CN112106326B

CN112106326B - Active resource reservation for communication

Info

Publication number: CN112106326B
Application number: CN201880093224.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 许翔; A·卡萨蒂; D·钱德拉莫利
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2018-09-28
Filing date: 2018-09-28
Publication date: 2022-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 2038-09-28
Also published as: CN112106326A; WO2020062000A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to active resource reservation for communications. A method implemented at a terminal device for resource reservation comprising: transmitting a reservation request to a network controller, the reservation request indicating at least a target area within which a resource reservation is desired; receiving a reservation response to the reservation request from the network controller, the reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation was accepted or rejected by an access network node located within the target area; and in response to the reservation response indicating that the resource reservation for at least the reservation time window is accepted, obtaining, from the access network node and based at least on the access token provided by the access network node, resources reserved for communication between the terminal device and the access network node within the reservation time window.

Description

Active resource reservation for communication

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to active resource reservation for communications.

Background

In the field of communications, ongoing evolution is ongoing in order to provide efficient and reliable solutions for utilizing wireless communication networks. Each new generation has its own technical challenges in dealing with the different scenarios and procedures required to connect and service devices connected to a wireless network. In order to meet the increasing demand for wireless data services since the deployment of fourth generation (4G) communication systems, efforts have been made to develop improved fifth generation (5G) or pre-5G communication systems. The new communication system may support various types of service applications for the terminal devices. In communications, resources are always important to ensure communications to and/or from terminal devices to meet different communication requirements/demands.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for proactive resource reservation for communications.

In a first aspect, a method implemented at a terminal device for resource reservation is provided. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting a reservation request to a network controller, the reservation request indicating at least a target area within which a resource reservation is desired; receiving a reservation response to the reservation request from the network controller, the reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation is accepted or rejected by at least the access network node located within the target area; and in response to the reservation response indicating that the resource reservation was accepted for at least the reservation time window, obtaining, from the access network node and based at least on the access token provided by the access network node, resources reserved for communication between the terminal device and the access network node within the reservation time window.

In a second aspect, a method implemented at an access network node for resource reservation is provided. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a reservation request from a network controller, the reservation request indicating at least an identity of a service area of an access network node and a target time window during which resource reservation is desired; transmitting a reservation response to the reservation request to the network controller, the reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation is accepted or rejected, if the resource reservation is accepted, at least the access token is provided to the network controller; and in response to the reservation response indicating that the resource reservation is accepted for at least the reservation time window, allocating resources reserved for communication between the terminal device and the access network node within the reservation time window based on the access token, the reservation time window being comprised in the target time window.

In a third aspect, a method, implemented at a network controller, for resource reservation is provided. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting a first reservation request to the access network node, the first reservation request indicating at least an identity of a service area of the access network node and a first target time window during which a reservation of resources within the service area is desired; receiving a first reservation response to the first reservation request from the access network node, the first reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation was accepted or rejected by the access network node; and in response to the first reservation response indicating that the resource reservation is accepted for at least the reserved time window, transmitting at least an access token for obtaining resources reserved for communication between the terminal device and the access network node within the reserved time window, the reserved time window being comprised in the first target time window.

In a fourth aspect, an apparatus for resource reservation is provided. The device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, an apparatus for resource reservation is provided. The apparatus includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of the second aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an apparatus for resource reservation is provided. The apparatus includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of the third aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least a method according to the first aspect described above.

In an eighth aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least a method according to the second aspect described above.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least a method according to the above third aspect.

It should be understood that this summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description.

Drawings

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

fig. 2 illustrates a flow diagram showing a process for resource reservation, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

figure 3 shows a schematic diagram illustrating resource reservation requested by terminal devices in different cells, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 illustrates a flow diagram showing a process for resource reservation according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

figure 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a method implemented at a terminal device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

figure 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method implemented at an access network node, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

figure 7 illustrates a flow diagram of a method implemented at a network controller, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

fig. 8 shows a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers refer to the same or similar elements.

Detailed Description

The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to a few exemplary embodiments. It is understood that these examples are described solely for the purpose of illustration and to assist those of ordinary skill in the art in understanding and practicing the disclosure, and are not intended to imply any limitation on the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

In the following specification and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

References in the present disclosure to "one embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element may be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," "including," "has," "having," "has," "including," and/or "including," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components, etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) Hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in analog and/or digital circuitry only), and

(b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (as applicable):

(i) Combinations of analog and/or digital hardware circuit(s) and software/firmware, and

(ii) Any portion of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor (s)), software, and memory(s) that work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions, and

(c) Hardware circuit(s) and/or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), require software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but software may not be present when software operation is not required.

This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers (e.g., and where applicable to the particular claim element (s)) a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

As used herein, the term "wireless communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable wireless communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), high Speed Packet Access (HSPA), and the like. A "wireless communication network" may also be referred to as a "wireless communication system". Further, communication between network devices, between a network device and a terminal device, or between terminal devices in a wireless communication network may be performed according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to global system for mobile communications (GSM), universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), long Term Evolution (LTE), new Radio (NR), wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards such as the IEEE 802.11 standard, and/or any other suitable wireless communication standard currently known or developed in the future.

As used herein, the term "access network node" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. An access network Node may also refer to a network device, base Station (BS), or Access Point (AP), e.g., a Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), home Node B, home eNode B, NR NB (also known as gNB), remote Radio Unit (RRU), radio Head (RH), remote Radio Head (RRH), relay, low power Node (such as femto, pico, etc.), depending on the terminology and technology applied.

The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example, and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user Equipment (UE), subscriber Station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile Station (MS), or Access Terminal (AT). The terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices (such as digital cameras), gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, notebook embedded devices (LEEs), notebook installation devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), internet of things (loT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head Mounted Displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., tele-surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and/or other wireless devices operating in industrial and/or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronics, devices operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Communication system 100 includes Access Network (AN) nodes 110-1, 110-2, 110-3 and terminal devices 120-1, 120-2, 120-3 served by the access network nodes within their respective service areas 112-1, 112-2, 112-3. For purposes of this description, AN nodes 110-1, 110-2, 110-3 may be referred to collectively or individually as AN node 110, terminal devices 120-1, 120-2, 120-3 may be referred to collectively or individually as terminal devices 120, and service areas 112-1, 112-2, 112-3 may be referred to collectively or individually as service areas 112 or cells 112. End device 120 may communicate user and control data with serving AN node 110.

Generally, the communication system 100 includes, at a high level, an access infrastructure and a core infrastructure. In fig. 1, AN node 110 and its terminal equipment 120 are within the access infrastructure. Fig. 1 also shows a network controller 130 in the core infrastructure. The core infrastructure or core network provides authentication, charging, quality of service (QoS) handling, and similar user/device management features. The access infrastructure provides radio access for connecting terminal devices and handles the connectivity of these terminal devices. In addition, the core infrastructure also provides access to external networks, such as, for example, internet access. With the development of communications, and particularly the arrival of fifth generation (5G) communications, communication systems support many different types of devices, functions and solutions.

The network controller 130 comprises different entities/functions/components for different functions. In fig. 1, network controller 130 is shown to include a Session Management (SM) function (SMF) 132 that handles session management for terminal device 120, and an access and mobility management function (AMF) 134 that handles access and mobility management for terminal device 120. Although shown as being included within network controller 130, SMF132 and AMF134 may also be separate and implemented as distinct entities. Although one SMF is shown, in some implementations, more than one SMF may be included in the network controller 130 for different types of service applications. End device 120 and/or AN node 110 may also communicate with a network controller.

Communications in communication system 100 may conform to any suitable standard including, but not limited to, long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE evolution, LTE-advanced (LTE-a), global system for mobile communications (GSM), wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique word DFT-spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block filtered OFDM, filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC), and so on. Further, the communication may be performed in accordance with any generation of communication protocols now known or later developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, and fifth generation (5G) communication protocols.

It should be understood that the number of AN nodes and end devices is for illustration purposes only and does not imply any limitation. Communication system 100 may include any suitable number of AN nodes and end devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more terminal devices may be located in a cell 112 and served by a corresponding access network node 110. In addition, other entities/functions/components may be included in the core infrastructure in addition to SMF132 and AMF134, such as Application Functions (AFs), policy Control Functions (PCFs), unified Data Management (UDMs), user Plane Functions (UPFs), other SMFs for different service applications, and so on.

In some communication systems, such as 5G communication systems, communication based on quality of service (QoS) flows has been proposed. For example, in a 5G system, the 5G QoS model supports both QoS flows that require a guaranteed stream bit rate (GBR QoS flows) and QoS flows that do not require a guaranteed stream bit rate (non-GBR QoS flows). For GBR QoS flows, network resources are permanently allocated (e.g., by an admission control function in the radio base station). Each GBR QoS flow is associated with a set of QoS parameters including, for example, bit rate, priority level, packet Delay Budget (PDB), packet error rate, averaging window, and maximum data burst size.

During QoS flow establishment, GBR QoS flows are either granted (i.e., resources are permanently allocated) or denied (i.e., resources are not allocated at all). The AMF informs the access network node of the QoS parameters for each QoS flow, e.g., transmits an Information Element (IE) via a PDU session resource setup request. Each GBR QoS flow is associated with a set of QoS parameters, such as bit rate, PDB, etc.

As a specific example, the signaling exchanged for QoS flows has been specified in specifications for 5G systems, such as 3gpp ts 23.501. For example, the PDU session resource setup request transmission IE transparent to the AN is shown in table 1 below, the QoS parameters to be applied to QoS flows as defined by the IE in table 1 are shown in table 2 below, and the QoS parameters of GBR QoS flows for downlink and uplink as defined by the IE in table 1 are shown in table 3 below. The signaled QoS parameters may be signaled to the terminal device via a non-access stratum (NAS) procedure.

Table 1 PDU session resource setup request transfer IE

Table 2 QoS flow level QoS parameters

TABLE 3 GBR QoS flow information

In any type of communication system, radio resources are typically allocated for a terminal device by an access network node in reactive (reactive) mode. For example, when a terminal device moves from one cell to another, resources are allocated at the time of handover. In the example of QoS flow-based communication, resources may be allocated for the duration of a QoS flow during session establishment or modification. However, in conventional communication systems, it is not possible to reserve radio resources for future use within a certain time window in a certain area.

In some use cases, the terminal device may desire that resources may be reserved for certain geographic areas and times. With the advent of new service applications in communication systems, such as vehicle-to-all (V2X) applications and enhanced V2X (eV 2X) applications, resource reservation is particularly required when terminal devices travel from one place to another, and/or resource reservation has specific communication requirements within certain geographical areas. Without pre-reserved resources, it may be difficult to guarantee the quality of service of the terminal device in certain geographical areas and times.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution for active resource reservation for communication is proposed. In the solution of the present disclosure, a terminal device requests resource reservation for one or more target areas. Each of the one or more access network nodes having a respective service area partially or fully covered by the target area(s) determines whether to accept or reject the resource reservation for the one or more target time windows. If the resource reservation is accepted by the access network node for at least a part of the target time window, referred to as the reserved time window, the access token is provided to the terminal device and the corresponding resources are reserved for the terminal device within the reserved time window. The terminal device may use the access token to obtain resources from the access network node within the reserved time window. In the solution of the present disclosure, the terminal device is allowed to obtain an active resource reservation in a certain geographical area and in the future, thereby guaranteeing the quality of service of the terminal device.

The principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 2, where fig. 2 illustrates a process 200 for resource reservation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, the process 200 will be described with reference to fig. 1. Process 200 may involve terminal device 120, one or more Access Network (AN) nodes 110, and network controller 130 in fig. 1.

SMF132 and AMF134 are shown as separate entities, and thus, the interaction between these two entities is also shown here. It should be understood that SMF132 and AMF134 in the core infrastructure may be implemented as a single entity, or some functionality in one of SMF132 and AMF134 may be implemented at the other of SMF132 and AMF 134. AN nodes 110-1 and 110-2 are referred to herein for illustrative purposes only. It will be appreciated from the description below that AN node 110-3 and/or other AN nodes in a communication system may perform in a similar manner as AN node 110-1 or 110-2. The terminal devices 120 involved in process 200 may be any terminal devices located within cells 112-1, 112-2, 112-3 or other cells in the communication system.

In process 200, terminal device 120 transmits (205) a reservation request to network controller 130 requesting a resource reservation for at least the target area. When terminal device 120 initiates a reservation request, terminal device 120 may or may not be served by AN node 110-1 or 110-2.

The reservation request indicates at least the target area within which the resource reservation is desired. The target area may be indicated by any identity of the geographic area. For example, the target area may be indicated by the name and/or address of the target area, such as the name of a route, the originating and destination addresses of a route, the name or address of a building, house or park, and so forth. The target area may be any geographical area where the terminal device 120 is currently located and/or a distance from the current location of the terminal device 120. In some other embodiments, the target area may be indicated by one or more identities of one or more service areas of one or more access network nodes, if such identities are available in the terminal device 120. The scope of embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, more than one different target area may be indicated by terminal device 120 in the reservation request.

In some embodiments, the reservation request from the terminal device 120 also indicates a target time window during which the resource reservation is desired within the target area. The target time window may have any desired duration for resource reservation. The target time window may be indicated by an expected time for entering the target area and an expected duration for the resources to be reserved. The target time window may also be explicitly indicated by the date and time of day. In some embodiments, more than one target time window, either in the same target area or for different target areas, may be indicated by the terminal device 120 in the reservation request.

In some embodiments, the one or more target time windows for resource reservation are not provided by the terminal device 120, but may be determined at the network application side. Network controller 130 (e.g., AMF 134) may determine an entry time for end device 120 to enter the target area and a duration of time for end device 120 to travel in the target area. The duration may be determined based on a predicted or known speed of movement of the terminal device 120. As a specific example, the target area may be a path along which the terminal device 120 (vehicle or UE carried in the vehicle) will follow on the road system. The terminal device 120 may indicate to the network side the start time of such a journey. The target time window may be determined based on the path, the start time and possibly the moving speed of the terminal device 120. The determination of the target time window may also be performed by an entity, such as an application function in the system or other network entity.

The reservation request may be included in any existing or new message to be transmitted to the network controller. In some embodiments, the reservation request may be included in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request or a PDU session modification request. Any other type of message exchanged with the network controller is also possible. In some embodiments, the reservation request may also include a set of QoS parameters for terminal device 120, such as one or more of: bit rate, priority level, packet Delay Budget (PDB), packet error rate, averaging window, and maximum data burst size. The set of QoS parameters may be used for communication of GBR QoS flows for terminal device 120. In some embodiments, the reservation request may include two or more sets of QoS parameters for different QoS flows. Each set of QoS parameters may be used for communication of QoS flows within a target time window. For example, the reservation request may include a first set of QoS parameters for a time window of one day from 10 am to 11 am and a second set of QoS parameters for a time window of one day from 11 am to 30 am to 12 am.

If the target area in its reservation request is not indicated by the identity or identities of the serving area(s) of the access network node, the network controller 130 translates the target area to the identity or identities of the serving areas of the AN nodes in the communication system 100. The translation of the target area may be performed by the AMF134, an application function (not shown), or any other network entity in the system 100. In fig. 2, the reservation request of end device 120 may be transmitted to AMF134 in network controller 130. Upon receiving the reservation request, AMF134 determines which service area of the AN node is covered by the target area, e.g., based on information about the access networks in system 100. In some examples, more than one serving area may cover the target area. For example, the target area may be a route that extends a long distance and is therefore covered by two or more service areas.

For purposes of illustration, in fig. 2, it is assumed that the service areas 112-1, 112-2 of AN nodes 110-1, 110-2 are covered by the target areas indicated in the reservation request from terminal device 120. Of course, it is also possible that one of the service areas 112-1, 112-2 of AN nodes 110-1, 110-2 is not covered by the target area, and thus interaction with the AN may be omitted from process 200. Upon determining that one or more service areas 112-1, 112-2 are covered by the target area, AMF134 may communicate with AN node 110 to request resource reservation for terminal device 120 by referencing service area 112 with its identity. The identity of a service area may be any information/identity used to identify the corresponding service area and/or its serving AN node. Examples of such identities may include, but are not limited to, a cell ID, a Tracking Area Identity (TAI), AN identity of a corresponding AN node, combinations thereof, and the like.

In some embodiments, AMF134 may optionally interact with SMF132 to determine whether a session (such as a PDU session) with terminal device 120 is supported and/or whether AN active resource reservation for terminal device 120 is accepted prior to requesting from AN node 110. Specifically, AMF134 transmits (210) a reservation request to SMF 132. The reservation request transmitted to SMF132 may be substantially identical to the reservation request transmitted from terminal device 120, except for one or more identities of the service areas whose target areas are covered by the target area, or it may also be an Nsmf _ pduse _ CreateSMContext request or an Nsmf _ pduse _ UpdateSMContext request comprising other information for reservation. Thus, the reservation request may include the identity of the service areas 112-1, 112-2, and the target time window. The reservation request transmitted by AMF134 may also include the set of QoS parameters. In some embodiments, AMF134 adds the identity of the service areas 112-1, 112-2 directly to the reservation request from terminal device 120 and then forwards the reservation request along with the identity to SMF 132. In some other embodiments, AMF134 may forward reservation requests (such as PDU session setup/modification requests) received from end device 120 directly to SMF 132.

SMF132 receives the reservation request from AMF134 and may use the received information to create or update an AMF-SMF session to support the PDU session. SMF132 may also contact other network entities, such as UDMs (not shown in the figure), to register for PDU sessions. In some embodiments, SMF132 may perform an additional check to determine whether the active resource reservation for terminal device 120 is accepted. For example, SMF132 may determine whether the set of QoS parameters indicated in the reservation request match the QoS profile of terminal device 120. In response to the set of QoS parameters matching the QoS profile, SMF132 determines that the active resource reservation is accepted.

In another embodiment, SMF132 may determine whether resources may be pre-reserved for the target region and the target time based on the type of service application associated with terminal device 120. The type of service application may be associated with AMF134, with AMF134 being responsible for session management (e.g., PDU session management) for a particular type of service application, such as an eV2X application. SMF132 may make the determination regarding resource reservation using a predetermined policy, such as a policy provided by the PCF. A predetermined policy may be associated with a session. In some examples, SMF132 may request a predetermined policy from the PCF if it is not locally available. In some examples, the determination regarding resource reservation may be performed when the terminal device 120 is to access other cells or a Radio Access Technology (RAT) network.

If SMF132 determines that the PDU session establishment or modification request can be processed and/or that an active resource reservation for terminal device 120 is accepted, SMF132 responds (212) to AMF134 to indicate the result. In response to receiving such a response from SMF132, AMF134 may interact with AN node 110 to request resource reservation.

More specifically, if AMF134 determines that service area 112-2 of AN node 110-2 is covered by the target area, AMF134 transmits (215) a reservation request to AN node 110-2 indicating the identity of service area 112-2. The reservation request may also indicate other information, such as the target time window and/or the set of QoS parameters included in the request sent by the terminal device 120. One or more identities of other service areas, such as the identity of service area 112-1, may be excluded from the reservation request sent to AN node 110-2. Similarly, if the reservation request indicates the identity of serving area 112-1 of AN node 110-1, AMF134 transmits (220) a reservation request to AN node 110-1, the reservation request indicating the identity of serving area 112-1. One or more identities of other service areas, such as the identity of service area 112-2, may be excluded from the reservation request sent to AN node 110-2. Of course, AMF134 may send reservation requests to both AN nodes 110-1, 110-2 without excluding unrelated identities.

Upon receiving a reservation request from network controller 130, such as AMF134, AN node 110-2 determines whether to accept or reject the resource reservation and transmits 225 a reservation response to the reservation request from network controller 130 to indicate whether the resource reservation was accepted or rejected. As used herein, a resource to be reserved can be any available resource used by AN node to support communication, including time, frequency, and/or code resources.

To determine whether to accept or deny the resource reservation, AN node 110-2 determines whether sufficient resources are available in at least a portion of the target time window. In the event that the reservation request includes the set of QoS parameters or any indication indicating that resources should be reserved for the GBR QoS flow for terminal device 120, AN node 110-2 may determine that sufficient available resources may be reserved in at least a portion of the target time window to support communication between terminal device 120 and AN node 110-2 and/or to satisfy the set of QoS parameters (i.e., to support guaranteed bit rate QoS flows). Alternatively or additionally, AN node 110-2 determines planned resources, which are reserved for network slices associated with the serving application of the terminal device 120, and checks whether the amount of resources that need to be reserved for at least a portion of the target time window does not exceed the amount of planned resources.

The resource reservation may be fully accepted (e.g., for the entire target time window, for all of the multiple target time windows (if indicated in the reservation request), and for all of the required QoS flows corresponding to the QoS parameters), partially accepted (e.g., for at least a portion of the target time window, for one of the multiple target time windows, for a portion of the required QoS flows, or for a reduced bit rate of the QoS flows), or fully rejected (e.g., unable to reserve any resources). Herein, the time window during which the resource reservation is accepted may also be referred to as a reservation time window. The reserved time window is included in the target time window, which means that the reserved time window is a part of the target time window or has the same length as the target time window. If it is determined that resources may be reserved for terminal device 120 in the reservation time window (e.g., sufficient available resources may be reserved without exceeding the planned amount of resources), the reservation response transmitted by AN node 110-2 may indicate that the resource reservation within its service area 112-2 is accepted for the reservation time window.

In the event that the resource reservation is partially or fully accepted, AN access token may be issued by AN node 110-2 to terminal device 120 to obtain the reserved resources within the reservation time window. The access token may be included in the reservation response of AN node 110-2 and thus may also be used to indicate that the resource reservation is accepted. The access token is specific to terminal device 120 because resources are reserved by AN node 110-2 in response to a request from terminal device 120. The access token may be any indication information for indicating resource reservation for the terminal device 120 for a portion of the target area (i.e., the service area 112-2). In some examples, the access token may be a combination of the identity of the terminal device 120 and any further indications for resource reservation. In some embodiments, if the resource reservation is partially or fully accepted in different reservation time windows (which may be different time segments of the target time window, or different target time windows) and is possible for different QoS flows, different access tokens may be issued and included in the reservation response for the reservation time windows and/or for the QoS flows.

If the resource reservation is partially accepted, the reservation response may comprise, in addition to the access token, an indication indicating a reservation time window, the reservation time window being identical to the target time window or at least a part of the target time window. In the case where the resource reservation is partially accepted, AN node 110-2 may also include additional information regarding the accepted QoS flow(s), reduced bit rate, etc. in the reservation response.

Upon receiving a reservation request from network controller 130, such as AMF134, AN node 110-1 determines whether to accept or reject the resource reservation and transmits (230) a reservation response to the reservation request from network controller 130 to indicate whether the resource reservation was accepted or rejected. The determination of acceptance or rejection of resource reservation and the determination of the response to the reservation transmitted by AN node 110-1 may be similar to those in AN node 110-2 and will not be described again for the sake of brevity. In the event AN node 110-1 determines to accept the resource reservation for terminal device 120 within the reservation time window for the particular QoS flow, AN access token for such indication may also be issued in the reservation response of AN node 110-1 and included, which may also be specific to terminal device 120 and indicate that the resource reservation was accepted by AN node 110-1 for a portion of the target area (i.e., service area 112-1). The access tokens issued by AN nodes 110-1, 110-2 may be different.

Upon receiving the responses from AN nodes 110-1, 110-2, AMF134 transmits (240) a reservation response to terminal device 120. AMF134 may combine the response(s) received from one or more AN nodes 110 and transmit the combined response to end device 120. In some embodiments, if resources cannot be reserved (partially or fully rejected) for the terminal device 120 in part or all of the target area for part or all of the target time window, the reservation response from the AMF134 may include one or more rejection reasons for the resource reservation. As described above, resource reservation may fail due to checks performed at SMF132 or decisions made at AN node 110. Thus, the rejection reasons may include, for example, rejection due to insufficient resources provided by a certain AN node, rejection due to service applications supported by the terminal device 120, rejection due to mismatch of QoS parameters, and the like.

In some embodiments, if the end device 120 initiates a PDU session setup request to request a resource reservation, the AMF134 may transmit a PDU session setup accept or reject message that includes a reservation response. In some embodiments, if end device 120 initiates a PDU session modification request to request resource reservation, AMF134 may transmit a PDU session modification command or a reject message that includes a reservation response.

If the reservation response from network controller 130 indicates that the resource reservation is (partially or fully) accepted by one or more AN nodes 110 located within the target area for one or more reservation time windows, e.g., if the reservation request includes one or more corresponding access tokens issued by AN nodes, terminal device 120 may obtain resources reserved for communication between terminal device 120 and one or more AN nodes 110 within the corresponding reservation time windows.

In the example of fig. 2, if it is assumed that the resource reservation is accepted by AN node 110-1, terminal device 120 obtains (245) resources reserved for communication between terminal device 120 and AN node 110-1 within the reservation time window as indicated in the reservation response. Terminal device 120 obtains resource allocation based on the access token issued by AN node 110-1. More specifically, terminal device 120 transmits access token information to AN node 110-1 in order to obtain the reserved resources. The access token information may include one or more access tokens for one or more AN nodes even though the serving AN node of the terminal device 120 may not be in the target area. The latter case enables the serving AN node 110 to communicate the received access token information to the target AN node during the handover procedure.

Terminal device 120 may or may not have AN established access connection with AN node 110-1 (e.g., terminal device 120 may have just entered service area 112-1 at a later time). In the event that AN access connection has not been established, the terminal device 120 may transmit AN access token to the AN node 110-1 during a connection establishment procedure, such as in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection request (RRCConnectionRequest message) or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection setup complete (RRCConnectionSetupComplete message). In some embodiments, the access token may alternatively be transmitted during a connection re-establishment procedure, a connection reconfiguration procedure, or a connection recovery procedure. Terminal device 120 may transmit AN access token to AN node 110-1 via the access connection if there is AN established access connection with AN node 110-1.

In some embodiments, the access token may be transmitted to AN node 110-1 by another entity, such as another AN node or even a network controller. For example, in the case of a handoff from AN node 110-2 to AN node 110-1, the access token associated with the resource reservation in AN node 110-1 may be provided by AN node 110-2 or AMF134 to AN node 110-1 during the handoff procedure. In this way, AN node 110-1 may be prevented from accidentally rejecting the handoff of terminal device 120 (e.g., due to resource shortage). In some embodiments, for example for security reasons, the operator may configure the network to always let the network controller send access token information to the serving AN node and override the access token provided by the terminal device. In that case, the serving AN node maintains the received access token information received from the network controller. The access token information may include one or more access tokens for one or more AN nodes, even though the serving AN node may not be in the target area. The serving AN node transmits the received access token information to the target AN node during a handover procedure.

In some embodiments, end device 120 may first transmit an access token to network controller 130 (e.g., AMF134 or other network entity). The access token may then be forwarded to AN node 110-1. In this case, the access token may be transmitted by network controller 130 to AN node 110-1 during AN initial setup procedure.

Upon receiving the access token, AN node 110-1 may determine whether the access token is valid for terminal device 120. When issuing the access token, AN node 110-1 may also store the access token for future authentication. In some examples, AN node 110-1 may determine whether the received access token was issued by AN node 110-1 for that particular terminal device 120, whether the current time is still within a valid reserved time window, and so on.

If the access token is determined to be valid, AN node 110-1 may allocate resources to terminal device 120 at a time within the reserved time window. The resource allocation procedure between AN node 110-1 and terminal device 120 may be similar to those used in access networks. Since terminal device 120 has AN active resource reservation for the reservation time window, AN node 110-1 can guarantee that resources can always be allocated and used by terminal device 120 at this time. In the case of resource reservation for a GBR QoS flow, AN node 110-1 may reserve and allocate resources to support communication for terminal device 120 that satisfies the set of QoS parameters to satisfy the QoS requirements of terminal device 120.

In some embodiments, additional authentication may be performed to ensure that it is the correct terminal device to use the access token. For example, NG INITIAL USE MESSAGE may include the access token, and AN node 110-1 may perform a further check to determine whether the received access token matches the access token stored for terminal device 120. Network controller 130 sends the check result back to AN node 110 via the NG procedure. The inspection results may also include access token information, which may include one or more access tokens for one or more AN nodes 110.

It should be understood that although resource allocation between terminal device 120 and AN node 110-1 is described, terminal device 120 may also require resources reserved for a reservation time window from one or more other AN nodes, such as AN node 110-2, if a corresponding access token is received. In case the terminal device 120 has no resource reservation or its resource reservation is rejected by a certain AN node 110, the QoS requirement may not be guaranteed in advance. At this time, the resources of AN node 110 may be allocated to terminal device 120 as in the current resource allocation in which AN node 110 can treat terminal device 120 as best as it can in the resource allocation.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may revoke or modify the accepted resource reservation within at least a portion of the target area for at least a portion of the reservation time window. For example, the terminal device 120 may initiate a revocation or modification request to the network controller 130 indicating that resource reservations within some or all of the target area and/or resource reservations for some or all of the reservation time window may be released or modified. Network controller 130 may determine which AN node(s) 110 should release or modify the resource reservation based on part or all of the target area and then transmit a revocation or modification request to the AN node(s) 110. AN node 110 may release or modify the resources reserved for terminal device 120 when receiving the revocation or modification request. By revoking/releasing or modifying resource reservations, resources of AN node 110 may not be wasted, but may be reused for other communications.

In some embodiments, AN node 110 (node 110-1 or 110-2) may release the resource reservation for terminal device 120 if terminal device 120 does not enter service area 112 at this time. AN node 110 may determine to release its resource reservation for terminal device 120 if it determines that no access connection has been established with terminal device 120 after a predetermined period of time has elapsed within at least a portion of the reservation time window. If AN access connection has not been established, AN node 110 may conclude that terminal device 120 is late in reaching service area 112 and therefore terminal device 120 does not require resources.

Alternatively or additionally, network controller 130 may instruct one or more AN nodes 110 to release their resource reservations for part or all of the reservation time windows. In this embodiment, network controller 130 (e.g., AMF134 or other network node) may track the area in which end device 120 is currently located. Terminal device 120 may periodically report its location to AMF134 as it moves. In other examples, network controller 130 may query terminal device 120 for its location.

If the network controller 130 predicts, based on the real-time region, that the terminal device 120 fails to reach the service region 112 within at least a portion of the reserved time window, which indicates that the terminal device 120 is late, the network controller 130 may decide to revoke or modify the resource reservation for at least a portion of the reserved time window. Network controller 130 may indicate the decision to the corresponding AN node 110 to release the resource reservation for at least a portion of the reservation time window. AMF134 in network controller 130 may transmit a withdraw or modify request to AN node 110 to withdraw or modify a resource reservation for at least a portion of the reservation time window. Upon receiving the revocation request, AN node 110 may release resources reserved for terminal device 120 for at least a portion of the reservation time window.

Although in the above embodiments the access token issued by AN node 110 is provided to terminal device 120 to obtain the resource allocation, in some other embodiments the access token may be provided by AN node 110 only to network controller 130 (such as AMF 134) and not to terminal device 120. That is, the access token is unknown to the terminal device 120. When terminal device 120 enters service area 112 of AN node 110 in time and requests reservation of resources, network controller 130 may transmit AN access token to AN node 110 so that AN node 110 may verify and determine whether terminal device 120 is the correct terminal device for allocating reserved resources.

It has been discussed in the above embodiments that resources of a particular AN node 110 may be reserved for a particular terminal device 120 in response to a reservation request initiated by that terminal device 120. In some embodiments, network controller 130 may actively request AN node 110 to reserve its resources for a time window. For example, the network controller 130 may request resource reservations for a group of end devices (e.g., for a particular type of service application associated with an AMF or AF in the network controller 130). The network controller 130 may allocate resource reservations to one or more terminal devices 130 in response to requests directed directly to the network controller 130.

Active resource reservation by the network controller 130 may be beneficial and useful based on the following observations. It has been found that as more and more terminal devices 120 supporting the same service application start to use active resource reservation, the total requested resources may be stable in the relevant service area 112. Fig. 3 shows a diagram 300, which diagram 300 shows the resource reservation requested by terminal devices (UE 1 to UE5 supporting the same serving application) in different cells (cell #1 to cell # 4) over a period of time (from 10 to 13.

As can be seen from fig. 3, for example, the amount of resources requested by each terminal device (represented by the length of the block corresponding to that terminal device) may be quite dynamic, depending on the originating/destination location of the terminal device, its moving speed, etc. However, the total resources requested by terminal devices supporting the same service application (e.g., V2X or eV2X application) may be stable in all four cells.

Fig. 4 shows a process 400 for resource reservation, where a network controller actively acquires resource reservations. Similar to process 200, process 400 may involve terminal device 120, access network nodes 110-1, 110-2, and network controller 130 in fig. 1.

In process 400, network controller 130 (e.g., AMF 134) desires to proactively request resource reservations for service applications, such as V2X applications, eV2X applications, or any other type of application handled by network controller 130 (e.g., AMF 134). Network controller 130 (e.g., AMF 134) determines one or more service areas 112 and one or more target time windows (sometimes referred to as first target time windows) during which resources are reserved as desired within the corresponding service areas. In some embodiments, AMF134 determines one or more service areas 112 and/or target time windows based on historical communications for service applications that occur within the area covering the service area. For example, if communication for a service application occurs actively in a particular wide geographic area within a particular time window, AMF134 may determine the service area 112 provided by AN nodes 110 within that geographic area for that particular time window. AMF134 then communicates with AN node 110 in service area 112 to request resource reservation for terminal device 120.

In some embodiments, AMF134 may optionally interact with SMF132 to determine whether a session (such as a PDU session) with terminal device 120 is supported and/or whether AN active resource reservation for the serving application and/or for the terminal device of the serving application is accepted prior to the request from AN node 110. Specifically, AMF134 transmits (410) a reservation request to SMF132 and receives (412) a response from SMF 132. SMF132 performs in a similar manner as in process 200 described above to provide a response indicating whether a session with terminal device 120 is supported and/or whether an active resource reservation is accepted. The difference compared to the process 200 is that the request/response may indicate a group of terminal devices.

Upon receiving a response from SMF132 indicating that the session with terminal device 120 is supported and/or that the active resource reservation is accepted, AMF134 transmits a corresponding reservation request to AN node 110 identified in the reservation request from AMF 134. It is still assumed that AN nodes 110-1, 110-2 are located within the target area. AMF134 then transmits (415, 420) corresponding reservation requests (sometimes also referred to as first reservation requests) to AN nodes 110-1, 110-2, respectively, and receives (425, 430) corresponding reservation responses (sometimes also referred to as first reservation responses) from AN nodes 110-1, 110-2, respectively. The first reservation request sent to AN node 110-1 indicates the identity of serving area 110-1 and one or more corresponding first target time windows, and the first reservation request sent to AN node 110-2 indicates the identity of serving area 110-2 and one or more corresponding first target time windows. In some embodiments, the reservation request sent to AN node 110-1 and/or AN node 110-2 may include one or more sets of QoS parameters for one or more first target time windows. In these embodiments, the QoS parameters are associated with a particular service application.

Reservation requests and responses to/from AN nodes 110-1, 110-2 may be similar to that described in process 200, and processing within AN nodes 110-1, 110-2 may be similar to that described in process 200. The only difference may be that if the resource reservation for at least a portion of the first target time window (i.e., the reservation time window) is accepted by AN node 110, the access token provided by AN node 110 may not be specific to terminal device 120, but may be specific to a service application or a group of terminal devices of the service application of AMF 134. That is, when accepting resource reservation, AN node 110 may determine that reserved resources may be allocated/used by any terminal device in the serving application. The amount of reserved resources may be available and/or projected resources for a particular service application or a group of terminal devices for a particular service application.

Upon receiving responses from AN nodes 110-1, 110-2, AMF134 may obtain a resource reservation in service area 112 of AN node 110 for a particular reservation time window. Resource reservations for at least a portion of a particular reservation time window may be provided by AMF134 in response to a request from terminal device 120.

End device 120 transmits (435) a reservation request (also referred to herein as a second reservation request) to network controller 130 (e.g., AMF 134), the reservation request to request resource reservation for at least the target region. In AN embodiment of process 400, the second reservation request of end device 120 is transmitted after AMF134 has requested AN node 110 to make a resource reservation.

The second reservation request may be similar to the reservation request initiated by terminal device 120 in process 200. For example, the second reservation request indicates that resources are reserved in at least one or more target areas within which they are desired by the terminal device 120. The second reservation request may be included in a PDU session setup/modification request. In some embodiments, the second reservation request may also indicate one or more target time windows (sometimes also referred to as second target time windows) during which the resource reservation is desired by the terminal device 120. In some embodiments, the second target time window may not be provided by the terminal device 120, but may be determined by the network controller 130 (such as the AMF134 or the SMF 132) or other network entity. The determination of the second target time window for terminal device 120 is similar to that described in process 200.

Upon receiving the second reservation request from the terminal device 120, the AMF134 may make a decision on whether to accept or reject the resource reservation itself and transmit (440) a reservation response indicating the decision, sometimes also referred to as second reservation response. Specifically, AMF134 determines whether one or more of service areas 112 from AN node 110 that has accepted the resource reservation is covered by the target area indicated by terminal device 120. Additionally, AMF134 may also determine whether the second target time window overlaps with the reserved time window(s) corresponding to one or more AN nodes 110.

If it is determined that the service area 112 is covered by the target area and the second target time window may overlap the reservation time window, the AMF134 may determine that the resource reservation for the service area 112 is accepted. If the second target time window partially overlaps the reserved time window, it is determined that the resource reservation is partially accepted. If the second target time window is completely included within the reserved time window, it is determined that the resource reservation is completely accepted. Based on the determination, AMF134 determines a second reservation response to indicate that the resource reservation is accepted or rejected within the service area 112.

In the event that the resource reservation is accepted, the access token issued by AN node 110 corresponding to the determined service area 112 may be included in the second reservation response. The second reservation response may also include AN indication indicating at least a portion of a second target time window that overlaps with the reservation time window corresponding to the AN node 110.

In case the resource reservation is rejected or partially rejected, the second reservation response may comprise a rejection reason indicating why the resource reservation for at least a part of the second target time window was rejected in at least a part of the target area. The reason why the resource reservation desired by the terminal device 120 cannot be accepted may be one or more of: reserved resources in a certain service area cannot support communication for terminal devices 120 that meet QoS parameters, the target area indicated by a terminal device 120 is not covered by any service area in which a resource reservation has previously been obtained, the QoS parameters of a terminal device 120 do not match the QoS profile on the network side, and so on.

In some embodiments, if end device 120 initiates a PDU session setup request for requesting resource reservation, AMF134 may transmit a PDU session setup accept or reject message that includes a second reservation response. In some embodiments, if end device 120 initiates a PDU session modification request to request resource reservation, AMF134 may transmit a PDU session modification command or a reject message that includes a second reservation response.

In some embodiments, if AMF134 determines, upon receipt of the second reservation request, that the resource reservation desired by terminal device 120 was not previously obtained, AMF134 may initiate a procedure similar to procedure 200 to attempt to obtain the resource reservation from AN node 110.

If the reservation response from the network controller 130 indicates that the resource reservation is accepted (partially or fully) by one or more AN nodes 110 located within the target area for one or more reservation time windows, the terminal device 120 may obtain resources reserved for communication between the terminal device 120 and the one or more AN nodes 110 within the corresponding reservation time window. In the example of fig. 2, if it is assumed that the resource reservation is accepted by AN node 110-1, the terminal device 120 obtains (445) the resources reserved for communication between the terminal device 120 and AN node 110-1 within the reservation time window as indicated in the reservation response. The allocation of resources between terminal device 120 and AN node 110 is similar to that described above in process 200.

In some embodiments of process 400, network controller 130 may instruct one or more AN nodes 110 to release or modify their resource reservations for part or all of the reservation time window, similar to process 400. By releasing or modifying the resource reservation, resources of AN node 110 may not be wasted but may be reused for other communications.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 500 implemented at a terminal device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, the method 500 will be described with reference to fig. 1 from the perspective of the terminal device 120.

At block 510, the terminal device 120 transmits a reservation request to the network controller, the reservation request indicating at least a target area within which a resource reservation is desired. At block 520, the terminal device 120 receives a reservation response to the reservation request from the network controller, the reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation is accepted or rejected by at least the access network node located within the target area. At block 530, the terminal device 120 determines whether the reservation response indicates that the resource reservation is accepted for at least the reservation time window. In response to the reservation response indicating that the resource reservation is accepted for at least the reservation time window, the terminal device 120 obtains resources reserved for communication between the terminal device and the access network node within the reservation time window from the access network node and at least based on the access token provided by the access network node at block 540.

In some embodiments, if the reservation response indicates that the resource reservation was denied at block 530, the resources of the access network node may be allocated to the terminal device as in a current resource allocation in which the access network node may treat the terminal device with the best effort in resource allocation.

In some embodiments, the reservation request further indicates a target time window, the target time window comprising the reservation time window. In some embodiments, the reservation response comprises an access token indicating that the resource reservation was accepted by the access network node for a portion of the target region and/or a reject reason indicating that the resource reservation was rejected by the further access network node for a further portion of the target region. In some embodiments, the access token is specific to the terminal device or to a service application supported by the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the reservation request further indicates a set of quality of service (QoS) parameters associated with the terminal device. In some embodiments, obtaining resources comprises obtaining resources sufficient to support communications that satisfy the set of QoS parameters.

In some embodiments, obtaining the resource comprises: transmitting an access token to an access network node, either directly or via a network controller; and responsive to an access connection being established with the access network node, obtaining resources from the access network node at one time in the reserved time window.

In some embodiments, the access token is transmitted to the access network node during a connection establishment procedure, a connection re-establishment procedure, a connection reconfiguration procedure or a connection recovery procedure. In some embodiments, the access token is forwarded by the network controller to the access network node during an initial context establishment procedure.

In some embodiments, the further access network node is located within the target area, and the reservation response further indicates whether the resource reservation is accepted or rejected by the further access network node.

In some embodiments, the reservation request is included in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request and the reservation response is included in a PDU session establishment accept or reject message. In some embodiments, the reservation request is included in a PDU session modification request and the reservation response is included in a PDU session modification command or reject message.

In some embodiments, the method 500 further comprises revoking or modifying resource reservations within at least a portion of the target region for at least a portion of the reservation time window.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 600 implemented at an access network node, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, the method 600 will be described with reference to fig. 1 from the perspective of the access network node 110.

At block 610, the access network node 110 receives a reservation request from a network controller, the reservation request indicating at least an identity of a service area of the access network node and a target time window during which a resource reservation is desired. At block 620, the access network node 110 transmits a reservation response to the reservation request to the network controller, the reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation was accepted or rejected, and if the resource reservation was accepted for the reservation time window, at least the access token is provided to the network controller. At block 630, access network node 110 determines whether the reservation response indicates that the resource reservation is accepted for at least the reservation time window. In response to the reservation response indicating that the resource reservation was accepted for at least the reservation time window, the access network node 110 allocates resources reserved for communication between the terminal device and the access network node within the reservation time window based on the access token at block 640, the reservation time window being included in the target time window.

In some embodiments, if the reservation response indicates that the resource reservation was denied at block 630, the resources of the access network node may be allocated to the terminal device as in a current resource allocation in which the access network node may treat the terminal device with the best effort in resource allocation.

In some embodiments, the reservation includes the access token in response to the reservation response indicating that the resource reservation is accepted by the access network node for the service area, or includes a denial reason in response to the reservation response indicating that the resource reservation is denied by the access network node for the service area. In some embodiments, the access token is specific to the terminal device or to a service application supported by the terminal device. In some embodiments, the reservation response further comprises a list of access tokens provided for the terminal device 120 by one or more other access network nodes having a service area covered by the target area.

In some embodiments, the reservation request further indicates a set of quality of service (QoS) parameters associated with the terminal device or the serving application, and allocating resources comprises allocating resources sufficient to support communications satisfying the set of QoS parameters.

In some embodiments, allocating resources comprises: receiving an access token from the terminal device, the further access network node or the network controller; and allocating resources to the terminal device at a time within the reserved time window in response to the access connection with the terminal device being established.

In some embodiments, the access token is received from the terminal device during a connection establishment procedure, a connection re-establishment procedure, a connection reconfiguration procedure, or a connection recovery procedure.

In some embodiments, the method 600 further comprises releasing or modifying the resource reservation for at least a portion of the reservation time window in response to: receiving a revocation or modification request to revoke or modify the resource reservation, or determining that an access connection with the terminal device does not exist after a predetermined period of time has elapsed within the reservation time window.

Fig. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 700 implemented at a network controller, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, the method 700 will be described with reference to fig. 1 from the perspective of the network controller 130.

At block 710, the network controller 130 transmits a first reservation request to the access network node, the first reservation request indicating at least an identity of a serving area of the access network node and a first target time window during which reservation of resources within the serving area is desired. At block 720, the network controller 130 receives a first reservation response to the first reservation request from the access network node, the first reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation was accepted or rejected by the access network node. At block 730, the network controller 130 determines whether the first reservation response indicates that the resource reservation was accepted for the reservation time window. In response to the first reservation response indicating that the resource reservation is accepted for the reserved time window, the network controller 130 transmits at least an access token for obtaining resources reserved for communication between the terminal device and the access network node within the reserved time window at block 740, the reserved time window being comprised in the first target time window.

In some embodiments, transmitting the first reservation request comprises: receiving a second reservation request from the terminal device, the second reservation request indicating at least a target area within which resources are reserved to be expected by the terminal device; and transmitting the first reservation request in response to determining that the service area is covered by the target area. In some embodiments, transmitting the access token comprises: transmitting a second reservation response to the second reservation request, the second reservation response comprising the access token and indicating that the resource reservation is accepted for the reservation time window, and the access token being specific to the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the second reservation request further indicates the first target time window. In some embodiments, the second reservation response is denied in response to the resource reservation, further comprising a denial reason.

In some embodiments, method 700 further includes tracking an area in which the terminal device is currently located; determining, based on the region of the terminal device, whether the terminal device fails to reach a service region within at least a portion of the reserved time window; and in response to determining that the terminal device fails to reach the service area, instructing the access network node to revoke or modify the resource reservation for at least a portion of the reservation time window.

In some embodiments, transmitting the access token comprises: after transmitting the first reservation request, receiving a second reservation request from the terminal device, the second reservation request indicating at least a target region within which resource reservations are desired by the terminal device; and in response to at least determining that the serving area is covered by the target area, transmitting a second reservation response to the second reservation request to the terminal device, the second reservation response comprising the access token and indicating that the resource reservation is accepted by the access network node for the serving area. The access token is specific to a service application supported by the terminal device.

In some embodiments, transmitting the second reservation response comprises transmitting the second reservation response in response to further determining that the second target time window overlaps the reservation time window, the second target time window being indicated in the second reservation request or determined based on the target region. The second reservation response further includes an indication indicating at least a portion of a second target time window that overlaps the reservation time window.

In some embodiments, the method 700 further comprises determining at least one of a service area and a first target time window based on historical communications for the service application occurring within an area covering the service area.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., terminal device 120) capable of performing any of method 500 may include means for performing the respective steps of method 500. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for transmitting a reservation request to a network controller, the reservation request indicating at least a target area within which a resource reservation is desired; means for receiving a reservation response to the reservation request from the network controller, the reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation is accepted or rejected by an access network node located within the target area; and components for: in response to the reservation response indicating that the resource reservation was accepted for the reservation time window, resources reserved for communication between the terminal device and the access network node within the reservation time window are obtained from the access network node and based on an access token provided by the access network node.

In some embodiments, the apparatus also includes means for performing other steps in some embodiments of the method 500. In some embodiments, the component includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause execution of the apparatus.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., access network node 110) capable of performing any of method 600 may include means for performing the respective steps of method 600. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving a reservation request from a network controller, the reservation request indicating at least an identity of a service area of an access network node and a target time window during which resource reservation is desired; means for transmitting a reservation response to the reservation request to the network controller, the reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation is accepted or rejected, the access token being provided to the terminal device if the resource reservation is accepted; and components for: in response to the reservation response indicating that the resource reservation is accepted for the reservation time window, resources reserved for communication between the terminal device and the access network node within the reservation time window are allocated based on the access token, the reservation time window being included in the target time window.

In some embodiments, the apparatus also includes means for performing other steps in some embodiments of the method 600. In some embodiments, the component comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause execution of the apparatus.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., a network controller) capable of performing any of method 700 may include means for performing the respective steps of method 700. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for transmitting a first reservation request to an access network node, the first reservation request indicating at least an identity of a service area of the access network node and a first target time window during which a reservation of resources is desired within the service area; means for receiving a first reservation response to the first reservation request from the access network node, the first reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation was accepted or rejected by the access network node; and components for: in response to the first reservation response indicating that the resource reservation is accepted for the reservation time window, transmitting an access token to the terminal device, the access token being used to obtain resources reserved for communication between the terminal device and the access network node within the reservation time window, the reservation time window being comprised in the first target time window.

In some embodiments, the apparatus also includes means for performing other steps in some embodiments of the method 700. In some embodiments, the component comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause execution of the apparatus.

Fig. 8 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 800 that may be embodied as, or included in, the terminal device 120, the access network node 110, or the network controller illustrated in fig. 1 for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

The apparatus 800 includes at least one processor 811, such as a Data Processor (DP), and at least one memory (MEM) 812 coupled to the processor 811. Apparatus 89 may also include a transmitter TX and receiver RX 813 coupled to processor 811, where transmitter TX and receiver RX 813 may be operable to communicatively connect to other apparatuses. The MEM 812 stores a program or computer program code 814. The at least one memory 812 and the computer program code 814 are configured to, with the at least one processor 811, cause the apparatus 800 to perform at least according to embodiments of the present disclosure, such as the

methods

5000, 600 or 700.

The combination of the at least one processor 811 and the at least one MEM 812 may form a processing component 815 configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer programs, software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof executable by the processor 811.

The MEM 812 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples.

The processor 811 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture.

Although some of the above descriptions regarding GD-based signal detection and hierarchical signal detection are made in the context of the wireless communication system shown in fig. 1, they should not be construed as limiting the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The principles and concepts of the present disclosure may be more generally applicable to other scenarios.

Additionally, the present disclosure may also provide a carrier containing a computer program (e.g., computer instructions/grammar code 814 in fig. 8) as described above. The carrier includes a computer readable storage medium and a transmission medium. The computer-readable storage medium may include, for example, an optical or electronic memory device, such as a RAM (random access memory), ROM (read only memory), flash memory, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, blu-ray disc, and so forth. Transmission media may include, for example, electrical, optical, radio, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, and the like.

In general, the various embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some 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 various aspects of the embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated and 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.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product, tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product comprises computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the

methods

700 or 800 as described above with reference to fig. 7 and 8. 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 split between program modules as desired. 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.

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

In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer 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 of the foregoing. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium would 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 fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

For the purposes of the present disclosure as set forth above, it should be noted that,

the method steps (as examples of devices, apparatuses and/or modules thereof, or thus as an entity comprising an apparatus and/or modules thereof) which may be implemented as software code portions and run using a processor at a network element or terminal, are independent of the software code and may be specified using any known or future developed programming language as long as the functionality defined by the method steps is preserved;

in general, any method step is suitable to be implemented as software or by hardware without changing the idea of the invention in terms of the functions implemented;

method steps and/or devices, units or components (e.g. devices performing the functions of the apparatus according to the above embodiments, eNode-B, etc.) possibly implemented as hardware components at the above described apparatus or any module(s) thereof are hardware independent and may be implemented using any known or later developed hardware technology or any mixture of these technologies, such as MOS (metal oxide semiconductor), CMOS (complementary MOS), biMOS (bipolar MOS), biCMOS (bipolar CMOS), ECL (emitter coupled logic), TTL (transistor-transistor logic), etc., using e.g. ASIC (application specific IC (integrated circuit)) components, FPGA (field programmable gate array) components, CPLD (complex programmable logic device) components or DSP (digital signal processor) components;

a device, unit or component (e.g. any of the above-mentioned means or their respective components) may be implemented as an individual device, unit or component, but this does not exclude that they are implemented in a distributed manner throughout the system, as long as the functionality of the device, unit or component is preserved;

an apparatus may be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chip set or a (hardware) module comprising such a chip or chip set; however, this does not exclude the possibility of: the functionality of the apparatus or module is not implemented by hardware, but as software in a (software) module, such as a computer program or a computer program product comprising executable software code portions for execution/running on a processor;

for example, a device may be viewed as an apparatus or an assembly of more than one apparatus, whether the apparatuses are functionally coordinated with each other or functionally independent of each other, but in the same device housing.

Note that the above-described embodiments and examples are provided for illustrative purposes only, and are in no way intended to limit the present disclosure thereto. But, on the contrary, is intended to cover all alternatives and modifications that may fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Further, 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 and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although the above discussion contains several specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described 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 disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily 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.

Various embodiments of the technology have been described. In addition to or in lieu of the foregoing, the following examples are described. Features described in any of the examples below may be utilized with other examples described herein.

Claims

1. A method implemented at a terminal device for resource reservation, comprising:

transmitting a reservation request to a network controller, the reservation request indicating at least a target area within which a resource reservation is desired;

receiving a reservation response to the reservation request from the network controller, the reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation is accepted or rejected by an access network node located within the target area; and

obtaining, from the access network node and based at least on an access token provided by the access network node, resources reserved for communication between the terminal device and the access network node within a reservation time window in response to the reservation response indicating that the resource reservation is accepted for the reservation time window,

wherein the reservation request further indicates a target time window during which the reservation of resources is expected within the target area, the target time window comprising the reservation time window,

the target area may be indicated by a name and/or address of the target area.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein,

wherein the reservation response comprises the access token to indicate that the resource reservation was accepted by the access network node for a part of a target area and/or a reject reason to indicate that the resource reservation was rejected by a further access network node for a further part of the target area or

Wherein the access token is specific to the terminal device or to a service application supported by the terminal device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the reservation request further indicates a set of quality of service (QoS) parameters associated with the terminal device, an

Wherein obtaining the resources comprises obtaining the resources sufficient to support the communication that satisfies the set of QoS parameters.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the resource comprises:

transmitting the access token to the access network node directly or via the network controller; and

obtaining the resources from the access network node at one time in the reserved time window in response to an access connection with the access network node being established.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the access token is transmitted to the access network node during a connection establishment procedure, a connection re-establishment procedure, a connection reconfiguration procedure or a connection recovery procedure, or

Wherein the access token is forwarded by the network controller to the access network node during an initial context establishment procedure.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a further access network node is located within the target area, and the reservation response further indicates whether the resource reservation is accepted or rejected by the further access network node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the reservation request is included in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session setup request and the reservation response is included in a PDU session setup accept or reject message, or

The reservation request is included in a PDU session modification request and the reservation response is included in a PDU session modification command or a reject message.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

revoking or modifying the resource reservation within at least a portion of the target region for at least a portion of the reservation time window.

9. A method implemented at a network controller for resource reservation, comprising:

transmitting a first reservation request to an access network node, the first reservation request indicating at least an identity of a serving area of the access network node and a first target time window during which a reservation of resources is desired within a target area;

receiving a first reservation response to the first reservation request from the access network node, the first reservation response indicating whether the resource reservation was accepted or rejected by the access network node; and

in response to the first reservation response indicating that the resource reservation is accepted for a reservation time window, transmitting at least an access token for obtaining resources reserved for communication between a terminal device and the access network node within the reservation time window, the reservation time window being comprised in the first target time window,

wherein the first reservation request further indicates a target time window during which the resource reservation is expected within the target area, the target time window comprising the reservation time window,

the target area may be indicated by a name and/or an address of the target area.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein transmitting the first reservation request comprises:

receiving a second reservation request from the terminal device, the second reservation request indicating at least a target area within which the reservation of resources is desired by the terminal device; and

transmitting the first reservation request in response to determining that the service area is covered by the target area, an

Wherein transmitting the access token comprises:

transmitting a second reservation response to the second reservation request, the second reservation response including the access token and indicating that the resource reservation was accepted for the reservation time window, and the access token being specific to the terminal device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second reservation request further indicates the first target time window, or

Wherein the second reservation response further includes a rejection reason in response to the resource reservation being rejected.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

tracking the current area of the terminal equipment;

determining, based on the region of the terminal device, whether the terminal device fails to reach the serving region within at least a portion of the reserved time window; and

instructing the access network node to revoke or modify the resource reservation for the at least a portion of the reservation time window in response to determining that the terminal device failed to reach the serving area.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein transmitting the access token comprises:

after transmitting the first reservation request, receiving a second reservation request from the terminal device, the second reservation request indicating at least a target region within which resource reservations are desired by the terminal device; and

transmitting a second reservation response to the second reservation request to the terminal device in response to at least determining that the serving area is covered by the target area, the second reservation response including the access token and indicating that the resource reservation is accepted by the access network node for the serving area,

wherein the access token is specific to a service application supported by the terminal device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein transmitting the second reservation response comprises:

transmitting a second reservation response in response to further determining that a second target time window overlaps the reservation time window, the second target time window being indicated in the second reservation request or determined based on the target region; and

wherein the second reservation response further comprises an indication indicating at least a portion of the second target time window that overlaps the reservation time window.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining at least one of the service area and the first target time window based on historical communications for the service application occurring within an area covering the service area.

16. An apparatus for resource reservation, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1-8.

17. An apparatus for resource reservation, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 9-15.

18. An apparatus for resource reservation comprising means for performing the steps of the method according to any of claims 1 to 8.

19. An apparatus for resource reservation comprising means for performing the steps of the method according to any of claims 9 to 15.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.

21. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of any of claims 9-15.