Sleep mode power saving for layer 1 and radio unit devices

Abstract

A method for sleep mode power saving in Layer 1 and Radio Unit devices, comprising: in response to no user equipment being determined to be actively connected to a cell, facilitating, by a device comprising a processor, a change in communication scheduling of a physical layer device associated with a cell of a communication network from an active scheduling to a sleep scheduling, wherein the sleep schedule is repeated at periodic intervals and includes active time slots and inactive time slots. The method further includes, in response to the facilitation of the change, scheduling, by the device, transmission of a network connection message by the physical layer device during an active slot of the active slots, and deactivating, by the device, the physical layer device during an inactive slot of the inactive slots.

Description

Related applications

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. nonprovisional patent application No. 18 / 451,157, filed August 17, 2023, entitled “SLEEP MODE POWER SAVING FOR LAYER1 AND RADIO UNIT EQUIPMENT,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Technology

[0002] In fifth-generation (5G) and / or other wireless communication networks, base stations are configured to operate continuously to transmit and receive signals that enable user equipment (UE) to connect to the network. These signals may include, for example, synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) and first system information blocks (SIB1) on the downlink transmit side and physical random access channels (PRACH) on the uplink receive side. In some use cases, processing these signals can consume a significant portion of the power budget of the base station and / or its associated equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The following summary is a general overview of the various implementations disclosed herein and is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of the disclosed embodiments. The embodiments will be better understood by considering the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims.

[0004] In one implementation, this document describes a system. The system can include a memory storing executable components and a processor executing the executable components stored in the memory. The executable components can include a mode selection component that sets the physical layer devices associated with a cell to a low-power mode based on an indication that the number of user equipments actively connected to a cell in the communication network is no greater than a threshold number. The low-power mode can be associated with a periodic mode including active and inactive time slots. The executable components can also include a power management component that, in response to the physical layer devices being set to low-power mode, schedules physical layer communication of network connectivity information during active time slots and disables at least a portion of the physical layer devices during inactive time slots.

[0005] In another implementation, this document describes a method. This method can include: in response to no user equipment being determined to be actively connected to the cell, a device including a processor facilitating a change in communication scheduling of physical layer devices associated with the cell of the communication network from active scheduling to sleep scheduling. The sleep scheduling can repeat at periodic intervals and includes active and inactive time slots. The method can additionally include: in response to facilitating the change, scheduling the transmission of network connection messages by the physical layer devices during the active time slots within the active time slots, and deactivating the physical layer devices by the device during the inactive time slots within the inactive time slots.

[0006] In an additional implementation, this document describes a non-transient machine-readable medium capable of including instructions that facilitate the execution of operations when executed by a processor. The operations can include: assigning low-power communication scheduling to Layer 1 devices associated with a cell based on an indication that the number of network devices actively connected to a cell in the communication network is less than a threshold number, wherein the low-power communication scheduling repeats at periodic intervals and includes active and inactive time slots; and, in response to the assignment, facilitating the transmission of network attachment information by the Layer 1 devices during the active time slots, and disabling at least a portion of the Layer 1 devices during the inactive time slots. Attached Figure Description

[0007] Various non-limiting implementations of this disclosure are described with reference to the following figures, wherein, unless otherwise specified, the same reference numerals throughout the figures refer to the same parts.

[0008] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating a system that facilitates power savings in sleep mode for Layer 1 (L1) and Radio Unit (RU) devices according to various implementations described herein.

[0009] Figures 2 to 3 It is a diagram depicting the corresponding communication scheduling that can be utilized in the various implementations described in this paper.

[0010] Figures 4 to 6 This is a block diagram illustrating additional systems that facilitate sleep mode power savings for L1 and RU devices according to various implementations described herein.

[0011] Figure 7 This is a diagram depicting another communication schedule that can be utilized in the various implementations described in this paper.

[0012] Figures 8 to 9 This is a block diagram illustrating another additional system that facilitates sleep mode power savings for L1 and RU devices according to various implementations described herein.

[0013] Figure 10This is a flowchart illustrating methods for improving sleep mode power saving for L1 and RU devices based on various implementations described herein.

[0014] Figure 11 This is a flowchart depicting the corresponding operations that can be executed by the processor to facilitate power savings in sleep mode for L1 and RU devices, according to the various implementations described herein.

[0015] Figure 12 This is a diagram of example computing environments in which the various implementations described in this article can function. Detailed Implementation

[0016] Various specific details of the disclosed embodiments are provided in the following description. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the techniques described herein can be practiced in some cases without one or more of the specific details or using other methods, components, materials, etc. In other cases, well-known structures, materials, or operations have not been shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring the subject matter.

[0017] Now refer to the attached diagram, Figure 1 A block diagram of a system 100 facilitating sleep mode power savings for Layer 1 (L1) and Radio Unit (RU) devices, according to various implementations described herein, is illustrated. Figure 1 The system 100 shown includes a mode selection component 110 and a power management component 120, each of which is capable of operating as described in further detail below. In implementation, components 110 and 120 of system 100 can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. As an example, components 110 and 120 can be implemented as computer-executable components, such as components stored in memory and executed by a processor. The following references... Figure 12 Examples of computer architectures including processors and memory are shown and described in more detail. Processors and memory can be used to implement components 110, 120 and other components described herein.

[0018] Additionally, it should be noted that the functionality of the corresponding components shown and described herein can be achieved via a single computing device and / or a combination of devices. For example, in various implementations, Figure 1 The mode selection component 110 shown can be implemented via a first device, while the power management component 120 can be implemented via either a first device or a second device. Alternatively, in some implementations, the functionality of a single component can be divided among multiple devices.

[0019] like Figure 1As further shown, the mode selection component 110 and the power management component 120 can be used to manage the operation of the physical layer device 10 (also referred to herein as an L1 device) associated with the cell 20 of the wireless communication network. As an example, the physical layer device 10 can be associated with a base station, an access point, and / or other devices that provide communication functions for devices within the cell 20 and / or otherwise within the communication range of the physical layer device 10.

[0020] In implementations of other communication standards that utilize the Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) standard and / or in which the functionality of cell 20 is partitioned among multiple different devices, physical layer device 10 can similarly be distributed among the different devices associated with cell 20. For example, physical layer device 10 can be implemented via accelerator cards and / or other hardware at distributed units (DUs) and various hardware components of the RU. Various examples of hardware configurations that can be utilized by physical layer device 10 are further described in detail below.

[0021] Although for illustrative purposes, Figure 1 The mode selection component 110 and power management component 120 are shown as separate from network cell 20. However, it should be noted that one or both of these components 110, 120 and / or other components described below may also be implemented by network cell 20, for example, via the same and / or different devices residing thereon via physical layer device 10. Additionally, while various references are made herein to specific network layers (e.g., physical layer, data link layer, etc.), it should be noted that in some implementations, some of the operations described herein may be performed via different layers without departing from the scope of this specification or the claimed subject matter. Thus, for example, in some implementations, physical layer device 10 may be configured to perform operations with respect to layers other than the physical layer. Other examples will be described below. Additionally, it should be noted that the naming conventions used herein for various network layers are for descriptive purposes only and are not intended to limit the described or claimed subject matter to any particular network(s) and / or standard(s).

[0022] As described above, under the fifth-generation (5G) wireless communication standard, the base station will remain operational even when there are no active user equipment (UEs) with connections, or when throughput and latency requirements for these UEs are low, because the base station is configured to continuously transmit and receive signals that enable UEs to connect to the network. In some use cases, L1 processing associated with these signals (including L1 processing performed by RU and / or DU accelerator cards) can consume a considerable amount of the power budget, and in some cases, can consume even more than the radio frequency (RF) transmission power. The various implementations described herein can reduce the power consumption associated with L1 processing when no connected UEs are active, for example, by enabling L1 to shut down most of the processing units in its processing unit when signal processing is not required.

[0023] Referring now to the components of system 100, mode selection component 110 can set physical layer device 10 to a low-power (sleep) mode based on the connection activity level associated with the network cell 20 connected to physical layer device 10. For example, mode selection component 110 can put physical layer device 10 into sleep mode based on an indication that the number of UEs actively connected to network cell 20 is no greater than a threshold number. In an implementation, this indication can come from data link layer (Layer 2 or L2) devices and / or other suitable sources, as will be described in further detail below.

[0024] In some implementations, the threshold number utilized by the mode selection component 110, as described above, is zero. In such an implementation, physical layer device 10 can be placed into sleep mode in response to a UE having no active connection to network cell 20. Other criteria for placing physical layer device 10 into sleep mode can also be used, such as the combined number of active and idle connections to network cell 20 being zero or less than a threshold number, or the total throughput of network cell 20 being less than a threshold.

[0025] The low-power or sleep modes managed by the mode selection component 110 can be associated with modes or schedules that define active and inactive time slots (referred to herein as sleep modes or sleep schedules). Sleep modes can be periodic modes and / or otherwise repeat at periodic or non-periodic intervals. Example sleep schedules that can be utilized by system 100 are described below. Figure 3 It was described in further detail.

[0026] Based on the sleep scheduling associated with mode selection component 110, power management component 120 of system 100 can enable and / or disable processing and communication by physical layer device 10 in scheduled active and inactive time slots. For example, in response to the mode selection component placing physical layer device 10 into a low-power mode, power management component 120 can (1) schedule communication and / or processing of network connectivity information by physical layer device 10 during active time slots associated with scheduling, and (2) disable at least a portion of physical layer device 10 during inactive time slots associated with scheduling.

[0027] In the implementation using O-RAN technology, L1 can be divided into high L1 on the DU side and low L1 on the RU side. The following is about... Figure 9 An example of this split will be described in more detail. As used herein, high L1 is also referred to as high PHY (physical), and low L1 as low PHY. Some high-PHY and low-PHY devices (such as RUs and / or accelerator cards) have the ability to shut down portions of their processing components. These may include, for example, portions of hardware-dedicated accelerators (e.g., hardware accelerator blocks such as low-density parity-check (LDPC) decoders), digital signal processing (DSP) cores or multiple cores, or in some cases, complete shutdown. However, based on information routinely shared between DUs and RUs and / or between high L1 and L2 via the O-RAN protocol, the L1 unit is unaware in advance of which time slots are not required for uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL) processing. As a result, L1 units are often configured to keep all their processing units ready to decode potentially high throughput with low latency, which can cause L1 units to consume excessive energy.

[0028] Turn now Figure 2 Figure 200 illustrates an example of active communication scheduling that can be utilized by physical layer device 10. Figure 200 is represented as a timeline, where events above the line correspond to gNodeB (gNB) transmissions, events below the line correspond to gNB receptions, and events centered on the line correspond to both transmissions and receptions. Although not shown in Figure 200 for simplicity, the events depicted in Figure 200 can utilize corresponding sets of frequency resources, which in some implementations may differ on a per-event basis. It should also be noted that Figure 200 and subsequent corresponding figures illustrate events that can occur within a time "period," which can correspond to radio frames and / or span multiple radio frames.

[0029] As shown in Figure 200, for a given period, physical layer device 10 can be configured to receive messages from UEs and / or other devices via the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), for example facilitating the connection of new UEs and / or other devices to the network. Physical layer device 10 also sends system information messages to further facilitate the connection of new devices to the network, such as Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) and Initial System Information Block (SIB1). As additionally shown in Figure 200, SIB1 can be transmitted via a control channel such as the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), a data channel such as the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), or a combination of control and / or data channels.

[0030] In current communication standards such as O-RAN and Feminine Application Platform Interface (FAPI), there is no option to indicate that both high and low PHYs (e.g., RU and DU components) can be inactive to shut down and reduce power consumption in a specific sleep mode. As a result, L1 will remain fully ready to handle maximum throughput with minimal latency, as shown in the areas where L1 remains ready and idle in Figure 200. This, in turn, causes L1 to consume a high power level.

[0031] In contrast to the active scheduling shown in Figure 200, Figure 3 Figure 300 illustrates an example sleep scheduling that can be utilized by physical layer device 10 in various implementations. Here, specific configurations of network connection messages, such as SIB1, SSB, and PRACH, can be scheduled within a common time slot or time slot set, such as the same time slot in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode or two subsequent time slots in Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode. Outside of the active time slot(s) conveying these messages, physical layer device 10 can be placed into sleep mode, for example by power-off and / or otherwise deactivating at least a portion of physical layer device 10. To facilitate streamlined communication scheduling as shown in Figure 300, the configurations of SIB1, SSB, and PRACH messages can be advertised to future UEs in SIB1, for example, as will be discussed below regarding... Figure 8 It was described in further detail.

[0032] By positioning all L1 channels within the same time period, as shown in Figure 300, relative to configurations such as those shown in Figure 200, which allow L1 channels to be extended across multiple time slots, the amount of time L1 can be in low-power mode can be increased. Additionally, utilizing relatively long sleep cycles relative to L1 channels can also reduce the power consumption associated with transitions into and out of sleep modes, as these transitions can take a significant amount of time. To facilitate temporal concentration of L1 channels, as shown in Figure 300, the network can utilize the proposed new 3GPP PRACH configuration, for example, as will be described in further detail below.

[0033] Figure 300 illustrates an example sleep schedule for a system utilizing FDD, where all UL and DL processing is concentrated in a single active time slot. Alternatively, for a system utilizing TDD, the UL and DL processing shown in Figure 300 could instead occur on two temporally adjacent active time slots. Other configurations are also possible.

[0034] In some implementations, the physical layer device 10 can be configured to, in the absence of an active UE in the cell, [follow certain conditions]. Figure 3 The sleep scheduling shown is used for operation. For example, in an implementation utilizing 5G technology, when there are no UEs in the cell in RRC_CONNECTED mode, for example, when all UEs in the cell (if any) are in RRC_INACTIVE mode or RRC_IDLE mode, it is possible to use... Figure 3 The scheduling is shown. In this case, the functionality of cell L1 can be limited to the following:

[0035] 1) For a standalone 5G cell, a broadcast channel SSB is transmitted at a periodic interval of, for example, every 20ms. Other channels used by the cell during sleep mode can have longer time periods, resulting in the period for the SSB being the maximum sleep / wake cycle length.

[0036] 2) Transmission of broadcast channel SIB1. On the L1 side, this channel can be mapped to PDCCH and / or PDSCH, as shown in... Figure 3 As shown in the image.

[0037] 3) For example, transmissions on the paging channel for each UE in a given period configured by L2, which may include data or not as needed. On the L1 side, this channel can also be mapped to PDCCH and / or PDSCH.

[0038] 4) Receiving PRACH. Similar to the other functions mentioned above, PRACH can also have configurable periodicity and time offset.

[0039] Because waking up the L1 processing component is tied to transmission time, the duration of sleep time is kept relatively long (e.g., as...). Figure 3 (As shown in the figure) can improve the power consumption of associated devices.

[0040] Now go to Figure 4 The diagram illustrates a block diagram of another system 400 that facilitates power savings in sleep mode for L1 and RU devices. For brevity, repeated descriptions of similar components described above in other embodiments have been omitted. Figure 4 The system 400 shown includes a mode selection component 110 and a power management component 120, which are capable of operating in accordance with the above-mentioned... Figure 1 The described method is similar to the method used to configure communication scheduling for physical layer device 10, for example, as Figure 2 The active scheduling or Figure 3 The sleep scheduling is shown. System 400 also includes a device configuration component 410, which is capable of receiving information associated with sleep scheduling for physical layer device 10, or periodic patterns associated with such scheduling, from data link layer device 30 (also referred to herein as L2 device).

[0041] In one implementation, a sleep mode for physical layer device 10 can be provided in a configuration message sent from data link layer device 30 to device configuration component 410 during the configuration phase for physical layer device 10. In implementations using FAPI and / or other similar standards, this configuration phase can occur before physical layer device 10 is activated to serve network traffic. Alternatively, the configuration phase can be a reconfiguration phase, in which physical layer device 10 is temporarily removed from the network, reconfigured, and reactivated. In other implementations, information about the sleep mode can be received via device configuration component 410 at any appropriate time, including during the runtime of physical layer device 10.

[0042] In some implementations, the configuration message provided by the data link layer device 30, as described above, can include information related to the length of the sleep mode (e.g., cycle length) and bitmaps and / or other indications of the locations of active and inactive time slots within the sleep mode. A non-limiting example format that the data link layer device 30 can use for configuration messages can include the following fields:

[0043] 1) Period – This indicates the length of the wake-up mode in a time slot or other unit, and also conveys the length of the configuration message. In some implementations, the period is a configurable value ranging from 2 to 65,536 units. Larger periods are also possible.

[0044] 2) Wake-up Mode – A bitmap with a length equal to twice the periodicity value, indicating whether each time slot in the mode is active or inactive. Table 1 below provides example bitmap formats that can indicate whether a time slot is active or inactive on both the uplink and downlink: Table 1: Example bitmap format used for configuration messages

[0045] When the device configuration component 410 receives the configuration message, the physical layer device 10 can also be configured to not change its behavior until it receives other instructions from the data link layer device 30. Subsequently, for example, in response to the data link layer device 30 determining that there is no UE actively connected to the associated cell, the data link layer device 30 can send a message to the device configuration component 410 announcing that the physical layer device 10 can follow the configured sleep mode from that moment. This message may be a special message, for example, via O-RAN, FAPI, and / or configuring L1 to wake up only on the active time slots shown in FIG300 to handle other appropriate standards for DL ​​and UL channels.

[0046] As a result of being placed in sleep mode, physical layer device 10 can utilize the sleep time to disable its processing related to receiving messages from L2 and / or processing UL or DL ​​packets from associated RUs. In one implementation, when in sleep mode, physical layer device 10 can be configured to receive messages from data link layer device 30 only during wake-up slots. To return physical layer device 10 to active mode, data link layer device 30 can send a notification to device configuration component 410 indicating that sleep mode will be disabled in any configured wake-up slot.

[0047] Back Figure 3 Current 3GPP standards do not include PRACH configurations associated with packing UL / DL processing into a single time slot, as shown in Figure 300. Therefore, even if appropriate messages are sent from L2 to inform L1 when it can enter sleep mode, current 3GPP standards do not provide the ability to centralize wake-up cycles into a single time slot. As an example, PRACH format B4 does not allow PRACH and SSB to be configured in the same time slot in the FDD (e.g., time slot 0 and time slot 1 for subframe number 0), which results in less optimized power savings.

[0048] In light of the foregoing, the physical layer device 10 described herein is capable of operating according to an alternative 3GPP RACH mode, which allows for the centralization of all processing associated with cells containing no active UEs or UEs without high throughput requirements. Table 2 below provides a non-limiting list of example alternative PRACH modes for various PRACH preamble formats. As shown in Table 2, although the preamble formats utilized can differ, for example, due to the characteristics of the associated cells, each format can centralize all processing in subframe 0 (e.g., only for slot 0 for FDD and / or for slots 0 and 1 for TDD, etc.). Table 2: Example PRACH preamble formats supporting sleep mode

[0049] Now for reference Figure 5 The diagram illustrates a block diagram of an additional system 500 that facilitates power savings in sleep mode for L1 and RU devices. For brevity, repetitive descriptions of similar parts described above regarding other implementations are omitted, such as... Figure 5 As shown, the physical layer device 10 associated with system 500 can, for example, as described above regarding... Figure 1 The described method is placed in sleep mode. This sleep mode is in... Figure 5 The first sleep mode (sleep mode 1) is shown in the diagram. When the physical layer device 10 is in the first sleep mode, the mode selection component 110 can respond to the physical layer device 10, for example, in... Figure 3 The physical layer device 10 is switched from a first sleep mode to a second sleep mode during the active time slot for PRACH reception, as shown in the diagram, when a connection request message is detected. Figure 5 It is displayed as sleep mode 2).

[0050] In some implementations, information related to the wake-up mode for the second sleep mode can be provided by the data link layer device 30 in conjunction with the above-mentioned... Figure 4 The approach described for the first sleep mode is provided in a manner similar to that for the second sleep mode, for example, via a configuration message including a bitmap indicating active and inactive time slots within the mode. The wake-up mode for the second sleep mode may be provided at the same time as and / or at a different time than that for the first sleep mode. In one implementation, the second sleep mode can be scheduled independently of the first sleep mode, for example, by utilizing active and inactive time slots that do not necessarily correspond to any active or inactive time slots in the first sleep mode. Alternatively, the second sleep scheduling can be based on the first sleep scheduling, for example, by modifying the first sleep scheduling to convert at least one inactive time slot in the first sleep scheduling into an additional active time slot. Example configurations that can be used for the second sleep mode are described below regarding... Figure 7 It was described in further detail.

[0051] In various implementations, the operation of physical layer device 10 upon detecting a connection request message can depend on whether the underlying network supports a second sleep mode. For example, if the second mode is supported, L2 can send the second sleep mode to the high PHY component of the DU and / or the RU (e.g., as described above). Then, when a PRACH or other appropriate message is detected, the high PHY can switch to the second sleep mode. Additionally, the high PHY can also signal to the low PHY component of the RU to enable the RU to switch to auxiliary mode. The following discusses... Figure 9 A further detailed description of an example message exchange between DU and RU in this manner is provided.

[0052] Conversely, if the underlying network does not support a second sleep mode, the physical layer device 10 can disable its sleep mode and wake up (i.e., enter active mode) in response to the detection of a PRACH or other appropriate message. Additionally, the high PHY of the DU can send a signal to the low PHY component of the RU to instruct the RU to disable its hibernation mode.

[0053] like Figure 6 As further shown in system 600, in response to physical layer device 10 detecting a PRACH message and / or other connection request messages, connection establishment component 610 associated with physical layer device 10 can initiate a device connection process, for example, to facilitate the connection of the source of the PRACH message to the network. In an implementation where the network utilizes the second sleep mode as described above, connection establishment component 610 can initiate message exchange on the active time slot associated with the second sleep mode. Figure 7 Figure 700 illustrates an example communication schedule for the second sleep mode, where MSG 2 and MSG 3 represent corresponding messages exchanged via physical layer device 10 in response to the detection of PRACH.

[0054] In the implementation of the second sleep mode as described above, the physical layer device 10 can switch from the second sleep mode to another operating mode after a connection process initiated by the connection establishment component 610. For example, if the connection establishment component 610 determines that the detected PRACH is a false alarm after multiple attempts to establish a connection with the UE, the mode selection component 110 can, for example, switch the physical layer device 10 back from the second sleep mode to the first sleep mode based on a message sent from the data link layer device, as described above. Figure 4 As described. Alternatively, if it is determined that the device connection process has been successfully completed, the mode selection component 110 can instead switch the physical layer device 10 from the second sleep mode to the active mode.

[0055] In some implementations, the detection threshold for PRACH messages can be significantly lower than the detection threshold associated with other messages exchanged via the network. As a result, system noise may manifest as false alarms in some cases. Depending on the system configuration, erroneous PRACH detections can be relatively common, for example, on the order of 0.1% of all PRACH detections. Because erroneous PRACH detections can occur even when no actual UE is attempting to connect, entering a secondary sleep mode instead of fully activating in response to a PRACH detection can provide additional power savings in the event of an erroneous alarm.

[0056] Now go to Figure 8The diagram illustrates a block diagram of yet another system 800 that facilitates power savings in sleep mode for L1 and RU devices. For brevity, repetitive descriptions of similar parts described above regarding other implementations have been omitted. Figure 8 The system 800 shown includes a communication component 810 associated with the physical layer device 10, which facilitates communication during active time slots (e.g., Figure 3 During the active transmission slots shown, data related to the sleep / wake mode utilized by the physical layer device 10 is transmitted. By indicating the active transmission slots via the communication component 810, UEs and / or other devices seeking to connect to the physical layer device 10 can be configured to send PRACH transmissions during times when the physical layer device 10 will be active even in sleep mode.

[0057] Next reference Figure 9 The diagram illustrates a block diagram of another system 900 that facilitates power savings in sleep mode for L1 and RU devices. For brevity, repeated descriptions of similar components in other embodiments have been omitted. Figure 9 The illustrated system 900 includes DU 40 and RU 50, each associated with a respective physical layer device 10, 12. As described above, physical layer device 10 of DU 40 is referred to as a high-PHY device, and physical layer device 12 of RU 50 is referred to as a low-PHY device. In an implementation, physical layer device 10 of DU 40 may be implemented via an accelerator card and / or other suitable physical components associated with DU 40. Additionally, DU 40 and RU 50 shown in system 900 may be physically separate entities that communicate with each other via wired or wireless links.

[0058] like Figure 9 As further shown, the physical layer device 10 of DU 40 can include an RU configuration component 910 and / or be otherwise associated with the RU configuration component 910, which can communicate information related to one or more sleep modes to the physical layer device 12 of RU 50, for example, to notify RU 50 of the sleep modes(s). In an implementation, the RU configuration component 910 can utilize the above-mentioned... Figure 4 The data link layer device 30 described herein provides one or more similar messages. These messages can be provided to the physical layer device 12 of RU 50 in any suitable manner, such as via the O-RAN M plane. Based on the messages(s) provided by RU configuration component 910, RU 50 can utilize sleep mode to save power by shutting down some of its processing components during inactive time slots.

[0059] In some implementations, one or both of DU 40 and RU 50 may support the sleep mode described herein. If one of the two supports the capability while the other does not, the sleep mode can be utilized by the supporting component and ignored by the non-supporting component.

[0060] Go to Figure 10 The diagram illustrates a flowchart of a method 1000 for facilitating power savings in sleep mode for L1 and RU devices. At 1002, in response to no user equipment being identified as actively connected to a cell (e.g., network cell 20) of the communication network, a device including a processor is able to facilitate (e.g., via mode selection component 110) changing the communication scheduling of a physical layer device (e.g., physical layer device 10) associated with that cell of the communication network from active scheduling to sleep scheduling. The sleep scheduling can be repeated at periodic intervals and includes active and inactive time slots.

[0061] At 1004, the operation of method 1000 can remain in the pending completion of the change at 1002. When the change in the scheduling of the physical layer device at 1002 is completed, method 1000 can proceed to 1006, in which the device schedules (e.g., by power management component 120) the transmission of network connection messages of the physical layer device during the active time slot in the active time slot, and proceeds to 1008, in which the device deactivates (e.g., by power management component 120) the physical layer device during the inactive time slot in the inactive time slot.

[0062] Next reference Figure 11 The diagram illustrates a flowchart of a method 1100 that can be executed by a processor, for example, based on machine-executable instructions stored on a non-transient machine-readable medium. The following is about... Figure 12 An example of a computer architecture, including a processor and non-transient media, that can be used to implement method 1100 is described.

[0063] Method 1100 can begin at 1102, wherein the processor can assign low-power communication scheduling to L1 devices associated with a cell based on an indication that the number of network devices actively connected to the cell in the communication network is less than a threshold number. The low-power communication scheduling can be repeated at periodic intervals and includes active and inactive time slots.

[0064] At 1104, the operation of method 1100 can remain in the pending completion of the assignment performed at 1102. When the assignment at 1102 is completed, method 1100 can proceed to 1106, in which the processor can facilitate the transmission of network attachment information by the L1 device during an active time slot, and can proceed to 1108, in which the processor can disable at least a portion of the L1 device during an inactive time slot.

[0065] As described above Figures 10 to 11 Methods according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated. Although the methods have been shown and described as a series of actions for the purpose of simplifying the description, it should be understood and appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to the order of actions, as some actions may occur in a different order and / or simultaneously with other actions shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that the methods can alternatively be represented as a series of related states or events, such as in a state diagram. Furthermore, not all illustrated actions are required to implement the methods according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0066] To provide additional context for the various embodiments described herein Figure 12 The following discussion is intended to provide a brief overview of a suitable computing environment 1200 in which various embodiments of the embodiments described herein can be implemented. While the embodiments have been described above in the general context of computer-executable instructions capable of running on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments can also be implemented in combination with other program modules and / or as a combination of hardware and software.

[0067] Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that various approaches can be implemented using other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multi-processor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframes, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, distributed computing systems, and personal computers, handheld computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

[0068] The embodiments illustrated in this document can also be practiced in a distributed computing environment, where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices linked via a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can reside on both local and remote memory storage devices.

[0069] Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which can include computer-readable storage media, machine-readable storage media, and / or communication media, these two terms being used interchangeably herein as follows. A computer-readable storage medium or a machine-readable storage medium can be any available storage medium accessible by a computer, and includes volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example and not limitation, a computer-readable storage medium or a machine-readable storage medium can be implemented in conjunction with any method or technique for storing information such as computer-readable or machine-readable instructions, program modules, structured data, or unstructured data.

[0070] Computer-readable storage media can include, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technologies, optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD) or other optical disc storage devices, magnetic tape cassettes, magnetic tape, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, solid-state drives or other solid-state storage devices, or other tangible and / or non-transient media that can be used to store desired information. In this regard, the terms “tangible” or “non-transient” used herein to describe storage devices, memories, or computer-readable media should be understood to exclude the use of only transient signals as a modifier, and not to waive the rights to all standard storage devices, memories, or computer-readable media that do not only transmit transient signals.

[0071] A computer-readable storage medium can be accessed by one or more local or remote computing devices, for example, via access requests, queries or other data retrieval protocols, for various operations concerning the information stored on the medium.

[0072] Communication media typically embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in data signals such as modulated data signals (e.g., carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms), and include any information transmission or delivery medium. The terms "modulated data signal" or "multiple signals" refer to signals whose characteristics are set or altered in a manner that encodes information in one or more signals. By way of example and not limitation, communication media include wired media, such as wired networks or direct-line connections, and wireless media, such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.

[0073] Refer again Figure 12An example environment 1200 for implementing the various embodiments described herein includes a computer 1202, which includes a processing unit 1204, system memory 1206, and a system bus 1208. The system bus 1208 couples system components, including but not limited to system memory 1206, to the processing unit 1204. The processing unit 1204 can be any commercially available processor among a variety of commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors and other multiprocessor architectures can also be used as the processing unit 1204.

[0074] System bus 1208 can be any type of bus architecture among several types, which can be further interconnected to memory bus (with or without a memory controller), peripheral bus, and local bus using any commercially available bus architecture. System memory 1206 includes ROM 1210 and RAM 1212. The Basic Input / Output System (BIOS) can be stored in non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or EEPROM, where the BIOS contains basic routines that facilitate, for example, the transfer of information between components within computer 1202 during startup. RAM 1212 can also include high-speed RAM, such as static RAM for caching data.

[0075] Computer 1202 also includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 1214 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), one or more external storage devices 1216 (e.g., floppy disk drive (FDD), memory stick or flash drive reader, memory card reader, etc.), and an optical disc drive 1220 (e.g., capable of reading from or writing to CD-ROMs, DVDs, BDs, etc.). Although the internal HDD 1214 is illustrated as being located within computer 1202, the internal HDD 1214 can also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown). Additionally, although not shown in environment 1200, a solid-state drive (SSD) may be used in addition to or in place of HDD 1214. HDD 1214, external storage devices(s) 1216, and optical disc drive 1220 can be connected to system bus 1208 via HDD interface 1224, external storage interface 1226, and optical disc drive interface 1228, respectively. The interface 1224 for the external driver implementation can include at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 interface technologies. Other external driver connection technologies are also considered in the embodiments described herein.

[0076] The drive and its associated computer-readable storage medium provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, etc. For computer 1202, the drive and storage medium accommodate storage of any data in a suitable digital format. Although the above description of computer-readable storage media refers to a corresponding type of storage device, those skilled in the art will understand that other types of computer-readable storage media, whether currently existing or developed in the future, can also be used in the example operating environment, and furthermore, any such storage medium is capable of containing computer-executable instructions for performing the methods described herein.

[0077] Multiple program modules can be stored in the drive and RAM 1212, including the operating system 1230, one or more application programs 1232, other program modules 1234, and program data 1236. All or part of the operating system, application programs, modules, and / or data can also be cached in RAM 1212. The systems and methods described herein can be implemented using various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0078] Computer 1202 may optionally include emulation technology. For example, a hypervisor (not shown) or other intermediary may emulate the hardware environment for operating system 1230, and the emulated hardware may optionally be different from that of operating system 1230. Figure 12 The hardware is shown. In such an embodiment, the operating system 1230 can be included in one of a plurality of virtual machines (VMs) hosted at the computer 1202. Furthermore, the operating system 1230 can provide a runtime environment for the application 1232, such as the Java Runtime Environment or the .NET Framework. A runtime environment is a consistent execution environment that allows the application 1232 to run on any operating system that includes a runtime environment. Similarly, the operating system 1230 can support containers, and the application 1232 can be in the form of a container, which is a lightweight, standalone, executable software package including, for example, code, runtime, system tools, system libraries, and settings for the application.

[0079] Furthermore, computer 1202 can be equipped with security modules, such as Trusted Processing Modules (TPMs). For example, using a TPM, before loading the next boot component, the boot component hashes the next boot component in time and waits for the result to match a security value. This process can occur at any layer of the computer 1202's code execution stack, for example, it can be applied at the application execution level or at the operating system (OS) kernel level, thereby achieving security at any code execution level.

[0080] Users can input commands and information into computer 1202 via one or more wired / wireless input devices, such as keyboard 1238, touchscreen 1240, and pointing devices such as mouse 1242. Other input devices (not shown) may include microphones, infrared (IR) remote controls, radio frequency (RF) remote controls or other remote controls, joysticks, virtual reality controllers and / or virtual reality headsets, gamepads, styluses, image input devices (e.g., cameras), gesture sensor input devices, visual motion sensor input devices, emotion or face detection devices, biometric input devices (e.g., fingerprint or iris scanners), etc. These and other input devices are typically connected to processing unit 1204 via input device interface 1244, which can be coupled to system bus 1208, but can also be connected via other interfaces such as parallel ports, IEEE 1394 serial ports, game ports, USB ports, IR interfaces, BLUETOOTH® interfaces, etc.

[0081] Monitor 1246 or other types of display devices can also be connected to system bus 1208 via an interface such as video adapter 1248. In addition to monitor 1246, computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

[0082] Computer 1202 is capable of operating in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers (such as (multiple) remote computers 1250) via wired and / or wireless communications. The (multiple) remote computers 1250 can be workstations, server computers, routers, personal computers, laptops, microprocessor-based entertainment devices, peer-to-peer devices, or other common network nodes, and typically include many or all of the elements described relative to computer 1202, although for the sake of brevity, only memory / storage device 1252 is illustrated. The depicted logical connections include wired / wireless connections to a local area network (LAN) 1254 and / or a larger network (e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 1256). Such LAN and WAN network environments are common in offices and companies and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks such as intranets, all of which are capable of connecting to global communication networks such as the Internet.

[0083] When used in a LAN network environment, computer 1202 can connect to local network 1254 via a wired and / or wireless communication network interface or adapter 1258. Adapter 1258 facilitates wired or wireless communication to LAN 1254, and LAN 1254 can also include a wireless access point (AP) disposed thereon for communicating with adapter 1258 in wireless mode.

[0084] When used in a WAN network environment, computer 1202 may include modem 1260, or may connect to a communication server on WAN 1256 via other means for establishing communication on WAN 1256, such as via the Internet. Modem 1260, which may be built-in or external, wired or wireless, may be connected to system bus 1208 via input device interface 1244. In a networked environment, program modules or portions thereof depicted relative to computer 1202 may be stored in remote memory / storage device 1252. It should be understood that the network connection shown is an example, and other means for establishing communication links between computers may be used.

[0085] When used in a LAN or WAN network environment, computer 1202 can access cloud storage systems or other network-based storage systems besides or replacing external storage device 1216. Typically, the connection between computer 1202 and the cloud storage system can be established on LAN 1254 or WAN 1256, for example, via adapter 1258 or modem 1260. When computer 1202 is connected to an associated cloud storage system, external storage interface 1226 can manage the storage provided by the cloud storage system by means of adapter 1258 and / or modem 1260, just as it manages other types of external storage. For example, external storage interface 1226 can be configured to provide access to cloud storage sources as if those sources were physically connected to computer 1202.

[0086] Computer 1202 is operable to communicate with any wireless device or entity operable to be wirelessly configured, such as printers, scanners, desktop and / or laptop computers, portable data assistants, communication satellites, any device or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., kiosks, newsstands, store shelves, etc.), and telephones. This can include Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH® wireless technologies. Therefore, communication can be a predefined structure like a traditional network, or simply self-organizing communication between at least two devices.

[0087] The above description includes non-limiting examples of various embodiments. It is certainly not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methods for the purpose of describing the disclosed subject matter, and those skilled in the art will recognize that further combinations and arrangements of various embodiments are possible. The disclosed subject matter is intended to cover all such changes, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

[0088] Regarding the various functions performed by the aforementioned components, devices, circuits, systems, etc., unless otherwise specified, the terminology used to describe such components (including references to "apparatus") is intended to also include any (or more) structures (e.g., functional equivalents) that perform the specified functions of the described components, even if they are not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structures. Furthermore, while specific features of the disclosed subject matter may have been disclosed only with respect to one of several implementations, such features may be combined with one or more other features of other implementations, as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

[0089] The terms “exemplary” and / or “illustrative” as used herein are intended to mean as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited to such examples. Furthermore, any embodiment or design described herein as “exemplary” and / or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs, nor does it exclude equivalent structures and techniques known to those skilled in the art. Moreover, with regard to the use of the terms “includes,” “has,” “comprising,” and other similar words in the detailed description or claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an open-ended transitional term, without excluding any additional or other elements.

[0090] The term “or” as used herein is intended to mean inclusive rather than exclusive. For example, the phrase “A or B” is intended to include instances of A, B, and both A and B. Additionally, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be interpreted as meaning “one or more” unless otherwise stated or clearly indicated from the context to be in the singular form.

[0091] The term "set" as used herein does not include an empty set, i.e., a set containing no elements. Therefore, "set" as used in this disclosure includes one or more elements or entities, and similarly, the term "group" used herein refers to a collection of one or more entities.

[0092] The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., as used in the claims are for clarity only and do not otherwise indicate or imply any temporal order unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, “first determination,” “second determination,” and “third determination” do not indicate or imply that the first determination will occur before the second determination, or vice versa, etc.

[0093] The description of embodiments of this disclosure provided herein, including those described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments and examples have been described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible within the scope of such embodiments and examples, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In this regard, although the subject matter has been described herein in conjunction with various embodiments and corresponding drawings, it should be understood where applicable that other similar embodiments can be used, or modifications and additions can be made to the described embodiments to perform the same, similar, alternative, or substitute functions of the disclosed subject matter without departing from this. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but should be interpreted in accordance with the breadth and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A system comprising: Memory, the memory storing executable components; as well as A processor that executes the executable component stored in the memory, wherein the executable component includes: A mode selection component, based on an indication that the number of user equipments actively connected to a cell in the communication network is no greater than a threshold number, sets the physical layer equipment associated with the cell to a low-power mode, wherein the low-power mode is associated with a periodic mode including active and inactive time slots. as well as A power management component, in response to the physical layer device being set to the low power mode, schedules communication of network connection information during the active time slot and disables at least a portion of the physical layer device during the inactive time slot.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the executable component further comprises: A device configuration component receives the periodic pattern via configuration messages provided by a data link layer device.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the configuration message includes the length of the periodic pattern and a bitmap, the bitmap indicating a first position of the active time slot relative to the periodic pattern and a second position of the inactive time slot relative to the periodic pattern.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein: The low-power mode is the first low-power mode. The periodic pattern is the first periodic pattern. The active time slot is the first active time slot. In response to the physical layer device detecting a connection request message during the first active period while in the first low-power mode, the mode selection component switches the physical layer device from the first low-power mode to a second low-power mode. The second low-power mode is associated with a second periodic mode, which includes the first active time slot, a second active time slot that is not the first active time slot, and the inactive time slot.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the executable component further comprises: A connection establishment component that initiates a device connection step in response to detecting the connection request message.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein in response to the device connection step being determined to have not been successfully completed within a defined time interval, the mode selection component switches the physical layer device from the second low-power mode to the first low-power mode.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein in response to the device connection step being determined to have been successfully completed, the mode selection component switches the physical layer device from the second low-power mode to the active mode.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the physical layer device utilizes time-division duplexing, wherein the active time slot is a first active time slot, and wherein the periodic pattern further includes a second active time slot that is temporally adjacent to the first active time slot.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the network connection information includes a system information block, and wherein the executable component further includes: A communication component that facilitates the transmission of data related to the periodic pattern using the system information block during the active time slot.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the physical layer device is a first physical layer device and is associated with a distributed unit device, and wherein the executable component further comprises: A radio unit configuration component that transmits the periodic pattern from the first physical layer device to a second physical layer device associated with the radio unit device.

11. A method comprising: In response to a cell where no user equipment is identified as actively connected to the communication network, a device including a processor facilitates a change in the communication scheduling of the physical layer devices associated with the cell from an active scheduling to a sleep scheduling, wherein the sleep scheduling repeats at periodic intervals and includes active and inactive time slots. as well as In response to the aforementioned change, The device schedules the transmission of network connection messages by the physical layer device during the active time slot in the active time slot, and The physical layer device is deactivated by the device during the inactive time slot in the inactive time slot.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: The device receives the sleep schedule via a configuration message provided by a data link layer device, the configuration message including the length of the period and a bitmap indicating the positions of the active and inactive time slots within the sleep schedule.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the active time slot is a first active time slot, the inactive time slot is a first inactive time slot, and the method further comprises: In response to the physical layer device detecting a connection request message during the first active time slot while using the sleep schedule, the device modifies the sleep schedule by converting at least one second inactive time slot in the inactive time slots into a second active time slot in the active time slots, thereby generating a modified sleep schedule.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: The device facilitates a connection establishment step initiated by the physical layer device in response to the detection of the connection request message.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: In response to the connection establishment step being determined not to have been successfully completed within the time interval, the device returns the communication scheduling of the physical layer device from the modified sleep scheduling to the sleep scheduling.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the physical layer device is a first physical layer device in a distributed unit device, and wherein the method further comprises: The sleep schedule is transmitted from the first physical layer device to the second physical layer device in the radio unit device by the device.

17. A non-transient machine-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate the execution of operations, said operations including: Based on an indication that the number of network devices in a cell actively connected to the communication network is less than a threshold number, low-power communication scheduling is assigned to the Layer 1 devices associated with the cell, wherein the low-power communication scheduling is repeated at periodic intervals and includes active and inactive time slots. as well as In response to the assignment, Facilitate the transmission of network attachment information by the Layer 1 device during the active time slot, and At least a portion of the Layer 1 device is disabled during the inactive period.

18. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the operation comprises: Receive a configuration message from a Layer 2 device. The configuration message includes the length of the period and a bitmap indicating the positions of the active and inactive time slots within the low-power communication schedule.

19. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the low-power communication schedule is a first low-power communication schedule, wherein the active time slot is a first active time slot, and wherein the operation further comprises: In response to a Layer 1 device detecting a connection request message during the first active time slot while using the first low-power communication schedule, the inactive time slot in the inactive time slot within the first low-power communication schedule is converted into a second active time slot, thereby generating a second low-power communication schedule.

20. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the operation further comprises: In response to the detection of the connection request message, the Layer 1 device initiates a connection establishment step during the second active time slot; as well as In response to the failure of the connection establishment step, the Layer 1 device is returned to the first low-power communication schedule.

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