WO2011054141A1 - Method and device for allocating resources in a mobile communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

A technical solution for allocating resources in a mobile communication system is disclosed. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for transmitting data to a user equipment in an access equipment is provided, and includes the following steps: A. determining the greatest resource requirement of a first type of a service and the resources allocated to said first type of said service; and B. according to the resource allocation situation and to the type of a second type of service, determining whether to permit provision of said second type of service. Use of the technical solution provided in the present invention increases the utilization rate of system resources and enables resource conflicts between the first type of service and the second type of service to be controlled.

Description

 Method and device for resource allocation in mobile communication system

 The present invention relates to mobile communication technologies, and more particularly to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, and in particular, resource configuration in LTE technology. Background technique

 According to the existing specifications of the LTE technology, the unicast service is allocated to the user terminal by the evolved Node B (eNodeB), and the Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) is allocated by the Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Coordination Entity and notified to the evolved Node B. The Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Coordination Entity (MCE) does not know the resource allocation of the evolved Node B, and the evolved Node B does not know the resources to be allocated by the MCE. Therefore, when the MCE allocates a subframe of a multicast/broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN), there is a conflict between the MBMS service and the unicast service controlled by the evolved Node B. Summary of the invention

 MBMS services may include long-term TV services, medium-duration downloads, or some short-lived applications. Therefore, the resources required for the MBMS business are changing within one day. If you reserve resources for an MBMS service all day, and the service lasts only a few minutes, this is obviously not appropriate. Need more flexible resource configuration.

 With the development of technology, user terminals should be able to support the application of various bursty services. For example, there are some applications for emergencies, which usually have higher priority, even higher than most other businesses. The duration and size of such bursty services are unpredictable, so long-term resource reservation for such bursty services is difficult and uneconomical, which may affect the capacity of the same-frequency unicast service. In order to support a variety of unexpected services, there are a variety of technical solutions available.

First scenario: The evolved Node B reserves resources that are sufficient to support all potential requirements for future services. However, this solution will cause huge waste of resources and will greatly affect the configuration of unicast services. The second scheme: The user terminal runs a program corresponding to the evolved Node B, and synchronously updates the MBMS service resources that are changed as needed. These programs can be triggered manually or by other programs running on the remote Broadcast/Multicast Service Center (BM-SC). This solution is slightly complicated and may cause more processing overhead. When the user terminal device or the evolved Node B device is manufactured by different vendors, the solution may not be flexible enough.

 The third option: Interrupt the existing MBMS service. If the new service has a higher priority, you can interrupt the resources of the already running business. It can be controlled by the MCE, or an interrupt program can be introduced to feedback, and the lower priority service will be suspended to free resources to the new service. Alternatively, the BM-SC may issue a session stop signaling to suspend lower priority traffic. If the new business has a lower priority, the new business will be blocked. If the scheme sent by the BM-SC is used, no new signaling will be generated based on the existing LTE protocol.

 A primary object of the present invention is to provide a more suitable technical solution that benefits both resource utilization and support for new services.

 According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for transmitting data to a user terminal in an access device is provided, comprising the following steps: A. determining a maximum resource requirement of the first type of service and assigning to the first type of service Resources; B. Determine whether to allow the provision of this second type of service based on the allocation of resources and the category of a second type of business.

 According to some embodiments of the present invention, the method of transmitting data to a user terminal in an access device is applied to a multicast/broadcast single frequency network. According to still another embodiment of the present invention, in the method for transmitting data to a user terminal in the access device, the first type of service is a multimedia broadcast multicast service, and the second type of service is a unicast service. According to still another embodiment of the present invention, in the method for transmitting data to a user terminal in an access device, the access device is an evolved Node B.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for transmitting data to a user terminal in an access device is provided, including: a first device, configured to determine a maximum resource requirement of a first type of service and allocate to a first class a resource of the service; a second device, configured to determine, according to the resource allocation situation and a category of the second type of service, whether to provide the second type of service. According to an aspect of the present invention, an access device is provided, comprising the apparatus for transmitting data to a user terminal in the above aspect.

 According to another aspect of the present invention, a software program is provided for implementing the method of transmitting data to a user terminal in an access device, the instruction code comprising instructions for performing the steps of the method.

 According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for resource configuration of a user terminal in a multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity is provided, including the following steps: sending a message to an evolved Node B accessed by the user terminal The maximum resource requirement of the first type of service of the user terminal and the resource allocated to the first type of service are notified.

 According to an aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for configuring a resource for a user terminal in a multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity, includes: a third device, an evolved access to the user terminal The Node B sends signaling to notify the user terminal of the maximum resource requirement of the first type of service and the resource allocated to the first type of service.

 According to an aspect of the present invention, a multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity is provided, which includes the apparatus for resource configuration of a user terminal in the above aspect.

 According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software program for implementing the method for resource configuration of a user terminal in a multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity, comprising: for performing the method The instruction code for the relevant step.

 By using the methods, apparatus, devices, and software programs provided by the present invention, system resource utilization is improved, and resource conflicts between the first type of service and the second type of service can be controlled. DRAWINGS

 The system will be better understood with reference to the figures and description below. The components in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, but rather are used to illustrate the principles of a typical model. Throughout the drawings, like reference characters have

1 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a wireless communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram of ending to a user in an access device according to an embodiment of the present invention. a flow chart of a method for transmitting data at the end;

 3 is a block diagram of an apparatus for transmitting data to a user terminal in an access device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

 4 is a block diagram of an apparatus for resource configuration of a user terminal in a multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. detailed description

 1 is a block diagram showing the composition of a wireless communication network in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the wireless communication network includes an access device 10, a user terminal 20, and an access control device 30. The access device 10 is configured to implement data access of the user terminal 20, and the access control device 30 is responsible for resource allocation of at least part of the service of the user terminal 20.

 2 is a flow diagram of a method of transmitting data to a user terminal in an access device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The method will be described below in conjunction with FIG.

 As shown in Figure 2, the method includes two steps.

 In step S1, the access device 10 determines the maximum resource requirements for the first type of service of the user terminal 20 and the resources allocated for the first type of service.

 In step S2, the access device 10 determines whether to permit the provision of the second type of service according to the resource allocation situation and the category of a second type of service of the user terminal 20.

 Specifically, in the LTE system supporting the MBMS service, the access device 10 is an evolved Node B, and the access control device 30 is a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Coordination Entity (MCE). The method is applied to a multicast/multicast single frequency network. The unicast service of the user terminal 20 and the MBMS service share the same frequency resources. Specifically, the first type of service is an MBMS service, and the second type of service is a unicast service.

 In step S1, the evolved Node B 10 will determine the maximum resource requirement of the MBMS service of the user terminal 20 and the resources allocated to the MBMS service.

Specifically, the above information is sent to the evolved Node B 10 by the multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity 30. For example, the MBSFN of the user terminal 20 has a total of 10 subframes, and the maximum resource requirement of the MBMS service of the user terminal 20 is 6 subframes, that is, the MBMS service can occupy resources of up to 6 subframes, and the remaining 4 subframes. Frames can be assigned to other services. Then, 6 out of 10 subframes can be marked as MBMS service available subframes, and the other 4 can be marked as MBMS service unavailable subframes. Among the 6 MBMS service available subframes, for example, 3 subframes have been allocated to the MBMS service; then the remaining 3 subframes can be allocated to other services, and can be preferentially occupied by the burst MBMS service.

 In step S2, the evolved Node B 10 will determine whether to allow the unicast service to be provided according to the resource allocation situation and the category of a unicast service. The unicast service is a new service, waiting for the evolved Node B 10 to allocate resources. The new unicast service may be requested by the user terminal 20 or may be answered by other calling parties.

 Specifically, the type of unicast service may be classified according to quality of service (Qos). According to the existing specifications of LTE technology, quality of service is divided into two categories: Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) and Non-guaranteed Code Rate (non-GBR). Generally, the code rate type service has a higher priority, and the non-guaranteed code rate type service has a lower priority. In addition, the type of unicast service can also be classified according to real-time services or non-real-time services. Generally, real-time services have higher priority and non-real-time services have lower priority.

 Specifically, step S2 may include the following situations:

 1) If there is no free resource, the unicast service is refused to be provided.

2) If there are still resources other than the maximum resource requirement of the MBMS service, the unicast service is allowed to be provided. Specifically, for example, if there are still idle resources in the foregoing four MBMS service unavailable subframes, the evolved Node B 10 allows the idle resources to be used to carry the new unicast service, and of course, the idle resources are sufficient to carry the In the case of unicast services.

3) If there is no idle resource outside the maximum resource requirement of the MBMS service and there are still idle resources within the maximum resource requirement, it is further determined according to the type of the unicast service whether the unicast service is allowed to be provided. Specifically, for example, if there are no idle resources in the unavailable subframes of the foregoing four MBMS services, and there are still idle resources in the available subframes of the six MBMS services, the new unicast service type is further determined; The unicast service belongs to a lower priority service, such as a non-guaranteed code rate type service, and the evolved Node B 10 allows the use of these idle MBMS available subframes to carry the new one. The incoming unicast service; if the new unicast service belongs to a higher priority service, such as a guaranteed rate rate type service, the evolved Node B 10 refuses to provide the new unicast service.

 Therefore, the idle resources in the available MBMS subframes can be used to carry lower priority unicast services, thereby improving system resource utilization. When a bursty MBMS service is generated in the future, the evolved Node B 10 can interrupt the lower priority unicast services carried on the MBMS available subframes, and use these resources to carry the burst MBMS service until the burst The MBMS service ends to recover the interrupted unicast service. In this way, there are not too many resource conflicts between the MBMS service and the unicast service. And because lower priority services are less sensitive to latency, the user experience is not significantly affected.

 Accordingly, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a method for resource configuration of a user terminal in a multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity. For example, when the multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity 30 performs resource allocation to the user terminal 20, it will send signaling to the evolved NodeB accessed by the user terminal 20 to notify the user terminal 20 of the maximum resource requirement and allocation of the MBMS service. Resources for the MBMS business. At least, the information about the resources allocated to the MBMS service should be updated by the multicast broadcast multicast service coordination entity 30 periodically or irregularly according to the service requirements.

 Those skilled in the art should understand that the method in the above embodiments can well conform to the specifications of the existing LTE technology without making too many changes to the existing specifications.

 Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above-described embodiments are merely exemplary and not limiting. The foregoing method is not limited to being used in a multicast/broadcast single-frequency network, and may be applied to other network environments. The foregoing method is not limited to resource allocation between an MBMS service and a unicast service, and may also be used for other two shared-frequency resources. Resource allocation between different services (first type of business, second type of business).

The above method of transmitting data to a user terminal in an access device can be implemented by a software program, such software program including instruction code for performing each of the respective steps. The method for resource configuration of a user terminal in the multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity may also be implemented by a software program, and the software program includes instruction code for executing each step in the corresponding method. 3 is a block diagram of an apparatus for transmitting data to a user terminal in an access device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Device 100 is typically disposed within access device 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the device 100 includes a first device 101 and a second device 102.

 The first device 101 is configured to determine a maximum resource requirement of the first type of service of the user terminal 20 and a resource allocated to the first type of service. The second device 102 is configured to determine whether to permit the provision of the second type of service according to the resource allocation situation and the category of a second type of service of the user terminal 20.

 Specifically, in the LTE system supporting the MBMS service, the access device 10 is an evolved Node B, and the access control device 30 is a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Coordination Entity (MCE). The apparatus 100 is applied to a multicast/multicast single frequency network environment. The unicast service of the user terminal 20 and the MBMS service share the same frequency resources. Specifically, the first type of service is an MBMS service, and the second type of service is a unicast service.

 In the evolved Node B 10, the first device 101 will determine the maximum resource requirement of the MBMS service of the user terminal 20 and the resources allocated to the MBMS service.

 Specifically, the above information is sent to the evolved Node B 10 by the multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity 30 to send a signaling notification. For example, the MBSFN of the user terminal 20 has a total of 10 subframes, and the maximum resource requirement of the MBMS service of the user terminal 20 is 6 subframes, that is, the MBMS service can occupy resources of up to 6 subframes, and the remaining 4 subframes can be allocated. Other business. Six of the 10 subframes can be marked as MBMS service available subframes, and the other four can be marked as MBMS service unavailable subframes. In the 6 MBMS service available subframes, for example, 3 subframes have been allocated to the MBMS service; then the remaining 3 subframes can be allocated to other services and can be preferentially occupied by the burst MBMS service.

 The second device 102 will then determine whether to allow the unicast service to be provided based on the resource allocation and the class of a unicast service. The unicast service is a new service, waiting for the evolved Node B 10 to allocate resources. The new unicast service may be requested by the user terminal 20 or may be answered by other calling parties.

Specifically, the type of the unicast service may be classified according to the quality of service (Q _0S ). According to the existing specifications of LTE technology, quality of service is divided into two categories: Guaranteed code rate ( Guaranteed Bit Rate, GBR) and non-guaranteed code rate (non-GBR) ₀ Generally, the guaranteed code rate type service has higher priority and the non-guaranteed code rate type service has lower priority. In addition, the type of unicast service can also be classified according to real-time services or non-real-time services. Generally, real-time services have higher priority and non-real-time services have lower priority.

 Specifically, the processing of the second device 102 may include the following situations:

 1) If there is no free resource, the unicast service is refused to be provided.

2) If there are still resources other than the maximum resource requirement of the MBMS service, the unicast service is allowed to be provided. Specifically, for example, if there are still idle resources in the foregoing four MBMS service unavailable subframes, the second device 102 allows the idle resources to be used to carry the new unicast service, and of course, the idle resources are sufficient to carry the In the case of unicast services.

 3) If there is no idle resource outside the maximum resource requirement of the MBMS service and there are still idle resources within the maximum resource requirement, it is further determined according to the type of the unicast service whether the unicast service is allowed to be provided. Specifically, for example, if there are no idle resources in the unavailable subframes of the foregoing four MBMS services, and there are still idle resources in the available subframes of the six MBMS services, the new unicast service type is further determined; The unicast service belongs to a lower priority service, such as a non-guaranteed code rate type service, and the second device 102 allows the idle MBMS available subframe to be used to carry the new unicast service; if the new unicast service is unicast The service belongs to a higher priority service, such as a guaranteed rate rate type service, and the second device 102 refuses to provide the new unicast service.

 Therefore, the idle resources in the available MBMS subframes can be used to carry lower priority unicast services, thereby improving system resource utilization. When a bursty MBMS service is generated in the future, the evolved Node B 10 can interrupt the lower priority unicast services carried on the MBMS available subframes, and use these resources to carry the burst MBMS service until the burst The MBMS service ends to recover the interrupted unicast service. In this way, there are not too many resource conflicts between the MBMS service and the unicast service. And because lower priority services are less sensitive to latency, the user experience is not significantly affected.

4 is a block diagram of an apparatus for resource configuration of a user terminal in a multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity according to an embodiment of the present invention. Device 300 The type is set in the multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity 30. As shown in FIG. 4, device 300 includes a third device 301.

 Correspondingly, when the multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity 30 performs resource allocation on the user terminal 20, the third device 301 sends signaling to the evolved Node B accessed by the user terminal 20 to notify the user terminal 20 of the MBMS service. Maximum resource requirements and resources allocated to the MBMS service. At least, the information allocated to the MBMS service resource should be updated by the third device 301 periodically or irregularly according to the service requirement.

 The device referred to in the present invention may be implemented by a hardware module or a software module, or may be implemented by a combination of software and hardware.

 Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above-described embodiments are illustrative and not limiting. Other variations of the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the <RTIgt; In the claims, the <RTIgt; "comprising"</RTI> does not exclude other means or steps; the indefinite article "a" does not exclude a plurality. The specific order of the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the protection. The functions of the various parts appearing in the claims can be implemented by a single hardware or software module. The appearance in the different dependent claims does not mean that these technical features are not combined in order to obtain a benefit.

Claims

Claim A method for transmitting data to a user terminal in an access device, comprising the steps of:  A. Determine the maximum resource requirements for the first type of business and the resources allocated to the first type of business;  B. Determine whether to allow the second type of service based on the allocation of resources and the category of a second type of business.  2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the method is applied in a multicast/broadcast single frequency network.  The method according to claim 1, wherein the first type of service is a multimedia broadcast multicast service, and the second type of service is a unicast service.  The method according to claim 1, wherein the access device is an evolved node, and in the step A, the evolved Node B is based on signaling from a multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity. Determine the maximum resource requirements for the first type of business and the resources allocated to the first type of business.  The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the step B comprises:  If there are still resources other than the maximum resource requirement of the first type of service, the second type of service is allowed to be provided.  The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the step B comprises:  If there is no idle resource other than the maximum resource requirement of the first type of service and there is still idle resource within the maximum resource requirement, and the second type of service is a non-guaranteed code rate type service, the second type of service is allowed to be provided.  The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the step B comprises: If there is no idle resource, or only the idle resource exists in the maximum resource requirement of the first type of service, and the second type of service is the guaranteed code rate type service, the refusal to mention For the second type of business.  8. A method for resource configuration of a user terminal in a multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity, comprising the steps of:  Sending signaling to the evolved Node B accessed by the user terminal, notifying the maximum resource requirement of the first type of service of the user terminal and the resource allocated to the first type of service.  9. An apparatus for transmitting data to a user terminal in an access device, comprising:  a first device, configured to determine a maximum resource requirement of the first type of service and a resource allocated to the first type of service;  And a second device, configured to determine, according to the resource allocation situation and a category of the second type of service, whether to provide the second type of service.  The device according to claim 9, wherein the first type of service is a multimedia broadcast multicast service, and the second type of service is a unicast service.  1 1. A device for configuring a resource for a user terminal in a multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity, comprising:  The third device is configured to send signaling to the evolved Node B accessed by the user terminal, to notify the user terminal of the maximum resource requirement of the first type of service and the resource allocated to the first type of service.  12. An access device comprising the apparatus of claim 9 or 10.  13. A multimedia broadcast multicast service coordination entity comprising the apparatus of claim 11.  A software program for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising instruction code for performing the relevant steps.  15. A software program for implementing the method of claim 8 comprising instruction code for performing the relevant steps.