware logic components that may be used include Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Application Specific Standards (ASSPs), systems on a chip (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and so forth.

The elements shown in fig. 7 and 8 may be implemented partially or wholly as hardware modules, software modules, firmware modules, or any combination thereof. In particular, in some embodiments, the procedures, methods, or processes described above may be implemented by hardware in a network device or a terminal device. For example, a network device or a terminal device may implement

methods

200 and 500 with its transmitter, receiver, transceiver, and/or processor or controller.

Fig. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a device 900 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 900 may be used to implement a network device or a terminal device.

As shown, the device 900 includes a controller 910. The controller 910 controls the operation and functions of the device 900. For example, in certain embodiments, the controller 910 may perform various operations by way of instructions 930 stored in a memory 920 coupled thereto. The memory 920 may be of any suitable type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, including but not limited to semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems. Although only a single memory unit is illustrated in FIG. 9, there may be multiple physically distinct memory units within device 900.

The controller 910 may be of any suitable type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include, but is not limited to, one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microcontrollers, digital signal controllers (DSPs), and controller-based multi-core controller architectures. The device 900 may also include a plurality of controllers 910. The controller 910 is coupled to a transceiver 940, and the transceiver 940 may enable receiving and transmitting information via one or more antennas 950 and/or other components. Note that in the disclosed context, transceiver 940 may be a device capable of performing both transmit and receive data functions; or may be a device having only a function of transmitting or receiving data.

When the device 900 is acting as a network device, the controller 910 and the transceiver 940 may operate in conjunction to implement the

methods

200 and 500 described above with reference to fig. 2 and 5. When the device 900 is acting as a terminal device, the controller 910 and the transceiver 940 may operate in conjunction to implement the

methods

200 and 500 described above with reference to fig. 2 and 5. For example, in some embodiments, all actions described above relating to data/information transceiving may be performed by the transceiver 940, while other actions may be performed by the controller 910. All of the features described above with reference to fig. 1-8 are applicable to the apparatus 900 and will not be described in detail herein.

In general, the various example embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Certain aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While aspects of embodiments of the disclosure have been illustrated or described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

By way of example, embodiments of the disclosure may be described in the context of machine-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or divided between program modules as described. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed facility, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Computer program code for implementing the methods of the present disclosure may be written in one or more programming languages. These computer program codes may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, cause the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks to be performed. The program code may execute entirely on the computer, partly on the computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.

In the context of this disclosure, a machine-readable medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of a machine-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

Additionally, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing may be beneficial. Likewise, while the above discussion contains certain specific implementation details, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of any invention or claims, but rather as describing particular embodiments that may be directed to particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method implemented at a communication device in a wireless communication system, the communication device including a set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in the wireless communication system, the method comprising:

determining at least a first set of functional entities for control plane communication from the set of functional entities for communication;

processing control information transmitted by a control plane communication between the communication device and the other communication device with the first set of functional entities; and

determining a second set of functional entities for user plane communication from the set of functional entities for communication, the functional entities in the second set being logically independent of the functional entities in the first set.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

processing traffic data transmitted by user plane communication between the communication device and the other communication device using the second set of functional entities.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the control information with the first set of functional entities comprises:

carrying the control information on a first physical channel between the communication device and the other communication device that is specific to the control plane.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein processing the control information with the first set of functional entities further comprises:

mapping a control logical channel to a first transport channel specific to the control plane with the first set of functional entities; and

mapping the first transport channel to the first physical channel.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein processing the traffic data with the second set of functional entities comprises:

transmitting the traffic data on a second physical channel specific to the user plane between the communication device and the other communication device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein processing the traffic data with the second set of functional entities further comprises:

mapping a traffic logical channel to a second transport channel specific to the user plane using the second set of functional entities; and

mapping the second transport channel to the second physical channel.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the communication device comprises a network device and the other communication device comprises a terminal device comprising a third set of functional entities for the user plane communication; and is

Wherein processing the control information with the first set of functional entities comprises:

processing information for configuring the third set with the first set of functional entities.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and embedding the service data into the control information.

9. A method implemented at a communication device in a wireless communication system, the communication device comprising a set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in the wireless communication system, the method comprising:

determining at least a fourth set of functional entities for control plane communications from the set of functional entities for communications;

obtaining control information transmitted between the communication device and the other communication device using the fourth set of functional entities; and

determining a fifth set of functional entities for user plane communication from the set of functional entities for communication, the functional entities in the fifth set being logically independent of the functional entities in the fourth set.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

acquiring traffic data transmitted between the communication device and the other communication device using the fifth set of functional entities.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein acquiring the control information using the fourth set of functional entities comprises:

receiving the control information on a third physical channel between the communication device and the other communication device that is specific to the control plane.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein acquiring the control information using the fourth set of functional entities further comprises:

demapping the third physical channel to a third transport channel specific to the control plane using the fourth set of functional entities; and

demapping the third transport channel to a control logical channel specific to the control plane.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein acquiring the traffic data using the fifth set of functional entities comprises:

receiving the traffic data on a fourth physical channel between the communication device and the other communication device specific to the user plane.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein acquiring the traffic data using the fifth set of functional entities further comprises:

demapping the fourth physical channel to a fourth transport channel specific to the user plane using the fifth set of functional entities; and

mapping the fourth transport channel to a traffic logical channel.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the communication device comprises a terminal device and the other communication device comprises a network device; and is

Wherein obtaining the control information using the fourth set of functional entities comprises:

obtaining information for configuring the fifth set from the network device using the fourth set of functional entities.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein acquiring the control information using the fourth set of functional entities comprises:

and acquiring the control information embedded with the service data by utilizing the fourth set of the functional entity.

17. A communication device operable in a wireless communication system, the communication device comprising a set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in the wireless communication system, the communication device comprising:

a controller; and

a memory coupled to the controller, the memory including instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the communication device to perform acts comprising:

processing control information transmitted between the communication device and the other communication device with the first set of functional entities; and

18. The communication device of claim 17, wherein the actions further comprise:

processing traffic data transmitted between the communication device and the other communication device using the second set of functional entities.

19. The communication device of claim 17, wherein processing the control information with the first set of functional entities comprises:

transmitting the control information on a first physical channel between the communication device and the other communication device that is specific to the control plane.

20. The communication device of claim 19, wherein processing the control information with the first set of functional entities further comprises:

mapping the first transport channel to the first physical channel.

21. The communication device of claim 18, wherein processing the traffic data with the second set of functional entities comprises:

22. The communication device of claim 21, wherein processing the traffic data with the second set of functional entities further comprises:

mapping the second transport channel to the second physical channel.

23. The communication device of claim 18, wherein the communication device comprises a network device and the further communication device comprises a terminal device comprising a third set of functional entities for the user plane communication; and is

24. The communication device of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed by the controller, further cause the communication device to:

and embedding the service data into the control information.

25. A communication device operable in a wireless communication system, the communication device comprising a set of functional entities for communicating with another communication device in the wireless communication system, the communication device comprising:

a controller; and

26. The communication device of claim 25, wherein the actions further comprise:

27. The communication device of claim 25, wherein acquiring the control information using the fourth set of functional entities comprises:

28. The communication device of claim 27, wherein acquiring the control information using the fourth set of functional entities further comprises:

29. The communication device of claim 26, wherein acquiring the traffic data using the fifth set of functional entities comprises:

30. The communication device of claim 29, wherein acquiring the traffic data using the fifth set of functional entities further comprises:

mapping the fourth transport channel to a traffic logical channel.

31. The communication device of claim 26, wherein the communication device comprises a terminal device and the other communication device comprises a network device; and is

32. The communication device of claim 25, wherein acquiring the control information using the fourth set of functional entities comprises:

33. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed on a device, cause the device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.

34. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed on a device, cause the device to perform the method of any of claims 9 to 16.