Detailed Description
Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described merely to illustrate and assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure and are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention in any way. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various ways other than those described below.
In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.
As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a device via which services can be provided to terminal devices in a communication network. Examples of network devices include repeaters, access Points (APs), transmission points (TRPs), node bs (nodebs or NB), evolved nodebs (eNodeB or eNB), new Radio (NR) nodebs (gNB), remote radio modules (RRU), radio Headers (RH), remote Radio Headers (RRH), low power nodes such as femto, pico, etc. As another example, a network device may be an element or function within a network entity. For example, the network devices may include Central Units (CUs) and Distributed Units (DUs) within the gNB.
As used herein, the term "terminal device" or "user equipment" (UE) refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication with each other or with a base station. Communication may involve the transmission and/or reception of wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information over the air. In some example embodiments, the UE may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human-machine interaction. For example, the UE may transmit information to the network device according to a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network side.
Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, user Equipment (UE), such as a smart phone, a wireless-enabled tablet computer, a Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), a laptop installed equipment (LME), and/or a wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). For purposes of discussion, some example embodiments will be described with reference to a UE as an example of a terminal device, and the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" (UE) may be used interchangeably in the context of the present disclosure.
As used herein, the term "resource unit" refers to a basic unit for resource scheduling. The resource units may be of any suitable size or include any suitable number of resources, such as time and/or frequency resources. As an example, a resource unit may include a Physical Resource Block (PRB).
As used herein, the term "interfering resource unit" refers to a resource unit that may cause interference such as harmonic interference or intermodulation interference in dual-connectivity communication of a terminal device. For example, the interfering resource elements may comprise resource elements available to two network devices in dual connectivity with the terminal device in DC operation.
As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:
(a) Pure hardware circuit implementations (such as implementations in analog and/or digital circuitry only), and
(B) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuitry(s) and software/firmware, and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor(s) having software (including digital signal processor (s)), software, and memory(s) that cooperate to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions, as desired, and
(C) Software (e.g., firmware) is required for operation, but software may not exist as hardware circuit(s) and/or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or a portion of microprocessor(s), when operation is not required.
This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this disclosure, the term circuitry also encompasses implementations of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. For example, if applicable to particular claim elements, the term circuitry also encompasses baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for a mobile device or similar integrated circuits in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.
As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "comprising" and variations thereof are to be understood as meaning open terms "including but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment". Other explicit and implicit definitions may be included below.
As used herein, the terms "first," "second," and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, which should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.
NAS networking is widely used for deployment of 5G networks, considering 5G product maturity, deployment cost, and existing LTE/future 5G coverage. In DC operation, interference and throughput are a big problem. Taking the mutual interference of LTE B3 and 5g 3.5ghz at the UE as an example, the second harmonic of LTE B3 in the uplink may cause second harmonic interference to 5g 3.5ghz in the downlink. Additionally, there are also higher order intermodulation interference such as fourth order intermodulation and fifth order intermodulation interference.
A conventional approach to reducing interference is to limit the transmit power of the UE in LTE and 5G. The inventors have noted that a reduction in UE transmit power will affect the signal strength received by the network side. Another conventional approach is to increase PCB isolation as much as possible in UE design. For example, wires and devices that may generate mutual interference should be far apart to increase isolation, and shielding may be added for critical components to reduce radiated interference. Furthermore, a harmonic filter may be used to suppress harmonic interference. The improvement of PCB isolation or the use of harmonic filters may reduce interference, but may result in significant increases in cost and design complexity of the UE.
In 3GPP specifications such as 3GPP TS 37.340, UE-specific and UE-associated X2-AP signaling is specified for use in semi-static time and frequency mode to indicate intended reception/transmission on LTE UL and NR DL carriers at non-overlapping frequencies. As another example, to dynamically avoid generation of harmonic interference, evolved LTE (eNB) and NR NodeB (gNR) may coordinate UE DC Radio Bearer (RB) scheduling without UE-related signaling. Coordination may be implemented on Media Access Control (MAC) packet schedulers in the eNB and the gNB. During frequency domain scheduling, the use of interfering frequency combinations should be avoided by allocating dynamic Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) for the UE.
However, the inventors note that since PRBs on overlapping frequencies cannot be used by a 5G-EN DC UE for serving Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs), LTE UL and 5G DL throughput at the UE will be affected, respectively.
Example embodiments of the present disclosure propose a scheme for suppressing interference between two network devices and a terminal device in DC and communications of the two network devices. The scheme involves three phases, where the first phase reduces the modulation order, such as the modulation order (MCS) of one communication with one network device, to improve the probability of success in decoding with low order modulation. In the second phase, a reduced number of interfering resource elements, such as Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), are allocated or granted to another communication by another network device. In the third phase, there are two options for the terminal device to select. The terminal device may request coordinated scheduling of the two network devices or communicate with other network devices on non-interfering ones of the allocated or authorized resource units.
In this way, the first two phases provide network-assisted interference suppression and the terminal device can decide in the last phase the preferred interference cancellation mode. In this way, harmonic interference to interfering resource elements can be effectively and efficiently suppressed and eliminated.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Environment 100, which is part of a communication network, includes two network devices 105 and 110 and a terminal device 115. For discussion purposes, the two network devices 105 and 110 will be referred to as a first network device 105 and a second network device 110, respectively.
It should be understood that two network devices and one terminal device are shown in environment 100 for illustrative purposes only and are not meant to imply any limitations. Any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices may be included in environment 100.
The terminal device 115 is dual-connected to the first and second network devices 105 and 110. As shown, the terminal device 115 performs a communication 120 with the first network device 105 (referred to as a first communication 120) and performs a communication 125 with the second network device 110 (referred to as a second communication 125). Either of the two communications 120 and 125 may be uplink or downlink communications. In the environment 100, the terminal device 115 may also communicate with further terminal devices (not shown) directly or via the first network device 105 and/or the second network device 110.
Communications in environment 100 may conform to any suitable communication standard or protocol, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), fifth generation (5G) NR, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, and employ any suitable communication technology including, for example, multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), time Division Multiplexing (TDM), frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), code Division Multiplexing (CDM), bluetooth, zigBee, machine Type Communication (MTC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), mass machine type communication (mMTC), ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), carrier Aggregation (CA), dual Connectivity (DC), new radio unlicensed (NR-U), and V2X technologies.
The first and second network devices 105 and 110 may conform to any suitable standard or protocol. In some example embodiments, the first network device 105 may be implemented by an eNB in an LTE network and the second network device 110 may be implemented by a gNB in a 5G NR network. In some other example embodiments, the first and second network devices 105 and 110 may be implemented by primary nodes or primary and secondary nodes, respectively, that are dual-connected to the terminal device 115. In some other example embodiments, the first and second network devices 105 and 110 may be implemented by different units or functions within the network entity, such as a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) with a gNB.
In various example embodiments of the present disclosure, resources, such as time and/or frequency resources available to the first and second network devices 105 and 110, are partially overlapping. In the context of the present disclosure, resource units comprised in overlapping resources are referred to as interference resource units. If both the first and second network devices 105 and 110 use interfering resource elements for the communications 120 and 125 with the terminal device 115, interference, such as harmonic interference and intermodulation interference, between the two communications 120 and 125 may be caused at the terminal device 115.
Fig. 2 illustrates a signaling flow 200 for suppressing interference between two communications 120 and 125 between two network devices 105 and 110 and a terminal device 115, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.
As shown, the first network device 105 and the terminal device 115 perform 205 the first communication 120. At the same time, the second network device 110 and the terminal device 115 perform (210) the second communication 125. For example, the first communication 120 may be an uplink communication from the terminal device 115 to the first network device 105. The second communication 125 may be a downlink communication from the second network device 110 to the terminal device 115.
The second network device 110 determines (215) that at least one interfering resource element (e.g., at least one interfering PRB) is allocated to the second communication 125. In some example embodiments, the second network device 110 may be aware of a plurality of interfering resource elements available to both the first and second network devices 105 and 110. Thus, the second network device 110 can determine whether any interference resource units have been allocated for the second communication 125.
The second network device 110 may obtain the plurality of interfering resource elements in any suitable manner. As an example, the second network device 110 may receive an indication of a plurality of interfering resource elements from the first network device 105. The indication may be received from the first network device 105 in any suitable opportunity. In an example embodiment where the first and second network devices 105 and 110 are implemented by ENBs and gnbs, respectively, the indicated interference resource unit bitmap may be received by the second network device 110 from the first network device 105 during a 5G eNB DC Radio Block (RB) setup. For example, the second network device 110 may receive SGNB a modify request (MODIFICATION REQUEST) message from the first network device 105 containing an indication of a plurality of interfering resource elements. The indication may also be transmitted via other X2 Application Protocol (AP) signaling.
If the second communication 120 is degraded, the second network device 110 continuously decreases (220) the modulation order of the second communication until the modulation order is below the threshold order. For example, the MCS level for the second communication may be continuously decreased until the MSC level is below the threshold level. The second network device 110 may determine the degradation of the second communication 125 in any suitable manner. For example, where the second communication 125 is a downlink communication, the second network device 110 may determine that the second communication 125 is degraded if the second network device 110 detects one or more non-acknowledgements (NACKs) from the terminal device 115 for the second communication 125.
In some example embodiments, the second network device 110 may determine whether the degradation level of the second communication 125 is below a threshold level. As an example, the threshold level may be represented by a number of NACKs. If a particular number of NACKs are detected, the second network device 110 may determine that the second communication 125 has fallen below a particular degradation level.
In some example embodiments, determining the degradation of the second communication 125 may be accomplished before determining whether an interfering resource element has been allocated for the second communication 125. For example, if the second network device 110 determines that the second communication 125 is degraded, the second network device 110 determines whether one or more interfering resource elements have been allocated for the second communication 125.
As the second communication 125 is degraded, the second network device 110 continuously reduces the modulation order of the second communication 125 to avoid interference and improve decoding success probability. For example, where 256-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) is used for the second communication 125, the second network device 110 may first reduce the 256-QAM to 64-QAM. If the second communication 125 is still degraded, the second network device 110 continuously reduces 64-QAM to 16-QAM, etc., until some low order modulation, such as Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) modulation, is used. The threshold modulation ending the reduction of the modulation order may be set or configured according to the specific implementation. It is also possible that the modulation order is reduced to a 2 nd or 3 rd order lower order. For example, 256-QAM may be reduced directly to 16-QAM.
If the second network device 110 determines that the second communication 125 is still degraded after the application of the low-order threshold modulation, the second network device 110 sends (225) a request to the first network device 105 to reduce the allocated interference resource units for the first communication 120 between the first network device 105 and the terminal device 110.
After receiving the request, the first network device 105 continuously reduces (230) the number of interfering resource elements allocated for the first communication 120. For example, the first network device 105 may reallocate resource units for the first communication 120. The reallocated resource units include a reduced number of interfering resource units. The reduction in the number of interfering resources may be performed continuously until the number of interfering resource elements is below a threshold number, e.g. zero or any other number, depending on the specific implementation.
At the same time, the terminal device 115 monitors 235 the resource grants from the first network device 105 for the first communication 120 to determine if the number of interfering resource elements allocated to the first communication 120 continuously decreases. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 115 may be aware of the interfering resource elements available to both the first and second network devices 105 and 110. For example, the terminal device 115 may receive an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements from the first network device 105 in a Handover (HO) command message, e.g., during DC RB setup. Thus, the terminal device 115 may determine which interfering resource elements are allocated for the first communication 120 and whether the number of allocated interfering resource elements is reduced.
If the number of interfering resource elements continuously decreases and the second communication 125 remains degraded after the modulation order used is below the threshold order, the terminal device 115 determines (240) an action to be performed. One option for the action is that the terminal device 115 may send (245) a request to the first network device 105 for coordinated scheduling by the first and second network devices 105 and 110. In some example embodiments, the receipt of the request may be an event that the first network device 105 ends a reduction in the number of interfering resources allocated to the first communication 120.
A request for coordinated scheduling may be sent by the terminal device 115 when the second communication 125 is still degraded after a certain number of Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs). In some example embodiments, the request may be sent in a Buffer Status Report (BSR) message. For example, the request may be sent via a new flag of the BSR.
Upon receiving the request for coordinated scheduling, the first network device 105 may send (250) an indication to the second network device 110 to allocate a set of resource units (referred to as a first set) for the first communication 120. In addition to the indication of the allocation of resource units, the first network device 105 may also send an grant time indication and other scheduling information.
The indication or other scheduling information may be sent in any suitable signaling, such as Control Plane (CP) and User Plane (UP) signaling. In some example embodiments, to expedite communications between the first and second network devices 105 and 110, an UP tunnel is established between the MAC layer of the first network device 105 and the MAC layer of the second network device 110. The request is sent by the second network device 110 to the first network device 105 via the UP tunnel.
For UP tunnels, existing UP frame protocols defined in 3GPP specifications (such as 3GPP TS 38.425) may be reused. As an example, the UP tunnel may include a general packet radio service tunneling protocol user plane (GTP-U) tunnel. Existing messages or even new messages containing auxiliary or additional information may be used to send scheduling information through the UP tunnel. For example, messages up to 1018 octets may be transmitted in a dedicated NR Radio Access Network (RAN) container in the GTP packet header. In some example embodiments, a new PDU may be required in the NR UP frame protocol. A new frame protocol may also be used for the UP tunnel.
The UP protocol may be used to implement flow control for single bearer user data transported in a GTP-U tunnel over interfaces associated with the first and second network devices 105 and 110. For example, in EN-DC operation, the interfaces may include an X2 interface between two enbs, an Xn interface between a gNB and an eNB, and an F1 interface between a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) of the gNB. By means of the tunnel, the auxiliary network device may be connected with a network device hosting a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity in the DC.
The UP tunnel may be established when an interface associated with at least one of the two network devices 105 and 110 is established. As another example, an UP tunnel may be established during bearer addition. The UP tunnel may be independent of any bearer or UE. With this tunneling of the MAC entity connecting the two network devices 105 and 110 in DC operation, the UP protocol can thus be used directly for event communication between the two network devices 105 and 110.
In fact, in an example embodiment in which the first and second network devices 105 and 110 are implemented by enbs and gnbs, respectively, when X2/Xn is about to be established (from the eNB or gNB side), a CU of the gNB may request a new Tunnel Endpoint IP (TEID) from a DU of the gNB using F1AP CP signaling. Once the TEID is allocated at the DU, the CU will provide the TEID to the eNB, which in turn provides the CU with its TEID for the DU. The CU forwards the TEID of the eNB to the DU. Then, a direct fast communication between the enbs and DUs of the gNB is possible. In this case, the TEID may need to be exchanged during the X2/Xn setup and modification procedure, or may need to be acquired through F1. If either side needs to change the TEID, a suitable modification procedure may be employed.
For backward compatibility purposes, in some example embodiments, an UP tunnel may be used only for each user/bearer. In this case, the proprietary link may be preferentially used for transmission of the scheduling information. To further improve system performance, communication over the existing tunnel is maintained until the first message arrives over the new UP tunnel. In some example embodiments, the scheduling information may be replicated. In this case, if the scheduling information of the UP tunneling is lost, the impact may be reduced in the subsequent TTI.
In some example embodiments, a request to reduce the number of interfering resource elements allocated for the first communication 120 may also be sent from the second network device 110 to the first network device 105 via the UP tunnel. Thus, the exchange of information between the two network devices 105 and 110 may be further expedited.
Alternatively or additionally, an UP tunnel may not be used. In some example embodiments, an indication of the allocated resource units or other scheduling information may be forwarded between network devices 105 and 110 via a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. For example, at the first network device 105, the MAC entity may forward the indication or scheduling information to the PDCP entity. The PDCP entity of the first network device 105 then sends an indication or scheduling information to the PDCP entity of the second network device 110 via the X2-U interface. At the second network device 110, the indication or scheduling information is also forwarded from the PDCP layer to the MAC layer. Such forwarding via the PDCP layer may also reduce latency.
After the second network device 110 receives the indication of the first set of resource units allocated to the first communication 120, the second network device 110 may allocate (255) the set of resource units (referred to as the second set) for the second communication 125. The second set of resource elements does not include interfering resource element(s) in the first set of resource elements.
The sending (245) of a request for coordinated scheduling and the sending (250) of an indication of the first set of resource units is optional. As another option, the terminal device 115 may determine (240) to perform the first communication 105 using non-interfering resource elements in the first set of resources allocated by the first network device 105 for the first communication 120. In this case, the terminal device 115 will autonomously not perform the first communication 120 on interfering resource units, but these resource units are allocated or authorized by the first network device 105. Thus, the first network device 105 also uses the non-interfering resource elements for the first communication 120.
In some example embodiments, the first network device 105 may detect transmissions from the terminal device 115 using all allocated resource units in the first set of resources and using non-interfering resource units in the first set of resources. For example, at the first network device 105, the uplink PHY channelizer may receive two licensed modes of resource units (such as PRBs) from the MAC packet scheduler, with one mode indicating all licensed PRBs and the other mode indicating non-interfering PRBs. All authorized resource units may be used first for channel estimation and decoding. If decoding fails, the PHY channelizer may then perform channel estimation using non-interfering resource elements to avoid decoding failure or errors due to low signal-to-noise (SNR) ratios.
Fig. 3 illustrates a signaling flow 300 between two network devices and a terminal device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.
In this example, the first network device 105 in fig. 1 is implemented by the eNB 305 in LTE, the second network device 110 in fig. 1 is implemented by the gNB 310 in 5G, and the terminal device 115 in fig. 1 is implemented by the UE 315. The first communication 120 is implemented by an LTE Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission, and the second communication 125 is implemented by a 5G Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission.
As shown, eNB 305 sends (320) an X2 SETUP REQUEST (SETUP REQUEST) message to the gNB 310 requesting a GTP U-Plane signaling tunnel. The gNB 310 sends 322 an X2 SETUP RESPONSE (SETUP RESPONSE) message to the eNB 305.
During 5G-ENB DC RB setup of UE 315, ENB 305 may send interference resource element (such as PRB) information to the gNB 310. As shown, the eNB 305 uses X2 AP signaling to send (324) SGNB a modify request (MODIFICATION REQUEST) message to the gNB 310. SGNB the modification request message contains an interfering PRB bitmap to indicate the location of interfering PRBs. The gNB 310 sends 326 SGNB a modify request acknowledgement MODIFICATION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message to the eNB 305.
The eNB 305 may also signal interfering PRB information to the UE 315 via a HO command message. As shown, the eNB 305 sends (328) an RRC connection reconfiguration (handover command) message to the UE 315, the RRC connection reconfiguration (handover command) message containing an interfering PRB bitmap to indicate interfering PRBs. The UE 315 sends 330 an RRC connection reconfiguration complete Connection Reconfiguration Complete message to the eNB 305. The eNB 305 sends (332) SGNB a reconfiguration complete message to the gNB 310. As a result, after the DC RB is set, each party knows about interfering PRBs.
The UE 315 starts (334) data transmission on the DC RB. Meanwhile, the gNB 310 detects (336) that PDSCH transmissions to the UE 310 are not acknowledged (NACKed) and LTE interfering PRBs are used for PDSCH transmissions. For example, the gNB 310 (such as its MAC entity) should check whether the allocated PRBs will be interfered with by interfering PRBs. When the next PDSCH scheduling is the same, the gNB 310 continuously reduces (338) the PDSCH modulation order instead of the MCS index. When QPSK modulation is used, PDSCH modulation order reduction ends (340).
After applying low-order modulation such as QPSK, the gNB 310 may still detect NACK to PDSCH transmission. In this case, the gNB 310 signals 342 to the eNB 305 to request interfering PRB reduction on LTE PUSCH, for example, using UP fast signaling. The eNB 305 reduces (344) the allocated PUSCH interfering PRBs. Meanwhile, the UE 315 determines (346) that QPSK modulation is applied to the 5G PDSCH and that it needs to monitor the licensed LTE PUSCH PRBs. Then, the UE 315 monitors (348) the number of interfering PRBs in the LTE PUSCH transmission.
The interfering PUSCH PRBs authorized by the eNB 305 continuously decrease, but decoding errors of the 5G PDSCH transmission still occur. After a certain TTI, if the UE 315 determines (350) that interfering PUSCH PRBs are authorized for LTE PUSCH, the UE 315 has two options to cancel interference between LTE PUSCH and 5G PDSCH.
In option 1, the UE 315 sends (352) an LTE BSR message to the eNB 305. The BSR message includes a cancel harmonic interference (ELIMINATING HARMONIC INTERFERENCE) request bit for requesting 5G-ENB coordination scheduling. After the coordinated scheduling request in the BSR message is received, the eNB 305 sends (354) an LTE UL grant to the UE 315. The eNB 305 sends (356) a PRB bitmap of LTE PUSCH grants to the gNB 310 to inform the LTE UL grant time and PUSCH PRB frequencies of the grant 5g gNB 310. The authorized PRB bitmap may be transmitted via an UP tunnel.
Considering that LTE PUSCH transmission will occur 4 milliseconds later than LTE UL grant transmission, the gNB 310 performs (358) PDSCH PRB allocation to avoid harmonic interference. For example, the gNB 310 may allocate PRBs of non-multiplied frequencies to PDSCH at the high-band DL packet scheduler at the time of LTE PUSCH transmission.
In option 2, when the UE 315 determines that the interfering PUSCH PRBs authorized by the eNB 305 continuously decrease for certain TTIs but decoding of the 5G PDSCH still fails, the UE 310 will not use the interfering PRBs to perform PUSCH transmission, but the interfering PRBs are authorized by the eNB 305. As shown, after the UE 315 receives (360) the LTE UL grant from the eNB 305, the UE 315 performs (362) PUSCH transmission on non-interfering PRBs of the PRBs indicated in the LTE UL grant. Thus, the eNB 305 may use both all authorized PRBs and non-interfering PRBs for channel estimation and further decoding. For example, the grant pattern of two authorized PRBs may be indicated from the MAC packet scheduler to an uplink PHY channelizer in the eNB 305, including one for all authorized PRBs and the other for non-interfering PRBs. In the event of decoding failure on all authorized PRBs, the PHY channelizer may perform channel estimation on non-interfering PRBs to avoid decoding errors due to low SNR.
Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 400 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be implemented by the first network device 105 shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
At block 405, the first network device 105 receives a request from the second network device 110 to reduce the number of interfering resource elements to be allocated for the first communication 120. At block 410, in response to receiving the request, the first network device 105 continuously reduces the number of interfering resource elements allocated to the first communication 120 until an event occurs. The event includes the number of interfering resource elements being below a threshold number. The event further includes receiving a request from the terminal device 115 for coordinated scheduling by the first and second network devices 105 and 110 or the number of interfering resource elements being below a threshold number. In some example embodiments, the request to coordinate scheduling may be received by the first network device 105 from the terminal device 115 in a BSR message.
In some example embodiments, the first network device 105 may send an indication of the first set of resource units allocated for the first communication 120 to the second network device 110 after receiving a request from the terminal device 115 to coordinate scheduling. In some example embodiments, the indication of the first set of resource units may be sent via a user plane tunnel between the MAC layer of the first network device 105 and the MAC layer of the second network device 110. In some example embodiments, a request to reduce the number of interfering resource elements may also be received by the first network device 105 from the second network device 110 via the UP tunnel.
In some example embodiments, the UP tunnel may be established by the first network device 105 with the second network device 110 upon establishing an interface associated with at least one of the first and second network devices 105 and 110. In some example embodiments, the UP tunnel comprises a GTP-U tunnel.
In some example embodiments, the first network device 105 may send an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements to the second network device 110 in a SGNB modification request message. In some example embodiments, the first network device 105 may send an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements to the terminal device 115 in a handover command message. In this way, all devices involved in the DC can be aware of the interfering resource elements.
Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 500 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 may be implemented by the second network device 110 shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 500 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
At block 505, the second network device 110 determines that at least one interfering resource element is allocated for the second communication 125. At block 510, if the second communication 125 is downgraded, the second network device 110 continues to decrease the modulation order for the second communication 125 until the modulation order is below the threshold order. At block 515, the second network device 110 sends a request to the first network device 105 to reduce the number of interfering resource elements to be allocated for the first communication 120.
In some example embodiments, the request is sent via an UP tunnel. The UP tunnel may be established by the second network device 110 with the first network device 105 upon establishment of an interface associated with at least one of the first and second network devices 105 and 110. The UP tunnel may include, but is not limited to, a GTP-U tunnel.
In some example embodiments, the second network device 110 may receive SGNB an indication of a plurality of interfering resource units in the modification request message from the first network device 105. Based on the received indication, the second network device 110 may determine that at least one of the plurality of interfering resource elements is allocated for the second communication 125.
In some example embodiments, the second network device 110 may receive an indication of the first set of resource units allocated to the first communication 120 from the first network device 105. The indication may also be received via an UP tunnel. The second network device 110 may determine that at least one interfering resource element is included in the first set of resource elements. The second network device 110 may then allocate a second set of resource units for the second communication 125. The second set of resource elements does not include at least one interfering resource element in the first set of resource elements.
Fig. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 600 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 600 may be implemented by the terminal device 115 as shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 600 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
At block 605, the terminal device 115 determines that the second communication 125 is degraded and that the modulation order for the second communication 125 is below a threshold order. At block 610, the terminal device 115 detects a continuous decrease in the number of interfering resource elements allocated to the first communication 120. At block 615, the terminal device 115 determines an action to be performed. The actions include sending a request to the first network device 105 for coordinated scheduling by the first and second network devices 105 and 110. In some example embodiments, the request may be sent in a BSR message.
In some example embodiments, the terminal device 115 receives an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements from the first network device 105 in a handover command message.
All the operations and features as described above with reference to fig. 1 to 3 are equally applicable to the methods 400 to 600 and have similar effects. Details will be omitted for simplicity.
Fig. 7 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 700 suitable for use in implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be implemented at the first network device 105, the second network device 110, or the terminal device 115 as shown in fig. 1.
As shown, the device 700 includes a processor 710, a memory 720 coupled to the processor 710, a communication module 730 coupled to the processor 710, and a communication interface (not shown) coupled to the communication module 730. Memory 720 stores at least program 740. The communication module 730 is used for bi-directional communication, for example, via multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication.
The program 740 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 710, enable the device 700 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure as discussed herein with reference to fig. 2-5. Embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 710 of the device 700 or by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 710 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.
Memory 720 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic storage devices and systems, optical storage devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. Although only one memory 720 is shown in device 700, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in device 700. Processor 710 may be of any type suitable to a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 700 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock that is synchronized to the master processor.
When the device 700 is acting as the first network device 105 or as part of the first network device 105, the processor 710 and the communication module 730 may cooperate to implement the method 400 as described above with reference to fig. 4. When device 700 is acting as second network device 110 or as part of second network device 110, processor 710 and communication module 730 may cooperate to implement method 500 as described above with reference to fig. 5. When device 700 is acting as a terminal device 115 or as part of a terminal device 115, processor 710 and communication module 730 may cooperate to implement method 600 as described above with reference to fig. 6.
All of the operations and features described above with reference to fig. 1-6 are equally applicable to the device 700 and have similar effects. Details will be omitted for simplicity.
In general, the various embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.
The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product comprises computer executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the methods 400 to 600 described above with reference to fig. 4 to 6. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired. Machine-executable instructions of program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.
Program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, causes the functions/operations specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on the machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.
In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable an apparatus, device or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, and the like.
The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.
Moreover, although operations are described in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Also, while several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.
Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
Various embodiments of these techniques have been described. The following examples are described in addition to or in lieu of the foregoing. The features described in any of the examples below may be used with any of the other examples described herein.
In some aspects, a first network device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first network device to receive a request from a second network device to reduce a number of interfering resource elements to be allocated to a first communication, the first communication being between the first network device and a terminal device that is dual-connected with the first network device and the second network device, and in response to receiving the request, continuously reduce the number of interfering resource elements allocated to the first communication until an event occurs, the event including at least one of receiving a request from the terminal device for coordinated scheduling by the first network device and the second network device, and the number of interfering resource elements being below a threshold number.
In some example embodiments, the first network device is further caused to send an indication of the first set of resource units allocated for the first communication to the second network device in response to receiving a request from the terminal device to coordinate scheduling.
In some example embodiments, the indication of the first set of resource units is sent to the second network device via a user plane tunnel between a medium access control layer of the first network device and a medium access control layer of the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the first network device is caused to receive the request to reduce the number of interfering resource elements by receiving the request from the second network device via a user plane tunnel between a media access control layer of the first network device and a media access control layer of the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the first network device is further caused to establish a user plane tunnel with the second network device when establishing an interface associated with at least one of the first network device and the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the user plane tunnel comprises a general packet radio service tunneling protocol user plane tunnel.
In some example embodiments, the number of interfering resource elements is included in a plurality of interfering resource elements and the first network device is further caused to send an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements to the second network device in a SGNB modify request message.
In some example embodiments, the first network device is further caused to send an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements to the terminal device in a handover command message.
In some example embodiments, the request to coordinate scheduling is received from the terminal device in a buffer status report message.
In some aspects, a second network device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second network device to determine that at least one interfering resource element is allocated for a second communication between the second network device and a terminal device, the terminal device being dual-connected with the first network device and the second network device, continuously reducing a modulation order of the second communication if the second communication is downgraded until the modulation order is below a threshold order, and sending a request to the first network device to reduce a number of interfering resource elements allocated for the first communication between the first network device and the terminal device.
In some example embodiments, at least one interfering resource element is included in the plurality of interfering resource elements and the second network device is caused to determine that the at least one interfering resource element is allocated for the second communication by receiving an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements from the first network device in a SGNB modify request message and determining that at least one interfering resource element of the plurality of interfering resource elements is allocated for the second communication based on the received indication.
In some example embodiments, the second network device is caused to send the request to the first network device by sending the request to the first network device via a user plane tunnel between a media access control layer of the second network device and a media access control layer of the first network device.
In some example embodiments, the second network device is further caused to receive, from the first network device, an indication of the first set of allocated resource units for the first communication, determine that at least one interfering resource unit is included in the first set of resource units, and allocate a second set of resource units for the second communication, the second set of resource units not including at least one interfering resource unit in the first set of resource units.
In some example embodiments, the indication of the first set of resource units is received from the first network device via a user plane tunnel between a media access control layer of the first network device and a media access control layer of the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the second network device is further caused to establish a user plane tunnel with the first network device upon establishing an interface associated with at least one of the first network device and the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the user plane tunnel comprises a general packet radio service tunneling protocol user plane tunnel.
In some aspects, a terminal device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device, dual-connected with a first network device and a second network device, to determine that a second communication with the second network device is downgraded and that a modulation order for the second communication is below a threshold order, to detect a consecutive reduction in a number of interfering resource units allocated for a first communication with the first network device, and to determine an action to be performed, the action including sending a request to the first network device for coordinated scheduling by the first network device and the second network device, or performing the first communication with the first network device using non-interfering resource units in a first set of resources allocated for the first communication by the first network device.
In some example embodiments, the request is sent to the first network device in a buffer status report message.
In some example embodiments, the number of interfering resource elements is included in a plurality of interfering resource elements and the terminal device is further caused to receive an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements from the first network device in a handover command message.
In some aspects, a method implemented by a first network device includes receiving, from a second network device, a request to reduce a number of interference resource units allocated for a first communication between the first network device and a terminal device, the terminal device being dual-connected with the first network device and the second network device, and in response to receiving the request, continuously reducing the number of interference resource units allocated for the first communication until an event occurs, the event including at least one of receiving, from the terminal device, a request for coordinated scheduling by the first network device and the second network device and the number of interference resource units being below a threshold number.
In some example embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting an indication of the first set of resource units allocated for the first communication to the second network device in response to receiving a request for coordinated scheduling from the terminal device.
In some example embodiments, the indication of the first set of resource units is sent to the second network device via a user plane tunnel between a media access control layer of the first network device and a media access control layer of the second network device.
In some example embodiments, receiving the request to reduce the number of interfering resource elements includes receiving the request from the second network device via a user plane tunnel between a media access control layer of the first network device and a media access control layer of the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the method further comprises establishing a user plane tunnel with the second network device when establishing an interface associated with at least one of the first network device and the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the user plane tunnel comprises a general packet radio service tunneling protocol user plane tunnel.
In some example embodiments, the number of interfering resource elements is included in a plurality of interfering resource elements, and the method further comprises sending an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements to the second network device in a SGNB modify request message.
In some example embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements to the terminal device in a handover command message.
In some example embodiments, the request to coordinate scheduling is received from the terminal device in a buffer status report message.
In some aspects, a method implemented by a second network device includes determining that at least one interfering resource element is allocated for a second communication between the second network device and a terminal device that is dual-connected to a first network device and the second network device, continuously decreasing a modulation order of the second communication if the second communication is downgraded until the modulation order is below a threshold order, and sending a request to the first network device to decrease a number of interfering resource elements allocated for the first communication between the first network device and the terminal device.
In some example embodiments, the at least one interfering resource element is included in the plurality of interfering resource elements and determining to allocate the at least one interfering resource element for the second communication includes receiving an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements from the first network device in a SGNB modify request message and determining that at least one interfering resource element of the plurality of interfering resource elements is allocated for the second communication based on the received indication.
In some example embodiments, sending the request to the first network device includes sending the request to the first network device via a user plane tunnel between a media access control layer of the second network device and a media access control layer of the first network device.
In some example embodiments, the method further comprises receiving an indication of a first set of resource units allocated for the first communication from the first network device, determining that at least one interfering resource unit is included in the first set of resource units, and allocating a second set of resource units for the second communication, the second set of resource units not including at least one interfering resource unit in the first set of resource units.
In some example embodiments, the indication of the first set of resource units is received from the first network device via a user plane tunnel between a media access control layer of the first network device and a media access control layer of the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the method further comprises establishing a user plane tunnel with the first network device when establishing an interface associated with at least one of the first network device and the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the user plane tunnel comprises a general packet radio service tunneling protocol user plane tunnel.
In some aspects, a method implemented by a terminal device that is dual-connected with a first network device and a second network device includes determining that a second communication with the second network device is degraded and that a modulation order for the second communication is below a threshold order, detecting that a number of interfering resource elements allocated for a first communication with the first network device is continuously decreasing, and determining that an action to be performed includes sending a request to the first network device for coordinated scheduling by the first network device and the second network device, or performing the first communication with the first network device using non-interfering resource elements in a first set of resources allocated for the first communication by the first network device.
In some example embodiments, the request is sent to the first network device in a buffer status report message.
In some example embodiments, the number of interfering resource elements is included in a plurality of interfering resource elements, and the method further comprises receiving an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements from the first network device in a handover command message.
In some aspects, an apparatus includes means for receiving, by a first network device, a request from a second network device to reduce a number of interfering resource elements allocated for a first communication between the first network device and a terminal device, the terminal device being doubly connected to the first network device and the second network device, and means for continuously reducing the number of interfering resource elements allocated for the first communication until an event occurs in response to receiving the request, the event including at least one of receiving, from the terminal device, a request for coordinated scheduling by the first network device and the second network device, and the number of interfering resource elements being below a threshold number.
In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting, to the second network device, an indication of the first set of resource units allocated for the first communication in response to receiving a request for coordinated scheduling from the terminal device.
In some example embodiments, the indication of the first set of resource units is sent to the second network device via a user plane tunnel between a media access control layer of the first network device and a media access control layer of the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the means for receiving a request to reduce the number of interfering resource elements includes receiving a request from a second network device via a user plane tunnel between a medium access control layer of the first network device and a medium access control layer of the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for establishing a user plane tunnel with the second network device when establishing an interface associated with at least one of the first network device and the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the user plane tunnel comprises a general packet radio service tunneling protocol user plane tunnel.
In some example embodiments, the number of interfering resource elements is included in a plurality of interfering resource elements, and the apparatus further comprises means for sending an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements to the second network device in a SGNB modify request message.
In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements to the terminal device in a handover command message.
In some example embodiments, the request to coordinate scheduling is received from the terminal device in a buffer status report message.
In some aspects, an apparatus includes means for determining, by a second network device, that at least one interfering resource element is allocated for a second communication between the second network device and a terminal device, the terminal device being dual-connected with a first network device and the second network device, means for continuously reducing a modulation order of the second communication until the modulation order is below a threshold order if the second communication is downgraded, and means for sending a request to the first network device to reduce a number of interfering resource elements allocated for the first communication between the first network device and the terminal device.
In some example embodiments, the at least one interfering resource element is included in the plurality of interfering resource elements and the means for determining that the at least one interfering resource element is allocated for the second communication comprises means for receiving an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements from the first network device in a SGNB modification request message and means for determining that the at least one interfering resource element of the plurality of interfering resource elements is allocated for the second communication based on the received indication.
In some example embodiments, the means for sending the request to the first network device comprises means for sending the request to the first network device via a user plane tunnel between a media access control layer of the second network device and a media access control layer of the first network device.
In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving an indication from the first network device that a first set of resource elements for the first communication is allocated, means for determining that at least one interfering resource element is included in the first set of resource elements, and means for allocating a second set of resource elements for the second communication, the second set of resource elements not including at least one interfering resource element in the first set of resource elements.
In some example embodiments, the indication of the first set of resource units is received from the first network device via a user plane tunnel between a media access control layer of the first network device and a media access control layer of the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for establishing a user plane tunnel with the first network device when establishing an interface associated with at least one of the first network device and the second network device.
In some example embodiments, the user plane tunnel comprises a general packet radio service tunneling protocol user plane tunnel.
In some aspects, an apparatus includes means for determining, by a terminal device that is dual-connected to a first network device and a second network device, that a second communication with the second network device is degraded and that a modulation order for the second communication is below a threshold order, means for detecting a continuously decreasing number of interfering resource elements allocated for a first communication with the first network device, and means for determining an action to be performed, the action including sending a request to the first network device for coordinated scheduling by the first network device and the second network device, or performing the first communication with the first network device using non-interfering resource elements in a first set of resources allocated for the first communication by the first network device.
In some example embodiments, the request is sent to the first network device in a buffer status report message.
In some example embodiments, the number of interfering resource elements is included in a plurality of interfering resource elements, and the apparatus further comprises means for receiving an indication of the plurality of interfering resource elements from the first network device in a handover command message.
In some aspects, a computer-readable storage medium includes program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform a method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.