CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0097338 filed on Aug. 4, 2020 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The disclosure relates to a device and method for operating a network in a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to a device and method for operating an ultra-high density network based on a mobile base station.

2. Description of Related Art

Wireless communication technologies have been developed mainly for human services, such as voice, multimedia, and data communication. As 5th-generation (5G) communication systems become commercially available, connected devices are expected to explosively increase and to be connected to a communication network. Examples of things connected to a network may include vehicles, robots, drones, home appliances, displays, smart sensors installed in various infrastructures, construction machinery, and factory equipment. Mobile devices will evolve into various form factors, such as augmented reality glasses, virtual reality headsets, and hologram devices. In the 6th-generation (6G) era, efforts are being made to develop an enhanced 6G communication system to provide various services by connecting hundreds of billions of devices and things. For this reason, the 6G communication system is called a beyond 5G system.

In the 6G communication system expected to be realized around year 2030, the maximum transmission rate is tera (i.e., 1000 gigabit) bps, and the wireless latency is 100 microseconds (μsec). In other words, the transmission rate of the 6G communication system is 50 times faster than that of the 5G communication system, and the wireless latency is reduced to one tenth.

To achieve these high data rates and ultra-low latency, 6G communication systems are considered to be implemented in terahertz bands (e.g., 95 gigahertz (95 GHz) to 3 terahertz (3 THz) bands). As the path loss and atmospheric absorption issues worsen in the terahertz band as compared with millimeter wave (mmWave) introduced in 5G, technology that may guarantee signal reach, that is, coverage, would become more important. As major techniques for ensuring coverage, there need to be developed multi-antenna transmission techniques, such as new waveform, beamforming, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, or large-scale antennas, which exhibit better coverage characteristics than radio frequency (RF) devices and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). New technologies, such as a metamaterial-based lens and antennas, high-dimensional spatial multiplexing technology using an orbital angular momentum (OAM), and a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), are being discussed to enhance the coverage of the terahertz band signals.

For 6G communication systems to enhance frequency efficiency and system network for 6G communication systems to include full-duplex technology, there are being developed full-duplex technology in which uplink (UE transmission) and downlink (base station transmission) simultaneously utilize the same frequency resource at the same time, network technologies that comprehensively use satellite and high-altitude platform stations (HAPSs), network architecture innovation technology that enables optimization and automation of network operation and supports mobile base stations, dynamic spectrum sharing technology through collision avoidance based on prediction of spectrum usages, artificial intelligence (AI)-based communication technology that uses AI from the stage of designing and internalizes end-to-end AI supporting function to thereby optimize the system, and next-generation distributed computing technology that realizes services that exceed the limitation of the UE computation capability by ultra-high performance communication and mobile edge computing (MEC) or clouds. Further, continuous attempts have been made to reinforce connectivity between devices, further optimizing the network, prompting implementation of network entities in software, and increase the openness of wireless communication by the design of a new protocol to be used in 6G communication systems, implementation of a hardware-based security environment, development of a mechanism for safely using data, and development of technology for maintaining privacy.

Such research and development efforts for 6G communication systems would implement the next hyper-connected experience via hyper-connectivity of 6G communication systems which encompass human-thing connections as well as thing-to-thing connections. Specifically, the 6G communication system would be able to provide services, such as truly immersive extended reality (XR), high-fidelity mobile hologram, and digital replica. Further, services, such as remote surgery, industrial automation and emergency response would be provided through the 6G communication system thanks to enhanced security and reliability and would have various applications in medical, auto, or home appliance industries.

As described above, a need exists for a scheme for efficiently operating base stations in a wireless communication system.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides embodiments of a method and device for operating a network in a wireless communication system.

The present disclosure provides embodiments of a method for operating an ultra-high density network based on a mobile base station in a wireless communication system.

The present disclosure provides embodiments of a method and device for operating an ultra-high density network to efficiently add or change a mobile base station in a wireless communication system.

The present disclosure provides embodiments of a method and device for efficiently operating base stations based on the context of operating an ultra-high density network in a wireless communication system.

In accordance with some embodiments, a method by a first base station in a wireless communication system comprises receiving a message including information related to a sum of traffic loads of corresponding user equipment's (UEs) and information related to a location of a corresponding second base station from each of second base stations, identifying a sum of traffic loads transmitted from corresponding second base stations, located in a specific first area among first areas included in a service area of the first base station, to corresponding UEs, identifying whether the identified sum of the traffic loads is larger than a sum of data rates for the corresponding UEs of the corresponding second base stations located in the specific first area, when the identified sum of the traffic loads is larger than the sum of the data rates, identifying a specific UE to be operated as a second base station among the corresponding UEs located in the specific first area, and transmitting information indicating that the specific UE is to operate as the second base station to the specific UE.

In accordance with various embodiments, a method by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system comprises, when a specific second base station among second base stations connected with the UE meets a configuration condition, identifying the specific second base station as a malfunctioning second base station and transmitting information indicating that the specific second base station is the malfunctioning second base station to a second base station other than the specific second base station among the second base stations, wherein the configuration condition includes a condition where a data rate of data received by the UE through the specific second base station is less than a threshold.

In accordance with certain embodiments, a method by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system comprises receiving first information from a first base station while operating as a normal UE in a normal UE operation mode, the first information indicating that the UE is to be operated as a second base station directly transmitting/receiving data to/from the first base station via a backhaul link, switching from the normal UE operation mode to a base station operation mode based on the first information, receiving second information from the first base station while operating as the second base station in the base station operation mode, the second information indicating that the UE is to operate as the normal UE, and switching from the base station operation mode to the normal UE operation mode based on the second information.

In accordance with some embodiments, a first base station in a communication system comprises a controller configured to identify a sum of traffic loads transmitted from corresponding second base stations, located in a specific first area among first areas included in a service area of the first base station, to corresponding UEs, identify whether the identified sum of the traffic loads is larger than a sum of data rates for the corresponding UEs of the corresponding second base stations located in the specific first area and, when the identified sum of the traffic loads is larger than the sum of the data rates, identify a specific UE to be operated as a second base station among the corresponding UEs located in the specific first area and a transceiver configured to receive a message including information related to a sum of traffic loads of corresponding user equipment's (UEs) and information related to a location of a corresponding second base station from each of second base stations and transmit information indicating that the specific UE is to operate as the second base station to the specific UE.

In accordance with certain embodiments, a UE in a communication system comprises a controller configured to, when a specific second base station among second base stations connected with the UE meets a configuration condition, identify the specific second base station as a malfunctioning second base station and a transceiver configured to transmit information indicating that the specific second base station is the malfunctioning second base station to a second base station other than the specific second base station among the second base stations, wherein the configuration condition includes a condition where a data rate of data received by the UE through the specific second base station is less than a threshold.

In accordance with various embodiments, a UE in a wireless communication system comprises a controller configured to, upon receiving first information from a first base station while operating as a normal UE in a normal UE operation mode, the first information indicating that the UE is to be operated as a second base station directly transmitting/receiving data to/from the first base station via a backhaul link, switch the operation mode from the normal UE operation mode to a base station operation mode and, upon receiving second information from the first base station while operating as the second base station in the base station operation mode, the second information indicating that the UE is to operate as the normal UE, switch the operation mode from the base station operation mode to the normal UE operation mode and a transceiver configured to transmit/receive the first information and the second information.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.

Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed from computer readable program code and embodied in a computer readable medium. The terms “application” and “program” refer to one or more computer programs, software components, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computer readable program code. The phrase “computer readable program code” includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The phrase “computer readable medium” includes any type of medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), or any other type of memory. A “non-transitory” computer readable medium excludes wired, wireless, optical, or other communication links that transport transitory electrical or other signals. A non-transitory computer readable medium includes media where data can be permanently stored and media where data can be stored and later overwritten, such as a rewritable optical disc or an erasable memory device.

Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

