COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, BASE STATION AND METHOD

Abstract

A communication apparatus includes: a memory storing a program; and one or more processors configured to execute the program to: obtain path information including information fields for indicating each of a plurality of waypoints; transmit, to a base station, an RRC, message including information for indicating an availability of the path information; receive, from the base station, a second RRC message including information for requesting transmission of the path information; and transmit in response to the reception of the second RRC message including the information for requesting transmission of the path information, to the base station, a third RRC message including the path information which includes the information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints, wherein the information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints include any of a value corresponding to the each of the plurality of waypoints and null.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-138946, filed on Aug. 27, 2021, the content of which is incorporated herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a communication apparatus, a base station and a method.

2. Related Art

In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) (registered trademark) Release 15, as a work item for long term evolution (LTE), some features for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as user equipments (UEs) have been discussed and specified.

SUMMARY

A communication apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a memory storing a program; and one or more processors configured to execute the program to: obtain path information including information fields for indicating each of a plurality of waypoints; transmit, to a base station, a first radio resource control, RRC, message including information for indicating an availability of the path information; receive, from the base station, a second RRC message including information for requesting transmission of the path information; and transmit in response to the reception of the second RRC message including the information for requesting transmission of the path information, to the base station, a third RRC message including the path information which includes the information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints, wherein the information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints include any of a value corresponding to the each of the plurality of waypoints and null.

A base station according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a memory storing a program; and one or more processors configured to execute the program to: receive, from a communication apparatus (200), a first radio resource control, RRC, message including information for indicating an availability of path information, the path information including information fields for indicating each of a plurality of waypoints; obtain the information for indicating the availability of the path information included in the first RRC message; transmit, to the communication apparatus, a second RRC message including information for requesting transmission of the path information; and receive in response to the transmission of the second RRC message including the information for requesting transmission of the path information, from the communication apparatus, a third RRC message including the path information which includes the information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints, wherein the information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints include any of a value corresponding to the each of the plurality of waypoints and null.

A method performed by a communication apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure, includes: obtaining path information including information fields for indicating each of a plurality of waypoints; transmitting, to a base station, a first radio resource control, RRC, message including information for indicating an availability of the path information; receiving, from the base station, a second RRC message including information for requesting transmission of the path information; and transmitting in response to the reception of the second RRC message including the information for requesting transmission of the path information, to the base station, a third RRC message including the path information which includes the information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints, wherein the information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints include any of a value corresponding to the each of the plurality of waypoints and null.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of communication control based on a moving path of a user equipment according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic functional configuration of a base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic hardware configuration of the base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic functional configuration of the user equipment according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic hardware configuration of the user equipment according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of path information according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of a schematic flow of processing according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of a schematic flow of processing according to a first modification example of embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One of the specified features is a Flight Path feature. With the Flight Path feature, a flight path of a UAV is reported from the UAV to the network in response to a request from the network. It is assumed that this will serve for control based on a moving plan of the UAV at the network side, such as handover or beamforming (3GPP TS 36.331 V15.14.0, R2-1805125).

Although the Flight Path feature has not yet been defined for new radio (NR), utilization of the Flight Path feature is mentioned in proposals of work items for Release 18 (RWS-210190, RWS-210254, RWS-210474).

A detailed study by the inventors has revealed the following issue. That is, changes and additions to path information are not considered in the framework of Release 15 described in NPLs 1 and 2. For example, assuming that the framework is applied to changes or additions to path information, the path information is reported using signaling each time a change or addition is made to the path information. At that time, not a changed part or added part of the path information but the whole path information is reported. Thus, there is a possibility that the redundantly-reported path information might deteriorate signaling efficiency.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus and a method capable of suppressing deterioration in signaling efficiency even when a partial change or addition is made to path information reported using signaling.

An apparatus (200) according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: an information obtaining unit (231) configured to obtain path information indicating at least a moving path of the apparatus; and a communication processing unit (235) configured to transmit, to a base station (100), a radio resource control, RRC, message including the path information, wherein the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

An apparatus (100) according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a communication processing unit (145) configured to receive, from a user equipment (200), a radio resource control, RRC, message including path information indicating at least a moving path of the user equipment; and an information obtaining unit (141) configured to obtain the path information included in the RRC message, wherein the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

A method performed by an apparatus (200) according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: obtaining path information indicating at least a moving path of the apparatus; and transmitting, to a base station (100), a radio resource control, RRC, message including the path information, wherein the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

A method performed by an apparatus (100) according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: receiving, from a user equipment (200), a radio resource control, RRC, message including path information indicating at least a moving path of the user equipment; and obtaining the path information included in the RRC message, wherein the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

According to the present disclosure, it becomes possible to suppress deterioration in signaling efficiency even when a partial change or addition is made to path information reported using signaling. Note that the present disclosure may yield another advantageous effect instead of or in addition to this advantageous effect.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. In the present specification and the drawings, elements to which similar descriptions are applicable are denoted with the same reference signs, thereby omitting duplicate descriptions.

Descriptions will be given in the following order:

• • 1. Configuration of System
  • 2. Configuration of Base Station
  • 3. Configuration of User Equipment
  • 4. Operation Examples
  • 5. Modification Examples

1. Configuration of System

An example of a configuration of a system 1 according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, the system 1 includes a base station 100 and a user equipment (UE) 200.

For example, the system 1 is a system compliant with technical specifications (TSs) in 3GPP. More specifically, for example, the system 1 is a system compliant with the TSs of 5G or new radio (NR). Naturally, the system 1 is not limited to this example. For example, the system 1 may be a system compliant with the TSs of LTE, LTE advanced (LTE-A), or 4G.

(1) Base Station 100

The base station 100 is a node in a radio access network (RAN) and communicates with a UE (for example, UE 200) located within a coverage area 10 of the base station 100.

For example, the base station 100 communicates with a UE (for example, UE 200) using a RAN protocol stack. For example, the protocol stack includes protocols of radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers. Alternatively, the protocol stack does not have to include all of these protocols, but may include some of these protocols.

For example, the base station 100 is a gNB. The gNB is a node that provides NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards a UE and is connected to the 5G core network (5GC) via an NG interface. Alternatively, the base station 100 may be an en-gNB. The en-gNB is a node that provides NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards a UE and operates as a secondary node in E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity (EN-DC).

The base station 100 may include a plurality of nodes. The plurality of nodes may include a first node that hosts higher layers included in the protocol stack and a second node that hosts lower layers included in the protocol stack. The higher layers may include the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP, while the lower layers may include the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers. The first node may be a central unit (CU) and the second node may be a distributed unit (DU). Note that the plurality of nodes may include a third node that performs lower level processing of the PHY layer and the second node may perform higher level processing of the PHY layer. The third node may be a radio unit (RU).

Alternatively, the base station 100 may be one of the plurality of nodes and may be connected to another unit of the plurality of nodes.

The base station 100 may be an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) donor or an IAB node.

(2) UE 200

The UE 200 communicates with a base station. For example, the UE 200 communicates with the base station 100 in a case where the UE 200 is located within the coverage area 10 of the base station 100.

For example, the UE 200 communicates with a base station (for example, base station 100) using the protocol stack.

In particular, the UE 200 is mounted on a moving body. For example, the moving body may be an aircraft such as a UAV or a vehicle such as an autonomous driving car or a manual driving car with a navigation function. In the moving body, a moving path may be set in advance. The UE 200 can benefit from communication control based on the moving path by reporting the moving path to the network (that is, base station 100). Reporting of the moving path may be supported by, for example, a Flight Path mechanism or another moving path reporting mechanism.

Referring to the example of FIG. 2, for example, the UE 200 reports the set moving path to the base station 100. The base station 100 preliminarily performs, for example, processing for handover or beamforming based on a future position of the UE 200 that is estimated from the reported moving path. This allows for performing communication control suitable for the estimated position at a timing when the UE 200 reaches the position.

2. Configuration of Base Station

An example of a configuration of the base station 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

(1) Functional Configuration

First, an example of a functional configuration of the base station 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, the base station 100 includes a radio communication unit 110, a network communication unit 120, a storage unit 130, and a processing unit 140.

The radio communication unit 110 wirelessly transmits and receives signals. For example, the radio communication unit 110 receives signals from and transmits signals to a UE.

The network communication unit 120 receives signals from and transmits signals to the network.

The storage unit 130 stores various kinds of information for the base station 100.

The processing unit 140 provides various functions of the base station 100. The processing unit 140 includes an information obtaining unit 141, a control unit 143, and a communication processing unit 145. Note that the processing unit 140 may further include another component in addition to these components. That is, the processing unit 140 may also perform an operation other than operations of these components. Specific operations of the information obtaining unit 141, the control unit 143, and the communication processing unit 145 will be described in detail later.

For example, the processing unit 140 (communication processing unit 145) communicates with a UE (for example, UE 200) via the radio communication unit 110. For example, the processing unit 140 (communication processing unit 145) communicates with other nodes (for example, network nodes within the core network or other base stations) via the network communication unit 120.

(2) Hardware Configuration

Next, an example of a hardware configuration of the base station 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 4, the base station 100 includes an antenna 181, a radio frequency (RF) circuit 183, a network interface 185, a processor 187, a memory 189, and a storage 191.

The antenna 181 converts signals into radio waves and emits the radio waves into the air. In addition, the antenna 181 receives radio waves in the air and converts the radio waves into signals. The antenna 181 may include a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna or may be a single antenna for transmission and reception. The antenna 181 may be a directional antenna and may include a plurality of antenna elements.

The RF circuit 183 performs analog processing on signals that are transmitted and received via the antenna 181. The RF circuit 183 may include a high-frequency filter, an amplifier, a modulator, a lowpass filter, and the like.

The network interface 185 is, for example, a network adaptor, and transmits signals to and receives signals from the network.

The processor 187 performs digital processing on signals that are transmitted and received via the antenna 181 and the RF circuit 183. The digital processing includes processing of the RAN protocol stack. The processor 187 also performs processing on signals that are transmitted and received via the network interface 185. The processor 187 may include a plurality of processors or may be a single processor. The plurality of processors may include a baseband processor that performs the digital processing and one or more processors that perform other processing.

The memory 189 stores a program to be executed by the processor 187, a parameter related to the program, and other various kinds of information. The memory 189 may include at least one of a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), and a flash memory. All or part of the memory 189 may be included in the processor 187.

The storage 191 stores various kinds of information. The storage 191 may include at least one of a solid state drive (SSD) and a hard disc drive (HDD).

The radio communication unit 110 may be implemented by the antenna 181 and the RF circuit 183. The network communication unit 120 may be implemented by the network interface 185. The storage unit 130 may be implemented by the storage 191. The processing unit 140 may be implemented by the processor 187 and the memory 189.

Part or all of the processing unit 140 may be virtualized. In other words, part or all of the processing unit 140 may be implemented as a virtual machine. In this case, part or all of the processing unit 140 may operate as a virtual machine on a physical machine including a processor, a memory, and the like (that is, hardware) and a hypervisor.

Given the hardware configuration described above, the base station 100 may include a memory (that is, memory 189) that stores a program and one or more processors (that is, processor 187) capable of executing the program, and the one or more processors may perform operations of the processing unit 140 by executing the program. The program may be a program for causing the processors to execute the operations of the processing unit 140.

3. Configuration of User Equipment

An example of a configuration of the UE 200 according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

(1) Functional Configuration

First, an example of a functional configuration of the UE 200 according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 5, the UE 200 includes a radio communication unit 210, a storage unit 220, and a processing unit 230.

The radio communication unit 210 wirelessly transmits and receives signals. For example, the radio communication unit 210 receives signals from and transmits signals to a base station. For example, the radio communication unit 210 receives signals from and transmits signals to another UE.

The storage unit 220 stores various kinds of information for the UE 200.

The processing unit 230 provides various functions of the UE 200. The processing unit 230 includes an information obtaining unit 231, a control unit 233, and a communication processing unit 235. Note that the processing unit 230 may further include another component in addition to these components. That is, the processing unit 230 may also perform an operation other than operations of these components. Specific operations of the information obtaining unit 231, the control unit 233, and the communication processing unit 235 will be described in detail later.

For example, the processing unit 230 (communication processing unit 235) communicates with a base station (for example, base station 100) or another UE via the radio communication unit 210.

(2) Hardware Configuration

Next, an example of a hardware configuration of the UE 200 according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 6. Referring to FIG. 6, the UE 200 includes an antenna 281, an RF circuit 283, a processor 285, a memory 287, and a storage 289.

The antenna 281 converts signals into radio waves and emits the radio waves into the air. In addition, the antenna 281 receives radio waves in the air and converts the radio waves into signals. The antenna 281 may include a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna or may be a single antenna for transmission and reception. The antenna 281 may be a directional antenna and may include a plurality of antenna elements.

The RF circuit 283 performs analog processing on signals that are transmitted and received via the antenna 281. The RF circuit 283 may include a high-frequency filter, an amplifier, a modulator, a lowpass filter, and the like.

The processor 285 performs digital processing on signals that are transmitted and received via the antenna 281 and the RF circuit 283. The digital processing includes processing of the RAN protocol stack. The processor 285 may include a plurality of processors or may be a single processor. The plurality of processors may include a baseband processor that performs the digital processing and one or more processors that perform other processing.

The memory 287 stores a program to be executed by the processor 285, a parameter related to the program, and other various kinds of information. The memory 287 may include at least one of a ROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a RAM, and a flash memory. All or part of the memory 287 may be included in the processor 285.

The storage 289 stores various kinds of information. The storage 289 may include at least one of an SSD and an HDD.

The radio communication unit 210 may be implemented by the antenna 281 and the RF circuit 283. The storage unit 220 may be implemented by the storage 289. The processing unit 230 may be implemented by the processor 285 and the memory 287.

The processing unit 230 may be implemented by a system on chip (SoC) including the processor 285 and the memory 287. The SoC may include the RF circuit 283, and the radio communication unit 210 may also be implemented by this SoC.

Given the hardware configuration described above, the UE 200 may include a memory (that is, memory 287) that stores a program and one or more processors (that is, processor 285) capable of executing the program, and the one or more processors may perform operations of the processing unit 230 by executing the program. The program may be a program for causing the processors to execute the operations of the processing unit 230.

4. Operation Examples

Examples of operations of the base station 100 and the UE 200 according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

(1) Operation of UE 200

The UE 200 reports path information to the base station 100. Then, when a change is made to the path information, the UE 200 reports the changed part of the path information to the base station 100. The following describes operations of the UE 200 and relevant information in detail.

(1-1) Report of Path Information

The UE 200 reports path information to the base station 100. Specifically, the UE 200 (information obtaining unit 231) obtains the path information indicating at least a moving path of the UE 200. The UE 200 (communication processing unit 235) transmits an RRC message including the obtained path information to the base station 100.

More specifically, the UE 200 transmits an RRC message A including information indicating availability of path information to the base station 100. Upon receiving an RRC message B including path request information from the base station 100, the UE 200 transmits an RRC message C including the path information to the base station 100. Hereinafter, the above series of processing is also referred to as a UE 200 side path information report procedure.

For example, the RRC message A is an RRC SetupComp, ReestablishmentComp, ResumeComp, ReconfigurationComp, or the like. Further, the RRC message B is a UEInformationRequest and the RRC message C is a UEInformationResponse. For example, the information indicating availability of path information is flightPathInfoAvailable or equivalent information, the path request information is flightPathInfoReq or equivalent information, and the path information is flightPathInfoReport or equivalent information.

The path information will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 7. The path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path. Further, a piece of the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

More specifically, the path information includes a sequence of the waypoint-related information. The identification information included in the waypoint-related information is an index within the sequence. For example, the path information may be FlightPathInfoReport as illustrated in information 21 in FIG. 7 and include a sequence of WayPointLocation that is the waypoint-related information. Further, the identification information may be ‘index’ included in WayPointLocation. In this way, the identification information being an index allows for identifying the waypoint-related information without defining and managing information for identifying the waypoint-related information in a new system.

Further, the piece of the waypoint-related information includes a plurality of pieces of other information in addition to the identification information. Specifically, the plurality of pieces of other information include at least waypoint information indicating a waypoint on the moving path and time information indicating time regarding the waypoint. For example, as illustrated in the information 21 in FIG. 7, WayPointLocation that is the waypoint-related information includes wayPointLocation indicating the position of a waypoint and timeStamp indicating arrival time at the waypoint. In this way, the waypoint-related information consists of a plurality of pieces of information, so that the changed part of the path information described below can be localized. Thus, localizing the changed part to be reported in the path information allows for saving signaling for reporting the change of the path information.

(1-2) Report of Changed Part of Path Information

When a change is made to the path information, the UE 200 reports the changed part of the path information to the base station 100. Specifically, the UE 200 (communication processing unit 235) transmits a first RRC message including first path information and transmits a second RRC message including second path information after transmitting the first RRC message. The second path information includes one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information including the same identification information as the identification information included in one of some of the waypoint-related information out of one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the first path information.

More specifically, in a case where a change is made to the path information after an RRC message including the path information is transmitted as in above (1-1), the UE 200 transmits an RRC message including the changed part of the path information. The changed part of the path information is at least one changed piece of the waypoint-related information in a sequence of the waypoint-related information included in the path information that has been reported. Note that the changed part of the path information may be transmitted through the above-mentioned UE 200 side path information report procedure.

For example, assume that FlightPathInfoReport that has been reported includes a sequence WayPointLocation (0)-(9) (index=0 . . . 9) consisting of 10 instances of WayPointLocation. When the third to the fifth and the eighth (index=2 . . . 4, 7) in the sequence are changed, the UE 200 transmits WayPointLocation (2)-(4), (7) as the changed part of the path information (that is, second path information) to the base station 100.

Note that changes of the path information may be changes of all of the information included in the waypoint-related information or may be changes of some of the information included in the waypoint-related information.

In the latter case, at least one of the plurality of pieces of other information included in each of one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the changed part of the path information (that is, second path information) may be empty. For example, in a case where only the time information included in the waypoint-related information is changed, the fields of the other information except the index (herein, waypoint information) may be blank. In this way, reporting only the changed part of the waypoint-related information allows for more efficient signaling for reporting a change of the path information.

(2) Operation of Base Station 100

The base station 100 registers and manages the path information reported from the UE 200. Then, when the changed part of the path information is reported from the UE 200, the base station 100 updates the registered path information based on the changed part of the path information. The following describes operations of the base station 100 and relevant information in detail. Note that detailed descriptions of contents that are substantially the same as the descriptions of the operations of the UE 200 will be omitted.

(2-1) Registration of Path Information

The base station 100 registers the path information received from the UE 200. Specifically, the base station 100 (communication processing unit 145) receives an RRC message including the path information from the UE 200. The base station 100 (information obtaining unit 141) obtains the path information included in the received RRC message. The base station 100 (control unit 143) registers the obtained path information.

For example, the base station 100 receives the above-mentioned RRC message A including the information indicating availability of path information from the UE 200. The base station 100 transmits the above-mentioned RRC message B including the path request information to the UE 200. Then, the base station 100 receives the above-mentioned RRC message C including the path information from the UE 200. Hereinafter, the above series of processing is also referred to as a base station 100 side path information report procedure.

Note that the received path information may be registered and managed as RRC-related information.

(2-2) Update of Changed Part of Path Information

When the changed part of the path information is reported from the UE 200, the base station 100 updates the path information. Specifically, the base station 100 (communication processing unit 145) receives a first RRC message including first path information and receives a second RRC message including second path information after receiving the first RRC message. The base station 100 (control unit 143) updates, based on the waypoint-related information included in the second path information, the waypoint-related information that is included in the first path information and includes the same identification information as the identification information included in one of one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the second path information.

More specifically, after receiving an RRC message including the path information as in above (2-1), the base station 100 receives an RRC message including the changed part of the path information. The changed part of the path information is at least one changed piece of the waypoint-related information in the sequence of the waypoint-related information included in the path information that has been registered. Note that the changed part of the path information may be received through the above-mentioned base station 100 side path information report procedure.

For example, assume that FlightPathInfoReport that has been registered includes a sequence WayPointLocation (0)-(9) consisting of 10 instances of WayPointLocation. When WayPointLocation (2)-(4), (7) are received as the changed part of the path information (that is, second path information), the base station 100 updates WayPointLocation (2)-(4), (7) out of the registered sequence WayPointLocation (0)-(9) based on the received WayPointLocation (2)-(4), (7). That is, it can also be said that the WayPointLocation (2)-(4), (7) out of the registered sequence WayPointLocation (0)-(9) are replaced.

Note that, in a case where at least one of the plurality of pieces of other information included in the waypoint-related information included in the changed part of the path information (that is, second path information) is empty, the base station 100 (control unit 143) updates non-empty ones of the plurality of pieces of other information of the path information that has been registered, without updating the at least one of the plurality of pieces of other information. For example, in a case where only the field of the time information included in a piece of the waypoint-related information has a value and the field of the other information except the index (herein, waypoint information) is blank, the base station 100 updates only the time information for that piece of the waypoint-related information.

(3) Flow of Processing

An example of processing according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

The UE 200 transmits an RRC message including the path information to the base station 100 (S310). For example, the UE 200 transmits an RRC message including the path information including the waypoint-related information (sequence (0)-(9)) to the base station 100 through the path information report procedure. The base station 100 receives the RRC message through the path information report procedure. The base station 100 registers the received waypoint-related information.

When a change is made to the path information, the UE 200 transmits an RRC message including the changed part of the path information to the base station 100 (S320). For example, the UE 200 specifies changed pieces of the waypoint-related information (sequence (2)-(4), (7)) in the sequence of the waypoint-related information included in the path information. The UE 200 transmits an RRC message including the path information that includes the specified pieces of the waypoint-related information (sequence (2)-(4), (7)) and does not include the other pieces of the waypoint-related information (sequence (0)-(1), (5)-(6), (8)-(9)) to the base station 100 through the path information report procedure. The base station 100 updates the registered path information for the waypoint-related information (sequence (2)-(4), (7)) whose indices match those of the waypoint-related information included in the received path information.

Note that an RRC message including the path information or the changed part of the path information may be transmitted from the UE 200 to the base station 100 at an arbitrary timing, instead of using the path information report procedure.

As described above, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, an RRC message including the path information of the UE 200 is transmitted to the base station, the path information includes one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information, and the waypoint-related information includes the identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information. This allows for reporting, to the base station 100, only a changed piece of the waypoint-related information out of one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the path information. Therefore, it becomes possible to suppress deterioration in signaling efficiency even when a partial change is made to the path information reported using signaling. As a result, it is possible to suppress waste of radio resources and power consumption for communication.

5. Modification Examples

First to second modification examples according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described. Note that two or more of these modification examples may be combined.

(1) First Modification Example: Additional Path Information

In the above-mentioned embodiment of the present disclosure, the changed part of the path information is transmitted. However, partial transmission of the path information according to embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited to this example.

As a first modification example of embodiments of the present disclosure, additional path information may be transmitted to the base station 100.

Specifically, the UE 200 (communication processing unit 235) transmits a first RRC message including first path information and transmits a second RRC message including second path information after transmitting the first RRC message. The second path information includes one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information including identification information that is different from the identification information included in any of one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the first path information.

More specifically, in a case where path information is added after an RRC message including path information is transmitted as in above (1-1), the UE 200 transmits an RRC message including the additional path information. The additional path information includes a piece of the waypoint-related information that is different from any piece of the waypoint-related information in the sequence of the waypoint-related information included in the path information that has been reported. Note that the additional path information may be transmitted through the above-mentioned UE 200 side path information report procedure.

For example, assume that FlightPathInfoReport that has been reported includes a sequence WayPointLocation (0)-(9) consisting of 10 instances of WayPointLocation. Here, when new three instances of WayPointLocation (index=10 . . . 12) are added to the sequence, the UE 200 transmits WayPointLocation (10)-(12) as the additional path information (that is, second path information) to the base station 100.

Meanwhile, the base station 100 (communication processing unit 145) receives the first RRC message including the first path information and receives the second RRC message including the second path information after receiving the first RRC message. The base station 100 (control unit 143) adds, to the first path information, one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information that are included in the second path information and include identification information that is different from the identification information included in any of one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the first path information.

More specifically, after receiving an RRC message including the path information as in above (2-1), the base station 100 receives an RRC message including the additional path information. The additional path information includes a piece of the waypoint-related information that is different from any piece of the waypoint-related information in the sequence of the waypoint-related information included in the path information that has been registered. Note that the additional path information may be received through the above-mentioned base station 100 side path information report procedure.

For example, assume that FlightPathInfoReport that has been registered includes a sequence WayPointLocation (0)-(9) consisting of 10 instances of WayPointLocation. When WayPointLocation (10)-(12) are received as the additional path information (that is, second path information), the base station 100 adds the WayPointLocation (10)-(12) to the registered sequence WayPointLocation (0)-(9). As a result, the registered sequence will be constituted by WayPointLocation (0)-(12).

Further, an example of processing according to the present modification example will be described with reference to FIG. 9. Note that descriptions of processing that is substantially the same as the processing in FIG. 8 will be omitted.

The UE 200 transmits an RRC message including the path information to the base station 100 (S410). For example, an RRC message including the path information including the waypoint-related information (sequence (0)-(9)) is transmitted to the base station 100.

When an addition is made to the path information, the UE 200 transmits an RRC message including the additional path information to the base station 100 (S420). For example, when new pieces of the waypoint-related information are added to the sequence of the waypoint-related information included in the path information, the UE 200 transmits an RRC message including the path information that includes the added pieces of the waypoint-related information (sequence (10)-(12)) and does not include the already-reported waypoint-related information (sequence (0)-(9)) to the base station 100 through the path information report procedure. The base station 100 adds the waypoint-related information included in the received path information to the sequence of the waypoint-related information of the path information that has been registered.

As described above, according to the first modification example of embodiments of the present disclosure, a first RRC message including first path information is transmitted and then a second RRC message including second path information is transmitted from the UE 200 to the base station 100. The second path information includes one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information including identification information that is different from the identification information included in any of one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the first path information. The base station 100 adds the one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the second path information to the first path information.

Here, in the framework of Release 15, the whole path information for an unreached path is reported. Thus, the path information for the unreached path within the already-reported path information will be redundantly reported. There is a possibility that the redundantly-reported path information might deteriorate signaling efficiency.

In contrast, according to the present modification example, only the added pieces of the waypoint-related information can be reported to the base station 100. Therefore, it becomes possible to suppress deterioration in signaling efficiency even when an addition is made to the path information reported using signaling. As a result, it is possible to suppress waste of radio resources and power consumption for communication.

In addition, in the framework of Release 15, in order to avoid redundant reporting, a UE could report the additional path information when the UE reaches the end of the path indicated by the path information that has been reported. However, in a case where the UE cannot communicate with the network (that is, base stations) upon arrival at the end of the path, there is a possibility that reporting of the additional path information might be delayed. This would result in a situation where no base station has the additional path information.

In contrast, according to the present modification example, only the added pieces of the waypoint-related information are reported, and thus reporting can be performed at any possible timings while avoiding redundant reporting. Therefore, the additional path information can be reported before arrival at the end of the path, which makes it possible to avoid the situation where no base station has the additional path information.

(2) Second Modification Example: Compliance with Other TSs

In the above-mentioned examples of embodiments of the present disclosure, the system 1 is a system compliant with the TSs of 5G or NR. However, the system 1 according to embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited to these examples.

In a second modification example of embodiments of the present disclosure, the system 1 may be a system compliant with other TSs in 3GPP. As an example, the system 1 may be a system compliant with the TSs of LTE, LTE-A, or 4G and the base station 100 may be an evolved node B (eNB). Alternatively, the base station 100 may be an ng-eNB. As another example, the system 1 may be a system compliant with the TSs of 3G and the base station 100 may be a Node B. As yet another example, the system 1 may be a system compliant with TSs of next generation (for example, 6G).

Alternatively, the system 1 may be a system compliant with TSs of another standardization organization for mobile communications.

While embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments are merely examples and various changes can be made without departing from the scope and the spirit of the present disclosure.

For example, steps in a process described in the present specification do not necessarily have to be executed chronologically in the order described in the flowchart or sequence diagram. For example, steps in a process may be executed in an order different from the order described as the flowchart or sequence diagram or may be executed in parallel. In addition, some of steps in a process may be removed or a further step may be added to the process.

For example, there may be provided a method including the operations of one or more components of the apparatus described in the present specification, or there may be provided a program for causing a computer to execute the operations of the components. Moreover, there may be provided a non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the program. Naturally, such a method, program, and non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage medium are also included in the present disclosure.

For example, in the present disclosure, a user equipment (UE) may be referred to by another name such as mobile station, mobile terminal, mobile apparatus, mobile unit, subscriber station, subscriber terminal, subscriber apparatus, subscriber unit, wireless station, wireless terminal, wireless apparatus, wireless unit, remote station, remote terminal, remote apparatus, or remote unit.

For example, in the present disclosure, “transmit” may mean to perform processing of at least one layer in a protocol stack used for transmission or to physically transmit signals wirelessly or by wire. Alternatively, “transmit” may mean a combination of performing the processing of at least one layer and physically transmitting signals wirelessly or by wire. Similarly, “receive” may mean to perform processing of at least one layer in a protocol stack used for reception or to physically receive signals wirelessly or by wire. Alternatively, “receive” may mean a combination of performing the processing of at least one layer and physically receiving signals wirelessly or by wire. The at least one layer may be replaced with at least one protocol.

For example, in the present disclosure, “obtain/acquire” may mean to obtain/acquire information from stored information, to obtain/acquire information from information received from another node, or to obtain/acquire information by generating the information.

For example, in the present disclosure, “include” and “comprise” do not mean that listed items alone are included, but mean that listed items alone may be included or a further item may be included in addition to the listed items.

For example, in the present disclosure, “or” does not mean exclusive OR but means inclusive OR.

Note that the technical features included in the above-mentioned embodiments may be represented as the following features. Naturally, the present disclosure is not limited to the following features.

(Feature 1)

A user equipment (200) comprising:

• • an information obtaining unit (231) configured to obtain path information indicating at least a moving path of the user equipment; and
  • a communication processing unit (235) configured to transmit, to a base station (100), a radio resource control, RRC, message including the path information,
  • wherein
  • the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and
  • the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

(Feature 2)

The user equipment according to Feature 1,

• • wherein the waypoint-related information includes a plurality of pieces of other information in addition to the identification information, and
  • at least one out of the plurality of pieces of other information included in each of the one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the path information is empty.

(Feature 3)

The user equipment according to Feature 2,

• • wherein the plurality of pieces of other information include at least waypoint information indicating a waypoint on the moving path and time information indicating time regarding the waypoint.

(Feature 4)

The user equipment according to any one of Features 1 to 3,

• • wherein the communication processing unit is configured to transmit a first RRC message including first path information and to transmit a second RRC message including second path information after transmitting the first RRC message, and
  • the second path information includes one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information including the same identification information as the identification information included in one of some of the waypoint-related information out of one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the first path information.

(Feature 5)

The user equipment according to any one of Features 1 to 4,

• • wherein the communication processing unit is configured to transmit a first RRC message including first path information and to transmit a second RRC message including second path information after transmitting the first RRC message, and
  • the second path information includes one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information including the identification information that is different from the identification information included in any of one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the first path information.

(Feature 6)

The user equipment according to any one of Features 1 to 5,

• • wherein the one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information constitute a sequence of the waypoint-related information, and the identification information is an index within the sequence.

(Feature 7)

A base station (100) comprising:

• • a communication processing unit (145) configured to receive, from a user equipment (200), a radio resource control, RRC, message including path information indicating at least a moving path of the user equipment; and
  • an information obtaining unit (141) configured to obtain the path information included in the RRC message,
  • wherein
  • the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and
  • the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

(Feature 8)

The base station according to Feature 7,

• • wherein the communication processing unit is configured to receive a first RRC message including first path information and to receive a second RRC message including second path information after receiving the first RRC message, and
  • the base station further comprises a control unit (143) configured to update, based on the waypoint-related information included in the second path information, the waypoint-related information that is included in the first path information and includes the same identification information as the identification information included in one of one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the second path information.

(Feature 9)

The base station according to Feature 7 or 8,

• • wherein the communication processing unit is configured to receive a first RRC message including first path information and to receive a second RRC message including second path information after receiving the first RRC message, and
  • the base station further comprises a control unit (143) configured to add, to the first path information, one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information that are included in the second path information and include the identification information that is different from the identification information included in any of one or more pieces of the waypoint-related information included in the first path information.

(Feature 10)

A method performed by a user equipment (200), comprising:

• • obtaining path information indicating at least a moving path of the user equipment; and
  • transmitting, to a base station (100), a radio resource control, RRC, message including the path information,
  • wherein
  • the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and
  • the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

(Feature 11)

A method performed by a base station (100), comprising:

• • receiving, from a user equipment (200), a radio resource control, RRC, message including path information indicating at least a moving path of the user equipment; and
  • obtaining the path information included in the RRC message,
  • wherein
  • the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and
  • the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

(Feature 12)

A program that causes a computer to execute operations of:

• • obtaining path information indicating at least a moving path of a user equipment (200); and
  • transmitting, to a base station (100), a radio resource control, RRC, message including the path information,
  • wherein
  • the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and
  • the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

(Feature 13)

A program that causes a computer to execute operations of:

• • receiving, from a user equipment (200), a radio resource control, RRC, message including path information indicating at least a moving path of the user equipment; and
  • obtaining the path information included in the RRC message,
  • wherein
  • the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and
  • the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

(Feature 14)

A non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a program that causes a computer to execute operations of:

• • obtaining path information indicating at least a moving path of a user equipment (200); and
  • transmitting, to a base station (100), a radio resource control, RRC, message including the path information,
  • wherein
  • the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and
  • the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

(Feature 15)

A non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a program that causes a computer to execute operations of:

• • receiving, from a user equipment (200), a radio resource control, RRC, message including path information indicating at least a moving path of the user equipment; and
  • obtaining the path information included in the RRC message,
  • wherein
  • the path information includes one or more pieces of waypoint-related information regarding a waypoint on the moving path, and
  • the waypoint-related information includes identification information for identifying the waypoint-related information.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus comprising: a memory storing a program; andone or more processors configured to execute the program to:obtain path information including information fields for indicating each of a plurality of waypoints;transmit, to a base station, a first radio resource control, RRC, message including information for indicating an availability of the path information;receive, from the base station, a second RRC message including information for requesting transmission of the path information; andtransmit in response to the reception of the second RRC message including the information for requesting transmission of the path information, to the base station, a third RRC message including the path information which includes the information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints, whereinthe information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints include any of a value corresponding to the each of the plurality of waypoints and null.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program to transmit, to the base station, the first RRC message including the information for indicating the availability of the path information in a case where at least one of the plurality of waypoints indicated by the information fields included in the path information previously transmitted to the base station is changed.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first RRC message includes a message of the completion of an RRC connection establishment, a message of the completion of an RRC connection re-establishment, and a message of the completion of an RRC connection reconfiguration,the second RRC message includes a UEInformationRequest message, andthe third RRC message includes a UEInformationResponse message.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the path information includes information fields for indicating each of a plurality of timestamps, the each of the plurality of timestamps indicating a time to arrive at the each of the plurality of waypoints.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the path information includes information of a flight path or a moving path.

6. A base station comprising: a memory storing a program; andone or more processors configured to execute the program to:receive, from a communication apparatus (200), a first radio resource control, RRC, message including information for indicating an availability of path information, the path information including information fields for indicating each of a plurality of waypoints;obtain the information for indicating the availability of the path information included in the first RRC message;transmit, to the communication apparatus, a second RRC message including information for requesting transmission of the path information; andreceive in response to the transmission of the second RRC message including the information for requesting transmission of the path information, from the communication apparatus, a third RRC message including the path information which includes the information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints, whereinthe information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints include any of a value corresponding to the each of the plurality of waypoints and null.

7. The base station according to claim 6, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program to receive, from the communication apparatus, the first RRC message including the information for indicating the availability of the path information in a case where at least one of the plurality of waypoints indicated by the information fields included in the path information previously transmitted to the base station is changed.

8. The base station according to claim 6, wherein the first RRC message includes a message of the completion of an RRC connection establishment, a message of the completion of an RRC connection re-establishment, and a message of the completion of an RRC connection reconfiguration,the second RRC message includes a UEInformationRequest message, andthe third RRC message includes a UEInformationResponse message.

9. The base station according to claim 6, wherein the path information includes information fields for indicating each of a plurality of timestamps, the each of the plurality of timestamps indicating a time to arrive at the each of the plurality of waypoints.

10. The base station according to claim 6, wherein the path information includes information of a flight path or a moving path.

11. A method performed by a communication apparatus, comprising: obtaining path information including information fields for indicating each of a plurality of waypoints;transmitting, to a base station, a first radio resource control, RRC, message including information for indicating an availability of the path information;receiving, from the base station, a second RRC message including information for requesting transmission of the path information; andtransmitting in response to the reception of the second RRC message including the information for requesting transmission of the path information, to the base station, a third RRC message including the path information which includes the information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints, whereinthe information fields for indicating the each of the plurality of waypoints include any of a value corresponding to the each of the plurality of waypoints and null.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first RRC message including the information for indicating the availability of the path information is transmitted to the base station in a case where at least one of the plurality of waypoints indicated by the information fields included in the path information previously transmitted to the base station is changed.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first RRC message includes a message of the completion of an RRC connection establishment, a message of the completion of an RRC connection re-establishment, and a message of the completion of an RRC connection reconfiguration,the second RRC message includes a UEInformationRequest message. andthe third RRC message includes a UEInformationResponse message.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the path information includes information fields for indicating each of a plurality of timestamps, the each of the plurality of timestamps indicating a time to arrive at the each of the plurality of waypoints.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the path information includes information of a flight path or a moving path.