CN116073881A

CN116073881A - Data transmission method, satellite base station, gateway station and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN116073881A
Application number: CN202111292911.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 孙建成; 缪德山; 周叶; 梁靖
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-11-03
Filing date: 2021-11-03
Publication date: 2023-05-05
Also published as: WO2023078339A1

Abstract

The invention discloses a data transmission method, a satellite base station, a gateway station and a storage medium, which are used for solving the technical problems of high complexity of data and signaling transmitted on a feed link between the satellite base station and the gateway station in the prior art, and the method comprises the following steps: the satellite base station determines itself as a gateway station access of a User Equipment (UE) functional module; the satellite base station configures at least one feed Data Radio Bearer (DRB) for the UE functional module; wherein the feeder DRBs are used as bearers for feeder links for transmitting signaling and data between the satellite base station and the gateway station.

Description

Data transmission method, satellite base station, gateway station and storage medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of satellite communications, and in particular, to a data transmission method, a satellite base station, a gateway station, and a storage medium.

Background

The satellite Internet has the advantages of wide coverage, small influence from natural disasters and physical attacks, and the like. The system can be deeply integrated with a ground mobile communication network, overcomes the defect of insufficient coverage of the ground mobile communication network, forms a fusion network system with complementary advantages, tight fusion and three-dimensional layering with the ground mobile communication network, and finally realizes the transmission and interaction of information in the global scope.

In the satellite internet, a satellite in which a communication mode is a reproduction mode is used as a base station (hereinafter, simply referred to as a satellite base station) which connects a satellite terminal and a gateway station (Gate Way). The satellite base station can detect signals sent by the satellite terminal, process the detected signals and forward the processed signals to the gateway station.

In the mobile communication network, the base station and the core network are in communication through wired connection, while in the satellite internet, the communication between the satellite base station and the core network is realized through the gateway station, and because the communication between the satellite base station and the gateway station adopts a non-standard protocol, the data and signaling transmitted on the feed link between the satellite base station and the gateway station are complex.

In view of this, how to reduce the complexity of data and signaling transmitted on the feeder link between the satellite base station and the gateway station is a technical problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a data transmission method, a satellite base station, a gateway station and a storage medium, which are used for solving the technical problems of high complexity of data and signaling transmitted on a feed link between the satellite base station and the gateway station in the prior art.

In order to solve the above technical problems, a technical solution of a method for data transmission provided in an embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

the satellite base station determines itself as a gateway station access of a User Equipment (UE) functional module;

the satellite base station configures at least one feed Data Radio Bearer (DRB) for the UE functional module; wherein the feeder DRBs are used as bearers for feeder links for transmitting signaling and data between the satellite base station and the gateway station.

In one possible implementation manner, the satellite base station determines gateway station access as a function module of the UE, and includes:

the satellite base station receives a random access request sent by a UE functional module in the gateway station;

and the satellite base station generates response information of the random access request, sends the response information to the UE functional module and establishes Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection.

In a possible implementation manner, the satellite base station configures at least one feed data radio bearer DRB for the UE functional module, and includes:

the satellite base station determines identity information of the UE functional module according to the establishment cause of the RRC connection or related information of the UE functional module;

If the identity information is the UE function module of the gateway station, the satellite base station distributes at least one feed DRB for the function module; wherein each feed DRB carries a different service type.

A possible implementation, the service type includes:

at least one of N2 signaling, N3 data.

A possible implementation, the N2 signaling includes:

UE-related N2 signaling, non-UE-related signaling.

In one possible embodiment, the N3 data includes:

the data of each UE managed by the satellite base station, the data of the satellite base station or other satellite base stations which are the same with the satellite base station through inter-satellite links.

One possible embodiment further comprises:

and the satellite base station controls the total access amount and the total service admission amount of the common UE of the air interface of the satellite base station according to the bearing capacity and the load of the feed link.

In one possible implementation manner, the satellite base station controls the total access amount and the total service admission amount of a common UE of the air interface of the satellite base station according to the bearing capacity and the load of the feeder link, and includes:

the satellite base station determines the maximum bearing capacity of the feed link according to the UE capacity reported by the UE functional module;

And the satellite base station decides whether to allow the ordinary UE to access the feed beam of the gateway station according to whether the load of the feed link exceeds the set proportion of the maximum bearing capacity, decides whether to allow the ordinary UE to access other service beams of the satellite base station, or decides whether to accept the session establishment request of the ordinary UE initiated by the core network.

In one possible embodiment, the method further comprises:

if the feed beam is a special beam of the gateway station, the access of the common UE is not allowed;

if the feed beam is a non-dedicated beam of the gateway station, data scheduling of the feed DRB is preferentially ensured in a feed cell where the gateway station is located, and service to the common UE is reduced or stopped when resources of the satellite base station are tensed.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for data transmission, including:

the gateway station is used as a User Equipment (UE) functional module to access a satellite base station, so that the satellite base station configures at least one feed Data Radio Bearer (DRB) for the UE functional module;

the gateway station establishes a feed link with the satellite base station through the at least one feed DRB;

The gateway station transmits signaling and data with the satellite base station over the feeder link.

In one possible implementation manner, the gateway station itself as a functional module of the UE accesses the satellite base station, and includes:

the gateway station sends random access requests to different satellite base stations through different UE functional modules; the gateway station comprises at least one UE functional module, and each UE functional module corresponds to one satellite base station;

and the gateway station receives the response information of the random access request and establishes Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with the satellite base station according to the response information.

A possible implementation, the protocol of the feeder link includes:

a feed user plane protocol stack and a feed control plane protocol stack;

the feed user plane protocol stack comprises a packet data convergence protocol PDCP layer, a radio link control RLC layer, a medium access control MAC layer and a physical PHY layer; the feed control plane protocol stack comprises a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer and a PHY layer.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a satellite base station, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

a memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transceiving data under control of the processor; a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and performing the following operations:

Determining the gateway station which is taken as a User Equipment (UE) functional module to access;

configuring at least one feed data radio bearer, DRB, for the UE functional module; wherein the feeder DRBs are used as bearers for feeder links for transmitting signaling and data between the satellite base station and the gateway station.

In one possible embodiment, the processor is further configured to:

receiving a random access request sent by a UE functional module in the gateway station;

and generating response information of the random access request, sending the response information to the UE functional module, and establishing Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection.

In one possible embodiment, the processor is further configured to:

determining identity information of the UE function module according to the establishment cause of the RRC connection or related information of the UE function module;

if the identity information is the UE function module of the gateway station, at least one feed DRB is distributed for the function module; wherein each feed DRB carries a different service type.

A possible implementation, the service type includes:

at least one of N2 signaling, N3 data.

A possible implementation, the N2 signaling includes:

UE-related N2 signaling, non-UE-related signaling.

In one possible embodiment, the N3 data includes:

In one possible embodiment, the processor is further configured to:

and controlling the total access amount and the total service admission amount of the common UE of the air interface of the satellite base station according to the bearing capacity and the load of the feed link.

In one possible embodiment, the processor is further configured to:

determining the maximum bearing capacity of the feeder link according to the UE capacity reported by the UE functional module;

and determining whether to allow the ordinary UE to access the feed beam where the gateway station is located or whether to allow the ordinary UE to access other service beams of the satellite base station or whether to accept the session establishment request of the ordinary UE initiated by the core network according to whether the load of the feed link exceeds the set proportion of the maximum bearing capacity.

In one possible embodiment, the processor is further configured to:

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a gateway station, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

establishing a feed link with the satellite base station through the at least one feed DRB;

signaling and data are transmitted over the feeder link with the satellite base station.

In one possible embodiment, the processor is further configured to:

sending random access requests to different satellite base stations through different UE functional modules; the gateway station comprises at least one UE functional module, and each UE functional module corresponds to one satellite base station;

and receiving response information of the random access request, and establishing Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with the satellite base station according to the response information.

A possible implementation, the protocol of the feeder link includes:

A feed user plane protocol stack and a feed control plane protocol stack;

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a satellite base station, including:

the determining unit is used for determining the gateway station access serving as the functional module of the User Equipment (UE);

a configuration unit, configured to configure at least one feed data radio bearer DRB for the UE functional module; wherein the feeder DRBs are used as bearers for feeder links for transmitting signaling and data between the satellite base station and the gateway station.

In a possible embodiment, the determining unit is further configured to:

In a possible embodiment, the configuration unit is further configured to:

A possible implementation, the service type includes:

at least one of N2 signaling, N3 data.

A possible implementation, the N2 signaling includes:

UE-related N2 signaling, non-UE-related signaling.

In one possible embodiment, the N3 data includes:

In a possible embodiment, the configuration unit is further configured to:

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a gateway station, including:

the access unit is used for the gateway station itself as a User Equipment (UE) functional module to access a satellite base station, so that the satellite base station configures at least one feed Data Radio Bearer (DRB) for the UE functional module;

the establishing unit is used for establishing a feed link between the at least one feed DRB and the satellite base station;

and the transmission unit is used for transmitting signaling and data with the satellite base station on the feed link.

A possible implementation manner, the access unit is configured to:

A possible implementation, the protocol of the feeder link includes:

a feed user plane protocol stack and a feed control plane protocol stack;

In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present invention further provide a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing the processor to perform the method according to the first or second aspect.

Through the technical scheme in the one or more embodiments of the present invention, the embodiments of the present invention have at least the following technical effects:

in the embodiment provided by the invention, the gateway station is used as the UE functional module to access the satellite base station, and the satellite base station is used for configuring the feed DRB as the load of the feed link for the UE functional module of the gateway station, so that the feed link support based on an NR-Uu interface is provided for the satellite base station in a satellite 5G fusion system, and the signaling and data are transmitted by using the DRB load satellite base station of the NR-Uu interface and the signaling Guan Zhanjian, so that different gateway stations can communicate with the satellite base station by using a unified communication standard, the complexity of data transmission and signaling between the satellite base station and the gateway station is reduced, and further, the signaling and data transmission on the feed link can be realized efficiently.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the connection of a satellite base station to a gateway station and a core network;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a control plane in an NG-RAN protocol architecture;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a user plane in an NG-RAN protocol architecture;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a data transmission method at a satellite base station side according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of comparison between a feed user plane protocol stack and a user plane protocol stack in NR according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of comparison between a feed control plane protocol stack and a control plane protocol stack in NR according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is an end-to-end control plane protocol stack architecture in the satellite 5G fusion system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is an end-to-end user plane protocol stack architecture in the satellite 5G fusion system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic communication diagram of a satellite base station and a gateway station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a flowchart of a data transmission method at a gateway station side according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of communication between a satellite base station and a gateway station according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a satellite base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a gateway station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of another satellite base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another gateway station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In the embodiment of the invention, the term "and/or" describes the association relation of the association objects, which means that three relations can exist, for example, a and/or B can be expressed as follows: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship.

The term "plurality" in the embodiments of the present application means two or more, and other adjectives are similar thereto.

The following description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without undue burden from the present disclosure, are within the scope of the present disclosure.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application can be suitable for various systems, in particular to a 5G system. For example, suitable systems may be global system for mobile communications (global system of mobile communication, GSM), code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA) universal packet Radio service (general packet Radio service, GPRS), long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE), LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD), LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD), long term evolution-advanced (long term evolution advanced, LTE-a), universal mobile system (universal mobile telecommunication system, UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, wiMAX), 5G New air interface (New Radio, NR), and the like. Terminal devices and network devices are included in these various systems. Core network parts such as evolved packet system (Evloved Packet System, EPS), 5G system (5 GS) etc. may also be included in the system.

The terminal device according to the embodiments of the present application may be a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, etc. The names of the terminal devices may also be different in different systems, for example in a 5G system, the terminal devices may be referred to as User Equipment (UE). The wireless terminal device may communicate with one or more Core Networks (CNs) via a radio access Network (Radio Access Network, RAN), which may be mobile terminal devices such as mobile phones (or "cellular" phones) and computers with mobile terminal devices, e.g., portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile devices that exchange voice and/or data with the radio access Network. Such as personal communication services (Personal Communication Service, PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (Session Initiated Protocol, SIP) phones, wireless local loop (Wireless Local Loop, WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (Personal Digital Assistant, PDAs), and the like. The wireless terminal device may also be referred to as a system, subscriber unit (subscriber unit), subscriber station (subscriber station), mobile station (mobile), remote station (remote station), access point (access point), remote terminal device (remote terminal), access terminal device (access terminal), user terminal device (user terminal), user agent (user agent), user equipment (user device), and the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

The network device according to the embodiment of the present application may be a base station, where the base station may include a plurality of cells for providing services for a terminal. A base station may also be called an access point or may be a device in an access network that communicates over the air-interface, through one or more sectors, with wireless terminal devices, or other names, depending on the particular application. The network device may be operable to exchange received air frames with internet protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) packets as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, which may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device may also coordinate attribute management for the air interface. For example, the network device according to the embodiments of the present application may be a network device (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (Global System for Mobile communications, GSM) or code division multiple access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA), a network device (NodeB) in a wideband code division multiple access (Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA), an evolved network device (evolutional Node B, eNB or e-NodeB) in a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in a 5G network architecture (next generation system), a home evolved base station (Home evolved Node B, heNB), a relay node (relay node), a home base station (femto), a pico base station (pico), and the like. In some network structures, the network device may include a Centralized Unit (CU) node and a Distributed Unit (DU) node, which may also be geographically separated.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of connection between a satellite base station and a gateway station, and between the satellite base station and a core network.

In a next generation wireless access network (Next Generation Radio Access Network, NG-RAN), a satellite base station and a gateway station are taken as NR-RAN, the satellite base station is a base station arranged on a satellite in a regeneration mode, the satellite base station is connected with the gateway station on the ground through a feed link, NG is transmitted on the feed link, and then the satellite base station is connected with a core network, and can be connected with a data network through the core network; the UE and the satellite base station communicate through an NR Uu interface (air interface), the gateway station and the core network communicate through NG, and the core network and the data network communicate through an N6 interface.

Please refer to fig. 2, which is a schematic diagram illustrating a control plane structure in the NG-RAN protocol architecture.

In the control plane of the NG-RAN protocol architecture, the protocols used by the UE include: non-Access Stratum (NAS) -session management (Session Managemen, SM), NAS-mobility management (Mobility Management, MM), radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC), packet data convergence protocol (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP), radio link control (Radio Link Control, RLC), medium Access control (Medium Acess Control, MAC), NR Physical (PHY); the protocols used by the satellite base station include: RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, NR PHY, which communicate with corresponding protocols in the UE over the NR-Uu interface, and the protocol stacks of the next generation application protocol (next generation application protocol, NG-AP), stream control transmission protocol (Stream Control Transmission Protocol, SCTP), internetworking protocol (Internet Protocol, IP), satellite radio interface (SRI, satellite Radio Interface), the protocol layers of the IP, SRI corresponding to corresponding protocol layers in the gateway station; the protocols used by the gateway station include: protocol layers of IP and SRI, L2 and L1; the core network comprises access control and mobility management functions (Access control and Mobility management Function, AMF), session management functions (Session Management Function, SMF), the protocols used by the AMF comprising: NAS-SM relay, NAS-MM, NG-AP, SCTP, IP, L1, L2, N11; the protocols used by SMF include: NAS-SM, N11, N6, AMF and gateway station communicate through NG-C. In fig. 2, NG-AP and NAS are transmitted between the core network and the satellite base station through SCTP as usual, but require a gateway station.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a user plane structure in an NG-RAN protocol architecture.

In the user plane of the NG-RAN protocol architecture, the protocols used by the UE include: protocol data unit (Protocol Data Unit, PDU), service data adaptation protocol (Service Data Adaptation Protocol, SDAP), PDCP, RLC, MAC, NR PHY; the protocols used by the satellite base station include: SDAP, PDCP, RLC, MAC, NR PHY, tunneling protocol-user plane (GPRS Tunnel Protocol, GTP) -U, user datagram protocol (User Datagram Protocol, UDP), IP, protocol layer of SRI; the protocols used by the gateway station include: protocol layers of IP and SRI, L2 and L1; the protocols used by the UPF in the core network include: PDU, GTP-U, UDP, IP, L2, L1, N11. In fig. 3 the protocol stack of the satellite radio interface is used to transmit the UE user plane at the satellite base station and the message Guan Zhanjian, the user session is transmitted between the core network and the satellite base station through the GTP-U tunnel as usual, but with the aid of a gateway station.

As can be seen from fig. 2 and 3, the satellite base station and the gateway station communicate via SRI (also referred to as a feeder interface), but the protocol stack of the SRI is usually customized by the gateway station service provider, which makes it necessary to separately set different SRIs for different gateway stations in the process of letting the satellite base station and the core network communicate by means of the gateway station, and thus makes the data and signaling transmitted on the feeder link between the satellite base station and the gateway station more complex.

In order to solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the present application provide a data transmission method, a satellite base station, a gateway station, and a storage medium, which are used to solve the technical problems in the prior art that the complexity of data and signaling transmitted on a feeder link between the satellite base station and the gateway station is high.

The method and the device are based on the same application, and because the principles of solving the problems by the method and the device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can be referred to each other, and the repetition is not repeated.

Referring to fig. 4, an embodiment of the present invention provides a data transmission method, and the processing procedure of the method is as follows.

Step 401: the satellite base station determines itself as a gateway station access of a User Equipment (UE) functional module;

step 402: the satellite base station configures at least one feed Data Radio Bearer (DRB) for a UE functional module; wherein the feeder DRBs are used as bearers for feeder links for transmitting signaling and data between the satellite base station and the gateway station.

The protocol of the feeder link includes:

a feed user plane protocol stack and a feed control plane protocol stack;

the feed user plane protocol stack comprises a packet data convergence protocol PDCP layer, a radio link control RLC layer, a media access control MAC layer and a physical PHY layer, and does not contain a session PDU layer and a service data adaptation protocol SDAP layer; the feed control plane protocol stack includes a radio resource control RRC layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, PHY layer, and does not contain a non-access NAS layer.

Referring to fig. 5 and fig. 6, fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating comparison between a feed user plane protocol stack and a user plane protocol stack in NR according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating comparison between a feed control plane protocol stack and a control plane protocol stack in NR according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The UE function module of the gateway station and the core network do not need to establish PDU conversation communication, so the feeding user plane does not need to establish and maintain PDU conversation, and SDAP is not needed, and the feeding user plane protocol stack is formed by removing a PDU layer, namely a residual protocol layer after the SDAP layer, on the basis of the NR user plane protocol stack.

The RRC connection between the UE functional module of the gateway station and the satellite base station needs maintenance and related signaling and encryption are ensured, but the UE functional module of the gateway station does not need to register, authenticate, establish service and other NAS processes to a core network, so that an NAS layer in an NR control plane protocol stack is not needed, and a feed control plane comprises a PHY layer, a MAC layer, an RLC layer and a PDCP layer.

Based on the above-mentioned feed control plane protocol stack and feed user plane protocol stack, please refer to fig. 7 and 8 for an end-to-end control plane protocol stack architecture and a user plane protocol stack architecture in the satellite 5G fusion system, fig. 7 is an end-to-end control plane protocol stack architecture in the satellite 5G fusion system provided by the embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 8 is an end-to-end user plane protocol stack architecture in the satellite 5G fusion system provided by the embodiment of the present invention.

The UE functional module of the satellite base station or the gateway station does not distinguish the common UE corresponding to the transmitted data packet in the process of transmitting data through the feed DRB. As shown in fig. 7 and fig. 8, the feeding DRB (shown by a dashed box) carries an IP packet corresponding to the N2 signaling or the N3 data, the satellite base station encapsulates the NGAP signaling or the GTP-U data of the UE into the IP packet, the UE functional module of the gateway station is sent to the core network through the feeding DRB, the core network processes the IP packet layer by layer, and finally identifies the common UE to which the data packet should belong and the data of the PDU session (the GTP-U tunnel is allocated by the core network per UE per PDU Session in the service establishment process) in the common UE through different GTP-U tunnels, and determines which common UE should be the N2 signaling based on or through the NGAP user identity in the NGAP signaling; and vice versa. The protocol stack of the satellite radio interface between the satellite base station and the gateway station is standardized into the feed user plane protocol stack and the feed control plane protocol stack of the feed link, and the feed user plane protocol stack and the feed control plane protocol stack inherit partial protocols in the user plane protocol stack and the control plane protocol stack in NR, so that the satellite base station and the gateway station do not need to convert between a 5G communication protocol and a non-standard protocol (custom protocol) in the communication process, thereby not only enabling the satellite base station and the gateway station to quickly establish communication connection, but also being well compatible with an NR system and reducing the complexity of data and signaling transmitted on the feed link between the satellite base station and the gateway station.

For example, please refer to fig. 9, which is a schematic diagram of communication between a satellite base station and a gateway station according to an embodiment of the present invention. In fig. 9, it is assumed that the satellite base station 1 and the satellite base station 2 are 5G base stations mounted on a satellite, and 5G UE functional modules are added in the gateway station 1 and the gateway station 2, so that NR-Uu connection can be established between the 5G UE functional modules in the gateway station 1 and the satellite base station 1, NR-Uu connection can be established between the 5G UE functional modules in the gateway station 2 and the satellite base station 2, and further, the satellite base station 1 and the satellite base station 2 can respectively determine that the satellite base station 1 and the satellite base station 2 are connected as the gateway station 1 and the gateway station 2 of the 5G UE functional modules of the gateway station 1 and the 5G UE functional modules of the gateway station 2, respectively configure at least one feed DRB, and the feed DRB is used as a carrier of a feed link (the feed link between the satellite base station 1 and the gateway station 1 is denoted as the feed link 1, the feed link 2 between the satellite base station 2 and the gateway station 2 is denoted as the service link between the satellite base station 1 and a common UE in a region), and the satellite base station 2 can be correspondingly connected with the satellite base station 1 and the core network 2 through the communication network and the communication network between the satellite base station 1 and the gateway 2 and the core network, and the communication network 2. When the satellite base station 1 configures a plurality of feed DRBs for the 5G UE functional module of the gateway station 1, the services corresponding to the different feed DRBs are different.

Because one gateway station needs to communicate with a plurality of satellite base stations, a plurality of 5G UE functional modules can be arranged in the gateway station, and one 5G UE functional module is communicated with one satellite base station, so that different satellite base stations can communicate with the same gateway station through the corresponding 5G UE functional modules.

In step 401, the satellite base station determines itself as a gateway station access of the UE function module of the UE, which may be implemented by the following manner:

the satellite base station receives a random access request sent by a UE functional module in the gateway station; the satellite base station generates response information of the random access request, sends the response information to the UE functional module and establishes Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection.

In the feed link between the gateway station and the satellite base station, the above-mentioned feed user plane protocol stack and feed control plane protocol stack are used, the satellite base station provides a feed beam to cover the area where the gateway station is located, and provides NR-Uu service of the feed link for the gateway station, the gateway station uses itself as a UE function module (equivalent to letting the gateway station as a user terminal) to access the satellite base station, and searches, synchronizes and reads system information of the feed cell in the same way as that of the ordinary UE (i.e. ordinary user terminal), and establishes RRC connection through a random access request.

For example, a UE functional module is set in a gateway station, through which the gateway station sends a random access request to a satellite base station, and the base station generates corresponding response information according to the random access request and sends the response information to the UE functional module of the gateway station, so that RRC connection can be established between the satellite base station and the gateway station, and the satellite base station can further determine that the gateway station itself is accessed as the UE functional module.

In one possible implementation, the satellite base station configures at least one feed data radio bearer DRB for a UE functional module, including:

the satellite base station determines the identity information of the UE functional module according to the establishment cause of the RRC connection or the related information of the UE functional module; if the identity information is the UE function module of the gateway station, the satellite base station distributes at least one feed DRB for the function module; wherein each feed DRB carries a different service type. The service type includes at least one of N2 signaling, N3 data.

The N2 signaling includes UE-related N2 signaling and non-UE-related signaling.

And N3 data comprises data of each UE managed by the satellite base station, and data of the satellite base station or other satellite base stations which are the same with the satellite base station through inter-satellite links.

After the RRC connection is established between the satellite base station and the UE functional module of the gateway station, the satellite base station can determine the identity information of the UE functional module of the gateway station through the reason of the RRC establishment or the related information of the UE capability/UE type indicator lamp, and then at least one feed DRB is configured for the UE functional module of the gateway station to bear signaling and data on a feed link. The configuration of the feed DRB may be configured according to a pre-configuration in the satellite base station, or may be determined by the implementation of the satellite base station.

Taking the satellite base station and the gateway station 1 in fig. 9 as an example, after one UE accesses the satellite base station 1, the satellite base station determines that the identity information of the UE is a common UE according to the reason or related information of the RRC connection establishment with the UE, and then communicates with the common UE normally in a communication manner with the common UE; the satellite base station configures 2 feed DRBs for the UE function modules, one feed DRB bears different N2 signaling, and the other feed DRB bears N3 data.

In one possible implementation, the satellite base station controls the total amount of access and the total amount of traffic admission for a common UE of the air interface of the satellite base station according to the carrying capacity and load of the feeder link. The method can be realized by the following steps:

the satellite base station determines the maximum bearing capacity of the feed link according to the UE capacity reported by the UE function module;

the satellite base station decides whether to allow the ordinary UE to access the feed beam of the gateway station according to whether the load of the feed link exceeds the set proportion of the maximum bearing capacity, or decides whether to allow the ordinary UE to access other service beams of the satellite base station, or decides whether to accept the session establishment request of the ordinary UE initiated by the core network.

The maximum carrying capacity may be the maximum number of users that can be carried on the feeder link, the maximum throughput, etc., and the load of the corresponding feeder link may be the current actual number of users that can be carried on the feeder link, the total throughput, etc.

For example, after the UE functional module of the gateway station accesses the satellite base station, the satellite base station is informed that its UE capability is M, the satellite base station determines that the current load of the power supply link is N, the set proportion is k (k < 1), the satellite base station determines the size of N and kxm, if N is greater than kxm, the set proportion that the load of the power supply link exceeds the maximum bearing capability of the power supply link is determined, and the new common UE is not allowed to access the power supply beam or other service beams of the satellite base station, or the session establishment request of the common UE initiated by the core network is not allowed; if N is less than or equal to k×M, determining that the load of the feeder link does not exceed the set proportion of the maximum bearing capacity of the feeder link, and allowing a new ordinary UE to access a feeder beam or other service beams of the satellite base station or admitting a session establishment request of the ordinary UE initiated by a core network, so that the total access amount of the ordinary UE of an air interface of the satellite base station and the total service admittance amount of the satellite base station can be effectively controlled, thereby preventing the communication between the satellite base station and a gateway station from being blocked and providing smooth communication service for the ordinary UE accessed to the satellite base station.

One possible implementation manner, if the feed beam is a dedicated beam of the gateway station, normal UE access is not allowed; if the feed beam is a non-dedicated beam of the gateway station, data scheduling of the feed DRB is preferentially ensured in a feed cell where the gateway station is located, and service to the common UE is reduced or stopped when resources of the satellite base station are tensed.

With continued reference to fig. 9, it is assumed that the feed beam of the satellite base station 2 in fig. 9 covers the dedicated beam which does not allow the access of the normal UE, and the dedicated feed service is provided for the gateway station 2 by the dedicated beam, and the normal UE in the feed cell (oval dotted line) in which the gateway station 2 is located in fig. 9 cannot access the dedicated beam of the satellite base station 2, and the normal UE in the cell corresponding to the other service beam of the satellite base station 2 can access the satellite base station 2. After the UE functional module of the gateway station 2 is accessed to the Satellite base station 2, the Satellite base station 2 configures a feed DRB for transmitting all signaling and data on a feed link according to a default configuration or a pre-configuration, such as service data or N2 signaling of all ordinary terminals governed by the Satellite base station, non-UE associated N2 signaling of the Satellite base station, data or signaling information of adjacent satellites received through Inter-Satellite Links (ISL), configuration information or control information of satellites where the Satellite base station is located or the Satellite base station, such as beam control information or Inter-Satellite measurement and control information, and the like. If the satellite base station 2 configures 2 feed DRBs for the gateway station, one feed DRB is used for transmitting N2 signaling, and the other feed DRB is used for transmitting N3 data, the satellite base station may indicate service types corresponding to different NRBs in the RRC configuration message, and when the gateway station transmits signaling or data, the gateway station selects the corresponding feed DRB for transmission according to the different service types.

Assuming that the feed beam of the satellite base station 1 in fig. 9 covering the gateway station 1 is a non-dedicated beam, and the service is provided for the gateway station 1 by the non-dedicated beam, the common UE in the feed cell (shown by the oval solid line) covering the gateway station 1 in fig. 9 can access the satellite base station 1 through the non-dedicated beam, but the satellite base station 1 preferentially guarantees the data scheduling of the feed DRB of the gateway station 1 in the feed cell where the gateway station 1 is located, and when the resource of the satellite base station 1 is tense, the service to the common UE is reduced or stopped, so that the communication requirement of the feed DRB of the gateway station can be fully guaranteed, and the satellite communication service quality is improved. After the UE function module of the gateway station 1 accesses the satellite base station 1 through a random access request, the satellite base station 1 configures at least one feed DRB for the UE function module of the gateway station 1 as a feed link bearer, after the feed DRB configuration is completed, the satellite base station 1 can accommodate the access of a common UE in a feed cell where the gateway station is located, processes such as registration of the common UE, service establishment and the like are not different from an NR system, and related N2 signaling and N3 data of the common UE accessed to the satellite base station 1 are interacted with a core network through the feed DRB between the satellite base station 1 and the gateway station 1.

After the method of data transmission is introduced from the satellite base station side, the following will be introduced from the gateway station side:

based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for data transmission, referring to fig. 10, the method includes:

step 1001: the gateway station itself is used as a user equipment UE function module to access the satellite base station, so that the satellite base station configures at least one feed data radio bearer DRB for the UE function module.

Step 1002: the gateway station establishes a feed link with the satellite base station through at least one feed DRB;

step 1003: the gateway station transmits signaling and data with the satellite base station over the feeder link.

In step 1001, the gateway station itself is used as a functional module of the UE to access the satellite base station, which may be implemented in the following manner:

the gateway station sends random access requests to different satellite base stations through different UE functional modules; the gateway station comprises at least one UE functional module, and each UE functional module corresponds to one satellite base station; the gateway station receives response information of the random access request and establishes Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with the satellite base station according to the response information.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of communication between a satellite base station and a gateway station according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In fig. 11, 2 UE functional modules are provided in the gateway station, the gateway station accesses to the satellite base station 1 and the satellite base station 2 through the 2 UE functional modules, and establishes a feeder link 1 and a feeder link 2 with the satellite base station 1 and the satellite base station 2 in a time sharing manner, after the gateway station accesses to the satellite base station 1 through one UE functional module (denoted as UE functional module 1), the satellite base station 1 configures at least 1 feeder DRB (denoted as feeder DRB 1) for the UE functional module 1, and the UE functional module 1 establishes a feeder link (denoted as feeder link 1) with the satellite base station 1 through at least 1 feeder DRB1, and transmits signaling and data with the satellite base station 1 on the feeder link 1. After the gateway station is further connected to the satellite base station 2 through another UE functional module (denoted as UE functional module 2), the satellite base station 2 configures at least 1 feed DRB (denoted as feed DRB 2) for the UE functional module 2, and the UE functional module 2 establishes a feed link (denoted as feed link 2) with the satellite base station 2 through at least 1 feed DRB2, and transmits signaling and data with the satellite base station 2 on the feed link 2.

A possible implementation, a protocol of a feeder link, comprising:

a feed user plane protocol stack and a feed control plane protocol stack;

The foregoing feed user plane protocol stack and the feed control plane protocol stack may be referred to related description in the satellite base station side method, and will not be described herein.

As shown in fig. 12, a satellite base station according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a memory 1201, a transceiver 1202, and a processor 1203:

a memory 1201 for storing a computer program; a transceiver 1202 for transceiving data under the control of the processor 1203; a processor 1203 for reading the computer program in the memory 1201 and performing the following operations:

In a possible implementation, the processor 1203 is further configured to:

A possible implementation, the service type includes:

at least one of N2 signaling, N3 data.

A possible implementation, the N2 signaling includes:

UE-related N2 signaling, non-UE-related signaling.

In one possible embodiment, the N3 data includes:

In a possible implementation, the processor 1203 is further configured to:

A transceiver 1202 for receiving and transmitting data under the control of the processor 1203.

Wherein in fig. 12, a bus architecture may comprise any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and in particular one or more processors represented by the processor 1203 and various circuits of memory represented by the memory 1201, linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1202 may be a number of elements, including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical cables, and the like. The processor 1203 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1201 may store data used by the processor 1203 in performing operations.

The processor 1203 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), a Field programmable gate array (Field-Programmable Gate Array, FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (Complex Programmable Logic Device, CPLD), or may employ a multi-core architecture.

Based on the same inventive concept, please refer to fig. 13, an embodiment of the present invention provides a gateway station, which includes a memory 1301, a transceiver 1302, and a processor 1303:

a memory 1301 for storing a computer program; a transceiver 1302 for receiving and transmitting data under the control of the processor 1303; a processor 1303 for reading the computer program in the memory 1301 and performing the following operations:

In one possible implementation, the processor 1303 is further configured to:

A possible implementation, the protocol of the feeder link includes:

a feed user plane protocol stack and a feed control plane protocol stack;

A transceiver 1302 for receiving and transmitting data under the control of a processor 1303.

Wherein in fig. 13, a bus architecture may comprise any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and in particular one or more processors represented by processor 1303 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 1301, linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1302 may be a number of elements, i.e., including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical cables, etc. The user interface 1304 may also be an interface capable of interfacing with an inscribed desired device for a different user device, including but not limited to a keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick, etc.

The processor 1303 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1301 may store data used by the processor 1303 in performing operations.

Alternatively, the processor 1303 may be a CPU (central processing unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit ), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array, field programmable gate array) or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device ), and the processor may also employ a multi-core architecture.

The processor is configured to execute any of the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application by invoking a computer program stored in a memory in accordance with the obtained executable instructions. The processor and the memory may also be physically separate.

It should be noted that, the above device provided in the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps implemented in the method embodiment and achieve the same technical effects, and detailed descriptions of the same parts and beneficial effects as those in the method embodiment in this embodiment are omitted.

Based on the same inventive concept, in an embodiment of the present invention, a satellite base station is provided, and a specific implementation of a data transmission method of the satellite base station may be referred to a description of an embodiment of a method at a satellite base station side, and details are not repeated, and referring to fig. 14, the satellite base station includes:

A determining unit 1401, configured to determine a gateway station access serving as a functional module of the UE;

a configuration unit 1402 configured to configure at least one feeder data radio bearer DRB for the UE functional module; wherein the feeder DRBs are used as bearers for feeder links for transmitting signaling and data between the satellite base station and the gateway station.

In a possible implementation, the determining unit 1401 is further configured to:

In a possible implementation manner, the configuration unit 1402 is further configured to:

A possible implementation, the service type includes:

At least one of N2 signaling, N3 data.

A possible implementation, the N2 signaling includes:

UE-related N2 signaling, non-UE-related signaling.

In one possible embodiment, the N3 data includes:

and the satellite base station controls the total access amount and the total service admission amount of the air interface common UE of the satellite base station according to the bearing capacity and the load of the feed link.

Based on the same inventive concept, in an embodiment of the present invention, a gateway station is provided, and a specific implementation manner of a data transmission method of the gateway station may be referred to a description of an embodiment portion of a method at a gateway station side, and details are not repeated, and please refer to fig. 15, where the gateway station includes:

an access unit 1501, configured to enable a gateway station itself to be used as a UE functional module of a user equipment to access a satellite base station, so that the satellite base station configures at least one feed data radio bearer DRB for the UE functional module;

an establishing unit 1502, configured to establish a feeder link with the satellite base station through the at least one feeder DRB;

a transmission unit 1503 for transmitting signaling and data with the satellite base station over the feeder link.

A possible implementation, the access unit 1501 is configured to:

A possible implementation, the protocol of the feeder link includes:

a feed user plane protocol stack and a feed control plane protocol stack;

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the units is schematic, which is merely a logic function division, and other division manners may be implemented in actual practice. In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in software functional units.

The integrated units, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as stand-alone products, may be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied in essence or a part contributing to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution, in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, or other various media capable of storing program codes.

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiments of the present invention also provide a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing the processor to execute the data transmission method on the satellite base station side or the gateway station side as described above.

The processor-readable storage medium may be any available medium or data storage device that can be accessed by a processor, including, but not limited to, magnetic storage (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tape, magneto-optical disks (MOs), etc.), optical storage (e.g., CD, DVD, BD, HVD, etc.), semiconductor storage (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, nonvolatile storage (NAND FLASH), solid State Disk (SSD)), and the like.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, magnetic disk storage, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These processor-executable instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present application without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims and the equivalents thereof, the present application is intended to cover such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method of data transmission, the method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the satellite base station determining itself as the gateway station access for the user equipment UE functional module comprises:

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the satellite base station configures at least one feed data radio bearer, DRB, for the UE functional module, comprising:

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the traffic type comprises:

at least one of N2 signaling, N3 data.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the N2 signaling comprises:

UE-related N2 signaling, non-UE-related signaling.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the N3 data comprises:

7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, further comprising:

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the satellite base station controlling the total amount of access and total amount of traffic admission for a generic UE of the satellite base station air interface based on the loading capacity and load of the feeder link comprises:

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

10. A method of data transmission, comprising:

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the gateway station itself accesses the satellite base station as a user equipment, UE, functional module, comprising:

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the protocol of the feeder link comprises:

a feed user plane protocol stack and a feed control plane protocol stack;

13. A satellite base station comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

14. The satellite base station of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:

15. The satellite base station of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to:

16. The satellite base station of claim 15, wherein the traffic type comprises:

at least one of N2 signaling, N3 data.

17. The satellite base station of claim 16, wherein the N2 signaling comprises:

UE-related N2 signaling, non-UE-related signaling.

18. The satellite base station of claim 16, wherein the N3 data comprises:

19. The satellite base station of any of claims 13-18, wherein the processor is further configured to:

20. The satellite base station of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to:

21. The satellite base station of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to:

22. A gateway station comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

23. The gateway station of claim 22, wherein the processor is further configured to:

24. The gateway station of claim 22 or 23, wherein the protocol of the feeder link comprises:

a feed user plane protocol stack and a feed control plane protocol stack;

25. A satellite base station, comprising:

26. A gateway station, comprising:

27. A processor-readable storage medium, characterized in that the processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program for causing the processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.