Method, device and computer readable storage medium for implementing virtual cell

Abstract

Disclosed are a virtual cell implementation method and device, and a computer readable storage medium. The method comprises: detecting whether a UE moves from a home cell in a virtual cell to another cell in the virtual cell, wherein the virtual cell comprises a plurality of cells belonging to a same CU, and the virtual cell has one PCI; and in response to the UE moving from the home cell to the other cell, configuring the UE with high-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell, so that the other cell schedules the UE.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of application number 201811504354.4, filed on December 10, 2018, entitled "A method, apparatus and computer-readable storage medium for implementing a virtual community". Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of communication technology, and more particularly to a method, apparatus and computer-readable storage medium for implementing a virtual cell. Background Technology

[0003] Ultra-Dense Network (UDN) is one of the core technologies of the 5th Generation mobile communication technology (5G). This technology greatly reduces the distance for users to access the network and increases user throughput as well as regional throughput by deploying a certain number of wireless access points.

[0004] However, since different cells have different Physical-layer Cell Identity (PCI), as cell deployment becomes denser, when user equipment (UE) moves between dense cells, it needs to frequently perform cell handover, which involves a series of steps such as re-accessing the cell, resynchronizing, and receiving access messages. This results in a large amount of handover signaling processing on the base station side, thus affecting the UE's service acquisition.

[0005] Application content To address the aforementioned technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium for implementing virtual cells, which can prevent UEs from performing cell handover when moving between dense cells, thereby avoiding a large amount of handover signaling processing on the base station side and improving the user experience.

[0006] To achieve the objectives of this embodiment of the invention, this embodiment provides a method for implementing a virtual cell, applied to a management module in a virtual cell that has the function of managing virtual cells, including: Detect whether the UE has moved from its home cell in the virtual cell to another cell in the virtual cell, wherein the virtual cell includes multiple cells belonging to the same CU and the virtual cell has one PCI; In response to the UE moving from the home cell to the other cell, the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell are configured for the UE so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

[0007] This invention also provides a method and apparatus for implementing a virtual cell, comprising a management module configured in the virtual cell that has the function of managing the virtual cell, including: The detection module is used to detect whether the UE moves from its home cell in the virtual cell to another cell in the virtual cell, wherein the virtual cell includes multiple cells belonging to the same CU, and the virtual cell has a PCI; A processing module is configured to configure parameters of the other cell for the UE in response to the UE moving from the home cell to the other cell, so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

[0008] This invention also provides an apparatus for implementing a virtual cell, comprising: a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores the following instructions executable by the processor: Detect whether the UE has moved from its home cell in the virtual cell to another cell in the virtual cell, wherein the virtual cell includes multiple cells belonging to the same CU and the virtual cell has one PCI; In response to the UE moving from the home cell to the other cell, the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell are configured for the UE so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

[0009] This invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the following steps: Detect whether the UE has moved from its home cell in the virtual cell to another cell in the virtual cell, wherein the virtual cell includes multiple cells belonging to the same CU and the virtual cell has one PCI; In response to the UE moving from the home cell to the other cell, the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell are configured for the UE so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

[0010] Since the UE is configured with higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell in response to the UE moving from the home cell to another cell in the same virtual cell, so that the other cell can schedule the UE, cell handover is avoided when the UE moves between dense cells, thereby avoiding a large amount of handover signaling processing on the base station side and improving the user experience.

[0011] Other features and advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be set forth in the following description, and will be apparent in part from the description, or may be learned by practicing the embodiments of the invention. The objects and other advantages of embodiments of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the structures particularly pointed out in the description, claims, and drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0012] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of this application to explain the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for implementing a virtual cell according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating another method for implementing a virtual cell in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is provided. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a device for implementing a virtual cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0014] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

[0015] The steps illustrated in the flowchart in the accompanying drawings can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer-executable instructions. Furthermore, although a logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases the steps shown or described may be performed in a different order than that shown here.

[0016] This invention provides a method for implementing a virtual cell, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the method includes: Step 101: Detect whether the UE has moved from its home cell in the virtual cell to another cell.

[0017] It should be noted that cell virtualization technology changes the traditional cell design concept by combining multiple access sites with small coverage areas into a single virtual cell, and scheduling these access sites as resources within that virtual cell. A virtual cell created using cell virtualization technology exists externally as a single cell. The home cell described in this embodiment is the cell the UE actually belongs to before moving within the virtual cell, while the other cell is the cell the UE actually belongs to after moving within the virtual cell.

[0018] It should also be noted that the embodiments of the present invention can be executed by a management module in a virtual cell that has the function of managing virtual cells.

[0019] Step 102: In response to the UE moving from its home cell to another cell, configure the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell for the UE so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

[0020] The virtual cell implementation method provided in this embodiment of the invention configures the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell for the UE in response to the UE moving from its home cell to another cell, so that the other cell can schedule the UE, thereby avoiding a large amount of handover signaling processing on the base station side and improving the user experience.

[0021] Optionally, before detecting whether the UE has moved from its home cell to another cell in the virtual cell, the method further includes: Determine the UE's home cell from the virtual cell.

[0022] Configure the high-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the UE for the home cell.

[0023] Optionally, determining the UE's home cell from the virtual cell includes: Obtain the measurement value of the random access preamble sent to the UE by each cell in the virtual cell.

[0024] The cell corresponding to the maximum measurement value is selected as the UE's home cell.

[0025] Optionally, the measurements of the random access preamble include: the received power measurement of the random access preamble, or the signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio measurement of the random access preamble.

[0026] Optionally, before determining the UE's home cell from the virtual cell, the method further includes: Multiple cells under a centralized unit (CU) are combined to form a virtual cell.

[0027] Configure PCI for the virtual cell.

[0028] Optionally, dedicated resources are used to schedule the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), and Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

[0029] This invention also provides a method for implementing a virtual cell, comprising: Step 1: Divide N cells belonging to the same CU into a virtual cell. The value of N can be selected according to hardware capabilities, computational complexity, etc. The maximum value of N is the maximum number of cells that can be configured under a CU. A cell belonging to a virtual cell is called a Transmission Point (TP).

[0030] Step 2: Configure only one PCI for a virtual cell. From the UE's perspective, only one large cell can be seen, and the N TPs in the virtual cell cannot be seen. The channels and messages related to PCI in the virtual cell need to be configured and scheduled uniformly by the virtual cell.

[0031] Step 3: When the UE accesses the network, it is assigned to one of N TPs based on certain measurement values. This TP can be the strongest among the N TPs, or it can be a TP selected based on other principles. The measurement values ​​can be obtained by measuring the preamble sent by each TP to the UE. Among them, the strongest TP can be the TP with the largest measured received power of the preamble or the TP with the largest measured signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio of the preamble.

[0032] Step 4: Configure the higher-layer configuration parameters of the UE's home TP and the UE's dedicated resources for scheduling PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS, PDSCH and PDCCH. The higher-layer configuration parameters mainly include the UE-specific higher-layer configuration parameters used by each of the above channels or signals.

[0033] Step 5: Each TP independently schedules the UE or each TP coordinates the scheduling of the UE. Here, coordinated scheduling means that TPs belonging to the same virtual cell can jointly schedule the UE according to certain interference coordination principles.

[0034] Step 6: When a UE moves from a TP belonging to the same virtual cell to another TP, no cell handover is required. Only the parameters of the cell to which the UE moves need to be reconfigured.

[0035] It should be noted that the virtual cell implementation method provided in this embodiment of the invention is a novel virtual cell implementation method, which avoids frequent handover between cells by the UE.

[0036] This invention also provides a method for implementing a virtual cell, such as... Figure 2 As shown, it includes: Step 201: Divide two cells belonging to the same CU into a virtual cell. Assume that the two cells are TP1 and TP2, and the virtual cell after the formation is called Cell1.

[0037] Step 202: Configure PCI for Cell1. From the UE's perspective, only Cell1 can be seen and its PCI can be obtained, but TP1 and TP2 in Cell1 cannot be seen. For channels and messages related to PCI in Cell1, such as access messages, synchronization channels, broadcast channels and broadcast messages, paging messages, etc., Cell1 is responsible for unified configuration and scheduling.

[0038] Step 203: When UE1 accesses the network, the base station assigns UE1 to either TP1 or TP2 based on the uplink Preamble measurement values. Assuming the strongest TP is selected from the two TPs, and TP1 is the strongest cell measured, then UE1 is assigned to TP1. The strongest TP can be the TP with the highest Preamble received power measurement or the TP with the highest Preamble signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio measurement.

[0039] Step 204: Configure higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources for UE1 based on the parameters and resources of TP1, for scheduling PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS, PDSCH and PDCCH.

[0040] Step 205: TP1 independently schedules UE1, and TP2 does not participate in the scheduling of UE1.

[0041] Step 206: When UE1 moves from TP1 to TP2, no cell handover is required. UE1 only needs to be reconfigured with the TP2 parameters corresponding to those in step S104. After that, TP2 will independently schedule UE1.

[0042] This invention also provides an apparatus for implementing a virtual cell, such as... Figure 3 As shown, it includes: The detection module 31 is used to detect whether the UE has moved from its home cell to another cell in the virtual cell.

[0043] The processing module 32 is configured to configure the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell for the UE in response to the UE moving from the home cell to the other cell, so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

[0044] Optionally, the processing module 32 is also used for: The UE's home cell is determined from the virtual cell.

[0045] Configure the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the home cell for the UE.

[0046] Optionally, the processing module 32 is specifically used for: Obtain the measurement value of the random access preamble sent by each cell in the virtual cell to the UE.

[0047] The cell corresponding to the maximum measurement value is selected as the home cell of the UE.

[0048] Optionally, the measured value of the random access preamble includes: the received power measurement value of the random access preamble, or the signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio measurement value of the random access preamble.

[0049] Optionally, the processing module 32 is also used for: Multiple cells under a centralized unit are combined to form a virtual cell.

[0050] Configure PCI for the virtual cell.

[0051] Optionally, the dedicated resources are used to schedule PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS, PDSCH, and PDCCH.

[0052] The virtual cell implementation apparatus provided in this embodiment of the invention configures the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell for the UE in response to the UE moving from its home cell to another cell, so that the other cell can schedule the UE. Therefore, cell handover is avoided when the UE moves between cells in a dense manner, thereby avoiding a large amount of handover signaling processing on the base station side and improving the user experience.

[0053] In practical applications, the detection module 31 and processing module 32 virtual cell implementation device are implemented using a central processing unit (CPU), microprocessor (MPU), digital signal processor (DSP), or field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0054] This invention also provides an apparatus for implementing a virtual cell, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores the following instructions executable by the processor: Detect whether the UE has moved from its home cell to another cell in the virtual cell.

[0055] In response to a UE moving from its home cell to another cell, the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell are configured for the UE so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

[0056] Optionally, the memory also stores the following instructions that can be executed by the processor: Determine the UE's home cell from the virtual cell.

[0057] Configure the high-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the UE for the home cell.

[0058] Optionally, the memory specifically stores the following instructions that can be executed by the processor: Obtain the measurement value of the random access preamble sent to the UE by each cell in the virtual cell.

[0059] The cell corresponding to the maximum measurement value is selected as the UE's home cell.

[0060] Optionally, the measurements of the random access preamble include: the received power measurement of the random access preamble, or the signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio measurement of the random access preamble.

[0061] Optionally, the memory also stores the following instructions that can be executed by the processor: Multiple cells under a centralized unit are combined to form a virtual cell.

[0062] Configure PCI for the virtual cell.

[0063] Optionally, dedicated resources are used to schedule PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS, PDSCH, and PDCCH.

[0064] This invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the following steps: Detect whether the UE has moved from its home cell to another cell in the virtual cell.

[0065] In response to a UE moving from its home cell to another cell, the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell are configured for the UE so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

[0066] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions may also perform the following steps: Determine the UE's home cell from the virtual cell.

[0067] Configure the high-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the UE for the home cell.

[0068] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions specifically perform the following steps: Obtain the measurement value of the random access preamble sent to the UE by each cell in the virtual cell.

[0069] The cell corresponding to the maximum measurement value is selected as the UE's home cell.

[0070] Optionally, the measurements of the random access preamble include: the received power measurement of the random access preamble, or the signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio measurement of the random access preamble.

[0071] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions may also perform the following steps: Multiple cells under a centralized unit are combined to form a virtual cell.

[0072] Configure PCI for the virtual cell.

[0073] Optionally, the dedicated resources are used to schedule PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS, PDSCH, and PDCCH.

[0074] While the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed above, the description is merely for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the embodiments and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any person skilled in the art to which these embodiments pertain may make any modifications and changes to the form and details of the implementation without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein; however, the patent protection scope of these embodiments shall still be determined by the scope defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for implementing a virtual cell, applied to a management module in a virtual cell that has the function of managing virtual cells, characterized in that, include: Detecting whether a user equipment (UE) has moved from its home cell in a virtual cell to another cell in the same virtual cell, wherein the virtual cell includes multiple cells belonging to the same centralized unit (CU), and the virtual cell has a physical cell identifier (PCI); In response to the UE moving from the home cell to the other cell, the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell are configured for the UE so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

2. The method for implementing a virtual cell according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before detecting whether the UE has moved from its home cell in the virtual cell to another cell in the virtual cell, the method further includes: Determine the UE's home cell from the virtual cells; Configure the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the home cell for the UE.

3. The method for implementing a virtual cell according to claim 2, characterized in that, Determining the UE's home cell from the virtual cell includes: Obtain the measurement value of the random access preamble sent to the UE by each cell in the virtual cell; obtain the cell corresponding to the maximum measurement value as the home cell of the UE.

4. The method for implementing a virtual cell according to claim 3, characterized in that, The measured values ​​of the random access preamble include: the received power measurement value of the random access preamble, or the signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio measurement value of the random access preamble.

5. The method for implementing a virtual cell according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before detecting whether the UE has moved from its home cell in the virtual cell to another cell in the virtual cell, the method further includes: Multiple cells under a CU are combined into a virtual cell; Configure a PCI for the virtual cell.

6. The method for implementing a virtual cell according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The dedicated resources are used to schedule the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Channel Sound Reference Signal (SRS), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), and Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

7. The method for implementing a virtual cell according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The UE can be independently scheduled by the home cell or coordinated by the cells in the virtual cell.

8. A device for implementing a virtual cell, comprising a management module with virtual cell management functions disposed within the virtual cell, characterized in that, include: The detection module is used to detect whether the UE has moved from its home cell to another cell in the virtual cell. The processing module is configured to configure the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell for the UE in response to the UE moving from the home cell to the other cell, so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

9. A device for implementing a virtual cell, characterized in that, include: The processor and memory, wherein the memory stores the following instructions that can be executed by the processor: Detecting whether a user equipment (UE) has moved from its home cell in a virtual cell to another cell in the same virtual cell, wherein the virtual cell includes multiple cells belonging to the same centralized unit (CU), and the virtual cell has a physical cell identifier (PCI); In response to the UE moving from the home cell to the other cell, the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell are configured for the UE so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, which are used to perform the following steps: Detecting whether a user equipment (UE) has moved from its home cell in a virtual cell to another cell in the same virtual cell, wherein the virtual cell includes multiple cells belonging to the same centralized unit (CU), and the virtual cell has a physical cell identifier (PCI); In response to the UE moving from the home cell to the other cell, the higher-layer configuration parameters and dedicated resources of the other cell are configured for the UE so that the other cell can schedule the UE.

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