WO2025127891A1 - Method and device for operating radio resource in wireless communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting higher data transmission rates beyond a 4G communication system such as LTE. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may comprise the operations of: transmitting, to a base station, medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) for activating cellular communication and radio resource sharing (RRS) between heterogeneous radio access technologies (RATs), the cellular communication and the RRS using the same band; receiving, from the base station, a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message including a parameter set for the cellular communication and the RRS between the heterogeneous RATs; and transmitting an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the base station in response to the RRC reconfiguration message.

Description

Method and device for operating wireless resources in a wireless communication system

The present disclosure relates to a method for operating radio resources to support cellular communication and heterogeneous RAT (radio access technology) in a wireless communication system.

Looking back at the development process over the generations of wireless communication, technologies have been developed primarily for human-targeted services such as voice, multimedia, and data. After the commercialization of the 5G (5th-generation) communication system, it is expected that connected devices, which are increasing explosively, will be connected to the communication network. Examples of objects connected to the network include vehicles, robots, drones, home appliances, displays, smart sensors installed in various infrastructures, construction equipment, and factory equipment. Mobile devices are expected to evolve into various form factors such as augmented reality glasses, virtual reality headsets, and holographic devices. In the 6G (6th-generation) era, efforts are being made to develop an improved 6G communication system in order to connect hundreds of billions of devices and objects and provide various services. For this reason, the 6G communication system is called a system beyond 5G.

The maximum transmission speed in the 6G communication system, which is expected to be realized around 2030, is tera (i.e., 1,000 giga) bps, and the wireless delay time is 100 microseconds (μsec). In other words, the transmission speed in the 6G communication system is 50 times faster than that of the 5G communication system, and the wireless delay time is reduced to one-tenth.

To achieve these high data rates and ultra-low latency, 6G communication systems are being considered for implementation in terahertz bands (e.g., from 95 gigahertz (95 GHz) to 3 terahertz (3 THz) bands). In the terahertz band, the importance of technologies that can guarantee signal reachability, i.e. coverage, is expected to increase due to more severe path loss and atmospheric absorption phenomena compared to the millimeter wave (mmWave) band introduced in 5G. Key technologies to ensure coverage include the development of new waveforms, beamforming, and multiple antenna transmission technologies such as massive multiple-input and multiple-output (massive MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and large scale antennas that are superior to OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) in terms of coverage, as well as radio frequency (RF) components, antennas, and OFDM-based orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (RFDM). In addition, new technologies such as metamaterial-based lenses and antennas, high-dimensional spatial multiplexing using orbital angular momentum (OAM), and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) are being discussed to improve the coverage of terahertz band signals.

In addition, in order to improve frequency efficiency and system network, 6G communication systems are being developed with full duplex technology that utilizes the same frequency resources for uplink and downlink at the same time, network technology that comprehensively utilizes satellites and HAPS (high-altitude platform stations), network structure innovation technology that supports mobile base stations and enables optimization and automation of network operation, dynamic spectrum sharing technology through collision avoidance based on spectrum usage prediction, AI-based communication technology that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) from the design stage and internalizes end-to-end AI support functions to realize system optimization, and next-generation distributed computing technology that realizes services with complexity that exceeds the limits of terminal computing capabilities by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources (mobile edge computing (MEC), cloud, etc.). In addition, efforts are being made to further strengthen connectivity between devices, further optimize networks, promote softwareization of network entities, and increase the openness of wireless communications by designing new protocols to be used in 6G communication systems, implementing hardware-based security environments, developing mechanisms for safe use of data, and developing technologies for maintaining privacy.

It is expected that the research and development of these 6G communication systems will enable a new level of hyper-connected experience through the hyper-connectivity of 6G communication systems that includes not only connections between things but also connections between people and things. Specifically, it is expected that 6G communication systems will enable the provision of services such as truly immersive extended reality (truly immersive XR), high-fidelity mobile holograms, and digital replicas. In addition, services such as remote surgery, industrial automation, and emergency response through enhanced security and reliability will be provided through 6G communication systems, which will be applied in various fields such as industry, medicine, automobiles, and home appliances.

Meanwhile, the need for a method of operating radio resources to support cellular communications and heterogeneous RAT (radio access technology) in the same band is emerging.

The present disclosure proposes a method to enable coexistence between cellular communications and heterogeneous radio access technologies (RATs) in the same band.

According to one embodiment, a method of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system may include: transmitting, to a base station, medium access control (MAC) CE (control elements) for activating radio resource sharing (RRS) between cellular communication and heterogeneous radio access technology (RAT) using the same band; receiving, from the base station, an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message including a parameter set for the RRS between the cellular communication and the heterogeneous RAT; and transmitting, to the base station, an RRC reconfiguration complete message in response to the RRC reconfiguration message.

According to one embodiment, a method of a base station in a wireless communication system may include: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), medium access control (MAC) CE (control elements) for activating radio resource sharing (RRS) between cellular communication and heterogeneous radio access technology (RAT) using the same band; transmitting, to the UE, an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message including a parameter set for the RRS between the cellular communication and the heterogeneous RAT; and receiving, from the UE, an RRC reconfiguration complete message in response to the RRC reconfiguration message.

According to one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system may include a transceiver; and a control unit. The control unit may control to transmit, to a base station, medium access control (MAC) CE (control elements) for activating RRS (radio resource sharing) between cellular communication and heterogeneous radio access technology (RAT) using the same band, and receive, from the base station, an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message including a parameter set for the RRS between the cellular communication and the heterogeneous RAT, and control to transmit, to the base station, an RRC reconfiguration complete message in response to the RRC reconfiguration message.

According to one embodiment, a base station in a wireless communication system includes a transceiver; and a control unit. The control unit may receive, from a user equipment (UE), medium access control (MAC) CE (control elements) for activating RRS (radio resource sharing) between cellular communication and heterogeneous radio access technology (RAT) using the same band, and control to transmit, to the UE, an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message including a parameter set for the RRS between the cellular communication and the heterogeneous RAT, and receive, in response to the RRC reconfiguration message, an RRC reconfiguration completion message from the UE.

Methods and devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure can enable coexistence between cellular communications and heterogeneous radio access technologies (RATs) in the same band.

A method and device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can reduce power consumption without performance degradation when running an application having periodic uplink traffic characteristics.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a wireless protocol structure in an LTE system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a wireless protocol structure of a next-generation mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an environment in which communications using a licensed band and communications using an unlicensed band coexist according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a DRX method that can temporarily disable cellular communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station using DRX in cellular communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining parameters defined for wireless resource sharing between heterogeneous RATs according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a UE according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a base station according to embodiments of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. At this time, it should be noted that in the attached drawings, the same components are indicated by the same symbols as much as possible. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may obscure the gist of the present disclosure will be omitted.

In describing the embodiments in this specification, descriptions of technical contents that are well known in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs and are not directly related to the present disclosure are omitted. This is to convey the gist of the present disclosure more clearly without obscuring it by omitting unnecessary explanations.

For the same reason, some components in the attached drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically illustrated. In addition, the size of each component does not entirely reflect the actual size. The same or corresponding components in each drawing are given the same reference numbers.

The advantages and features of the present disclosure, and the methods for achieving them, will become apparent by referring to the embodiments described in detail below together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms, and the embodiments are provided only to make the disclosure of the present disclosure complete and to fully inform a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs of the scope of the disclosure, and the present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

At this time, it will be understood that each block of the processing flow diagrams and combinations of the flow diagrams can be performed by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be loaded onto a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment create a means for performing the functions described in the flow diagram block(s). These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-available or computer-readable memory that can be directed to a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement the function in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-available or computer-readable memory can also produce a manufactured article including an instruction means for performing the functions described in the flow diagram block(s). Since the computer program instructions may be installed on a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, a series of operational steps may be performed on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a computer-executable process, so that the instructions executing the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus may also provide steps for executing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that contains one or more executable instructions for performing a particular logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementation examples, the functions mentioned in the blocks may occur out of order. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be performed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be performed in reverse order, depending on the functionality they perform.

Here, the term '~ part' used in the present embodiment means software or hardware components such as FPGA (field programmable gate array) or ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), and the '~ part' performs certain roles. However, the '~ part' is not limited to software or hardware. The '~ part' may be configured to be in an addressable storage medium and may be configured to reproduce one or more processors. Accordingly, as an example, the '~ part' includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided in the components and '~ parts' may be combined into a smaller number of components and '~ parts' or further separated into additional components and '~ parts'. Additionally, the components and '~parts' may be implemented to regenerate one or more CPUs within the device or secure multimedia card.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, a base station is an entity that performs resource allocation of a terminal, and may be at least one of a gNode B, a gNB, an eNode B, an eNB, a Node B, a BS, a radio access unit, a base station controller, or a node on a network. In addition, the base station may be a network entity including at least one of an IAB-donor (Integrated Access and Backhaul - donor), which is a gNB that provides network access to terminal(s) through a network of backhaul and access links in an NR system, and an IAB-node, which is a radio access network (RAN) node that supports NR access link(s) to the terminal(s) and supports NR backhaul links to the IAB-donor or another IAB-node. The terminal is wirelessly connected through the IAB-node and can transmit and receive data with the IAB-donor connected to at least one IAB-node through a backhaul link.

In addition, the terminal may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a cellular phone, a smartphone, a computer, or various devices capable of performing a communication function. In the present disclosure, downlink (DL) refers to a wireless transmission path of a signal transmitted from a base station to a terminal, and uplink (UL) refers to a wireless transmission path of a signal transmitted from a terminal to a base station. In addition, although an LTE or LTE-A system may be described as an example below, embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to other communication systems having a similar technical background or channel form. For example, the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G, new radio, NR) or 6G developed after LTE-A may be included here, and the 5G or 6G below may be a concept including existing LTE, LTE-A, and other similar services. In addition, the present disclosure may be applied to other communication systems through some modifications without significantly departing from the scope of the present disclosure at the discretion of a person having skilled technical knowledge.

In the following description, terms referring to signals, terms referring to channels, terms referring to control information, terms referring to network entities, terms referring to components of devices, etc. are provided as examples for convenience of explanation. In addition, terms used in the following description to identify nodes, terms referring to messages, terms referring to interfaces between network entities, terms referring to various pieces of information, etc. are provided as examples for convenience of explanation. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the terms described below, and other terms having equivalent technical meanings may be used.

In addition, although the present disclosure describes various embodiments using terms used in some communication standards (e.g., 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)), this is only an example for explanation. The various embodiments of the present disclosure can be easily modified and applied to other communication systems.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of changing a base station to which a plurality of base stations and user equipment (UE) move and are connected in a mobile communication system to which embodiments of the present invention are applied.

The base stations (1-20, 1-30) can be connected to some of the surrounding base stations, and the base stations (1-20, 1-30) can be connected to a mobile communication core network (CN: Core Network) (1-40) such as an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or a 5G Core Network (5GC) or a 6G network.

The radio access technology of the base stations (1-20, 1-30) may be LTE, NR, Wi-Fi, 6G, etc., and is not limited to one example. For example, the base stations (1-20, 1-30) may be mobile communication base stations unrelated to the radio access technology.

A terminal (1-10) can be connected to a base station and receive mobile communication services. As the terminal (1-10) moves, the base station to which it is connected can change, and through a handover (HO;: Handover, or handoff) procedure, the terminal (1-10) can receive mobile communication services without interruption. In one example of Fig. 1, the terminal (1-10) is connected to a base station (1-20), and through a handover, the terminal (1-10) can disconnect from the base station (1-20) and be connected to a new base station (1-30).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a wireless protocol structure in an LTE system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the wireless protocol of the LTE system consists of PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol 2-110, 2-210), RLC (Radio Link Control 2-120, 2-220), and MAC (Medium Access Control 2-130, 2-230) in the terminal (2-100) and the base station (2-200), respectively. The components of the wireless protocol may be referred to as layers, entities, or devices.

PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol) (2-110, 2-210) is responsible for operations such as IP header compression/decompression. The main functions of PDCP are summarized as follows.

- Header compression and decompression (ROHC only)

- Transfer of user data function

- In-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs at PDCP re-establishment procedure for RLC AM

- Order reordering function (For split bearers in DC (only support for RLC AM): PDCP PDU routing for transmission and PDCP PDU reordering for reception)

- Duplicate detection function (Duplicate detection of lower layer service data units (SDUs) at PDCP re-establishment procedure for RLC AM)

- Retransmission function (Retransmission of PDCP SDUs at handover and, for split bearers in DC, of PDCP PDUs at PDCP data-recovery procedure, for RLC AM)

- Ciphering and deciphering functions

- Timer-based SDU discard in uplink.

Radio Link Control (RLC) (2-120, 2-220) reconfigures PDCP PDU (Packet Data Unit) to an appropriate size and performs ARQ operations, etc. The main functions of RLC are summarized as follows.

- Data transfer function (Transfer of upper layer PDUs)

- ARQ function (Error Correction through ARQ (only for AM data transfer))

- Concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs (only for UM and AM data transfer)

- Re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs (only for AM data transfer)

- Reordering of RLC data PDUs (only for UM and AM data transfer)

- Duplicate detection (only for UM and AM data transfer)

- Error detection function (Protocol error detection (only for AM data transfer))

- RLC SDU discard function (RLC SDU discard (only for UM and AM data transfer))

- RLC re-establishment function

MAC (2-130, 2-230) is connected to multiple RLC layer devices configured in one terminal, and performs the operation of multiplexing RLC PDUs into MAC PDUs and demultiplexing RLC PDUs from MAC PDUs. The main functions of MAC are summarized as follows.

- Mapping function (Mapping between logical channels and transport channels)

- Multiplexing and demultiplexing function (Multiplexing/demultiplexing of MAC SDUs belonging to one or different logical channels into/from transport blocks (TB) delivered to/from the physical layer on transport channels)

- Scheduling information reporting function

- HARQ function (Error correction through HARQ)

- Priority handling between logical channels of one UE

- Priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling

- MBMS service identification function

- Transport format selection function

- Padding function

The physical layer (2-140, 2-240) performs the operation of channel coding and modulating upper layer data, converting it into OFDM symbols and transmitting it over a wireless channel, or demodulating OFDM symbols received over a wireless channel and performing channel decoding to transmit them to the upper layer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a wireless protocol structure of a next-generation mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the wireless protocol of the next-generation mobile communication system is composed of NR SDAP (service data application protocol) (3-110, 3-210), NR PDCP (3-120, 3-220), NR RLC (3-130, 3-230), and NR MAC (3-140, 3-240) in the terminal (3-100) and the NR base station (3-200), respectively. The components of the wireless protocol may be referred to as layers, entities, or devices.

Key features of NR SDAP (3-110, 3-210) may include some of the following:

- Transfer of user plane data

- Mapping between a QoS flow and a DRB for both DL and UL

- Marking QoS flow ID in both DL and UL packets

- Ability to map relective QoS flow to data bearer for the UL SDAP PDUs (reflective QoS flow to DRB mapping for the UL SDAP PDUs).

For the above SDAP layer device, the terminal can be configured by an RRC (radio resource control) message for each PDCP layer device, by bearer, or by logical channel, whether to use the header of the SDAP layer device or whether to use the function of the SDAP layer device, and if the SDAP header is configured, the terminal can be instructed to update or reset the QoS flow of the uplink and downlink and the mapping information for the data bearer by a 1-bit indicator for reflecting NAS QoS (NAS reflective QoS) and a 1-bit indicator for reflecting AS QoS (AS reflective QoS) of the SDAP header. The SDAP header can include QoS flow ID information indicating QoS. The QoS information can be used as data processing priority, scheduling information, etc. to support a smooth service.

Key features of NR PDCP (3-120, 3-220) may include some of the following:

Header compression and decompression (ROHC only)

- Transfer of user data function

- In-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs

- Out-of-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs

- Reordering function (PDCP PDU reordering for reception)

- Duplicate detection of lower layer SDUs

- Retransmission function (Retransmission of PDCP SDUs)

- Ciphering and deciphering functions

- Timer-based SDU discard in uplink.

The reordering function of the NR PDCP device in the above means a function to reorder PDCP PDUs received from a lower layer in order based on a PDCP SN (sequence number), and may include a function to transmit data to an upper layer in the reordered order, or a function to transmit data directly without considering the order, a function to record lost PDCP PDUs by reordering the order, a function to perform a status report on lost PDCP PDUs to the transmitting side, and a function to request retransmission of lost PDCP PDUs.

Key features of NR RLC (3-130, 3-230) may include some of the following:

- Data transfer function (Transfer of upper layer PDUs)

- In-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs

- Out-of-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs

- ARQ function (Error Correction through ARQ)

- Concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs

- Re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs

- Reordering of RLC data PDUs

- Duplicate detection function

- Error detection function (Protocol error detection)

- RLC SDU discard function

- RLC re-establishment function

The in-sequence delivery function of the NR RLC device above means the function of sequentially delivering RLC SDUs received from a lower layer to an upper layer, and may include a function of reassembling and delivering when an RLC SDU is originally divided into multiple RLC SDUs and received, a function of rearranging received RLC PDUs based on an RLC SN (sequence number) or a PDCP SN (sequence number), a function of recording lost RLC PDUs by rearranging the order, a function of performing a status report on lost RLC PDUs to the transmitting side, a function of requesting retransmission of lost RLC PDUs, a function of sequentially delivering only RLC SDUs up to the lost RLC SDU to an upper layer in case of a lost RLC SDU, or a function of sequentially delivering all RLC SDUs received before the timer starts if a predetermined timer expires even when a lost RLC SDU is present to an upper layer. or, if a given timer has expired, may include a function to deliver all RLC SDUs received so far to the upper layer in order, even if there are lost RLC SDUs.

In addition, the RLC PDUs may be processed in the order in which they are received (regardless of the order of the sequence number, SN) and delivered to the PDCP device out of order (out-of-sequence delivery). In addition, if the received RLC PDU is a segment, the segments stored in the buffer or to be received later may be received, reconstructed into a single complete RLC PDU, processed, and delivered to the PDCP device. The NR RLC layer may not include a concatenation function, and the function may be performed in the NR MAC layer or replaced with a multiplexing function of the NR MAC layer.

The out-of-sequence delivery function of the NR RLC device mentioned above means the function of directly delivering RLC SDUs received from a lower layer to an upper layer regardless of the order, and may include a function of reassembling and delivering multiple RLC SDUs when an original RLC SDU is received divided into multiple RLC SDUs, and a function of storing and arranging the RLC SN or PDCP SN of received RLC PDUs to record lost RLC PDUs.

NR MAC (3-140, 3-240) can be connected to multiple NR RLC layer devices configured in one terminal, and the main functions of NR MAC can include some of the following functions.

- Mapping function (Mapping between logical channels and transport channels)

- Multiplexing/demultiplexing of MAC SDUs

- Scheduling information reporting function

- HARQ function (Error correction through HARQ)

- Priority handling between logical channels of one UE

- Priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling

- MBMS service identification function

- Transport format selection function

- Padding function

The NR PHY layer (3-150, 3-250) can perform operations such as channel coding and modulating upper layer data, converting it into OFDM symbols and transmitting it over a wireless channel, or demodulating OFDM symbols received over a wireless channel and performing channel decoding to transmit them to a higher layer.

Recently, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), the UK's broadcasting and communications commission, has begun a movement to designate some unlicensed bands (for example, a total of 1.2 GHz band from 5.925 GHz to 7.125 GHz) as licensed bands in some areas. This is to supplement the existing insufficient cellular bands and support wideband communications, and since the bands overlap with channels used by other wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi 6E and UWB (Ultra-Wide Band), cellular communications need to coexist with them. For example, the 6 GHz band can be licensed and assigned to cellular carriers. For example, 6 GHz can be assigned as a licensed band only in certain cities/areas (for example, downtown), and 6 GHz can be set to be used as a licensed band only outdoors.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an environment in which communications using a licensed band and communications using an unlicensed band coexist according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a wireless communication system (400) may include a Cellular-over-Wi-Fi region (410) that operates a specific band (e.g., 6 GHz) as a licensed band, an Unlicensed region (420) in which cellular cannot access a specific band (e.g., 6 GHz) and Wi-Fi and UWB communications are available, and a Coexistence region (430) in which cellular, Wi-Fi, and UWB communications can all coexist in a specific band (e.g., 6 GHz).

The Cellular-over-Wi-Fi area (410) allows wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi communication and UWB communication to be used only indoors, and unlike existing LTE-U and NR-U in cellular communication, electronic devices can access wireless resources without requiring LBT (Listen-Before-Talk).

The coexistence area (430) (or gray zone) is where cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, and UWB communication can all coexist, but when using cellular communication, electronic devices can access wireless resources by performing LBT in the same way as existing LTE-U and NR-U.

Meanwhile, the terminal (or electronic device) may perform a Wi-Fi scan periodically (for example, 800 milliseconds out of 4 seconds) to support a multimedia service. However, the terminal may perform cellular communication or Wi-Fi communication through an antenna responsible for the 5 to 8.25 GHz band to improve the efficiency of the internal antenna installation space. In this case, the terminal cannot perform cellular communication and Wi-Fi communication at the same time, and since UWB communication also uses the same band, simultaneous use may not be possible to avoid internal interference (self-interference) of the terminal.

In order for a terminal (or electronic device) to operate multiple radio access technologies (RATs) simultaneously, flexible switching and operation policies between multiple RATs are required. In particular, operations such as Wi-Fi Scan or UWB Ranging should be performed with high priority for the convenience of terminal users, so temporary deactivation of cellular communication may be required while operations such as Wi-Fi Scan or UWB Ranging are being performed.

A flexible antenna usage policy within a terminal (or electronic device) may be required in the 5 to 8 GHz band. For example, during the time when a terminal performs Wi-Fi scanning or UWB ranging in the 5 to 7 GHz band, the terminal may not be able to perform cellular communication in the 6 GHz band. In this case, a method for (de)activating cellular communication in the 6 GHz band upon a terminal request is required.

In one embodiment, Discontinuous Reception (DRX) may be configured in the terminal to temporarily disable wireless usage in a cellular network. In one embodiment, the terminal may perform heterogeneous RAT communication through RAT switching in a period other than drx-onDuration.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a DRX method that can temporarily disable cellular communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In Fig. 5, the terminal (or electronic device) can utilize DRX (Discontinuous Reception) technology as a method of temporarily disabling cellular communication. DRX may mean a function in which the terminal periodically checks whether there is a PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) transmitted (or allocated) to itself, performs communication if there is a PDCCH transmitted (or allocated) to itself, and disables wireless communication and enters a low-power mode if there is no PDCCH.

Referring to FIG. 5, drx-SlotOffset, drx-onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, and offDuration can be set periodically according to the DRX cycle.

drx-SlotOffset can indicate at which slot in each DRX cycle drx-onDurationTimer will start.

In drx-onDurationTimer, the terminal can turn on the radio and check whether PDCCH exists. If PDCCH does not exist as a result of checking in drx-onDurationTimer, the terminal can disable the radio and enter low power mode immediately after drx-onDurationTimer ends.

If PDCCH exists as a result of checking in drx-onDurationTimer, the terminal can receive control information in the PDCCH and check whether there is data scheduled and transmitted to itself during drx-InactivityTimer. If there is data scheduled for itself, the terminal receives the data, and if there is no data scheduled, it can wait until drx-InactivityTimer ends, disable the radio, and enter low-power mode.

According to one embodiment, the terminal may generate and/or transmit an RRC UE Assistance Information message including DRX preference values as shown in Table 1 below to inform the base station of DRX parameter values (onDuration, offDuration, LongCycle, etc.) desired by the terminal.

DRX-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
preferredDRX-InactivityTimer ENUMERATED {
ms0, ms1, ms2, ms3, ms4, ms5, ms6, ms8, ms10, ms20, ms30, ms40, ms50, ms60, ms80,
ms100, ms200, ms300, ms500, ms750, ms1280, ms1920, ms2560, spare9, spare8,
spare7, spare6, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL,
preferredDRX-LongCycle ENUMERATED {
ms10, ms20, ms32, ms40, ms60, ms64, ms70, ms80, ms128, ms160, ms256, ms320, ms512,
ms640, ms1024, ms1280, ms2048, ms2560, ms5120, ms10240, spare12, spare11, spare10,
spare9, spare8, spare7, spare6, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1 } OPTIONAL;
preferredDRX-ShortCycle ENUMERATED {
ms2, ms3, ms4, ms5, ms6, ms7, ms8, ms10, ms14, ms16, ms20, ms30, ms32,
ms35, ms40, ms64, ms80, ms128, ms160, ms256, ms320, ms512, ms640, spare9,
spare8, spare7, spare6, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1 } OPTIONAL;
preferredDRX-ShortCycleTimer INTEGER (1..16) OPTIONAL}

In one embodiment, the terminal can set the radio interval required for Wi-Fi scan or UWB scan as the offDuration of DRX. In this case, while the cellular temporarily enters DRX mode (radio disabled), the terminal can perform Wi-Fi or UWB operations in the same band without interference, and the cellular can also maintain the connection without RLF (Radio Link Failure).

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station using DRX in cellular communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, in operation 601, a UE (610) may transmit and/or receive packet data to and from a MAC layer (650) of a base station (eNB or gNB) (640) through a MAC layer (630).

In operation 603, the UE (610) may transmit UE Assistance information to the RRC layer (660) of the base station (640) through the RRC layer (620). In operation 605, the base station (640) may transmit an RRC Reconfiguration message including parameters regarding DRX-preference to the RRC layer (620) of the UE (610) through the RRC layer (660).

However, the base station (640) does not necessarily need to use the parameters transmitted as UE Assistance information, and even if there is a Wi-Fi scan or UWB scan time period desired by the UE (610), the base station (640) may not be able to guarantee it. If the offDuration period of the DRX desired by the UE (610) and the offDuration period of the DRX indicated by the base station (640) do not match, strong interference between cellular communication and communication of different RATs may occur due to overlapping, and communication problems may occur due to unavailability of antennas.

In addition, although the number of times that a Wi-Fi scan or UWB scan must be performed repeatedly can be set, DRX cannot consider this number of times, so additional overhead may occur in which the UE (610) must later transmit UE Assistance information to the base station (640) to request DRX parameter reset. Even if the UE (610) transmits UE Assistance information, the base station (640) may not perform DRX reset by using the UE Assistance information value as it is.

In operation 607, the UE (610) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (620) through the RRC layer (620). According to one embodiment, the UE (610) may share the radio between different RATs.

In operation 609, the base station (640) may transmit an RRC Reconfiguration message including release information (releaseDRX-preferenceConfig) for DRX preference settings to the RRC layer (620) of the UE (610) through the RRC layer (660).

In operation 611, the UE (610) can transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (630) through the RRC layer (620).

In operation 613, the UE (610) can transmit and/or receive packet data to and from the MAC layer (650) of the base station (640) through the MAC layer (630).

In operation 615, the UE (610) may transmit UE Assistance information to the RRC layer (660) of the base station (640) through the RRC layer (620). In operation 617, the base station (640) may transmit an RRC Reconfiguration message including parameters regarding DRX-preference to the RRC layer (620) of the UE (610) through the RRC layer (660).

In operation 619, the UE (610) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (630) through the RRC layer (620). According to one embodiment, the UE (610) may share the radio between different RATs.

In operation 621, the UE (610) can receive scheduling information from the MAC layer (650) of the base station (640) via the PDCCH through the MAC layer (630). In operation 623, the UE (610) can transmit and/or receive packet data to and from the MAC layer (650) of the base station (640) through the MAC layer (630).

The present invention proposes a method and procedure for flexibly operating cellular (LTE, 5G, 6G) and heterogeneous RAT using the same band. By guaranteeing a cellular inactive section of a terminal that could not be guaranteed in DRX, the terminal can provide a service using another heterogeneous RAT within the guaranteed section. In addition, it can be utilized as a free DRX concept that the terminal can request and be guaranteed, so it can be utilized for terminal energy saving, heat control, etc.

The present invention proposes, in order to flexibly operate Radio Resource Sharing (RRS) between cellular and heterogeneous RAT using the same band (new frequency bands such as 6 GHz, FR6), definition of Inter-RAT RRS MAC CE including RRS parameter set and RRC Connection Reconfiguration message including RRS parameter set, definition of T _RRS and T _PROHIBIT which are timers for managing time related to RRS, and operation (signaling) procedure utilizing the above message and timer.

The method according to embodiments of the present invention can guarantee an inactive period of a terminal that could not be guaranteed in DRX, and the terminal can perform Wi-Fi Scan, UWB ranging, etc. in a specific band (e.g., 6 GHz band) within the guaranteed period. The method according to embodiments of the present invention can support free DRX requested by the UE side.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining parameters defined for wireless resource sharing between heterogeneous RATs according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, four parameters, rrs-startSubframe, rrs-onDurationTimer, rrs-offDurationTimer, and rrs-numberOfCycles, can be defined as an RRS parameter set for radio resource sharing (RRS) between heterogeneous RATs.

rrs-startSubframe indicates the first SFN (System Frame Number) where RRS operation is performed, from which a total of rrs-numberOfCycles(=N) RRS cycles can start. At the starting slot of each cycle, the cellular radio is disabled for RRS during rrs-onDurationTimer, and the operation of heterogeneous RAT can be enabled. After that, RRS is disabled during rrs-offDurationTimer, and the cellular radio is enabled, so that communication can be performed. In other words, rrs-offDurationTimer is a full cellular communication period (ms) without RRS operation, rrs-onDurationTimer is a cellular communication disabled period for RRS operation, and rrs-numberOfCycles (= N) can be the number of times the RRS operation is performed.

The RRS parameter set can be included in the Inter-RAT RRS MAC CE or RRC Connection Reconfiguration message. In this case, in addition to the RRS parameter set, the typeNumber field can be included for RRS activation/modification/deactivation. For example, typeNumber 0 can indicate RRS activation, 1 can indicate RRS parameter set modification, and 2 can indicate RRS deactivation.

When the RRS parameter set is included in an RRC message, it can be encoded using the ASN.1 format and can be configured as shown in Table 2 below.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
typeNumber INTEGER(0..2),
rrs-startSfn INTEGER(0..1023);
rrs-offDurationTimer INTEGER(1..20000), / milliseconds
rrs-onDurationTimer INTEGER(1..20000), / milliseconds
rrs-numberOfCycles INTEGER (0..256)
}

According to one embodiment, a timer T _PROHIBIT may be set to prevent the terminal from retransmitting Inter-RAT RRS Activation MAC CE as an RRC Timer.

According to one embodiment, a timer T _RRS may be set as an RRC Timer for measuring the end time of heterogeneous RAT use at the base station (for RRC Reconfig. transmission for new DRX configuration, etc.). According to one embodiment, the base station may not perform PDSCH scheduling for the UE during rrs-onDurationTimer until just before T _RRS expires.

According to an embodiment, a MAC timer T _RRSWAIT may be set. According to an embodiment, T _RRSWAIT may be started when an ANT Sharing Notification is transmitted. According to an embodiment, T _RRSWAIT may be stopped when the MAC receives an intended MAC configuration from RRC. According to an embodiment, when T _RRSWAIT expires, it may be determined as a transmission failure and an inter-RAT RRS (radio resource sharing) activation MAC CE may be retransmitted. According to an embodiment, during the T _RRSWAIT operation, even if an API (Application Programming Interface) for a heterogeneous RAT usage request is indicated to the MAC, the API may be ignored (retransmission prevention).

According to one embodiment, when the terminal transmits a MAC CE message to the base station, the terminal may start a T _PROHIBIT timer. If the T _PROHIBIT timer is running, the terminal may not retransmit an Inter-RAT RRS Activation MAC CE. If the terminal receives an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message from the base station, the terminal may terminate the T _PROHIBIT timer. If the T _PROHIBIT timer expires, the terminal may retransmit the MAC CE to the base station.

In one embodiment, a higher framework of the terminal (e.g., Android framework) may request an RRS to a CP (Cellular Processor) in the terminal for Wi-Fi or UWB scan, etc. The CP may be a processor for cellular communication. For example, the CP may be implemented as a cellular modem. The higher framework may be implemented in an AP (application processor) of the terminal. In one embodiment, the CP of the terminal may request a MAC layer of the terminal to transmit an RRS MAC CE.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, in operation 801, the UE (810) may transmit and/or receive packet data to and from a MAC layer (850) of a base station (eNB or gNB) (840) through a MAC layer (830). In operation 803, the UE (810) may transmit an Inter-RAT RRS (Radio Resource Sharing) Activation MAC CE to a MAC layer (850) of a base station (840) through the MAC layer (830).

In operation 805, the UE (810) may transmit an antenna sharing notification message (ANT Sharing Notification) to the RRC layer (820) through the MAC layer (830). At this time, T _RRSWAIT may be started in the MAC layer (830) and T _PROHIBIT may be started in the RRC layer (820).

In operation 807, the base station (840) can transmit an RRS allocation request message (RRS Allocation Request) to the RRC layer (860) through the MAC layer (850). In operation 809, the base station (840) can transmit an RRS allocation ACK message (RRS Allocation ACK) to the MAC layer (850) through the RRC layer (860).

In operation 811, the base station (840) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message including RRS parameters to the RRC layer (820) of the UE (810) through the RRC layer (860). For example, the RRCReconfiguration message may be configured as shown in Table 3.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
typeNumber 0,
rrs-startSfn 1,
rrs-offDurationTimer 50,
rrs-onDurationTimer 1950,
rrs-numberOfCycles 3
}

In operation 813, the UE (810) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (860) of the base station (840) through the RRC layer (820). In operation 815, the UE (810) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (830) through the RRC layer (820).

According to one embodiment, the UE (810) can start T RRS after T _PROHIBIT suspend if rrs-startSfn, rrs-offDurationTimer, rrs-onDurationTimer, rrs-numberOfCycles received through the RRCReconfiguration message are identical to the values included in the MAC CE of operation 803. According to one embodiment, the UE (810) can retransmit the MAC CE if rrs-startSfn, _rrs -offDurationTimer, rrs-onDurationTimer, rrs-numberOfCycles received through the RRCReconfiguration message are different from the values included in the MAC CE of operation 803.

According to one embodiment, the UE (810) can share radio resources for different RATs during the time when T _RRS is running.

In operation 817, the base station (840) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message to the RRC layer (820) of the UE (810) for clearing RRS parameters through the RRC layer (860). For example, the RRCReconfiguration message may be configured as shown in Table 4.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
typeNumber 2,
rrs-startSfn 601,
rrs-offDurationTimer 0,
rrs-onDurationTimer 0,
rrs-numberOfCycles 0
}

In operation 819, the UE (810) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (860) of the base station (840) through the RRC layer (820). In operation 821, the UE (810) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (830) through the RRC layer (820). In operation 823, the UE (810) may transmit and/or receive packet data to and from the MAC layer (850) of the base station (840) through the MAC layer (830).

According to one embodiment, when the base station (840) receives an Inter RAT RRS MAC CE from the UE (810), it may forward it to the RRC layer (860). The RRC layer (860) may generate an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message including the same parameter set as the parameter set included in the MAC CE and transmit it to the UE (810) and start the T _RRS timer at the same time. While the T _RRS timer is operating, the base station (840) may not perform PDSCH scheduling for the UE (810) during the RRS onDuration in order to guarantee a determined RRS cycle for the UE (810).

According to one embodiment, the UE (810) may start T _RRS if it receives an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message from the base station (840) including a parameter set that is identical to the RRS parameter set transmitted by the UE (810). According to one embodiment, if the parameter set included in the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message is different from the parameters desired by the UE (810), the UE (810) may retransmit the Inter-RAT RRS MAC CE without starting the T _RRS timer and may initialize T _PROHIBIT to start again.

According to one embodiment, the UE (810) must continuously perform RRS operation while T _RRS is in operation, and when the RRS operation needs to be stopped in the middle or the RRS parameter set such as RRS cycle needs to be changed, the UE (810) may transmit an Inter RAT RRS MAC CE to the base station (840).

According to an embodiment, the UE (810) may transmit an Inter-RAT RRS activation MAC CE to the base station (840) through the MAC layer (830). The MAC CE message may include RRS parameter sets, with typeNumber set to a preset value (e.g., 0). According to an embodiment, the MAC layer (830) of the UE (810) may transmit internal signaling (ANT Sharing Notification) to the RRC layer (820) to enable T _PROHIBIT in the RRC layer (820). After receiving the MAC CE, the base station (840) may transmit typeNumber and an RRS parameter set to the RRC layer (860) through internal signaling (RRS Allocation Request), and the RRC layer (860) may transmit an ACK (RRS Allocation ACK) to the MAC layer (850) through internal signaling.

According to one embodiment, the RRC layer (860) of the base station (840) may generate an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message by setting the received typeNumber and RRS parameter set as an rrs-Preference information element, and transmit the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message to the RRC layer (820) of the UE (810). Simultaneously with the transmission of the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, the RRC layer (860) of the base station (840) may start T _RRS .

According to one embodiment, T _RRS means the total time for operating RRS and can be calculated as "T _RRS = (rrs-offDurationTimer + rrs-onDurationTimer) * (rrs-numberOfCycles)". According to one embodiment, the UE (810) can set T _RRS at the same time as receiving the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message and can notify the MAC layer (830) to perform the RRS operation through internal signaling (MAC Reconfiguration). Through this, the MAC layer (830) can perform the RRS operation according to the set RRS parameter set.

According to one embodiment, when T _RRS is terminated, the base station (840) may transmit an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message containing information for deactivating RRS to the UE (810). In the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, typeNumber may be set to 2 and all RRS parameter sets may be set to 0. According to one embodiment, the UE (810) may transmit an ACK (RRC Reconfiguration Complete) message to the base station in response thereto and terminate the RRS section.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In Fig. 9, UE (910) can register RRS availability to the base station (940) using UECapabilityInformation during initial connection.

Referring to FIG. 9, in operation 901, the base station (940) may transmit a UECapabilityEnquiry message including information about RRS support to the RRC layer (920) of the UE (910) through the RRC layer (960). According to one embodiment, after initial connection, the base station (940) may transmit a UECapabilityEnquiry message including UECapabilityEnquiry-rrs-IEs to the UE (910). For example, the UECapabilityEnquiry message may be configured as shown in Table 5 below.

UECapabilityEnquiry-rrs-IEs ::= SEQUENCE {
rrs-Support ENUMERATED {enabled}, OPTIONAL
}

In operation 903, the UE (910) may transmit UECapabilityInformation including information about RRS support to the RRC layer (960) of the base station (940) through the RRC layer (920). According to an embodiment, if the UE (910) supports RRS, the UE (910) marks the rrs-Support field in the FeatureSetDownlink as supported to indicate UECapability

An Information message can be transmitted to the base station (940). For example, the UECapabilityInformation can be configured as shown in Table 6 below.

FeatureSetDownlink ::= SEQUENCE {
...
rrs-Support ENUMERATED {supported}, OPTIONAL
...
}

In operation 905, the base station (940) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message including Permission of use RRS MAC CE to the RRC layer (920) of the UE (910) through the RRC layer (960). According to an embodiment, the base station (940) may transmit the RRC Reconfiguration message to the UE (910) to permit the use of Inter-RAT RRS MAC CE. For example, the RRCReconfiguration message may be configured as shown in Table 7 below.

RrsMacCePermission-IEs ::= SEQUENCE {
...
useRrsMacCe-Permit ENUMERATED {permitted}, OPTIONAL
...
}

In operation 907, the UE (910) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (960) of the base station (940) through the RRC layer (920).

In operation 909, the UE (910) may transmit an Inter-RAT RRS (Radio Resource Sharing) Activation MAC CE to the MAC layer (950) of the base station (940) through the MAC layer (930). In operation 911, the base station (940) may transmit an Inter-RAT RRS (Radio Resource Sharing) Confirmation MAC CE to the MAC layer (930) of the UE (910) through the MAC layer (950).

Since each of operations 913 to 929 is substantially identical to operations 805 to 821 of FIG. 8 described above, a description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 illustrates an embodiment of notifying a base station (1040) of a list of RRS parameters in preset form in advance and activating RRS with an option number.

Referring to FIG. 10, in operation 1001, the base station (1040) may transmit a UECapabilityEnquiry message including information about RRS support to the RRC layer (1020) of the UE (1010) through the RRC layer (1060). In operation 1003, the UE (1010) may transmit a UECapabilityInformation including information about RRS support to the RRC layer (1060) of the base station (1040) through the RRC layer (1020). According to an embodiment, the UECapabilityInformation message may include rrs-offDurationTimer, rrs-onDurationTimer, and rrs-numberOfCycles in the form of a preference list.

In operation 1005, the base station (1040) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message including Permission of use RRS MAC CE to the RRC layer (1020) of the UE (1010) through the RRC layer (1060). For example, the RRCReconfiguration message may be configured as shown in Table 8 below.

RrsMacCePermission-IEs ::= SEQUENCE {
useRrsMacCe-Permit ENUMERATED {permitted}, OPTIONAL
rrs-preferenceList INT (NumberOfPreferenceSet), OPTIONAL
rrs-preference1 SEQUENCE {
rrs-offDurationTimer 1950,
rrs-onDurationTimer 50,
rrs-numberOfCycles 8
}, OPTIONAL
rrs-preference2 SEQUENCE {
rrs-offDurationTimer 1900,
rrs-onDurationTimer 100,
rrs-numberOfCycles 5
}, OPTIONAL
}

According to an embodiment, the UE (1010) may preset an RRS parameter set in FeatureSetDownlink and notify the base station (1040). To this end, an rrs-PreferenceList value indicating the number of preset RRS parameters may be added to the rrs-Support field above. Afterwards, RRS parameter set information may be added consecutively as many times as the rrs-PreferenceList value as rrs-Preference#. rrs-Preference# is composed of rrs-offDurationTimer, rrs-onDurationTimer, and rrs-numberOfCycle values.

In operation 1007, the UE (1010) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (1060) of the base station (1040) through the RRC layer (1020).

In operation 1009, the UE (1010) may transmit an Inter-RAT RRS (Radio Resource Sharing) Activation MAC CE to the MAC layer (1050) of the base station (1040) through the MAC layer (1030). According to an embodiment, the UE (1010) may transmit typeNumber, rrs-startSfn, and preferenceList index when activating RRS with preset parameters. For example, the rrs-Preference transmitted by the UE (1010) may be configured as shown in Table 9 below.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
typeNumber 0,
rrs-startSfn 1,
rrs-preference2
}

According to one embodiment, in a situation where an RRS preset is specified, the UE (1010) may transmit only the typeNumber, rrs-startSfn values and the index (#) value of rrs-Preference through the Inter-RAT RRS MAC CE.

Since each of operations 1011 to 1021 is substantially identical to operations 805 to 815 of FIG. 8 described above, a description thereof is omitted.

In operation 1023, the base station (1040) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message to the RRC layer (1020) of the UE (1010) for clearing RRS parameters through the RRC layer (1060). For example, the RRCReconfiguration message may be configured as shown in Table 10.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
typeNumber 2,
rrs-startSfn 601,
rrs-preference2
}

According to one embodiment, the base station (1040) may map an RRS parameter set using the index value described in the corresponding MAC CE and insert it into an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message and transmit it to the UE (1010).

Since each of operations 1025 to 1029 is substantially identical to operations 819 to 823 of FIG. 8 described above, a description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, in operation 1101, the UE (1110) can transmit and/or receive packet data to and from a MAC layer (1150) of a base station (eNB or gNB) (1140) through a MAC layer (1130). In operation 1103, the UE (1110) can transmit an Inter-RAT RRS (Radio Resource Sharing) Activation MAC CE to a MAC layer (1150) of a base station (1140) through a MAC layer (1130).

In operation 1105, the UE (1110) may transmit an antenna sharing notification message (ANT Sharing Notification) to the RRC layer (1120) through the MAC layer (1130). At this time, T _RRSWAIT may be started in the MAC layer (1130) and T _PROHIBIT may be started in the RRC layer (1120).

In operation 1107, the base station (1140) can transmit an RRS allocation request message (RRS Allocation Request) to the RRC layer (1160) through the MAC layer (1150). In operation 1109, the base station (1140) can transmit an RRS allocation ACK message (RRS Allocation ACK) to the MAC layer (1150) through the RRC layer (1160).

In operation 1111, the base station (1140) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message including RRS parameters to the RRC layer (1120) of the UE (1110) through the RRC layer (1160). For example, the RRCReconfiguration message may include rrs-Preference of Table 11.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
typeNumber 0,
rrs-startSfn 1,
rrs-offDurationTimer 50,
rrs-onDurationTimer 1950,
rrs-numberOfCycles 3
}

In operation 1113, the UE (1110) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (1160) of the base station (1140) through the RRC layer (1120). In operation 1115, the UE (1110) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (1130) through the RRC layer (1120). For example, the RRCReconfiguration message may include rrs-Preference of Table 12.

In operation 1117 and operation 1119, the base station (1140) can perform deactivation in L2 and L3 simultaneously by piggybacking the RRCReconfiguration message for clearing the Inter-RAT Radio Resource Sharing Deactivation MAC CE and RRS parameters. For example, the RRCReconfiguration message can include rrs-Preference of Table 12.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
typeNumber 2,
rrs-startSfn 601,
rrs-offDurationTimer 0,
rrs-onDurationTimer 0,
rrs-numberOfCycles 0
}

According to one embodiment, the base station (1140) can simultaneously transmit the MAC CE and the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message by piggybacking them in one MAC PDU. According to one embodiment, the base station (1140) can control the MAC layer (1130) of the UE (1110) and the RRC layer (1120) of the UE (1110) to simultaneously deactivate RRS by transmitting a message with typeNumber=2 (deactivation) set in the Inter-RAT RRS MAC CE and an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message by piggybacking them in one MAC PDU. In this case, the procedure of the RRC layer (1120) of the UE (1110) performing MAC Reconfiguration can be eliminated, thereby reducing the processing load of the terminal.

In operation 1121, the UE (1110) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (1160) of the base station (1140) through the RRC layer (1120). In operation 1123, the UE (1110) may transmit and/or receive packet data to and from the MAC layer (1150) of the base station (1140) through the MAC layer (1130).

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In Fig. 12, when RRS parameter reset is required, UE (1210) can transmit Inter-RAT RRS Modification MAC CE to base station (1240) while T _RRS is in operation. When the Inter-RAT RRS Modification MAC CE is transmitted, RRC layer (1220) of UE (1210) can set T _PROHIBIT to prevent the same message from being retransmitted.

Referring to FIG. 12, in operation 1201, the UE (1210) can transmit and/or receive packet data to and from a MAC layer (1250) of a base station (eNB or gNB) (1240) through a MAC layer (1230). In operation 1203, the UE (1210) can transmit an Inter-RAT RRS (Radio Resource Sharing) Activation MAC CE to a MAC layer (1250) of a base station (1240) through the MAC layer (1230).

In operation 1205, the UE (1210) may transmit an antenna sharing notification message (ANT Sharing Notification) to the RRC layer (1220) through the MAC layer (1230). At this time, T _RRSWAIT may be started in the MAC layer (1230) and T _PROHIBIT may be started in the RRC layer (1220).

In operation 1207, the base station (1240) can transmit an RRS allocation request message (RRS Allocation Request) to the RRC layer (1260) through the MAC layer (1250). In operation 1209, the base station (1240) can transmit an RRS allocation ACK message (RRS Allocation ACK) to the MAC layer (1250) through the RRC layer (1260).

In operation 1211, the base station (1240) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message including RRS parameters to the RRC layer (1220) of the UE (1210) through the RRC layer (1260). For example, the RRCReconfiguration message may include rrs-Preference information of Table 3.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
typeNumber 0,
rrs-startSfn 1,
rrs-offDurationTimer 50,
rrs-onDurationTimer 1950,
rrs-numberOfCycles 3
}

In operation 1213, the UE (1210) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (1260) of the base station (1240) through the RRC layer (1220). In operation 1215, the UE (1210) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (1230) through the RRC layer (1220). According to an embodiment, the UE (1210) may share radio resources for different RATs during the time when T _RRS is running.

In operation 1217 and operation 1219, the UE (1210) may transmit and/or receive packet data to and from the MAC layer (1250) of the base station (1240) through the MAC layer (1230). In operation 1221, the UE (1210) may transmit an Inter-RAT Radio Resource Sharing Modification MAC CE to the MAC layer (1250) of the base station (1240) through the MAC layer (1230) when RRS parameter reconfiguration is required.

In operation 1223, the UE (1210) may transmit an antenna sharing notification message (ANT Sharing Notification) to the RRC layer (1220) through the MAC layer (1230). In operation 1225, the base station (1240) may transmit an RRS allocation request message (RRS Allocation Request) to the RRC layer (1260) through the MAC layer (1250). In operation 1227, the base station (1240) may transmit an RRS allocation ACK message (RRS Allocation ACK) to the MAC layer (1250) through the RRC layer (1260).

In operation 1229, the base station (1240) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message including new RRS parameters to the RRC layer (1220) of the UE (1210) through the RRC layer (1260). For example, the RRCReconfiguration message may include rrs-Preference information of Table 14.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
typeNumber 1,
rrs-startSfn 301,
rrs-offDurationTimer 100,
rrs-onDurationTimer 1900,
rrs-numberOfCycles 2
}

In operation 1231, the UE (1210) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (1260) of the base station (1240) through the RRC layer (1220). In operation 1233, the UE (1210) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (1230) through the RRC layer (1220). According to an embodiment, the UE (1210) may share radio resources for different RATs during the time when T _RRS is running.

In operations 1235, 1237, and 1239, the UE (1210) may transmit and/or receive packet data with the MAC layer (1250) of the base station (1240) through the MAC layer (1230).

In operation 1241, the base station (1240) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message to the RRC layer (1220) of the UE (1210) for clearing RRS parameters through the RRC layer (1260). For example, the RRCReconfiguration message may include rrs-Preference information of Table 15.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
typeNumber 2,
rrs-startSfn 701,
rrs-offDurationTimer 0,
rrs-onDurationTimer 0,
rrs-numberOfCycles 0
}

At operation 1243, the UE (1210) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (1260) of the base station (1240) through the RRC layer (1220). At operation 1245, the UE (1210) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (1230) through the RRC layer (1220). At operation 1247, the UE (1210) may transmit and/or receive packet data to and from the MAC layer (1250) of the base station (1240) through the MAC layer (1230).

In one embodiment, while UE (1210) and base station (1240) are performing RRS operation by setting up T _RRS , UE (1210) may receive a request from a user for a service that requires the use of a third RAT that is not currently in use. In this case, UE (1210) may set typeNumber to 1 (modification) and then transmit Inter-RAT RRS MAC CE including a desired RRS parameter set.

According to one embodiment, when the base station (1240) receives an Inter-RAT RRS MAC CE of typeNumber 1, it can generate an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message using the RRS parameter set included in the corresponding MAC CE and transmit it to the UE (1210). When the UE (1210) receives the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message including the desired parameter set, it can newly set the RRS parameter set, T _RRS , and perform an RRS operation.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In Fig. 13, when a handover (HO) event occurs from a source base station (1340) to a target base station (1370) during RRS, initialization of the existing RRS parameter context setting may be required simultaneously with the occurrence of the HO. At this time, a new request for RRS Activation may be performed to the target base station (1370).

Since operations 1301 to 1315 of FIG. 13 are substantially the same as operations 801 to 815 of FIG. 8, their descriptions are omitted.

Referring to FIG. 13, in operations 1317 and 1319, the UE (1310) may transmit and/or receive packet data to and from the MAC layer (1350) of the source base station (1340) through the MAC layer (1330).

In operation 1321, the UE (1310) can transmit a measurement report to the RRC layer (1360) of the source base station (1340) through the RRC layer (1320) during the T _RRS operation.

In operation 1323, the source base station (1340) can transmit a handover request message (HandoverRequest) including UE RRS context to the RRC layer (1390) of the target base station (1380) through the RRC layer (1360). For example, the handover request message can include rrs-Preference information of Table 16.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
rrs-offDurationTimer 50,
rrs-onDurationTimer 1950,
rrs-numberOfCycles 3
}

In operation 1325, the target base station (1380) can transmit a handover request ACK message (HandoverRequest ACK) to the RRC layer (1360) of the source base station (1340) through the RRC layer (1390).

In operation 1327, the source base station (1340) may transmit an RRC connection reconfiguration (RRCConnReconfiguration) message including a HO command to the RRC layer (1320) of the UE (1310) through the RRC layer (1360). In operation 1329, the UE (1310) may transmit an RRC connection reconfiguration complete (RRCConnectionReconfiguration Complete) message to the RRC layer (1390) of the target base station (1380) through the RRC layer (1320). In operation 1331, the UE (1310) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (1330) through the RRC layer (1320).

In operation 1333, the UE (1310) can transmit an Inter-RAT RRS (Radio Resource Sharing) Activation MAC CE to the MAC layer (1380) of the target base station (1370) through the MAC layer (1330).

In operation 1335, the UE (1310) may transmit an antenna sharing notification message (ANT Sharing Notification) to the RRC layer (1320) through the MAC layer (1330). At this time, T _RRSWAIT may be started in the MAC layer (1330) and T _PROHIBIT may be started in the RRC layer (1320).

In operation 1337, the target base station (1370) can transmit an RRS allocation request message (RRS Allocation Request) to the RRC layer (1390) through the MAC layer (1380). In operation 1339, the target base station (1370) can transmit an RRS allocation ACK message (RRS Allocation ACK) to the MAC layer (1380) through the RRC layer (1390).

In operation 1341, the target base station (1370) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message including RRS parameters to the RRC layer (1320) of the UE (1310) through the RRC layer (1390). For example, the RRCReconfiguration message may include rrs-Preference information of Table 17.

rrs-Preference ::= SEQUENCE {
typeNumber 0,
rrs-startSfn 701,
rrs-offDurationTimer 50,
rrs-onDurationTimer 1950,
rrs-numberOfCycles 3
}

In operation 1343, the UE (1310) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (1390) of the target base station (1370) through the RRC layer (1320). In operation 1345, the UE (1310) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (1330) through the RRC layer (1320). In operation 1347, the UE (1310) may transmit and/or receive packet data to and from the MAC layer (1380) of the target base station (1370) through the MAC layer (1330).

According to one embodiment, when a handover is confirmed, the source base station (1340) may transmit a HandoverRequest message including an RRS parameter set of a previously used UE (1310) to the target base station (1370). According to one embodiment, when the source base station (1340) receives an ACK from the target base station (1370), the source base station (1340) may transmit an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message including an RRS parameter set with RRS typeNumber set to 2 (deactivation) and a Handover Command to the UE (1310).

According to one embodiment, the UE (1310) may deactivate RRS and perform a handover to the target base station (1370) immediately after receiving the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message. After the handover is completed, the target base station (1370) may transmit an RRC Connection Reconfiguration including an RRS parameter set (received from the source base station (1340) through a HandoverRequest message) to the UE (1310). When the UE (1310) receives the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, the UE (1310) may perform an RRS operation using a corresponding (or previously used) RRS parameter set.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a UE and a base station for sharing wireless resources between heterogeneous RATs according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 14 illustrates a case where cellular connection is maintained while ensuring the operation time (Wi-Fi Scan and/or UWB) of heterogeneous RAT. In the present invention, PDSCH scheduling may not be performed at a time when heterogeneous RAT operation is required during the T _RRS period.

Referring to FIG. 14, in operation 1401, a UE (1410) may transmit and/or receive packet data to and from a MAC layer (1470) of a base station (eNB or gNB) (1460) through a MAC layer (1450).

In operation 1403, the UE (1410) may transmit an Inter-RAT RRS (Radio Resource Sharing) Activation MAC CE to the MAC layer (1470) of the base station (1460) through the MAC layer (1450).

In operation 1405, the UE (1410) may transmit an antenna sharing notification message (ANT Sharing Notification) to the RRC layer (1440) through the MAC layer (1450). At this time, T _RRSWAIT may be started in the MAC layer (1450) and T _PROHIBIT may be started in the RRC layer (1440).

In operation 1407, the base station (1460) can transmit an RRS allocation request message (RRS Allocation Request) to the RRC layer (1480) through the MAC layer (1470). In operation 1409, the base station (1460) can transmit an RRS allocation ACK message (RRS Allocation ACK) to the MAC layer (1470) through the RRC layer (1480).

In operation 1411, the base station (1460) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message including RRS parameters to the RRC layer (1440) of the UE (1410) through the RRC layer (1480). In operation 1413, the UE (1410) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (1480) of the base station (1460) through the RRC layer (1440). In operation 1415, the UE (1410) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (1450) through the RRC layer (1440).

In operations 1417, 1419, and 1421, the UE (1410) may transmit and/or receive packet data with the MAC layer (1470) of the base station (1460) through the MAC layer (1450).

In operation 1423, the UE (1410) can transmit a Probe Request through the Wi-Fi module (1430). In operation 1425, the UE (1410) can receive a Probe Response through the Wi-Fi module (1430).

At operation 1427, the UE (1410) can transmit an 802.15.4z Ranging Frame through the UWB module (1420). At operation 1429, the UE (1410) can receive an 802.15.4z Response Frame through the UWB module (1420). At operation 1431, the UE (1410) can receive a Ranging Frame through the UWB module (1420). At operation 1433, the UE (1410) can transmit a Response Frame through the UWB module (1420).

In operation 1435, the base station (1460) may transmit an RRCReconfiguration message to the RRC layer (1440) of the UE (1410) for clearing RRS parameters through the RRC layer (1480).

In operation 1437, the UE (1410) may transmit an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the RRC layer (1480) of the base station (1460) through the RRC layer (1440). In operation 1439, the UE (1410) may transmit a MAC Reconfiguration message to the MAC layer (1450) through the RRC layer (1440).

Through the present invention, cellular communication can maintain cellular connection without interruption while guaranteeing the operation time (Wi-Fi scan, UWB scan) of heterogeneous RAT using the same band. When operating heterogeneous RAT using existing DRX, Cellular RLF (Radio Link Failure) may occur, whereas the present invention can guarantee heterogeneous RAT operation without Cellular RLF. In addition, the existing DRX has PDSCH scheduling, performs an additional inactivity timer, and may not enter DRX at an exact time, whereas the present invention can guarantee the operation of heterogeneous RAT by not performing PDSCH scheduling at a time when heterogeneous RAT operation is required.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a UE according to embodiments of the present invention.

The UE of Fig. 15 may be implemented as the UE or terminal illustrated in Figs. 1 to 14. Referring to Fig. 15, the UE may include a transceiver (1510), a memory (1520), and a control unit (1530).

The transceiver (1510) can transmit and receive signals with a base station, a network device, or another terminal. The transceiver (1510) may also be referred to as a transceiver. The transceiver (1510) may include a transmitter and a receiver.

The memory (1520) can store at least one of information transmitted and received through the transceiver (1510) and information generated through the control unit (1530).

The control unit (1530) may be defined as a circuit or an application-specific integrated circuit or at least one processor. The control unit (1530) may control the overall operation of the UE or terminal according to the embodiment proposed in the present disclosure. For example, the control unit (1530) may control the signal flow between each block to perform the operation according to the flowchart described above. Specifically, the control unit (1530) may control the operation of the UE or terminal illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 14, for example.

According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may transmit, to the base station, medium access control (MAC) CE (control elements) for activating radio resource sharing (RRS) between cellular communication and heterogeneous radio access technology (RAT) using the same band. According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may receive, from the base station, an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message including a parameter set for the cellular communication and the RRS between the heterogeneous RAT. According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may transmit, to the base station, an RRC reconfiguration complete message in response to the RRC reconfiguration message.

According to one embodiment, the parameter set for the cellular communication and the RRS between the heterogeneous RAT may include at least one of a system frame number (SFN) at which a cycle of the RRS starts, information indicating a time period for the cellular communication to which the RRS is not applied (rrs-offDurationTimer), information indicating an inactive time period of the cellular communication for the RRS (rrs-onDurationTimer), and a number of times the RRS is performed.

According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may start a first timer (T _PROHIBIT ) to prevent the UE from retransmitting the MAC CE. According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may terminate the first timer (T _PROHIBIT ) and start a second timer (T _RRS ) for the RRS if the RRS parameter set included in the MAC CE is identical to the parameter set included in the RRC reconfiguration message. According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may retransmit the MAC CE to the base station for activating the RRS if the RRS parameter set included in the MAC CE is different from the parameter set included in the RRC reconfiguration message.

According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may start a third timer (T _RRSWAIT ) by transmitting an ANT Sharing Notification message from a MAC layer of the UE to an RRC layer through internal signaling of the UE. According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may retransmit the MAC CE for activating the RRS to the base station if the RRC reconfiguration message including the parameter set is not received until the third timer (T _RRSWAIT ) expires. According to one embodiment, the UE may be configured not to retransmit the MAC CE for activating the RRS until the third timer ( _{T RRSWAIT} ) expires.

According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may receive a first message (UECapabilityEnquiry) from the base station that inquires whether the UE supports the RRS. According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may transmit a second message (UECapabilityInformation) that includes information on whether the UE supports the RRS to the base station.

According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may receive an RRC reconfiguration message from the base station for clearing the parameter set for the RRS.

According to one embodiment, the MAC CE for disabling the RRS and the RRC reconfiguration message for clearing the parameter set for the RRS may be piggybacked and received from the base station.

According to one embodiment, the control unit (1530) may transmit an RRS change MAC CE to the base station to reset the parameter set for the RRS.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a base station according to embodiments of the present invention.

The base station of FIG. 16 may be implemented as a base station, eNB, gNB, source base station, or target base station as shown in FIGS. 1 to 14. Referring to FIG. 16, the base station may include a transceiver (1610), a memory (1620), and a control unit (1630).

The transceiver (1610) can transmit and receive signals with a terminal, another base station, or a network device. The transceiver (1610) may also be referred to as a transceiver. The transceiver (1610) may include a transmitter and a receiver.

The memory (1620) can store at least one of information transmitted and received through the transceiver (1610) and information generated through the control unit (1630).

The control unit (1630) may be defined as a circuit or an application-specific integrated circuit or at least one processor. The control unit (1630) may control the overall operation of the base station according to the embodiment proposed in the present disclosure. For example, the control unit (1630) may control the signal flow between each block to perform the operation according to the flowchart described above. Specifically, the control unit (1630) may control the operation of the base station, eNB, gNB, source base station, or target base station, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 14.

According to one embodiment, the control unit (1630) may receive, from a user equipment (UE), medium access control (MAC) CE (control elements) for activating radio resource sharing (RRS) between cellular communication and heterogeneous radio access technology (RAT) using the same band. According to one embodiment, the control unit (1630) may transmit, to the UE, an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message including a parameter set for the cellular communication and the RRS between the heterogeneous RAT. According to one embodiment, the control unit (1630) may receive, from the UE, an RRC reconfiguration complete message in response to the RRC reconfiguration message.

The methods according to the embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. In the case of software implementation, a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs (software modules) may be provided. The one or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium are configured for execution by one or more processors in an electronic device. The one or more programs include instructions that cause the electronic device to execute the methods according to the embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present disclosure.

These programs (software modules, software) may be stored in a random access memory, a non-volatile memory including a flash memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disc storage device, a Compact Disc-ROM (CD-ROM), a Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs) or other forms of optical storage devices, a magnetic cassette. Or, they may be stored in a memory composed of a combination of some or all of these. In addition, each configuration memory may be included in multiple numbers.

Additionally, the program may be stored in an attachable storage device that is accessible via a communication network, such as the Internet, an Intranet, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide LAN (WLAN), or a Storage Area Network (SAN), or a combination thereof. The storage device may be connected to a device performing an embodiment of the present disclosure via an external port. Additionally, a separate storage device on the communication network may be connected to a device performing an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the specific embodiments of the present disclosure described above, the components included in the invention are expressed in the singular or plural form according to the specific embodiments presented. However, the singular or plural expressions are selected appropriately for the presented situation for the convenience of explanation, and the present disclosure is not limited to the singular or plural components, and even if a component is expressed in the plural form, it may be composed of the singular form, or even if a component is expressed in the singular form, it may be composed of the plural form.

Meanwhile, although the detailed description of the present disclosure has described specific embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the scope of the claims described below, but also by equivalents of the scope of the claims.

Claims (15)

In a method of UE (user equipment) in a wireless communication system, An operation of transmitting MAC (medium access control) CE (control elements) to a base station to activate RRS (radio resource sharing) between cellular communications and heterogeneous RAT (radio access technology) using the same band; An operation of receiving an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message including a parameter set for the cellular communication and the RRS between the heterogeneous RAT from the base station; and A method characterized by comprising the action of transmitting an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the base station in response to the RRC reconfiguration message. In the first paragraph, the parameter set for the cellular communication and the RRS between the heterogeneous RATs is: A method characterized by including at least one of an SFN (system frame number) at which a cycle of the RRS starts, information indicating a time period for the cellular communication to which the RRS is not applied (rrs-offDurationTimer), information indicating an inactive time period of the cellular communication for the RRS (rrs-onDurationTimer), and the number of times the RRS is performed. In the first paragraph, An action of starting a first timer (T _PROHIBIT ) to prevent the UE from retransmitting the MAC CE; If the RRS parameter set included in the MAC CE is identical to the parameter set included in the RRC reconfiguration message, an operation of terminating the first timer (T _PROHIBIT ) and starting the second timer (T _RRS ) for the RRS; and A method characterized in that it further includes an operation of retransmitting the MAC CE to the base station for activating the RRS if the RRS parameter set included in the MAC CE is different from the parameter set included in the RRC reconfiguration message. In the first paragraph, An operation of starting a third timer (T _RRSWAIT ) by transmitting an antenna sharing notification message (ANT Sharing Notification) from the MAC layer of the UE to the RRC layer through internal signaling of the UE; and Further comprising an operation of retransmitting the MAC CE for activating the RRS to the base station if the RRC reconfiguration message including the parameter set is not received until the third timer (T _RRSWAIT ) expires, A method characterized in that the MAC CE for activating the RRS is set not to be retransmitted until the third timer (T _RRSWAIT ) expires. In the first paragraph, An operation of receiving a first message (UECapabilityEnquiry) from the base station inquiring whether the UE supports the RRS; and A method further comprising the action of transmitting a second message (UECapabilityInformation) including information on whether the UE supports the RRS to the base station. In the first paragraph, A method further comprising the action of receiving an RRC reconfiguration message from the base station for clearing the parameter set for the RRS. In Article 6, A method characterized in that the MAC CE for disabling the RRS and the RRC reconfiguration message for clearing the parameter set for the RRS are piggybacked and received from the base station. In the first paragraph, A method characterized by further comprising the action of transmitting an RRS change MAC CE to the base station to reset the parameter set for the RRS. In a method of a base station in a wireless communication system, An operation of receiving MAC (medium access control) CE (control elements) from UE (user equipment) to activate RRS (radio resource sharing) between cellular communication and heterogeneous RAT (radio access technology) using the same band; An operation of transmitting an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message including a parameter set for the cellular communication and the RRS between the heterogeneous RAT to the UE; and A method characterized by comprising the action of receiving an RRC reconfiguration complete message from the UE in response to the RRC reconfiguration message. In the 9th paragraph, the parameter set for the cellular communication and the RRS between the heterogeneous RATs is, A method characterized by including at least one of an SFN (system frame number) at which a cycle of the RRS starts, information indicating a time period for the cellular communication to which the RRS is not applied (rrs-offDurationTimer), information indicating an inactive time period of the cellular communication for the RRS (rrs-onDurationTimer), and the number of times the RRS is performed. In Article 9, An operation of transmitting a first message (UECapabilityEnquiry) to the UE to inquire whether the UE supports the RRS; and A method further comprising the action of receiving a second message (UECapabilityInformation) from the UE, the second message including information on whether the UE supports the RRS. In Article 9, A method further comprising the action of transmitting an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE for clearing the parameter set for the RRS. In Article 12, A method characterized in that the MAC CE for disabling the RRS and the RRC reconfiguration message for clearing the parameter set for the RRS are piggybacked and transmitted to the UE. In a wireless communication system, in the UE (user equipment), Transmitter and receiver; and comprising a control unit, said control unit comprising: Controls the transmission of MAC (medium access control) CE (control elements) to the base station to activate RRS (radio resource sharing) between cellular communication and heterogeneous RAT (radio access technology) using the same band, Receiving an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message including a parameter set for the cellular communication and the RRS between the heterogeneous RAT from the base station, A UE characterized by controlling to transmit an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the base station in response to the RRC reconfiguration message. In a wireless communication system, at a base station, Transmitter and receiver; and comprising a control unit, said control unit comprising: Receives MAC (medium access control) CE (control elements) from UE (user equipment) to activate RRS (radio resource sharing) between cellular communication and heterogeneous RAT (radio access technology) using the same band, Controlling to transmit to the UE an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message including a parameter set for the cellular communication and the RRS between the heterogeneous RAT, A base station characterized by receiving an RRC reconfiguration complete message from the UE in response to the RRC reconfiguration message.

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