U.S. patent application number 12/826265 was filed with the patent office on 2010-10-21 for resource release method, communication equipment, and network system.
This patent application is currently assigned to HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Chuanfeng He, Jie Ma.
Application Number | 20100265919 12/826265 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49289885 |
Filed Date | 2010-10-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100265919 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ma; Jie ; et al. |
October 21, 2010 |
Resource Release Method, Communication Equipment, and Network
System
Abstract
A method for releasing resources includes obtaining trigger
information; determining to release an allocated high-speed random
access channel (HS-RACH) resource according to the obtained trigger
information; and releasing the allocated HS-RACH resource at the
local end.
Inventors: |
Ma; Jie; (Shenzhen, CN)
; He; Chuanfeng; (Shenzhen, CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Slater & Matsil, L.L.P.
17950 Preston Road, Suite 1000
Dallas
TX
75252
US
|
Assignee: |
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO.,
LTD.
Shenzhen
CN
|
Family ID: |
49289885 |
Appl. No.: |
12/826265 |
Filed: |
June 29, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
PCT/CN2008/073769 |
Dec 26, 2008 |
|
|
|
12826265 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
370/332 ;
370/329 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 76/38 20180201;
H04W 72/04 20130101; H04L 47/76 20130101; H04W 36/26 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/332 ;
370/329 |
International
Class: |
H04W 36/30 20090101
H04W036/30; H04W 72/04 20090101 H04W072/04; H04W 36/24 20090101
H04W036/24 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 29, 2007 |
CN |
200710307869.0 |
Claims
1. A method for releasing resources, the method comprising:
obtaining trigger information; determining to release an allocated
high speed random access channel (HS-RACH) resource according to
the obtained trigger information; and releasing the allocated
HS-RACH resource after determining to release the allocated HS-RACH
resource.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein: obtaining the trigger
information comprises obtaining, by a network side, the trigger
information; determining to release the allocated HS-RACH resource
comprises determining, by the network side, to release the
allocated HS-RACH resource according to the obtained trigger
information; and releasing the allocated HS-RACH resource comprises
sending, by the network side, a resource release indication to a
user equipment (UE) to enable the UE to release the allocated
HS-RACH resource at the local end of the UE, and releasing, by the
network side, the allocated HS-RACH resource at the local end of
the network side.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein obtaining the trigger information
comprises obtaining the trigger information sent by the UE or the
trigger information obtained after detecting the UE.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein obtaining the trigger information
comprises obtaining, by a NodeB on the network side, the trigger
information after the NodeB detects the UE, or, the trigger
information determined by a radio network side controller (RNC) on
the network side after the RNC detects the UE.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein obtaining the trigger information
comprises obtaining the trigger information determined by the RNC
on the network side after the RNC detects the UE, the trigger
information comprising information for changing a UE state, which
is determined by the RNC on the network side according to amount of
data sent by the UE, the load of a cell where the UE resides, or a
quality of service (QoS) requirement of the UE; or wherein
obtaining the trigger information comprises obtaining the trigger
information obtained by the NodeB on the network after the NodeB
detects the UE comprises, the trigger information comprising
information indicating that an error rate of the data sent by the
UE within a set time is greater than a set value.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein when the RNC determines to change
the UE state, the method further comprises: sending, by the RNC, a
Radio Link Setup Request message carrying a UE ID and activation
time to the NodeB, so that the NodeB sets up a radio link after
receiving the Radio Link Setup Request message; and sending, by the
RNC, the activation time to the UE; and wherein releasing the
allocated HS-RACH resource comprises releasing, by the NodeB and
the UE, the allocated HS-RACH resource respectively when the
activation time is reached.
7. The method of claim 2, wherein: the network side releases the
allocated HS-RACH resource at the local end after receiving the
data retransmitted by the UE; and/or enabling the UE to release the
allocated HS-RACH resource comprises enabling the UE to release the
allocated HS-RACH resource after retransmitting data to the network
side and receiving an ACK message returned by the network side.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein: the network side releases the
allocated HS-RACH resource at the local end after determining that
a set retransmission threshold is reached; and/or the UE releases
the allocated HS-RACH resource at the local end after determining
that the set retransmission threshold is reached.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein: obtaining the trigger
information comprises obtaining, by a UE, the trigger information
detected by the UE; determining to release the allocated HS-RACH
resource comprises determining, by the UE, to release the allocated
HS-RACH resource according to the detected trigger information; and
releasing the allocated HS-RACH resource comprises by the UE,
enabling the network side to release the allocated HS-RACH resource
at the local end of the network side by sending a resource release
indication to the network side, and releasing the allocated HS-RACH
resource at the local end of the UE.
10. The method of claim 2, wherein after the network side or the UE
receives the resource release indication from the peer, the method
further comprises: returning a resource release response to the
peer; and releasing, by the peer, the allocated HS-RACH resource
after the peer receives the resource release response.
11. The method of claim 2 wherein the sent resource release
indication is indicated through physical layer signaling or through
a media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU).
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the sent resource release
indication is indicated through physical layer signaling or through
a media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU).
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the trigger information is
information indicating that the UE has no data to send, or
indicating that an amount of data sent by the UE is lower than a
threshold, or indicating that the UE performs cell handover.
14. Communication equipment, comprising: an information obtaining
unit configured to obtain information related to resource release;
and a resource releasing unit configured to determine to release an
allocated high-speed random access channel (HS-RACH) resource
according to the information obtained by the information obtaining
unit, and to release the allocated resource at the local end.
15. The communication equipment of claim 14, wherein the
information obtaining unit is configured to obtain trigger
information; and wherein the resource releasing unit comprises: a
determining unit configured to determine to release the allocated
HS-RACH resource according to the trigger information obtained by
the information obtaining unit; and a processing unit configured to
release the allocated HS-RACH resource at the local end after the
determining unit determines to release the allocated HS-RACH
resource.
16. The communication equipment of claim 15, further comprising a
sending unit configured to send a resource release indication
externally after the determining unit determines to release the
allocated HS-RACH resource.
17. The communication equipment of claim 14, wherein the
information obtaining unit is configured to obtain the trigger
information indicating that a user equipment (UE) has no data to
send, or indicating that an amount of data sent by the UE is lower
than a threshold, or indicating that the UE performs cell
handover.
18. The communication equipment of claim 14, wherein: the
information obtaining unit is configured to obtain a resource
release indication delivered by a network side after the network
side determines to release the allocated HS-RACH resource according
to the trigger information; and the resource releasing unit is
configured to determine to release the allocated HS-RACH resource
according to the recourse release indication received by the
information obtaining unit, and release the allocated HS-RACH
resource at the local end.
19. The communication equipment of claim 18, wherein the
communication equipment is a UE, the equipment further comprising:
an information reporting unit, configured to send the trigger
information detected by the UE to the network side before the
information obtaining unit obtains the resource release indication,
wherein the trigger information is information indicating that the
UE has no data to send, or indicating that the amount of data sent
by the UE is lower than a threshold, or indicating that the UE
performs cell handover.
20. The communication equipment of claim 14, wherein the
communication equipment is network equipment and the information
obtaining unit is configured to; obtain the trigger information
sent by a UE or detected by the network equipment to indicate that
the UE has no data to send, to indicate that the amount of data
sent by the UE is lower than a threshold, or to indicate that the
UE performs cell handover; or obtain trigger information sent by a
radio network controller (RNC), wherein the trigger information is
determined by the RNC to change the state of the UE according to
the amount of data sent by the UE, the load of the cell where the
UE resides, or a quality of service (QoS) requirement of the UE; or
obtain trigger information detected by the network equipment to
indicate that an error rate of the data sent by the UE within a set
time is greater than a set value.
21. A network system, comprising: a network equipment configured to
obtain trigger information, to determine to release an allocated
high-speed random access channel (HS-RACH) resource according to
the obtained trigger information, and to release the allocated
HS-RACH resource at the local end.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending
International Application No. PCT/CN2008/073769, filed on Dec. 26,
2008, which designated the United States and was not published in
English, and which claims priority to Chinese Application No.
200710307869.0, filed on Dec. 29, 2007, both of which applications
are incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to communication technologies,
and in particular, to a resource release method, communication
equipment, and a network system.
BACKGROUND
[0003] To reduce the uplink signaling transmission delay and
discontinuous packet transmission delay on a communication network,
and optimize the existing random access technologies, a solution is
proposed in the prior art. The solution uses the enhanced
high-speed random access channels (HS-RACHs) to replace the random
access channels (RACHs) to implement uplink transmission.
[0004] In the technical solution of the prior art, the enhanced
random access procedure is as follows. When a user equipment (UE)
receives a response through an acquisition indicator channel
(AICH), the NodeB sends an uplink resource allocation message over
a downlink channel to the accessed UE, notifying the UE of the
available HS-RACH resources. The downlink channel carrying the
uplink resource allocation message may be an AICH or a high speed
physical downlink shared channel (HS-PDSCH). The UE uses the
allocated uplink resource to send the UE ID to the NodeB. The NodeB
responds to the corresponding UE by carrying the UE ID over the
downlink channel. The UE may continue using the uplink resource if
it receives the response within the preset time; otherwise, it
stops using the uplink resource. The downlink channel carrying the
UE ID may be an E-DCH absolute grant channel (E-AGCH) or an
HS-PDSCH.
[0005] During the research and practice of the prior art, the
inventor finds the following problem in the prior art. The solution
that uses HS-RACHs to replace RACHs for uplink transmission is
already proposed in the prior art, but a method for releasing
HS-RACH resources is not provided.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Embodiments of the present invention provide a resource
release method, communication equipment, and a network system to
solve the HS-RACH resource release problem.
[0007] In order to solve the foregoing technical problem, the
embodiments of the present invention are implemented through the
following technical solutions.
[0008] A method for releasing resources in an embodiment of the
present invention includes obtaining trigger information and
determining to release an allocated HS-RACH resource according to
the obtained trigger information. The allocated HS-RACH resource is
released after determining to release the allocated HS-RACH
resource.
[0009] A communication equipment provided in an embodiment of the
present invention includes an information obtaining unit that is
adapted to obtain information related to resource release. A
resource releasing unit is adapted to determine to release an
allocated HS-RACH resource according to the information obtained by
the information obtaining unit and to release the allocated HS-RACH
resource at the local end.
[0010] A network system provided in an embodiment of the present
invention includes a network equipment that is adapted to obtain
trigger information, to determine to release an allocated HS-RACH
resource according to the obtained trigger information, and to
release the allocated HS-RACH resource at the local end.
[0011] Although the solution that uses HS-RACHs to replace RACHs
for uplink transmission is proposed in the prior art, a method for
releasing HS-RACH resources is not provided. As a result, the
HS-RACH resources in use may be occupied all the time and cannot be
released. Therefore, the procedure in the technical solution of the
prior art is incomplete and may not be applied currently. In
contrast, the technical solution provided in embodiments of the
present invention includes: obtaining trigger information;
determining to release an allocated HS-RACH resource according to
the obtained trigger information; and releasing the allocated
HS-RACH resource after determining to release the allocated HS-RACH
resource. Therefore, the HS-RACH resources in use may be released
according to actual situations. This technical solution improves
the procedure for using HS-RACHs to replace RACHs for uplink
transmission and is more suitable for actual applications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for releasing resources in
a first embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for releasing resources in
a second embodiment (a) of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for releasing resources in
a second embodiment (b) of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for releasing resources in
a third embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for releasing resources in
a fourth embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for releasing resources in
a fifth embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 7 shows a structure of communication equipment in an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 8 shows a structure of a first UE in an embodiment of
the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 9 shows a structure of a second UE in an embodiment of
the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 10 shows a structure of a network equipment in an
embodiment of the present invention; and
[0022] FIG. 11 shows a structure of a network system in an
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0023] Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for
releasing HS-RACH resources.
[0024] According to the resource release method in embodiments of
the present invention, the network equipment (for example, the
NodeB) or the UE may transmit the explicit signaling for HS-RACH
resources releasing according to the trigger information. Explicit
signaling may be indicated by physical-layer signaling, or
implemented through the layer-2 control protocol data unit (PDU),
or by using other methods.
[0025] The information triggering the NodeB to release resources
may be:
[0026] information sent by the UE to indicate that the UE has no
data to send, or to indicate that the amount of data sent by the UE
is lower than the threshold, or to indicate that the UE performs
cell handover;
[0027] information detected by the NodeB to indicate that the UE
has no data to send, or to indicate that the amount of data sent by
the UE is lower than the threshold, or to indicate that the UE
performs cell handover;
[0028] information for changing the UE state, which is determined
and sent by the radio network controller (RNC) according to the
amount of data sent by the UE, the load of the cell where the UE
resides, or the quality of service (QoS) requirement of the UE;
or
[0029] information detected by the NodeB to indicate that the error
rate of the data sent by the UE within the preset time is higher
than the preset value.
[0030] The information sent by the UE to indicate that the UE has
no data to send, or to indicate that the amount of data sent by the
UE is lower than the threshold, or to indicate that the UE performs
cell handover is indicated by the special scheduling information
(SI) sent by the UE or indicated by the special physical-layer
control channel.
[0031] The SI includes the ID (4 bits) of the logical channel with
the highest priority in the buffer, buffer usage of the UE, and
power head room of the UE (5 bits). The buffer usage of the UE
includes the ratio of the buffer size used by the data of the
logical channel with the highest priority to the total buffer size
and the buffer state. Whether to release resources is determined
according to the buffer usage in the SI.
[0032] A method for releasing resources in embodiments of the
present invention may be at least applied in the following
scenarios:
[0033] (1) The UE stays in the CELL_FACH (forward access channel)
state, does not perform cell handover, and has no uplink data to
send.
[0034] (2) The UE does not perform cell handover, but needs to
switch state, such as preparing to switch to the CELL_DCH
(dedicated channel) or CELL_PCH (paging channel) state.
[0035] (3) The UE does not change the state, but needs to perform
cell handover to continue sending uplink data.
[0036] The following describes the resource release methods in the
preceding scenarios with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0037] The following three embodiments describe a method for
releasing resources through explicit signaling transmitted by the
network side (for example, the NodeB).
First Embodiment
[0038] FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for releasing resources in
the first embodiment of the present invention. This method is
applied when the UE does not change the state, and does not perform
cell handover.
[0039] As shown in FIG. 1, the process includes the following
steps.
[0040] Step 101: The NodeB receives the SI sent by the UE.
[0041] When using the HS-RACH to send uplink data, the UE sends the
SI to the NodeB periodically or when there is new data to be sent.
The SI carries the data buffer size of the UE.
[0042] The SI may be sent independently or carried in the uplink
data.
[0043] Step 102: The NodeB determines to request the UE to release
the resources according to the information in the received SI.
[0044] When finding that the data buffer usage indicated by the SI
is lower than a certain threshold or is 0, the NodeB requests the
UE to release resources and starts to release the resources related
to the UE.
[0045] Step 103: The NodeB sends a release indication to the
UE.
[0046] When the data buffer usage indicated by the SI is 0, the
NodeB sends a release indication to the UE, requesting the UE to
release resources. The release indication methods are as
follows.
[0047] Method (a): Use the media access control (MAC) control PDU.
A format combination of bits in the control PDU represents the
resource release indication. In a MAC control PDU, the header
contains the type indication (indicating whether the PDU is a
control PDU), length of the PDU, and cyclic redundancy check (CRC)
value of the PDU. The load part contains the control type bits, for
example, resource allocation bit, resource release bit, SI bit,
time adjustment bit, resource change bit, and quality measurement
bit, etc. If a bit is set to 1, it indicates the corresponding
information is carried. If a bit is set to 0, it indicates the
corresponding information is not carried, or vice versa. The
resource release part may contain the specific resource to be
released and the release cause.
[0048] Method (b): Use the physical-layer control signaling, for
example, the special E-DCH transport format combination (E-TFC) in
the E-DPCCH or the special channel quality indicator (CQI) in the
HS-DPCCH.
[0049] When the data buffer usage indicated by the SI is not 0 but
is lower than a certain threshold, the NodeB sends a release
indication to the UE, requesting the UE to release resources. The
release indication method may be either (a) or (b). In addition,
the release indication may also indicate the waiting time before
the UE resends a random access request, so as to avoid uplink
interference caused by frequent random access requests originated
by the UE when the NodeB forcibly releases the resources of the UE,
but the UE still has data to be sent. This waiting time may be
carried in the MAC control PDU or indicated by the physical-layer
signaling. The waiting time may be expressed as a multiple of a
certain time unit. For example, if the waiting time unit is 125 ms
and the actual waiting time is 256 ms, the waiting time is
expressed as 2.
[0050] Step 104: Upon receiving the release indication, the UE
sends the data to be retransmitted to the NodeB.
[0051] After receiving the release indication, the UE first
retransmits the packets that are sent before the release indication
is received but are not acknowledged by the NodeB through an ACK
message. After receiving the release indication, the UE no longer
sends new data, but retransmits only the MAC-i/MAC-E packets that
are not acknowledged.
[0052] Step 105: The NodeB releases the resources related to the
UE.
[0053] After correctly receiving the retransmitted packets, the
NodeB formally releases the physical resources used by the UE.
[0054] Step 106: The UE releases the resources.
[0055] After retransmitting the packets and receiving the ACK
messages returned by the NodeB, the UE releases the buffer data of
the MAC layer, releases the process buffer and parameter tables
related to physical-layer HS-RACH resources, also releases physical
resources.
[0056] In addition, it is possible that the UE improperly
determines the ACK messages returned by the NodeB as NACK messages
or determines the NACK messages as the ACK messages, and thereby
retransmits packets to the NodeB continuously. In this case, a
retransmission threshold, for example, maximum waiting time or
maximum number of retransmissions, may be specified for the NodeB
and the UE. The values must be equal on both sides. Once the
maximum waiting time or the maximum number of retransmissions is
reached, the NodeB and the UE immediately release the resources
respectively.
[0057] In addition to the data buffer usage indicated by the SI
sent by the UE in the embodiment, the factor triggering the NodeB
to determine to release resources may also be a special
physical-layer control channel indication indicating that the
network side has no data to send; or the NodeB detects that the
uplink signals of the HS-RACH have been lower than a threshold for
some time, or that all the packets from the UE within a period are
incorrect, or that the UE does not upload any data within the
activation period.
[0058] The resource release is not necessarily performed until data
are retransmitted in embodiments of the present invention.
[0059] In addition, there may be a step before the NodeB releases
resources in the first embodiment. The UE sends an HS-RACH release
response to the NodeB. The NodeB releases resources after receiving
the release response.
[0060] In the technical solution in the first embodiment, multiple
types of information may trigger resource release, and the resource
release indication may be sent in different modes, so that the
resource usage keeps the same on the UE and the network side. In
addition, the retransmission threshold may be set to avoid
continuous data retransmission.
Second Embodiment
[0061] The following describes a method for releasing resources
when the UE does not perform cell handover but changes the state
according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Two
scenarios are involved. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for
releasing resources when the RNC requests the NodeB to release
resources in the second embodiment (a). FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a
method for releasing resources when the UE requests the NodeB to
release resources in the second embodiment (b).
[0062] As shown in FIG. 2, the process of a method for releasing
resources in the second embodiment (a) of the present invention
includes the following steps.
[0063] Step 201: The RNC receives measurement parameters.
[0064] The measurement parameters received by the RNC, for example,
the current service data amount of the UE or QoS requirement of the
UE, are sent by the UE through the NodeB. The RNC may further
measure the load of the cell where the UE resides.
[0065] Step 202: The RNC determines to change the UE state
according to the measurement parameters.
[0066] The RNC determines to change the UE state, for example, to
the CELL_DCH state according to the service data amount of the UE
exceeds a certain threshold, the cell where the UE resides is
overloaded, or the QoS of the UE does not meet the requirement.
[0067] Step 203: The RNC originates the radio link setup procedure
and sends a Radio Link Setup Request message to the NodeB.
[0068] The Radio Link Setup Request message sent by the RNC carries
the UE ID and activation time. The UE ID enables the NodeB to know
the UE that will switch to the CELL_DCH state, which has the same
effect as notifying the NodeB of the need to release resources upon
UE state changes. The activation time enables the NodeB to know
when to enable the radio link.
[0069] The Radio Link Setup Request message may also not carry the
activation time. When the request does not carry the activation
time, the NodeB enables the new physical channel immediately.
However, because the RNC knows the exact activation time of the UE,
it starts to receive uplink data after the activation time is
reached.
[0070] Step 204: The NodeB sets up a radio link after receiving the
Radio Link Setup Request message.
[0071] After receiving the Radio Link Setup Request message, the
NodeB knows that the HS-RACH resource associated with the UE ID
needs to be released, then sets up a radio link as requested,
returns a Radio Link Setup Response message to the RNC, performs
physical layer synchronization with the UE, and then sends a RLC
re-establish indicator message to the RNC. The NodeB does not
enable the radio link immediately but enables it when the
activation time is reached.
[0072] Step 205: The RNC sends a reconfiguration message to the
UE.
[0073] The RNC sends a reconfiguration message to the UE,
instructing the UE to switch to the CELL_DCH state. The activation
time carried in the reconfiguration message is consistent with that
carried during the radio link setup procedure. In this embodiment,
the RNC sends a reconfiguration message to the UE, requesting the
UE to reconfigure the parameters and use the new parameters. Using
the new parameters also means that the UE needs to release the
original resources.
[0074] Step 206: After receiving the reconfiguration message, the
UE reconfigures the parameters and returns a Reconfiguration
Complete message to the RNC.
[0075] Step 207: The UE sends the data to be retransmitted to the
NodeB.
[0076] The UE retransmits the packets that are sent before the
reconfiguration message is received but are not acknowledged by the
NodeB through ACK messages. After receiving the reconfiguration
message, the UE no longer sends new data, but sends only the
MAC-i/MAC-E packets that are not acknowledged.
[0077] Step 208: The UE and the NodeB use the new configurations
and release the resources respectively when the activation time is
reached.
[0078] After the activation time is reached, the NodeB releases the
original HS-RACH resources of the UE, and starts to use the new
configurations for interacting with the UE. After the UE changes
the state and enables the new configurations, the original HS-RACH
resources are released.
[0079] In the technical solution of the present invention, the
resource release may be implemented during the reconfiguration
procedure, that is, by adding two parameters (UE ID and activation
time) to the Radio Link Setup Request message sent by the RNC. The
UE ID enables the NodeB to know the UE that will switch to the
CELL_DCH state, which has the same effect as notifying the NodeB of
the need to release resources upon UE state changes. The activation
time enables the NodeB and the UE to know when to enable the new
configuration.
[0080] As shown in FIG. 3, the process of a method for releasing
resources in the second embodiment (b) of the present invention
includes the following steps.
[0081] Steps 301 and 302: These steps are the same as steps 201 and
202.
[0082] Step 303: The RNC originates the radio link setup procedure
and sends a Radio Link Setup Request message to the NodeB.
[0083] The difference from step 203 is that the Radio Link Setup
Request message sent by the RNC does not carry the UE ID but
carries the activation time. The activation time enables the NodeB
to know when to enable the radio link.
[0084] The Radio Link Setup Request message may also not carry the
activation time. When the request message does not carry the
activation time, the NodeB enables the new physical channel
immediately. However, because the RNC knows the exact activation
time of the UE, it starts to receive uplink data after the
activation time is reached.
[0085] Step 304: The NodeB sets up a radio link after receiving the
Radio Link Setup Request message.
[0086] After receiving the Radio Link Setup Request message, the
NodeB sets up a radio link as required, sends a Radio Link Setup
Response message to the RNC, and performs physical layer
synchronization with the UE. After the synchronization, the NodeB
sends a RLC re-establish indicator message to the RNC, but does not
enable the link immediately.
[0087] Step 305: The RNC sends a reconfiguration message to the
UE.
[0088] The RNC sends a reconfiguration message to the UE,
instructing the UE to switch to the CELL_DCH state. The activation
time carried in the reconfiguration message is consistent with that
carried during the radio link setup procedure.
[0089] Step 306: After receiving the reconfiguration message, the
UE reconfigures the parameters.
[0090] Step 307: The UE sends a release request to the NodeB.
[0091] The release request may carry the new SI. The UE may send
the release request to the NodeB after the activation time is
reached or immediately after the parameters are reconfigured.
[0092] Step 308: The UE sends the data to be retransmitted to the
NodeB.
[0093] The UE retransmits the packets that are sent before the
reconfiguration message is received but are not acknowledged by the
NodeB through ACK messages. After receiving the reconfiguration
message, the UE no longer sends new data, but sends only the
MAC-i/MAC-E packets that are not acknowledged.
[0094] Step 309: The NodeB sends a release indication to the
UE.
[0095] After receiving the release request and retransmitted data
from the UE, the NodeB releases the original HS-RACH resources of
the UE and sends a release indication to the UE. Meanwhile, the
radio link newly configured by the NodeB is activated.
[0096] Step 310: After receiving the release indication, the UE
releases the resources and uses the new configuration to send a
Reconfiguration Complete message to the network side. The UE state
change is complete.
[0097] In the preceding process, the UE may also send a release
request to the NodeB after it finishes reconfiguration. The release
cause carried in the request is that the UE switches to the
CELL_DCH state. After receiving the release request from the UE,
the NodeB sends a release indication to the UE. After the
activation time is reached, the NodeB and the UE release the
original HS-RACH resources of the UE at the same time. Meanwhile,
the newly configured radio link between the NodeB and the UE is
activated, and the UE uses the new configuration to send a
Reconfiguration Complete message to the network side. The UE state
change is complete.
[0098] The preceding descriptions are specific to the situation
that the UE switches to the CELL_DCH state. If the UE switches to
the CELL_PCH state, the process of setting up a radio link between
the RNC and the NodeB is not needed because the UE in the CELL_PCH
state must send a Reconfiguration Complete message according to the
original configuration. In this case, after receiving the
reconfiguration message from the RNC, the UE reconfigures the
parameters, and then sends a Reconfiguration Complete message
according to the original configuration. After receiving the ACK
message from the RNC, the UE sends a release request to the NodeB,
and sends the retransmitted data to the NodeB. After receiving the
release request and the retransmitted data from the UE, the NodeB
sends a release indication to the UE. The UE releases all the
HS-RACH resources. Then the state change is complete.
[0099] The resources are not necessarily released until the data
are retransmitted in the second embodiment of the present
invention.
[0100] In the technical solution of this embodiment, the resource
release may be implemented during the reconfiguration procedure,
that is, by adding the activation time to the Radio Link Setup
Request message sent by the RNC. The activation time enables the
NodeB and the UE to know when to enable the new configuration.
Third Embodiment
[0101] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for releasing resources in
the third embodiment of the present invention. This method is
applied when the UE does not change the state but performs cell
handover.
[0102] As shown in FIG. 4, the process of the method includes the
following steps.
[0103] Step 401: The UE sends uplink data by using the HS-RACH in
the current cell.
[0104] Step 402: The UE determines to reselect a cell after finding
that the cell reselection conditions are met.
[0105] Here, the cell reselection condition means that a cell with
good signal quality is selected when the signal quality of
intra-frequency cells is poor. Assume that the UE resides in cell
1, and it determines to move to cell 2 when finding the signal
quality of cell 2 is better than that of cell 1.
[0106] Step 403: The UE sends a release request to the NodeB of the
original cell, that is, cell 1.
[0107] The release request sent by the UE is a special release
request. For example, the ID of the logical channel with the
highest priority in the SI is set to a special reserved value, for
example, 1111, or all the bits in the SI are set to 0 or 1. The
special value tells the NodeB of the original cell that the release
cause is cell handover. Alternatively, the MAC control PDU
described in the first embodiment may be used to indicate that the
UE needs to release HS-RACH resources due to the cell handover.
[0108] Step 404: The UE sends the data to be retransmitted to the
NodeB of original cell 1.
[0109] The UE retransmits the packets that are sent before the
release request is sent but are not acknowledged by the NodeB
through ACK messages. After receiving the reconfiguration message,
the UE no longer sends new data, but sends only the MAC-i/MAC-E
packets that are not acknowledged.
[0110] Step 405: The NodeB of original cell 1 sends a release
indication to the UE.
[0111] After receiving the release request and retransmitted data
from the UE, the NodeB of original cell 1 releases the original
HS-RACH resources of the UE and sends a release indication to the
UE.
[0112] Step 406: After receiving the release indication, the UE
releases the HS-RACH resources of the original cell, and
immediately uses the uplink access resources of the target cell,
that is, cell 2, to send a cell update message to the target
cell.
[0113] In the third embodiment of the present invention, the
resources are not necessarily released until the data are
retransmitted, and the resources may be released immediately after
the release request is sent.
[0114] In the technical solution of the present invention, the UE
may actively send a resource release request to the NodeB after
determining to perform cell handover, and then the NodeB delivers a
resource release indication to implement resource release.
[0115] The following describes two embodiments in which the UE
sends explicit signaling for resource release.
Fourth Embodiment
[0116] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for releasing resources in
the fourth embodiment of the present invention. This method is
applied when the UE does not change the state but performs cell
handover.
[0117] As shown in FIG. 5, the process of the method includes the
following steps.
[0118] Step 501: The UE sends uplink data by using the HS-RACH in
the current cell.
[0119] Step 502: The UE determines to reselect a cell after finding
that the cell reselection conditions are met.
[0120] Here, the cell reselection condition means that a cell with
good signal quality is selected when the signal quality of
intra-frequency cells is poor. Assume that the UE resides in
original cell 1, and it determines to move to cell 2 when finding
the signal quality of cell 2 is better than that of cell 1.
[0121] Step 503: The UE sends a release indication to the NodeB of
the original cell, that is, cell 1.
[0122] The release indication sent by the UE is a special release
indication. For example, the ID of the logical channel with the
highest priority in the SI is set to a special reserved value, for
example, 1111, or all the bits in the SI are set to 0 or 1. The
special value tells the NodeB of the original cell that the release
cause is cell handover. Alternatively, the release indication may
be implemented through the MAC control PDU.
[0123] Step 504: After receiving the release indication from the
UE, the NodeB of original cell 1 releases the original HS-RACH
resources of the UE, and discards the packets that are incorrectly
received without waiting for the UE to retransmit the packets.
[0124] Step 505: After sending the release indication, the UE
immediately releases the HS-RACH resources of the original cell,
and then immediately uses the uplink access resources of target
cell 2 to send a cell update message to target cell 2 without
retransmitting the packets that are incorrectly acknowledged.
[0125] In the technical solution of the present invention, the UE
actively sends a resource release indication to the NodeB to
implement resource release after determining to perform cell
handover.
Fifth Embodiment
[0126] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for releasing resources in
the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
[0127] As shown in FIG. 6, the process of the method includes the
following steps.
[0128] Step 601: The UE sends uplink data by using the HS-RACH in
the current cell.
[0129] Step 602: The UE sends a release indication to the
NodeB.
[0130] If there is no data to be sent, or the UE regards it
unnecessary to continue using the HS-RACH resources when the
buffered data size of the radio link control (RLC) and/or MAC
layers keeps being 0 for a while, the UE may also actively release
the resource. The UE notifies the NodeB on the network through an
HS-RACH release indication. The release indication may be sent
through the special SI, or the MAC control PDU, or physical layer
signaling (for example, the special E-TFC value of the E-DPCCH or
the special CQI value of the HS-DPCCH).
[0131] Step 603: After receiving the release indication from the
UE, the NodeB releases the original HS-RACH resources of the UE and
returns a response to the UE.
[0132] Step 604: If a response is received from the NodeB within
the preset time after the UE sends the release indication, the UE
directly releases the resources. If no response from the network
side is received within the preset time, the UE actively releases
the resources.
[0133] The UE may also directly release the resources after sending
a release indication, without waiting for a response from the
NodeB.
[0134] In the technical solution of the present invention, the UE
actively sends a resource release indication to the NodeB, and then
releases the resources after receiving a response from the
NodeB.
[0135] The preceding descriptions detail a method for releasing the
resources in embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly,
embodiments of the present invention provide communication
equipment and a network system. The communication equipment may be
a UE or network equipment.
[0136] FIG. 7 shows a structure of communication equipment in an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0137] As shown in FIG. 7, the communication equipment includes an
information obtaining unit 71 that is adapted to obtain the
information related to resource release. A resource releasing unit
72 is adapted to determine to release allocated HS-RACH resources
according to the information obtained by the information obtaining
unit 71, and release the allocated HS-RACH resources at the local
end.
[0138] The resource releasing unit 72 may include a determining
unit and a processing unit.
[0139] The communication equipment may be a UE where the resource
releasing unit includes a determining unit and a processing unit.
FIG. 8 shows a structure of a first UE in an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0140] As shown in FIG. 8, the UE includes an information obtaining
unit 701, a determining unit 702, and a processing unit 703.
[0141] The information obtaining unit 701 is adapted to obtain its
detected trigger information. The trigger information obtained by
the information obtaining unit 701 is the information indicating
that the UE has no data to send, or indicating that the amount of
data sent by the UE is lower than a threshold, or indicating that
the UE performs cell handover.
[0142] The determining unit 702 is adapted to determine to release
the allocated HS-RACH resources according to the trigger
information obtained by the information obtaining unit 701.
[0143] The processing unit 703 is adapted to release the allocated
HS-RACH resources at the local end after the determining unit 702
determines to release the allocated HS-RACH resources.
[0144] The UE further includes a sending unit 704, which is adapted
to send a resource release indication to the network side after the
determining unit 702 determines to release the allocated HS-RACH
resources.
[0145] FIG. 9 shows a structure of a second UE in an embodiment of
the present invention. The UE includes a receiving unit, equivalent
to the information obtaining unit 801 and a processing unit,
equivalent to the resource releasing unit 802.
[0146] The information obtaining unit 801 is adapted to obtain the
resource release indication sent by the network side after the
network determines to release the allocated HS-RACH resources
according to the trigger information.
[0147] The resource releasing unit 802 is adapted to determine to
release the allocated HS-RACH resources according to the
information obtained by the information obtaining unit 801, and
release the allocated HS-RACH resources at the local end.
[0148] The UE further includes an information reporting unit 803,
which is adapted to send its detected trigger information to the
network side before the information obtaining unit 801 obtains the
resource releasing indication. The trigger information sent by the
information reporting unit 803 to the network side is the
information indicating that the UE has no data to send, or
indicating that the amount of data sent by the UE is lower than a
threshold, or indicating that the UE performs cell handover.
[0149] The communication equipment may be network equipment where
the resource releasing unit includes a determining unit and a
processing unit. FIG. 10 shows a structure of a network equipment
in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0150] As shown in FIG. 10, the network equipment includes an
information obtaining unit 901, a determining unit 902, and a
processing unit 903.
[0151] The information obtaining unit 901 is adapted to obtain
trigger information. The trigger information obtained by the
information obtaining unit 901 may be: the trigger information sent
by the UE or the trigger information obtained after detecting the
UE.
[0152] Specifically, the trigger information obtained by the
information obtaining unit 901 may be:
[0153] the information sent by the UE to indicate that the UE has
no data to send, or to indicate that the amount of data sent by the
UE is lower than the threshold, or to indicate that the UE performs
cell handover; or
[0154] the information detected by the information obtaining unit
901 to indicate that the UE has no data to send, or to indicate
that the amount of data sent by the UE is lower than the threshold,
or to indicate that the UE performs cell handover; or
[0155] the information for changing the UE state, which is
determined and sent by the RNC according to the amount of data sent
by the UE, the load of the cell where the UE resides, or the QoS
requirement of the UE; or
[0156] the information detected by the information obtaining unit
901 to indicate that the error rate of the data sent by the UE
within the preset time is higher than a preset value.
[0157] The determining unit 902 is adapted to determine to release
the allocated HS-RACH resources according to the trigger
information obtained by the information obtaining unit 901.
[0158] The processing unit 903 is adapted to release the allocated
HS-RACH resources at the local end after the determining unit 902
determines to release the allocated HS-RACH resources.
[0159] The network equipment may further include a sending unit
904, which is adapted to send a resource release indication to the
UE after the determining unit 902 determines to release the
allocated HS-RACH resources.
[0160] FIG. 11 shows a structure of a network system in an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0161] The network system includes a first equipment and a second
equipment. The first equipment is a UE and the second equipment is
a network equipment, or vice versa.
[0162] As shown in FIG. 11, the UE is marked with 1001 and the
network equipment is marked with 1002.
[0163] In a first mode, the network system includes a UE 1001 that
is adapted to obtain trigger information, to determine to release
the allocated HS-RACH resources according to the obtained trigger
information, and to release the allocated HS-RACH resources at the
local end. A network equipment 1002 is adapted to release the
allocated HS-RACH resources at the local end after the UE 1001
determines to release the allocated HS-RACH resources.
[0164] In a second mode, the network system includes a network
equipment 1002 that is adapted to obtain trigger information, to
determine to release the allocated HS-RACH resources according to
the obtained trigger information, and to release the allocated
HS-RACH resources at the local end. A UE 1001 is adapted to release
the allocated HS-RACH resources at the local end after the network
equipment 1002 determines to release the allocated HS-RACH
resources.
[0165] To conclude, though the solution that uses HS-RACHs to
replace RACHs for uplink transmission is proposed in the prior art,
a method for releasing HS-RACH resources is not provided. Then the
HS-RACH resources in use may be occupied all the time and cannot be
released. Therefore, the procedure in the technical solution of the
prior art is incomplete and may not be applied currently. In
contrast, the technical solution provided in embodiments of the
present invention includes obtaining trigger information;
determining to release the allocated HS-RACH resource according to
the obtained trigger information; and releasing the allocated
HS-RACH resource after determining to release the allocated HS-RACH
resource. Therefore, the HS-RACH resources in use may be released
according to actual situations. This technical solution improves
the procedure for using HS-RACHs to replace RACHs for uplink
transmission and may be applied practically.
[0166] Further, embodiments of the present invention implement
resource release notification through explicit signaling, thus
keeping the resource usage of the UE and the network consistent,
simplifying the release procedure, and improving the resource
utilization.
[0167] Persons of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all
or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of
the present invention may be implemented by a program instructing
relevant hardware. The program may be stored in a non-transitory
computer readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory (ROM),
a magnetic disk or a compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM).
[0168] The above is a detailed description of a resource release
method, a communication equipment, and a network system in
embodiments of the present invention. Those of ordinary skill in
the art can make variations and modifications to the present
invention in terms of the specific implementations and application
scopes according to the ideas of the present invention. Therefore,
the specification shall not be construed as limitations to the
present invention.
* * * * *