WO2023280149A1

WO2023280149A1 - Method for converting multicast service transmission mode and related device

Info

Publication number: WO2023280149A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/103852
Authority: WO
Inventors: 刘潇蔓; 柴丽
Original assignee: 中国移动通信有限公司研究院; 中国移动通信集团有限公司
Priority date: 2021-07-05
Filing date: 2022-07-05
Publication date: 2023-01-12
Also published as: CN115589619A

Abstract

Disclosed are a method for converting a multicast service transmission mode and a related device. The method comprises: a base station determines whether the transmission mode of a first multicast service of a first terminal needs to be converted, the transmission mode comprising the following types: a shared transmission mode or a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) point to multipoint radio bearer (MRB) transmission, and a dedicated transmission mode or a data radio bearer (DRB) transmission; if the first multicast service needs to be converted from a first transmission mode to a second transmission mode, the base station triggers, by using the first terminal, to establish or bind a core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode, or the base station directly requests a core network to establish or bind a core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode.

Description

Multicast service transmission mode conversion method and related equipment

Cross References to Related Applications

This disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202110756672.5 filed in China on Jul. 5, 2021, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

technical field

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of mobile communication, and in particular to a method for switching a transmission mode of a multicast service and related equipment.

Background technique

Multicast/broadcast is a technology for transmitting data from one data source to multiple target mobile terminals. This technology realizes the sharing of network (including core network and access network) resources and improves the utilization of network resources, especially air interface resources. Current multicast service reception is usually implemented by a terminal connecting to a serving cell.

In related technologies, whether the multicast service is carried through a shared core network tunnel or through a user-specific (UE-specific) independent core network tunnel is determined by the core network or a higher-level application layer. Therefore, the triggered network element (such as the core network, etc.) has complete end-to-end bearer establishment information. On the other hand, the reception of multicast services in the related art is usually implemented by a terminal connecting to a serving cell, so there is a case where a user equipment (User Equipment, UE, also referred to as a terminal) switches from one cell supporting multicast transmission to another Scenarios for cells that do not support multicast transmissions and vice versa. In the above scenario, it is necessary to trigger the UE to change the transmission mode of the multicast service, that is, the wireless side is from the Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) point to the multipoint radio bearer (MBMS Point to Multipoint Radio Bearer, MRB) To convert to Data Radio Bearer (DRB) or vice versa, this process may occur during handover, or before and after handover, but no matter when it occurs, triggering/decision-making on the radio side is required, and then the current radio side does not Without complete end-to-end bearer establishment information, it is difficult to realize the above conversion process.

Contents of the invention

At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a multicast service transmission mode switching method and related equipment, which can realize the multicast service transmission mode switching on the wireless side.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, at least one embodiment provides a method for switching a multicast service transmission mode, which is applied to a base station, including:

The base station determines whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, where the transmission mode includes: shared transmission mode or MRB transmission, and dedicated transmission mode or DRB transmission;

When the first multicast service needs to be converted from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, the base station triggers the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode through the first terminal, or The base station directly requests the core network to establish or bind a core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode; wherein, the core network tunnel refers to an end-to-end transmission channel between the first terminal and the core network.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station includes a distribution unit (Distribute Unit, DU) and a central unit (Central Unit, CU);

The base station determines whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, including:

According to at least one of the channel quality indication sent by the first terminal, the Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) feedback information and the transmission mode switching request message of the UE, the DU judges whether it is necessary to switch the first transmission mode of the first terminal. The transmission mode of the multicast service, and when it is determined that the transmission mode needs to be switched, send the first indication information for instructing to switch the transmission mode to the CU through the uplink signaling of the F1 port.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station includes a DU and a CU;

The CU determines whether to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal according to at least one of the channel quality indication of the first terminal reported by the DU, the HARQ feedback information, and the transmission mode switching request message of the UE.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB, and the second transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB; The core network tunnels related to the second transmission mode include:

The CU sends a first radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) signaling to the first terminal, where the first RRC signaling is used to trigger the first terminal to establish the Core network tunnel;

The CU receives the second indication information sent by the core network, the second indication information is used to indicate the first transmission channel between the core network and the CU, the first transmission channel is triggered by the core network according to the first terminal, A transmission channel between the core network and the CU established for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service;

The CU sends the first user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU according to the second indication information, and sends the second RRC signaling to the first terminal to establish the first DRB and transfer the first multiple The broadcast service is switched from the current MRB to the first DRB.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB, and the second transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB; the base station directly requests the core network to establish or bind the Core network tunnels related to the second transmission mode include:

The CU sends a first request message carrying the first terminal identification information to the core network, and the first request message requests the core network to establish a second transmission mode between the core network and the CU for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service. transmission channel;

The CU receives a first response message sent by the core network and carries a first Non-Access Stratum (Non-Access Stratum, NAS) message, and the first NAS message is when the first terminal initially accesses the first multicast service NAS messages sent to the core network;

The CU sends the second user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, and sends the third RRC signaling to the first terminal, establishes the first DRB, and switches the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to The first DRB.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, it also includes:

The CU saves the first NAS message sent to the core network when the first terminal initially accesses the first multicast service;

When the CU sends the first request message, the first NAS message is also carried in the first request message.

When saving the first NAS message, the CU sets a corresponding timer and starts timing;

When the CU receives the first indication information, it judges whether the timer times out:

If the timer has not timed out, sending the first request message;

If the timer has expired, send fourth RRC signaling to the first terminal, where the fourth RRC signaling is used to trigger the first terminal to establish the core for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service Network tunnel; the third indication information of the core network received by the CU, the third indication information is used to indicate the second transmission channel between the core network and the CU, and the second transmission channel is the core network according to the first The triggering of the terminal is aimed at the transmission channel between the core network and the CU established in the second transmission mode of the first multicast service; the CU sends a third user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, and sends a message to the second A terminal sends fifth RRC signaling to establish a first DRB and switch the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to the first DRB.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB, and the second transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB; The core network tunnels related to the second transmission mode include:

If the current serving cell of the first terminal has established the MRB of the first multicast service, the CU sends a fourth user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, so that the DU sends a message to the first terminal sixth RRC signaling, where the sixth RRC signaling is used to switch the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current DRB to the MRB;

If the current serving cell of the first terminal has not established the MRB of the first multicast service, the CU sends the seventh RRC signaling to the first terminal, and the seventh RRC signaling is used to instruct the first terminal to establish The MRB of the first multicast service, and join the multicast group of the first multicast service through a multicast join process.

In the case where the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal is MRB, the method further includes:

The CU receives the terminal-related information of the first terminal reported by the DU, the terminal-related information is information related to the decision basis of the MRB transmission mode, and the MRB transmission mode includes point-to-point (Point To Point, PTP) and/or point-to-multipoint (Point To Multipoint, PTM);

The CU judges whether to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal according to the terminal-related information of the first terminal, and sends a message to the DU when it is judged that the MRB transmission mode needs to be switched. Fourth indication information indicating MRB transmission mode conversion;

The DU switches the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service according to the fourth indication information, and sends a response message to the CU;

The CU receives the response message, and sends seventh RRC signaling to the first terminal, where the seventh RRC signaling is used to instruct the first terminal to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the fourth indication information is further used to indicate at least one of the following information: a radio link control (Radio Link Control, RLC) mode of the converted MRB transmission mode, And, the retention time of the copy transmission; wherein, the RLC mode includes an acknowledged mode and an unacknowledged mode;

The response message is a downlink data transmission status message, or the response message is the user plane (F1-U ) serial number;

The seventh RRC signaling carries the reset parameter of the RLC receiving window of the terminal determined according to the RLC mode of the converted MRB transmission mode.

The DU judges whether to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal according to the terminal-related information of the first terminal, wherein the terminal-related information is information related to the decision basis of the MRB transmission mode, and the MRB Transmission modes include PTP and/or PTM;

When the DU judges that it is necessary to switch the MRB transmission mode, it sends to the CU fifth indication information for instructing the conversion of the MRB transmission mode;

The CU detects whether there is a general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS) tunneling protocol (GPRS Tunneling Protocol for the user plane, GTP- U) The tunnel, if it exists, sends the sixth indication information to the DU, and sends the eighth RRC signaling to the first terminal to convert the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal; if it does not exist, then Initiate the establishment process of the GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the converted MRB transmission mode, and after the GTP-U tunnel is successfully established, send the seventh indication information to the DU, and send the ninth RRC signaling to the first terminal to convert the The MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal is described.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, at least one embodiment provides a base station, including:

A decision-making module, configured to determine whether to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, where the transmission mode includes the following types: shared transmission mode or MRB transmission, and, dedicated transmission mode or DRB transmission;

A conversion processing module, configured to trigger, by the first terminal, the base station to establish or bind the association between the second transmission mode and the second transmission mode when the first multicast service needs to be converted from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode or, the base station directly requests the core network to establish or bind the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode; wherein, the core network tunnel refers to the end-to-end connection between the first terminal and the core network. end transmission channel.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station includes a DU and a CU; the decision-making module is set in the DU;

The decision module is further configured to determine whether to switch the transmission of the first multicast service of the first terminal according to at least one of the channel quality indication sent by the first terminal, the HARQ feedback information, and the transmission mode switching request message of the UE mode, and when it is determined that the transmission mode needs to be switched, send the first indication information for instructing to switch the transmission mode to the CU through the uplink signaling of the F1 port.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station includes a DU and a CU; the decision-making module is set in the CU;

The decision module is further configured to determine whether to switch the first multicast service of the first terminal according to at least one of the channel quality indication of the first terminal reported by the DU, the HARQ feedback information, and the transmission mode switching request message of the UE the transmission mode.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB transmission, and the second transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB transmission;

The conversion processing module is set in the CU;

The conversion processing module is further configured to send a first RRC signaling to the first terminal when the first terminal triggers the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode, and the first RRC signaling It is used to trigger the first terminal to establish the core network tunnel for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service; receive second indication information sent by the core network, and the second indication information is used to indicate the relationship between the core network and the CU The first transmission channel between, the first transmission channel is the transmission channel between the core network and the CU established by the core network for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service according to the trigger of the first terminal ; According to the second indication information, send a first user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, and send a second RRC signaling to the first terminal, establish a first DRB and transfer the first multiple The broadcast service is switched from the current MRB to the first DRB.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB, and the second transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB;

The conversion processing module is set in the CU;

The conversion processing module is further configured to send a first request message carrying the first terminal identification information to the core network when directly requesting the core network to establish or bind a core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode, the The first request message requests the core network to establish a second transmission channel between the core network and the CU for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service; receiving the first response message sent by the core network and carrying the first NAS message, The first NAS message is a NAS message sent to the core network when the first terminal initially accesses the first multicast service; a second user context modification message for the first terminal is sent to the DU, and a second user context modification message for the first terminal is sent to the first terminal Send the third RRC signaling, establish the first DRB, and switch the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to the first DRB.

A saving module, configured to save the first NAS message sent to the core network when the first terminal initially accesses the first multicast service;

When the conversion processing module sends the first request message, the first NAS message is also carried in the first request message.

A timing module, configured to set a corresponding timer and start timing when storing the first NAS message;

The conversion processing module is further configured to determine whether the timer times out when receiving the first indication information:

If the timer has not timed out, sending the first request message;

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB, and the second transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB;

The conversion processing module is set in the CU;

The conversion processing module is further configured to: when the first terminal triggers the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode:

If the current serving cell of the first terminal has not established the MRB of the first multicast service, the CU sends the seventh RRC signaling to the first terminal, and the seventh RRC signaling is used to instruct the first terminal to establish The MRB of the first multicast service, and join the multicast group of the first multicast service through a multicast join procedure.

The decision-making module is further configured to receive the terminal-related information of the first terminal reported by the DU when the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal is MRB, and the terminal-related information is the MRB transmission mode Decision-making is based on related information, the MRB transmission mode includes PTP and/or PTM; according to the terminal-related information of the first terminal, determine whether to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, and When it is judged that the conversion of the MRB transmission mode is required, the fourth indication information for instructing the conversion of the MRB transmission mode is sent to the DU;

The DU is configured to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service according to the fourth indication information, and send a response message to the CU;

The CU is configured to receive the response message, and send seventh RRC signaling to the first terminal, where the seventh RRC signaling is used to instruct the first terminal to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the fourth indication information is also used to indicate at least one of the following information: the RLC mode of the converted MRB transmission mode, and the retention time of the duplicate transmission; wherein, The RLC mode includes an acknowledged mode and an unacknowledged mode;

The response message is a downlink data transmission status message, or the response message is the maximum F1-U sequence number of a data packet that is successfully sent to the lower layer with the MRB transmission mode before conversion;

The decision-making module is further configured to judge whether to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal according to the terminal-related information of the first terminal, wherein the terminal-related information is the basis for decision-making of the MRB transmission mode For related information, the MRB transmission mode includes PTP and/or PTM; when it is judged that the conversion of the MRB transmission mode is required, the fifth indication information for instructing the conversion of the MRB transmission mode is sent to the CU;

The CU is configured to detect whether there is a GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the converted MRB transmission mode according to the fifth indication information, and if it exists, send the sixth indication information to the DU, and send the eighth RRC tunnel to the first terminal Signaling, to convert the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal; if it does not exist, initiate the establishment process of the GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the converted MRB transmission mode, in the GTP-U tunnel After the establishment is successful, send the seventh indication information to the DU, and send the ninth RRC signaling to the first terminal, so as to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, at least one embodiment provides a base station, including: a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and operable on the processor, the program being processed by the When the device is executed, the steps of the method as described above are realized.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, at least one embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the program is executed by a processor, the above method is implemented. step.

Compared with related technologies, the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a multicast service transmission mode conversion method and related equipment. The embodiment of the present disclosure can realize the transmission conversion process between MRB and DRB in the terminal multicast service reception, and can realize The terminal switches between the target side and the source side that do not support multicast transmission at the same time, or dynamically changes the transmission mode in a cell that supports multicast transmission.

Description of drawings

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment. The drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present disclosure. Also throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same components. In the attached picture:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a setting method of a decision-making layer in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another setting method of the decision-making layer in the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another setting method of the decision-making layer in the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for converting a multicast service transmission mode provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is another schematic structural diagram of a base station provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.

detailed description

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided for more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

The terms "first", "second" and the like in the specification and claims of the present disclosure are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It is to be understood that the data so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the disclosure described herein are, for example, capable of practice in sequences other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having", as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a sequence of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to the expressly listed instead, may include other steps or elements not explicitly listed or inherent to the process, method, product or apparatus. "And/or" in the specification and claims means at least one of the connected objects.

The technology described in this paper is not limited to the New Radio (NR) system and the Long Time Evolution (LTE)/LTE evolution (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A) system, and can also be used in various wireless communications Systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access, OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access, SC-FDMA) and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. The CDMA system can implement radio technologies such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) and the like. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA) and other CDMA variants. A TDMA system implements a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). The OFDMA system can realize radios such as UltraMobile Broadband (UltraMobile Broadband, UMB), Evolution-UTRA (Evolution-UTRA, E-UTRA), IEEE 802.21 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. technology. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and LTE-Advanced (like LTE-A) are new UMTS releases that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The techniques described herein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above as well as other systems and radio technologies. However, the following description describes NR systems for example purposes, and NR terminology is used in much of the following description, although the techniques are applicable to applications other than NR system applications as well.

The following description provides examples and does not limit the scope, applicability or configuration set forth in the claims. Changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements discussed without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, the methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

Referring to FIG. 1 , FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present disclosure is applicable. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network device 12 . Wherein, the terminal 11 can also be called a user terminal or user equipment (User Equipment, UE), and the terminal 11 can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Tablet Personal Computer), a laptop computer (Laptop Computer), a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant) , PDA), mobile Internet device (Mobile Internet Device, MID), wearable device (Wearable Device) or vehicle-mounted equipment and other terminal-side devices. It should be noted that the specific type of terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. . The network device 12 may be a base station and/or a core network element, wherein the above-mentioned base station may be a base station of 5G and later versions (for example: the next generation base station (the next Generation Node B, gNB), 5G NR NB, etc.), or other A base station in a communication system (for example: an evolved B node (Evolved Node B, eNB), a wireless local area network (Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN) access point, or other access points, etc.), wherein the base station can be called a node B. Evolved node B, access point, base transceiver station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS), radio base station, radio transceiver, basic service set (Basic Service Set, BSS), extended service set (Extended Service Set, ESS) , Node B, eNB, Home Node B, Home Evolved Node B, WLAN access point, WiFi node, or some other suitable term in the field, as long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to specific technical terms , it should be noted that in the embodiment of the present disclosure, only the base station in the NR system is taken as an example, but the specific type of the base station is not limited.

The base stations may communicate with terminals 11 under the control of a base station controller, which may be part of a core network or certain base stations in various examples. Some base stations can communicate control information or user data with the core network through the backhaul. In some examples, some of these base stations may communicate with each other directly or indirectly via a backhaul link, which may be a wired or wireless communication link. A wireless communication system may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter is capable of transmitting modulated signals on the multiple carriers simultaneously. For example, each communication link may be a multi-carrier signal modulated according to various radio technologies. Each modulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carry control information (eg, reference signal, control channel, etc.), overhead information, data, etc.

A base station may communicate wirelessly with terminals 11 via one or more access point antennas. Each base station may provide communication coverage for a respective respective coverage area. The coverage area of an access point may be divided into sectors that constitute only a portion of the coverage area. A wireless communication system may include different types of base stations (e.g., macro base stations, micro base stations, or pico base stations). The base stations may also utilize different radio technologies, such as cellular or WLAN radio access technologies. Base stations may be associated with the same or different access networks or operator deployments. Coverage areas of different base stations (including coverage areas of base stations of the same or different types, coverage areas utilizing the same or different radio technologies, or coverage areas belonging to the same or different access networks) may overlap.

A communication link in a wireless communication system may include an uplink for carrying an uplink (Uplink, UL) transmission (for example, from a terminal 11 to a network device 12), or for carrying a downlink (Downlink, DL) transmission. Downlink of transmission (eg, from network device 12 to terminal 11). UL transmissions can also be called reverse link transmissions, and DL transmissions can also be called forward link transmissions. Downlink transmissions may be performed using licensed frequency bands, unlicensed frequency bands, or both. Similarly, uplink transmissions may be performed using licensed frequency bands, unlicensed frequency bands, or both.

As mentioned in the background art, because the wireless side in the related art does not have complete end-to-end bearer establishment information, it is difficult to realize the conversion of the multicast service transmission mode. In addition, the transmission mode conversion scenario may also exist in a cell that supports multicast services, so it is hoped that the wireless side can dynamically change the transmission mode for the UE according to the needs of the UE to meet the quality of service (Quality of Service, QoS) of the UE Require. In particular, under the central unit-distributed unit (CU-DU) architecture, how to trigger the above conversion process on the wireless side and how to implement the conversion process requires a specific solution. In addition, for the dynamic conversion of the transmission mode of multicast transmission (PTM and PTP) has no public scheme at present.

In order to solve at least one of the above problems, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a multicast service transmission mode switching method, which can realize the multicast service transmission mode switching on the wireless side.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, for the multicast service, there is a sublayer/functional module in the network side protocol stack for decision/conversion of the transmission mode of the multicast service, including a UE/cell/Multicast Broadcast Service (Multicast Broadcast Service, The initial transmission mode within the MBS) transmission range, such as DRB (dedicated transmission mode individual delivery mode) or MRB (shared transmission mode shared delivery mode), in particular. Among them, for MRB, it may also include deciding whether it is a point-to-point (PTP) or point-to-multipoint (PTM) mode, and also includes a decision on PTP/PTM dynamic conversion during the UE service reception process, and/or MRB (shared delivery mode) and DRB (individual delivery mode), the sub-layer may be a virtual sub-layer/function located in other layers, or may also be a separate sub-layer, the embodiment of the present disclosure uses a decision-making layer or a decision-making module To identify the sublayer/function, the sublayer/function only exists in the base station side protocol stack.

In the CU-DU architecture, the decision-making layer/decision-making module may be located in the CU and/or DU. Figures 2 to 4 are examples of possible locations. In Figures 2-4, the above-mentioned decision-making layer/decision-making module is represented by a decision-making layer . Figures 2 to 4 only indicate that the decision-making layer is mostly an independent sublayer, but it can also belong to a certain sublayer as a functional module. For example, when the decision-making layer is in the CU, it can belong to the Packet Data Convergence Protocol , PDCP), that is, as a part of the PDCP layer, or, when the decision layer is in the DU, it can belong to RLC/MAC, that is, as a part of the RLC/MAC layer.

Please refer to FIG. 5, a method for converting a multicast service transmission mode provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, including:

Step 21, the base station determines whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, and the transmission mode includes the following types: shared transmission mode or MRB transmission, and dedicated transmission mode or DRB transmission.

Here, a decision module (also called a decision layer) in the base station may determine whether to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service. The transmission mode includes a shared delivery mode (shared delivery mode) and a dedicated delivery mode (individual delivery mode). The shared delivery mode is mapped to the MRB on the wireless side, so it is sometimes called MRB transmission. The dedicated delivery mode is used in wireless The side is mapped to a DRB, so it is sometimes called a DRB transmission. The first multicast service may be a multicast, broadcast or multicast service.

Step 22, when the first multicast service needs to be converted from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, the base station triggers the establishment or binding of the core network related to the second transmission mode through the first terminal tunnel, or the base station directly requests the core network to establish or bind the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode.

Here, the core network tunnel refers to an end-to-end transmission channel between the first terminal and the core network. When it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service, for example, when switching from the current first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, the base station can trigger the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode through the first terminal , or, the base station directly sends a request to the core network to establish or bind a core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode.

Through the above steps, the embodiment of the present disclosure realizes the conversion of the transmission mode of the multicast service on the wireless side.

The above steps will be described in detail below in combination with different structures of the base station and different deployment modes of the decision-making module.

1. In the CU-DU architecture, the decision-making module (decision-making layer) is located in the DU

In the CU-DU architecture, the base station includes a DU and a CU. When the decision-making module is located in the DU, in the above step 21, the DU according to at least One, judging whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, and when it is judged that the transmission mode needs to be switched, sending the first indication information for instructing to switch the transmission mode to the CU through the uplink signaling of the F1 port .

For example, the DU side decides whether to change the transmission mode of the UE based on the UE's Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report or HARQ feedback (statistics) or UE's request. Here, the conversion between MRB and DRB is mainly considered. The decision may be based on the criteria for information collection/request and decision-making based on Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM)/Core Network (CN)/CU configuration. The criteria may include periodic/aperiodic information collection And the decision threshold, the available time of the threshold and other information, such as the UE HARQ feedback collected periodically according to the configuration and statistics, and then make decisions based on the configured threshold. After the DU makes a decision, the DU can indicate to the CU through the F1 port uplink signaling, which can be included in the existing F1 port signaling, such as adding information elements (Information Element) in the UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED , IE), or indicated by new signaling.

In the above step 22, after the CU receives the decision of the DU, it can process it in the following manner:

1)MRB->DRB:

Here, it is assumed that the first transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB transmission, and the second transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB transmission. At this time, the CU may realize the establishment of the DRB in one of the following two ways.

Way 1: The CU triggers the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode through the first terminal.

The CU sends the first RRC signaling to the first terminal, where the first RRC signaling is used to trigger the first terminal to establish the core network tunnel (between the terminal and the core network) for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service. The end-to-end transmission channel between them); then, the CU receives the second indication information sent by the core network, the second indication information is used to indicate the first transmission channel between the core network and the CU, and the first transmission channel is According to the triggering of the first terminal, the core network establishes a transmission channel between the core network and the CU for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service; then, the CU transmits to the DU according to the second indication information sending a first user context modification message for the first terminal, and sending second RRC signaling to the first terminal to establish a first DRB and switch the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to the first DRB. Here, the first DRB is a DRB corresponding to the second transmission mode of the first multicast service.

The above process specifically includes:

A) The CU sends the first RRC signaling to the first terminal, and the first RRC signaling is used to trigger the first terminal to establish an end-to-end connection between the terminal and the core network for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service end transmission channel. Here, the end-to-end channel includes a transmission channel between the core network and the wireless side, and a transmission channel between the wireless side and the first terminal. The first RRC signaling may be a new RRC signaling or an RRC reconfiguration or RRC release message, and its function is mainly to instruct the UE to trigger an end-to-end transmission channel with the first multicast service.

B) When the UE receives the first RRC signaling from the CU, it initiates a DRB establishment request, which contains the NAS message to be sent to the core network (if it receives an RRC release message, it will re-initiate the RRC connection establishment), and may Specifically, the UE may indicate that it is related to multicast transmission in its DRB request establishment reason, or carry a multicast service identifier, such as a temporary mobile group identity (Temporary Mobile Group Identity, TMGI), carrying the allocation of the MRB corresponding to the DRB requested to be established The protocol data unit (Protocol Data Unit, PDU) session (Session) ID, the source multicast IP address corresponding to the MRB, the shared tunnel information corresponding to the MRB, etc. The core network establishes a transmission channel between the core network and the CU for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service according to the above NAS message.

C) The core network sends second indication information to the CU, where the second indication information is used to indicate to the CU the first transmission channel between the core network and the wireless side. The CU receives the second indication information sent by the core network.

D) The CU establishes the first DRB according to the received second indication information of the core network. Specifically, the CU sends a first user context modification message (UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION) for the first terminal to the DU, and sends a second RRC signaling (such as an RRC reconfiguration message) to the first terminal to establish the first DRB and switching the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to the first DRB. The second RRC signaling may include DRB-related configurations, such as PDCP, RLC, Media Access Control (Medium Access Control, MAC) and physical layer configurations.

Here, the CU establishes a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) side protocol stack by sending UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION to the DU, sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the first terminal to establish a UE side protocol stack, and finally establishes the first terminal a DRB. In addition, the NAS message carries session-related information (that is, channel information established by the CN, which is transparently transmitted by the base station).

Way 2: The CU directly requests the core network to establish or bind the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode.

The CU sends a first request message carrying the first terminal identification information to the core network, and the first request message requests the core network to establish a connection between the core network and the CU for the first terminal for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service. The second transmission channel between; the CU receives the first response message that carries the first NAS message sent by the core network, and the first NAS message is sent to the core network when the first terminal initially accesses the first multicast service NAS message; the CU sends the second user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, and sends the third RRC signaling to the first terminal, establishes the first DRB, and transfers the first multicast service of the first terminal from the The current MRB is switched to the first DRB.

The above process specifically includes:

A) When the first terminal initially accesses the multicast service (join process), the CU reserves the NAS message that the UE transparently transmits to the CN. Optionally, a corresponding timer can also be set for the reserved UE NAS message, that is, only The CU can use the NAS message before the timer expires.

B) After the CU receives the transmission mode conversion decision sent by the DU, if the timer has not expired, the CU will retain the NAS message and UE ID and other UE identification information (such as Access and Mobility Management Function (Access and Mobility Management Function) , AMF) UE Next Generation Application Protocol (Next Generation Application Protocol, NGAP) ID, RAN UE NGAP ID) sent to CN, requesting CN to establish a transmission channel. If it has timed out, the establishment of the DRB is triggered through the process in the above-mentioned mode 1.

Similarly, the CN side can keep the NAS message of the first terminal, and at this time, the CU only sends a request message to the CN.

C) According to the request of the CU, after establishing the second transmission channel between the CN and the CU, the CN sends a response message to reply the request of the CU, and the response message may carry a corresponding NAS message.

D) The CU sends the UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION for the first terminal to the DU, and sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the first terminal to transfer the transmission of the first multicast service of the first terminal from the MRB to the newly created first DRB.

Here, the CU establishes the protocol stack on the RAN side by sending UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION to the DU, and sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the first terminal to establish the protocol stack on the first terminal side, thereby finally establishing the first DRB. In addition, the NAS message carries session-related information (that is, channel information established by the CN, which is transparently transmitted by the base station).

In the above process, the CU may store the first NAS message sent to the core network when the first terminal initially accesses the first multicast service. In addition, when the CU sends the first request message, the first NAS message may also be carried in the first request message.

Further, when saving the first NAS message, the CU sets a corresponding timer and starts timing. In this way, when the CU receives the first indication information, it may determine whether the timer times out:

A) if the timer has not timed out, then sending the first request message;

B) If the timer has timed out, then send fourth RRC signaling to the first terminal, where the fourth RRC signaling is used to trigger the first terminal to establish the set-up for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service The core network tunnel; the third indication information of the core network received by the CU, the third indication information is used to indicate the second transmission channel between the core network and the CU, and the second transmission channel is the core network according to the The triggering of the first terminal, the transmission channel between the core network and the CU established for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service; the CU sends a third user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, and, Sending fifth RRC signaling to the first terminal, establishing a first DRB and switching the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to the first DRB.

2)DRB->MRB:

Here, it is assumed that the first transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or DRB, and the second transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or MRB. but:

In the above step 22, the CU triggers the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode through the first terminal, which may specifically include:

a) The current serving cell has established MRB/shared delivery mode

b) MRB/shared delivery mode is not established in the current serving cell

2. In the CU-DU architecture, the decision-making module (decision-making layer) is located in the CU

In the CU-DU architecture, the base station includes a DU and a CU. When the decision-making module is located in the CU, in the above step 21, the CU reports the channel quality indication of the first terminal, the HARQ feedback information, and the transmission mode switching request message of the UE according to the DU. At least one of the methods is used to determine whether to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal. Or, when the first terminal switches, the CU decides whether to switch the transmission mode according to the decision criterion provided by OAM/CN or the like.

When the CU decides to switch the transmission mode, the CU will check whether there is a NAS message of the first terminal. If so, the CU can directly request the core network to trigger the establishment of the relevant channel; otherwise, the CU will trigger the establishment or binding of the first terminal through the first terminal. Determine the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode, and then send a corresponding RRC reconfiguration message to the first terminal to realize the conversion of the transmission mode. For the specific implementation methods of MRB->DRB and DRB->MRB, please refer to the description in the first item above, and will not repeat them here.

3. Integrated base station

The method described above is also applicable to the case of an integrated base station. The base station makes a decision on the transmission mode of the UE based on certain criteria, and establishes relevant channels through the UE triggering or directly requesting the core network.

The conversion of the transmission mode (the conversion between PTP and PTM) under the MRB will be described below.

For the specific transmission mode under MRB, when the decision-making layer is located on the CU or above the DU RLC layer, the decision-making layer can not only decide the transmission mode of a certain UE, but also make decisions on the transmission mode in the entire cell.

Under the CU-DU architecture, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal is MRB, the MRB transmission mode may be switched, and the MRB transmission mode includes PTP and/or PTM. Specifically, a decision may be made according to each UE, or a decision may be made according to each cell to determine whether to switch the MRB transmission mode.

A. Each UE makes a decision (Per UE decision)

1) The decision-making layer is located in the CU

When the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal is MRB, the CU receives the terminal-related information of the first terminal reported by the DU, and the terminal-related information is related to the decision basis of the MRB transmission mode information. Then, according to the terminal-related information of the first terminal, the CU judges whether to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, and when it is judged that the MRB transmission mode needs to be switched, sends Fourth indication information used to indicate MRB transmission mode switching. Then, the DU switches the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service according to the fourth indication information, and sends a response message to the CU. The CU receives the response message, and sends seventh RRC signaling to the first terminal, where the seventh RRC signaling is used to instruct the first terminal to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service.

Here, the fourth indication information is also used to indicate at least one of the following information: the RLC mode of the converted MRB transmission mode, and the retention time of the duplicate transmission; wherein, the RLC mode includes an acknowledged mode and a non-acknowledged confirmation mode;

The response message is a downlink data transmission status message, or, the response message is the maximum F1-U sequence number of the data packet successfully sent to the lower layer with the MRB transmission mode before conversion; the F1-U sequence number refers to the central unit and the distribution The user plane sequence number of the inter-unit interface.

Specifically, the criterion on which the MRB transmission mode switching decision is based may be generated by the OAM or CN off-network and sent to the CU, or generated by the CU independently. The decision basis may include the number of users receiving a certain or all multicast services in the cell, service QoS requirements, UE PTM/PTP transmission path (leg) channel quality, network resources/busy/idle conditions, UE requests, UE uplink feedback (PDCP status report (status report), automatic repeat request (Automatic Repeat-reQuest, ARQ) feedback, CQI) and related statistics, etc. One or more information. Based on different decision-making basis, DU needs to report relevant information of UE to CU correspondingly, such as UE request, UE uplink feedback (PDCP status report, ARQ feedback, CQI) and related statistics.

When the CU decides to perform PTP/PTM conversion on the first terminal, the CU needs to send relevant instruction information to the DU, indicating to switch from PTM to PTP, or switch from PTP to PTM, or perform duplication transmission or cancel duplication transmission, And possibly the CU can also indicate the RLC mode of the converted transmission path (leg) (such as PTM only supports Unacknowledged Mode (Unacknowledged Mode, UM), PTP can support UM or Acknowledged Mode (Acknowledged Mode, AM)), and after conversion Leg retention time and other information. The indication information can be carried through the UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST of the F1 interface; or the corresponding indication bit (bit) is added in the packet header of the F1 interface; or for the corresponding PTP/PTM leg corresponding to the GTP-U tunnel (tunnel ) situation, it is indicated through the establishment process of the tunnel.

When the DU receives the CU's decision, the DU feeds back the UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE to the CU, which can carry the maximum F1-U sequence number (Serial Number, SN) corresponding to the packet successfully sent to the lower layer by the current leg, and/or, feedback downlink Data transmission status (Downlink Data Delivery Status) message to carry the maximum F1-USN or other more information.

After receiving the DU feedback, the CU sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the first terminal, and possibly decides whether to reset related parameters of the RLC receiving window of the first terminal according to the RLC mode of the new leg.

2) The decision-making layer is located in DU

When the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal is MRB, the DU judges whether to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal according to the terminal-related information of the first terminal, Wherein, the terminal-related information is the information related to the decision-making basis of the MRB transmission mode, and the MRB transmission mode includes PTP and/or PTM; when the DU judges that it is necessary to switch the MRB transmission mode, it sends an instruction to the CU Perform fifth indication information for MRB transmission mode conversion; the CU detects whether there is a GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the converted MRB transmission mode according to the fifth indication information, and if it exists, sends sixth indication information to the DU, Send the eighth RRC signaling to the first terminal to convert the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal; if it does not exist, initiate the GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the converted MRB transmission mode In the establishment process, after the GTP-U tunnel is successfully established, the seventh indication information is sent to the DU, and the ninth RRC signaling is sent to the first terminal to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal.

Specifically, the criteria for PTP/PTM conversion decision may be generated by OAM or CN network or CU and issued to DU, or independently generated by DU. The decision basis may include acceptance of certain or all multicast One or more of the number of service users, service QoS requirements, UE PTM/PTP leg channel quality, network resources/busy/idle status, UE request, UE uplink feedback (PDCP status report, ARQ feedback, CQI) and related statistics, etc. item information.

When the DU decides to perform PTP/PTM conversion for a certain UE, the DU needs to send relevant instructions to the CU, indicating that it is to switch from PTM to PTP, or from PTP to PTM, or to perform duplication transmission or cancel duplication transmission, and possibly DU It can also indicate the RLC mode of the transmitted leg after conversion, and the retention time of the leg after conversion. This message can be carried by the UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED of the F1 interface, and can also carry the maximum F1-U SN corresponding to the packet successfully sent to the lower layer by the current leg, or by adding a corresponding indicator bit in the Downlink Data Delivery Status of the F1 interface.

When the CU receives the decision of the DU, the CU needs to check whether there is a GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the corresponding PTP and/or PTM link. If not, it needs to first initiate the corresponding tunnel establishment process. After that, the CU sends the corresponding reception feedback to the DU (for example, carrying the reception feedback through the UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONDSE message), and exchanges the tunnel information of the new leg, etc. In addition, the CU also sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the first terminal to configure the conversion of the transmission mode.

B. Each cell makes a decision (decision of Per cell)

For the decision of the cell-level transmission mode, at least there is a decision-making layer above the RLC layer of the DU or in the CU, and it is not ruled out that there is also a decision-making layer in the DU. The decision to switch the transmission mode of the cell in the CU may be based on the following statistics of at least one of the following information: UE layer 3 filtering results, or information reported by the DU such as UE request, UE uplink feedback (PDCP status report, ARQ feedback , CQI) and related statistics, etc., or one or more pieces of information for per UE in DU.

It can be seen from the above that the embodiment of the present disclosure can realize the transmission conversion process between MRB and DRB in the terminal multicast service reception, and can realize the terminal between the target side and the source side that do not support multicast transmission at the same time switch, or dynamically change the transmission mode in a cell that supports multicast transmission.

Various methods of the embodiments of the present disclosure have been introduced above. A device for implementing the above method will be further provided below.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a base station as shown in FIG. 6, including:

A decision module 61, configured to determine whether to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, where the transmission mode includes the following types: shared transmission mode or MRB transmission, and, dedicated transmission mode or DRB transmission;

A conversion processing module 62, configured to trigger the establishment or binding of the second transmission mode by the base station through the first terminal when the first multicast service needs to be converted from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode related core network tunnel, or the base station directly requests the core network to establish or bind the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode; wherein, the core network tunnel refers to the terminal between the first terminal and the core network End-to-end transmission channel.

Preferably, the base station includes a DU and a CU; the decision-making module is set in the DU;

Preferably, the base station includes a DU and a CU; the decision-making module is set in the CU;

Preferably, the first transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB transmission, and the second transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB transmission;

The conversion processing module is set in the CU;

The conversion processing module is further configured to send a first RRC signaling to the first terminal when the first terminal triggers the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode, and the first RRC signaling It is used to trigger the first terminal to establish the core network tunnel for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service; receive second indication information sent by the core network, and the second indication information is used to indicate the relationship between the core network and the CU The first transmission channel between, the first transmission channel is the transmission channel between the core network and the CU established by the core network for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service according to the trigger of the first terminal ; According to the second indication information, send a first user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, and send a second RRC signaling to the first terminal to establish a current MRB correspondence with the first multicast service and switching the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to the first DRB.

The conversion processing module is set in the CU;

Preferably, the base station also includes:

If the timer has not timed out, sending the first request message;

Preferably, the first transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB, and the second transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB;

The conversion processing module is set in the CU;

Preferably, the fourth indication information is also used to indicate at least one of the following information: the RLC mode of the converted MRB transmission mode, and the retention time of the copy transmission; wherein, the RLC mode includes an acknowledgment mode and Unconfirmed mode;

The CU is configured to detect whether there is a GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the converted MRB transmission mode according to the fifth indication information, and if it exists, send the sixth indication information to the DU, and send the eighth RRC tunnel to the first terminal Signaling, to convert the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal; if it does not exist, initiate the establishment process of the GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the converted MRB transmission mode, in the GTP-U tunnel After the establishment is successful, send the seventh indication information to the DU, and send the ninth RRC signaling to the first terminal, so as to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal. It should be noted that the device in this embodiment is a device corresponding to the method shown in FIG. 5 above, and the implementations in the above embodiments are all applicable to this embodiment of the device, and can also achieve the same technical effect. It should be noted here that the above-mentioned equipment provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can realize all the method steps realized by the above-mentioned method embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effect. The part and the beneficial effect are described in detail.

Please refer to FIG. 7 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a schematic structural diagram of a base station, including: a processor 701, a transceiver 702, a memory 703, and a bus interface, where:

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station further includes: a program stored in the memory 703 and operable on the processor 701, when the program is executed by the processor 701, the following steps are implemented:

The base station determines whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, where the transmission mode includes: a shared transmission mode or MRB, and a dedicated transmission mode or DRB;

It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the computer program is executed by the processor 701, the various processes of the above-mentioned method embodiment shown in FIG. 5 can be realized, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, no more repeat.

In FIG. 7 , the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically one or more processors represented by processor 701 and various circuits of memory represented by memory 703 are linked together. The bus architecture can also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and therefore will not be further described herein. The bus interface provides the interface. Transceiver 702 may be a plurality of elements, including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other devices over transmission media.

The processor 701 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 703 can store data used by the processor 701 when performing operations.

It should be noted that the terminal in this embodiment is a device corresponding to the method shown in FIG. 5 above, and the implementation methods in the above embodiments are all applicable to this embodiment of the terminal, and can also achieve the same technical effect. In this device, the transceiver 702 and the memory 703, as well as the transceiver 702 and the processor 701 can be communicated and connected through the bus interface, the function of the processor 701 can also be realized by the transceiver 702, and the function of the transceiver 702 can also be implemented by the processor 701 implementation. It should be noted here that the above-mentioned equipment provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can realize all the method steps realized by the above-mentioned method embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effect. The part and the beneficial effect are described in detail.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is also provided a computer-readable storage medium, on which a program is stored, and when the program is executed by a processor, the following steps are implemented:

When the first multicast service needs to be converted from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, the base station triggers the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode through the first terminal, or , the base station directly requests the core network to establish or bind a core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode.

When the program is executed by the processor, it can realize all the implementation methods in the above-mentioned multicast service transmission mode conversion method applied to the base station, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, details are not repeated here.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality using different methods for each particular application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present disclosure.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working process of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

In the embodiments provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or May be integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored, or not implemented. In another point, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present disclosure may be integrated into one processing unit, each unit may exist separately physically, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

If the functions described above are realized in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the essence of the technical solution of the present disclosure or the part that contributes to the related technology or the part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including several The instructions are used to make a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in various embodiments of the present disclosure. The aforementioned storage media include: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), magnetic disk or optical disc and other media that can store program codes. .

The above is only a specific implementation of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Anyone skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present disclosure. should fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be determined by the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A method for converting a multicast service transmission mode, applied to a base station, wherein the method includes:

The base station determines whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, and the transmission mode includes the following types: shared transmission mode or multimedia broadcast multicast service MBMS point-to-multipoint radio bearer MRB transmission, and, dedicated transmission mode Or data radio bearer DRB transmission;

When the first multicast service needs to be converted from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, the base station triggers the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode through the first terminal, or The base station directly requests the core network to establish or bind a core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode; wherein, the core network tunnel refers to an end-to-end transmission channel between the first terminal and the core network.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the base station comprises a distribution unit DU and a central unit CU;

The base station determines whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, including:

The DU judges whether to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal.
The method according to claim 2, wherein after the DU judges whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, the method further comprises:

When the DU determines that it is necessary to switch the transmission mode, it sends the first indication information for instructing to switch the transmission mode to the CU through the uplink signaling of the F1 port.
The method of claim 1, wherein the base station comprises a DU and a CU;

The base station determines whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, including:

The CU judges whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal.
The method according to claim 4, wherein the CU judging whether to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal comprises:

The CU determines whether it is necessary to switch the transmission of the first multicast service of the first terminal based on at least one of the channel quality indication of the first terminal reported by the DU, the hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback information, and the transmission mode switching request message of the UE model.
The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the first transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB transmission, and the second transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB transmission; A terminal triggers the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode, including:

The CU sends first radio resource control RRC signaling to the first terminal, where the first RRC signaling is used to trigger the first terminal to establish the core network tunnel for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service;

The CU receives the second indication information sent by the core network, the second indication information is used to indicate the first transmission channel between the core network and the CU, the first transmission channel is triggered by the core network according to the first terminal, A transmission channel between the core network and the CU established for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service;

The CU sends the first user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU according to the second indication information, and sends the second RRC signaling to the first terminal to establish the first DRB and transfer the first multiple The broadcast service is switched from the current MRB to the first DRB.
The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the first transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB, and the second transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB; the base station directly requests the core network Establishing or binding the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode, including:

The CU sends a first request message carrying the first terminal identification information to the core network, and the first request message requests the core network to establish a second transmission mode between the core network and the CU for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service. transmission channel;

The CU receives the first response message sent by the core network and carries the first non-access stratum NAS message, the first NAS message is the NAS message sent to the core network when the first terminal initially accesses the first multicast service ;

The CU sends the second user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, and sends the third RRC signaling to the first terminal, establishes the first DRB, and switches the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to The first DRB.
The method of claim 7, further comprising:

The CU saves the first NAS message sent to the core network when the first terminal initially accesses the first multicast service;

When the CU sends the first request message, the first NAS message is also carried in the first request message.
The method of claim 8, further comprising:

When saving the first NAS message, the CU sets a corresponding timer and starts timing;

When the CU receives the first indication information, it judges whether the timer times out:

If the timer has not timed out, sending the first request message;

If the timer has expired, send fourth RRC signaling to the first terminal, where the fourth RRC signaling is used to trigger the first terminal to establish the core for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service Network tunnel; the third indication information of the core network received by the CU, the third indication information is used to indicate the second transmission channel between the core network and the CU, and the second transmission channel is the core network according to the first The triggering of the terminal is aimed at the transmission channel between the core network and the CU established in the second transmission mode of the first multicast service; the CU sends a third user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, and sends a message to the second A terminal sends fifth RRC signaling to establish a first DRB and switch the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to the first DRB.
The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the first transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB, and the second transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB; Triggering the establishment or binding of core network tunnels related to the second transmission mode, including:

If the current serving cell of the first terminal has established the MRB of the first multicast service, the CU sends a fourth user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, so that the DU sends a message to the first terminal sixth RRC signaling, where the sixth RRC signaling is used to switch the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current DRB to the MRB;

If the current serving cell of the first terminal has not established the MRB of the first multicast service, the CU sends the seventh RRC signaling to the first terminal, and the seventh RRC signaling is used to instruct the first terminal to establish The MRB of the first multicast service, and join the multicast group of the first multicast service through a multicast join process.
The method of claim 1, wherein the base station comprises a DU and a CU;

In the case where the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal is MRB, the method further includes:

The CU receives the terminal-related information of the first terminal reported by the DU, the terminal-related information is information related to the decision basis of the MRB transmission mode, and the MRB transmission mode includes point-to-point PTP and/or point-to-multipoint PTM;

The CU judges whether to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal according to the terminal-related information of the first terminal, and sends a message to the DU when it is judged that the MRB transmission mode needs to be switched. Fourth indication information indicating MRB transmission mode conversion;

The DU switches the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service according to the fourth indication information, and sends a response message to the CU;

The CU receives the response message, and sends seventh RRC signaling to the first terminal, where the seventh RRC signaling is used to instruct the first terminal to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service.
The method of claim 11, wherein,

The fourth indication information is also used to indicate at least one of the following information: the radio link control RLC mode of the converted MRB transmission mode, and the retention time of the duplicate transmission; wherein the RLC mode includes an acknowledgment mode and unacknowledged mode;

The response message is a downlink data transmission status message, or the response message is the user plane F1-U sequence number of the interface between the largest central unit and the distribution unit that carries the data packet successfully sent to the lower layer in the MRB transmission mode before conversion ;

The seventh RRC signaling carries the reset parameter of the RLC receiving window of the terminal determined according to the RLC mode of the converted MRB transmission mode.
The method of claim 1, wherein the base station comprises a DU and a CU;

In the case where the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal is MRB, the method further includes:

The DU judges whether to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal according to the terminal-related information of the first terminal, wherein the terminal-related information is information related to the decision basis of the MRB transmission mode, and the MRB Transmission modes include PTP and/or PTM.
The method according to claim 13, wherein, after the DU judges whether to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal according to the terminal-related information of the first terminal, the method further comprises:

When the DU judges that it is necessary to switch the MRB transmission mode, it sends to the CU fifth indication information for instructing the conversion of the MRB transmission mode;

According to the fifth indication information, the CU detects whether there is a general packet radio service GPRS tunneling protocol GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the converted MRB transmission mode at the user level; if it exists, the sixth indication information is sent to the DU, and the The first terminal sends the eighth RRC signaling to convert the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal; or; if it does not exist, initiate the GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the converted MRB transmission mode In the establishment process of the GTP-U tunnel, after the GTP-U tunnel is successfully established, the seventh indication information is sent to the DU, and the ninth RRC signaling is sent to the first terminal to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal.
A base station, comprising:

A decision-making module, configured to determine whether to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, where the transmission mode includes the following types: shared transmission mode or MRB transmission, and, dedicated transmission mode or DRB transmission;

A conversion processing module, configured to trigger, by the first terminal, the base station to establish or bind the association between the second transmission mode and the second transmission mode when the first multicast service needs to be converted from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode or, the base station directly requests the core network to establish or bind the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode; wherein, the core network tunnel refers to the end-to-end connection between the first terminal and the core network. end transmission channel.
The base station according to claim 15, wherein the base station comprises a DU and a CU; the decision-making module is set in the DU;

The decision module is further configured to judge whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal.
The base station according to claim 16, wherein the decision-making module is further configured to send the first indication information for instructing to switch the transmission mode to the CU through the uplink signaling of the F1 port when it is judged that the transmission mode needs to be switched.
The base station according to claim 15, comprising a DU and a CU; wherein, the decision-making module is set in the CU;

The decision module is further configured to judge whether it is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal.
The base station according to claim 18, wherein the decision-making module is further configured to judge whether to It is necessary to switch the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal.
The base station according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the first transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB transmission, and the second transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB transmission;

The conversion processing module is set in the CU;

The conversion processing module is further configured to send a first RRC signaling to the first terminal when the first terminal triggers the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode, and the first RRC signaling It is used to trigger the first terminal to establish the core network tunnel for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service; receive second indication information sent by the core network, and the second indication information is used to indicate the relationship between the core network and the CU The first transmission channel between, the first transmission channel is the transmission channel between the core network and the CU established by the core network for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service according to the trigger of the first terminal ; According to the second indication information, send a first user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, and send a second RRC signaling to the first terminal to establish a current MRB correspondence with the first multicast service and switching the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to the first DRB.
The base station according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the first transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB transmission, and the second transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB transmission;

The conversion processing module is set in the CU;

The conversion processing module is further configured to send a first request message carrying the first terminal identification information to the core network when directly requesting the core network to establish or bind a core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode, the The first request message requests the core network to establish a second transmission channel between the core network and the CU for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service; receiving the first response message sent by the core network and carrying the first NAS message, The first NAS message is a NAS message sent to the core network when the first terminal initially accesses the first multicast service; a second user context modification message for the first terminal is sent to the DU, and a second user context modification message for the first terminal is sent to the first terminal Send the third RRC signaling, establish the first DRB, and switch the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to the first DRB.
The base station of claim 21, further comprising:

A saving module, configured to save the first NAS message sent to the core network when the first terminal initially accesses the first multicast service;

When the conversion processing module sends the first request message, the first NAS message is also carried in the first request message.
The base station of claim 22, further comprising:

A timing module, configured to set a corresponding timer and start timing when storing the first NAS message;

The conversion processing module is further configured to determine whether the timer times out when receiving the first indication information:

If the timer has not timed out, sending the first request message;

If the timer has expired, send fourth RRC signaling to the first terminal, where the fourth RRC signaling is used to trigger the first terminal to establish the core for the second transmission mode of the first multicast service Network tunnel; the third indication information of the core network received by the CU, the third indication information is used to indicate the second transmission channel between the core network and the CU, and the second transmission channel is the core network according to the first The triggering of the terminal is aimed at the transmission channel between the core network and the CU established in the second transmission mode of the first multicast service; the CU sends a third user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, and sends a message to the second A terminal sends fifth RRC signaling to establish a first DRB and switch the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current MRB to the first DRB.
The base station according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the first transmission mode is a dedicated transmission mode or DRB, and the second transmission mode is a shared transmission mode or MRB;

The conversion processing module is set in the CU;

The conversion processing module is further configured to: when the first terminal triggers the establishment or binding of the core network tunnel related to the second transmission mode:

If the current serving cell of the first terminal has established the MRB of the first multicast service, the CU sends a fourth user context modification message for the first terminal to the DU, so that the DU sends a message to the first terminal sixth RRC signaling, where the sixth RRC signaling is used to switch the first multicast service of the first terminal from the current DRB to the MRB;

If the current serving cell of the first terminal has not established the MRB of the first multicast service, the CU sends the seventh RRC signaling to the first terminal, and the seventh RRC signaling is used to instruct the first terminal to establish The MRB of the first multicast service, and join the multicast group of the first multicast service through a multicast join process.
The base station according to claim 15, comprising a DU and a CU; wherein, the decision-making module is set in the CU;

The decision-making module is further configured to receive the terminal-related information of the first terminal reported by the DU when the transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal is MRB, and the terminal-related information is the MRB transmission mode Decision-making is based on related information, the MRB transmission mode includes PTP and/or PTM; according to the terminal-related information of the first terminal, determine whether to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal, and When it is judged that the conversion of the MRB transmission mode is required, the fourth indication information for instructing the conversion of the MRB transmission mode is sent to the DU;

The DU is configured to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service according to the fourth indication information, and send a response message to the CU;

The CU is configured to receive the response message, and send seventh RRC signaling to the first terminal, where the seventh RRC signaling is used to instruct the first terminal to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service.
The base station of claim 25, wherein,

The fourth indication information is also used to indicate at least one of the following information: the RLC mode of the converted MRB transmission mode, and the retention time of the duplicate transmission; wherein the RLC mode includes an acknowledged mode and an unacknowledged mode ;

The response message is a downlink data transmission status message, or the response message is the maximum F1-U sequence number of a data packet that is successfully sent to the lower layer with the MRB transmission mode before conversion;

The seventh RRC signaling carries the reset parameter of the RLC receiving window of the terminal determined according to the RLC mode of the converted MRB transmission mode.
The base station according to claim 15, comprising a DU and a CU; wherein, the decision-making module is set in the DU;

The decision-making module is further configured to judge whether to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal according to the terminal-related information of the first terminal, wherein the terminal-related information is the basis for decision-making of the MRB transmission mode Related information, the MRB transmission mode includes PTP and/or PTM.
The base station according to claim 27, wherein the decision-making module is further configured to send fifth indication information for instructing MRB transmission mode conversion to the CU when it is judged that the conversion of the MRB transmission mode is required;

The CU is configured to detect whether there is a GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the converted MRB transmission mode according to the fifth indication information; if it exists, send the sixth indication information to the DU, and send the eighth RRC to the first terminal Signaling, to convert the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal; if it does not exist, initiate the establishment process of the GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the converted MRB transmission mode, in the GTP-U tunnel After the establishment is successful, send the seventh indication information to the DU, and send the ninth RRC signaling to the first terminal, so as to switch the MRB transmission mode of the first multicast service of the first terminal.
A base station, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and operable on the processor, wherein, when the program is executed by the processor, any one of claims 1 to 14 can be implemented. A step of the described method.
A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, wherein, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 are realized.