WO2023207687A1

WO2023207687A1 - Device and method for fast switching communication mode and medium

Info

Publication number: WO2023207687A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/089091
Authority: WO
Inventors: 周明拓; 王晓雪; 李浩进
Original assignee: 索尼集团公司; 周明拓
Priority date: 2022-04-24
Filing date: 2023-04-19
Publication date: 2023-11-02
Also published as: CN116996852A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device and method for fast switching a communication mode and a medium. Provided is an electronic device for a base station, comprising a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to: allocating a first communication resource for a first communication mode and a second communication resource for a second communication mode to a first terminal and a second terminal; and when the first terminal and the second terminal use the first communication resource to communicate in the first communication code, maintaining a communication resource for the second communication mode for the first terminal and the second terminal.

Description

Devices, methods and media for quickly switching communication modes

Cross-references to related applications

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application with application number 202210432845.2 and titled "Device, method and medium for fast switching of communication modes" submitted on April 24, 2022, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical field

The present disclosure relates to devices, methods and media for quickly switching communication modes.

Background technique

In drone applications on non-ground networks, there are several situations involving drone communications. The first is the communication between the drone and its on-site controller; the second is the communication between the drone and the remote control server; the third is the communication between the drone and the drone; the fourth is the communication between the drone and the remote control server. Communication between human-machine and application business-related equipment. As for the communication methods, except for the second case mentioned above, the other three can be realized through terminal-to-device (Device-to-Device: D2D) communication. However, in drone applications, the wireless connection between the sender and receiver of D2D communication may deteriorate due to the movement of the drone during flight. In this case, the D2D transceiver needs to connect to the most likely non-ground network base station to communicate through the cellular system. In addition, if the conditions for D2D communication are met, it is necessary to switch from cellular communication to D2D communication.

In the existing technology, the switching from D2D communication to cellular communication and the conversion process from cellular communication to D2D communication require a long delay. In many situations, UAV communication, especially the transmission of key data, the distribution of key control information, etc., requires a delay of less than 100 milliseconds. Therefore, new mechanisms are needed for fast switching between D2D communication and cellular communication.

Contents of the invention

The technical solution provided by the present disclosure can quickly switch the communication modes of two terminals.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device for a base station is provided, including a processing circuit configured to: allocate a first communication resource for a first communication mode to a first terminal and a second terminal. and a second communication resource for the second communication mode; and maintaining the second communication mode for the first terminal and the second terminal during communication in the first communication mode using the first communication resource. of Communication resources.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device for a terminal is provided, the electronic device is included in a first terminal, the electronic device includes a processing circuit, the processing circuit is configured to: utilize a first The communication resource communicates with the second terminal in the first communication mode; and after receiving the notification from the network device, switching to using the second communication resource to communicate with the second terminal in the second communication mode, wherein the second communication resource is used by the network device in The first terminal and the second terminal are maintained during communication in the first communication mode.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a base station is provided, including: allocating a first communication resource for a first communication mode and a second communication resource for a second communication mode to a first terminal and a second terminal. communication resources; and maintaining communication resources for the second communication mode for the first terminal and the second terminal during communication in the first communication mode using the first communication resource.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a first terminal is provided, including: utilizing a first communication resource to communicate with a second terminal in a first communication mode; and after receiving a notification from a network device, switching to Communicate with the second terminal in a second communication mode using a second communication resource, wherein the second communication resource is maintained by the network device during communication between the first terminal and the second terminal in the first communication mode.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the methods of the present disclosure.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product comprising program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of the present disclosure.

Description of the drawings

A better understanding of the present disclosure may be obtained when considering the following detailed description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The same or similar reference numbers are used in the various drawings to identify the same or similar components. The accompanying drawings, together with the following detailed description, are incorporated in and form a part of this specification for the purpose of illustrating embodiments of the disclosure and explaining the principles and advantages of the disclosure.

Figure 1 shows the 3GPP UAV communication model.

Figure 2 shows a UAV communication system for non-ground networks.

Figure 3A shows switching of D2D communication and cellular communication between the drone and the controller, and Figure 3B shows switching of D2D communication and cellular communication between the drone and the drone.

Figure 4 illustrates a D2D initialization process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

5A and 5B illustrate a D2D communication process according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 6 illustrates a process of switching from D2D communication to cellular communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 7 illustrates a process of switching back from cellular communication to D2D communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 8 illustrates a handover process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a computing device to which techniques of the present disclosure may be applied.

10 is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a schematic configuration of a gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied.

11 is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of a gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied.

12 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied.

13 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that in this specification and the drawings, structural elements having substantially the same function and structure are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations of these structural elements are omitted.

Figure 1 shows the 3GPP UAV communication model. There are three communication methods between the drone and the controller: the first method is the D2D direct communication connection between the drone and its controller; the second method is the connection between the drone and the controller through cellular (such as 5G Network) for communication connection; in the third method, the control part is on the network server, and the drone is connected to the control part of the network server through a cellular method. In addition, the UAV application data is reported to the network server through cellular means. In practice, drones can establish direct communication with drones, or drones can communicate with each other through cellular communication.

D2D communication has three communication scenarios. The first is that both D2D terminals are covered by the same base station; the second is that both D2D terminals are not covered by any base station; the third is that one of the two D2D terminals is within the coverage of a certain base station, The other terminal is outside the coverage of the base station. In a non-terrestrial network (Non-Terrestrial Network, NTN), because the coverage area of a non-terrestrial network base station (such as a satellite) may be tens to hundreds of kilometers in diameter, the two terminals of D2D communication in the non-terrestrial network comply with the first similar scenario, that is, under the coverage of the same base station.

Figure 2 shows a UAV communication system for non-ground networks. In non-terrestrial networks, the distance between the terminal and the satellite (or high-altitude platform) is very far, which may be hundreds of kilometers or even tens of thousands of kilometers. Therefore, communication between the terminal and the satellite will lose more energy from the terminal and the satellite. Drones and satellites (high-altitude platforms) are usually powered by batteries. Establishing D2D connections between UAV terminals can save the energy of terminals and satellites because the distance is much smaller than the distance from terminals to non-terrestrial network base stations. Therefore, where possible, between drone terminals Via D2D communication.

Figure 3A shows switching of D2D communication and cellular communication between the drone and the controller, and Figure 3B shows switching of D2D communication and cellular communication between the drone and the drone. First, for example, in the case where there is a possible direct communication path between two terminals (eg, a drone and a controller, or a drone and a drone), D2D communication can be employed between the two terminals. When the D2D communication between the two terminals deteriorates to a certain extent, for example, when the drone does not have a good D2D connection path after moving, it can be switched to cellular communication. In addition, if the conditions for D2D communication are met, it is necessary to switch from cellular communication to D2D communication. The switching from D2D communication to cellular communication and the conversion process from cellular communication to D2D communication require a long delay. In many cases, UAV communication, especially the transmission of key data, the distribution of key control information, etc., requires a delay of 100 milliseconds or even less than several milliseconds. Therefore, new mechanisms are needed for fast switching between D2D communication and cellular communication.

The technical solution of the present disclosure maintains cellular communication resources for two terminals when they perform D2D communication, and maintains D2D communication resources for them during cellular communication. Therefore, it is possible to quickly switch from one communication mode to another without waiting for the allocation of communication resources.

The current 3GPP D2D communication process is: 1) The D2D terminal establishes a connection with the network, the state is RRC connected state, and the UE can communicate with the ProSe functional entity using IP; 2) The D2D terminal obtains ProSe authorization from the network and obtains relevant system information ( For example, security parameters, group ID, group multicast IP address, etc.); and 3) D2D terminal obtains configuration information, such as ProSe terminal ID, ProSe layer 2 group ID, D2D communication resource pool, etc.

Figure 4 illustrates a D2D initialization process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In steps S402 and S404, terminals A and B respectively join the non-local network, that is, access the non-local network base station (for example, gNB) through the random access process RACH. Subsequently, in steps S406-S412, terminals A and B respectively obtain configuration parameters from the network and save the configuration information. Then, in steps S414 and S418, terminals A and B apply for ProSe authorization from the network respectively. Subsequently, in step S416 and step S420, the network provides ProSe authorization to terminals A and B respectively. Then, in step S422, terminals A and B perform proximity relationship discovery (ProSe discovery). After discovering that they have D2D proximity relationships with each other, terminals A and B can obtain system information such as SIB 18 & SIB 19 from the network (steps S424 and S428), and send SidelinkUEInformation to the base station respectively (steps S426 and S430).

5A and 5B illustrate a D2D communication process according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In step S502, the application layer of terminal A has data that needs to be sent to terminal B. In step S504, terminal A sends cache status information to a non-local network base station (eg, gNB) to apply for D2D resources. In step S506, the base station allocates appropriate D2D communication resources to terminal A according to the application. After acquiring D2D resources, terminal A sends data to terminal B (step S512, S522 and S526). After receiving the data, terminal B sends a reception confirmation to terminal A (steps S514, S524 and S528)

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station may allocate backup cellular communication resources to terminals A and B while allocating D2D resources to terminal A. The backup cellular communication resources include cellular uplink communication resources for terminal A and cellular downlink communication resources for terminal B. As shown in Figure 5A, in step S508, the base station allocates cellular uplink communication resources to terminal A. In step S510, the base station allocates cellular downlink resources to terminal B.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in order to save cellular communication resources, the base station may allocate backup cellular communication resources to terminals A and B only when the D2D communication conditions deteriorate to a certain extent. The base station may allocate backup cellular communication resources when the D2D communication conditions of terminals A and B meet the third predetermined condition. The base station determines whether the deterioration trend of D2D communication conditions is becoming more and more significant. For example, in the case of monitoring D2D communication quality, the average D2D communication signal quality within unit time T _Q can be as a trend measurement parameter. Therefore, the third predetermined condition may include that within N _Q consecutive unit times It shows a continuous deterioration trend, and the D2D communication signal quality is lower than the quality threshold Q ₃ for time T _Q3 . In the case of monitoring the distance between two terminals, the average distance within unit time T _D can be as a trend measurement parameter. Therefore, the third predetermined condition may be included _within _ND consecutive time units TD It shows a growing trend, and the distance between the two terminals is greater than the distance threshold D ₃ for the time T _D3 .

When terminals A and B cannot continue D2D communication and need to switch to cellular communication, backup cellular communication resources enable terminals A and B to quickly switch to cellular communication without waiting for allocation of cellular communication resources.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station allocates backup cellular communication resources to terminals A and B only when the D2D communication between terminals A and B has high priority. The base station may use one bit in the downlink control information DCI to indicate the priority of D2D communication between the two terminals. For general D2D communication, this bit is set to 0, indicating that the base station will not allocate backup cellular communication resources to the two terminals in D2D communication. For high-priority D2D communication, this bit is set to 1, indicating that the base station allocates backup cellular communication resources to the two terminals. When the terminal finds that the bit in the corresponding DCI is 1, it knows that backup cellular communication resources are allocated, and when it needs to switch to D2D communication, it directly uses the backup cellular communication resources to send data.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network monitors the D2D communication conditions of terminals A and B every time Tc. For example, the network can perform EPC-level neighbor discovery to monitor the D2D communication conditions of terminals A and B. In addition, terminals A and B can report their respective D2D communication quality (such as RSRP) to the network to monitor the D2D communication conditions of terminals A and B. For example, terminals A and B send their respective geographical location information and/or D2D communication quality to the network (steps S516, S518, S530 and S532), and then the network performs operations on their D2D communication conditions. Perform analysis and judgment (steps S520 and S534). In addition, the network can determine the D2D communication conditions of terminals A and B by analyzing the planned flight routes of terminals A and B.

Figure 6 illustrates a process of switching from D2D communication to cellular communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In steps S602 and S604, terminals A and B send their respective geographical location information and/or D2D communication quality to the network. In step S606, the network determines that the D2D communication conditions of terminals A and B satisfy the first predetermined condition. The first predetermined condition may include that the RSRP of the D2D communication continues to be lower than the quality threshold Q ₁ for time T _Q1 , and/or the distance between the two terminals is about to or has exceeded the distance threshold D ₁ for time T _D1 .

When the D2D communication conditions of terminals A and B meet the first predetermined condition, the D2D communication is switched to the backup cellular resources for communication, while retaining the previously allocated D2D communication resources for the time T _Cel . In steps S608 and S610, the network notifies terminal A and terminal B respectively that the proximity relationship between them has been lost (or is about to be lost), for example, through message 1. At the same time, the D2D communication resources previously allocated to terminal A are retained, and timer0 is started (step S612). After receiving message 1, terminal A uses backup cellular uplink resources to send data to terminal B to the base station (steps S614 and S618). After receiving the data from terminal A, the base station uses backup downlink resources to send the data to terminal B (steps S616 and S620). As a result, fast switching from D2D communication to cellular communication is achieved. If terminals A and B have been communicating through backup cellular resources, and when Timer0 expires, the base station releases the D2D communication resources previously allocated to terminals A and B.

Therefore, the two terminals can quickly switch from D2D communication to cellular communication, reducing the data transmission delay, and meeting the application requirements as much as possible when transmitting key data and key control information data. In addition, it can also improve the reliability of terminal communication in non-ground networks and reduce data overflow and packet loss when switching from ordinary D2D communication to cellular communication.

Figure 7 illustrates a process of switching back from cellular communication to D2D communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. When communicating between two terminals through backup cellular resources, the network continuously monitors the D2D communication conditions between the two terminals. The D2D communication conditions of terminal A and terminal B can be judged through the location-based proximity relationship at the EPC level. In addition, D2D communication test signals can be sent through terminal A and terminal B for signal quality monitoring. When the previously allocated D2D communication resources have been released, the base station can allocate public D2D test resources in the D2D communication resource pool. The terminal sends test signals through random access in D2D test resources. The two terminals are tested through D2D communication test resources.

In steps S702 and S704, terminals A and B send their respective geographical location information and/or D2D communication quality to the network. In step S706, the network determines that the D2D communication conditions of terminal A and terminal B satisfy the second predetermined condition. The second predetermined condition may include that the RSRP of the D2D communication test signal between the two terminals continues to be higher than the quality The threshold Q ₂ reaches the time T _Q2 , and/or the distance between the two terminals is less than the distance threshold D ₂ for the time _TD2 . When the D2D communication conditions of terminals A and B satisfy the second predetermined condition, the network notifies them to switch back to D2D communication from cellular communication (steps S708 and S710).

If the D2D communication resources between terminal A and terminal B have been released, the base station will reallocate the D2D communication resources to the two terminals when the D2D communication conditions between the two terminals meet the fourth predetermined condition. The fourth predetermined condition may include that the RSRP in N _TQ consecutive tests is better than the quality threshold Q ₄ , and/or the distance in N _TD consecutive measurements is less than the distance threshold D ₄ .

In step S712, terminals A and B give up using backup cellular communication resources for data transmission from terminal A to terminal B, and use D2D communication resources to send data from terminal A to terminal B. In step S714, terminal B sends a data reception confirmation to terminal A using D2D communication resources.

Therefore, the two terminals can quickly switch from cellular communication back to D2D communication, reducing the communication between the terminal and the non-ground network base station, thus saving the time spent on the terminal (drone, controller, etc.) and non-ground base station (satellite/high-altitude platform), etc. energy. After terminals A and B reuse D2D communication resources for communication, in order to save cellular communication resources, the backup cellular communication resources can be released.

Figure 8 illustrates a handover process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The current serving base station (source base station) needs to instruct both terminals A and B to perform cell signal measurement and use the same measurement parameters (steps S802 and S804). In steps S806 and S808, terminal A and terminal B send measurement reports to the current serving base station. Then, when the current serving base station receives the measurement reports from terminals A and B, it makes a handover decision (step S810), and the two terminals need to switch to the same other target base station. Then, in step S812, the current serving base station sends a handover request to the target base station. The handover request includes a pair of terminals (A and B) for D2D communication, as well as related D2D resource allocation and backup cellular communication resource allocation (if any). In step S814, the target base station sends a handover confirmation to the current serving base station. The handover confirmation includes a pair of terminals (A and B) for D2D communication, and includes resource allocation for D2D communication and corresponding backup cellular resource allocation (if any). In steps S816 and S818, the current serving base station sends RRC Connection Reconfiguration (RRC Connection Reconfiguration) to both terminals in D2D communication, which includes corresponding D2D resource allocation and backup cellular communication resources (if any). In step S820, the current serving base station sends an SN status report to the target base station, including an SN status report for transmitting data from terminal A to terminal B in cellular mode and an SN status report for data transmission in D2D mode. Therefore, when a handover occurs, the backup of D2D communication by cellular communication can still be guaranteed.

When terminals A and B are using D2D resources for data communication, they continue to communicate in a D2D manner after handover to the target base station. If terminals A and B are communicating using backup cellular communication resources, in After handover to the target base station, communications will continue using backup cellular communication resources. At the same time, the target base station continues to monitor the D2D communication conditions of the two terminals.

The technology of the present disclosure can be applied to various products. For example, both base stations and terminals may be implemented as various types of computing devices.

In addition, the base station may be implemented as any type of evolved Node B (eNB), gNB or TRP (Transmit Receive Point), such as macro eNB/gNB and small eNB/gNB. A small eNB/gNB may be an eNB/gNB that covers a smaller cell than a macro cell, such as a pico eNB/gNB, a micro eNB/gNB, and a home (femto) eNB/gNB. Alternatively, the base station may be implemented as any other type of base station, such as NodeB and Base Transceiver Station (BTS). The base station may include: a main body (also referred to as a base station device) configured to control wireless communications; and one or more remote radio heads (RRH) disposed at a different place from the main body. In addition, various types of terminals to be described below may operate as base stations by temporarily or semi-persistently performing base station functions.

Furthermore, the terminal may be implemented as a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable/dongle-type mobile router, and a digital camera device, or a vehicle-mounted terminal such as a car navigation device. . The terminal may also be implemented as a terminal that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (also called a machine type communication (MTC) terminal).

[Application examples regarding computing devices]

9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a computing device 700 to which the techniques of the present disclosure may be applied. Computing device 700 includes processor 701, memory 702, storage 703, network interface 704, and bus 706.

The processor 701 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) or a digital signal processor (DSP), and controls the functions of the server 700 . The memory 702 includes random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM), and stores data and programs executed by the processor 701 . The storage device 703 may include storage media such as semiconductor memory and hard disk.

The network interface 704 is a wired communication interface used to connect the server 700 to the wired communication network 705 . The wired communication network 705 may be a core network such as an Evolved Packet Core Network (EPC) or a Packet Data Network (PDN) such as the Internet.

Bus 706 connects processor 701, memory 702, storage device 703, and network interface 704 to each other. Bus 706 may include two or more buses each having a different speed (such as a high speed bus and a low speed bus).

[About base station application examples]

(First application example)

10 is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a schematic configuration of a gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. gNB 800 includes one or more antennas 810 and base station equipment 820. The base station device 820 and each antenna 810 may be connected to each other via an RF cable.

Antennas 810 each include a single or multiple antenna elements, such as multiple antenna elements included in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna, and are used by base station device 820 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in Figure 10, gNB 800 may include multiple antennas 810. For example, multiple antennas 810 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by gNB 800. Although FIG. 10 shows an example in which gNB 800 includes multiple antennas 810, gNB 800 may also include a single antenna 810.

The base station device 820 includes a controller 821, a memory 822, a network interface 823, and a wireless communication interface 825.

The controller 821 may be, for example, a CPU or a DSP, and operates various functions of higher layers of the base station device 820 . For example, the controller 821 generates data packets based on the data in the signal processed by the wireless communication interface 825 and delivers the generated packets via the network interface 823 . The controller 821 may bundle data from multiple baseband processors to generate bundled packets, and deliver the generated bundled packets. The controller 821 may have logical functions to perform controls such as radio resource control, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control, and scheduling. This control can be performed in conjunction with nearby gNB or core network nodes. The memory 822 includes RAM and ROM, and stores programs executed by the controller 821 and various types of control data such as terminal lists, transmission power data, and scheduling data.

The network interface 823 is a communication interface used to connect the base station device 820 to the core network 824. Controller 821 may communicate with core network nodes or additional gNBs via network interface 823. In this case, the gNB 800 and the core network node or other gNBs may be connected to each other through logical interfaces such as the S1 interface and the X2 interface. The network interface 823 may also be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface for a wireless backhaul line. If the network interface 823 is a wireless communication interface, the network interface 823 may use a higher frequency band for wireless communication than the frequency band used by the wireless communication interface 825 .

The wireless communication interface 825 supports any cellular communication scheme such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced and provides wireless connectivity to terminals located in the cell of the gNB 800 via the antenna 810 . Wireless communication interface 825 may generally include, for example, a baseband (BB) processor 826 and RF circuitry 827. The BB processor 826 may perform, for example, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and perform layers such as L1, Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol ( Various types of signal processing for PDCP)). Instead of the controller 821, the BB processor 826 may have some or all of the above-mentioned logical functions. The BB processor 826 may be a memory that stores a communication control program, or a module including a processor and related circuitry configured to execute the program. The update program can cause the functionality of the BB processor 826 to change. The module may be a card or blade that plugs into a slot of the base station device 820. Alternatively, the module may be a chip mounted on a card or blade. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 827 may include, for example, a mixer, filter, and amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via the antenna 810.

As shown in FIG. 10 , the wireless communication interface 825 may include multiple BB processors 826 . For example, multiple BB processors 826 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by gNB 800. As shown in Figure 10, wireless communication interface 825 may include a plurality of RF circuits 827. For example, multiple RF circuits 827 may be compatible with multiple antenna elements. Although FIG. 10 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 825 includes a plurality of BB processors 826 and a plurality of RF circuits 827, the wireless communication interface 825 may also include a single BB processor 826 or a single RF circuit 827.

(Second application example)

11 is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of a gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. gNB 830 includes one or more antennas 840, base station equipment 850 and RRH 860. The RRH 860 and each antenna 840 may be connected to each other via RF cables. The base station equipment 850 and the RRH 860 may be connected to each other via high-speed lines such as fiber optic cables.

Antennas 840 each include a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and are used by RRH 860 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in Figure 11, gNB 830 may include multiple antennas 840. For example, multiple antennas 840 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by gNB 830. Although FIG. 11 shows an example in which gNB 830 includes multiple antennas 840, gNB 830 may also include a single antenna 840.

The base station device 850 includes a controller 851, a memory 852, a network interface 853, a wireless communication interface 855 and a connection interface 857. The controller 851, the memory 852, and the network interface 853 are the same as the controller 821, the memory 822, and the network interface 823 described with reference to FIG. 10 .

The wireless communication interface 855 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and provides wireless communication to terminals located in the sector corresponding to the RRH 860 via the RRH 860 and the antenna 840. The wireless communication interface 855 may generally include a BB processor 856, for example. The BB processor 856 is the same as the BB processor 826 described with reference to FIG. 10 except that the BB processor 856 is connected to the RF circuit 864 of the RRH 860 via the connection interface 857. As shown in Figure 11, the wireless communication interface 855 may include multiple BB processors 856. For example, multiple BB processors 856 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by gNB 830. Although FIG. 11 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 855 includes multiple BB processors 856, the wireless communication interface 855 may also include a single BB processor 856.

The connection interface 857 is an interface for connecting the base station device 850 (wireless communication interface 855) to the RRH 860. The connection interface 857 may also be a communication module for communication in the above-mentioned high-speed line that connects the base station device 850 (wireless communication interface 855) to the RRH 860.

RRH 860 includes a connection interface 861 and a wireless communication interface 863.

The connection interface 861 is an interface for connecting the RRH 860 (wireless communication interface 863) to the base station device 850. The connection interface 861 may also be a communication module used for communication in the above-mentioned high-speed line.

Wireless communication interface 863 transmits and receives wireless signals via antenna 840. Wireless communication interface 863 may generally include RF circuitry 864, for example. RF circuitry 864 may include, for example, mixers, filters, and amplifiers, and transmits and receives wireless signals via antenna 840 . As shown in Figure 11, wireless communication interface 863 may include a plurality of RF circuits 864. For example, multiple RF circuits 864 may support multiple antenna elements. Although FIG. 11 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 863 includes a plurality of RF circuits 864, the wireless communication interface 863 may also include a single RF circuit 864.

[Application examples of terminal equipment]

(First application example)

12 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone 900 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The smart phone 900 includes a processor 901, a memory 902, a storage device 903, an external connection interface 904, a camera 906, a sensor 907, a microphone 908, an input device 909, a display device 910, a speaker 911, a wireless communication interface 912, one or more Antenna switch 915, one or more antennas 916, bus 917, battery 918, and auxiliary controller 919.

The processor 901 may be, for example, a CPU or a system on a chip (SoC), and controls functions of the application layer and other layers of the smartphone 900 . The memory 902 includes RAM and ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 901 . The storage device 903 may include storage media such as semiconductor memory and hard disk. The external connection interface 904 is an interface for connecting external devices, such as memory cards and Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices, to the smartphone 900 .

The camera 906 includes an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and generates a captured image. Sensors 907 may include a group of sensors such as measurement sensors, gyroscope sensors, geomagnetic sensors, and acceleration sensors. The microphone 908 converts the sound input to the smartphone 900 into an audio signal. The input device 909 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a keypad, a keyboard, a button, or a switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 910, and receives an operation or information input from a user. The display device 910 includes a screen such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, and displays an output image of the smartphone 900 . The speaker 911 converts the audio signal output from the smartphone 900 into sound.

The wireless communication interface 912 supports any cellular communication scheme such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 912 may generally include a BB processor 913 and an RF circuit 914, for example. The BB processor 913 can perform, for example, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and perform various functions for wireless communication. type of signal processing. Meanwhile, RF circuitry 914 may include, for example, mixers, filters, and amplifiers, and transmit and receive wireless signals via antenna 916 . The wireless communication interface 912 may be a chip module on which the BB processor 913 and the RF circuit 914 are integrated. As shown in FIG. 12 , the wireless communication interface 912 may include multiple BB processors 913 and multiple RF circuits 914 . Although FIG. 12 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 912 includes a plurality of BB processors 913 and a plurality of RF circuits 914, the wireless communication interface 912 may also include a single BB processor 913 or a single RF circuit 914.

Furthermore, in addition to cellular communication schemes, the wireless communication interface 912 may support other types of wireless communication schemes, such as short-range wireless communication schemes, near field communication schemes, and wireless local area network (LAN) schemes. In this case, the wireless communication interface 912 may include a BB processor 913 and an RF circuit 914 for each wireless communication scheme.

Each of the antenna switches 915 switches the connection destination of the antenna 916 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 912 (for example, circuits for different wireless communication schemes).

Antennas 916 each include a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and are used by wireless communication interface 912 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in Figure 12, smartphone 900 may include multiple antennas 916. Although FIG. 12 shows an example in which smartphone 900 includes multiple antennas 916 , smartphone 900 may also include a single antenna 916 .

Additionally, smartphone 900 may include an antenna 916 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 915 may be omitted from the configuration of the smartphone 900 .

The bus 917 connects the processor 901, the memory 902, the storage device 903, the external connection interface 904, the camera 906, the sensor 907, the microphone 908, the input device 909, the display device 910, the speaker 911, the wireless communication interface 912 and the auxiliary controller 919 to each other. connect. The battery 918 provides power to the various blocks of the smartphone 900 shown in Figure 12 via feeders, which are partially shown in the figure as dotted lines. The auxiliary controller 919 operates the minimum necessary functions of the smartphone 900 in the sleep mode, for example.

(Second application example)

13 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device 920 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The car navigation device 920 includes a processor 921, a memory 922, a global positioning system (GPS) module 924, a sensor 925, a data interface 926, a content player 927, a storage media interface 928, an input device 929, a display device 930, a speaker 931, a wireless Communication interface 933, one or more antenna switches 936, one or more antennas 937, and battery 938.

The processor 921 may be, for example, a CPU or an SoC, and controls the navigation function and other functions of the car navigation device 920 . The memory 922 includes RAM and ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 921 .

The GPS module 924 measures the location (such as latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation device 920 using GPS signals received from GPS satellites. Sensors 925 may include a group of sensors such as gyroscope sensors, geomagnetic sensors, and air pressure sensors. The data interface 926 is connected to, for example, the vehicle-mounted network 941 via a terminal not shown, and acquires data generated by the vehicle (such as vehicle speed data).

The content player 927 reproduces content stored in storage media, such as CDs and DVDs, which are inserted into the storage media interface 928 . The input device 929 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a button, or a switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 930, and receives an operation or information input from a user. The display device 930 includes a screen such as an LCD or an OLED display, and displays an image of a navigation function or reproduced content. The speaker 931 outputs the sound of the navigation function or the reproduced content.

The wireless communication interface 933 supports any cellular communication scheme such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, and performs wireless communication. Wireless communication interface 933 may generally include, for example, BB processor 934 and RF circuitry 935. The BB processor 934 can perform, for example, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communications. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 935 may include, for example, a mixer, filter, and amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via the antenna 937 . The wireless communication interface 933 may also be a chip module on which the BB processor 934 and the RF circuit 935 are integrated. As shown in FIG. 13, the wireless communication interface 933 may include multiple BB processors 934 and multiple RF circuits 935. Although FIG. 13 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 933 includes a plurality of BB processors 934 and a plurality of RF circuits 935, the wireless communication interface 933 may also include a single BB processor 934 or a single RF circuit 935.

Furthermore, in addition to the cellular communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 933 may support other types of wireless communication schemes, such as short-range wireless communication schemes, near field communication schemes, and wireless LAN schemes. In this case, the wireless communication interface 933 may include a BB processor 934 and an RF circuit 935 for each wireless communication scheme.

Each of the antenna switches 936 switches the connection destination of the antenna 937 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 933, such as circuits for different wireless communication schemes.

The antennas 937 each include a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and are used by the wireless communication interface 933 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in FIG. 13 , the car navigation device 920 may include a plurality of antennas 937 . Although FIG. 13 shows an example in which the car navigation device 920 includes a plurality of antennas 937, the car navigation device 920 may also include a single antenna 937.

In addition, the car navigation device 920 may include an antenna 937 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 936 may be omitted from the configuration of the car navigation device 920.

The battery 938 provides power to the various blocks of the car navigation device 920 shown in FIG. 13 via feeders, which are shown in the figure. is shown partially as a dashed line. Battery 938 accumulates power provided from the vehicle.

The technology of the present disclosure may also be implemented as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 940 including a car navigation device 920 , an in-vehicle network 941 , and one or more blocks of a vehicle module 942 . The vehicle module 942 generates vehicle data such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and fault information, and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network 941 .

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the present disclosure may be implemented with a general purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate designed to perform the functions described herein. or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof to be implemented or executed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller and/or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, and/or any other such configuration.

The functionality described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope and spirit of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, given the nature of software, the functions described above may be performed using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination of these. Features that implement a function may also be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that portions of the function are implemented at different physical locations.

Furthermore, disclosures of components included within or separate from other components should be considered illustrative, as potentially a variety of other architectures may be implemented to achieve the same functionality, including incorporating all, most, and/or some elements as part of one or more single or separate structures.

Non-transitory computer-readable media can be any available non-transitory media that can be accessed by a general purpose computer or special purpose computer. By way of example and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, CD-ROM, DVD or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or can be used Any other medium that carries or stores the desired program code components in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a general or special purpose computer or a general or special purpose processor.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also include:

1. An electronic device for a base station, comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to:

Allocating first communication resources for a first communication mode and second communication resources for a second communication mode to the first terminal and the second terminal; and

During communication between the first terminal and the second terminal in the first communication mode using the first communication resource, communication resources for the second communication mode are maintained for the first terminal and the second terminal.

2. The electronic device of item 1, wherein the first communication mode is a D2D communication mode and the first communication resource is a D2D communication resource, and the second communication mode is a cellular communication mode and the second communication resource is a backup cellular communication resource, And the processing circuit is also configured as:

When the D2D communication conditions between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfy a first predetermined condition, the first terminal and the second terminal are notified to switch to communication in the cellular communication mode using backup cellular communication resources, wherein the first predetermined condition is the same as At least one of location relationship and D2D communication quality is associated.

3. The electronic device according to item 2, wherein the backup cellular communication resources are allocated when at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal applies for D2D communication resources.

4. The electronic device of item 2, wherein the backup cellular communication resource is allocated when the D2D communication condition between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies a third predetermined condition, and wherein the third predetermined condition is related to the location relationship and At least one correlation in D2D communication quality.

5. The electronic device of item 2, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

Determining whether to maintain backup cellular communication resources for the first terminal and the second terminal is based on the D2D priority indication.

6. The electronic device of item 5, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

When the D2D communication condition between the first terminal and the second terminal meets the second predetermined condition, the first terminal and the second terminal are notified to switch back to the D2D communication mode.

7. The electronic device of item 6, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

After the first terminal and the second terminal switch back to the D2D communication mode, the backup cellular communication resources are released.

8. The electronic device of item 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

When handover is required, the first terminal and the second terminal are instructed to use the same measurement parameters to perform cell signal measurement.

9. The electronic device of item 8, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

making a handover decision based on the received measurement report of the first terminal and the measurement report of the second terminal; and

The first terminal and the second terminal are notified to switch to the same target network device.

10. The electronic device according to item 9, wherein notifying the first terminal and the second terminal to switch to the same target network device includes:

Send an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the first terminal and the second terminal, the RRC connection reconfiguration message including the first communication resource allocated by the target network device, the second communication resource allocated by the target network device, and the SN status of the first communication mode. report, and the SN status report of the second communication mode.

11. The electronic device of item 1, wherein the first communication mode is a cellular communication mode and the first communication resource is a backup cellular communication resource, and the second communication mode is a D2D communication mode and the second communication resource is a D2D communication resource, And wherein the processing circuit is configured as:

Start the timer after the first terminal and the second terminal switch from the D2D communication mode to the cellular communication mode;

Determining that the first terminal and the second terminal communicate using the cellular communication mode until the timer expires; and

Release D2D communication resources after the timer expires.

12. The electronic device of item 11, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

When the D2D communication conditions between the first terminal and the second terminal meet the fourth predetermined condition, D2D communication resources are reallocated to the first terminal and the second terminal.

13. The electronic device of item 12, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

14. An electronic device for a terminal, the electronic device being included in a first terminal, the electronic device comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to:

communicating with the second terminal in a first communication mode using the first communication resource; and

After receiving the notification from the network device, switching to using the second communication resource to communicate with the second terminal in the second communication mode, wherein the second communication resource is used by the network device during communication between the first terminal and the second terminal in the first communication mode. Keep.

15. Electronic equipment as described in item 14, wherein

The first communication mode is a D2D communication mode and the first communication resource is a D2D communication resource, and the second communication mode is a cellular communication mode and the second communication resource is a backup cellular communication resource, and

The D2D communication resources are released by the network device after a timer expires, and the timer is started by the network device after the first terminal and the second terminal switch from the D2D communication mode to the cellular communication mode.

16. Electronic equipment as described in item 14, wherein

The first communication mode is a cellular communication mode and the first communication resource is a backup cellular communication resource, and the first The second communication mode is a D2D communication mode and the second communication resource is a D2D communication resource.

17. A method performed by a base station, comprising:

18. A method performed by a first terminal, comprising:

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method according to item 17 or 18.

20. A computer program product comprising program instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method according to item 17 or 18.

Claims

An electronic device for a base station, including a processing circuit configured to:

Allocating first communication resources for a first communication mode and second communication resources for a second communication mode to the first terminal and the second terminal; and

During communication between the first terminal and the second terminal in the first communication mode using the first communication resource, communication resources for the second communication mode are maintained for the first terminal and the second terminal.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first communication mode is a D2D communication mode and the first communication resource is a D2D communication resource, and the second communication mode is a cellular communication mode and the second communication resource is a backup cellular communication resource, and The processing circuit is also configured to:

When the D2D communication conditions between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfy a first predetermined condition, the first terminal and the second terminal are notified to switch to communication in the cellular communication mode using backup cellular communication resources, wherein the first predetermined condition is the same as At least one of location relationship and D2D communication quality is associated.
The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the backup cellular communication resources are allocated when at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal applies for D2D communication resources.
The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the backup cellular communication resource is allocated when the D2D communication condition between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies a third predetermined condition, and wherein the third predetermined condition is related to the location relationship and the D2D At least one correlation in communication quality.
The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

Determining whether to maintain backup cellular communication resources for the first terminal and the second terminal is based on the D2D priority indication.
The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

When the D2D communication condition between the first terminal and the second terminal meets the second predetermined condition, the first terminal and the second terminal are notified to switch back to the D2D communication mode.
The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

After the first terminal and the second terminal switch back to the D2D communication mode, the backup cellular communication resources are released.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

When handover is required, the first terminal and the second terminal are instructed to use the same measurement parameters to perform cell signal measurement.
The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

making a handover decision based on the received measurement report of the first terminal and the measurement report of the second terminal; as well as

The first terminal and the second terminal are notified to switch to the same target network device.
The electronic device of claim 9, wherein notifying the first terminal and the second terminal to switch to the same target network device includes:

Send an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the first terminal and the second terminal, the RRC connection reconfiguration message including the first communication resource allocated by the target network device, the second communication resource allocated by the target network device, and the SN status of the first communication mode. report, and the SN status report of the second communication mode.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first communication mode is a cellular communication mode and the first communication resource is a backup cellular communication resource, and the second communication mode is a D2D communication mode and the second communication resource is a D2D communication resource, and Wherein the processing circuit is configured as:

Start the timer after the first terminal and the second terminal switch from the D2D communication mode to the cellular communication mode;

Determining that the first terminal and the second terminal communicate using the cellular communication mode until the timer expires; and

Release D2D communication resources after the timer expires.
The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

When the D2D communication conditions between the first terminal and the second terminal meet the fourth predetermined condition, D2D communication resources are reallocated to the first terminal and the second terminal.
The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

When the D2D communication condition between the first terminal and the second terminal meets the second predetermined condition, the first terminal and the second terminal are notified to switch back to the D2D communication mode.
An electronic device for a terminal, the electronic device is included in a first terminal, the electronic device includes a processing circuit, the processing circuit is configured to:

communicating with the second terminal in a first communication mode using the first communication resource; and

After receiving the notification from the network device, switching to using the second communication resource to communicate with the second terminal in the second communication mode, wherein the second communication resource is used by the network device during communication between the first terminal and the second terminal in the first communication mode. Keep.
The electronic device of claim 14, wherein

The first communication mode is a D2D communication mode and the first communication resource is a D2D communication resource, and the second communication mode is a cellular communication mode and the second communication resource is a backup cellular communication resource, and

The D2D communication resources are released by the network device after a timer expires, and the timer is started by the network device after the first terminal and the second terminal switch from the D2D communication mode to the cellular communication mode.
The electronic device of claim 14, wherein

The first communication mode is a cellular communication mode and the first communication resource is a backup cellular communication resource, and the second communication mode is a D2D communication mode and the second communication resource is a D2D communication resource.
A method performed by a base station, including:

Allocating first communication resources for a first communication mode and second communication resources for a second communication mode to the first terminal and the second terminal; and

During communication between the first terminal and the second terminal in the first communication mode using the first communication resource, communication resources for the second communication mode are maintained for the first terminal and the second terminal.
A method performed by a first terminal, including:

communicating with the second terminal in a first communication mode using the first communication resource; and

After receiving the notification from the network device, switching to using the second communication resource to communicate with the second terminal in the second communication mode, wherein the second communication resource is used by the network device during communication between the first terminal and the second terminal in the first communication mode. Keep.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method according to claim 17 or 18.
A computer program product comprising program instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method according to claim 17 or 18.