CN117527032A - Group-based radio resource allocation between TN network and NTN network - Google Patents

Abstract

Group-based radio resource allocation between a TN network and an NTN network. A method for performing radio resource allocation in a TN-NTN hybrid system is provided. The system includes a satellite covering an NTN cell and a plurality of TN base stations (TN BS) within the satellite coverage. The NTN cell serves a plurality of NTN user equipments (NTN UEs). The method comprises the following steps: dividing a plurality of NTN UE into X NTN UE groups; partitioning radio resources into M parts, wherein M is equal to or greater than X; dividing a plurality of TN BSs into M TN BS groups; determining a radio resource allocation for the plurality of NTN UEs by allocating an i-th portion of radio resources to an i-th NTN UE group, wherein i = 1,2, …, X; and deciding radio resource allocation with respect to the plurality of TN BSs by allocating a sum of the j-th to M-th portions of the radio resource to the j-th TN BS group, wherein j=1, 2, …, M.

Description

Group-based radio resource allocation between TN network and NTN network

Cross reference to related applications

The present application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.63/370,132 entitled "A method of group-based radio resource allocation between a TN and an NTN networks" filed 8/2 at 2022 and U.S. patent application Ser. No.18/356,106 filed 7/20 at 2023. The two above-mentioned patent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to mobile communication networks. In particular, the present disclosure relates to coordinated allocation of radio resources between a terrestrial network (terrestrial network, TN) and a non-terrestrial network (non-terrestrial network, NTN).

Background

Coverage extension and capacity enhancement are two major challenges in the field of mobile networks. It has been found that there is a complementary need for both Terrestrial Network (TN) spectrum and non-terrestrial network (NTN) spectrum across different geographic locations. On the one hand, in densely populated areas, there is a significant demand for TN spectrum, which is still underutilized. On the other hand, in remote areas, there is no TN coverage, resulting in unused TN spectrum and severe shortage of NTN spectrum.

To address this complementary need, it is desirable to utilize currently unused spectrum to enhance system capacity and spectral efficiency in order to provide global services for multimode devices through coordination between TN and NTN.

Disclosure of Invention

Aspects of the present disclosure provide a method for performing radio resource allocation in a Terrestrial Network (TN) and non-terrestrial network (NTN) hybrid system. The hybrid system includes a satellite covering at least one NTN cell and a plurality of TN base stations (TN BS) within the coverage of the satellite. An NTN cell serves a plurality of NTN user equipments (NTN UEs). Each of the plurality of TN BSs serves a plurality of TN user equipments (TN user equipment, TN UEs). The method comprises the following steps: dividing a plurality of NTN UE into X NTN UE groups; partitioning radio resources into M parts, wherein M is equal to or greater than X; dividing a plurality of TN BSs into M TN BS groups; determining a radio resource allocation for the plurality of NTN UEs by allocating an i-th portion of radio resources to an i-th NTN UE group, wherein i = 1,2, …, X; and deciding radio resource allocation with respect to the plurality of TN BSs by allocating a sum of the j-th to M-th portions of the radio resource to the j-th TN BS group, wherein j=1, 2, …, M.

Aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus for performing radio resource allocation in a Terrestrial Network (TN) and non-terrestrial network (NTN) hybrid system. The hybrid system includes a satellite covering at least one NTN cell and a plurality of TN base stations (TN BS) within the coverage of the satellite. An NTN cell serves a plurality of NTN user equipments (NTN UEs). Each of the plurality of TN BSs serves a plurality of TN user equipments (TN UEs). The apparatus includes circuitry configured to: dividing a plurality of NTN UE into X NTN UE groups; partitioning radio resources into M parts, wherein M is equal to or greater than X; dividing a plurality of TN BSs into M TN BS groups; determining a radio resource allocation for the plurality of NTN UEs by allocating an i-th portion of radio resources to an i-th NTN UE group, wherein i = 1,2, …, X; and deciding radio resource allocation with respect to the plurality of TN BSs by allocating a sum of the j-th to M-th portions of the radio resource to the j-th TN BS group, wherein j=1, 2, …, M.

Aspects of the present disclosure also provide a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by a processor, may cause the processor to perform the method for performing radio resource allocation in a TN-NTN hybrid system described above.

Note that this summary does not identify every embodiment and/or incremental novel aspect of the disclosure or claimed invention. Rather, the summary merely provides a preliminary discussion of the various embodiments and corresponding novel aspects. For additional details and/or possible perspectives of the present invention and embodiments, the reader will refer to the detailed description section of the disclosure and the corresponding figures as further discussed below.

Drawings

Various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail by way of example with reference to the following drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a common scenario where there is different usage of non-terrestrial network (NTN) spectrum and Terrestrial Network (TN) spectrum in different geographic locations;

fig. 2A to 2D show typical observations about the uplink and downlink performance of a TN when there is interference from a TN base station (TN BS) and a TN user equipment (TN UE);

FIG. 3 shows a non-limiting example of an infrastructure of a coordinated TN-NTN framework according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 shows a non-limiting example of a scheme for allocating radio resources between NTN UE and TN BS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 shows a block diagram of an apparatus for performing coordinated allocation of radio resources between an NTN UE and a TN BS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 shows a flowchart of a process for performing coordinated allocation of radio resources between an NTN UE and a TN BS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a signal flow diagram depicting interactions between a resource allocation device (shown as separate server and controller), satellite, and TN BS according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

fig. 8 shows a signal flow diagram depicting interactions between resource allocation devices (shown as separate servers and controllers), satellites, TN BSs, and NTN UEs, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and

fig. 9 shows a signal flow diagram depicting interactions between resource allocation devices (shown as separate servers and controllers), satellites, TN BSs, and NTN UEs, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Detailed Description

The following disclosure provides many different implementations or examples for implementing different features of the provided subject matter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. Of course, these are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting.

For example, the order of discussion of the different steps as described herein has been presented for clarity. In general, the steps may be performed in any suitable order. In addition, although each of the different features, techniques, configurations, etc. may be discussed herein in different places of the disclosure, it is contemplated that each concept may be performed independently of each other or in combination with each other. Thus, the present disclosure may be implemented and viewed in many different ways.

Furthermore, as used herein, the terms "a," "an," and the like, typically have the meaning of "one or more," unless otherwise specified.

Fig. 1 illustrates a common scenario depicting different usage of non-terrestrial network (NTN) spectrum and Terrestrial Network (TN) spectrum in different geographic locations. As shown in fig. 1, in urban areas, the demand for TN spectrum is higher, while the NTN spectrum utilization remains lower. In suburban areas, NTN traffic load increases as TN traffic load decreases. In rural areas, TN coverage may be lacking, resulting in a shortage of NTN spectrum. Given these differences in spectrum utilization across different regions, it is desirable to allocate spectrum resources in a coordinated manner to meet the specific needs of each geographic location and to provide enhanced network services.

Fig. 2A to 2D show typical observations about Uplink (UL) and Downlink (DL) performance of a TN when interference from a TN Base Station (BS) and a TN User Equipment (UE) is encountered.

As can be seen from fig. 2A and 2B, with respect to NTN UL performance, the average throughput loss ratio exceeds 90%, indicating significant degradation. NTN UL operation is severely affected when the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) drops below-10 dB. As can be seen from fig. 2C and 2D, the average throughput loss ratio is less than 10% with respect to NTN DL performance. However, the worst NTN UE of the 5 percentile (5 percentile) experiences a throughput loss ratio of greater than 20%. The root cause of these problems can be attributed to severe aggregate TN BS interference and severe aggregate TN UE interference. In order to provide a reliable network experience, it is necessary to mitigate the impact of such interference on NTN communication performance.

Fig. 3 illustrates a non-limiting example of an infrastructure that coordinates a TN-NTN framework according to embodiments of the present disclosure. A plurality of ground network base stations (e.g., TN BS 1-8) are strategically located within satellite coverage, represented by the dashed ellipses, to serve a plurality of ground network user equipment (e.g., TN UE 1-8). Further, within the coverage area of each satellite beam (e.g., NTN cell or NTN beam 1-3), a plurality of non-terrestrial network user equipment (e.g., NTN UE 1-8) may access wireless communication services provided by the non-terrestrial network.

The coverage of the NTN beam may be determined by analyzing the reference signal received power (Reference Signals Received Power, RSRP) (or reference signal received quality (Reference Signals Received Quality, RSRQ)) in the NTN beam (or NTN cell). The determination may be based on a comparison of RSRP or RSRQ received at the satellite from the NTN UE in question (or from the satellite at the NTN UE in question) to a predefined threshold. If the measurement exceeds the threshold, it indicates that the NTN UE is within the coverage of the NTN beam.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, coordination is established between TN and NTN radio resources to optimize spectrum allocation, enhance coverage, and improve overall network performance. The radio resources assigned to the TN-cell may partially overlap with the radio resources assigned to the NTN-cell. Such partial overlap between radio resources may relate to frequency domain, time domain and/or polarization direction, thereby enabling efficient utilization and allocation of resources within the coordinated TN-NTN framework.

Fig. 4 presents a non-limiting example of a scheme for performing coordinated allocation of radio resources between NTN UEs and TN BSs according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the set of predefined thresholds is based on NTN UEs can be divided into (M-1) groups, i.e., { N ₁ ,N ₂ ,…,N _M-1 }. The radio resource may be partitioned into M parts W ₁ ,W ₂ ,…,W _M . Each of the (M-1) parts of the radio resource may be assigned to a specific group of NTN UEs.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a first portion W of radio resources may be utilized ₁ First group N assigned to NTN UE ₁ The kth part W of the radio resource is to be _k Assigned to kth NTN UE group N _k And the (M-1) th part W of the radio resource _M-1 Assigned to (M-1) th NTN UE group N _M-1 Wherein 1 is<k<M-1. Note that the mth part W of the radio resource _M Are reserved specifically for TN BS use and are therefore not assigned to any NTN UE groups.

For example, the ith portion W of radio resources may be determined by _i ：

W _i ＝(W-W _M )*|N _i |/(sum(|N ₁ |,|N ₂ |,…,|N _M-1 |))，

Wherein, |N _i I indicates the i-th NTN UE group N _i The number of NTN UEs included in (1), and i=1, 2, …, M-1. Furthermore, group N _i Each NTN UE in (1) receives W _i Expressed as bw _i It is determined by:

bw _i ＝W _i /|N _i |。

similarly, based on a predefined set of thresholdsTN BS may be divided into M groups, i.e., { T ₁ ,T ₂ ,…,T _M }. Sum of radio resources (W) _k ,W _k+1 ,…,W _M ) Can be assigned to the kth TN BS group T _k Wherein k is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M.

Note that some of the (M-1) NTN UE groups may be empty. For example, when m=4, NTN UEs are divided into three groups: n1, N2 and N3. In this case, only group N1 and group N2 may contain NTN UEs, while group N3 does not have any NTN UEs. Similarly, some of the M TN BS groups may also be null. For example, it is possible that only groups T1, T2 and T4 have TN BS, while group T3 does not have any TN BS.

In the above embodiment, NTN UEs and TN BSs are grouped based on two predefined sets of thresholds. However, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, grouping may be implemented using an objective function.

Specifically, the maximum number of radio resource groups (i.e., M) and the radio resource group W may be predetermined ₁ ,W ₂ ,…,W _M-1 The unit resources of each of (i.e., { bw) ₁ ,bw ₂ ,…,bw _M-1 -and may predefine an objective function.

To maximize the objective function, two sets of threshold parameters may be determined. First threshold parameter setIs used to group NTN UEs, while a second set of threshold parametersIs used to group the TN BS.

Using a first set of threshold parametersNTN UEs can be divided into (M-1) groups, i.e., { N ₁ ,N ₂ ,…,N _M-1 }. Similarly, a second threshold is usedValue parameter set +.>TN BS may be divided into M groups, i.e., { T ₁ ,T ₂ ,…,T _M }。

As previously described, some of the (M-1) NTN UE groups may be empty. Similarly, some of the M TN BS groups may also be null.

Based on the number of NTN UEs in each NTN UE group and the unit resources of each radio resource group, the total radio resource W may be partitioned into M parts { W ₁ ,W ₂ ,…,W _M -wherein for i=1, 2, …, M-1, w _i ＝|N _i |*bw _i And W is _M ＝W-sum(W ₁ ,W ₂ ,…W _M-1 )。

Kth part W of radio resource _k Can be assigned to the kth NTN UE group N _k Wherein k is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M-1. For i=1, 2, …, M-1, ith group N _i Each NTN UE in (a) is allocated with radio resources of a size equal to bw _i Is a part of the same. Sum of radio resources (W _k ，W _k+1 ，…，W _M ) Can be assigned to the kth TN BS group T _k Wherein k is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M.

Note that although in the above example NTN UEs are divided into (M-1) groups, other numbers of NTN UE groups are also possible. For example, M, (M-2) or (M-3) NTN UE groups may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

The objective function may be formulated in various ways. Here, four non-limiting examples of objective functions are provided. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other forms of objective functions are possible.

Example 1: (group T) ₁ ,T ₂ ,…,T _M Sum of throughput of TN BS) x (group N ₁ ,N ₂ ,…,N _M-1 The sum of the throughput of NTN UEs).

Example 2: (1-alpha), (group T ₁ ,T ₂ ,…,T _M TN in TN (TN)Sum of BS throughput) +α (group N ₁ ,N ₂ ,…,N _M-1 The sum of the throughput of NTN UEs), where a e (0, 1) is a weighting factor.

Example 3: (group T) ₁ ,T ₂ ,…,T _M Sum of bandwidths obtained by TN BS) (group N ₁ ,N ₂ ,…,N _M-1 The sum of the throughput of NTN UEs).

Example 4 : (1-alpha), (group T ₁ ,T ₂ ,…,T _M Sum of bandwidths obtained by TN BS) +alpha (group N) ₁ ,N ₂ ,…,N _M-1 The sum of the throughput of NTN UEs), where a e (0, 1) is a weighting factor.

Fig. 5 shows a block diagram of an apparatus 500 for performing coordinated allocation of radio resources between NTN UEs and TN BSs according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus 500 includes an RS configuration information transmitting module 510, a required information acquiring module 520, a radio resource allocation module 530, and a resource allocation result transmitting module 540.

The RS configuration information transmitting module 510 transmits Reference Signal (RS) configuration information to the satellite and the TN BS. The RS configuration information defines how to transmit a reference signal for acquiring information required for allocating radio resources. For example, the RS configuration information specifies resource blocks to which reference signals should be transmitted.

The required information acquisition module 520 acquires information required to make a radio resource allocation decision from the satellite, the TN BS, and/or the NTN UE. Two examples illustrating details of the acquired information will be described below.

Based on the information acquired by the required information acquisition module 520, the radio resource allocation module 530 determines an optimal allocation of radio resources between the TN BS group and the NTN UE group. Accordingly, the radio resource allocation module 530 generates a resource allocation result. The radio resource allocation module 530 may include three sub-modules: NTN UE grouping module 532, resource partitioning module 534, and TN BS grouping module 536. These sub-modules may process NTN UE packets, radio resource partitions, and TN BS packets, respectively.

The resource allocation result transmitting module 540 receives the resource allocation result generated by the radio resource allocation module 530 and transmits the result to the satellite and the TN BS.

For example, the resource allocation result may be transmitted via unicast communication. In case that the radio resources are partitioned in the frequency domain, the allocated frequency range and its corresponding effective duration may be transmitted to the corresponding TN BS and satellite.

Upon receiving the resource allocation result, the TN BS and the satellite may configure or de-configure the cell based on the received information. In addition, they may broadcast cell information and deconfiguration details to UEs within the cell. This ensures that the UE is informed of the cell configuration change.

Once the UEs receive the cell configuration or de-configuration information, they can acknowledge their receipt by returning an acknowledgement message. The UE may then access or leave the cell as needed to conform its behavior to the updated configuration.

In fig. 5, modules 510, 520, 530, and 540 are depicted as being integrated within a single device 500, which single device 500 may be positioned at various locations within a TN-NTN framework. These locations include, but are not limited to, TN BS and satellites. It should be noted that the functionality of the apparatus 500 may also be implemented by means of separate functional modules distributed over the TN-NTN framework.

For example, the server may be responsible for collecting information needed to determine the radio resource allocation, and the controller may decide the resource allocation based on the information collected by the server. Note that this is merely a non-limiting example, and those skilled in the art will recognize that there are various alternative ways of implementing radio resource allocation.

Fig. 6 shows a flowchart of a process 600 for performing coordinated allocation of radio resources between an NTN UE and a TN BS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The process 600 begins at step S610, where RS configuration information is sent to satellites and TN BSs.

In step S620, required information for performing radio resource allocation is acquired from the satellite, NTN UE, and/or TN BS.

In step S630, a threshold set is used based on the acquired informationNTN UEs are divided into different groups. As described above, the set of thresholds may be predefined for the TN-NTN framework or determined using an objective function.

In step S640, the radio resources may be partitioned. In step S650, a set of thresholds may be usedThe TN BS is grouped. In step S660, radio resources may be allocated for the NTN UE group and the TN BS group in the manner described with reference to fig. 4. In step S670, the radio resource allocation result may be transmitted to the satellite and the TN BS.

In the following two examples, further details of the radio resource allocation procedure are provided.

Example 1

As described with reference to fig. 5 to 6, the procedure for allocating radio resources between the TN BS and the NTN UE may include the following main procedures 1-3.

(1) Process 1: acquiring required information

The required information may include: (i) Information useful in determining NTN UE groups, and (ii) information useful in determining TN BS groups.

For example, information useful in determining NTN UE groups may include: (a) RSRP received at the satellite from each NTN UE in the NTN beam, and (b) RSRP received at each NTN UE from the satellite in the NTN beam, etc.

The information useful for determining the TN BS group may include: (a) Coupling loss, which may be defined as the path loss of each TN BS to satellite minus the antenna gains of the transmitter and receiver, may be inferred from satellite reference signals received at the TN BS; (b) Coupling loss of each TN BS to the satellite, wherein the coupling loss can be inferred from TN BS reference signals received at the satellite; (c) Coupling loss of each TN BS to the NTN UE, wherein the coupling loss can be inferred from a reference signal of the NTN UE received at the TN BS; (d) The coupling loss of each TN BS to the NTN UE may be inferred from, for example, a reference signal of the TN BS received at the NTN UE.

(2) Process 2: the method includes grouping NTN UEs, grouping TN BSs, partitioning radio resources, and allocating radio resources to the NTN UEs and the TN BSs.

As described with reference to fig. 4, NTN UEs in each NTN beam may be divided into (M-1) NTN UE groups, and radio resources may be partitioned into M non-overlapping radio resource parts; and TN BSs in satellite coverage may be divided into M TN BS groups. The kth radio resource portion may be allocated to the kth NTN UE group, where 1.ltoreq.k.ltoreq.M-1. The sum of the kth portion to the mth portion of the radio resource may be allocated to the kth TN BS group, wherein 1.ltoreq.k.ltoreq.m.

(A) Process 2-1: dividing the NTN UEs in each NTN beam into (M-1) NTN UE groups

According to one embodiment, NTN UEs may be classified into M-1 groups based on RSRP received at the satellite. For example, the satellite may measure the received power of UL signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (Sounding reference signal, SRS), preambles, physical uplink control channels (Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH), physical uplink shared channels (Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH), etc.) from NTN UEs in the beam. UL signal power and a predefined set of thresholds may then be received on an individual (differential) basis (e.g., ) To determine the NTN UE group.

For m=4, for example, three NTN UE groups may be obtained, wherein,

and->

According to an alternative embodiment, NTN UEs may be classified into M-1 groups based on RSRP received at the NTN UEs. For example, NTN UEs in a beam measure received power of DL signals (e.g., synchronization signal block (Synchronization Signal Block, SSB), reference Signal (RS), channel state information Reference signal (Channel State Information Reference Signal, CSI-RS), tracking Reference signaling (Tracking Reference signaling, TRS), physical downlink control channel (Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH), physical downlink shared channel (hysical Downlink Shared Channel, PDSCH), etc.) from satellites. The DL signal power may then be determined based on the individual received DL signal power and a predefined set of thresholds (e.g.,) To determine the NTN UE group.

For m=4, for example, three NTN UE groups may be obtained, wherein,

and->

(B) Process 2-2: partitioning radio resources into M non-overlapping radio resource portions

Partitioning of radio resources may be performed across various domains including, but not limited to, frequency domain, time domain, and polarization direction.

For example, in the frequency domain, The radio resource W may be partitioned according to the number of NTN UEs in each NTN UE group. For part W _i (i＝1,2,…M-1)，W _i ＝(W-W _M )*|N _i |/(sum(|N ₁ |,|N ₂ |,…,|N _M-1 I)), wherein part W _M Is reserved specifically for TN BS use.

As another example, the radio resource W may be partitioned in the time domain according to the number of NTN UEs in each NTN UE group. For part W _i (i＝1,2,…M-1)，W _i ＝(W-W _M )*|N _i |/(sum(|N ₁ |,|N ₂ |,…,|N _M-1 I)), wherein W _M Is a part specifically allocated for use by the TN BS.

(C) Process 2-3: grouping TN BSs in the coverage of satellites into M TN BS groups

According to one embodiment, TN BSs may be classified into M groups based on coupling loss of NTN beams from each TN BS to a satellite. For example, the coupling loss of each TN BS to the NTN beam of the satellite may be inferred from satellite reference signals received at the TN BS or TN BS reference signals received at the satellite. The signal may then be transmitted based on the individual coupling loss of the NTN beam from the TN BS to the satellite and a predefined set of thresholds (e.g.,) To determine the TN BS group.

For m=4, for example, four TN BS groups may be obtained, wherein, and->

According to an alternative embodiment, the TN BSs may be classified into M groups based on the coupling loss from each TN BS to the NTN UEs in the beam. For example, the coupling loss of each TN BS to the NTN UE may be inferred from a reference signal of the NTN UE received at the TN BS, or a reference signal of the TN BS received at the NTN UE, or the like. The beam may then be determined based on the individual coupling loss from the TN BS to the NTN UEs in the beam and a predefined set of thresholds (e.g., ) To determine the TN BS group.

For m=4, for example, four TN BS groups may be obtained, wherein, the selection of NTN UEs may be based on various predefined criteria.

In another example where m=4, and is also provided with

In another example where m=4, and is also provided with

In another example where m=4, and is also provided with

(D) Process 2-4: allocating radio resource parts

In this procedure, the kth radio resource part may be allocated to the corresponding kth NTN UE group. Specifically, the radio resource portion W _i Assigned to NTN UE group N _i Where i=1, 2, …, M-1. Assigned to group N _i Radio resource passing bw for each NTN UE in (a) _i ＝W _i /|N _i I.

In addition, from W _k To W _M Is assigned to the kth TN BS group. In other words, the resource part W _k +W _k+1 +…+W _M Is assigned to the kth TN BS group, where 1.ltoreq.k.ltoreq.M.

(3) Process 3: and sending the resource allocation result to the TN BS and the satellite.

For example, the satellite may be sent a set N of NTN UEs _i Bw of each NTN UE within _i And W is _i Wherein i=1, 2, …, M-1. Similarly, TN BS group T may be given _i Each TN BS within transmits a message about W _i, W _i+1 ,…,W _M Etc., where i=1, 2, …, M.

Example 2

In this example, the process of allocating radio resources between the TN BS and the NTN UE also mainly includes processes 1-3. Since the process 1 and the process 3 are the same as those described in example 1, a description of these processes is omitted.

(A) Process 2-1: determining a set of threshold parameters

In this process, two sets of threshold parameters are determined to maximize the objective function. First threshold parameter setFor grouping NTN UEs, while a second set of threshold parametersFor grouping the TN BSs.

For example, the objective function may be designed as (group T ₁ ,…T _M Sum of bandwidths obtained by TN BS) (group N ₁ ,…N _M-1 The sum of the throughput of NTN UEs), which can be given by:

wherein,representation group N _j Log (1+sinr) of NTN UE k.

Other examples of objective functions may include, but are not limited to:

(group T) ₁ ,T ₂ ,…,T _M Throughput of TN BSSum) x (group N ₁ ,N ₂ ,…,N _M-1 The sum of the throughput of NTN UEs),

(1-alpha), (group T ₁ ,T ₂ ,…,T _M Sum of throughput of TN BS) +alpha (group N) ₁ ,N ₂ ,…,N _M-1 Sum of throughput of NTN UEs), where αe (0, 1) is a weighting factor, and

(1-alpha), (group T ₁ ,T ₂ ,…,T _M Sum of bandwidths obtained by TN BS) +alpha (group N) ₁ ,N ₂ ,…,N _M-1 The sum of the throughput of NTN UEs), where a e (0, 1) is a weighting factor.

(B) Process 2-2: dividing NTN UEs in each NTN beam into (M-1) groups

According to one embodiment, NTN UEs may be classified into M-1 groups based on RSRP received at the satellite. For example, the satellite may measure the received power of UL signals (e.g., SRS, preamble, PUCCH, PUSCH, etc.) from NTN UEs in the beam. The received UL signal power may then be determined based on the individual and the set of threshold parameters obtained in process 2-1 (e.g., ) To determine the NTN UE group.

For m=4, for example, three NTN UE groups may be obtained, wherein, and->

According to an alternative embodiment, NTN UEs may be classified into M-1 groups based on RSRP received at the NTN UEs. For example, NTN UEs in the beam measure DL signals from satellites (e.g., SSB, RS, CSI-RS, TRSPDCCH, PDSCH, etc.). The DL signal power may then be determined based on the individual received DL signal power and the set of threshold parameters obtained in process 2-1 (e.g.,) To determine the NTN UE group.

For m=4, for example, three NTN UE groups may be obtained, wherein, and->

(C) Process 2-3: partitioning radio resources into M non-overlapping radio resource portions

Partitioning of radio resources may be performed across various domains including, but not limited to, frequency domain, time domain, and polarization direction.

For example, in the frequency domain, the radio resource W may be partitioned according to the number of NTN UEs in each NTN UE group. For part W _i (i＝1,2,…M-1)，W _i ＝|N _i |*bw _i The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the Or W _i ＝(W-W _M )*|N _i |/(sum(|N ₁ |,|N ₂ |,…,|N _M-1 |))。

As another example, the radio resource W may be partitioned in the time domain according to the number of NTN UEs in each NTN UE group. For part W _i (i＝1,2,…M-1)，W _i ＝|N _i |*bw _i The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the Or W _i ＝(W-W _M )*|N _i |/(sum(|N ₁ |,|N ₂ |,…,|N _M-1 |))。

In both examples, part W _M Is reserved specifically for TN BS use. For example, part W _M May be predetermined, or by W _M =total radio resource-sum (W ₁ +…+W _M-1 ) And (3) determining.

(D) Process 2-4: grouping TN BSs in the coverage of satellites into M TN BS groups

According to one embodiment, TN BSs may be classified into M groups based on coupling loss of NTN beams from each TN BS to a satellite. For example, the coupling loss of each TN BS to the NTN beam of the satellite may be inferred from satellite reference signals received at the TN BS or TN BS reference signals received at the satellite. The set of threshold parameters obtained in process 2-1 may then be based on the individual coupling loss of the NTN beam from the TN BS to the satellite (e.g.,) To determine the TN BS group.

For m=4, for example, four TN BS groups may be obtained, wherein, and->According to an alternative embodiment, the TN BSs may be classified into M groups based on the coupling loss from each TN BS to the NTN UEs in the beam. For example, the coupling loss of each TN BS to the NTN UE may be inferred from a reference signal of the NTN UE received at the TN BS, or a reference signal of the TN BS received at the NTN UE, or the like. Then, the individual coupling loss from the TN BS to the NTN UE in the beam and the threshold parameter set obtained in procedure 2-1 (e.g.) >) To determine the TN BS group.

For m=4, for example, four TN BS groups may be obtained, wherein, and-> Those skilled in the art will recognize that various predefined criteria may be applied to select NTN UEs.

In another example where m=4, and is also provided with

In another example where m=4, and is also provided with

In another example where m=4,/> and is also provided with

(E) 2-5: allocating radio resource parts

In this procedure, the kth radio resource part may be allocated to the corresponding kth NTN UE group. Specifically, the radio resource portion W _i Assigned to NTN UE group N _i Where i=1, 2, …, M-1. Assigned to group N _i Radio resource passing bw for each NTN UE in (a) _i ＝W _i /|N _i I.

In addition, from W _k To W _M Is assigned to the kth TN BS group. In other words, the resource part W _k +W _k+1 +…+W _M Is assigned to the kth TN BS group, where 1.ltoreq.k.ltoreq.M.

Fig. 7 shows a signal flow diagram depicting interactions between a resource allocation device, a satellite, and an exemplary TN BS, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As previously mentioned, the resource allocation means may be implemented as a single unit or divided into separate modules. In the scenario shown in fig. 7, controller 710 and server 720 cooperate to perform radio resource allocation. The server 720 can obtain necessary information for resource allocation from the TN BS, satellite, and/or NTN UEs (not shown in fig. 7). The controller 710 may use the information collected by the server 720 (and sent directly from the satellite 740) to decide how to allocate radio resources. Only one TN BS 730 is illustrated here, but in practice there may be a plurality of TN BSs.

At 752 and 754, the controller 710 may transmit Reference Signal (RS) configuration information to the TN BS 730 and the satellite 740. Satellite 740 then generates a reference signal based on the RS configuration information and transmits the reference signal to TN BS 730 at 756. The TN BS may measure the reference signal based on the RS configuration information and report the measurement results to the server 720 at 758.

At 762, controller 710 may send a request message to server 720 and satellite 740 to obtain information. Server 720 and satellite 740 may respond to controller 710 by sending a response message carrying the requested information at 766 and 768. For example, the information transmitted at 766 may be satellite reference signals measured at TN BS 730, and the information transmitted at 768 may be RSRP received at satellite 740 from each NTN UE (not shown in FIG. 7) in the NTN beam.

At 772, controller 710 may decide how to allocate radio resources by grouping NTN UEs, partitioning radio resources, grouping TN BSs, and assigning radio resources between NTN UEs and TN BSs. As previously described, NTN UEs in each NTN beam may be divided into (M-1) groups. The radio resources may be partitioned into M non-overlapping portions. The TN BS in satellite coverage can be divided into M groups. The kth part of the radio resource may be allocated to the kth NTN UE group, where k ranges from 1 to M-1. The sum of the kth to mth radio resources may be allocated to the kth TN BS group, where k ranges from 1 to M.

At 782 and 784, controller 710 may send resource allocation results to TN BS 730 and satellite 740 for implementation.

Fig. 8 shows a signal flow diagram depicting interactions between a resource allocation device, a satellite, an exemplary TN BS, and an exemplary NTN UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Again, in the scenario shown in fig. 8, the controller 810 and the server 820 cooperate to perform radio resource allocation. The server 820 can obtain necessary information for resource allocation from NTN UEs, TN BSs, and/or satellites. The controller 810 may use information collected by the server 810 to decide how to allocate radio resources. Although fig. 8 shows only one NTN UE 830 and one TN BS 840, there may be a plurality of NTN UEs and a plurality of TN BSs in practice.

At 852 and 854, controller 810 may send Reference Signal (RS) configuration information to TN BS 840 and satellite 850. At 856, satellite 850 may forward the received RS configuration information to NTN UE 830. The TN BS 840 may generate a reference signal based on the RS configuration information and transmit the reference signal to the NTN UE 830 at 858. NTN UE 830 may measure the reference signal based on the RS configuration information and report the measurement results to satellite 850 at 860. At 862, satellite 850 may transmit the measurements received from NTN UE 830 to server 820 along with measured satellite reference signals at NTN UE 830 (or measured NTN UE reference signals at satellite 850).

At 872, the controller 810 may request the desired information from the server 820 by sending a request message. At 874, server 820 can respond to controller 810 by sending a response message carrying the desired information. In the embodiment shown in fig. 8, the controller 810 obtains all necessary information for radio resource allocation from the server 820. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that some portion of the desired information may be obtained from alternative sources (e.g., satellite 850).

At 882, the controller 810 may decide how to allocate radio resources by grouping NTN UEs, partitioning radio resources, grouping TN BSs, and allocating radio resources between NTN UEs and TN BSs. At 892 and 894, controller 810 may send the resource allocation results to TN BS 840 and satellite 850 for implementation.

Fig. 9 shows a signal flow diagram depicting interactions between a resource allocation device, a satellite, an exemplary TN BS, and an exemplary NTN UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Again, in the scenario shown in fig. 9, the controller 910 and the server 920 cooperate to perform radio resource allocation. The server 920 can acquire necessary information for resource allocation from the NTN UE, the TN BS, and/or the satellite. The controller 910 may use the information collected by the server 920 and the information provided by the satellite 950 to decide how to allocate radio resources. Although fig. 9 shows only one NTN UE 930 and one TN BS 940, a plurality of NTN UEs and a plurality of TN BSs may actually exist.

At 952 and 954, controller 910 may transmit Reference Signal (RS) configuration information to TN BS 940 and satellite 950. Satellite 950 may forward the received RS configuration information to NTN UE 930 at 956. The NTN UE 930 may generate a reference signal based on the RS configuration information and transmit the reference signal to the TN BS 940 at 958. The TN BS 940 may measure the reference signal based on the RS configuration information and report the measurement result to the server 920 at 960.

At 972 and 974, controller 910 may request the desired information from server 920 and satellite 950 by sending a request message. At 976 and 978, server 920 and satellite 950 may respond to controller 910 by sending a response message carrying the desired information. For example, the information transmitted at 976 may be an NTN UE reference signal measured at NT BS 940, and the information transmitted at 978 may be an RSRP received from NTN UE 930 at satellite 950.

At 982, the controller 910 may decide how to allocate radio resources by grouping NTN UEs, partitioning radio resources, grouping TN BSs, and assigning radio resources between NTN UEs and TN BSs. At 992 and 994, controller 910 may send resource allocation results to TN BS 940 and satellite 950 for implementation.

Although aspects of the present disclosure have been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, which are set forth as examples, alternatives, modifications, and variations may be made to the examples. Accordingly, the embodiments as described herein are intended to be illustrative rather than limiting. Changes may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (20)

1. A method of performing radio resource allocation in a terrestrial network, TN, and non-terrestrial network, NTN, hybrid system comprising a satellite covering at least one NTN, cell, the NTN cell serving a plurality of NTN user equipments, NTN, UEs, and a plurality of TN base stations, tnbs, within the coverage of the satellite, each of the plurality of TN BSs serving a plurality of TN user equipments, TN UEs, the method comprising:

dividing the plurality of NTN UEs into X NTN UE groups;

partitioning radio resources into M parts, wherein M is equal to or greater than X;

dividing the plurality of TN BSs into M TN BS groups;

determining a radio resource allocation for the plurality of NTN UEs by allocating an i-th portion of the radio resource to an i-th NTN UE group, wherein i = 1,2, …, X; and

the radio resource allocation for the plurality of TN BSs is determined by allocating the sum of the j-th to M-th portions of the radio resource to the j-th TN BS group, wherein j=1, 2, …, M.

2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

notifying the satellite of the radio resource allocation for the plurality of NTN UEs; and

the plurality of TN BSs are informed about the radio resource allocations of the plurality of TN BSs.

3. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

acquiring information for deciding the radio resource allocation with respect to the plurality of NTN UEs and information for deciding the radio resource allocation with respect to the plurality of TN BSs from the satellite, the plurality of TN BSs, and/or the plurality of NTN UEs; and

a first set of thresholds for NTN UE packets and a second set of thresholds for TN BS packets are obtained,

wherein, the NTN UE group division step further includes: dividing the plurality of NTN UEs into the X NTN UE groups based on the obtained information for deciding the radio resource allocation for the plurality of NTN UEs and the obtained first set of thresholds; and is also provided with

The TN BS group dividing step further includes: the plurality of TN BSs are divided into the M TN BS groups based on the acquired information deciding the radio resource allocation for the plurality of TN BSs and the acquired second threshold set.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the information for deciding the radio resource allocation for the plurality of NTN UEs comprises:

a power level of a reference signal received at the satellite from each of the plurality of NTN UEs; or (b)

A power level of a reference signal received from the satellite at each of the plurality of NTN UEs.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the deciding information about the radio resource allocations of the plurality of TN BSs comprises:

coupling loss between each of the plurality of TN BSs and the satellite; or (b)

Coupling loss between each of the plurality of TN BSs and the plurality of NTN UEs.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein a coupling loss between each of the plurality of TN BSs and the satellite is determined based on:

a power level of a reference signal received from the satellite at the TN BS; or (b)

Power level of reference signals received at the satellite from the TN BS.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein a coupling loss between each of the plurality of TN BSs and the plurality of NTN UEs is determined based on:

Power levels of reference signals received at the TN BS from the plurality of NTN UEs; or (b)

Power levels of reference signals received at the plurality of NTN UEs from the TN BS.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein coupling loss between each of the plurality of TN BSs and the plurality of NTN UEs comprises:

coupling loss between an NTN UE selected from the plurality of NTN UEs and the TN BS based on a predefined criteria;

average coupling loss between the TN BS and the plurality of NTN UEs;

maximum coupling loss between the TN BS and the plurality of NTN UEs; or (b)

Median coupling loss between the TN BS and the plurality of NTN UEs.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the first set of thresholds for NTN UE packets and the second set of thresholds for TN BS packets are predefined for the hybrid system.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein the first set of thresholds for NTN UE packets and the second set of thresholds for TN BS packets are determined based on an objective function.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the objective function is constructed based on:

The product of the sum of the throughput of all TN BSs in the M TN BS groups and the sum of the throughput of all NTN UEs in the X NTN UE groups;

a weighted sum of the throughput of all TN BSs in the M TN BS groups and the sum of the throughput of all NTN UEs in the X NTN UE groups;

a product of a sum of bandwidths obtained by all TN BSs in the M TN BS groups and a sum of bandwidths obtained by all NTN UEs in the X NTN UE groups; or (b)

And a weighted sum of the sum of bandwidths obtained by all TN BSs in the M TN BS groups and the sum of bandwidths obtained by all NTN UEs in the X NTN UE groups.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the partitioning step further comprises:

the radio resources are partitioned in the frequency domain, time domain and/or polarization direction.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the partitioning step further comprises:

determining the mth part W of the radio resource denoted by W _M The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the And

for i=1, 2, …, X, based on W _i ＝(W-W _M )*|N _i |/(sum(|N ₁ |,|N ₂ |,…,|N _X I)) determines the basis W of the radio resource W _i Part i of the representation, where N _i I indicates the i-th NTN UE group N _i Number of all NTN UEs in the network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the deciding about the radio resource allocations for the plurality of NTN UEs further comprises:

For i=1, 2, …, X, the i-th part W will be _i Assigned to the NTN UE group N _i The NTN UE in the network, so that the NTN UE group N _i Each NTN UE within is assigned a pass W of the radio resource _i /|N _i Part of the determination.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the partitioning step further comprises:

for i=1, 2, …, X, determining the unit resource bw of the i-th NTN UE group _i ；

For i=1, 2, …, X, based on W _i ＝|N _i |*bw _i Determining the ith portion W of the radio resource _i Wherein, |N _i I represents the i-th NTN UE group N _i The number of all NTN UEs within; and

based on W _M ＝W-sum(W ₁ ,W ₂ ,…,W _X ) Determining the mth part W of the radio resource _M 。

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the deciding about the radio resource allocations for the plurality of NTN UEs further comprises:

for i=1, 2, …, X, the i-th part W is taken up _i Assigned to the NTN UE group N _i The NTN UE in the network, so that the NTN UE group N _i Each NTN UE within is assigned a pass bw of the radio resource _i A portion of the determination.

17. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

transmitting reference signal configuration information to the satellite and the plurality of TN BSs, the reference signal configuration information including information on how to transmit: a reference signal for acquiring information for deciding the radio resource allocation with respect to the plurality of NTN UEs or a reference signal for acquiring information for deciding the radio resource allocation with respect to the plurality of TN BSs.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the coverage of the NTN cell is determined based on whether a reference signal received power, RSRP, or a reference signal received quality, RSRQ, in the NTN cell is above a predefined threshold.

19. An apparatus for performing radio resource allocation in a terrestrial network TN and non-terrestrial network NTN hybrid system, the hybrid system comprising a satellite covering at least one NTN cell and a plurality of TN base stations TN BS within the coverage of the satellite, the NTN cell serving a plurality of NTN user equipments NTN UEs, each of the plurality of TN BSs serving a plurality of TN user equipments TN UEs, the apparatus comprising circuitry configured to:

dividing the plurality of NTN UEs into X NTN UE groups;

partitioning radio resources into M parts, wherein M is equal to or greater than X;

dividing the plurality of TN BSs into M TN BS groups;

determining a radio resource allocation for the plurality of NTN UEs by allocating an i-th portion of the radio resource to an i-th NTN UE group, wherein i = 1,2, …, X; and

the radio resource allocation for the plurality of TN BSs is determined by allocating the sum of the j-th to M-th portions of the radio resource to the j-th TN BS group, wherein j=1, 2, …, M.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method for performing radio resource allocation in a terrestrial network TN and non-terrestrial network NTN hybrid system comprising a satellite covering at least one NTN cell and a plurality of TN base stations TN BS within the coverage of the satellite, the NTN cell serving a plurality of NTN user equipments NTN UEs, each of the plurality of TN BSs serving a plurality of TN user equipments TN UEs, the method comprising:

dividing the plurality of NTN UEs into X NTN UE groups;

partitioning radio resources into M parts, wherein M is equal to or greater than X;

dividing the plurality of TN BSs into M TN BS groups;

determining a radio resource allocation for the plurality of NTN UEs by allocating an i-th portion of the radio resource to an i-th NTN UE group, wherein i = 1,2, …, X; and

the radio resource allocation for the plurality of TN BSs is determined by allocating the sum of the j-th to M-th portions of the radio resource to the j-th TN BS group, wherein j=1, 2, …, M.