Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a communication method and device, and aims to configure energy-saving communication parameters of a cell more reasonably. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring energy-saving auxiliary information of a first cell, wherein the energy-saving auxiliary information is used for assisting in determining energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell; the energy-saving auxiliary information is processed based on a preset model, a candidate energy-saving communication parameter set is obtained, and the candidate energy-saving communication parameter set comprises at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter and performance information corresponding to the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter; and sending first information to at least one terminal device in the first cell, the first information being used for indicating a target energy-saving communication parameter of the first cell, the target energy-saving communication parameter being determined from the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to performance information corresponding to the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter, the target energy-saving communication parameter is used for at least one terminal device to communicate in the first cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0002] As the energy consumption of network devices continues to rise, energy consumption has become one of the main factors considered by operators when deploying network devices. Common network device energy-saving methods include adopting different levels of shutdown technologies during the time when there is no data transmission or reception in the time domain. For example, the cell discontinuous transmission (cell DTX) technology enables the network to perform downlink transmission with the terminal device only during a specified time period, and no downlink transmission is performed during other time periods, so that corresponding shutdown technologies can be adopted to achieve energy saving of network devices; the cell discontinuous reception (cell DRX) technology enables the network to receive the uplink transmission of the terminal device only during a specified time period, and no uplink transmission is received during other time periods, so that corresponding shutdown technologies can be adopted to achieve energy saving of network devices.

[0003] However, currently, cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters are usually determined by network devices based on pre-configured parameters, etc., and the configuration of cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters is not fine enough and not reasonable enough. Therefore, how to make the configuration of cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters more reasonable, while ensuring the energy-saving performance of network devices, and minimizing the performance loss of terminal devices is a problem worthy of consideration. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and apparatus, aiming to make the configuration of energy-saving communication parameters (such as cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters) of a cell more reasonable, while ensuring the energy-saving performance of network devices and minimizing the performance loss of terminal devices.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which includes: obtaining energy-saving assistance information of a first cell, where the energy-saving assistance information is used to assist in determining energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell; processing the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters, where the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters includes at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter and performance information respectively corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter, and the model is used to describe the association relationship between different energy-saving assistance information and the corresponding set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters; sending a first message to at least one terminal device in the first cell, where the first message is used to indicate the target energy-saving communication parameter of the first cell, and the target energy-saving communication parameter is determined from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information respectively corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter, and the target energy-saving communication parameter is used for at least one terminal device to communicate in the first cell.

[0006] Exemplarily: The energy-saving communication parameters may include cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters. The first energy-saving preference information may include at least one of the following: the first energy-saving preference information, which is determined according to the energy-saving preference information of at least one terminal device in the first cell; the load information of the first cell; the mobility information of the corresponding terminal device in the first cell; the energy consumption information of the communication device covering the first cell; the energy-saving information of the adjacent communication devices of the communication device covering the first cell; the connected discontinuous reception (C-DRX) parameter in the first connection state, and the first C-DRX parameter is determined according to the C-DRX parameters corresponding to at least one terminal device in the first cell; or, the scheduling information or caching information of the core network corresponding to at least one terminal device in the first cell.

[0007] The above communication method may be executed by a first communication device, where the first communication device may be a network device, a component of the network device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a device used in cooperation with the network device.

[0008] Through the above method, the influence of various factors such as the energy-saving preference of the terminal device and the energy consumption of the communication device on the energy-saving communication parameters of the cell (such as cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters) can be considered, and the energy-saving communication parameters of the cell are determined based on model reasoning, so that the configuration of the energy-saving communication parameters of the cell is more refined and reasonable, the energy-saving effect is better, and while ensuring the energy-saving performance of the network device, the performance impact on the terminal device can be minimized.

[0009] In a possible design, the above communication method can be applied to a first communication device or a central unit (CU) in the first communication device. The first communication device is a communication device that covers a first cell.

[0010] Through the above design, it is possible to support the requirements of a first communication device (such as a network device) for configuring energy-saving communication parameters of a cell under a CU-distributed unit (DU) split architecture.

[0011] In a possible design, the above communication method can be applied to the CU and DU in a first communication device. The first communication device is a communication device that covers a first cell; the DU is used to obtain energy-saving assistance information of the first cell; and process the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters; the CU is used to send a first message to at least one terminal device in the first cell.

[0012] Through the above design, it is possible to support the requirements of a first communication device (such as a network device) for configuring energy-saving communication parameters of a cell under a CU-DU split architecture.

[0013] In a possible design, the above communication method can be applied to a first communication device and a second communication device. The second communication device is a communication device that covers a first cell; the first communication device is used to obtain energy-saving assistance information of the first cell; and process the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters; the second communication device is used to send a first message to at least one terminal device in the first cell.

[0014] Through the above design, it is possible to support collaborative model inference between communication devices. For example, when the second communication device does not have specific model inference capabilities, the first communication device helps the first communication device perform model inference, which is beneficial to achieving the optimal global energy-saving effect.

[0015] In a possible design, the energy-saving preference information of any one of at least one terminal device includes the energy-saving communication parameters expected by the terminal device.

[0016] Through the above design, it is beneficial to configure energy-saving communication parameters that meet the expectations of the terminal devices in the first cell and satisfy the communication requirements of the terminal devices.

[0017] In a possible design, the load information of the first cell includes at least one of the following: the current load information of the first cell, the load prediction information of the first cell.

[0018] With the above design, when configuring the energy-saving communication parameters, the load information of the first cell can be considered, which is beneficial to making the configured energy-saving communication parameters meet the load requirements of the first cell and match the load of the first cell.

[0019] In a possible design, the performance information includes at least one of the following: terminal device delay information, terminal device buffer information, buffer information of the communication device covering the first cell, usage probability information, or energy consumption information corresponding to the candidate energy-saving communication parameters used by the communication device covering the first cell.

[0020] With the above design, it is supported to determine the energy-saving communication parameters that meet the required performance requirements from the performance information in multiple dimensions, improving the rationality of the energy-saving communication parameters used in the first cell.

[0021] In a possible design, the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters further includes the activation recommendation time corresponding to each of at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter, and the method further includes: sending activation indication information to at least one terminal device in the first cell based on the activation recommendation time corresponding to the target energy-saving communication parameter, where the activation indication information is used to indicate the activation of the target energy-saving communication parameter.

[0022] With the above design, the model inference can also output the activation recommendation time corresponding to the energy-saving communication parameter, which is beneficial to activating the corresponding energy-saving communication parameter at the optimal time and ensuring that the energy-saving communication parameters used in the first cell are always in a better state.

[0023] In a possible design, the energy-saving auxiliary information includes resource status information, and the resource status information includes at least one of the following: physical resource block (PRB) utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; scheduling utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; PRB utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is open; scheduling utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is open; energy consumption information of the communication device covering the first cell during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is open; energy consumption information of the communication device covering the first cell during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; retransmission information of the terminal device during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; or, emergency call information of the terminal device during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; where the historical energy-saving communication parameter includes the energy-saving communication parameters that the first cell has used before using the target energy-saving parameter.

[0024] With the above design, when configuring the energy-saving communication parameters, the resource status information corresponding to the historical energy-saving communication parameter can also be considered, making the configured energy-saving communication parameters more reasonable.

[0025] In a possible design, when the energy-saving assistance information includes first energy-saving preference information, obtaining the energy-saving assistance information of the first cell includes: receiving the energy-saving preference information from at least one terminal device within the first cell.

[0026] In a possible design, when the energy-saving assistance information includes the energy-saving information of an adjacent communication device of the communication device covering the first cell, obtaining the energy-saving assistance information of the first cell includes: sending a first request to an adjacent communication device of the communication device covering the first cell, the first request being used to request the energy-saving information of the adjacent communication device; receiving a first response from the adjacent communication device, the first response including the energy-saving information of the adjacent communication device.

[0027] Through the above design, when configuring the energy-saving communication parameters, the influence brought by the energy-saving information of the adjacent communication device can be considered, so that the configured energy-saving communication parameters are more reasonable.

[0028] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending energy-saving information to an adjacent communication device of the communication device covering the first cell, the energy-saving information including one or more of a target energy-saving communication parameter, whether the target energy-saving communication parameter is activated, or resource status information of the first cell using the target energy-saving communication parameter.

[0029] Through the above design, the energy-saving information of the first communication device can be sent to the adjacent communication device for configuring the energy-saving parameters of the cell under the adjacent communication device, so that the energy-saving parameter configuration of the cell under the adjacent communication device is more reasonable.

[0030] In a possible design, the method further includes: in the case where there is a handover of a terminal device that does not support the target energy-saving communication parameter from the first cell to the second cell, sending a deactivation request to a second communication device, the deactivation request being used to request the second communication device to deactivate the energy-saving communication parameter being used in the second cell, and the second communication device being a communication device covering the second cell.

[0031] Through the above design, in the case where a terminal device that does not support the energy-saving communication parameter hands over from the first cell to the second cell, a deactivation request can be sent to the communication device covering the second cell to request it to deactivate the energy-saving communication parameter being used in the second cell, which is beneficial to meeting the communication requirements of the terminal device that does not support the energy-saving communication parameter.

[0032] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing the method in the first aspect above. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions, such as an interface unit and a processing unit.

[0033] In a possible design, the device may be a device, a chip, or an integrated circuit.

[0034] In a possible design, the device includes a memory and a processor. The memory is used to store instructions executed by the processor. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the device can execute the method of the first aspect.

[0035] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes an interface circuit and a processor, and the processor and the interface circuit are coupled to each other. The processor is used to implement the method of the first aspect through a logic circuit or by executing instructions. The interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device. It can be understood that the interface circuit may be a transceiver, a transceiver unit, a transceiver device, or an input / output interface.

[0036] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory, which is used to store instructions executed by the processor, or input data required for the processor to run the instructions, or data generated after the processor runs the instructions. The memory may be a physically independent unit, or may be coupled to the processor, or the processor includes the memory (i.e., the processor and the memory are integrated together).

[0037] In a possible implementation, the communication device may be a device or a chip.

[0038] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium. A computer program or instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a processor, the method of the first aspect can be implemented.

[0039] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, including a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a processor, the method of the first aspect can be implemented.

[0040] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system. The chip system includes a processor, and the processor can be used to be coupled to a memory. The memory is used to store programs or instructions. When the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the method of the first aspect can be implemented.

[0041] For the technical effects that can be achieved by the second to sixth aspects above, please refer to the technical effects that can be achieved by the first aspect above, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] Figure 1A It is one of the schematic diagrams of the architecture of the communication system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 1B The second schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 2 The schematic diagram of the artificial intelligence application framework provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the cell DTX provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the downlink control information provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 5 The schematic diagram of the influence of the cell DTX and C-DRX provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 6 The first schematic diagram of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 7 The schematic diagram of the cell DTX parameter configuration provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Figure 8 The schematic diagram of the acquisition of energy-saving information provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 9 The second schematic diagram of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 10 The third schematic diagram of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 11 The fourth schematic diagram of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 12 The first schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 13 The second schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0056] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, the beyond 5G (B5G) mobile communication system, or a communication system evolved after 5G (such as the 6G mobile communication system), etc. The communication system can also be a device-to-device (D2D) network, a machine-to-machine (M2M) network, an Internet of Things (IoT) network, or other networks.

[0057] The architecture of the communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applied can be as Figure 1A shown. The communication system 1000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may further include the Internet 300. The RAN 100 includes at least one network device (such as Figure 1A 110a and 110b in Figure 1A , collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal device (such as Figure 1A 120a - 120j in

[0058] collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may further include other RAN nodes, for example, wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices ( Figure 1A not shown in

[0058] ) etc. The terminal device 120 is connected to the network device 110 wirelessly. The network device 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or by wire. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the network devices 110 in the RAN 100 may be different physical devices respectively, or the same physical device integrating the core network logic function and the radio access network logic function.

[0059] The device provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the network device 110, or applied to the terminal device 120. It can be understood that, Figure 1AOnly one possible communication system architecture to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied is shown. In other possible scenarios, other devices may also be included in the communication system architecture.

[0060] The network device 110 is a node in a radio access network (RAN), and can also be referred to as an access network device, or a RAN node (or device). The network device 110 is used to assist the terminal device in achieving wireless access. The multiple network devices 110 in the communication system 1000 can be of the same type of nodes or different types of nodes. In some scenarios, the roles of the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 are relative. For example, Figure 1A The network element 120i in the network can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminal devices 120j that access the RAN 100 through the network element 120i, the network element 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the network element 120i is a terminal device. The network device 110 and the terminal device 120 are sometimes both referred to as communication devices. For example, Figure 1A The network elements 110a and 110b in the network can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and the network elements 120a - 120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal device functions.

[0061] In a possible scenario, the network device can be a base station (BS), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, a satellite, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a network device in a mobile switching center non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication system, that is, it can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or a satellite, etc. The network device can be a macro base station (such as Figure 1A 110a in Figure 1A110b) in the middle, a relay node or a donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. The network device can also be a device that serves as a base station function in device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything communication, drone communication, or machine communication. Optionally, the network device can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an in-vehicle device, etc. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0062] In another possible scenario, multiple network devices cooperate to assist the terminal device in achieving wireless access, and different network devices respectively implement partial functions of the base station. For example, the network device can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be set separately, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio device or a radio unit, such as included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). It can be understood that the network device can be a CU node, or a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be classified as a network device in the radio access network (RAN), or the CU can be classified as a network device in the core network (CN), which is not limited here.

[0063] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, the CU can also be called an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be called an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be called an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be called an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be called an O-RU. For the convenience of description, in this application, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU are used as examples for description. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0064] In the embodiments of the present application, the form of the network device is not limited. The device for implementing the functions of the network device may be the network device; or it may be a device capable of supporting the network device to implement such functions, such as a chip system. This device may be installed in the network device or used in matching with the network device.

[0065] The terminal device 120, also referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., may be a device for providing voice or data connectivity to a user, or may be an Internet of Things device. For example, the terminal device includes handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, etc. with wireless connection functions. Currently, the terminal device may be: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device (such as a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a pedometer, smart glasses, etc.), an in-vehicle device (such as a car, a bicycle, an electric vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a train, a high-speed train, etc.), a satellite terminal, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a smart point of sale (POS) machine, a customer-premises equipment (CPE), a wireless terminal in industrial control, a smart home device (such as a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, an electric meter, etc.), a smart robot, a robotic arm, a workshop device, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, or a wireless terminal in a smart home, a flying device (such as a smart robot, a hot air balloon, a drone, an airplane), etc. The terminal device may also be other devices with terminal functions. For example, the terminal device may also be a device serving as a terminal function in D2D communication.

[0066] In the embodiments of the present application, the device form of the terminal device is not limited. The device for implementing the functions of the terminal device may be the terminal device; or it may be a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement such functions, such as a chip system. This device may be installed in the terminal device or used in matching with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0067] Based on Figure 1A the shown communication system architecture, Figure 1B exemplarily shows the architecture of another communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application. Figure 1BIn this context, the 5G core network (5GC) is connected to the next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN) through the NG interface. The NG-RAN includes one or more gNBs, and the gNBs are connected to each other through the Xn interface. The gNB can adopt a distributed (or CU-DU separated) architecture, including one or more DUs and one CU, and the CU and the DUs are connected through the F1 interface. In actual network deployment, the DUs and the CU can be centrally deployed in the same geographical location or can be scattered and deployed in different geographical locations. Under one CU, there can be multiple DUs, and on the logical entity of one DU, there can be multiple cells. Since the DU directly controls the underlying information, the DU can know information such as the resources of the physical layer.

[0068] In the CU-DU separated architecture, the CU can have some functions of the core network. The CU can include a CU-CP and a CU-UP. The CU and the DUs can be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement. For example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and the protocol layers above (such as the radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer). The DU is configured to implement the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and / or the physical (PHY) layer). Another example is that the CU is configured to implement the protocol layers above the PDCP layer (such as the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer), and the DU is configured to implement the PDCP layer and the protocol layers below (such as the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the PHY layer, etc.).

[0069] When the CU includes a CU-CP and a CU-UP, the CU-CP can be used to implement the control plane function of the CU, and the CU-UP can be used to implement the user plane function of the CU. For example, when the CU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer, the RRC layer, and the SDAP layer, the CU-CP is used to implement the functions of the RRC layer and the control plane function of the PDCP layer, and the CU-UP is used to implement the functions of the SDAP layer and the user plane function of the PDCP layer.

[0070] Currently, 3GPP has proposed to apply artificial intelligence (AI) to the new radio (NR) system. By intelligently collecting and analyzing data, network performance and user experience can be improved. 3GPP has initially defined the framework for the application of AI in NR, which can be referred to Figure 2 . Among them, the data source can store data from gNB, gNB-CU, gNB-DU, UE or other management entities. The data source can serve as a database for AI model training and data analysis and inference. For example, Figure 2 "Data collection" in Figure 2 can represent the data source. The model training host can give the optimal AI model by analyzing the training data provided by the data source. For example, Figure 2 the "Model training" box in

[0071] can represent the model training host. The model inference host uses this AI model and, based on the data provided by the data source, can give a reasonable AI-based prediction of the network operation or guide the network to make policy adjustments. For example,

[0072] 1), cell DTX / DRX. The cell DTX / DRX technology is one of the important directions for network energy saving. By enabling the cell discontinuous transmission / reception technology for users in the cell, the network device can be made not to schedule the data transmission of the user for a certain period of time, enabling the network device to save energy during the corresponding time period. The cell DTX technology enables the cell managed by the network device to perform downlink transmission with the terminal device only during the specified time period, and not perform downlink transmission during other time periods, so as to achieve energy saving of the network device. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of cell DTX. See Figure 3As shown in the figure, cell 1 adopts periodic cell DTX parameters (or configurations). The cell DTX parameters include an active period and an inactive period. The active period is the time period when cell DTX is turned on (cell DTX on). The inactive period is the time period when cell DTX is turned off (cell DTX off). During the time period of cell DTX on, cell 1 performs downlink transmission, including downlink service transmission with the terminal device. During the time period of cell DTX off, cell 1 at least stops the downlink service transmission with the terminal device. The longer the time period of cell DTX off, the longer and deeper the shutdown duration and shutdown depth that the network device can adopt, and a better energy-saving effect can be obtained. However, correspondingly, the delay of service transmission and the impact on the terminal device will also increase. Similarly, cell DRX means that cell 1 adopts cell DRX parameters (or configurations). During the time period of cell DRX on, cell 1 receives uplink signals, including uplink service transmission with the terminal device; during the time period of cell DRX off, cell 1 at least stops the uplink service transmission with the terminal device.

[0073] 2) Connected discontinuous reception (C-DRX) in the connected state. The C-DRX technology enables the terminal device to periodically enter the sleep mode when it is in the RRC connected state. When the terminal device enters the sleep mode, it does not monitor the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and when it needs to monitor, it wakes up from the sleep mode. In this way, the terminal device can achieve the purpose of power saving. The C-DRX parameters (or configurations) can include one or more of the C-DRX cycle, the time of the on-duration, the running time of the drx-Inactivity Timer, etc. C-DRX is a parameter configuration at the terminal device level, and the C-DRX of each terminal device can be different. For the CU-DU separated architecture, the C-DRX cycle can be recommended by the CU to the DU, and other C-DRX parameters can be determined by the DU. After the DU determines the C-DRX parameters, it will send them to the CU. The CU configures them to the terminal device through RRC messages.

[0074] 3) Cell DTX / DRX parameters. Currently, for the CU-DU split architecture, it is uncertain whether the CU or the DU determines the cell DTX / DRX parameters. And the cell DTX / DRX parameters are cell-level configurations, and all terminal devices in the entire cell comply with the same set of cell DTX / DRX parameters. Therefore, more factors need to be considered to determine the cell DTX / DRX parameters, such as the status of the terminal device, the status of the cell, the status of neighboring cells, etc. The configured cell DTX / DRX parameters may include: cycle, onDurationTimer (the duration of being on), cellDTXDRX-CycleStartOffset (the start time interval, which can represent the time interval from the start moment of a cycle to the on time or the duration of the on timer), configType, activationStatus, etc., where the configType can indicate whether the configured are cell DTX parameters, cell DRX parameters, or both cell DTX and cell DRX parameters, and the activationStatus can indicate whether the initial state of the configured parameters is activated or deactivated.

[0075] Cell DTX and cell DRX can be used together or separately. The network device can activate the cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters during initial configuration, or indicate that the current configuration parameters are not activated during configuration, and then send a signaling to indicate the activation of the cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters. The signaling sent can be downlink control information (DCI), and its format can be DCI format 2_9. Refer to Figure 4The schematic diagram of the downlink control information (i.e., DCI) shown. The DCI can include block #1, and can also include block #2 and block #3. The first two bits (bits) of block1 can be used for cell DTX indication and cell DRX indication, respectively indicating the activation / deactivation of the cell DTX parameter and the cell DRX parameter of the cell. For example, when the cell DTX indication bit is 1, it is activated, and when the bit is 0, it is deactivated. In addition, it can also include the indication information (NES CHO) of the 1-bit energy-saving conditional handover (CHO). When the terminal device receives the indication information of the conditional handover, if the value is 1, then the terminal device needs to compare the measured signal quality of the neighboring cell (i.e., neighboring cell) with the event threshold of the conditional handover, and after meeting the conditions, switch to the neighboring cell. The indication of the conditional handover can be used to quickly switch the terminal device that does not support cell DTX and / or cell DRX to other cells, reducing the impact on the performance of the terminal device.

[0076] For block #2 and block #3, they can be used for the indication of activating / deactivating the cell DTX parameter and the cell DRX parameter of other cells (such as secondary cells, etc.), as well as the indication of the energy-saving conditional handover.

[0077] Refer to Figure 5As shown in the cell DTX and C-DRX impact diagram, after the terminal device (such as UE) is configured with the cell DTX parameters and C-DRX parameters, the terminal device needs to decide on the reception and transmission of the signal according to the configured cell DTX parameters and C-DRX parameters. For example: during the cell DTX off period, the reception and transmission of semi-static scheduling information is not allowed, that is, the network device (such as the base station) does not allow the reception and transmission of semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) and configured grant CG (CG) (gNB does not schedule UE-specific dynamic grants / assignments for new transmissions). However, the transmission and reception of some other signals are also allowed. For example, if the network device has scheduled dynamic scheduling (DG) during the cell DTX on period and scheduled data transmission during the cell DTX off period, the network device can also send the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) during the cell DTX off period (PDSCH can be transmitted); if the C-DRX retransmission timer of the terminal device is running, the terminal device can continue to monitor the retransmission (drx-Retransmission Timer running UE can monitor PDCCH of retx); or the terminal device can initiate an emergency call service on the random access channel (RACH) channel (emergency can be transmitted on RACH).

[0078] At present, cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters are usually determined by network devices based on pre-configured parameters, etc., and the configuration of cell DTX and / or cell DRX parameters is not fine or reasonable enough. Based on this, the present application provides a communication method and device to finely control and reasonably configure the energy-saving communication parameters (such as cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters) of a cell, so as to avoid the performance loss of terminal devices as much as possible while ensuring the energy-saving performance of network devices.

[0079] In addition, it should be understood that the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the size, content, order, time sequence, priority, or importance degree, etc. of the multiple objects. For example, the first communication device and the second communication device do not indicate differences in the corresponding priority or importance degree, etc. of these two communication devices.

[0080] In the embodiments of the present application, for the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, it means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the preceding and following associated objects. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one (item) or similar expressions below" refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (item) or plural items (items). For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c means: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0081] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be executed by the first communication device, or the first communication device and the second communication device. The first communication device and the second communication device are different communication devices. The communication device can refer to a network device, a component of a network device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a device used in matching with a network device, etc. Hereinafter, taking the first communication device and the second communication device as the first network device and the second network device as an example, the communication method provided by the present application will be introduced.

[0082] Figure 6 FIG. is one of the schematic diagrams of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. The method includes:

[0083] S601: The first network device obtains energy-saving auxiliary information of the first cell. The energy-saving auxiliary information can be used to assist in determining the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0084] In a communication system, a network device can include one or more cells. Or rather, a network device can serve one or more cells, and a network device can cover one or more cells. The first cell can be a cell covered by the first network device, or a cell covered by other network devices. The present application does not make any limitations in this regard. Hereinafter, first taking the first cell as a cell covered by the first network device, that is, the first network device provides services for the first cell as an example, the solution of the present application will be introduced.

[0085] In a possible implementation, the energy-saving assistance information of the first cell may include one or more of the first energy-saving preference information, the first C-DRX parameter, the corresponding terminal device mobility information within the first cell, the load information of the first cell, the energy consumption information of the network device covering the first cell, the energy-saving information of the neighboring network devices of the network device covering the first cell, the scheduling information or caching information of the core network for at least one terminal device within the first cell, and the like.

[0086] Among them, the first energy-saving preference information may be determined according to the energy-saving preference information of at least one terminal device within the first cell. The energy-saving preference information of any terminal device may include the energy-saving communication parameters desired by the terminal device (such as the desired cell DTX parameter and / or cell DRX parameter). Through the first energy-saving preference information, it can be reflected the energy-saving communication parameters that the terminal devices within the first cell hope the network device to configure for the first cell, or the energy-saving communication parameters that meet the performance requirements of the terminal devices within the first cell. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, when determining the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell, the influence of the first energy-saving preference information can be considered.

[0087] Exemplarily: after the first network device obtains at least one energy-saving preference information reported by at least one terminal device within the first cell, it may select the energy-saving preference information with the highest proportion in the reported at least one energy-saving preference information as the first energy-saving preference information; or select an energy-saving preference information with a proportion greater than the set proportion threshold in the reported at least one energy-saving preference information as the first energy-saving preference information.

[0088] The first C-DRX parameter may be determined according to the C-DRX parameters corresponding to at least one terminal device within the first cell. The C-DRX parameter can reflect the time distribution of the terminal device receiving the downlink scheduling and downlink data from the network device side, which is closely related to the data transmission and reception on the terminal device side. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, when determining the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell, the influence of the first C-DRX parameter can be considered.

[0089] Exemplarily: the first network device may select the C-DRX parameter with the highest proportion as the first C-DRX parameter according to the C-DRX parameters corresponding to at least one terminal device within the first cell respectively; or select a C-DRX parameter with a proportion greater than the set proportion threshold as the first C-DRX parameter.

[0090] The load information of the first cell may include the current load information of the first cell and the load prediction information of the first cell. The current load information of the first cell may refer to one or more of the number of active terminal devices currently (or within a past period of time in the first cell), the amount of data transmitted, the composite available capacity group, the slice available capacity, etc. The load prediction information of the first cell may refer to one or more of the predicted number of active terminal devices, the amount of data transmitted, the composite available capacity group, the slice available capacity, etc. of the first cell within a future period of time (such as predicted based on the load prediction of the first cell in the past period of time). The load information of the first cell is closely related to the data transmission and reception of the first cell. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, when determining the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell, the influence of the load information of the first cell may be considered.

[0091] The corresponding terminal device mobility information in the first cell may include one or more of the following: information on the handover of terminal devices in the first cell to other cells within a predicted future period of time (such as the number), information on the handover of terminal devices in other cells to the first cell within a predicted future period of time (such as the number), information on terminal devices newly accessing the network through the first cell within a future period of time (such as the number), etc. The corresponding terminal device mobility information in the first cell can reflect the change trend of the terminal devices served by the first cell within a future period of time. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, when determining the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell, the corresponding terminal device mobility information in the first cell may be considered.

[0092] The energy consumption information of the network device covering the first cell. The energy consumption information of the network device covering the first cell (such as the true value of energy consumption, or the relative value or quantization value of energy consumption) is related to the signaling overhead of the network device covering the first cell, etc. The greater the signaling overhead of the network device (such as the greater the amount of data transmitted between the network device and the terminal device, the more times of sending data transmission scheduling to the terminal device, or the greater the amount of public signal data sent, etc.), it may all lead to an increase in the energy consumption of the network device. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, when determining the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell, the influence of the energy consumption information of the network device covering the first cell may be considered.

[0093] The energy-saving information of the neighboring network devices of the network device covering the first cell. The energy-saving information of the neighboring network devices of the network device covering the first cell may include the energy-saving communication parameters of the cells included in the neighboring network devices (such as cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters), whether the energy-saving communication parameters are activated, whether the cells included in the neighboring network devices are shut down, whether the cells included in the neighboring network devices send synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel blocks (SSB), whether the cells included in the neighboring network devices send system information blocks (SIB), and one or more of the like. The energy-saving information of the neighboring network devices (such as the energy-saving communication parameters of the included cells, whether the energy-saving communication parameters are activated, whether the included cells are shut down, etc.) may affect the handover of the terminal device between the first cell and the cells included in the neighboring network devices. In addition, the energy-saving communication parameters used by the neighboring network devices (or neighboring cells) may also cause interference between the neighboring network devices (or neighboring cells). Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, when determining the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell, the influence of the energy-saving information of the neighboring network devices of the network device covering the first cell can be considered.

[0094] Taking the network device covering the first cell as the first network device and its neighboring network device as the second network device, and the second network device covering the second cell as an example, refer to Figure 7 In the shown cell DTX parameter configuration schematic diagram, the cell DTX periods of the cell DTX parameters corresponding to the first network device (such as the first cell) and the cell DTX parameters corresponding to the second network device (such as the second cell) may be the same, but the on duration of the cell DTX, the start time interval (such as the time interval at which the cell DTX starts relative to the start of the cell DTX period), etc. may be different to avoid interference with each other.

[0095] Taking the network device covering the first cell as the first network device and its neighboring network device as the second network device, the first network device can obtain the energy-saving information of the second network device with reference to Figure 8 The implementation shown. The first network device may send a first request to the second network device, and the first request is used to request the energy-saving information of the second network device. After receiving the first request from the first network device, the second network device may send a first response including the energy-saving information of the second network device to the first network device, enabling the first network device to know the energy-saving information of the second network device.

[0096] It can be understood that Figure 8The implementation shown is only an example of the first network device obtaining the energy-saving information of the second network device (the neighboring network device of the first communication device). The first communication device can also obtain the energy-saving information of the second network device through other means. Exemplarily, the second network device can also send the energy-saving information to the neighboring network device according to a set period or when a set event is triggered (such as a change in the energy-saving information, etc.). The first network device can receive the energy-saving information sent by the second network device, thereby obtaining the energy-saving information of the second network device.

[0097] The scheduling information (such as the number of scheduling times, scheduling frequency, etc.) or caching information (such as the amount of cached data) of at least one terminal device in the first cell corresponding to the core network is closely related to the sending and receiving of data of the terminal devices in the first cell. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, when determining the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell, the influence of the scheduling information or caching information of at least one terminal device in the first cell corresponding to the core network can be considered.

[0098] S602: The first network device processes the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters.

[0099] Among them, the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters includes at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter and the performance information corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter. This model can be used to describe the association relationship between different energy-saving assistance information and the corresponding set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters.

[0100] In the embodiments of the present application, the model is an artificial intelligence (AI) model. Specifically, the AI model can be a deep neural networks (DNN) model, a Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) model, etc. The present application does not limit this.

[0101] In a possible implementation, a sample set can be collected or configured in advance, and the model can be trained based on the sample set. The sample set can include a large amount of energy-saving auxiliary information and sample pairs of candidate energy-saving communication parameter sets. When training the model, the energy-saving auxiliary information in the sample pairs of energy-saving auxiliary information and candidate energy-saving communication parameter sets (or matrices or vectors corresponding to the energy-saving auxiliary information, etc.) can be used as the input of the model, and the candidate energy-saving communication parameter sets (or matrices or vectors corresponding to the candidate energy-saving communication parameter sets, etc.) can be used as the expected output of the model. The loss (or error) of the actual output of the model relative to the expected output can be calculated through a loss function, etc., and the parameters of the model can be adjusted based on the loss. For example, the parameters of the model can be adjusted using the backpropagation algorithm based on the loss, and the training of the model can be achieved. By continuously iterating the parameters of the model based on the large amount of energy-saving auxiliary information and sample pairs of candidate energy-saving communication parameter sets that can be included in the sample set, when the loss of the actual output of the model relative to the expected output meets the requirements (such as being less than a set loss threshold), the training of the model can be completed.

[0102] The candidate energy-saving communication parameter set can include at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter and performance information corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter. The performance information corresponding to a candidate energy-saving communication parameter can refer to one or more of the usage probability information corresponding to the candidate energy-saving communication parameter, the terminal device delay information, the terminal device cache information, the cache information of the network device covering the first cell, or the energy consumption information of the network device covering the first cell when using the candidate energy-saving communication parameter.

[0103] Exemplarily: The usage probability information can be an integer representing the corresponding probability value. For example, a value ranging from 0 to 100 represents a probability value from 0% to 100%.

[0104] The terminal device delay information can be an integer representing the corresponding delay value. For example, a value of 5 ms represents a delay value of 5 ms. Of course, the terminal device delay information can also be a relative value representing the relative magnitude of the delay. For example, a value ranging from 0 to 100 represents the relative magnitude of the delay.

[0105] The cache information of the terminal device can be an integer representing the corresponding cache value. For example, a value of 100 bits represents a cache value of 100 bit. Of course, the cache information of the terminal device can also be a relative value representing the relative magnitude of the cache. For example, a value ranging from 0 to 100 represents the relative magnitude of the cache.

[0106] The cache information of the network device can be an integer, representing the value of the corresponding cache. For example, a value of 100 bit indicates that the cache value is 100 bit. Of course, the cache information of the network device can also be a relative value, representing the relative size of the cache. For example, a value range of 0 to 100 represents the relative size of the cache.

[0107] The energy consumption information corresponding to the candidate energy-saving communication parameters used by the network device covering the first cell can be an integer, representing the value of the corresponding energy consumption. For example, a value of 100 joules indicates that the energy consumption value is 100 joules. Of course, the energy consumption information corresponding to the candidate energy-saving communication parameters used by the network device covering the first cell can also be a relative value, representing the relative size of the energy consumption. For example, a value range of 0 to 100 represents the relative size of the energy consumption.

[0108] In addition, each performance information output by the model may also be in the form of the value of each performance information + probability, that is, the value of each performance information and the probability of taking this value.

[0109] Exemplarily: The output terminal device delay information can be delay "A" + the probability corresponding to delay "A", delay "B" + the probability corresponding to delay "B", delay "C" + the probability corresponding to delay "C", etc., where A, B, and C, etc. can be specific values or numerical intervals, and the present application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0110] The output cache information of the terminal device can be cache "A" + the probability corresponding to cache "A", cache "B" + the probability corresponding to cache "B", cache "C" + the probability corresponding to cache "C", etc., where A, B, and C, etc. can be specific values or numerical intervals, and the present application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0111] Similarly, the cache information of the network device, the energy consumption information corresponding to the candidate energy-saving communication parameters used by the network device covering the first cell, etc. may also be in the form of the value of each performance information + probability. The specific implementation can refer to the introduction in the above terminal device delay information or the cache information of the terminal device, and will not be elaborated here.

[0112] After the first network device obtains the energy-saving auxiliary information of the first cell, it can use the energy-saving auxiliary information of the first cell as the input of the model, process the energy-saving auxiliary information through the model, and obtain the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters output by the model. And it can determine the candidate energy-saving communication parameter finally used by the first cell from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters.

[0113] As an example: The candidate energy-saving communication parameter set includes candidate energy-saving communication parameter A, candidate energy-saving communication parameter B, and candidate energy-saving communication parameter C. The corresponding terminal device delays of candidate energy-saving communication parameter A, candidate energy-saving communication parameter B, and candidate energy-saving communication parameter C are terminal device delay A, terminal device delay B, and terminal device delay C respectively. Among them, terminal device delay A is greater than terminal device delay B, and terminal device delay B is greater than terminal device delay C. If the first network device needs to minimize the terminal device delay as much as possible, the first communication terminal device can determine that the energy-saving communication parameter used by the first cell is candidate energy-saving communication parameter C.

[0114] Alternatively, the candidate energy-saving communication parameter set includes candidate energy-saving communication parameter A, candidate energy-saving communication parameter B, and candidate energy-saving communication parameter C. The corresponding usage probability information of candidate energy-saving communication parameter A, candidate energy-saving communication parameter B, and candidate energy-saving communication parameter C are usage probability A, usage probability B, and usage probability C respectively. Among them, usage probability A is greater than usage probability B, and usage probability B is greater than usage probability C. The first network device can also determine that the candidate energy-saving communication parameter A with the highest corresponding usage probability is the energy-saving communication parameter used by the first cell, and so on.

[0115] In addition, it can be understood that the above takes the output of the model as at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter and the corresponding performance information of each candidate energy-saving communication parameter as an example for introduction. It can be understood that the output of the model can also be at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter index and its corresponding performance information. For example, multiple sets of energy-saving communication parameters are pre-configured, and a corresponding energy-saving communication parameter index is configured for each set of energy-saving communication parameters. The model can also infer which one or several of the pre-configured multiple sets of energy-saving communication parameters the candidate energy-saving communication parameter is, and output the corresponding energy-saving communication parameter index and its corresponding performance information.

[0116] S603: The first network device sends the first information to at least one terminal device in the first cell. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information. This first information is used to indicate the target energy-saving communication parameter of the first cell.

[0117] In a possible implementation, the first network device can send the first information indicating the target energy-saving communication parameter of the first cell to the terminal devices in the first cell through signaling such as an RRC reconfiguration (RRCreconfiguration) message. This target energy-saving communication parameter can be used by the terminal devices to communicate in the first cell.

[0118] It can be understood that the first message may indicate (or configure) the specific parameters of the target energy-saving communication parameters (such as cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters), or may indicate the index corresponding to the target energy-saving communication parameters used by the first cell, etc. The terminal device receiving the first indication information determines the target energy-saving communication parameters to be used according to the index corresponding to the target energy-saving communication parameters. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner in which the first information indicates the target energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0119] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, for the target energy-saving communication parameters (such as cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters) of the first cell indicated (or configured) by the first network device to the terminal device, they can be activated at the initial indication (or configuration), or can be activated at a subsequent moment by sending activation indication information to the terminal device. The present application does not limit this.

[0120] In a possible implementation, the candidate energy-saving communication parameter set may further include the activation recommended time corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter respectively. That is to say, the output of the model for processing the energy-saving assistance information may further include the activation recommended time corresponding to each candidate energy-saving communication parameter. It can be understood that the activation recommended time can be a specific moment, or can be a time delay from the issuance of the energy-saving communication parameter to activation. Taking the activation recommended time as the time delay from the issuance of the energy-saving communication parameter to activation as an example, when the determined time delay corresponding to the target energy-saving communication parameter of the first cell to be used is 0 milliseconds (ms), the first network device may activate the energy-saving communication parameter while sending the first information indicating the target energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell to the terminal device within the first cell; when the determined time delay corresponding to the target energy-saving communication parameter of the first cell to be used is 100 ms, the first network device may send an activation indication information to the terminal device within the first cell at the moment corresponding to 100 ms after sending the first information indicating the target energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell to the terminal device within the first cell, indicating to activate the target energy-saving communication parameter.

[0121] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the first network device may also update the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell according to a set period, or may update the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell when a set condition is triggered based on the set condition.

[0122] Exemplary: The first network device can periodically obtain the energy-saving auxiliary information of the first cell according to a set period, and process the obtained energy-saving auxiliary information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters, and determine the used energy-saving communication parameters from the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters, and send a first message to at least one terminal device in the first cell to indicate the energy-saving communication parameters.

[0123] The first network device can also obtain the energy-saving auxiliary information of the first cell, and process the energy-saving auxiliary information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters, and determine the used energy-saving communication parameters from the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters, and indicate (or configure) the energy-saving communication parameters to at least one terminal device in the first cell when the energy-saving performance of the first network device is lower than the set energy-saving performance threshold, or the energy consumption of the first network device is higher than the set energy consumption threshold, or the cache information (such as cached data) of the core network corresponding to at least one terminal device in the first cell is greater than the set cache information threshold, etc.

[0124] In some embodiments, if the first network device has previously configured energy-saving communication parameters for the first cell, that is, has sent historical energy-saving communication parameters to the terminal devices in the first cell, the energy-saving auxiliary information may further include resource status information, that is, the input of the model for processing the energy-saving auxiliary information may further include resource status information to improve the rationality of the energy-saving communication parameter configuration of the first cell.

[0125] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the energy-saving auxiliary information processed by the model, or the energy-saving auxiliary information input into the model, may include: one or more of the first energy-saving preference information, the first C-DRX parameter, the mobility information of the corresponding terminal device in the first cell, the load information of the first cell, the energy consumption information of the network device covering the first cell, the energy-saving information of the neighboring network devices of the network device covering the first cell, the scheduling information or cache information of the core network corresponding to at least one terminal device in the first cell, or the resource status information, etc.

[0126] That is to say, the model can perform model inference only based on the resource status information, or only based on the energy-saving auxiliary information other than the resource status information (such as one or more of the first energy-saving preference information, the first C-DRX parameter, etc.), or based on the resource status information and the energy-saving auxiliary information other than the resource status information (such as one or more of the first energy-saving preference information, the first C-DRX parameter, etc.).

[0127] Exemplary: The resource status information may include PRB utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed (such as PRB utilization rate, and / or the number of utilized PRBs, etc.); scheduling utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed (such as the number of scheduling times for data transmission scheduling, etc.); PRB utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is enabled; scheduling utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is enabled; energy consumption information of the network device (such as the first network device) covering the first cell during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is enabled; energy consumption information of the network device covering the first cell during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; retransmission information of the terminal device during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed (such as the number of retransmissions, and / or the amount of retransmitted data, etc.); or, emergency call information of the terminal device during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed (such as the number of emergency calls, etc.), and one or more of the above.

[0128] In some implementations, the first network device covering the first cell may also send the energy-saving information of the first network device to an adjacent network device (such as the second network device), and the energy-saving information may include one or more of the energy-saving communication parameters used by the first cell, whether the energy-saving communication parameter is activated, or the resource status information of the energy-saving communication parameter used by the first cell, etc., for assisting the adjacent network device to better determine the cell energy-saving communication parameters of its covered cell.

[0129] It can be understood that the above first network device may also adopt a CU-DU separation architecture, and the above communication method may also be implemented by the CU and / or DU of the first network device.

[0130] In a possible implementation, model inference may be performed on the DU side. For example, the DU processes the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters, etc.

[0131] Figure 9 This is the second schematic diagram of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, and the method includes:

[0132] S901: The DU obtains the energy-saving assistance information of the first cell.

[0133] In a possible implementation, the energy-saving assistance information of the first cell obtained by the DU may include the energy-saving assistance-related information determined (or obtained) on the CU side. Exemplarily, the energy-saving assistance-related information on the CU side may include the first energy-saving preference information determined by the CU based on the energy-saving preference information reported by at least one terminal device in the first cell; the load information of the first cell; the mobility information of the corresponding terminal device in the first cell; the energy consumption information of the network device covering the first cell (such as the energy consumption information of the CU); the energy-saving information of the neighboring network devices of the network device covering the first cell; the first C-DRX parameter, which may be determined by the CU based on the C-DRX parameters corresponding to at least one terminal device in the first cell; or one or more of the scheduling information or caching information of the core network corresponding to at least one terminal device in the first cell, etc. After determining (or obtaining) the energy-saving assistance-related information, the CU may send the determined (or obtained) energy-saving assistance-related information to the DU for model inference.

[0134] It can be understood that the CU may send the energy-saving assistance-related information on the CU side to the DU in the form of energy-saving assistance information, or may also send the energy-saving assistance-related information on the CU side to the DU in the form of other information or messages or signaling, such as the GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message. Correspondingly, the DU may receive the energy-saving assistance-related information on the CU side in the form of receiving energy-saving assistance information, or in the form of receiving other information or messages or signaling. This application does not limit the specific form of the CU sending the energy-saving assistance-related information on the CU side to the DU.

[0135] Exemplarily, the CU may send the energy-saving assistance-related information on the CU side to the DU at a set period or when a set event is triggered (such as a change in the energy-saving assistance-related information on the CU side, etc.); or the CU may send the energy-saving assistance-related information on the CU side to the DU according to the request on the DU side. For example, the CU may send the energy-saving assistance-related information on the CU side to the DU after receiving the request information sent by the DU for requesting the energy-saving assistance-related information on the CU side.

[0136] In addition, the DU may also obtain the energy-saving assistance-related information on the DU side, such as the load information of the DU, the energy consumption information of the DU, etc. That is to say, in the embodiments of this application, the energy-saving assistance information of the first cell obtained by the DU may include the energy-saving assistance-related information from the CU side and may also include the energy-saving assistance-related information on the DU side.

[0137] In some implementations, if energy-saving communication parameters have been configured for the first cell before, that is, historical energy-saving communication parameters have been sent to the terminal devices in the first cell, the energy-saving assistance-related information on the DU side may further include resource status information. Exemplarily, the resource status information may include PRB utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are turned off (such as PRB utilization rate, and / or the number of PRB utilized, etc.); scheduling utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are turned off (such as the number of scheduling times for the terminal devices in the first cell, scheduling frequency, etc.); PRB utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are turned on; scheduling utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are turned on; energy consumption information of the network device (such as DU) covering the first cell during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are turned on; energy consumption information of the network device (such as DU) covering the first cell during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are turned off; retransmission information of the terminal device during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are turned off (such as the number of retransmissions, and / or the amount of retransmitted data, etc.); or, emergency call information of the terminal device during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are turned off (such as the number of emergency calls, etc.), or one or more of them.

[0138] S902: The DU processes the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters.

[0139] Among them, the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters includes at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter and performance information respectively corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter.

[0140] S903: The DU sends the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell to the CU. Correspondingly, the CU receives the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0141] Among them, the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell (such as the target energy-saving communication parameters used) may be determined by the DU from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information respectively corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters.

[0142] S904: The CU sends a first message to at least one terminal device in the first cell. Correspondingly, at least one terminal device in the first cell receives the first message. The first message is used to indicate the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0143] Exemplarily, the first network device may send the first message for indicating the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell to the terminal devices in the first cell through signaling such as an RRC reconfiguration (RRCreconfiguration) message.

[0144] S905: The CU sends activation indication information to at least one terminal device in the first cell. Correspondingly, the at least one terminal device receives the activation indication information. The activation indication information is used to indicate the activation of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0145] S906: The DU sends physical layer (L1 layer) signaling to at least one terminal device in the first cell. Correspondingly, the at least one terminal device receives the L1 layer signaling. The L1 layer signaling is used to indicate the activation of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0146] In some implementations, the CU can also trigger the DU to send L1 layer signaling to at least one terminal device in the first cell to indicate the activation of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell through an instruction. For example, the CU can send indication information indicating the activation of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell to the DU. After receiving the indication information, the DU sends physical layer (L1 layer) signaling to at least one terminal device in the first cell to indicate the activation of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0147] It can be understood that the above steps S905 and S906 are optional execution steps. In the embodiments of the present application, for the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell indicated to the terminal device (such as cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters), they can be activated at the initial indication (or configuration) time (such as activated through step S904); they can also be activated at a subsequent moment by the CU sending activation indication information to the terminal device (such as activated through step S905); it can also be that at a subsequent moment, the DU actively indicates to the terminal device to activate the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell through physical layer (L1 layer) signaling, etc. (such as activated through step S906), and feedback the activation indication to the CU. The present application does not limit the activation method of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0148] In the embodiments of the present application, the CU and the DU can also update the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell according to a set update period, or, based on set conditions, update the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell when the set conditions are triggered.

[0149] Exemplarily: After the above steps, the DU can execute the above steps S901 - S903 according to a set update period, send the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell re-determined based on the updated energy-saving communication parameters to the CU, and trigger the CU to send the updated energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell (i.e., the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell re-determined by the CU) to at least one terminal device in the first cell.

[0150] Alternatively, after the above steps, the CU may also send an indication message for updating the energy-saving communication parameters to the DU when the energy-saving performance of the CU is lower than the set energy-saving performance threshold, or the energy consumption of the CU is higher than the set energy consumption threshold, or the cache information (such as cached data) of at least one terminal device in the first cell corresponding to the core network is greater than the set cache information threshold, etc., instructing the CU to re-obtain the energy-saving communication parameters and re-determine the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell, triggering an update of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0151] It can be understood that when the CU indicates (or configures or sends) the updated energy-saving communication parameters to at least one terminal device in the first cell, what is indicated (or configured or sent) to the terminal device can be the specific energy-saving communication parameters or the index of the energy-saving communication parameters. The terminal device determines the energy-saving communication parameters according to the index of the energy-saving communication parameters.

[0152] In addition, to save signaling overhead, it is also possible to only indicate (or configure or send) some of the updated energy-saving communication parameters. For example: only indicate (or configure or send) the parts of the parameters that are different from the energy-saving communication parameters before the update. For the parts of the parameters that are not indicated (or configured or sent), the terminal device can use the corresponding parts of the energy-saving communication parameters before the update.

[0153] Optionally, for parameters with numerical values, their forms can be specific parameter values or offset values. For example, an offset represents the magnitude of the offset compared to the previous parameter, or it can be the index of the parameter value. For example, different parameter values can have different index values, and the terminal device can determine the specific parameter value according to the offset value or the index of the parameter value.

[0154] The above is introduced by taking the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell being determined by the DU from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the candidate energy-saving communication parameter set as an example. It can be understood that the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell can also be determined by the CU from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the candidate energy-saving communication parameter set. For example: in the above step S903, the DU may also send a candidate energy-saving communication parameter set obtained by processing the energy-saving auxiliary information based on a preset model to the CU, and the DU determines the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the candidate energy-saving communication parameter set.

[0155] The specific implementation of the above steps S901 - S906 can refer to the implementation in the Figure 6 communication method shown above and will not be elaborated here.

[0156] In a possible implementation, model inference can also be performed on the CU side. For example, the CU processes the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters, etc.

[0157] Figure 10 FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. The method includes:

[0158] S1001: The CU obtains energy-saving assistance information of a first cell.

[0159] Exemplarily, the first energy-saving assistance information obtained by the CU may include the first energy-saving preference information determined by the CU according to the energy-saving preference information reported by at least one terminal device in the first cell, the load information of the first cell; the mobility information of the corresponding terminal device in the first cell; the energy consumption information of the network device covering the first cell (such as the energy consumption information of the CU); the energy-saving information of the adjacent network devices of the network device covering the first cell; the first C-DRX parameter, which may be determined by the CU according to the C-DRX parameters corresponding to at least one terminal device in the first cell; or, one or more of the scheduling information or caching information of the core network corresponding to at least one terminal device in the first cell, etc.

[0160] In addition, the first energy-saving assistance information obtained by the CU may further include energy-saving assistance-related information on the DU side, such as one or more of the load information of the DU, the energy consumption information of the DU, and the scheduling utilization rate of the DU reporting to the CU for the terminal devices in the first cell.

[0161] It can be understood that the DU can send the energy-saving assistance-related information on the DU side to the CU in the form of energy-saving assistance information, or in the form of other information or messages or signaling. For example, the message may be a GNB-DU configuration update (GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE) or a resource status update (RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE) message. Correspondingly, the CU can receive the energy-saving assistance-related information on the DU side in the form of receiving energy-saving assistance information, or in the form of receiving other information or messages or signaling. The present application does not limit the specific form of the DU sending the energy-saving assistance-related information on the DU side to the CU.

[0162] Exemplarily, the DU may send the energy-saving assistance related information on the DU side to the CU according to a set period or when a set event is triggered (such as a change in the energy-saving assistance related information on the DU side, etc.), or the DU may send the energy-saving assistance related information on the DU side to the CU according to a request from the CU side. For example, the DU may send the energy-saving assistance related information on the DU side to the CU after receiving a request message sent by the CU for requesting the energy-saving assistance related information on the DU side.

[0163] In some implementations, if energy-saving communication parameters have been configured for the first cell before, that is, historical energy-saving communication parameters have been sent to the terminal devices in the first cell, the energy-saving assistance related information on the DU side may further include resource status information. Exemplarily, the resource status information may include PRB utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are closed (such as PRB utilization rate and / or the number of PRB utilized, etc.); scheduling utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are closed (such as the number of scheduling times and scheduling frequency for the terminal devices in the first cell, etc.); PRB utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are enabled; scheduling utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are enabled; energy consumption information of the network device (such as DU) covering the first cell during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are enabled; energy consumption information of the network device (such as DU) covering the first cell during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are closed; retransmission information of the terminal device during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are closed (such as the number of retransmissions and / or the amount of retransmitted data, etc.); or, one or more of the emergency call information of the terminal device during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameters are closed (such as the number of emergency calls, etc.).

[0164] S1002: The CU processes the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters.

[0165] Among them, the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters includes at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter and the performance information respectively corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter.

[0166] S1003: The CU sends the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters to the DU. Correspondingly, the DU receives the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters.

[0167] S1004: The DU sends the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell to the CU. Correspondingly, the CU receives the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0168] Among them, the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell (such as the target energy-saving communication parameters used) may be determined by the DU from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information respectively corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters.

[0169] S1005: The CU sends first information to at least one terminal device in the first cell. Correspondingly, at least one terminal device in the first cell receives the first information. The first information is used to indicate the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0170] Exemplarily: The first network device may send the first information for indicating the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell to the terminal device in the first cell through signaling such as an RRC reconfiguration (RRCreconfiguration) message.

[0171] S1006: The CU sends activation indication information to at least one terminal device in the first cell. Correspondingly, at least one terminal device receives the activation indication information. The activation indication information is used to indicate the activation of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0172] S1007: The DU sends L1 layer signaling to at least one terminal device in the first cell. Correspondingly, at least one terminal device receives the L1 layer signaling. The L1 layer signaling is used to indicate the activation of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0173] In some implementations, it can also be that the CU triggers the DU to send L1 layer signaling to at least one terminal device in the first cell to indicate the activation of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell through an instruction. For example, the CU may send indication information for indicating the activation of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell to the DU. After receiving the indication information, the DU sends physical layer (L1 layer) signaling to at least one terminal device in the first cell to indicate the activation of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0174] It can be understood that the above steps S1006 and S1007 are optional execution steps. In the embodiments of the present application, for the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell indicated to the terminal device (such as cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters), they can be activated at the initial indication (or configuration) time (such as activated through step S1005); they can also be activated at a subsequent moment by the CU sending activation indication information to the terminal device (such as activated through step S1006); it can also be that at a subsequent moment, the DU actively indicates to the terminal device to activate the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell through L1 layer signaling or the like (such as activated through step S1007) and feeds back the activation indication to the CU. The present application does not limit the activation method of the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0175] In the embodiments of the present application, the CU and the DU can also update the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell according to a set update period, or, based on set conditions, update the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell when the set conditions are triggered.

[0176] Exemplary: After the above steps, the CU and the DU can execute the steps of S1001 - S1004 at a set update period, or when the energy-saving performance of the CU is lower than the set energy-saving performance threshold, or the energy consumption of the CU is higher than the set energy consumption threshold, or the cache information (such as cached data) of at least one terminal device in the first cell corresponding to the core network is greater than the set cache information threshold, etc. The re-determined energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell trigger the CU to send the updated (i.e., re-determined) energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell to at least one terminal device in the first cell, and update the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell.

[0177] It can be understood that when the CU indicates (or configures or sends) the updated energy-saving communication parameters to at least one terminal device in the first cell, what is indicated (or configured or sent) to the terminal device can be the specific energy-saving communication parameters or the index of the energy-saving communication parameters. The terminal device determines the energy-saving communication parameters according to the index of the energy-saving communication parameters.

[0178] In addition, to save signaling overhead, it is also possible to only indicate (or configure or send) some of the updated energy-saving communication parameters. For example, only indicate the parts of the parameters that are different from the energy-saving communication parameters before the update. For the parts of the parameters that are not indicated (or configured or sent), the terminal device can use the corresponding parts of the energy-saving communication parameters before the update.

[0179] Optionally, for parameters with values, their forms can be specific parameter values or offset values. For example, an offset represents the magnitude of the offset compared to the previous parameter, or it can be the index of the parameter value. For example, different parameter values can have different index values, and the terminal device can determine the specific parameter value according to the offset value or the index of the parameter value.

[0180] The above is introduced by taking the example that the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell can be determined by the DU from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information corresponding to each candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the candidate energy-saving communication parameter set. It can be understood that the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell can also be determined by the CU from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information corresponding to each candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the candidate energy-saving communication parameter set. If the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell are determined by the CU from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information corresponding to each candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the candidate energy-saving communication parameter set, the above steps S1003 and S1004 can be skipped.

[0181] The specific implementation of the above steps S1001 - S1007 can refer to the implementation in the communication method shown above Figure 6 and will not be elaborated here.

[0182] The above Figure 9 and Figure 10 are introduced by taking model inference on the CU or DU side as an example. It can be understood that model inference (such as processing energy-saving auxiliary information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters), or the execution module (or action) of AI, can also be performed in other units or modules of the first network device. For example, the first network device may also include an AI module or other modules with model inference capabilities, and the model inference is performed by the AI module or other modules with model inference capabilities, and so on. Exemplarily, when the first network device adopts a CU-DU split architecture, the first network device may include a CU, a DU, an AI module or other modules with model inference capabilities, and the model inference is performed by the AI module or other modules with model inference capabilities.

[0183] In addition, it can be understood that the first network device may also adopt an ORAN architecture. When the first network device adopts an ORAN architecture, the model inference may be executed by the Radio Access Network (RAN) Intelligent Controller (RIC) module in the ORAN architecture. Of course, the model inference may also be executed by other modules with model inference capabilities in the ORAN architecture. This application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0184] In some implementations, cooperation between network devices may also be supported. For example, the first network device helps the second network device perform model inference, etc.

[0185] Figure 11 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method includes:

[0186] S1101: The second network device sends energy-saving auxiliary information of a first cell to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the energy-saving auxiliary information of the first cell.

[0187] Wherein, the second network device is a network device covering the first cell.

[0188] It can be understood that the second network device may send the energy-saving assistance related information of the first cell to the first network device in the form of energy-saving assistance information, or may also send the energy-saving assistance related information of the first cell to the first network device in the form of other information or messages or signaling. For example, it may be an NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message. Correspondingly, the first network device may receive the energy-saving assistance related information of the first cell by receiving the form of energy-saving assistance information, or receiving the form of other information or messages or signaling. This application does not limit the specific form in which the second network device sends the energy-saving assistance related information of the first cell to the first network device.

[0189] S1102: The first network device processes the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters.

[0190] Among them, the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters includes at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter and the performance information corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter.

[0191] It can be understood that the first network device may perform energy-saving assistance information processing for the second network device based on the request of the second network device to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters; or the first network device may perform energy-saving assistance information processing for the second network device based on the request of the second network device to obtain the energy-saving communication parameters used by the first cell.

[0192] That is, the second network device may request the first network device to perform inference or decision-making on the energy-saving communication parameters of the second network device. For example: The second network device may send a request message to the first network device, requesting the first network device to perform energy-saving communication parameter inference or decision-making for the second network device.

[0193] Of course, the first network device may also perform energy-saving communication parameter inference or decision-making after receiving the energy-saving assistance information of the first cell from the second network device to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters or the energy-saving communication parameters used by the first cell.

[0194] It can be understood that the energy-saving assistance information may also be sent together with the request message in the same message, or may be sent separately in different messages. If sent separately in different messages, this application does not limit the sending order of the messages. For example, the energy-saving assistance information (or the message carrying the energy-saving assistance information) may be sent first, and then the request message; or the request message may be sent first, and then the energy-saving assistance information (or the message carrying the energy-saving assistance information); or the energy-saving assistance information (or the message carrying the energy-saving assistance information) and the request message may be sent simultaneously.

[0195] S1103: The first network device sends a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters.

[0196] After receiving the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters, the second network device may determine the energy-saving communication parameter used by the first cell from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information respectively corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters.

[0197] It can be understood that it may also be that the first network device determines the energy-saving communication parameter used by the first cell from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information respectively corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters, and sends it to the second network device. For example: If it is the first network device that determines the energy-saving communication parameter used by the first cell from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information respectively corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter in the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters, in the above step S1103, the first network device may also send the energy-saving communication parameter used by the first cell determined by the first network device to the second network device.

[0198] In a possible implementation, the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters may further include the activation recommended time respectively corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter. That is to say, the output of the model for processing the energy-saving auxiliary information may further include the activation recommended time corresponding to each candidate energy-saving communication parameter. If the first network device performs inference for the second network device, then the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters sent by the first network device to the second network device may include the activation recommended time respectively corresponding to at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter; if the first network device makes a decision for the second network device, then the first network device may not only send the determined energy-saving communication parameter used by the first cell to the second network device, but also send the activation recommended time corresponding to this energy-saving communication parameter. The second network device may also activate the energy-saving communication parameter according to the energy-saving communication parameter used by the first cell.

[0199] It can be understood that the activation recommendation time can be a specific moment or a time delay from when the energy-saving communication parameters are sent to activation. Taking the activation recommendation time as the time delay from when the energy-saving communication parameters are sent to activation as an example, when it is determined that the time delay corresponding to the energy-saving communication parameters used by the first cell is 0, the second network device can activate the energy-saving communication parameters while sending the energy-saving communication parameters to the terminal devices in the first cell; when it is determined that the time delay corresponding to the energy-saving communication parameters used by the first cell is 100 ms, the second network device can send an activation indication message to the terminal devices in the first cell at the moment corresponding to 100 ms after sending the energy-saving communication parameters to the terminal devices in the first cell, instructing to activate the energy-saving communication parameters.

[0200] Through Figure 11 The communication method shown above enables the first network device with model inference capabilities (such as AI capabilities) to assist the second network device without model inference capabilities in inferring some candidate energy-saving communication parameters and the corresponding performance information of the candidate energy-saving communication parameters, so that the second network device can configure more reasonable energy-saving communication parameters for the covered cells.

[0201] In a possible design, if there are too many terminal device data in the cell covered by the first network device (such as the first cell) and the cell covered by the second network device (such as the second cell) needs to help share the burden, and there is a case where a terminal device that does not support the energy-saving communication parameters (that is, does not support the cell energy-saving feature, such as cell DTX and / or cell DRX) switches from the first cell to the second cell, the first network device can send a deactivation request to the second network device, requesting the second network device to deactivate the energy-saving communication parameters that the second cell is currently using, so as to meet the communication requirements of the terminal devices that do not support the energy-saving communication parameters.

[0202] In some implementations, the deactivation request may carry a cause value for the deactivation request, such as heavy load, or load balancing or load reduction or resource unavailability, etc.

[0203] Correspondingly, after receiving the deactivation request from the first network device, the second network device can also reply to it, which can be a successful deactivation, returning to the normal state or a failed deactivation, carrying a cause value for the failed deactivation, such as cell unavailability, etc.

[0204] The communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described below. Please refer to Figure 12 , Figure 12This is a schematic structural diagram of the communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may include units or modules corresponding to all or part of the steps in the above method embodiment, and may be used to execute the communication method in the above embodiment. For specific reference, please refer to the relevant introduction in the above method embodiment.

[0205] As Figure 12 shown, the communication device 1200 includes a processing unit 1210 and an interface unit 1220. The processing unit 1210 may be a processor or a processing circuit, and the interface unit 1220 may also be a transceiver unit or an input / output interface. The communication device 1200 can be used to implement the steps executed by the first communication device (such as the first network device) in the above embodiment.

[0206] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the communication method in the above embodiment:

[0207] The interface unit 1220 is configured to obtain energy-saving assistance information of the first cell, and the energy-saving assistance information is used to assist in determining the energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell; the processing unit 1210 is configured to process the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters. The set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters includes at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter and performance information corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter. The model is used to describe the association relationship between different energy-saving assistance information and the corresponding set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters; the interface unit 1220 is further configured to send a first message to at least one terminal device in the first cell, and the first message is used to indicate the target energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell. The target energy-saving communication parameters are determined from at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter, and the target energy-saving communication parameters are used for at least one terminal device to communicate in the first cell.

[0208] In a possible design, the communication method is applied to the first communication device or the CU in the first communication device, and the first communication device is a communication device covering the first cell.

[0209] In a possible design, the communication method is applied to the CU and DU in the first communication device, and the first communication device is a communication device covering the first cell; the DU is configured to obtain the energy-saving assistance information of the first cell; and process the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters; the CU is configured to send a first message to at least one terminal device in the first cell.

[0210] In a possible design, the communication method is applied to a first communication device and a second communication device, where the second communication device is a communication device covering the first cell; the first communication device is configured to obtain energy-saving assistance information of the first cell; and process the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters; the second communication device is configured to send a first message to at least one terminal device in the first cell.

[0211] In a possible design, the energy-saving communication parameters include cell DTX parameters and / or cell DRX parameters.

[0212] In a possible design, the energy-saving assistance information includes at least one of the following: first energy-saving preference information, which is determined according to the energy-saving preference information of at least one terminal device in the first cell; load information of the first cell; mobility information of the corresponding terminal device in the first cell; energy consumption information of the communication device covering the first cell; energy-saving information of adjacent communication devices of the communication device covering the first cell; first C-DRX parameter, which is determined according to the C-DRX parameters of at least one terminal device in the first cell; or, scheduling information or caching information of the core network corresponding to at least one terminal device in the first cell.

[0213] In a possible design, the energy-saving preference information of any one of the at least one terminal devices includes the energy-saving communication parameters expected by the terminal device.

[0214] In a possible design, the load information of the first cell includes at least one of the following: current load information of the first cell, load prediction information of the first cell.

[0215] In a possible design, the performance information includes at least one of the following: terminal device delay information, terminal device caching information, caching information of the communication device covering the first cell, usage probability information, or energy consumption information corresponding to the candidate energy-saving communication parameters used by the communication device covering the first cell.

[0216] In a possible design, the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters further includes the activation recommendation time corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter, and the interface unit 1220 is further configured to send activation indication information to at least one terminal device in the first cell based on the activation recommendation time corresponding to the target energy-saving communication parameter, where the activation indication information is used to indicate the activation of the target energy-saving communication parameter.

[0217] In a possible design, the energy-saving auxiliary information includes resource status information, and the resource status information includes at least one of the following: PRB utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; scheduling utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; PRB utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is enabled; scheduling utilization information during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is enabled; energy consumption information of the communication device covering the first cell during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is enabled; energy consumption information of the communication device covering the first cell during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; retransmission information of the terminal device during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; or, emergency call information of the terminal device during the period when the historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; wherein, the historical energy-saving communication parameter is the energy-saving communication parameter used by the first cell before the energy-saving communication parameter.

[0218] In a possible design, the energy-saving auxiliary information includes first energy-saving preference information. When the interface unit 1220 acquires the energy-saving auxiliary information of the first cell, it is specifically configured to receive the energy-saving preference information from at least one terminal device within the first cell.

[0219] In a possible design, the energy-saving auxiliary information includes the energy-saving information of the adjacent communication devices of the communication device covering the first cell. When the interface unit 1220 acquires the energy-saving auxiliary information of the first cell, it is specifically configured to send a first request to the adjacent communication devices of the communication device covering the first cell, where the first request is used to request the energy-saving information of the adjacent communication devices; and receive a first response from the adjacent communication devices, where the first response includes the energy-saving information of the adjacent communication devices.

[0220] In a possible design, the interface unit 1220 is further configured to send the energy-saving information of the first communication device to the adjacent communication devices of the communication device covering the first cell, and the energy-saving information includes one or more of the target energy-saving communication parameter, whether the target energy-saving communication parameter is activated, or the resource status information of the first cell using the target energy-saving communication parameter.

[0221] In a possible design, the interface unit 1220 is further configured to send a deactivation request to the second communication device in the case where there is a terminal device that does not support the target energy-saving communication parameter switching from the first cell to the second cell, and the deactivation request is used to request the second communication device to deactivate the energy-saving communication parameter used by the second cell, where the second communication device is the communication device covering the second cell.

[0222] As Figure 13As shown in the figure, the present application also provides a communication device 1300, which includes a processor 1310 and may also include a communication interface 1320. The processor 1310 and the communication interface 1320 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the communication interface 1320 can be a transceiver, an input / output interface, an input interface, an output interface, an interface circuit, etc. Optionally, the communication device 1300 may further include a memory 1330, which is used to store instructions executed by the processor 1310 or input data required for the processor 1310 to run instructions or data generated after the processor 1310 runs instructions. Among them, the memory 1330 can be a physically independent unit, or can be coupled to the processor 1310, or the processor 1310 includes the memory 1330.

[0223] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the steps executed by the first communication device (such as the first network device) in the above embodiments, the processor 1310 can be used to implement the functions of the above processing unit 1210, and the communication interface 1320 can be used to implement the functions of the above interface unit 1220.

[0224] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), logic circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0225] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in a hardware manner, or can be implemented by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a network device or a terminal device.

[0226] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable devices. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transmitted from one network device, terminal, computer, server, or data center to another network device, terminal, computer, server, or data center in a wired or wireless manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0227] In various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0228] In addition, it should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the term "exemplary" is used to mean for the purpose of example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" in the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the term "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a specific manner.

[0229] It can be understood that the various numerical numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and do not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The magnitudes of the serial numbers of the above processes do not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of each process should be determined according to its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: Obtain energy-saving assistance information of a first cell, where the energy-saving assistance information is used to assist in determining energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell; Process the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters, where the set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters includes at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter and performance information corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter, and the model is used to describe the association relationship between different energy-saving assistance information and the corresponding set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters; Send first information to at least one terminal device in the first cell, where the first information is used to indicate target energy-saving communication parameters of the first cell, and the target energy-saving communication parameters are determined from the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter according to the performance information corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter, and the target energy-saving communication parameters are used for the at least one terminal device to communicate in the first cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The communication method is applied to a first communication device or a central unit CU in the first communication device, and the first communication device is a communication device covering the first cell.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The communication method is applied to a CU and a distributed unit DU in a first communication device, and the first communication device is a communication device covering the first cell; The DU is used to execute obtaining energy-saving assistance information of a first cell; And process the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters; The CU is used to execute sending first information to at least one terminal device in the first cell.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The communication method is applied to a first communication device and a second communication device, and the second communication device is a communication device covering the first cell; The first communication device is used to execute obtaining energy-saving assistance information of a first cell; And process the energy-saving assistance information based on a preset model to obtain a set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters; The second communication device is used to execute sending first information to at least one terminal device in the first cell.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The energy-saving communication parameters include a cell discontinuous transmission DTX parameter and / or a cell discontinuous reception DRX parameter.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The energy-saving assistance information includes at least one of the following: First energy-saving preference information, which is determined according to the energy-saving preference information of at least one terminal device in the first cell; Load information of the first cell; Terminal device mobility information corresponding in the first cell; Energy consumption information of a communication device covering the first cell; Energy-saving information of an adjacent communication device of the communication device covering the first cell; First connected-state discontinuous reception C-DRX parameter, where the first C-DRX parameter is determined according to the C-DRX parameter corresponding to at least one terminal device in the first cell; or, Scheduling information or caching information of the core network corresponding to at least one terminal device in the first cell.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein The energy-saving preference information of any one of the at least one terminal device includes the energy-saving communication parameters expected by the terminal device.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein The load information of the first cell includes at least one of the following: The current load information of the first cell and the load prediction information of the first cell.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The performance information includes at least one of the following: Terminal device delay information, terminal device cache information, cache information of a communication device covering the first cell, usage probability information, or energy consumption information corresponding to a candidate energy-saving communication parameter used by a communication device covering the first cell.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The set of candidate energy-saving communication parameters further includes the activation recommendation time corresponding to each of the at least one candidate energy-saving communication parameter, and the method further includes: Based on the activation recommendation time corresponding to the target energy-saving communication parameter, sending activation indication information to at least one terminal device in the first cell, where the activation indication information is used to indicate the activation of the target energy-saving communication parameter.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, The energy-saving auxiliary information includes resource status information, and the resource status information includes at least one of the following: Physical resource block (PRB) utilization information during the period when a historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; Scheduling utilization information during the period when a historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; PRB utilization information during the period when a historical energy-saving communication parameter is enabled; Scheduling utilization information during the period when a historical energy-saving communication parameter is enabled; Energy consumption information of a communication device covering the first cell during the period when a historical energy-saving communication parameter is enabled; Energy consumption information of a communication device covering the first cell during the period when a historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; Retransmission information of a terminal device during the period when a historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; Or, Emergency call information of a terminal device during the period when a historical energy-saving communication parameter is closed; Wherein, the historical energy-saving communication parameter includes an energy-saving communication parameter that the first cell has used before using the target energy-saving communication parameter.

12. The method according to claim 6, wherein When the energy-saving auxiliary information includes the first energy-saving preference information, the obtaining of the energy-saving auxiliary information of the first cell includes: Receiving energy-saving preference information from at least one terminal device in the first cell.

13. The method according to claim 6, wherein When the energy-saving auxiliary information includes the energy-saving information of an adjacent communication device of a communication device covering the first cell, the obtaining of the energy-saving auxiliary information of the first cell includes: Sending a first request to an adjacent communication device of a communication device covering the first cell, where the first request is used to request the energy-saving information of the adjacent communication device; Receiving a first response from the adjacent communication device, where the first response includes the energy-saving information of the adjacent communication device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending energy-saving information to an adjacent communication device of a communication device covering the first cell, where the energy-saving information includes one or more of the target energy-saving communication parameter, whether the target energy-saving communication parameter is activated, or the resource status information of the first cell using the target energy-saving communication parameter.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1-14, characterized in that, The method further includes: In the case where there is a handover of a terminal device that does not support the target energy-saving communication parameter from the first cell to the second cell, sending a deactivation request to a second communication device, where the deactivation request is used to request the second communication device to deactivate the energy-saving communication parameter being used in the second cell, and the second communication device is a communication device covering the second cell.

16. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a module or unit for performing the method according to any one of claims 1-15.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being configured to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor being configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-15 through logic circuits or by executing instructions.

18. A computer program product, characterized in that, Contains a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause the method according to any one of claims 1-15 to be implemented.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause the method according to any one of claims 1-15 to be implemented.

20. A chip system, characterized in that, The chip system includes a processor, the processor being configured to be coupled to a memory, the memory being configured to store a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by the processor, implement the method according to any one of claims 1-15.

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