The embodiments discussed herein are related to a terminal device, a base station device, and a wireless communication system that includes the terminal device and the base station device.
Communication standards for the fifth-generation mobile communication (5G (NR: New Radio)) need to attain techniques for implementing the standard techniques of the fourth-generation mobile communication (4G (LTE: Long Term Evolution)) (e.g., documents 1-12 below) as well as higher data rates, larger capacities, and lower latencies. The 3GPP working groups (e.g., TSG-RAN WG1, TSG-RAN WG2) have studied standards for the fifth-generation communication (e.g., documents 13-39 below).
With respect to 5G, supports have been considered for use cases such as Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Machine Type Communications (Massive MTC), and Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) in order to address a wide variety of services.
It is not easy to implement URLLC among the use cases. For example, the required error rate is 10−5 in URLLC. In this regard, such ultra-high reliability may be attained by providing high data redundancy using more radio resources. However, since there are only limited radio resources, limitlessly increasing resources to be used is not preferable. In URLLC, a target value for latencies in the uplink and downlink of a user plane is 0.5 milliseconds. This target value is no greater than 1/10 of that in LTE. Thus, URLLC is required to satisfy both ultra-high reliability and low latency.
In 5G, URLLC data and non-URLLC data (e.g., eMBB data) need to be concurrently supported on the same carrier frequency. In this regard, as described above, URLLC data needs to satisfy ultra-high reliability and low latency. Preemption has been studied as one scheme in which the processing of URLLC data is prioritized over the processing of non-URLLC data. In a wireless communication system in which preemption is performed, when URLLC data is generated and there are no radio resources that can be used to transmit the data at that moment or there is a shortage of such radio resources, some of or all of the radio resources that have already been allocated to other non-URLLC data are canceled and allocated to the URLLC data. In this way, start of a transmission of the URLLC data can be suppressed from being delayed. The transmission of the non-URLLC data that was supposed to be carried out using the radio resources is canceled, and interference between the URLLC data and the non-URLLC data is avoided so that a highly reliable transmission of the URLLC data can be attained.
A proposed technique is one wherein while a base station device is in communication with a terminal device for eMBB, data is transmitted to a terminal device for URLLC by using some of the radio resources already allocated to the terminal device for eMBB (e.g., Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2018-182358).
In a wireless communication system in which both terminal devices that transmit high-priority data (hereinafter, “high-priority terminals”) and terminal devices that transmit low-priority data (hereinafter, “low-priority terminals”) are implemented, priority control is performed for uplinks such that data transmissions from the high-priority terminals are prioritized. For example, when radio resources are allocated to a low-priority terminal, the low-priority terminal will start a coding process and a modulation process for transmission data. Assume that before the low-priority terminal performs the data transmission, a high-priority terminal has sent a scheduling request (resource allocation request) to a base station, and the radio resources that were allocated to the low-priority terminal are allocated to the high-priority terminal. In this case, the low-priority terminal stops the data transmission. Then, when the high-priority terminal finishes a data transmission, new radio resources will be allocated to the low-priority terminal. Subsequently, the low-priority terminal performs a coding process and a modulation process for the transmission data again. Thus, in this case, the low-priority terminal repeatedly performs a coding process and a modulation process for transmission data. Accordingly, a processing amount pertaining to a data transmission performed by a low-priority terminal may increase when priority control is performed for an uplink.
Such a problem may arise not only between a base station and terminal devices but also between any wireless devices.
According to an aspect of the embodiments, a terminal device is used in a wireless communication system that includes a base station. The terminal device includes a processor configured to determine a value pertaining to a stop time of a transmission process, count, when the terminal device receives a first signal indicating a grant of an uplink transmission from the base station and then receives a second signal indicating an instruction to stop the uplink transmission granted by the first signal from the base station, an elapsed time since the reception of the second signal, perform the uplink transmission based on the grant indicated by the first signal when the terminal device receives a third signal indicating a restart of the uplink transmission from the base station before the elapsed time reaches the determined value, and perform the uplink transmission based on a grant indicated by a fourth signal when the terminal device receives the fourth signal from the base station after the elapsed time reaches the determined value, the fourth signal indicating a grant of the uplink transmission.
The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention.
The following describes embodiments of the present invention in detail by referring to the drawings. The problems and examples indicated herein are merely examples and do not limit the scope of right of the patent application. For example, the technology of the patent application may be applied to features described using different expressions, as long as such features are equivalent in technical respects. Embodiments described herein can be combined, as appropriate, as long as a contradiction does not arise.
Terms and technical features used herein may be those described in specifications (e.g., 3GPP TS 38.211 V15.2.0) or contributed articles as standards pertaining to communication, such as the 3GPP.
The base station 1 transmits a downlink signal to the terminal devices 2 located in a cell covered by the base station 1. Thus, each of the terminal devices 2 can receive a downlink signal transmitted from the base station 1. Each of the terminal devices 2 transmits an uplink signal to the base station 1. Thus, the base station 1 can receive uplink signals from the terminal devices 2 located in the cell.
In the example depicted in
When the terminal device 2b has generated low-priority data, the terminal device 2b transmits a scheduling request to the base station 1. Upon receipt of the scheduling request, the base station 1 determines a radio resource and an MCS (modulation and coding scheme) for transmitting the low-priority data and transmits an UL (uplink) grant to the terminal device 2b. The UL grant includes information indicating the radio resource and MCS for transmitting the low-priority data. The terminal device 2b performs a coding process and a modulation process in accordance with the UL grant so as to generate a data signal for carrying the low-priority data. The data signal is stored in a transmission buffer in the terminal device 2b. The data signal is generated as a result of the coding process and the modulation process.
Assume that the terminal device 2a has generated high-priority data before the terminal device 2b starts the data transmission. In this case, the terminal device 2a transmits a scheduling request to the base station 1. Upon receipt of the scheduling request, the base station 1 transmits a cancellation instruction to the terminal device 2b. Thus, the terminal device 2b performs a cancellation process. The cancellation process includes a process of discarding the data signal stored in the transmission buffer in the terminal device 2b. The base station 1 determines a radio resource and an MCS for transmitting the high-priority data and transmits an UL grant to the terminal device 2a. The UL grant includes information indicating the radio resource and MCS for transmitting the high-priority data.
The terminal device 2a performs a coding process and a modulation process in accordance with the UL grant so as to generate a data signal for carrying the high-priority data. The terminal device 2a outputs the data signal so as to transmit the high-priority data to the base station 1.
Upon receipt of the high-priority data from the terminal device 2a, the base station 1 determines a radio resource and an MCS for transmitting the low-priority data and transmits a new UL grant to the terminal device 2b. The terminal device 2b performs a coding process and a modulation process in accordance with the new UL grant so as to generate a data signal for carrying the low-priority data. The terminal device 2b outputs the data signal so as to transmit the low-priority data to the base station 1.
As described above, in the sequence depicted in
Upon receipt of a scheduling request from the terminal device 2a, the base station 1 transmits a pause instruction to the terminal device 2b, instead of the cancellation instruction indicated in
Upon receipt of the high-priority data from the terminal device 2a, the base station 1 transmits a transmission restart instruction to the terminal device 2b. In response to this, the terminal device 2b outputs the data signal stored in the transmission buffer so as to transmit low-priority data to the base station 1.
As described above, in the sequence illustrated in
Assume, for example, that the radio propagation environment between the base station 1 and the terminal device 2b is good when the base station 1 receives a scheduling request from the terminal device 2b. In this case, a high modulation scheme (e.g., 256QAM) is reported to the terminal device 2b in order to attain a high transmission efficiency. Note that the modulation order indicates the number of bits carried by one symbol. Assume that afterwards, the radio propagation environment is degraded when a transmission restart instruction is given to the terminal device 2b. In this case, a data transmission is preferably performed with a low modulation scheme (e.g., 16QAM) in order to reduce a transmission error. However, in the sequence depicted in
As described above, in the sequences depicted in
The base station 1 periodically transmits a downlink reference signal. The terminal device 2b estimates the acceptable pause time A according to the downlink reference signal. The acceptable pause time A indicates a period during which the terminal device 2b is to keep a data signal, i.e., the terminal device 2b is not to discard the data signal, when the terminal device 2b receives a pause instruction from the base station 1. The terminal device 2b reports the acceptable pause time A to the base station 1. The acceptable pause time A is an example of a “value pertaining to a stop time of a transmission process.” For example, the “value pertaining to a stop time of a transmission process” may be a period of time during which the terminal device 2b can hold the contents of transmission data in the memory in the terminal device since a start of temporary stop of transmission or a period of time during which a variation in a propagation path between the terminal device 2b and the base station can be considered to be sufficiently small since a start of temporary stop of transmission. Note that a method for estimating the acceptable pause time A will be described hereinafter in detail.
When the terminal device 2b has generated low-priority data, the terminal device 2b transmits a scheduling request to the base station 1. Upon receipt of the scheduling request, the base station 1 determines a radio resource and an MCS (modulation and coding scheme) for transmitting the low-priority data and transmits an UL grant to the terminal device 2b. The UL grant includes transmission control information for the terminal device 2b to transmit the low-priority data. The transmission control information includes information indicating the radio resource and MCS for transmitting the low-priority data. The information indicating a radio resource may also include information indicating a frequency and a time and information indicating a radio resource amount.
The terminal device 2b stores details of the UL grant (i.e., transmission control information) in the memory. The terminal device 2b performs a coding process and a modulation process in accordance with the UL grant so as to generate a data signal for carrying the low-priority data. The data signal is stored in the transmission buffer memory.
Assume that the terminal device 2a has generated high-priority data before the terminal device 2b starts the data transmission. In this case, the terminal device 2a transmits a scheduling request to the base station 1. Upon receipt of the scheduling request, the base station 1 transmits a pause instruction to the terminal device 2b. At this moment, the base station 1 starts to count an elapsed time since the transmission of the pause instruction.
Upon receipt of the pause instruction from the base station 1, the terminal device 2b temporarily stops the data transmission process. At this moment, the terminal device 2b starts to count an elapsed time since the reception of the pause instruction. When the terminal device 2b does not receive a transmission restart instruction from the base station 1 before the elapsed time since the reception of the pause instruction reaches the acceptable pause time A, the terminal device 2b will discard the data signal stored in the transmission buffer memory. In this case, the terminal device 2b may discard the transmission control information stored in the memory.
The base station 1 determines, according to the scheduling request received from the terminal device 2a, a radio resource and an MCS for transmitting the high-priority data and transmits an UL grant to the terminal device 2a. The UL grant includes information indicating the radio resource and MCS for transmitting the high-priority data. The terminal device 2a performs a coding process and a modulation process in accordance with the UL grant so as to generate a data signal for carrying the high-priority data. The terminal device 2a outputs the data signal so as to transmit the high-priority data to the base station 1.
Upon receipt of the high-priority data from the terminal device 2a, the base station 1 performs a transmission restart decision process. In particular, the base station 1 decides whether to restart the data transmission that has been stopped due to the pause instruction. In this example, the base station 1 decides whether to restart the data transmission performed by the terminal device 2b. In this case, the base station 1 compares the acceptable pause time A, which is reported from the terminal device 2b, with an elapsed time B from the transmission of the pause instruction to the present time. When the elapsed time B is shorter than the acceptable pause time A, the base station 1 restarts the data transmission performed by the terminal device 2b.
However, in the example depicted in
The terminal device 2b receives the UL grant including the new transmission control information. The terminal device 2b performs a coding process and a modulation process according to the new transmission control information so as to generate a data signal for carrying the low-priority data. Then, the terminal device 2b outputs the data signal so as to transmit the low-priority data to the base station 1.
As described above, when a transmission waiting time of the terminal device 2b that is caused by a pause instruction exceeds the acceptable pause time A, the base station 1 will generate new transmission control information. The terminal device 2b transmits low-priority data in accordance with the new transmission control information. Hence, the data transmission is performed with a radio resource, a coding scheme, and a modulation scheme that are suitable for the latest radio environment. As a result, efficient communication and/or communication with few transmission errors are/is implemented.
The transmission control information reported by the transmission restart instruction may lack a portion of the transmission control information reported by the UL grant. For example, the transmission control information reported by the UL grant includes information indicating a radio resource and information indicating an MCS. By contrast, the transmission control information reported by the transmission restart instruction does not include the information indicating an MCS. The transmission control information reported by the transmission restart instruction may not include the information indicating a radio resource.
Upon receipt of the transmission restart instruction from the base station 1, the terminal device 2b outputs the data signal stored in the transmission buffer memory so as to transmit low-priority data to the base station 1. In this case, the terminal device 2b does not need to perform a coding process and a modulation process.
As described above, when a transmission waiting time caused by a pause instruction is shorter than the acceptable pause time A, the terminal device 2b will transmit low-priority data according to initially reported transmission control information. In this regard, when a transmission waiting time is short, it is not considered that the radio environment has significantly changed since generation of initial transmission control information. Hence, the data transmission can be performed with a radio resource, a coding scheme, and a modulation scheme that are suitable for the current radio propagation environment, without acquiring new transmission control information. In addition, in the case depicted in
The following describes a method for determining the acceptable pause time A. In the first embodiment, the terminal device 2b determines the acceptable pause time A.
In the example depicted in
In S2, the terminal device 2b converts ΔSINR into the acceptable pause time A. In this example, ΔSINR is compared with specified thresholds TH0 and TH1, as depicted in
In the example depicted in
In S12, the terminal device 2b converts the combination of ΔSINR and Δϕ into the acceptable pause time A. In this example, as depicted in
The conversion policy depicted in
In the example depicted in
In S22, the terminal device 2b converts the movement speed V into the acceptable pause time A. In this example, the movement speed V is compared with specified thresholds TH4 and TH5, as depicted in
In the examples depicted in
In S32, the terminal device 2b converts the capability of the terminal device 2b into the acceptable pause time A. In this example, the terminal device 2b belongs to one of categories 0-2, as depicted in
As described above, the acceptable pause time A is long when a change in the radio environment is small (or when the capability of a terminal device is high). In this case, the transmission restart instruction indicated in
In S41, the base station 1 transmits a pause instruction to the terminal device 2b. Upon receipt of the pause instruction, the terminal device 2b stops a data transmission process. In S42, the base station 1 activates a counter. In particular, the base station 1 counts an elapsed time B since the transmission of the pause instruction to the terminal device 2b. In S43, the base station 1 transmits an UL grant to the terminal device 2a. Upon receipt of the UL grant, the terminal device 2a starts a data transmission process.
In S44-S45, the base station 1 waits for high-priority data to be transmitted from the terminal device 2a. When receiving the high-priority data, the base station 1 decides whether the elapsed time B is longer than the acceptable pause time A.
When the elapsed time B is longer than the acceptable pause time A, the base station 1 determines that an MCS that the base station 1 reported at a past time to the terminal device 2b is inappropriate at present. In this case, in S46, the base station 1 newly determines an MCS for low-priority data to be transmitted from the terminal device 2b. In S47, the base station 1 transmits an UL grant to the terminal device 2b. This UL grant includes information indicating the new MCS determined in S46.
When the elapsed time B has reached the acceptable pause time A, the terminal device 2b discards a data signal stored in the transmission buffer memory. Afterward, upon receipt of the UL grant transmitted from the base station 1 in S47, the terminal device 2b generates a data signal by performing a coding process and a modulation process for low-priority data in accordance with the new MCS.
When the elapsed time B is shorter than the acceptable pause time A, the base station 1 determines that an MCS that the base station 1 reported at a past time to the terminal device 2b is still appropriate at present. In this case, in S48, the base station 1 transmits a transmission restart instruction to the terminal device 2b. In this case, the base station 1 does not need to newly determine an MCS for low-priority data to be transmitted from the terminal device 2b. Thus, the transmission restart instruction does not include information indicating a new MCS.
Before the elapsed time B reaches the acceptable pause time A, the terminal device 2b receives the transmission restart instruction transmitted from the base station 1 in S48. Thus, at this moment, a data signal has been stored in the transmission buffer memory of the terminal device 2b. Hence, the terminal device 2b does not need to perform a coding process and a modulation process for low-priority data again.
As described above, when an elapsed time B is longer than the acceptable pause time A, the base station 1 transmits an UL grant to the low-priority terminal. When an elapsed time B is shorter than the acceptable pause time A, the base station 1 transmits a transmission restart instruction to the low-priority terminal.
Before receiving the pause instruction, the terminal device 2b has received an UL grant from the base station 1. The UL grant is generated by the base station 1 in accordance with a scheduling request and includes some parameters as transmission control information. For example, as depicted in
Upon receipt of a pause instruction from the base station 1, the terminal device 2b stops a data transmission process in S51. In this case, when a data signal has already been generated, this data signal is stored in the transmission buffer memory. In S52, the terminal device 2b activates a counter. In particular, the terminal device 2b starts to count an elapsed time B since the reception of the pause instruction.
In S53-S54, the terminal device 2b waits for a transmission restart instruction while monitoring the elapsed time B. The transmission restart instruction is generated by the base station 1 in S48 in the flowchart depicted in
When an elapsed time B has reached the acceptable pause time A before a transmission restart instruction is received, the terminal device 2b discards the data signal stored in the transmission buffer memory in S56. In particular, the terminal device 2b discards a data signal generated in accordance with parameters reported at a past time. Then, the terminal device 2b waits for an UL grant in S57. The UL grant is generated by the base station 1 in S46-S47 in the flowchart depicted in
Upon receipt of an UL grant, the terminal device 2b performs the process of S58. In particular, the terminal device 2b generates a data signal by performing a coding process and a modulation process for low-priority data according to parameters included in the received UL grant. The terminal device 2b maps the data signal to a radio resource.
When S55 or S58 is finished, the terminal device 2b performs a data transmission in S59. In particular, when a transmission restart instruction is received before the elapsed time B reaches the acceptable pause time A, the terminal device 2b performs a data transmission based on parameters reported in response to a scheduling request at a past time. When a new UL grant is received after the elapsed time B has reached the acceptable pause time A, the terminal device 2b performs a data transmission based on newly reported parameters.
For example, as depicted in
However, a transmission restart instruction may include a parameter for transmitting low-priority data. In the example depicted in
A new UL grant includes information indicating, as parameters, a radio resource and an MCS. However, the parameters included in the new UL grant are not the same as those reported in response to a scheduling request. In the example depicted in
As depicted in
The storage 20 includes a pause time determination unit 21, an elapsed time counter 22, a buffer initialization manager 23, a transmission controller 24, a conversion table 25, a pause time storage 26, a transmission buffer memory 27, and a parameter storage 28. The storage 20 may include other elements that are not depicted in
The pause time determination unit 21 determines the acceptable pause time A depicted in
The elapsed time counter 22 counts an elapsed time B since the terminal device 2 receiving a pause instruction from the base station 1. When the elapsed time B has reached the acceptable pause time A, the buffer initialization manager 23 initializes the transmission buffer memory 27. That is, a data signal stored in the transmission buffer memory 27 is discarded.
The transmission controller 24 generates a data signal from transmission data according to communication parameters stored in the parameter storage 28. The transmission controller 24 maps the generated data signal to a designated radio resource. The mapped data signal is transmitted by the RF circuit 13.
When the terminal device 2 has received a transmission restart instruction from the base station 1 before the elapsed time B reaches the acceptable pause time A, the transmission controller 24 will perform an uplink transmission using a data signal stored in the transmission buffer memory 27. When the terminal device 2 has received a new UL grant from the base station 1 after the elapsed time B reached the acceptable pause time A, the transmission controller 24 will generate a data signal from transmission data according to communication parameters included in the new UL grant. At this time, the data signal that was stored in the transmission buffer memory 27 has already been discarded. The transmission controller 24 performs an uplink transmission using the newly generated data signal.
The conversion table 25 stores information for converting a radio quality, the movement speed of the terminal device 2, the capability or type of the terminal device 2 into the acceptable pause time A. The conversion table 25 is referred to by the pause time determination unit 21. The pause time storage 26 stores the value of the acceptable pause time A determined by the pause time determination unit 21. The transmission buffer memory 27 stores a data signal generated by the transmission controller 24. The parameter storage 28 stores communication parameters reported from the base station 1. The communication parameters include information indicating a modulation scheme, information indicating a coding scheme, and information indicating a radio resource allocated to transmission data.
The pause time determination unit 21, the buffer discard manager 23, and the transmission controller 24 are implemented by programs describing the above-described functions. Thus, the functions of the pause time determination unit 21, the buffer discard manager 23, and the transmission controller 24 are provided by the CPU 11 executing the programs.
The storage 40 includes a communication parameter determination unit 41, an elapsed time counter 42, a communication controller 43, and a pause time storage 44. The storage 40 may include other elements that are not depicted in
When the base station 1 has received a scheduling request from a terminal device 2, the communication parameter determination unit 41 will determine communication parameters for uplink communication to be performed by the terminal device 2. When the base station 1 has received high-priority data from a high-priority terminal after an elapsed time B reached the acceptable pause time A, the communication parameter determination unit 41 will determine new communication parameters for uplink communication to be performed by the terminal device 2. The communication parameters include information indicating a modulation scheme, information indicating a coding scheme, and information indicating a radio resource to be allocated to the terminal device 2.
The elapsed time counter 42 counts an elapsed time B since the transmission of a pause instruction from the base station 1 to a terminal device 2. A time at which the base station 1 transmits a pause instruction to the terminal device 2 is substantially the same as a time at which the terminal device 2 receives the pause instruction from the base station 1. Thus, the elapsed time B counted by the base station 1 and the elapsed time B counted by the terminal device 2 are synchronous with each other.
When accepting a scheduling request received from a terminal device 2, the communication controller 43 generates and transmits an UL grant to the terminal device 2. The UL grant may include communication parameters determined by the communication parameter determination unit 41. When a scheduling request is received from a high-priority terminal that has a higher priority than the terminal device 2 (e.g., received from the terminal device 2a in
When the base station 1 has received high-priority data from the high-priority terminal before the elapsed time B reaches the acceptable pause time A, the communication controller 43 will transmit a transmission restart instruction to the terminal device 2. When the base station 1 has received high-priority data from the high-priority terminal after the elapsed time B reached the acceptable pause time A, the communication controller 43 will generate and transmit a new UL grant to the terminal device 2. In this case, the UL grant may include communication parameters newly determined by the communication parameter determination unit 41.
The pause time storage 26 stores the value of the acceptable pause time A reported from a terminal device 2.
The communication parameter determination unit 41 and the communication controller 43 are implemented by programs describing the above-described functions. Thus, the functions of the communication parameter determination unit 41 and the communication controller 43 are provided by the CPU 31 executing the programs.
In the first embodiment, a terminal device 2 determines the acceptable pause time A. By contrast, in the second embodiment, the base station 1 determines the acceptable pause time A.
The subsequent priority control sequence in
All examples and conditional language provided herein are intended for the pedagogical purposes of aiding the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to further the art, and are not to be construed as limitations to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although one or more embodiments of the present inventions have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
This application is a continuation application of International Application PCT/JP2019/012014 filed on Mar. 22, 2019 and designated the U.S., the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2019/012014 | Mar 2019 | US |
Child | 17462078 | US |