HARQ process restriction and transmission of non-scheduled control data via uplink channels

The present invention follows a scheduling pair according to resource utilization restrictions defined by a scheduling grant and at least one non-scheduled grant.<u style="single">elephant(</u>Scheduled and non-scheduled Related to the method for performing data allocation processing between user data and non-scheduled control data and mobile terminals. Further, the present invention is a method for transmitting control signaling from a network entity in a radio access network of a mobile communication system to at least one of the mobile terminals, which controls the radio resources of the mobile terminal, and in the radio access network. Related to the above network entities.

W-CDMA (Broadband Code Division Multiple Access) is a standardized IMT-2000 (International Mobile Communication) wireless interface for use as a third-generation wireless mobile communication system. W-CDMA provides a variety of services such as voice services and multimedia mobile communication services in a flexible and efficient manner. Standardization agencies in Japan, Europe, the United States and other countries have jointly organized a project called the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to develop a common wireless interface specification for W-CDMA.

The standardized European version of IMT-2000 is commonly referred to as UMTS (Universal Mobile Communication System). The first release of the UMTS specification was published in 1999 (Release 99). Since then, several improvements to the standards, Release 4 and Release 5, have been standardized by 3GPP, and further improvements are currently under consideration in the category of Release 6.

Downlink and uplink individual channels (DCH) and downlink shared channels (DSCH) are defined in Release 99 and Release 4. In the years that followed, developers realized that high-speed asymmetric access had to be achieved in order to provide multimedia services, or data services in general. In Release 5, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) was introduced. This new high-speed downlink shared channel (HS-DSCH) provides users with downlink high-speed access from the UMTS Radio Access Network (RAN) to communication terminals called user devices in the UMTS specification.

UMTS Configuration A high-level R99 / 4/5 configuration of the Universal Mobile Communication System (UMTS) is shown in Figure 1 (see Non-Patent Document 1 obtained from http://www.3gpp.org). The network elements are functionally grouped into Core Network (CN) 101, UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) 102 and User Equipment (UE) 103. The UTRAN102 is responsible for handling all functions related to wireless communication, and the CN101 is responsible for routing calls and data connections to the external network. The connections between these network elements are formed by open interfaces (Iu, Uu). It should be noted that since UMTS systems are modular, they can have multiple network elements of the same type.

Next, we discuss two different configurations. These configurations are defined in terms of the logical arrangement of functions among network elements. In an actual network deployment, each configuration can take different physical implementations. That is, two or more network elements can be integrated into a single physical node.

Figure 2 shows the current configuration of UTRAN. Multiple wireless network controllers (RNCs) 201, 202 are connected to CN101. Each RNC 201, 202 controls one or several base stations (Node B) 203, 204, 205, 206 that communicate with the UE. The RNC that controls several base stations is called the controlling RNC (C-RNC) for these base stations. The set of base stations under control and the C-RNCs that accompany them and control them are called Radio Network Subsystems (RNS) 207, 208. One RNS for each connection between the user device and UTRAN is the serving RNS (S-RNS). The S-RNS maintains a so-called Iu connection with the core network (CN) 101.

Extended Uplink Individual Channel (E-DCH) Uplink extension of an individual transport channel (DTCH) was studied by the 3GPP Technical Specification Group RAN (Non-Patent Document 2 available at http://www.3gpp.org). See). As the use of IP-based services becomes more important, there is a growing demand for improved RAN coverage and throughput, as well as reduced latency for individual uplink transport channels. Both streaming, interactive and background services will benefit from extended uplinks.

One extension is the use of Adaptation Modulation Coding (AMC) in connection with Node B controlled scheduling, thereby extending the Uu interface. In the existing R99 / R4 / R5 system, the maximum uplink data rate control is provided in the RNC. By moving the scheduler to node B, the delay time caused by signaling through the interface between RNC and node B can be reduced, so that the scheduler can respond faster to changes in uplink load over time. This can reduce the total delay time in communication with the RAN of the user equipment. Therefore, Node B control scheduling better controls uplink interference and noise by quickly allocating higher data rates when the uplink load is reduced and limiting the uplink data rates when the uplink load is increasing. The fluctuation of the rise can be smoothed. Better control of uplink interference can improve receivable range and cell throughput.

Another technique that may reduce latency on the uplink is to introduce a shorter TTI (Transmission Time Interval) length for E-DCH compared to other transport channels. A transmission time interval of 2ms is currently being investigated for use on E-DCH, whereas a transmission time interval of 10ms is commonly used in other transport channels. Hybrid ARQ, which was one of the important technologies in HSDPA, is also being considered for application to extended uplink individual channels. The hybrid ARQ protocol between Node B and the user equipment allows for rapid retransmission of erroneous received data units, resulting in reduced RLC (Wireless Link Control) retransmissions and associated delays. .. This can improve the quality of service felt by the end user.

To support the above extensions, a new MAC sublayer, called MAC-e, will be introduced below (see Non-Patent Document 3). As described in more detail in the following sections, this new sublayer entity can be located on the user device and node B. On the user device side, MAC-e performs a new task of multiplexing higher layer data (eg, MAC-d) into a new extended transport channel and operating the HARQ protocol transmission entity.

Further, on the UTRAN side, the MAC-e sublayer can be terminated at the S-RNC during the handover. Therefore, the S-RNC may also have a sort buffer for the sort function provided.

E-DCH MAC Configuration-UE Side Figure 3 shows a typical example of the overall configuration of the E-DCH MAC on the UE side. A new MAC functional entity, MAC-e / es, is added to the release 99 MAC configuration.

Figure 4 illustrates the MAC interaction on the UE side. There are M different data flows (MAC-d) that carry data packets from different applications that should be sent from the UE to node B. These data flows can have different QoS requirements (eg, requirements for delays and errors) and may require different configurations of HARQ instances. Each MAC-d flow corresponds to a logical unit in which the attributes of a particular physical channel (eg, gain factor) and HARQ (eg, maximum retransmission count) can be specified.

In addition, MAC-d multiplexing is supported for E-DCH. That is, several logical channels, each with a different priority, can be multiplexed on the same MAC-d flow. Data from multiple MAC-d flows can be multiplexed into a single MAC-e PDU (protocol data unit). The DDI (Data Description Indicator) field in the MAC-e header identifies the logical channel, MAC-d flow, and MAC-d PDU size. The mapping table is signaled via RRC to allow the UE to set the DDI value. The N field indicates the number of consecutive MAC-d PDUs corresponding to the same DDI value.

The MAC-e / es entity is depicted in more detail in Figure 5. MAC-es / e handles functions specific to E-DCH. The selection of the appropriate transport format for transmitting data on the E-DCH is made in the E-TFC selection entity that represents the functional entity. The choice of transport format is the scheduling information received from UTRAN over L1 (Relative Grant and Absolute Grant), available transmit power, priority, eg logical channel priority. It is done according to the degree. The HARQ entity handles the resend function for the user. One HARQ entity supports multiple HARQ processes. The HARQ entity handles all necessary functionality related to HARQ. The multiplexing entity concatenates multiple MAC-d PDUs with MAC-es PDUs, and one or more MAC-es PDUs should be sent to the next TTI according to the instructions given by the E-TFC selection function. It is responsible for connecting to the MAC-e PDU of. The multiplexing entity also has each MAC-es It also manages and sets the TSN for each logical channel for PDUs. As shown in FIG. 5, the MAC-e / es entity receives scheduling information from node B (network side) via layer 1 signaling. Absolute grants are received on the E-AGCH (Enhanced Absolute Grant Channel), and relative grants are received on the E-RGCH (Enhanced Relative Grant Channel).

E-DCH MAC Configuration-A typical example of the overall configuration of the UTRAN MAC on the UTRAN side is shown in Figure 6. UTRAN's MAC configuration includes MAC-e and MAC-es entities. For each UE that uses E-DCH, one MAC-e entity is set for each node B and one MAC-es entity is set in S-RNC. The MAC-e entity is located on node B and controls access to the E-DCH. In addition, the MAC-e entity is connected to the MAC-es installed in the S-RNC.

Figure 7 shows the MAC-e entity on node B in more detail. Node B has one MAC-e entity for each UE, and Node B has one E-DCH scheduler for every UE. The MAC-e entity and E-DCH scheduler handle HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) specific features on node B. The E-DCH scheduling entity manages cell resources between UEs. Scheduling allocations are typically determined and transmitted based on scheduling requests from the UE. The demultiplexing entity within the MAC-e entity demultiplexes, or separates, the MAC-e PDU. The MAC-es PDU is then forwarded to the MAC-es entity at the S-RNC.

One HARQ entity can support multiple instances (HARQ processing), for example, using the stop-and-weight HARQ protocol. Each HARQ process is allocated a certain amount of soft buffer memory for synthesizing bits in unresolved retransmission packets. In addition, each process is responsible for generating an ACK or NACK indicating the delivery status of the transmission on the E-DCH. The HARQ entity handles all the tasks required by the HARQ protocol.

Figure 8 shows the MAC-es entity in S-RNC. The MAC-es entity provides the RLC with in-sequence delivery and includes a sort buffer that handles the synthesis of data from different nodes B during soft handover. This synthesis is called macrodiversity selective synthesis.

It should be noted that the size of the soft buffer required depends on the HARQ method used. For example, the HARQ method using Increased Redundancy (IR) requires a larger soft buffer than the one using Chase Combining (CC).

MAC-e PDU format As shown in Figures 10 and 11, there are two MAC sublayers for E-DCH, namely MAC-e and MAC-es. The MAC-es layer is "on top" of the MAC-e layer and receives PDUs directly from the MAC-d layer on the UE side. MAC-es SDUs (ie, MAC-d PDUs) of the same size given by a particular logical channel can be multiplexed into a single MAC-es payload (SDU = service data unit). This multiplexed payload is preceded by a MAC-es header. The MAC-es header is sometimes referred to as the framing header. The number of PDUs, as well as the DDI values that identify the logical channel, MAC-d flow, and MAC-e SDU size, are included as part of the MAC-e header. Multiple MAC-es PDUs can be sent during TTI, but only one MAC-e PDU can be sent.

Field The DDI (Data Description Indicator) field contains a specific DDI value that indicates whether there are more than one MAC-es PDU contained in the MAC-e PDU. This header has no association with the new MAC-es payload.

Packet Scheduling Packet scheduling is sent to users who are allowed to enter the shared medium.<u style="single">Machine</u>It can be said to be a radio resource management algorithm used to assign meetings and transmission formats. Scheduling is sent, for example, to users in the desired channel state.<u style="single">Machine</u>It can be used in packet-based mobile wireless networks in combination with adaptive modulation coding to maximize throughput / capacity by allocating associations. Packet data services in UMTS may be used for streaming services, but may be applied to bidirectional and background traffic classes. Traffic that belongs to the bidirectional and background classes is treated as non-real-time (NRT) traffic and is controlled by the packet scheduler. The packet scheduling method can be characterized by the following.

Scheduling Period / Frequency: How long the user is pre-scheduled in time Service Order: Depending on the order in which the user receives the service, eg, random order (round robin), or channel quality (C / I or throughput) Base) Allocation method: Allocate the same amount of data or the same power / code / time resource to all queued users for each resource allocation criterion, for example, every allocation interval.

In 3GPP UMTS R99 / R4 / R5, the packet scheduler for the uplink is placed between the wireless network controller (RNC) and the user device (UE). The air interface resource shared by different users on the uplink is the total received power at node B, so the scheduler's task is to allocate this power between the user devices. In the current UMTS R99 / R4 / R5 specification, by assigning a different set of transport formats (modulation method, code rate, etc.) to each user device, the RNC is the maximum rate that the user device can transmit when transmitting over the uplink. / Control power.

The establishment and reconfiguration of such a TFCS (Transport Format Combination Set) can be achieved by transmitting radio resource control (RRC) messages between the RNC and the user equipment. The user equipment is allowed to autonomously select from the assigned transport format combinations based on the condition of the equipment itself, such as the available power and buffer conditions. In the current UMTS R99 / R4 / R5 specifications, time control is the name imposed on the transmission of the user equipment in the uplink have. The scheduler can operate, for example, based on the transmission time interval.

E-DCH-Node B Control Scheduling Node B control scheduling will enable more efficient use of uplink resources for higher cell throughput on the uplink and will increase the receivable range E- This is one of the technical features for DCH. The expression "node B control scheduling" refers to the uplink resources that the UE can use for uplink transmission on the E-DCH, eg, the E-DPDCH / DPCCH power ratio, within the limits set by the S-RNC. Means the possibility of controlling. Node B control scheduling is based on uplink and downlink control signaling and a set of rules about how the UE should behave for this signaling.

In downlink, resource display (scheduling permission) is essential to notify the UE of the (maximum) amount of uplink resources that the UE can use. Provided by S-RNC to determine the appropriate allocation of resources to serve the UE with the requested QoS parameters when issuing scheduling permissions, and provided by the UE at the time of the scheduling request. Node B can use the QoS-related information.

UMTS E-DCH typically has two different UE scheduling modes defined depending on the type of scheduling authorization used. The features of each scheduling permission will be described below.

Scheduling Permissions Scheduling permissions are signaled downlink to inform the UE of the (maximum) resources available for uplink transmission. The permission affects the selection of the appropriate transport format (TF) for transmission on the E-DCH (E-TFC selection). However, permissions usually do not affect the prior art TFC selection (transport format combination) on individual channels.

In general, there are two types of scheduling permissions that apply to Node B control scheduling.

Absolute Permit (AG) Relative Permit (RG)

Absolute permission gives an absolute limit on the maximum amount of uplink resources that a UE can use for uplink transmissions. Absolute permissions are especially suitable for quickly changing allocated UL resources.

Relative permissions are sent per TTI (Transmission Time Interval). It can be used to fine-tune the allocation uplink resources notified by absolute permission. Relative permissions tell the UE to increase or decrease the maximum previously allowed uplink resources by a certain offset (step).

Absolute permission is signaled only from the E-DCH serving cell. Relative permissions can be signaled from both serving and non-serving cells. An E-DCH serving cell means an entity (eg, node B) that actively allocates uplink resources to a UE controlled by that serving cell. Non-serving cells, on the other hand, can only limit the allocated uplink resources set by the serving cell. Each UE has only one serving cell.

Absolute permission can be valid for one UE. The absolute permission that is valid for one UE is referred to below as "individual permission". Alternatively, absolute permission may be valid for a group of UEs in a cell or for all UEs. Absolute permissions that are valid for a group of UEs or all UEs are referred to below as "common permissions". The UE makes no distinction between common and individual permits.

Relative permits can be transmitted from both serving cells and non-serving cells, as described above. The relative permission signaled from the serving cell can indicate one of three values, "up", "hold", and "down". "Up" and "Down" can indicate that the maximum uplink resource (maximum power ratio) used up to that point is increased / decreased by one step each. Relative permissions from non-serving cells can signal the UE with either a "hold" or "down" command. As mentioned above, relative permissions from non-serving cells can limit the uplink resources set by the serving cell (overload indicator), but cannot increase the resources available to the UE.

UE Scheduling Behavior This section only outlines the main scheduling behavior. Further details regarding the scheduling procedure are described in Non-Patent Document 4.

The UE maintains a Serving Permit (SG) that is common to all HARQ processes, which indicates the maximum power ratio (E-DPDCH / DPCCH) allowed for the UE for E-TFC selection. The SG is updated with scheduling permissions signaled from serving / non-serving cells. When the UE receives an absolute permit from the serving cell, the SG is set to the power ratio signaled by the absolute permit. Absolute permission can activate / deactivate one or all HARQ processes. As mentioned above, absolute permits can be received on the primary or secondary E-RNTI. There are some priority rules for the use of primary / secondary absolute permits. The primary absolute permit always changes the SG immediately. The secondary absolute permit modifies the SG if the last primary absolute permit deactivates all HARQ processing, or the last absolute permit that modifies the SG is received by the secondary E-RNTI. Only if If transmission from the primary to the secondary E-RNTI is initiated by deactivating all HARQ processing, the UE updates the serving permission with the latest absolute permission received on the secondary E-RNTI. To do. Therefore, the UE needs to intercept both the primary and secondary E-RNTIs.

If no absolute permission is received from the serving cell, the UE shall follow the relative permission from the serving cell signaled per TTI. The serving relative permit is interpreted relative to the power ratio of the UE during the pre-TTI given to the same hybrid ARQ process as the transmission affected by the relative permit. Figure 9 illustrates the timing relationship for relative permissions. Here, it is assumed that there are four HARQ processes. The relative permission received by the UE that acts on the SG of the first HARQ process is relative to the first HARQ process (reference process) of the pre-TTI. Since the synchronous HARQ protocol is adopted for E-DCH, different HARQ processes are continuously serviced.

The behavior of the UE according to the serving E-DCH relative permission is shown below.

When the UE receives the up command from the serving E-DCH RLS New SG = last used power ratio + delta When the UE receives the down command from the serving E-DCH RLS New SG = Last used power ratio-delta

The "up" and "down" commands are relative to the power ratio used for E-DCH transmission in the reference HARQ process. The new serving permit (SG) for all HARQ processes affected by the relative permit is the increase and decrease of the power ratio last used in the reference HARQ process, respectively. The "hold" command indicates that the SG does not change.

As mentioned above, non-serving RLS node B is only allowed to send relative permissions that can indicate either "hold" or "down". The "down" command allows a non-serving cell to limit cell-to-cell interference caused by a UE in SHO with that non-serving cell. The behavior of the UE when receiving a non-serving relative permit is as follows.

When the UE receives down from at least one non-serving E-DCH RLS New SG = Last used power ratio-Delta

Relative permissions from non-serving RLS always affect all HARQ processing on the UE. The amount of decrease from the power consumption ratio may be fixed or may depend on the bit rate. The higher the bit rate, the larger the step size (delta) will be.

When the UE receives scheduling permission from the serving RLS and also receives a down command from at least one non-serving RL New SG = minimum value (last used power ratio-delta, receive AG from serving RLS) / RG)

Rate Request Signaling The UE provides Node B with QoS requirement information through rate request signaling to allow Node B to schedule efficiently, taking into account the QoS requirements of the services mapped on the E-DCH. ..

There are two types of rate request signaling information on the uplink. Flags associated with rate requests on the E-DPCCH, the so-called "happy bits", and scheduling information (SI) normally transmitted within the bandwidth on the E-DCH.

From a system perspective, a 1-bit rate request can be favorably utilized by the serving cell, for example, to make some adjustments to resource allocation by relative authorization. Conversely, scheduling information can be used advantageously to make the relatively long-term scheduling decisions indicated by the transmission of absolute permissions. Details of the two rate request signaling methods are described below.

Scheduling information transmitted by E-DCH As described above, the scheduling information can provide the node B with information about the state of the UE in order to enable effective scheduling. Scheduling information can be included in the header of the MAC-e PDU. This information is typically sent to node B on a regular basis to track the state of the UE. For example, scheduling information includes the following information fields.

Logical channel ID of the highest priority data in the scheduling information UE buffer occupancy (in bytes) Buffer status for the highest priority logical channel with the data in the buffer Overall buffer status Power status Information Evaluation of available power ratio to DPDCH (considering HS-DPCCH): UE does not take DCH power into account when making this evaluation

Identifying the logical channel from which the highest priority data originates by logical channel ID tells node B the QoS requirements for this particular logical channel, such as the power offset of the corresponding MAC-d flow, the logical channel. Allows the priority or GBR (guaranteed bit rate) attributes to be determined. This in turn allows node B to determine the next scheduling permission message needed to send the data in the UE's buffer, yet allows for finer permission allocation. It would be useful for node B to get some information about the overall buffer state in addition to the highest priority buffer state. This information can help determine "long-term" resource allocation.

In order for serving node B to be able to efficiently allocate uplink resources, node B needs to know how much power each UE can transmit. This information can be transmitted in the form of "power headroom" measurements that indicate how much power the UE is leaving and, in addition, the amount of power used for DPCCH transmission (power state). ). Power status reporting can also be used, for example, to reconfigure TTIs that switch between 2ms and 10ms TTIs.

Happy Bit As explained earlier, Happy Bit is a flag associated with the 1-bit rate request sent by E-DPCCH. The "happy bit" indicates whether each UE is "satisfied" or "dissatisfied" with the current Serving Permit (SG).

If both of the following criteria are met, the UE notifies that it is "dissatisfied".

Power status criteria: UE has power available for transmission at higher data rate (E-TFC) Buffer occupancy criteria: With current permissions, the overall buffer status is n Requires more than TTI (n is configurable)

If these are not the case, the UE will notify the current serving permit that it is "satisfied".

Transmission of scheduled data and non-scheduled data In a general UMTS system, data transmission on the extended uplink (using E-DCH) consists of two categories (scheduled data transmission and non-scheduled data transmission). Or type).

For scheduled data transmission, the UE requires valid scheduling permission before transmitting data via E-DCH. The normal procedure is for the UE to send a rate request to serving node B, using either the scheduling information or the happy bit. Upon receiving the rate request, the serving node B allocates the uplink resource to the UE with scheduling permissions, i.e. absolute and relative permissions.

In the case of non-scheduled data transmission, the UE is allowed to transmit E-DCH data up to the set number of bits at any time without receiving any scheduling command from node B. Therefore, signaling overhead and signaling delay can be minimized. Resources for sending unscheduled data are provided by the RRC entity (usually the S-RNC) as the maximum number of bits the UE can include in a MAC-e PDU sent within the TTI interval. This is called non-scheduling permission. Non-scheduled permissions can be defined for each MAC-d flow. Therefore, the logical channel mapped to the non-scheduled MAC-d flow can only transmit up to the non-scheduled permission set for each MAC-d flow. Multiple nodes B servicing a particular UE may result from the UE due to the transmission of non-scheduled data.<u style="single">R</u>oT<u style="single">(</u>In order to be able to take Rise over Thermal) into consideration, the non-scheduling permission assigned to the UE is notified from UTRAN to the above node B via NBAP signaling (node B application part signaling). There is a set of rules that govern the processing of non-scheduled data flows and scheduled data flows:

For a 2ms TTI, UTRAN may limit non-scheduled MAC-d flows to use a limited number of HARQ processing (so-called HARQ processing restrictions). For non-scheduling authorization, node B must always reserve a configured resource, i.e. the maximum number of bits, in its scheduling decision.

UTRAN (usually S-RNC) to limit the amount of resources that can be quite large, especially in the case of a 2ms TTI, the amount of resources that Node B must permanently reserve for unscheduled transmissions. Can disable a certain number of HARQ operations used for non-scheduled MAC-d flows. Allocation of HARQ processing to non-scheduled MAC-d flows is set via RRC signaling.

For a 2ms TTI, UTRAN may reserve a small number of HARQ processes for non-scheduled transmission (ie, scheduled data cannot be transmitted using these processes, the process is invalid. ).

Multiple non-scheduled MAC-d flows may be configured in parallel by S-RNC and can be multiplexed into a single transport channel for transmission using one of the available HARQ processes. .. In this case, if several MAC-d flows are multiplexed into the TTI, the UE is allowed to send non-scheduled data up to the total number of bits indicated by the corresponding non-scheduled grant.

Scheduling target permission is considered to be superior to non-scheduled transmission.

Each logical channel mapped on a non-scheduled MAC-d flow cannot send data with valid scheduling permissions.

As can be seen from the above rules, resource allocation from the UTRAN side is divided by allocation of scheduled target permission and non-scheduled target permission to UE. Even within the UE, resource allocation to logical channels is performed according to the scheduling target permission and the non-scheduling target permission. Each logical channel is serviced according to its priority until the non-scheduled and scheduled permissions are exhausted or the maximum transmit power is reached.

Transport Channels and TFC Selection In a third-generation mobile communication system, data generated in the upper layer is carried by radio waves having multiple transport channels associated with different physical channels in the physical layer. A transport channel is a service for information transfer provided by the physical layer to the Transmission Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. There are two main types of transport channels.

The first is a common transport channel that requires explicit identification of the receiving UE. This type of transport channel can be used, for example, when the data in the transport channel is directed to a particular UE or part of all UEs (the broadcast transport channel does not need to identify the UE). The second is the individual transport channel, where the receiving UE is implicitly identified by the physical channel that carries the transport channel.

E-DCH is an individual transport channel. Data is transmitted over a transport channel as a transport block, where there is one transport block that is transmitted at regular time intervals called the transmit time interval (TTI). A transport block is a basic data unit that is exchanged over a transport channel, i.e., exchanged between the physical layer and the MAC layer. The transport block arrives at or is sent out by the physical layer at a cycle of once per TTI. For transmission over E-DCH, the transport block corresponds to a MAC-e PDU.

The Extended Transport Format Combination (E-TFC) limitation / selection is a procedure in which the UE selects the amount of data to be transmitted within the transmission time interval (TTI). The purpose of the E-TFC selection process is to transmit as much data as possible with the transmit power available to the UE. The E-TFC restriction process deletes the transmission format by power restriction, considering the amount of transmission power left for E-DCH transmission after transmitting data on the DCH channel and HS-DPCCH. As mentioned above, the E-TFC selection procedure involved in selecting the appropriate transport format for transmitting data over the E-DCH is invoked by the HARQ entity in MAC-e / es. The E-TFC restriction procedure is described in more detail in Non-Patent Document 5.

For each MAC-d flow multiplexed on a transport channel, the radio resource control RRC configures a MAC layer with a HARQ profile and a multiplexing list. The HARQ profile contains the power offset for each MAC-d flow and the maximum number of HARQ transmissions to use. The multiplexing list identifies other MAC-d flows for each MAC-d flow. Data from other MAC-d flows are multiplexed into transmissions that use the power offset contained in their HARQ profile.

The RRC can control the scheduling of data on the uplink by giving each logical channel a priority (eg, 1 to 8, where 1 is the highest priority and 8 is the lowest). E-TFC selection in the UE is usually done according to the priority indicated by the RRC. Logical channels have absolute priority. That is, the UE can maximize the transmission of higher priority data.

The RRC can also assign non-scheduled transmit permissions to individual MAC-d flows to reduce transmission delays. Each non-scheduled permission can be applied to the particular HARQ processing set indicated by the RRC, as described above. The RRC also limits the HARQ processing set to which the scheduling allowance can be applied. For each configured MAC-d flow, any E-TFC will be in one of the following states:

Supported state Blocked state

At each TTI boundary, a UE with a configured E-DCH transport channel bases its E-TFC state on each configured MAC-d flow based on the flow's required transmit power for maximum UE transmission. Can be decided.

In addition, at each TTI boundary where a new transmission is requested by the HARQ entity, i.e. in the case of retransmission without E-TFC selection, the UE can perform the actions described below. In E-DCH in UMTS, scheduling authorization provides the E-TFC selection function with the maximum ratio of E-DPDCH to DPCCH that can be assigned by the UE to the next transmission time interval of the data to be scheduled. Based on the HARQ processing ID and the setting by RRC, the UE decides whether to consider the scheduling target permission and the non-scheduling target permission for transmission at the next transmission time interval. For example, if the non-scheduling permission is invalid (inactive) for the HARQ processing ID used for the next transmission time interval, then this non-scheduling permission does not exist, that is, it is set to zero. It is said that it is.

The transmission format and data allocation process performed during E-TFC selection can specifically comply with the requirements listed below.

Only data from logical channels with non-zero permissions enabled can be considered available Data allocation maximizes the transmission of higher priority data MAC-d flow with non-scheduled permissions The amount of data in must not exceed the value of the non-scheduled permission The total amount of data in the MAC-d flow for which the non-scheduled permission is not set is the power from the scheduling permission and the selected HARQ profile. Do not exceed the maximum payload that can be transmitted based on the offset. If HARQ processing is inactive, the UE will not include any of the above data in the transmission Consider only supported E-TFCs

After establishing the appropriate E-TFC and data allocation, the Multiplexing and TSN Settings entity generates a MAC-e PDU that is passed to the HARQ processing identified by the HARQ processing ID applied to the transmission.

The E-TFC selection function supplies this MAC-e PDU and outgoing HARQ profile to the HARQ entity. The HARQ entity shall also be notified if the transmission contains scheduling information.

In summary, in the UMTS system currently under consideration in 3GPP, the data transmitted on the E-DCH is categorized into scheduled data and non-scheduled data. As mentioned above, MAC-e control signaling such as framing headers or scheduling information (SI) must be interpreted by the E-TFC selection procedure. Therefore, the scheduling information is treated as non-scheduling data that is said to have valid non-scheduling permission. With the introduction of HARQ processing restrictions, node B can only allocate resources for sending non-scheduled data to a specific number of HARQs. However, this newly introduced HARQ processing restriction on non-scheduled data poses new problems on the other hand. For example, the scheduling information treated as the non-scheduling target data can be transmitted only in the process in which the non-scheduling target permission is valid. This means a significant delay for the signaling of scheduling information, which results in a scheduling delay. Delays in scheduling decisions by serving node B reduce uplink throughput and, as a result, degrade the perceived quality of service QoS in various services. This is especially important if the service needs to meet certain QoS requirements.<nplcit num="1"><text>3GPP TR 25.401: "UTRAN Overall Description"</text></nplcit><nplcit num="2"><text>3GPP TR 25.896: Feasibility Study for Enhanced Uplink for UTRA FDD (Release 6)</text></nplcit><nplcit num="3"><text>3GPP TSG RAN WG1, meeting # 31, Tdoc R01-030284, "Scheduled and Autonomous Mode Operation for the Enhanced Uplink"</text></nplcit><nplcit num="4"><text>3GPP TS25.309</text></nplcit><nplcit num="5"><text>3GPP TS 25.133: "Requirements for support of radio resource management (FDD)"</text></nplcit><nplcit num="6"><text>3GPP TS 25.331, "Radio Resource Control (RRC); Protocol Specifications (Release 6)", V.6.6.0, section 10.3.6.99</text></nplcit>

An object of the present invention is to reduce the delay of control signaling inevitably included by the conventional HARQ processing limiting mechanism, thereby overcoming the above problems.<u style="single">To do</u>That is.

The above object is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. An advantageous embodiment of the present invention is the subject of the dependent claims.

Given the issues mentioned earlier, it is recognized that the negative effects inherently included by the HARQ processing restriction mechanism affect all mechanisms that require signaling of control data (these control data). When it is treated as non-scheduled data and is subject to HARQ processing restrictions). Therefore, the present invention not only proposes a clear solution of the above object for signaling of scheduling information, but also proposes a solution to the general problem of non-scheduled data. According to a main aspect of the present invention, the above object is solved by a new classification that divides the uplink data into scheduled data, non-scheduled user data, non-scheduled control data, and a new definition of the HARQ processing restriction mechanism. To. According to the present invention, limiting the validity of the non-scheduled permission to a part of the HARQ processing set enables the transmission of non-scheduled user data in each HARQ processing for which the non-scheduling permission is valid. Only allowed to invalidate. Non-scheduled control data, such as framing headers or scheduling information, is not limited to any part of the HARQ processing set available. That is, the non-scheduled control data can be transmitted at any time using any one of the available HARQ processes. According to another aspect of the invention, in view of a new classification of uplink data and a new definition of HARQ processing restrictions, the invention further relates to HARQ processing restrictions by scheduling permission and non-scheduling permission, depending on the type of data. We propose a new data allocation process that multiplexes different types of uplink data to the transport channel, taking into account the settings of.

The method according to the present invention<u style="single">Mobile terminal</u>Transmission time interval<u style="single">In</u>Uplink channel<u style="single">In</u>Data not subject to kejuling<u style="single">To</u>Send<u style="single">To do</u>Unscheduled authorization indicating the maximum amount of resources available<u style="single">Use to allocate processing between non-scheduling user data and non-scheduling control data</u>Run<u style="single">Those who</u>It's a law<u style="single">Said</u>Non-scheduling permission<u style="single">Of multiple HARQ processes based on</u>Some HARQ processing,<u style="single">Said</u>Non-scheduled user data<u style="single">And both the non-scheduled control data</u>To send<u style="single">Can be used</u>Shi<u style="single">, Remaining</u>HARQ processing<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Unusable</u>And<u style="single">Said</u>For sending control data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">To be usable</u>The step and the multiple HARQ processes<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Can be used</u>Depending on whether or not<u style="single">Said</u>Non-scheduled user data and<u style="single">Said</u>A step of multiplexing non-scheduled control data into packet data units of a transport channel transmitted on an uplink channel within the next transmission time interval using one of the plurality of HARQ processes described above.<u style="single">,Previous</u>The packet data unit is provided with a step of supplying the packet data unit to any of the HARQ processes described above.

The method according to the present invention<u style="single">Mobile terminal</u>Transmission time interval<u style="single">In</u>Uplink channel<u style="single">In</u>Data subject to queuing and data not subject to scheduling, respectively<u style="single">To</u>Send<u style="single">To do</u>Scheduling permission to indicate the maximum amount of resources available<u style="single">Bisu</u>Permit not subject to keju ring<u style="single">Is used to assign the scheduling target data, the non-scheduling target user data, and the non-scheduling target control data.</u>Run<u style="single">Those who</u>It's a law<u style="single">Based on the scheduling permission, at least one HARQ process of the plurality of HARQ processes can be used for transmitting the scheduled data, and other HARQ processes other than the at least one HARQ process of the plurality of HARQ processes can be used. It is disabled to send the scheduled data, and the above</u>Non-scheduling permission<u style="single">On the basis of the</u>, Said<u style="single">Of multiple HARQ processing</u>Some HARQ processing,<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Can be used</u>And said<u style="single">Excludes some of the HARQ processes of multiple HARQ processes</u>The rest of the HARQ processing,<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Unusable</u>Steps to be performed and the plurality of HARQ processes<u style="single">Can be used to transmit the scheduling target data or the non-scheduling target user data</u>According to<u style="single">Said</u>With scheduling target data<u style="single">Said</u>With user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Said</u>Use one of the plurality of HARQ processes for the non-scheduled control data.<u style="single">Next</u>With the step of multiplexing to the packet data unit of the transport channel transmitted on the uplink channel within the transmission time interval of<u style="single">,Previous</u>It has a step of supplying the packet data unit to any of the above HARQ processes.<u style="single">,Previous</u>Any of the HARQ processing described<u style="single">Said</u>Transmission of non-scheduled control data<u style="single">Always</u>To<u style="single">Can be used</u>It is assumed that it is.

The mobile terminal according to the present invention<u style="single">Mobile terminal</u>Transmission time interval<u style="single">In</u>Uplink channel<u style="single">In</u>Data not subject to kejuling<u style="single">To</u>Send<u style="single">To do</u>Unscheduled authorization indicating the maximum amount of resources available<u style="single">Use to allocate processing between non-scheduling user data and non-scheduling control data</u>It is a mobile terminal to execute<u style="single">Said</u>Non-scheduling permission<u style="single">Of multiple HARQ processes based on</u>Some HARQ processing,<u style="single">Said</u>Non-scheduled user data<u style="single">And both the non-scheduled control data</u>To send<u style="single">Can be used</u>Shi<u style="single">, Remaining</u>HARQ processing<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Unusable</u>And<u style="single">Said</u>For sending control data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">To be usable</u>The processing means and the plurality of HARQ processes<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Can be used</u>Depending on whether or not<u style="single">Said</u>Non-scheduled user data and<u style="single">Said</u>It has a multiplexer that multiplexes the non-scheduled control data to the packet data unit of the transport channel transmitted on the uplink channel within the next transmission time interval by using one of the plurality of HARQ processes. , The multiplexer<u style="single">,Previous</u>A configuration is adopted in which the packet data unit is supplied to any of the above HARQ processes.

The mobile terminal according to the present invention<u style="single">Mobile terminal</u>Transmission time interval<u style="single">In</u>Uplink channel<u style="single">In</u>Data subject to queuing and data not subject to scheduling, respectively<u style="single">To</u>Send<u style="single">To do</u>Scheduling and non-scheduling permissions that indicate the maximum amount of resources available<u style="single">Is used to assign the scheduling target data, the non-scheduling target user data, and the non-scheduling target control data.</u>It is a mobile terminal to execute<u style="single">Based on the scheduling permission, at least one HARQ process of the plurality of HARQ processes can be used for transmitting the scheduled data, and other HARQ processes other than the at least one HARQ process of the plurality of HARQ processes can be used. It is disabled to send the scheduled data, and the above</u>Non-scheduling permission<u style="single">On the basis of the</u>, Said<u style="single">Of multiple HARQ processing</u>Some HARQ processing,<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Can be used</u>And said<u style="single">Excludes some of the HARQ processes of multiple HARQ processes</u>The rest of the HARQ processing,<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Unusable</u>Processing means to be performed and the plurality of HARQ processing described above<u style="single">Can be used to transmit the scheduling target data or the non-scheduling target user data</u>According to<u style="single">Said</u>With scheduling target data<u style="single">Said</u>With user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Said</u>The non-scheduled control data is multiplexed into the packet data unit of the transport channel transmitted on the uplink channel within the next transmission time interval by using one of the plurality of HARQ processes.<u style="single">,Previous</u>It has a multiplexer that supplies the packet data unit to any of the HARQ processes described above.<u style="single">,Previous</u>Any of the HARQ processing described<u style="single">, Said</u>Transmission of non-scheduled control data<u style="single">Always</u>To<u style="single">Can be used</u>Assuming that<u style="single">Be done</u>Take the composition.

When the computer-readable storage medium according to the present invention is executed by the processor of the mobile terminal,<u style="single">The mobile terminal</u>Transmission time interval<u style="single">In</u>Uplink channel<u style="single">In</u>Data not subject to kejuling<u style="single">To</u>Send<u style="single">To do</u>Unscheduled authorization indicating the maximum amount of resources available<u style="single">Allocation processing between non-scheduling target user data and non-scheduling target control data using</u>A computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions to be executed by the mobile terminal.<u style="single">Note</u>Guess processing<u style="single">Said</u>Non-scheduling permission<u style="single">Of multiple HARQ processes based on</u>Some HARQ processing,<u style="single">Said</u>Non-scheduled user data<u style="single">And both the non-scheduled control data</u>To send<u style="single">Can be used</u>Shi<u style="single">, Remaining</u>HARQ processing<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Unusable</u>And<u style="single">Said</u>For sending control data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">To be usable</u>The step and the multiple HARQ processes<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Can be used</u>Depending on whether or not<u style="single">Said</u>Non-scheduled user data and<u style="single">Said</u>A step of multiplexing non-scheduled control data into packet data units of a transport channel transmitted on an uplink channel within the next transmission time interval using one of the plurality of HARQ processes described above.<u style="single">,Previous</u>The packet data unit is provided with a step of supplying the packet data unit to any of the HARQ processes described above.

When the computer-readable storage medium according to the present invention is executed by the processor of the mobile terminal,<u style="single">The mobile terminal</u>Transmission time interval<u style="single">In</u>Uplink channel<u style="single">In</u>Data subject to queuing and data not subject to scheduling, respectively<u style="single">To</u>Send<u style="single">To do</u>Scheduling permission to indicate the maximum amount of resources available<u style="single">Bisu</u>Permit not subject to keju ring<u style="single">Assign processing between the scheduling target data, the non-scheduling target user data, and the non-scheduling target control data using</u>A computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions to be executed by the mobile terminal.<u style="single">Note</u>Guess processing<u style="single">Based on the scheduling permission, at least one HARQ process of the plurality of HARQ processes can be used for transmitting the scheduled data, and other HARQ processes other than the at least one HARQ process of the plurality of HARQ processes can be used. It cannot be used to transmit the scheduled data, and the above</u>Non-scheduling permission<u style="single">On the basis of the</u>, Said<u style="single">Of multiple HARQ processing</u>Some HARQ processing,<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Can be used</u>And said<u style="single">Excludes some of the HARQ processes of multiple HARQ processes</u>The rest of the HARQ processing,<u style="single">Said</u>For sending user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Unusable</u>Steps to be performed and the plurality of HARQ processes<u style="single">Can be used to transmit the scheduling target data or the non-scheduling target user data</u>According to<u style="single">Said</u>With scheduling target data<u style="single">Said</u>With user data not subject to scheduling<u style="single">Said</u>Use one of the plurality of HARQ processes for the non-scheduled control data.<u style="single">Next</u>With the step of multiplexing to the packet data unit of the transport channel transmitted on the uplink channel within the transmission time interval of<u style="single">,Previous</u>It has a step of supplying the packet data unit to any of the above HARQ processes.<u style="single">,Previous</u>Any of the HARQ processing described<u style="single">Said</u>Transmission of non-scheduled control data<u style="single">Always</u>To<u style="single">Can be used</u>It is assumed that it is.

The method according to the present invention is a method in the network entity for transmitting control signaling information from a network entity that controls radio resources of a mobile terminal to at least one of the mobile terminals in a radio access network of a mobile communication system. It is used to receive non-scheduled user data and non-scheduled control data from any of the mobile terminals in accordance with the non-scheduled permission, and is an uplink channel from any of the mobile terminals to the radio access network. Through<u style="single">Said</u>Steps to select some of the multiple HARQ processes used to send non-scheduled control data<u style="single">,Previous</u>A step of generating control signaling information indicating a part of HARQ processing and a step of transmitting the control signaling information to any of the mobile terminals are provided.

The network entity according to the present invention is a network entity that controls wireless resources of a mobile terminal in a wireless access network of a mobile communication system.<u style="single">, Su</u>Used to receive non-scheduling user data and non-scheduling control data from any of the mobile terminals in accordance with non-scheduling permission, and an uplink channel from any of the mobile terminals to the radio access network. Through<u style="single">Said</u>Select some of the multiple HARQ processes used to send unscheduled control data<u style="single">,Previous</u>The configuration includes a processing means for generating control signaling information indicating a part of HARQ processing, and a transmitter for transmitting the control signaling information to any of the mobile terminals.

When the computer-readable storage medium according to the present invention is executed by the processor of the network entity that controls the radio resources of the mobile terminal in the radio access network of the mobile communication system, the computer-readable storage medium is transferred to the network entity to at least one of the mobile terminals. A computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for transmitting control signaling information, and the transmission of the control signaling information is<u style="single">, Su</u>Used to receive non-scheduling user data and non-scheduling control data from any of the mobile terminals in accordance with non-scheduling permission, and an uplink channel from any of the mobile terminals to the radio access network. Through<u style="single">Said</u>Steps to select some of the multiple HARQ processes used to send non-scheduled control data<u style="single">,Previous</u>A step of generating control signaling information indicating a part of HARQ processing and a step of transmitting the control signaling information to any of the mobile terminals are provided.

The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying figures and drawings. Equivalent or similar details in each figure are given the same reference numbers.

The following paragraphs describe various embodiments of the present invention. Most of the embodiments are outlined in connection with UMTS communication systems only for the purpose of showing typical examples. Also, the terminology used in the following sections is primarily related to UMTS terminology. This is because the present invention can be advantageously used in this type of communication network. However, the terminology and description of embodiments related to UMTS configurations are not intended to limit the principles and ideas of the invention to the above systems.

In addition, the detailed description given in the Background Technology section above is merely to help you better understand the typical examples that are primarily specific to UMTS, and are processed in mobile communication networks. And should not be understood as limiting the invention to the particular realizations described herein.

The ideas presented here operate in the framework of scheduled data / non-scheduled data and can be applied to (mobile) communication systems that use a mechanism similar to that outlined here. Furthermore, the present invention is independent of the transmission time intervals set for the various flows of the uplink channel.

As mentioned above, one of the main ideas of the present invention is the introduction of a new classification of data transmitted via individual uplink channels such as E-DCH. According to the present invention, the data transmitted by the uplink is classified into three types: scheduling target data, non-scheduling target user data, and non-scheduling target control data.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the scheduling target data is, for example, a payload supplied from a user service of an upper layer to a MAC layer entity of a mobile terminal, and may be any type of payload. As can already be inferred from the terminology used, scheduled data requires explicit permission of the uplink resource for transmission, the so-called scheduling permission. In certain exemplary embodiments, resource authorization can be implemented as suggested in the Background Techniques section above. However, other mechanisms of dynamic resource allocation that allocate resources over a period of time, eg, one TTI-based or multiple TTI-based, may be used.

The non-scheduled user data can be user service data that does not require explicit permission of the resource based on the transmission time interval. As mentioned in the Background Techniques section, non-scheduled user data requires a valid so-called non-scheduled permission that allows a predetermined amount of bits to be transmitted within the transmission time interval. In addition, non-scheduled permissions can be valid for individual user data flows, such as individual logical channels or MAC-d flows. Non-scheduling permission can be fixedly set at the start of the session and can be reset during uplink service provision. This setting can be signaled to the mobile terminal from a network entity in the radio access network of the mobile communication network that controls the radio resource utilization of the mobile terminal, for example, using the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol. For example, in UTRAN in UMTS networks, this signaling function is typically provided by the serving RNC.

The third type defined by the present invention is so-called non-scheduled control data. Like the non-scheduled user data, the non-scheduled control data requires a valid non-scheduled permission that allows a predetermined amount of bits to be transmitted within the transmission time interval. In general, non-scheduled user data and non-scheduled control data may share a single non-scheduled permission (ie, the permission is valid for both non-scheduled user data and non-scheduled control data. ), Non-scheduling permission may be defined separately for non-scheduling control data. If a non-scheduled permission is given to non-scheduled control data, the permission can be fixedly or dynamically set by the mobile terminal with or without associated control signaling from the RAN.

Examples of non-scheduling control data include scheduling information. In one embodiment of the invention, scheduling information, and their provision to the RAN, can be defined and set, for example, as described in the Background Techniques section. Broadly speaking, the scheduling information according to the present invention is such that node B adheres to the mobile terminal under its control in the cell with the maximum total received interference power (RoT) caused by the mobile terminal in the cell. It can represent any kind of data that notifies the scheduling node B (base station) of the information that allows it to be scheduled.

For example, if scheduling is performed for each logical channel, that is, if the QoS requirements associated with each logical channel are taken into account by the scheduler, the scheduling information needs to identify each logical channel that is the subject of the scheduling information to be transmitted. There is. Scheduling information can be transmitted by a mobile terminal to only one or more logical channels with the highest priority, or to all logical channels configured on the mobile terminal. Since the transmission of control information contributes to the RoT in the cell, the amount of control signaling that can be tolerated can be changed in consideration of system efficiency, and the amount of non-scheduled control data is reported for each logical channel. And / or may be limited to certain events (event-triggered reporting) and / or periodic reporting. Scheduling information may further include information that allows scheduling node B to determine which terminals require more / less resource allocation to meet the QoS constraints associated with each logical channel. .. For example, the transmit buffer state of the highest priority logical channel or the overall buffer state of the mobile terminal. Further, the scheduling information may also include power status information. Scheduling information is not directly combined with higher layer data. Scheduling information may be transmitted independently, i.e., without other users or control data, or, if present, with non-scheduled user data or scheduled user data. is there. Another possible type of non-scheduled control data is the framing header data described with respect to FIG. For framing headers that are always combined with higher layer data, non-scheduling permission can be assumed by the mobile terminal when selecting E-TFC (ie, for non-scheduled control data). The framing header is MAC-d Being associated with the PDU, the mobile terminal (eg, UE) can assume the same settings as for the associated MAC-d flow. In the case of non-scheduling control data, the mobile terminal is not scheduled for transmission of the framing header in IE (information element) called "HARQ processing allocation of 2ms non-scheduling transmission permission" when E-TFC is selected. You can assume authorization and the same HARQ processing that was set for the associated MAC-d flow. This exemplary operation according to one embodiment of the invention makes it possible to ensure that the framing header is always transmitted with the associated data treated as scheduled user data. Another type of non-scheduled control data that can be used is data used for Layer 2 mobility. When the uplink serving cell is selected by the mobile terminal, a non-scheduled control PDU may be transmitted from the mobile terminal to node B to notify the old and new serving cells of the serving cell selection.

In addition to this proposed new classification of uplink data, another aspect of the invention is the introduction of a new HARQ processing restriction mechanism. According to the present invention, it is possible to limit the non-scheduling permission for non-scheduled user data to a part of the HARQ processing set, but there is no expected HARQ processing restriction for the non-scheduling control data. The processing restrictions proposed in the present invention can therefore only be applied to the transmission of non-scheduled user data, but not to non-scheduled control data. As a result, the mobile terminal sends the non-scheduled control data to the protocol data unit (or transport block) of the transport channel that is transmitted using HARQ processing that should be used in the next transmission time interval if it occurs. ) Can be multiplexed. This makes it possible to avoid unwanted delays in the transmission of non-scheduled control data.

According to certain exemplary embodiments of the invention, UMTS systems as described in the Background Techniques section are envisioned. In this exemplary embodiment, the behavior of the UE for E-TFC selection with respect to the processing of scheduling information can be specified as follows. If scheduling information needs to be sent, the E-TFC selection and data allocation process assumes that the non-scheduling permission has been obtained and the used HARQ process is active for that transmission. This definition can ensure that the UE can use any HARQ process to send scheduling information.

The following exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be outlined with reference to FIGS. 12, 13 and 14. FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of a configuration outline of a functional entity of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

According to this embodiment, the scheduling target data, the non-scheduling target user data, and the non-scheduling target control data are supplied to the multiplexer. The multiplexer may be a hardware-implemented multiplexer or may be realized by software instructions. The scheduling target data and non-scheduling target user data shown in FIG. 12 can be considered as a data flow supplied from the upper layer to a lower layer such as the MAC layer. Also, a plurality of non-scheduled data flows, non-scheduled user data flows and / or non-scheduled control data flows can be multiplexed by the multiplexer. These data flows can be supplied by the buffer associated with each flow.

The mobile terminal may have set individual permissions for each flow. Scheduling permission indicates the maximum amount of resources available to a mobile terminal to transmit scheduled data on an uplink channel within a transmission time interval for all or each of the scheduled data flows. In addition, a non-scheduling permission is set to indicate the maximum amount of resources available to the mobile terminal to transmit non-scheduled data on the uplink channel within the transmission time interval. There may be separate non-scheduled permissions for each or all of the non-scheduled user data flows supplied to the multiplexer. Alternatively, one non-scheduling permission may be assigned to the non-scheduling user data and the non-scheduling control data. Another possibility is to define "another" non-scheduled permission for non-scheduled control data.

The number of bits multiplexed on the protocol data unit to be provided to the RAN at the next transmission time interval may be fixedly set or dynamically controlled on the mobile terminal.

In one exemplary variation of the above embodiment, the selection of the appropriate number of bits to be multiplexed from the individual flows is the HARQ processing limitation according to the invention, the power offset that the mobile terminal can use to transmit the protocol data unit. , And the uplink resources assigned to the mobile terminal for each flow by scheduling and non-scheduling permissions.

For example, it can be assumed that the available 1 to N HARQ processes are used sequentially, as shown in FIG. 9 and as shown in FIG. For example, referring here to FIG. 13, which shows an exemplary flow diagram of each step performed by a mobile terminal with a configuration entity as shown in FIG. 12, the multiplexer should be used for the next transmission time interval HARQ. The ID of the process can be given or determined (1301). This is to determine whether or not a processing limit has been set for the next HARQ processing.

Once the HARQ processing ID is obtained, this information is used in step 1302 to determine which of the flows entered into the multiplexer in Figure 12 will be sent in the next transmission time interval. .. Needless to say, if there is no data waiting to be transmitted in a particular flow, the data from that flow will not be multiplexed into the protocol data unit. Furthermore, if the HARQ processing identified by the acquired ID is restricted for non-scheduled user data, then during the next transmission time interval, the restricted HARQ processing will be used and the data from the restricted flow will be Not sent. In this embodiment of the present invention, the restriction of HARQ processing is applied only to non-scheduled user data, and transmission of non-scheduled control data such as scheduling information cannot be restricted to individual HARQ processing. It is important to recognize that.

After deciding which of the various scheduled and unscheduled data flows to send, the mobile terminal is appropriate for the data that will be sent within the configured scheduling and non-scheduling permissions. You can proceed to step (1303) of selecting a transport format combination (eg, modulation coding scheme, spreading code, etc.). In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, this selection is made according to the same rules as the E-TFC selection function described above. If there is non-scheduled control data waiting to be transmitted, the mobile terminal always assumes, for example, that it has a related non-scheduled permission that allows sufficient resources on the uplink to transmit non-scheduled control data. be able to. If a non-scheduled permission is set for sending non-scheduled control data, this permission is large enough to allow the transmission of non-scheduled control data in any one of the HARQ processes. Can always be set to.

The transport format combination selected also determines the amount of bits from the individual data flows that will be transmitted during the next transmission time interval. Based on this recognition, the multiplexer in Figure 12 can proceed and multiplex (1304) the appropriate number of bits from the scheduled and non-scheduled flows into the protocol data unit being transmitted. This process can also be called a data allocation process because the available uplink resources are allocated to individual scheduled and non-scheduled data flows by multiplexing a certain amount of bits. Also, when non-scheduled control data is waiting to be transmitted, it is recognizable that this data will be multiplexed into the protocol data unit to be transmitted at the next transmission time interval, independent of any HARQ processing restrictions. is important.

For example, once a protocol data unit with the configuration shown in FIG. 11 is formed, this data unit is sent to the HARQ process that will be used for the next transmission time interval using the selected transmission format combination.

FIG. 14 shows an exemplary flow diagram of the operation of a mobile terminal according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. Basically, the behavior of the mobile terminal outlined with respect to FIGS. 12 and 13 is shown in the time domain. In FIG. 14, it is assumed for illustrative purposes that a mobile terminal (UE) is used in a UMTS network and data is transmitted via E-DCH. In this figure, the arrow from RAN to the mobile terminal (UE) indicates that scheduling permission is set by node B that controls each cell of the mobile terminal, while non-scheduling permission controls the use of uplink resources. It is intended to indicate that it is selectively set by signaling by a network entity of the access network, for example, S-RNC. For UMTS networks, this signaling between the UE and S-RNC can be part of the RRC protocol.

In addition, the network entity of the radio access network that controls the use of uplink resources has some of the HARQ processing numbers used to send data on the uplink channel, and some of the HARQ processing sets are unscheduled user data. It can be restricted in the form that it is not used for transmission of. Optionally, similar limits can be set for the transmission of scheduled data. For example, processing limits can be directed to mobile terminals (UEs) within the information elements of signaling messages, outlined below in more detail.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 14, the mobile terminal executes the E-TFC selection process for each TTI. This E-TFC selection process is performed by a new classification of uplink data such as scheduled data, non-scheduled user data and non-scheduled control data, and the HARQ processing limiting mechanism and multiplexer proposed in the various embodiments described above. You can think of it as a "traditional" E-TFC selection process that employs modifications to the data allocation process that is performed.

Another embodiment of the present invention addresses the handling of framing headers. Optionally, the new E-TFC selection feature can also account for higher layer data, such as RLC PDUs, as well as MAC-e control information such as MAC-e framing headers. Since framing headers are associated with higher layer data, it can be assumed that there is always valid permission available.

Two methods are proposed for interpreting the framing header. Either the header is considered part of the authorization or the header is not considered part of the authorization. For non-scheduled control data, the header may be included in the maximum number of bits set in the corresponding MAC-d flow. On the other hand, it can be difficult to interpret the headers in the permissions themselves. Keeping in mind that the framing header overhead is fairly small, the header can also be interpreted separately during E-TFC selection (including data allocation procedures). In this case, the mobile terminal can assume non-scheduling permission for the framing header.

For scheduling data, the framing header can be considered part of the scheduling permission, or the mobile terminal can assume non-scheduling permission for the header when selecting E-TFC. Given that it is feasible to interpret the headers in the scheduling permissions themselves, it would also lead to more accurate matching to the allocated resources and would be advantageous.

An alternative to introducing the HARQ processing restriction mechanism outlined above is a new configuration with UTRAN. For example, as described in Non-Patent Document 6, the provision of scheduling information can be set as part of the physical channel setting (IE E-DPDCH info). In this UMTS-related example, UTRAN sends a RADIO BEARER SETUP message to the UE when establishing a radio bearer. This message includes, among other things, the configuration of transport channels and / or physical channels (such as E-DCH and E-DPDCH, respectively). Also, during the RRC connection setup procedure, UTRAN can supply physical channel parameters to the UE, such as the information element IE "E-DPDCH INFO", to set up the E-DCH connection.

In order to adapt the system described in Non-Patent Document 6 to the idea of the present invention, HARQ processing restrictions for transmission of non-scheduled control data are introduced. When the non-scheduled control data corresponds to the scheduling information, the HARQ processing restriction for the transmission of the non-scheduled control data can be realized by introducing a new IE entry (information element) that defines the HARQ processing allocation for the scheduling information. This IE can contain a bit string that represents one of the HARQ processes that each bit can use. The logical value of the individual bits activates or deactivates the corresponding HARQ processing for sending scheduling information. To ensure that all HARQ processes are active in sending scheduling information, set IE to 11111111 (assuming 8 HARQ processes are available). However, it is also possible to explicitly activate / deactivate specific HARQ processing for the transmission of non-scheduled control data. In the latter case, between having to determine the permissible delay for non-scheduled control data and correspondingly limiting the use of HARQ processing for non-scheduled control data transmission. It's a trade-off.

The following are examples of possible information elements that define HARQ processing assignments for scheduling information.

<tables num="1"><img file="JP3997253B2_D0001.tif" /></tables>

Another embodiment of the invention relates to the realization of the various embodiments described above using hardware and software. Various embodiments of the present invention can be realized using general purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic circuits. Is recognized. Various embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented or realized by a combination of the above devices. Of particular interest are the processing and classification of uplink data, the setting and control of TTI lengths, multiplexing to transport blocks or protocol data units of different data types, and the setting and maintenance of permissions in the form of computer devices. It can be achieved by using hardware.

Further, various forms of the present invention can also be realized using software modules that are executed by a processor or built directly into hardware. It is also possible to combine software modules and hardware implementation. The software module may be stored on any kind of computer-readable storage medium (eg RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, registers, hard disks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, etc.).

<figref num="1">UMTS high level configuration</figref><figref num="2">Configuration of UTRAN with UMTS R99 / 4/5</figref><figref num="3">Overall E-DCH MAC configuration on the user device</figref><figref num="4">MAC interaction in a simplified configuration on the user device</figref><figref num="5">MAC-e / es configuration on the user device</figref><figref num="6">Overall MAC configuration in UTRAN</figref><figref num="7">Node B MAC-e configuration</figref><figref num="8">S-RNC MAC-es configuration</figref><figref num="9">Relative permission time relationship</figref><figref num="10">MAC-es PDU configuration</figref><figref num="11">MAC-e PDU configuration</figref><figref num="12">Schematic diagram of the configuration outline of the functional entity of the mobile terminal for executing one embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="13">An exemplary flow diagram of each step of a method performed by a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.</figref><figref num="14">An exemplary flow diagram of the operation of a mobile terminal according to still another embodiment of the present invention.</figref>