Auxiliary cell activation method and device and storage medium

Abstract

The invention relates to a secondary cell activation method and device and a storage medium. The auxiliary cell activation method comprises the following steps: in response to the situation that a terminal monitors that a target application is in a running state, determining an auxiliary cell configured for the terminal, and determining the electric quantity of the terminal; and activating or deactivating the secondary cell based on the electric quantity. Through the embodiment of the invention, the possibility of communication interruption caused by insufficient electric quantity in the communication process after the terminal activates the auxiliary cell can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a method, apparatus and storage medium for activating secondary cells. Background Technology

[0002] In related technologies, network devices will configure secondary cells for terminals. In the communication system, the terminal will communicate based on the master cell and / or the secondary cell (SCell).

[0003] The terminal can determine the secondary cell configured by the network device through the Media Access Control Control Element (MAC CE) and activate the secondary cell based on the MAC CE. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To overcome the problems existing in related technologies, this disclosure provides a secondary cell activation method, apparatus and storage medium.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a secondary cell activation method is provided, comprising: in response to a terminal detecting that a target application is running, determining a secondary cell configured on the terminal, and determining the battery level of the terminal; and activating or deactivating the secondary cell based on the battery level.

[0006] In one implementation, the operation of activating or deactivating a secondary cell configured for the terminal based on the terminal's current battery level includes: in response to the battery level being greater than or equal to a first battery threshold, sending first information to a network device, the first information being used to request the network device to activate a first secondary cell, the first secondary cell being a secondary cell in an inactive state among the secondary cells configured for the terminal; and in response to the battery level being less than a second battery threshold, sending second information to the network device, the second information being used to request the deactivation of a second secondary cell, the second secondary cell being a secondary cell in an active state among the secondary cells configured for the terminal.

[0007] In another embodiment, after sending the first information to the network device, the method further includes: determining a first secondary cell activated by the network device, and obtaining a first timer sent by the network device, the first timer being used to deactivate the first secondary cell; setting a second timer, and determining the battery level of the terminal based on the second timer, the second timer being less than the first timer; and sending third information to the network device based on the battery level of the terminal, the third information being used to request an extension of the first timer.

[0008] In another embodiment, sending third information to the network device based on the terminal's battery level includes: if the terminal's battery level is greater than or equal to a third battery level threshold and the target application is running, then sending the third information to the network device.

[0009] In another embodiment, the method further includes: setting a third timer in response to the terminal sending first information or sending second information; during the third timer, not sending information of the same type as the first information or information of the same type as the second information to the network device.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a secondary cell activation device is provided, comprising: a monitoring unit, configured to determine the secondary cell configured on the terminal and determine the battery level of the terminal when the terminal detects that a target application is running; and a processing unit, configured to activate or deactivate the secondary cell based on the battery level.

[0011] In one implementation, the processing unit activates or deactivates the secondary cells configured for the terminal based on the terminal's current battery level as follows: When the battery level is greater than or equal to a first battery threshold, it sends first information to the network device, the first information requesting the network device to activate a first secondary cell, where the first secondary cell is a deactivated secondary cell among the secondary cells configured for the terminal; when the battery level is less than a second battery threshold, it sends second information to the network device, the second information requesting the deactivation of a second secondary cell, where the second secondary cell is an activated secondary cell among the secondary cells configured for the terminal.

[0012] In another embodiment, the processing unit is further configured to: determine a first secondary cell activated by the network device, and acquire a first timer sent by the network device, the first timer being used to deactivate the first secondary cell; set a second timer, and determine the battery level of the terminal based on the second timer, the second timer being less than the first timer; and send third information to the network device based on the battery level of the terminal, the third information being used to request an extension of the first timer.

[0013] In another embodiment, the processing unit sends third information to the network device based on the terminal's battery level as follows: when the terminal's battery level is greater than or equal to a third battery threshold and the target application is running, the third information is sent to the network device.

[0014] In another embodiment, the processing unit is further configured to: set a third timer when the terminal sends first information or sends second information; and within the third timer, not send information similar to the first information or information similar to the second information to the network device.

[0015] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing processor-executable instructions; wherein the processor is configured to: execute the secondary cell activation method described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect.

[0016] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided, the storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a terminal, enable the terminal to perform the secondary cell activation method described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect.

[0017] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this disclosure can include the following beneficial effects: By monitoring the running status of the target application on the terminal, the current communication needs of the terminal can be determined. If the target application on the terminal is determined to be running, the current battery level of the terminal can be determined, and based on the current battery level, it can be determined whether to activate the secondary cell. By combining the terminal's communication needs with its own battery level to determine the strategy for activating or deactivating the secondary cell, the terminal can activate the secondary cell based on its current communication needs when the battery level is sufficient. This improves communication stability and reduces the possibility of communication interruption due to insufficient battery level during communication after the secondary cell is activated.

[0018] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 1A This is a schematic diagram of a MAC CE data structure according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0021] Figure 1B This is a schematic diagram of a MAC CE data structure according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a secondary cell activation method according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0023] Figure 3This is a flowchart illustrating a secondary cell activation method according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0024] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a secondary cell activation method according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0025] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a secondary cell activation method according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0026] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a secondary cell activation method according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0027] Figure 7 This is a block diagram of a secondary cell activation device according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0028] Figure 8 This is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for secondary cell activation according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0029] Figure 9 This is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for secondary cell activation according to an exemplary embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0030] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this disclosure.

[0031] Carrier aggregation (CA) is a widely used wireless communication technology. It combines multiple carriers from different frequency bands to form a wider bandwidth, thereby improving the data transmission rate and capacity of a wireless network. CA can increase network bandwidth and data transmission rate without increasing spectrum resources, thus better meeting users' demands for high-speed data transmission. For example, CA technology can be used to configure multiple secondary cells from different frequency bands for a terminal.

[0032] In some scenarios, network devices typically configure a secondary cell list for terminals. This list contains multiple secondary cells, and the network device can operate on these secondary cells based on the Media Access Control Control Element (MAC CE). For example, it can deactivate a currently active secondary cell or activate a currently inactive secondary cell.

[0033] For example, a terminal receives a MAC CE sent by a network device, where the MAC CE carries signaling to activate or deactivate a secondary cell. If a MAC CE carrying signaling to activate a secondary cell is received in subframe n, the secondary cell can perform the corresponding activation operation in subframe n+8. Starting from this subframe (n+8), the terminal will monitor the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) corresponding to the newly activated secondary cell and perform subsequent communication transmissions, such as the transmission of a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). It is understood that if a MAC CE carrying signaling to deactivate a secondary cell is received in subframe n, the secondary cell can perform the corresponding deactivation operation in subframe n+8.

[0034] In some scenarios, a corresponding cell deactivation timer can be configured for each secondary cell in the list. This timer starts after the secondary cell becomes active. When the terminal needs to perform uplink grant or downlink assignment transmission based on the secondary cell, the deactivation timer needs to be restarted. Furthermore, after the deactivation timer expires, the corresponding secondary cell will also enter a deactivated state. If no deactivation timer is configured, it can be considered that the deactivation timer is set to the radio duration.

[0035] In some embodiments, activation or deactivation of a secondary cell via MAC CE can be achieved through the following methods: Figure 1A and Figure 1B This is achieved in the following way.

[0036] Figure 1A This is a schematic diagram of a MAC CE data structure according to an exemplary embodiment. When the number of secondary cells in the aggregation unit is less than 8, see [reference needed]. Figure 1A The MAC CE data structure shown is used to activate or deactivate secondary cells. For example, Figure 1A C1 to C7 in the code represent the identifiers of the secondary cells. To activate a secondary cell, set its corresponding byte to "1"; to deactivate a secondary cell, set its corresponding byte to "0".

[0037] Figure 1B This is a schematic diagram of a MAC CE data structure according to an exemplary embodiment. When the number of secondary cells in the aggregation unit is greater than 7, see [reference needed]. Figure 1BThe MAC CE data structure shown is used to activate or deactivate secondary cells. For example, Figure 1B C1 to C31 in the code represent the identifiers of the secondary cells. To activate a secondary cell, set its corresponding byte to "1"; to deactivate a secondary cell, set its corresponding byte to "0".

[0038] Using the above technologies, the terminal can perform activation and deactivation of the configured secondary cells, and perform corresponding communication operations based on the processing.

[0039] However, for the configured secondary cell, the terminal can determine whether to activate or deactivate it in the following ways. For example, if the terminal's current data traffic surges (e.g., due to the activation of an application), and the terminal's currently configured secondary cell is not inactive, then to ensure communication stability, the terminal needs to request activation of the secondary cell from the network device. Conversely, if the terminal's current battery level is low, the terminal needs to deactivate the secondary cell to conserve its own power. However, related technologies do not provide a clear solution on how the terminal specifically activates or deactivates the secondary cell.

[0040] Based on this, this disclosure proposes a secondary cell activation method to solve the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0041] It should be noted that the secondary cell activation method disclosed in this embodiment is applied to a terminal. In some embodiments, the terminal includes, for example, at least one of the following: mobile phone, wearable device, Internet of Things device, car with communication function, smart car, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal device in industrial control, wireless terminal device in self-driving, wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal device in smart grid, wireless terminal device in transportation safety, wireless terminal device in smart city, and wireless terminal device in smart home, but is not limited thereto.

[0042] In some embodiments, the network device may include at least one of an access network device and a core network device.

[0043] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that connects a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following in a 5G communication system: evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), node B (NB), home node B (HNB), home evolved node B (HeNB), radio backhaul device, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), base band unit (BBU), mobile switching center, base station in a 6G communication system, open RAN, cloud RAN, base station in other communication systems, and access node in a Wi-Fi system.

[0044] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of this disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within access network devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of Open RAN. The processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented by software or programs.

[0045] In some embodiments, the access network device may be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU may also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can separate the protocol layer of the access network device. Some of the protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU and centrally controlled by the CU. However, this is not the only possibility.

[0046] In some embodiments, a core network device may be a single device comprising one or more network elements, or it may be multiple devices or a group of devices, each comprising all or part of the aforementioned one or more network elements. Network elements may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), or a Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0047] The embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Futuregeneration radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), and IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth (a registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) systems, systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems built upon them, etc. Furthermore, multiple systems can be combined (e.g., a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0048] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a secondary cell activation method according to an exemplary embodiment, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the secondary cell activation method is used in the terminal and includes the following steps.

[0049] In step S11, in response to the terminal detecting that the target application is running, the secondary cell configured for the terminal is determined and the terminal's battery level is determined.

[0050] In step S12, the secondary cell is activated or deactivated based on the battery level.

[0051] In this embodiment, the data traffic interaction of the terminal in the communication scenario is determined by monitoring the running status of the target application on the terminal. If the target application is determined to be running, the terminal's current battery level is determined, and based on this, a decision is made on whether to activate the secondary cell. By combining the terminal's communication needs with its own battery level to determine the strategy for activating or deactivating the secondary cell, the terminal can activate the secondary cell based on its current communication needs when the battery level is sufficient. This improves communication stability and reduces the possibility of communication interruption due to insufficient battery level after the secondary cell is activated.

[0052] In some embodiments, a terminal can monitor whether its own application is running. The running status of the target application is, for example, running or not running. It is understood that if the terminal does not have a configured secondary cell, there is no need to monitor the target application. The target application can be an application deployed on the terminal. When the target application is running, it generates corresponding communication data interaction; when the target application is not running, it does not generate corresponding communication data interaction. The target application can be specified by the user.

[0053] The term "running" can be understood as the interaction of communication data between the target application and the network. For example, if the target application is a media player, its running state might involve it retrieving media resources to be played from the network. Alternatively, if the target application is a location-based application, its running state might involve it communicating with the network, reporting the terminal's location to the network, etc.

[0054] The "not running" can be understood as the target application not generating any communication data exchange with the network. For example, the target application may be closed or in a sleep state.

[0055] In this embodiment, by monitoring the target application, the terminal can obtain the real-time interaction status of the target application's communication data traffic during the monitoring period. This allows the terminal to determine whether its current network configuration can meet its communication needs. Furthermore, the terminal can determine whether to perform relevant operations on the secondary cell based on the interaction status of the target application's communication data traffic to ensure stable communication.

[0056] In some embodiments, the target application can be configured by the user based on their needs, or it can be specified by the operator.

[0057] In some embodiments, the secondary cell configured for the terminal may be a secondary cell in a secondary cell list configured by the network device for the terminal. The secondary cell list may include multiple secondary cells, and these multiple secondary cells may be active or inactive at present.

[0058] For secondary cells configured on a terminal, the terminal can determine whether the status of the configured secondary cell has changed by interacting with network equipment through Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. For example, the secondary cell configured on the terminal changes from an active state to an inactive state, or is removed from the secondary cell list.

[0059] For example, the network device configures secondary cells for the terminal via RRC signaling. The RRC signaling includes the number of secondary cells and their indexes (Scell ​​index). The terminal can determine the information of the secondary cells configured by the network device based on the RRC signaling. As for the dynamics of the secondary cells, the terminal can obtain the current activation status of each secondary cell based on the MAC layer (specifically, as described in the previous example, determined by the activation status corresponding to the secondary cell identifier in the MAC CE).

[0060] It is understandable that the terminal can activate or deactivate the secondary cell based on the battery level, for example, by sending a corresponding activation or deactivation request to the network device.

[0061] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a secondary cell activation method according to an exemplary embodiment, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the secondary cell activation method includes the following steps.

[0062] In step S21, the battery level of the terminal is determined.

[0063] In step S22, in response to the battery level being greater than or equal to a first battery level threshold, first information is sent to the network device.

[0064] In step S23, in response to the battery level being less than the second battery level threshold, a second message is sent to the network device.

[0065] The first information is used to request the network device to activate the first secondary cell, which is an inactive secondary cell among the secondary cells configured for the terminal. The second information is used to request the deactivation of the second secondary cell, which is an active secondary cell among the secondary cells configured for the terminal. The first power threshold and the second power threshold can be the same or different.

[0066] In this embodiment, the system determines whether to send first information carrying a first request or second information carrying a second request to the network device based on the terminal's battery level. This allows the network device to determine whether to activate or deactivate a secondary cell based on the currently acquired request, thereby enabling the terminal to perform cell activation or deactivation operations.

[0067] In some embodiments, the above method may further include: determining the status of the secondary cell in the secondary cell configured for the terminal, and performing corresponding operations based on the status of the secondary cell in the secondary cell configured for the terminal.

[0068] It is understandable that the secondary cell status configured for a terminal can typically include the following three types: A) to C):

[0069] A) All secondary cells configured for the terminal are in the secondary cell active state.

[0070] B) All secondary cells configured for the terminal are inactive.

[0071] C) The terminal is configured with a secondary cell in a state where one part of the secondary cell is active and another part is in a state where the secondary cell is inactive.

[0072] Different approaches can be taken for the different situations described above. For example:

[0073] Regarding A), the terminal's battery level (e.g., current battery level) can be determined. If the battery level is greater than or equal to a first battery threshold, there is no need to send the first message to the network device. It is understood that if all secondary cells configured for the terminal are active, the terminal has no secondary cells to activate without requesting new secondary cell configuration from the network device. Therefore, if the battery level meets the first battery threshold, there is no need to send the first message to the network device; the current active state of the secondary cells can be maintained. Of course, the terminal can also send a request to the network device to reconfigure (or add) secondary cells (e.g., carried in the first message transmission) to increase the terminal's current bandwidth and thus improve the information exchange rate of the communication system. If the battery level is less than a second battery threshold, a second message is sent to the network device. It is understood that if the terminal's current battery level does not meet the first battery threshold, to avoid communication interruption due to insufficient battery, the terminal can request the network device to deactivate some or all of the secondary cells (i.e., the second secondary cell) to reduce the terminal's power consumption.

[0074] Regarding B), the terminal's battery level (e.g., current battery level) can be determined. If the battery level is greater than or equal to a first battery threshold, a first message is sent to the network device. It is understandable that if all secondary cells configured for the terminal are inactive, and the terminal's communication data volume increases while its battery level meets the first battery threshold, the terminal can request the network device to activate some or all of the secondary cells to expand communication bandwidth and thus ensure communication system stability. However, if the terminal's battery level is less than a second battery threshold, since all configured secondary cells are inactive, to maintain the terminal's battery level, it is not necessary to send a second message request to the network device; simply keeping all secondary cells inactive is sufficient.

[0075] Regarding C), the terminal's battery level can be determined, and step S22 or step S23 can be executed based on the terminal's battery level. Furthermore, based on the request sent by the terminal (first information or second information), the network device, considering the current resource usage and the terminal's capabilities, determines whether to grant the terminal's request, or which secondary cell to activate or deactivate.

[0076] It is understandable that in scenarios A) or B), there are cases where activation or deactivation of the secondary cell can be determined solely based on battery level without requesting network equipment. In such cases, the number of signaling interactions between the terminal and network equipment can be reduced, saving signaling overhead.

[0077] It is understandable that multiple signaling interactions may be involved during communication between the terminal and network devices. After the terminal sends the first or second piece of information, to avoid wasting signaling overhead due to excessively frequent similar signaling interactions, the transmission of similar information can be paused for a period of time.

[0078] In some embodiments, after receiving the first information or the second information sent by the terminal, the network device can determine, based on its own resource situation and the terminal's situation, to send a MAC CE for secondary cell activation (SCellActivation MAC CE) or a MAC CE for secondary cell deactivation (SCell Deactivation MAC CE) to the terminal, and the terminal activates or deactivates the corresponding secondary cell according to the received MAC CE.

[0079] In some embodiments, if a network device receives a request from a terminal to deactivate a secondary cell, the network device can directly deactivate the corresponding secondary cell and remove the configured secondary cell through RRC reconfiguration.

[0080] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a secondary cell activation method according to an exemplary embodiment, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the secondary cell activation method includes the following steps.

[0081] In step S31, in response to the terminal sending the first information or sending the second information, a third timer is set.

[0082] In step S32, during the third timer, neither the same type of information as the first information nor the same type of information as the second information is sent to the network device.

[0083] In this embodiment of the disclosure, by setting a third timer, it is possible to limit the multiple transmissions of the same type of signaling within a specified time threshold, thereby reducing the corresponding signaling overhead.

[0084] Since the terminal's power consumption may increase after activating the secondary cell, after the terminal sends the first information request to the network device to activate the inactive secondary cell, it is necessary to monitor the power consumption of the secondary cell in the activated state to reduce the possibility of communication interruption due to excessive power consumption in the secondary cell activation state.

[0085] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a secondary cell activation method according to an exemplary embodiment, such as... Figure 5 As shown, the secondary cell activation method includes the following steps.

[0086] In step S41, the first secondary cell activated by the network device is determined, and the first timer sent by the network device is obtained.

[0087] In step S42, a second timer is set, and the terminal's battery level is determined based on the second timer.

[0088] In step S43, third information is sent to the network device based on the terminal's battery level.

[0089] The first timer is used to deactivate the first secondary cell (e.g., the first timer is SCellDeactivation Timer), the second timer is shorter than the first timer, and the third information is used to request an extension of the first timer.

[0090] In this embodiment, a first timer is set to determine the maximum activation time of the first secondary cell activated by the network device. During this period, a second timer can be set to determine the terminal's battery level under the second timer condition. This allows for determining whether to extend the first timer based on the terminal's battery level during the secondary cell's activation period, thus maintaining the activation state of the first secondary cell. Consequently, the activation of the first secondary cell can be maintained as long as the terminal's battery level meets a first battery threshold requirement, improving the data transmission efficiency of the communication system.

[0091] In some embodiments, the first secondary cell activated by the network device is, for example, a cell determined by the network device after obtaining the first information, in conjunction with the current resource allocation and the terminal's capabilities. The first secondary cell is a cell that is not activated among the secondary cells configured for the terminal.

[0092] In some embodiments, the network device sends corresponding indication information to the terminal to instruct the terminal to activate the first secondary cell, and may also send a first timer to the terminal to indicate the maximum activation time of the first secondary cell.

[0093] However, if the network device does not send a first timer to the terminal, it can be assumed that the first secondary cell can remain active. In this case, the terminal can set a second timer to determine its battery level. If the terminal's battery level falls below a first battery threshold, the terminal can request the network device to deactivate the first secondary cell. This allows for the deactivation of the secondary cell indicated by the network device as continuously active based on the terminal's own battery level, reducing the possibility of communication interruption due to excessive battery consumption while the secondary cell is active.

[0094] However, it's clear that the second timer needs to be set smaller than the first timer. If the second timer is set too small, the terminal might prematurely determine its battery level before the secondary cell activation state ends. Since there's still a considerable amount of time before the first timer expires, the terminal's battery level might change (e.g., become very low). Therefore, determining whether to extend the first timer based on the second timer might result in inaccurate results. Based on this, a minimum value needs to be further limited for the second timer to ensure more accurate results in determining whether to extend the first timer.

[0095] In some embodiments, the second timer can be a timer set by the terminal itself based on the first timer, or it can be set based on the terminal's current power consumption rate. For example, after the first secondary cell is activated, the terminal monitors its own power consumption for a period of time to determine the current power consumption rate. Then, based on the current power level and power consumption rate, it determines the time required for the terminal to deplete its current power to reach a first power threshold (this time is a predicted time, for example, predicted by a relevant model, or calculated through regression fitting based on the currently captured power consumption rate), and determines the second timer based on this time and the first timer. This ensures that the determined second timer can be triggered to determine the terminal's current power level before the first timer reaches its maximum countdown, and when the terminal's power consumption is near the first power threshold. This reduces the possibility that the terminal prematurely confirms the current power level due to the second timer being set too small, leading to a distorted result in the final determination of whether to extend the first timer.

[0096] In some embodiments, the terminal sends third information to the network device to request an extension of the first timer. If the network device determines to extend the first timer based on the third information and the current resource allocation, it may send corresponding instruction information to the terminal to extend the first timer and reset the first timer. It is understood that if the first timer is reset, the second timer also needs to be reset.

[0097] It is known that the terminal's request to extend the first timer to extend the first secondary cell can be used to ensure the rate of communication data interaction when the target application is running. Therefore, if the terminal's battery level meets the first battery threshold, it can be further determined whether to extend the first timer based on the running status of the target application.

[0098] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a secondary cell activation method according to an exemplary embodiment, such as... Figure 6 As shown, the secondary cell activation method includes the following steps.

[0099] In step S51, after setting the second timer, the running status of the target application and the battery level of the terminal are determined.

[0100] In step S52, if the terminal's battery level is greater than or equal to the third battery threshold and the target application is running, then the third information is sent to the network device.

[0101] Among them, the third power threshold, the second power threshold, and the first power threshold can be equal or unequal.

[0102] In this embodiment, it can be determined whether to request the network device to extend the first timer based on the determined terminal battery level and the running status of the target application. Since the amount of communication interaction data corresponding to the terminal in this scenario mainly comes from the target application, the possibility of terminal battery consumption due to continuous activation of the secondary cell when the target application stops running is reduced.

[0103] In some embodiments, the method further includes: if the terminal's battery level is greater than or equal to a third battery threshold and the target application is not running, then the third information is not sent to the network device. Alternatively, a fourth information is sent to the network device, the fourth information being used to request the network device to deactivate the first auxiliary cell in advance (before the first timer).

[0104] It should be noted that not sending third information to network devices can be understood as not extending the first timer. When the activation time of the first secondary cell is equal to the first timer, it enters the deactivation state.

[0105] In some embodiments, the method further includes: if the terminal's battery level is less than a third battery threshold and the target application is running or not running, then the third information is not sent to the network device, or a fourth information is sent to the network device, the fourth information being used to request the network device to deactivate the first auxiliary cell in advance (before the first timer).

[0106] Understandably, if the terminal's battery level is less than the third battery threshold, it can request the network device to activate the first secondary cell, thereby reducing the possibility of communication interruption due to excessive battery consumption while the secondary cell is activated.

[0107] Based on this, the deactivation method proposed in this disclosure allows the terminal to determine whether to activate the secondary cell based on the current application usage and battery level. This improves data interaction efficiency by enabling the terminal to communicate based on the secondary cell while ensuring sufficient battery power.

[0108] Based on the same concept, this disclosure also provides a secondary cell activation device.

[0109] It is understood that the secondary cell activation device provided in this disclosure includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to each function in order to achieve the above-mentioned functions. In conjunction with the units and algorithm steps of the various examples disclosed in this disclosure, this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the technical solutions of this disclosure.

[0110] Figure 7 This is a block diagram illustrating a secondary cell activation device according to an exemplary embodiment. (Refer to...) Figure 7 The device 100 includes a monitoring unit 101 and a processing unit 102.

[0111] The monitoring unit 101 is used to determine the secondary cell configured on the terminal and the battery level of the terminal when the terminal detects that the target application is running.

[0112] The processing unit 102 is used to activate or deactivate the secondary cell based on the power level.

[0113] In some embodiments, the processing unit 102 activates or deactivates the secondary cells configured for the terminal based on the terminal's current battery level in the following manner: when the battery level is greater than or equal to a first battery level threshold, it sends first information to the network device, the first information being used to request the network device to activate the first secondary cell, the first secondary cell being a deactivated secondary cell among the secondary cells configured for the terminal; when the battery level is less than a second battery level threshold, it sends second information to the network device, the second information being used to request the deactivation of the second secondary cell, the second secondary cell being an activated secondary cell among the secondary cells configured for the terminal.

[0114] In some embodiments, the processing unit 102 is further configured to: determine a first secondary cell activated by the network device, and obtain a first timer sent by the network device, the first timer being used to deactivate the first secondary cell; set a second timer, and determine the battery level of the terminal based on the second timer, the second timer being less than the first timer; and send third information to the network device based on the battery level of the terminal, the third information being used to request an extension of the first timer.

[0115] In some embodiments, the processing unit 102 sends third information to the network device based on the terminal's battery level as follows: when the terminal's battery level is greater than or equal to a third battery threshold and the target application is running, the third information is sent to the network device.

[0116] In some embodiments, the processing unit 102 is further configured to: set a third timer when the terminal sends first information or sends second information; and within the third timer, not send information of the same type as the first information or information of the same type as the second information to the network device.

[0117] Figure 8 This is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for secondary cell activation according to an exemplary embodiment. For example, apparatus 200 may be a mobile phone, computer, digital broadcast terminal, messaging device, game console, tablet device, medical device, fitness equipment, personal digital assistant, etc.

[0118] Reference Figure 8 The semantic recognition device 200 may include one or more of the following components: processing component 202, memory 204, power component 206, multimedia component 208, audio component 210, input / output (I / O) interface 212, sensor component 214, and communication component 216.

[0119] Processing component 202 typically controls the overall operation of device 200, such as operations associated with display, telephone calls, data communication, camera operation, and recording. Processing component 202 may include one or more processors 220 to execute instructions to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described above. Furthermore, processing component 202 may include one or more modules to facilitate interaction between processing component 202 and other components. For example, processing component 202 may include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between multimedia component 208 and processing component 202.

[0120] Memory 204 is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of device 200. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on device 200, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, etc. Memory 204 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic storage, flash memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0121] The power supply component 206 provides power to the various components of the device 200. The power supply component 206 may include a power management system, one or more power sources, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power to the device 200.

[0122] Multimedia component 208 includes a screen that provides an output interface between the device 200 and the user. In some embodiments, the screen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touchscreen to receive input signals from the user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches, swipes, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors may sense not only the boundaries of the touch or swipe action but also the duration and pressure associated with the touch or swipe operation. In some embodiments, multimedia component 208 includes a front-facing camera and / or a rear-facing camera. When the device 200 is in an operating mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode, the front-facing camera and / or the rear-facing camera may receive external multimedia data. Each front-facing camera and rear-facing camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have focal length and optical zoom capabilities.

[0123] Audio component 210 is configured to output and / or input audio signals. For example, audio component 210 includes a microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when device 200 is in an operating mode, such as call mode, recording mode, and voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may be further stored in memory 204 or transmitted via communication component 216. In some embodiments, audio component 210 also includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

[0124] I / O interface 212 provides an interface between processing component 202 and peripheral interface modules, such as keyboards, click wheels, buttons, etc. These buttons may include, but are not limited to, home buttons, volume buttons, power buttons, and lock buttons.

[0125] Sensor assembly 214 includes one or more sensors for providing status assessments of various aspects of device 200. For example, sensor assembly 214 may detect the on / off state of device 200, the relative positioning of components such as the display and keypad of device 200, changes in the position of device 200 or a component of device 200, the presence or absence of user contact with device 200, the orientation or acceleration / deceleration of device 200, and temperature changes of device 200. Sensor assembly 214 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. Sensor assembly 214 may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, sensor assembly 214 may also include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

[0126] Communication component 216 is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between device 200 and other devices. Device 200 can access wireless networks based on communication standards, such as WiFi, 2G, or 3G, or combinations thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, communication component 216 receives broadcast signals or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, communication component 216 also includes a near-field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communication. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) technology, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

[0127] In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus 200 may be implemented by one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic components to perform the methods described above.

[0128] In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions is also provided, such as a memory 204 including instructions, which can be executed by a processor 220 of the device 200 to perform the above-described method. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, random access memory (RAM), CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, and optical data storage device, etc.

[0129] Figure 9 This is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus 300 for secondary cell activation according to an exemplary embodiment. For example, apparatus 300 may be provided as a server. (Refer to...) Figure 9 The device 300 includes a processing component 322, which further includes one or more processors, and memory resources represented by memory 332 for storing instructions, such as application programs, that can be executed by the processing component 322. The application programs stored in memory 332 may include one or more modules, each corresponding to a set of instructions. Furthermore, the processing component 322 is configured to execute instructions to perform the aforementioned secondary cell activation method.

[0130] Device 300 may also include a power supply component 326 configured to perform power management of device 300, a wired or wireless network interface 350 configured to connect device 300 to a network, and an input / output (I / O) interface 358. Device 300 may operate on an operating system stored in memory 332, such as Windows Server™, Mac OS X™, Unix™, Linux™, FreeBSD™, or similar.

[0131] It is understood that in this disclosure, "multiple" refers to two or more, and other quantifiers are similar. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. The singular forms "a," "the," and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0132] It is further understood that the terms "first," "second," etc., are used to describe various types of information, but this information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from one another, and do not indicate a specific order or degree of importance. In fact, the expressions "first," "second," etc., are completely interchangeable. For example, without departing from the scope of this disclosure, first information can also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information can also be referred to as first information.

[0133] It is further understood that the terms “center,” “longitudinal,” “lateral,” “front,” “rear,” “up,” “down,” “left,” “right,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “inner,” and “outer,” etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this embodiment and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation.

[0134] It can be further understood that, unless otherwise specified, "connection" includes both direct connections where no other components exist between the two parties and indirect connections where other components exist between them.

[0135] It is further understood that although operations are described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this disclosure, this should not be construed as requiring these operations to be performed in the specific order or serial order shown, or requiring all of the shown operations to be performed to obtain the desired result. In certain environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

[0136] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for activating a secondary cell, characterized in that, include: In response to the terminal detecting that the target application is running, the secondary cell configured for the terminal is determined, and the battery level of the terminal is determined; Based on the power level, the secondary cell can be activated or deactivated.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The operation of activating or deactivating the secondary cell configured for the terminal based on the terminal's current battery level includes: In response to the battery level being greater than or equal to a first battery threshold, a first message is sent to the network device. The first message is used to request the network device to activate a first secondary cell. The first secondary cell is a secondary cell that is inactive among the secondary cells configured for the terminal. In response to the battery level being less than a second battery threshold, a second message is sent to the network device. The second message is used to request the deactivation of a second secondary cell, which is an active secondary cell among the secondary cells configured for the terminal.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, After sending the first information to the network device, the method further includes: The first secondary cell activated by the network device is determined, and a first timer sent by the network device is obtained. The first timer is used to deactivate the first secondary cell. A second timer is set, and the battery level of the terminal is determined based on the second timer, wherein the second timer is less than the first timer; Based on the terminal's battery level, a third message is sent to the network device, the third message being used to request an extension of the first timer.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The step of sending third information to the network device based on the terminal's battery level includes: If the terminal's battery level is greater than or equal to the third battery threshold, and the target application is running, then the third information is sent to the network device.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: In response to the terminal sending first information or sending second information, a third timer is set; During the third timer, no information similar to the first information or the second information is sent to the network device.

6. A secondary cell activation device, characterized in that, include: The monitoring unit is used to determine the secondary cell configured for the terminal and the battery level of the terminal when the terminal detects that the target application is running. The processing unit is used to activate or deactivate the secondary cell based on the power level.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that, The processing unit activates or deactivates the secondary cell configured for the terminal based on the terminal's battery level in the following manner: When the battery level is greater than or equal to a first battery threshold, a first message is sent to the network device. The first message is used to request the network device to activate a first secondary cell. The first secondary cell is a secondary cell that is inactive among the secondary cells configured for the terminal. If the battery level is less than a second battery threshold, a second message is sent to the network device. The second message is used to request the deactivation of a second secondary cell, which is an active secondary cell among the secondary cells configured for the terminal.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The processing unit is also used for: The first secondary cell activated by the network device is determined, and a first timer sent by the network device is obtained. The first timer is used to deactivate the first secondary cell. A second timer is set, and the battery level of the terminal is determined based on the second timer, wherein the second timer is less than the first timer; Based on the terminal's battery level, a third message is sent to the network device, the third message being used to request an extension of the first timer.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that, The processing unit sends third information to the network device based on the terminal's battery level in the following manner: When the terminal's battery level is greater than or equal to a third battery threshold and the target application is running, the third information is sent to the network device.

10. The apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The processing unit is also used for: A third timer is set when the terminal sends the first message or the second message; During the third timer, no information similar to the first information or the second information is sent to the network device.

11. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: processor; Memory used to store processor-executable instructions; The processor is configured to execute the secondary cell activation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

12. A storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by the terminal's processor, enable the terminal to perform the secondary cell activation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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