CN110603827B

CN110603827B - System and method for configuring system information in a wireless network

Info

Publication number: CN110603827B
Application number: CN201780090527.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘旸; 刘壮; 高音; 黄河
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2017-06-15
Filing date: 2017-06-15
Publication date: 2021-09-10
Anticipated expiration: 2037-06-15
Also published as: WO2018227481A1; CN110603827A

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method and system for configuring system information in a wireless network. In one embodiment, a method implemented on a first node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: generating a message related to system information associated with at least one cell in a wireless network; and transmitting the message to a second node associated with the at least one cell, wherein the first node and the second node cooperate to serve the at least one cell as a base station.

Description

System and method for configuring system information in a wireless network

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to systems and methods for configuring system information in a wireless network.

Background

Future wireless communication systems, such as the 5G New Radio (NR) system, will have a novel network architecture and more networking flexibility. In a 5G NR network, a Base Station (BS) on the radio access network side can be divided into two functional entities: a centralized processing network element CU (centralized unit) and a distributed processing network element DU (distributed unit). There are ideal and/or non-ideal fronthaul transmissions and connections between DUs and CUs. Furthermore, this CU-DU separation architecture may also be applicable to future 4G evolution.

After the terminal completes cell search and determines that the terminal is a resident user (residual) of the cell, the terminal needs to acquire system information of the cell to know a configuration mode of the cell and access the cell to work. The cell will continue to send system information associated with the cell and the end User Equipment (UE) will acquire this information when needed. Some basic features of system information transmission include: each cell transmitting system information associated with the cell by means of a broadcast; broadcasting all system information continuously by pre-configuration or pre-scheduling; and dividing the system information into a plurality of transport blocks according to the characteristics and functions. For example, important ones of the transport blocks, such as the Master Information Block (MIB) and the system information block (referred to as SIB1), are transmitted by a fixed pre-configuration (including transmission timing and/or transmission resources). Other transport blocks are transmitted in a prescheduled form (including transmission timing and/or transmission resources) and the scheduling information is typically in the SIB 1.

Under the above system information transmission mechanism, with the introduction of new technologies, transmission blocks become more; the content size of the system information content becomes larger; and the corresponding resource consumption is increasing. Moreover, it is unlikely that many transport blocks specifically designed for the new technology will be required in practice. Thus, the continuous broadcasting of these transport blocks would waste resources and increase the power consumption of the network side device.

In response to this problem, the industry has begun to investigate ways to classify system information according to the importance of the information. One class includes the necessary system information, which still uses the broadcast mechanism; and another class includes other system information, referred to as non-essential system information, which uses only an on-demand broadcast mechanism. The necessary system information typically includes very critical system information related to initial access and/or cell camping, thereby greatly compressing information that the cell needs to broadcast and periodically broadcasting the necessary system information. The remaining system information belongs to the second class and a broadcast transmission mechanism may be used; they are only transmitted on demand, not periodically, to improve resource utilization efficiency.

In the case of an integrated base station, the system information for a cell is configured by its associated base station and is cycled over a period of time, where the UE will acquire the system information when needed. However, after the base station is divided into a centralized network element CU and a distributed network element DU, there is no existing solution on how to broadcast system information to the UEs through the CUs and DUs or on how the CUs and DUs cooperate when the system information configuration is updated. Therefore, there is an urgent need to propose a new solution for configuring system information in a network environment of separate CU-DU network elements.

Disclosure of Invention

The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are directed to solving the problems associated with one or more of the problems of the prior art and providing additional features that will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the following drawings. In accordance with various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. It is to be understood, however, that these embodiments are given by way of illustration and not of limitation, and that various modifications to the disclosed embodiments may be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, a method implemented on a first node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: generating a message related to system information associated with at least one cell in a wireless network; and transmitting the message to a second node associated with the at least one cell, wherein the first node and the second node cooperate to serve the at least one cell as a base station.

In yet another embodiment, a method implemented on a first node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a message from a second node relating to system information associated with at least one cell in a wireless network, wherein the first node and the second node cooperate to serve the at least one cell as a base station; and transmitting a response to the second node, wherein the response indicates whether the content of the message was successfully acquired by the first node.

In another embodiment, a first node is disclosed. The first node includes: a system information generator configured to generate a message related to system information associated with at least one cell in a wireless network; and a transmitter configured to transmit the message to a second node associated with the at least one cell, wherein the first node and the second node cooperate to serve the at least one cell as a base station.

In yet another embodiment, a first node is disclosed. The first node includes: a receiver configured to receive a message from a second node relating to system information associated with at least one cell in a wireless network, wherein the first node and the second node cooperate to serve the at least one cell as a base station; and a transmitter configured to transmit a response to the second node, wherein the response indicates whether the content of the message was successfully acquired by the first node.

Drawings

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict exemplary embodiments of the disclosure to facilitate the reader's understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings are not to be taken as limiting the breadth, scope, or applicability of the disclosure. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Fig. 1 illustrates a CU-DU separation structure of a base station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a Centralized Unit (CU) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 illustrates example System Information (SI) to be configured or reconfigured in a wireless network in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a Distributed Unit (DU) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method of system information configuration between a CU and a DU in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 illustrates an exemplary method of system information reconfiguration between a CU and a DU according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 illustrates an example method for a UE to obtain system information configuration on demand, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 illustrates an example method for a UE to obtain system information reconfiguration on demand, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the disclosure. As will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure, various changes or modifications can be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. Additionally, the particular order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is merely exemplary. Based upon design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods or processes disclosed may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present the various steps or actions in a sample order, and unless otherwise explicitly stated, the disclosure is not limited to the particular order or hierarchy presented.

In a 5G NR network, the BS is divided into a centralized network element CU and a distributed network element DU. Fig. 1 illustrates a CU-DU separation structure of a base station 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1, the BS 100 is divided into a CU 110 and a DU 120. Thus, CU 110 and DU 120 may cooperate to serve a cell as a base station, where an ideal or non-ideal fronthaul interface 130 exists between CU 110 and DU 120.

In one embodiment, a CU may control multiple DUs simultaneously, and a DU may be associated with one cell or a cell list including one or more cells. By using a CU to control multiple DUs, the system can do baseband centralized processing and provide distributed remote services to users in the cloud architecture. In CU-DU separation network architectures, delay insensitive network functions may be placed in the CUs; and delay sensitive network functions may be placed in the DU. Accordingly, CUs and DUs may have different hardware and structures for implementing different network functions.

Under the condition of CU-DU network element separation, the problem of system information configuration between the CU and the DU is not effectively solved. For example, how to broadcast system information to UEs through CUs and DUs; and how CUs and DUs cooperate and work together when updating the system information configuration. To address these issues, the present teachings disclose methods and systems for configuring and/or reconfiguring system information in CU-DU split network architectures.

The present disclosure is applicable to all system information configuration issues in 5G NR networks involving CU-DU separation scenarios.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of CU 110, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. CU 110 is an example of a device that may be configured to implement the various methods described herein. As shown in fig. 2, CU 110 includes a housing 240, housing 240 containing: a system clock 202, a processor 204, a memory 206, a transceiver 210 including a transmitter 212 and a receiver 214, a power module 208, a page generator 220, and a system information generator 222.

In this embodiment, system clock 202 provides timing signals to processor 204 to control the timing of all operations of CU 110. Processor 204 controls the general operation of CU 110 and may include one or more processing circuits or modules, such as any combination of Central Processing Units (CPUs) and/or general purpose microprocessors, microcontrollers, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware components, dedicated hardware finite state machines, or any other suitable circuits, devices, and/or structures that may perform data calculations or other operations. As described in further detail below, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor 204 may calculate a modification period indicating a valid time when the SI associated with the cell is to be modified.

Memory 206, which may include both Read Only Memory (ROM) and Random Access Memory (RAM), may provide instructions and data to processor 204. A portion of the memory 206 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). The processor 204 typically performs logical and arithmetic operations based on program instructions stored within the memory 206. Instructions stored in the memory 206 (also referred to as software) may be executed by the processor 204 to perform the methods described herein. The processor 204 and the memory 206 together form a processing system that stores and executes software. As used herein, "software" means any type of instructions, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, etc., that can configure a machine or device to perform one or more desired functions or processes. The instructions may include code (e.g., in source code format, binary code format, executable code format, or any other suitable code format). The instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the processing system to perform the various functions described herein.

Transceiver 210, which includes transmitter 212 and receiver 214, allows CU 110 to transmit and receive data to and from remote devices (e.g., DUs). In one embodiment, an antenna 250 may be attached to the housing 240 and electrically coupled to the transceiver 210. In various embodiments, CU 110 includes (not shown) multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multiple transceivers, and/or multiple antennas. The transmitter 212 may be configured to wirelessly transmit packets having different packet types or functionalities, such packets being generated by the processor 204. Similarly, the receiver 214 is configured to receive packets having different packet types or functionalities, and the processor 204 is configured to process packets of a plurality of different packet types. For example, the processor 204 may be configured to determine the type of packet and process the packet and/or fields of the packet accordingly. In another embodiment, CU 110 may communicate with one or more DUs via fiber-optic communications such that transmitter 212 and receiver 214 may be configured to transmit and receive signals over optical fiber, respectively.

The system information generator 222 may generate a message related to an SI associated with a cell or a cell list including one or more cells in a wireless network. After determining the DUs associated with one or more cells, the system information generator 222 can send a message to the transmitter 212 and instruct the transmitter 212 to transmit the message to the DUs. In one embodiment, when multiple DUs are associated with the cell list, the system information generator 222 can instruct the transmitter 212 to transmit the SI configuration message to each of the multiple DUs. The SI may be generated at a radio function control (RRC) layer, whose function is covered by the CU.

In one embodiment, the SI may include both the minimum SI required by each UE in one or more cells and other SIs. For example, the minimum SI may include MIB, SIB1, and the like. In another embodiment, the minimum SI, e.g., MIB, is preset based on the communication protocol and need not be included in the SI to be configured.

In one embodiment, the message (referred to as an SI configuration message) includes configured SI for one or more cells. Receiver 214 may receive a response from the DU. The response indicates whether the DU has successfully acquired the contents of the SI configuration message. If the response indicates that the DU has not successfully obtained the contents of the SI configuration message, the transmitter 212 may resend the SI configuration message after a certain period of time. Alternatively, if the response indicates that the DU has not successfully obtained the contents of the SI configuration message, system information generator 222 may generate a new SI configuration message that includes the latest SI of one or more cells and instruct transmitter 212 to transmit the new SI configuration message to the DU.

In another embodiment, the message (referred to as an SI reconfiguration message) includes SI for reconfiguration of one or more cells. The reconfigured SI may include only a modified portion of the originally configured SI. In this case, the receiver 214 may receive a response from the DU. The response indicates whether the DU has successfully obtained the contents of the SI reconfiguration message. The transmitter 212 may retransmit the SI reconfiguration message after a certain period of time if the response indicates that the DU has not successfully acquired the contents of the SI reconfiguration message. Alternatively, if the response indicates that the DU has not successfully obtained the contents of the SI reconfiguration message, system information generator 222 may generate a new SI reconfiguration message that includes the latest modified SI of one or more cells and instruct transmitter 212 to transmit the new SI reconfiguration message to the DU. If the response indicates that the DU has successfully obtained the contents of the SI reconfiguration message, receiver 214 may notify paging generator 220 to generate a paging message.

In this example, paging generator 220 may generate the paging message when the response received at receiver 214 indicates that the contents of the SI reconfiguration message were successfully obtained by the DU. The paging message indicates a modification of the SI in one or more cells associated with the DU. Paging generator 220 may then instruct transmitter 212 to transmit a paging message in one or more cells via the DUs. For example, transmitter 212 may transmit a paging message to the DU; and the DU will forward the paging message in one or more cells without decoding the paging message. The UE in one or more cells may know that there is a change or modification of the SI after receiving the paging message, but not the modified content of the SI. The DU may then send the modified content of the SI to the UE by broadcast or on demand.

In one embodiment, the SI of the cell remains the same throughout the modification period and can only be changed or modified at the beginning of the next modification period following the change notification of the previous period. For example, when the modification period is ten minutes, if the system information generator 222 generates SI that is some reconfiguration of the modification of some part of the SI of a cell, the CU 110 may inform the DUs associated with the cell at the beginning of the first modification period. After the DU has successfully obtained the reconfigured SI, the cell may start using the reconfigured SI after ten minutes, i.e. from the beginning of the next modification period (second modification period) after the first period. Otherwise, if the DU fails to acquire the reconfigured SI, the cell will use the old SI for the second modification period; and assuming that the DU can be successfully notified at the beginning of the second modification period, the reconfigured SI can only be used after the second modification period.

Thus, it is important for the CUs and DUs to agree on the modification period for the SI reconfiguration. In one embodiment, the processor 204 may calculate a modification period indicating a validity time for which the SI will be modified next and instruct the transmitter 212 to transmit the modification period to the DU. In another embodiment, the transmitter 212 may transmit one or more parameters to the DU such that the DU may calculate the modification period based on the one or more parameters. The one or more parameters may be carried in an SI configuration message, an SI reconfiguration message, or other message, such as a physical layer indication message, e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI) related to cell establishment.

In one embodiment, transmitter 212 may send at least one of the parameters modificationperiodconff and defaultPagingCycle to the DU to cause the DU to calculate the modification period based on these parameters. The CU may also inform the DU of any change in the parameters modificationPeriodCoeff and/or defaultPagingCycle itself.

The power module 208 may include a power source, such as one or more batteries, and a power regulator to provide regulated power to each of the aforementioned modules in fig. 2. In some embodiments, power module 208 may include a transformer and a power regulator if CU 110 is coupled to a dedicated external power source (e.g., a wall outlet).

The various modules discussed above are coupled together by a bus system 230. The bus system 230 may include a data bus and may include, for example, a power bus, a control signal bus, and/or a status signal bus in addition to the data bus. It should be understood that the modules of CU 110 may be operatively coupled to each other using any suitable techniques and means.

Although a number of separate modules or components are shown in fig. 2, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that one or more of the modules may be combined or collectively implemented. For example, the processor 204 may implement not only the functionality described above with respect to the processor 204, but also the functionality described above with respect to the page generator 220. Rather, each of the modules shown in FIG. 2 may be implemented using a plurality of separate components or elements.

Fig. 3 illustrates example System Information (SI) to be configured or reconfigured in a wireless network in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 3, an exemplary SI 300 includes: a cell ID list 310 that includes cell IDs of cells in a cell list associated with the SI (or cell IDs of cells associated with the SI); a separate encoded container 320 for each SI element in the SI; scheduling information 330; an indication 340 of broadcast SI or SI on demand, indicating whether each SI element is sent to the UE by broadcast or on demand; an indication 350 of the SI acquisition scheme indicating, for example, whether the UE is to acquire each SI element or each SI element combination by Msg1, Msg3, or a combination of Msg1 and Msg 3; a mapping relation 360 between Random Access Channel (RACH) resources and System Information Blocks (SIBs), wherein the RACH resources include at least one of resources in a time domain, a frequency domain, a code domain, and a power domain; and configuration parameter information 370 related to SI reconfiguration.

It may be appreciated that the SI reconfiguration message may include only modified SI elements and not unmodified SI. For example, when a CU modifies scheduling information 330, the CU may send the modified scheduling information in the SI reconfiguration message to the DU without sending the other unmodified SIs listed in fig. 3.

It can also be appreciated that since CUs send configured or reconfigured SI elements encoded in containers at the RRC layer, DUs do not need to decode the containers; but the UE, which also includes the corresponding RRC layer, can decode the container to obtain the decoded SI.

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a DU 120 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. DU 120 is an example of a device that may be configured to implement the various methods described herein. As shown in fig. 4, DU 120 includes a housing 440, housing 440 comprising: a system clock 402, a processor 404, a memory 406, a transceiver 410 including a transmitter 412 and a receiver 414, a power module 408, a page forwarding unit 420, and a system information broadcaster 422.

In this embodiment, system clock 402, processor 404, memory 406, transceiver 410, and power module 408 operate similarly to system clock 202, processor 204, memory 206, transceiver 210, and power module 208 in CU 110.

In one embodiment, an antenna 450 may be attached to the housing 440 and electrically coupled to the transceiver 410. In various embodiments, DU 120 includes (not shown) multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multiple transceivers and/or multiple antennas. In another embodiment, DU 120 may communicate with CUs controlling DU 120 via fiber-optic communications such that transmitter 412 and receiver 414 may be configured to send and receive signals over fiber-optic, respectively.

In one embodiment, receiver 414 can receive a message related to SI that is associated with a cell or cell list that includes one or more cells served by a combination of CUs and DUs as base stations in a wireless network.

In one embodiment, the SI may include both the minimum SI required by each UE in one or more cells and other SIs. For example, the minimum SI may include MIB, SIB1, and the like. In another embodiment, the minimum SI, e.g., MIB, is preset based on the communication protocol and need not be included in the SI to be configured or reconfigured.

In one embodiment, the message (referred to as an SI configuration message) includes configured SI for one or more cells. Transmitter 412 may transmit the response to the CU. The response indicates whether the DU 120 has successfully obtained the contents of the SI configuration message. If the DU has successfully obtained the contents of the SI configuration message, system information broadcaster 422 broadcasts all or a portion of the configured SI in one or more cells via transmitter 412, in this example, based on an on-demand request from the UE. In one embodiment, system information broadcaster 422 broadcasts all configured SIs in one or more cells according to scheduling information in the configured SIs after successfully acquiring message content. In another embodiment, after successfully obtaining the content of the message, the system information broadcaster 422 waits for the receiver 414 to receive an on-demand request from a UE in one or more cells for a portion of the configured SI required by the UE. Then, in response to the on-demand request, the system information broadcaster 422 broadcasts the requested portion of the configured SI to the UE via the transmitter 412 according to the scheduling information in the configured SI.

In another embodiment, the message (referred to as an SI reconfiguration message) includes SI for reconfiguration of one or more cells. The reconfigured SI may include only a modified portion of the originally configured SI. In this embodiment, transmitter 412 may transmit a response to the CU to indicate whether DU 120 has successfully obtained the contents of the SI reconfiguration message. If the response indicates that the DU has successfully obtained the contents of the SI reconfiguration message, receiver 414 may receive a paging message from the CU. The paging message indicates a modification of the SI in one or more cells associated with the DU.

In this example, paging forwarding unit 420 may forward the paging message in one or more cells without decoding the paging message. The UE in one or more cells may know that there is a change or modification of the SI after receiving the paging message, but not the modified content of the SI. Then, the system information broadcaster 422 may broadcast the modified content of the SI to the UEs by broadcasting or on-demand, similar to the broadcasting of the configured SI by the system information broadcaster 422 discussed earlier.

It is important for the CU and DU to agree on the modification period for the SI reconfiguration. In one embodiment, the CU may calculate a modification period indicating a valid time for which the SI will be modified next and transmit the modification period to the DU 120. In another embodiment, receiver 414 may receive one or more parameters from the CU such that processor 404 may calculate the modification period based on the one or more parameters. The one or more parameters may be carried in an SI configuration message, an SI reconfiguration message, or other message, such as a physical layer indication message, e.g., DCI related to cell establishment.

The various modules discussed above are coupled together by a bus system 430. The bus system 430 may include a data bus and may include, for example, a power bus, a control signal bus, and/or a status signal bus in addition to the data bus. It should be understood that the modules of DU 120 may be operably coupled to each other using any suitable techniques and means.

Although a number of separate modules or components are shown in fig. 4, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that one or more of the modules may be combined or collectively implemented. For example, processor 404 may implement not only the functionality described above with respect to processor 404, but also the functionality described above with respect to page forwarding unit 420. Rather, each of the modules shown in FIG. 4 may be implemented using a plurality of separate components or elements.

Fig. 5 illustrates an exemplary method of system information configuration between a CU 510 and a DU 520 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, CU 510 may have a structure as shown in FIG. 2; and DU 520 may have a structure as shown in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 5, when system information configuration is needed, CU 510 sends a system information configuration message to DU 520 in step 542, wherein the message includes but is not limited to the following information: a cell ID of a cell in a cell list associated with the SI (or a cell ID of a cell associated with the SI); a separate encoded container for each SI element in the SI; scheduling information; an indication of broadcast SI or on-demand SI indicating whether each SI element is sent to the UE by broadcast or on-demand; an indication of an SI acquisition scheme indicating, for example, whether the UE is to acquire each SI element or each SI element combination by Msg1, Msg3, or a combination of Msg1 and Msg 3; a mapping relationship between Random Access Channel (RACH) resources and System Information Blocks (SIBs), wherein the RACH resources include at least one of resources in a time domain, a frequency domain, a code domain, and a power domain; and parameter information related to reconfiguration of the SI.

Alternatively, after DU 520 receives the system information configuration message sent by CU 510, DU 520 sends an SI configuration response message to CU 510 in step 544 to indicate whether the reception of the system information configuration succeeded or failed.

After DU 520 has successfully obtained the contents of the system information configuration message described above, DU 520 transmits system information to UEs, e.g., UE 530, in one or more cells associated with DU 520 by means of broadcasting according to scheduling information in the system information in step 552.

Fig. 6 illustrates an exemplary method of system information reconfiguration between a CU 610 and a DU 620 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, CU 610 may have a structure as shown in FIG. 2; and DU 620 may have a structure as shown in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 6, CU 610 sends a system information reconfiguration message to DU 620 in step 642, wherein the message includes information about the modified/updated portion of the system information, including: a cell ID of a cell in a cell list associated with the reconfigured SI (or a cell ID of a cell associated with the reconfigured SI); a separate encoded container for each reconfigured SI element; modified scheduling information; an indication of the modified broadcast SI or the modified on-demand SI indicating whether each modified SI element is sent to the UE by broadcast or on-demand; an indication of a modified SI acquisition scheme indicating, for example, whether the UE is to acquire each modified SI element or each modified SI element combination by Msg1, Msg3, or a combination of Msg1 and Msg 3; a modified mapping relationship between Random Access Channel (RACH) resources and System Information Blocks (SIBs), wherein RACH resources include at least one of time domain, frequency domain, code domain, and power domain; and parameter information related to reconfiguration of the SI, etc. Unmodified system information need not be sent. Alternatively, in order to calculate a modification period for modifying system information, one method is that CU 610 calculates the period and sends it to DU 620; another way is that CU 610 sends all parameters related to the modification period calculation to DU 620, and DU 620 will calculate the modification period.

Optionally, after DU 620 receives the system information reconfiguration message sent by CU 610, DU 620 sends an SI configuration response message to CU 610 to indicate whether the reception of the modified system information configuration succeeded or failed in step 644.

After DU 620 has successfully obtained the system information reconfiguration message, CU 610 sends a paging message to UEs in one or more cells, e.g., UE 630, through DU 620. The paging message includes an indication that indicates a modification/update of system information in one or more cells. Then, in step 652, DU 620 transmits system information to UEs in one or more cells associated with DU 620, e.g., UE 630, by means of broadcasting according to scheduling information in the system information.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example method for a UE to obtain system information configuration on demand, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, CU 710 may have a structure as shown in FIG. 2; and DU 720 may have a structure as shown in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 7, in step 742, CU 710 sends a system information configuration message including all system information configurations to DU 720, wherein the message includes but is not limited to the following information: a cell ID of a cell in a cell list associated with the SI (or a cell ID of a cell associated with the SI); a separate encoded container for each SI element in the SI; scheduling information; an indication of broadcast SI or on-demand SI indicating whether each SI element is sent to the UE by broadcast or on-demand; an indication of an SI acquisition scheme indicating, for example, whether the UE is to acquire each SI element or each SI element combination by Msg1, Msg3, or a combination of Msg1 and Msg 3; a mapping relationship between Random Access Channel (RACH) resources and System Information Blocks (SIBs), wherein the RACH resources include at least one of resources in a time domain, a frequency domain, a code domain, and a power domain; and parameter information related to reconfiguration of the SI.

Alternatively, after DU 720 receives the system information configuration message sent by CU 710, DU 720 sends an SI configuration response message to CU 710 in step 744 to indicate whether the reception of the system information configuration succeeded or failed.

After DU 720 successfully obtains the contents of the system information configuration message, DU 720 stores the system information and waits to receive an on-demand system information request from a UE (e.g., UE 730) in step 752. The UE 730 sends an on-demand SI request based on the UE's own conditions. Alternatively, the on-demand SI request may be in the form of Msg1 (i.e., a preamble) or Msg 3.

After DU 720 receives the on-demand system information request from UE 730, DU 720 sends part of the system information requested by UE 730 to UE 730 by means of broadcasting according to the scheduling information in the configured SI in step 754. Part of the system information includes, but is not limited to, SI on demand.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example method for a UE to obtain system information reconfiguration on demand, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, CU 810 may have a structure as shown in FIG. 2; and DU 820 may have a structure as shown in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 8, CU 810 sends a system information reconfiguration message to DU 820 at step 842, wherein the message includes information about the modified/updated portion of the system information, including: a cell ID of a cell in a cell list associated with the reconfigured SI (or a cell ID of a cell associated with the reconfigured SI); a separate encoded container for each reconfigured SI element; modified scheduling information; an indication of the modified broadcast SI or the modified on-demand SI indicating whether each modified SI element is sent to the UE by broadcast or on-demand; an indication of a modified SI acquisition scheme indicating, for example, whether the UE is to acquire each modified SI element or each modified SI element combination by Msg1, Msg3, or a combination of Msg1 and Msg 3; a modified mapping relationship between Random Access Channel (RACH) resources and System Information Blocks (SIBs), wherein RACH resources include at least one of time domain, frequency domain, code domain, and power domain; and parameter information related to reconfiguration of the SI, etc. Unmodified system information need not be sent. Alternatively, in order to calculate a modification period for modifying system information, one method is for CU 810 to calculate the period and send it to DU 820; another way is that CU 810 sends all parameters related to the modification period calculation to DU 820, and DU 820 will calculate the modification period.

Alternatively, after DU 820 receives the system information reconfiguration message sent by CU 810, DU 820 sends an SI configuration response message to CU 810 in step 844 to indicate whether the reception of the modified system information configuration succeeded or failed.

After DU 820 has successfully obtained the system information reconfiguration message, CU 810 sends a paging message to UEs in one or more cells, e.g., UE 830, through DU 820. The paging message includes an indication that indicates a modification/update of system information in one or more cells. DU 820 then stores the reconfigured SI and waits to receive an on-demand update system information request from a UE (e.g., UE 830) at step 852. The UE 830 sends an on-demand update SI request based on the UE's own conditions. Alternatively, the update on demand SI request may be in the form of Msg1 (i.e., preamble) or Msg 3.

After DU 820 receives the system information request for on-demand update from UE 830, DU 820 sends part of the system information requested by UE 830 to UE 830 by means of broadcasting according to the scheduling information in the reconfigured SI in step 854. Part of the system information includes, but is not limited to, SI updated on demand.

When the DU sends the configured or reconfigured SI to the UE, the DU may modify some of the flow fields of the SI, e.g., a System Frame Number (SFN), an indication of whether the SI is being broadcast on demand, etc.

In one embodiment, if the indication information indicating whether the on-demand SI is being broadcast is modified, the indication information may be maintained at the DU side, where the DU may modify the flow field in the SI container corresponding to the indication information.

In one embodiment, the value tag systemlnfovaluetag in SIB1 indicates whether a change has occurred in the SI message. Thus, the UE may also check the value tag to verify whether the previous SI is still valid without receiving a paging message. In addition, another method of indicating the SI change is by using Downlink Control Information (DCI).

While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Likewise, the various figures may depict example architectures or configurations provided to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to understand the example features and functionality of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary architectures or configurations shown, but may be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, one or more features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

It will also be understood that any reference herein to elements using a name such as "first," "second," etc., does not generally limit the number or order of those elements. Rather, these names may be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, reference to first and second elements does not mean that only two elements can be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Those of ordinary skill would further appreciate that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as: electronic hardware (e.g., digital, analog, or a combination of the two), firmware, various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions (which may be referred to herein, for convenience, as "software" or a "software module"), or any combination of these techniques.

To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or as a combination of such technologies, depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. According to various embodiments, a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, module, etc. may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. As used herein, the terms "configured to" or "to configure" with respect to a specified operation or function refer to a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, module, etc., that is physically constructed, programmed, and/or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein may be implemented within or performed by an Integrated Circuit (IC), which may include a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, modules, and circuits may further include antennas and/or transceivers to communicate with various components within the network or within the device. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration for performing the functions described herein.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that can cause a computer program or code to be transferred from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

In this document, the term "module" as used herein refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. In addition, for purposes of discussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules; however, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

Additionally, in embodiments of the present disclosure, memory or other storage devices and communication components may be employed. It will be appreciated that the above description for clarity has described embodiments of the disclosure with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements, or domains may be used without departing from the disclosure. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers may be performed by the same processing logic elements or controllers. Thus, references to specific functional units are only to references to suitable means for providing the described functionality rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A method implemented on a first node, the method comprising:

generating a message related to system information associated with at least one cell in a wireless network; and

transmitting the message to a second node associated with the at least one cell, wherein the first node and the second node cooperate to serve the at least one cell as a base station;

wherein the system information comprises at least one of: minimum system information required for each user equipment in the at least one cell, and other system information;

the system information further includes at least one of: a modification period indicating a valid time for modifying the system information, wherein the modification period is calculated and indicated by the first node; and one or more parameters for calculating, by the second node, the modification period; the modification period is not configured in the minimum system information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first node is a centralized unit of the base station; and is

The second node is a distributed unit of the base station.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a response from the second node, wherein the response indicates whether the content of the message was successfully retrieved by the second node.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the content of the message comprises configured system information for the at least one cell;

and after the second node successfully acquires the content of the message, broadcasting the configured system information in the at least one cell according to the scheduling information in the configured system information.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the second node receiving an on-demand request for a portion of the configured system information from user equipment in the at least one cell; and is

And after the second node successfully acquires the content of the message, broadcasting a part of the configured system information to the user equipment according to the scheduling information in the configured system information.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the content of the message comprises reconfiguration system information for the at least one cell;

the method further comprises the following steps:

generating a paging message when the response indicates that the second node successfully acquired the content of the message, the paging message indicating modification of the system information, an

Transmitting the paging message in the at least one cell via the second node.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein:

and after the second node successfully acquires the content of the message, broadcasting the reconfiguration system information in the at least one cell according to the scheduling information in the reconfiguration system information.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the second node receiving an on-demand request for a portion of the reconfiguration system information from user equipment in the at least one cell; and is

And after the second node successfully acquires the content of the message, broadcasting a part of the reconfiguration system information to the user equipment according to the scheduling information in the reconfiguration system information.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the system information comprises at least one of:

an identity of the at least one cell;

a separate encoded container for each system information element of the system information;

scheduling information;

indication information indicating whether each system information element is to be transmitted to user equipment in the at least one cell by broadcast or on-demand;

an indication of a system information acquisition scheme indicating whether the user device is to acquire each system information element or each combination of system information elements via Msg1, Msg3, or a combination of Msg1 and Msg 3;

mapping relation between random access channel resources and system information blocks, wherein the random access channel resources comprise at least one resource in time domain, frequency domain, code domain and power domain; and

configuration parameter information related to system information reconfiguration.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters are carried in the message.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters are indicated by a physical layer indication message related to cell establishment.

12. A method implemented on a first node, the method comprising:

receiving a message from a second node relating to system information associated with at least one cell in a wireless network, wherein the first node and the second node cooperate to serve the at least one cell as a base station; and

transmitting a response to the second node, wherein the response indicates whether the content of the message was successfully acquired by the first node;

the system information further includes at least one of: a modification period indicating a valid time for modifying the system information, wherein the modification period is calculated and indicated by the second node; and one or more parameters for calculating, by the first node, the modification period; the modification period is not configured in the minimum system information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the first node is a distributed unit of the base station; and is

The second node is a centralized unit of the base station.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the content of the message comprises configured system information for the at least one cell; and is

The method further includes broadcasting the configured system information in the at least one cell according to scheduling information in the configured system information after successfully acquiring the content of the message.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein:

The method further comprises the following steps:

receiving an on-demand request for a portion of the configured system information from a user equipment in the at least one cell; and

after the content of the message is successfully acquired, broadcasting a part of the configured system information to the user equipment according to the scheduling information in the configured system information.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the method further comprises the following steps:

receiving a paging message from the second node when the response indicates that the first node successfully acquired the content of the message, the paging message indicating a modification of the system information, an

Transmitting the paging message in the at least one cell.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

and after the content of the message is successfully acquired, broadcasting the reconfiguration system information in the at least one cell according to the scheduling information in the reconfiguration system information.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving an on-demand request for a portion of the reconfiguration system information from user equipment in the at least one cell; and

after the content of the message is successfully acquired, broadcasting a part of the reconfiguration system information to the user equipment according to the scheduling information in the reconfiguration system information.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the system information comprises at least one of:

an identity of the at least one cell;

scheduling information;

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more parameters are carried in the message.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more parameters are indicated by a physical layer indication message related to cell establishment.

22. A first node comprising:

a system information generator configured to generate a message related to system information associated with at least one cell in a wireless network; and

a transmitter configured to transmit the message to a second node associated with the at least one cell, wherein the first node and the second node cooperate to serve the at least one cell as a base station;

23. The first node of claim 22, wherein:

the first node is a centralized unit of the base station; and is

The second node is a distributed unit of the base station.

24. The first node of claim 22, further comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a response from the second node, wherein the response indicates whether the content of the message was successfully acquired by the second node.

25. The first node of claim 24, wherein:

26. The first node of claim 24, wherein:

27. The first node of claim 24, wherein:

the first node further comprises: a paging generator configured to generate a paging message indicating modification of the system information when the response indicates that the second node successfully acquired the content of the message; and is

The transmitter is further configured to transmit the paging message in the at least one cell via the second node.

28. The first node of claim 27, wherein:

29. The first node of claim 27, wherein:

30. The first node of claim 22, wherein the system information comprises at least one of:

an identity of the at least one cell;

scheduling information;

31. The first node of claim 22, wherein the one or more parameters are carried in the message.

32. The first node of claim 22, wherein the one or more parameters are indicated by a physical layer indication message related to cell establishment.

33. A first node comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a message from a second node relating to system information associated with at least one cell in a wireless network, wherein the first node and the second node cooperate to serve the at least one cell as a base station; and

a transmitter configured to transmit a response to the second node, wherein the response indicates whether the content of the message was successfully acquired by the first node;

34. The first node of claim 33, wherein:

the first node is a distributed unit of the base station; and is

The second node is a centralized unit of the base station.

35. The first node of claim 33, wherein:

The first node further comprises a system information broadcaster configured to broadcast the configured system information in the at least one cell according to scheduling information in the configured system information after successfully acquiring the content of the message.

36. The first node of claim 33, wherein:

the receiver is further configured to receive an on-demand request for a portion of the configured system information from a user equipment in the at least one cell; and is

The first node further comprises a system information broadcaster configured to broadcast a portion of the configured system information to the user equipment after successfully acquiring the content of the message, according to scheduling information in the configured system information.

37. The first node of claim 33, wherein:

the receiver is further configured to receive a paging message from the second node when the response indicates that the first node successfully acquired the content of the message, the paging message indicating a modification of the system information, and

the first node further includes a paging forwarding unit configured to transmit the paging message in the at least one cell.

38. The first node of claim 37, further comprising:

a system information broadcaster configured to broadcast the reconfiguration system information in the at least one cell according to scheduling information in the reconfiguration system information after successfully acquiring the content of the message.

39. The first node of claim 37, wherein:

the receiver is further configured to receive an on-demand request for a portion of the reconfiguration system information from a user equipment in the at least one cell; and is

The first node further comprises a system information broadcaster configured to broadcast a portion of the reconfiguration system information to the user equipment according to scheduling information in the reconfiguration system information after successfully acquiring the content of the message.

40. The first node of claim 33, wherein the system information comprises at least one of:

an identity of the at least one cell;

scheduling information;

41. The first node of claim 33, wherein the one or more parameters are carried in the message.

42. The first node of claim 33, wherein the one or more parameters are indicated by a physical layer indication message related to cell establishment.