Dynamic secondary cell SCELL activation and deactivation processing method

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of mobile communication, and provides a dynamic auxiliary cell SCELL activation and deactivation processing method, which is combined with a cell load detection module, monitors the utilization rate of a carrier PRB, and ensures that SCELL resources of the type of users are preferentially allocated. And for an intermittent traffic user, monitoring based on a data packet arrival event in a set period, triggering an SCELL deactivation process when a data packet is not detected, and performing SCELL activation when the data packet arrival event is detected. The SCELL activation and deactivation are dynamically adjusted through real-time load perception and user behavior classification, resource waste is avoided, high-value users are preferentially guaranteed in a high-load scene, and the overall network income is improved. The activation mechanism based on event triggering reduces unnecessary periodic signaling interaction. And resources are quickly deactivated and released, so that long-term occupation of the SCELL is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of mobile communication transmission technology, and particularly relates to a method for dynamically activating and deactivating a secondary cell (SCELL). Background Art

[0002] In 5G and 4G networks, Carrier Aggregation (CA) is an important technology to improve user experience and network throughput. The activation and deactivation strategies of secondary cells (SCELLs) directly affect the network resource utilization efficiency and user experience. With the increasing diversification of user service types, users can be divided into continuous high-traffic users and intermittent traffic users. Continuous high-traffic users need stable high-bandwidth support when conducting activities such as high-definition video live streaming and online games, while intermittent traffic users, such as when browsing and using social media, have fluctuating traffic demands and do not need to continuously occupy SCELL resources. In high-load scenarios, frequent activation and deactivation of SCELLs may lead to signaling overhead and resource waste, and in low-load scenarios, SCELL resources may not be fully utilized. Conventional SCELL activation and deactivation strategies are usually based on fixed time windows and traffic thresholds, and may not be able to respond in a timely manner to sudden traffic demands or network load changes. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The embodiments of this application provide a method for dynamically activating and deactivating a secondary cell (SCELL), aiming to solve the technical problems proposed in the above background art, and can significantly improve the network resource utilization efficiency and user experience.

[0004] The technical solution adopted by this invention is as follows: A method for dynamically activating and deactivating a secondary cell (SCELL) includes the following steps: (a) Real-time monitor the data transmission rate of a user equipment (UE), and determine whether the user equipment (UE) is a continuous high-traffic user or an intermittent traffic user according to a preset activation threshold ActThpThd and a time window HTs: If the average data rate of the user equipment (UE) within the time window HTs exceeds ActThpThd, it is determined as a continuous high-traffic user; if it does not exceed ActThpThd, it is determined as an intermittent traffic user; (b) Keep the SCELL in a continuously activated state for the continuous high-traffic user, and perform dynamic policy adjustment in combination with the physical resource block (PRB) utilization rate of this carrier: When the PRB utilization rate of the current carrier is higher than the high-load threshold, preferentially allocate SCELL resources; when the PRB utilization rate is lower than the low-load threshold PrbLowThd1, suspend the activation of new SCELLs; (c) Adopting an event-triggered SCELL activation and deactivation mechanism for the intermittent traffic users: instant triggering of SCELL activation based on the arrival of uplink or downlink data packets; if no data packet arrival is detected within a set period LTs, triggering the SCELL deactivation process; (d) Reduce redundant information by optimizing SCELL activation and deactivation signaling: The common parameters of SCELL are pre-cached to UE during initial configuration; during subsequent activation or deactivation, only the changed dedicated parameters and SCELL index SCellIndex are transmitted.

[0005] Preferably, the setting method of the low load threshold is: PrbLowThd1=PrbAgv×(1−a), wherein PrbAgv is the arithmetic mean of PRB utilization within a preset moving average window of N minutes, and a is a safety margin coefficient based on the scenario type, including: a=0.2 in dense urban scenarios, a=0.15 in ordinary urban areas, and a=0.1 in suburban / rural scenarios.

[0006] Preferably, the signaling optimization in step (d) further includes: according to the structured field SCellConfig defined in the 3GPP TS38.331 protocol, only the dedicated parameter sCellConfigDedicated that changes in real time is transmitted, while retaining public parameters such as the physical cell identifier physCellId, frequency, bandwidth, etc. as pre-cached data.

[0007] Preferably, the release condition of the suspended activation is: When the PRB utilization rate rises back to the reactivation threshold of PrbLowThd2 = PrbLowThd1 + a, where b is the hysteresis offset, and any of the following conditions is met: (i) b is a preset multiple of the standard deviation of PRB utilization, and the b value is increased when the volatility of PRB utilization is high; (ii) b is a fixed value, and the value of b is reduced when the PRB utilization fluctuation rate is low.

[0008] Preferably, the event-triggered SCELL activation includes: directly triggering activation signaling through the base station MAC layer or RRC layer, and completing the activation process through a simplified RRC reconfiguration message including SCellIndex and necessary update parameters.

[0009] Preferably, the dynamic adjustment rule of setting the period LTs in step (c) includes: extending LTs to an upper limit value, such as 300ms, when the load is low, and shortening LTs to a lower limit value, such as 100ms, when the load is high.

[0010] Preferably, the SCELL resource release logic is as follows: in the deactivation process, the base station sends downlink control information DCI that suppresses SCELL scheduling to the UE, and implicitly indicates the SCELL status change in the PDCCH channel.

[0011] The beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application compared with the prior art are as follows: By real-time load awareness and user behavior classification, dynamically adjust the activation and deactivation of SCELLs, avoid resource waste, prioritize high-value users in high-load scenarios, and improve the overall network revenue. The event-triggered activation mechanism reduces unnecessary periodic signaling interactions. Quickly deactivate to release resources and avoid long-term occupation of SCELLs. Description of the Drawings

[0012] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the following drawings are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0013] Figure 1 It is a structure definition diagram of the TS38.331 SCellConfig provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0014] Figure 2 It is a distribution diagram of base station user equipment provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0015] Figure 3 It is a flow chart of dynamic SCELL activation and deactivation provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0016] Figure 4 It is a message interaction diagram of the dynamic SCELL activation and deactivation process provided by the embodiments of the present application. Detailed Embodiments

[0017] In the following description, specific details such as specific system structures and technologies are proposed for the purpose of illustration rather than limitation, so as to thoroughly understand the embodiments of the present application. However, those skilled in the art should clearly understand that the present application can also be implemented in other embodiments without these specific details. In other cases, detailed descriptions of well-known systems, devices, circuits, and methods are omitted to avoid unnecessary details from interfering with the description of the present application.

[0018] This embodiment provides a method for processing dynamic secondary cell (SCELL) activation and deactivation, which is specifically as follows: For continuously high-traffic users, the dynamic SCELL activation and deactivation processing method keeps the SCELL activated; For intermittent traffic users, a fast activation and deactivation mechanism is adopted.

[0019] This method uses an event-triggered mechanism (such as a data packet arrival event) to instantaneously activate the SCELL, rather than relying on a preset time window.

[0020] The base station monitors whether the average data rate of the UE within a unit time exceeds the set activation threshold ActThpThd for a period of time HTs. If the average data rate within the unit time exceeds the set activation threshold for a period of time, it is identified as a continuous high-traffic user; if not, it is identified as an intermittent traffic user.

[0021] For continuous high-traffic users, the SCELL activation is continued; combined with the cell load detection module, the PRB utilization rate of this carrier is monitored. If the cell is in a high-load state, ensure that the SCELL resources of this type of user are preferentially allocated. If the cell is in a low-load state, continue to keep the SCELL activated. If the PRB utilization rate of this carrier is lower than the low threshold PrbLowThd1, the activation of new SCell on this carrier is suspended.

[0022] The setting of PrbLowThd1 can be in accordance with the following formula: PrbLowThd1 = PrbAgv * (1 - a); Where PrbAgv is the arithmetic average of the PRB utilization rate in the most recent N minutes, N is the moving average window, and a is the safety margin coefficient set according to the scenario type. The setting rules are shown in Table 1: ; When the PRB utilization rate is lower than PrbLowThd1, the activation is suspended, and when the PRB utilization rate rises back to the low threshold PrbLowThd2, the activation is allowed again. In this way, when the PRB utilization rate fluctuates between these two thresholds, the system state will not change, thus avoiding the ping-pong effect. The setting of PrbLowThd2 can be in accordance with the following formula: PrbLowThd2 = PrbLowThd1 + b; Where b is the hysteresis offset, which can be a fixed value or a multiple of the standard deviation of PrbAgv. The offset can be increased in high-fluctuation scenarios and decreased in stable scenarios.

[0023] After the base station obtains the UE identifier, for intermittent traffic users, within the set period LTs, it monitors the arrival events of uplink or downlink data packets based on the RRC layer or MAC layer. If no data packets are detected, it triggers the SCELL deactivation process. The base station performs corresponding signaling operations to complete the deactivation and releases the SCELL resources. When a data packet arrival event is detected, the base station activates the SCELL, and after activation, it enters the data transmission phase. To achieve the fast activation and deactivation of the SCELL, the SCELL activation and deactivation signaling needs to be optimized by removing unnecessary fields and parameters, and only retaining the key activation and deactivation configuration information. The remaining configuration information is pre-configured by the base station to the terminal and cached in advance.

[0024] As Figure 1 shown, according to the SCellConfig field specified in 3GPP TS 38.331, the sCellConfigCommon field in sCellToAddModList contains the common information of the cell configuration, and the sCellConfigDedicated field contains the cell-specific configuration information. Some parameters do not change during the activation or deactivation process, such as the physical cell identifier physCellId, the frequency point, bandwidth, etc. in downlinkConfigCommon.

[0025] During the initial configuration, the complete configuration parameters are transmitted to the UE and cached in the UE. For subsequent activation and deactivation, the cache is referenced, and only a simplified signaling SCellIndex is transmitted, indicating that the UE uses the cached configuration parameters. If some parameters need to be updated during activation or deactivation, only the changed part needs to be transmitted.

[0026] The process-related parameters are adjusted accordingly according to the load situation. If the cell is in a low-load state, the SCELL activation conditions are relaxed, and at the same time, the deactivation waiting time for intermittent traffic users can be appropriately extended. If the cell is in a high-load state, the SCELL activation threshold is increased, and at the same time, the deactivation waiting time for intermittent traffic users is shortened.

[0027] As Figures 2 to 4 shown, there are multiple cells under the base station. After the UE accesses, the base station pre-configures the configuration information that may be required to activate the SCELL to the terminal cache through the Scellpreconfigured message, and activates the SCell in a blind activation manner. Parameters such as HTs, LTs, and ActThpThd use the initial set values. The base station identifies continuous high-traffic users and intermittent traffic users by monitoring whether the average data rate of the UE per unit time exceeds the set activation threshold ActThpThd (such as 10 Mbps) for a period of time HTs (such as 5 s).

[0028] After the base station obtains the UE identifier, it requests the cell load detection to obtain the PRB utilization rate of the carrier used by the UE. For users with continuous high traffic, if the cell is in a high-load state, ensure that the SCELL resources of such users are preferentially allocated and the SCELL remains active. If the cell is in a low-load state, keep the SCELL active and consider restricting the activation of new SCELLs, and then continuously monitor the user traffic situation. When the moving average window N = 5, the safety margin coefficient a = 0.15, and the hysteresis offset b = 4% (fixed value), Table 2 can be obtained: ; For users with intermittent traffic, when a packet arrival event is detected within the set period LTs (such as 100 - 300 ms), an SCELL activation request is immediately sent to the base station. The base station executes an optimized RRC signaling process for SCELL activation, and enters data transmission after activation. If no packet is detected within the set period LTs, the SCELL deactivation process is triggered. The base station executes the corresponding signaling operations to complete the deactivation and releases the SCELL resources. According to 3GPP TS 38.331 and the above technical solutions, the comparison before and after optimization is as follows: Before optimization: The structure definition of SCellConfig is as follows: It contains a field named sCellIndex with a value of 2, a configuration object named sCellConfigCommon, which contains a series of common configuration parameters that need to be sent completely during transmission to achieve complete transmission a dedicated configuration object named sCellConfigDedicated, which contains a series of dedicated configuration parameters that also need to be sent completely during transmission to achieve complete transmission and an optional field named SSB-MTC, which contains a configuration object that is optional and is transmitted only when needed. Optional field. The above is the complete definition of SCellConfig.

[0029] The structure definition of the optimized SCellConfig is as follows: It still contains a field named sCellIndex with a value of 2, which is required during transmission and only SCellIndex needs to be transmitted; and a dedicated configuration object named sCellConfigDedicated, but at this time only the changed part of the object needs to be sent during transmission to improve the transmission efficiency. Only the changed part is transmitted during the process.

[0030] Meanwhile, the cell load detection module runs in parallel with the above two user type processes, interacts in real time, and dynamically adjusts the process related parameters. For example, it extends the HTs and shortens the LTs waiting time under high load, and shortens the HTs and extends the LTs waiting time under low load.

[0031] In the embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed device / network device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device / network device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between each other can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of the device or unit can be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0032] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements for some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and should all be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for activating and deactivating a dynamic secondary cell SCELL, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: (a) monitoring the data transmission rate of the user equipment UE in real time, and judging whether the user equipment UE is a continuous high-traffic user or an intermittent traffic user according to a preset activation threshold ActThpThd and a time window HTs: If the average data rate of the UE in the time window HTs exceeds ActThpThd, it is determined to be a continuous high-traffic user; If it does not exceed ActThpThd, it is determined to be an intermittent traffic user; (b) Keeping the SCELL in a continuously activated state for the continuous high-traffic user, and making dynamic strategy adjustments based on the PRB utilization rate of the carrier: When the PRB utilization of the current carrier is higher than the high load threshold, SCELL resources are allocated first; when the PRB utilization is lower than the low load threshold PrbLowThd1, the activation of new SCELL is suspended; (c) Adopting an event-triggered SCELL activation and deactivation mechanism for the intermittent traffic users: Instantly trigger SCELL activation based on the arrival of uplink or downlink data packets; If no data packet arrival is detected within the set period LTs, the SCELL deactivation process is triggered; (d) Reduce redundant information by optimizing SCELL activation and deactivation signaling: Pre-caching the SCELL's public parameters to the UE during initial configuration; During subsequent activation or deactivation, only the changed dedicated parameters and SCell index SCellIndex are transmitted.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The setting method of the low load threshold is: PrbLowThd1=PrbAgv×(1−a), where PrbAgv is the arithmetic mean of the PRB utilization within a preset moving average window of N minutes, and a is a safety margin coefficient based on the scenario type, including: a=0.2 in dense urban scenarios, a=0.15 in ordinary urban areas, and a=0.1 in suburban / rural scenarios.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The signaling optimization in step (d) further includes: according to the structured field SCellConfig defined in the 3GPP TS38.331 protocol, only the dedicated parameter sCellConfigDedicated that changes in real time is transmitted, while retaining public parameters such as the physical cell identifier physCellId, frequency, bandwidth, etc. as pre-cached data.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The release conditions of the suspended activation are: When the PRB utilization rate rises back to the reactivation threshold of PrbLowThd2 = PrbLowThd1 + a, where b is the hysteresis offset, and any of the following conditions is met: (i) b is a preset multiple of the standard deviation of PRB utilization, and the b value is increased when the volatility of PRB utilization is high; (ii) b is a fixed value, and the value of b is reduced when the PRB utilization fluctuation rate is low.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The event-triggered SCELL activation includes: directly triggering activation signaling through the base station MAC layer or RRC layer, and completing the activation process through a simplified RRC reconfiguration message including SCellIndex and necessary update parameters.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The dynamic adjustment rule of setting the period LTs in step (c) includes: extending LTs to an upper limit value when the load is low, and shortening LTs to a lower limit value when the load is high.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The SCELL resource release logic is as follows: in the deactivation process, the base station sends downlink control information DCI for suppressing SCELL scheduling to the UE, and implicitly indicates the SCELL state change in the PDCCH channel.

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