Method and apparatus for switching off a physical antenna - Patents.com

Abstract

The present application provides a method and apparatus for switching off physical antennas of a network device to improve energy saving effects while ensuring the experience of a terminal device (user) and avoiding coverage loss of the network device. The method includes: a BBH of the network device acquires received power information for terminal devices in multiple grids during a first time period, the multiple grids being included in the coverage of the network device; the BBH transmits the received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids during the first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter to a BBL of the network device via eCPRI, the first parameter being a tolerance for total received power of all terminal devices in the multiple grids, and the second parameter being an energy saving policy control parameter; and the BBL determines a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the network device during a second time period based on the received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids during the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a method and apparatus for switching off a physical antenna. [Background technology]

[0002] In 4G, a CPRI interface is used to connect a building baseband unit (BBU) and a remote radio unit (RRU) on the base station side. In 5G, the amount of data transmitted between the BBU and the RRU over the fronthaul interface increases by 80 times due to the significant increase in bandwidth and the number of antennas. To handle the rapid increase in data volume over the fronthaul interface, 5G technology divides the BBU into two parts: a baseband higher (BBH) and a baseband lower (BBL). The BBH is deployed in a traditional BBU location, such as an equipment room. The BBL is deployed closer to the antenna. For example, the BBL, RRU, and antenna are integrated to form an active antenna unit (AAU), and an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI) is used to connect the BBH and AAU on the base station side.

[0003] Energy consumption in 5G base stations is concentrated in AAUs. As the load rate increases, the energy consumption of AAUs increases significantly. Therefore, AAUs have become the main focus of energy saving in base stations. Currently, most energy saving methods share the characteristic that the BBU / BBH, as the energy saving initiator, statically or dynamically instructs the AAU to implement various forms of energy saving based on inputs such as traffic load rate, and the energy saving effect is realized at the AAU termination.

[0004] Common channel shutdown methods include static channel shutdown and dynamic channel shutdown. In the static channel shutdown method, the fixed shutdown of half of the channels reduces the base station's data throughput, reducing the base station's coverage and resulting in coverage loss. In addition, the fixed shutdown limits the shutdown method, resulting in a low effective energy saving ratio and limited energy saving effect. In the dynamic channel shutdown method, the BBH uses an energy saving algorithm to determine the appropriate channels to be shut down. However, this imposes relatively high requirements on the performance of the energy saving algorithm, and different energy saving algorithms result in relatively large differences in energy saving effect and channel shutdown accuracy. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a method and apparatus for switching off physical antennas to improve the energy saving effect of network devices while ensuring the experience of terminal devices (users) and avoiding coverage loss of network devices.

[0006] According to a first aspect, there is provided a method for switching off physical antennas, which may be implemented by a chip or chip system on a network device side, where the network device includes a baseband high order BBH and a baseband low order BBL, and the method includes: the BBH acquires received power information for terminal devices in multiple grids in a first time period, the multiple grids being included in the coverage of the network device; the BBH transmits the received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter to the BBL via an enhanced common public air interface (eCPRI), where the first parameter is a tolerance for total received power of all terminal devices in the multiple grids, and the second parameter is an energy-saving policy control parameter; and the BBL determines a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the network device in a second time period based on the received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

[0007] Based on the above technical solution, the BBH determines a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the network device in a second time period based on the received power information for multiple terminal devices in the grid in a first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter, so that the off or on state of the multiple physical antennas of the network device can be dynamically adjusted. The technical solution in this embodiment of the present application can improve the accuracy of channel shutdown, so that the experience of the terminal device (user) can be ensured and coverage loss of the network device can be avoided, while the energy saving effect of the network device can be improved.

[0008] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the BBH obtaining received power information for terminal devices in multiple grids in the first time period includes: a radio resource control (RRC) layer receiving received power information for the first time period from the terminal devices, the network device including an RRC layer; the RRC layer transmitting the received power information for the terminal devices in the first time period to the BBH; and the BBH receiving the received power information for the terminal devices in the first time period from the RRC layer.

[0009] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the BBL determining a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the network device for a second time period based on received power information for terminal devices in multiple grids for a first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter includes: the BBL determining a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the network device for the second time period based on a total load power of the network device for the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids for the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids for the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

[0010] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the BBL switches off or on multiple physical antennas of the network device during a second time period according to a switch-off policy.

[0011] According to a second aspect, a communications device is provided, the device including a baseband higher level BBH and a baseband lower level BBL; the BBH is configured to acquire received power information for terminal devices in a plurality of grids in a first time period, the plurality of grids being included in the coverage of the device; the BBH is further configured to transmit, to the BBL via an enhanced common public air interface (eCPRI), the received power information for terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter, the first parameter being a tolerance for the total received power of all terminal devices in the plurality of grids, and the second parameter being an energy saving policy control parameter; the BBL is configured to determine a switch-off policy for a plurality of physical antennas of the device in a second time period based on the received power information for terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

[0012] With regard to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the apparatus further includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer; the RRC layer is configured to receive received power information for the terminal device in the first time period from the terminal device; the RRC layer is further configured to transmit the received power information for the terminal device in the first time period to the BBH; the BBH is specifically configured to receive the received power information for the terminal device in the first time period from the RRC layer.

[0013] With regard to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the BBL is particularly configured to determine a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the device in the second time period based on a total load power of the device in the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter.

[0014] With regard to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the BBL is further configured to switch off or on multiple physical antennas of the device during a second time period according to a switch-off policy.

[0015] According to a third aspect, there is provided a communications apparatus, the apparatus including: a transceiver unit configured to obtain received power information for terminal devices in a plurality of grids in a first time period, the plurality of grids being included in coverage of the apparatus; and a processing unit configured to determine a switch-off policy for a plurality of physical antennas of the apparatus in a second time period based on the received power information for terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter, the first parameter being a tolerance for total received power of all terminal devices in the plurality of grids, and the second parameter being an energy saving policy control parameter.

[0016] With regard to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is specifically configured to receive received power information for a terminal device in a first time period.

[0017] With regard to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the processing unit is particularly configured to determine a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the device in the second time period based on a total load power of the device in the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

[0018] With regard to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the processing unit is further configured to switch off or on multiple physical antennas of the device during the second time period according to the switch-off policy.

[0019] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a communications device including a processor and a memory, the memory configured to store a computer program, and the processor configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory to enable the communications apparatus to perform a method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0020] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a communication system including a network terminal and a terminal device of the method according to the first aspect.

[0021] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable medium storing a computer program which, when run on a computer or processor, enables the computer or processor to perform a method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0022] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when run on a computer, implements a method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0023] The solutions provided in the second to seventh aspects can be used to implement or cooperatively implement the method provided in the first aspect, and thus can achieve the same or equivalent beneficial effects as those of the first aspect, and the details will not be described again in this specification. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram of the architecture of a system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a fronthaul interface. [Figure 3]FIG. 1 is a diagram of a static channel shutdown solution. [Figure 4] Left / right channel shutdown diagram. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram of odd / even channel shutdown. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a dynamic channel shutdown solution. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram of dynamic channel shutdown. [Figure 8] 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for switching off a physical antenna according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 9] 3 is a schematic interactive flowchart of an example of a method for switching off a physical antenna according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 10] 1 is a block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 12] 1 is a block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] In the following, the technical solution of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] Embodiments of the present application may be applied to various communication systems, for example, wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) systems, global system for mobile communications (GSM), enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE) systems, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) systems, code division multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, satellite communication systems, sidelink (SL) systems, fourth generation (4G) systems, fifth generation (5G) systems, or new communication systems emerging in the future. A communication system includes communication devices, and wireless communication may be implemented between the communication devices by air interface resources. The communication devices may include network devices and terminal devices, and the network devices may also be referred to as base station devices. The air interface resources may include at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, coding resources, and spatial resources.

[0027] In the embodiments of the present application, terminal devices may include various handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, or computing devices with wireless communication capabilities or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The terminal may be a subscriber unit, user equipment (UE), cellular phone, smartphone, wireless data card, personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, tablet computer, wireless modulator-demodulator (modem), laptop computer, machine-type communication (MTC) terminal, wireless terminal in self-driving, etc. User equipment includes vehicle user equipment. With the emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, many devices that previously did not have communication capabilities, such as, but not limited to, home appliances, transportation vehicles, tool devices, service devices, and service facilities, are beginning to acquire wireless communication capabilities by being configured with wireless communication units to access wireless communication networks and accept remote control. This type of device has wireless communication capabilities because these devices are configured with a wireless communication unit, and therefore this type of device also belongs to the scope of wireless communication devices.In addition, the terminal device may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a mobile device, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a handset, a client, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in autonomous driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, and the like. In embodiments of the present application, an apparatus configured to implement the function of a terminal device may be the terminal device itself, or may be an apparatus, such as a chip system, capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing the function, and the apparatus may be mounted on the terminal device. In embodiments of the present application, the chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and another discrete component.

[0028] For example, the network device may be an access network device, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a NodeB (NodeB, NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (home evolved NodeB, or home NodeB, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a device performing base station functionality in a Device to Device (D2D) system, an Access Point (AP) in a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), a transmission-reception point (TRP), etc.; or a new radio (NR) gNB or transmission point (e.g., TRP or TP), an antenna panel or group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of an NR base station, or a BBU or distributed unit (BBU). or may be an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, or a network device of a 6G network, a network device of a future evolved PLMN network, a network device deployed on a satellite, etc. This is not limited to this. In addition, based on the area of ​​service coverage provided, base stations (BSs) may be classified into macro base stations for providing macro cells, micro base stations for providing micro cells, and femto base stations for providing femto cells, relay stations, access points, and the like.As wireless communications technology evolves, future base stations may use different names.

[0029] Network devices have a variety of product forms. For example, in the product implementation process, a BBU and a radio frequency unit (RFU) may be integrated into the same device, and the device is connected to an antenna array via a cable (for example, but not limited to, a feeder). Alternatively, the BBU and the RFU may be located separately, connected to each other via optical fiber, and communicate with each other using, for example, but not limited to, a common public radio interface (CPRI) protocol. In this case, the RFU is usually called an RRU and connected to the antenna array via a cable. In addition, the RRU may be integrated with the antenna array. For example, this structure is used in active antenna unit products on the current market.

[0030] In addition, the BBU may be further divided into multiple parts. For example, the BBU may be further divided into a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) based on the real-time requirements of the services processed. The CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and the DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services. Furthermore, some physical layer functions may be separated from the BBU or DU and integrated into the AAU.

[0031] 1 is a diagram of the architecture of a system to which an embodiment of the present application is applicable. The system includes a network device and a terminal device. The network device communicates with the terminal device within the coverage of the network device via a physical antenna. The network device includes a base station.

[0032] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following provides a brief description of technical solutions related to the embodiments of the present application.

[0033] Figure 2 shows a diagram of the fronthaul interface. In 4G, a CPRI interface is used to connect the BBU and RRU on the base station side. In 5G, the significant increase in bandwidth and the number of antennas will increase the amount of data transmitted between the BBU and RRU over the fronthaul interface by 80 times. To address the rapid increase in data volume over the fronthaul interface, 5G introduces various splitting methods to divide the BBU into two parts: the BBH and the BBL. The BBH is deployed in a traditional BBU location, such as an equipment room. The BBL is deployed closer to the antenna. For example, the BBL, RRU, and antenna are integrated to form an AAU, and an eCPRI interface is used to connect the BBH and the AAU on the base station side. The BBH and BBL are obtained by splitting to reduce the amount of data over the fronthaul interface. Therefore, the fronthaul interface is an important interface on the radio access network (RAN)-base station side. The BBH can be considered as a logical functional module of the BBU.

[0034] Energy consumption in 5G base stations is concentrated in AAUs. As the load rate increases, the energy consumption of AAUs increases significantly. Therefore, AAUs have become the main focus of energy saving in base stations. Currently, most energy saving methods share the characteristic that the BBU / BBH, as the energy saving initiator, statically or dynamically instructs the AAU to implement various forms of energy saving based on inputs such as traffic load rate, and the energy saving effect is realized at the AAU termination.

[0035] Static channel shutdown is a method of shutting down some channels in a fixed manner to achieve energy saving effects. The common channels to be shut down statically are relatively fixed and follow a specific pattern, for example, the left / right channels are shut down or the odd / even channels are shut down. Figure 3 shows a diagram of the static channel shutdown solution.

[0036] (1) Left / right channel shutdown refers to a fixed shutdown of the left channel or the right channel. The shutdown indication is at the BBU / BBH end. The BBU / BBH communicates the channel shutdown mode to the AAU via the fronthaul interface based on the scenario. Figure 4 is a diagram of left / right channel shutdown.

[0037] (2) Odd / Even Channel Shutdown refers to the fixed shutdown of odd or even channels. The BBU / BBH selects the channel shutdown mode based on the scenario and communicates the channel shutdown mode to the AAU via the fronthaul interface. Figure 5 shows a diagram of odd / even channel shutdown.

[0038] In the static channel shutdown method, the fixed shutdown of half of the channel reduces the data throughput of the base station, reducing the base station's coverage and causing coverage loss. In addition, the fixed shutdown limits the shutdown method, resulting in a low effective energy saving ratio and limited energy saving effect.

[0039] Dynamic channel shutdown refers to the BBU / BBH using an energy-saving algorithm to determine the appropriate channels to be shut down and communicating the channels to be shut down in the form of a bitmap codebook to the AAU for dynamic channel shutdown. The calculation for channel shutdown is generally guided by measured metrics, and the BBU / BBH communicates the bitmap codebook to the AAU. Figure 6 is a diagram of the dynamic channel shutdown solution. Figure 7 is a diagram of dynamic channel shutdown.

[0040] However, dynamic channel shutdown imposes relatively high requirements on the performance of the energy-saving algorithm, and different energy-saving algorithms have relatively large differences in energy-saving effect and channel shutdown accuracy.

[0041] The embodiments of the present application provide a method for switching off physical antennas to improve the energy saving effect of network devices while ensuring the experience of terminal devices (users) and avoiding coverage loss of network devices.

[0042] 8 is a schematic flowchart of a method 800 for switching off a physical antenna according to an embodiment of the present application. The network device in the embodiment of the present application may be a base station, and the network device includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a BBH, and a BBL. The network device communicates with a terminal device within the coverage of the network device. The "physical antenna" in the embodiment of the present application may be understood as a "radio frequency channel", and the "radio frequency channel" may be simply referred to as a "channel".

[0043] 810: The BBH acquires reception power information for terminal devices in multiple grids during a first time period, the multiple grids being included in the coverage of the network device, and the multiple grids being acquired by division based on the geographical locations of different terminal devices. The first time period may be understood as a collection period for the reception power information. The BBH acquiring reception power information for terminal devices in multiple grids during the first time period may be understood as the BBH acquiring reception power information for all terminal devices in the multiple grids during the first time period.

[0044] Optionally, the terminal device transmits received power information for the first time period to the RRC layer of the network device, and correspondingly, the RRC layer of the network device receives the received power information for the first time period from the terminal device. The RRC layer of the network device transmits received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids for the first time period to the BBH, and correspondingly, the BBH receives received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids for the first time period from the RRC layer. It should be understood that all terminal devices in the multiple grids individually transmit received power information for the first time period to the RRC layer of the network device, and correspondingly, the RRC layer receives received power information for the first time period from all terminal devices in the multiple grids.

[0045] For example, the terminal device may periodically transmit reception power information to the RRC layer of the network device. The period in which the terminal device transmits the reception power information may be in units of hours, minutes, or seconds. The period of the first time period may be in units of hours, minutes, or seconds. This is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0046] 820: The BBH transmits to the BBL via the eCPRI interface received power information for terminal devices in multiple grids in a first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter, where the first parameter is a tolerance for the total received power of all terminal devices in the multiple grids, and the second parameter is an energy saving policy control parameter; correspondingly, the BBL receives from the BBH the received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

[0047] For example, the received power information transmitted by the BHH to the BBL for the terminal device in the first time period may be the total received power of all terminal devices in each of the plurality of grids in the first time period. The total received power of all terminal devices in one grid (u, v) in the first time period is P r It can be expressed as (u,v).

[0048] For example, the received power information transmitted by the BHH to the BBL for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period may be the total received power of all the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period. The total received power of all the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period may be:

[0049]

number

[0050] It can be expressed as:

[0051] The first parameter and the second parameter may be determined by an operator based on a commercial policy and indicated to the network device. The larger the value of the second parameter, the more attention should be paid to the experience of the terminal device (user) in the current application scenario.

[0052] In the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present application, the BBH transmits the received power information, the first parameter, and the second parameter for the terminal device in the first time period to the BBL via the eCPRI interface without the need to transmit a bitmap codebook. In the embodiment of the present application, the information (received power information, the first parameter, and the second parameter) transmitted by the BBH to the BBL via the eCPRI interface occupies two words, and the bitmap codebook occupies four words. Therefore, compared with the solution of transmitting a bitmap codebook, the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present application reduces traffic over the fronthaul interface by 50%.

[0053] 830: The BBL determines a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the network device in a second time period based on received power information for multiple terminal devices in the grid in a first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter. The second time period is associated with the first time period, and the second time period may be understood as an energy saving period of the network device.

[0054] For example, the first time period may be a past time period corresponding to the second time period. For example, the first time period is from 12:00 to 12:10 on the first day, and the second time period is from 12:00 to 12:10 on the second day. This example is applicable to an application scenario in which the received power of a terminal device (user) shows regularity.

[0055] For example, the first and second time periods may be consecutive, and the times corresponding to the first and second time periods may be relatively short, e.g., the first time period is from 12:00 to 12:01 on the current day, and the second time period is from 12:01 to 12:02 on the current day.

[0056] Optionally, the BBL determines a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the network device in the second time period based on the total load power of the network device in the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

[0057] The total load power of the network device during the second time period

[0058]

number

[0059] is expressed as equation (1)

[0060]

number

[0061] It can be expressed as:

[0062] x(m,n) represents a signal transmitted by a network device to an m-th terminal device through an n-th physical antenna. The number of physical antennas in the network device and the number of physical antennas in the terminal device are 64, respectively. M represents the number of all terminal devices in multiple grids. n represents the off or on state of the nth physical antenna of the network device.

[0063] The total received power of all terminal devices in one grid (u, v) in the second time period

[0064]

number

[0065] is expressed as equation (2)

[0066]

number

[0067] It can be represented by:

[0068] M (u,v) represents the number of all terminal devices in the grid (u, v). k represents the index of the different beams transmitted by the network device, and the number of different beams is 64. n represents the off or on state of the nth physical antenna of the network device.

[0069] The objective function used to determine the switch-off policy for the plurality of physical antennas of the network device in the second time period may be constructed based on Equation (1) and Equation (2). The objective function J is expressed as Equation (3):

[0070]

number

[0071] It can be expressed as:

[0072] where:

[0073]

number

[0074] where e represents the first parameter and a represents the second parameter.

[0075]

number

[0076] represents the total received power of all terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the second time period. The received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the second time period is

[0077]

number

[0078] Includes.

[0079] During the energy saving period (second time period), the switch-off policy for the multiple physical antennas of the network device is determined by the l corresponding to the minimum value of the objective function J. n In other words, the switch-off policy for the multiple physical antennas of the network device is the off state or the on state of the multiple physical antennas that corresponds to the minimum value of the objective function J.

[0080] The BBL switches off or on the multiple physical antennas of the network device during a second time period according to the determined switch-off policy for the multiple physical antennas. For example, a physical antenna switch-off computing module of the BBL determines a switch-off policy for the multiple physical antennas of the network device during a second time period based on received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids during a first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter. The BBL transmits the determined switch-off policy for the multiple physical antennas to a radio frequency module of the network device, and the radio frequency module enables the switch-off policy to take effect during the second time period. The radio frequency module is deployed in the AUU and is a module independent of the BBL.

[0081] In the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present application, the BBH determines a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the network device in a second time period based on received power information for terminal devices in multiple grids in a first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter, so that the off or on states of the multiple physical antennas of the network device can be dynamically adjusted. Compared with a static channel shutdown solution, the technical solution in this embodiment of the present application can improve the energy saving effect of the network device while ensuring the experience of the terminal device (user) and avoiding coverage loss of the network device. Also, compared with a dynamic channel shutdown solution, the technical solution in this embodiment of the present application can improve the accuracy of channel shutdown, so that the energy saving effect of the network device can be improved while ensuring the experience of the terminal device (user). In addition, compared with a solution that transmits a bitmap codebook, the technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present application reduces traffic over the fronthaul interface by 50%.

[0082] The following describes a method for switching off a physical antenna in this embodiment of the present application with reference to a specific example. In this example, the network device is a base station, and the base station includes an RRC layer, a BBH, a BBL, and a radio frequency module. Figure 9 is a schematic interaction flowchart of an example of a method for switching off a physical antenna according to an embodiment of the present application. Specific steps are as follows:

[0083] 910: The terminal device transmits reception power information for a first time period to the RRC layer of the base station, where the first time period may be understood as a reception power information collection period, and the RRC layer of the base station correspondingly receives the reception power information for the first time period from the terminal device. It should be understood that multiple grids are included in the coverage of the base station, and the multiple grids are obtained by division based on the geographical positions of different terminal devices. All terminal devices in the multiple grids individually transmit reception power information for the first time period to the RRC layer of the base station.

[0084] 920: The RRC layer of the base station transmits received power information for all terminal devices in the multiple grids in the first time period to the BBH of the base station, and in response, the BBH receives received power information for all terminal devices in the multiple grids in the first time period from the RRC layer.

[0085] 930: The BBH of the base station transmits, to the BBL of the base station via the eCPRI interface, received power information for all terminal devices in the multiple grids in a first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter, where the first parameter is a tolerance for the total received power of all terminal devices in the multiple grids, and the second parameter is an energy saving policy control parameter; correspondingly, the BBL receives, from the BBH, the received power information for all terminal devices in the multiple grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

[0086] 940: The BBL of the base station determines a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the base station for a second time period based on the received power information for all terminal devices in the multiple grids for the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter. The second time period may be understood as an energy saving period of the base station. Specifically, the physical antenna switch-off computing module of the BBL determines a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the base station for the second time period based on the received power information for all terminal devices in the multiple grids for the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

[0087] Optionally, the BBL determines the total load power of the base station in the second time period.

[0088]

number

[0089] and the received power of all terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the second time period

[0090]

number

[0091] and the received power P of the terminal devices in the grids in the first time period. r Based on (u, v), the first parameter e, and the second parameter a, the BBL determines a switch-off policy for the multiple physical antennas of the base station in the second time period. Specifically, the BBL determines the off state or on state of the multiple physical antennas that corresponds to the minimum value of the objective function J in Equation (3) as the switch-off policy for the multiple physical antennas of the base station.

[0092] 950: The BBL of the base station sends the determined switch-off policy for the multiple physical antennas to the radio frequency module of the base station, and the radio frequency module enables the switch-off policy to take effect for a second time period.

[0093] The above describes the method for switching off a physical antenna provided in the embodiments of the present application. The following describes the entities for implementing the method for switching off a physical antenna.

[0094] 10 is a block diagram of a communication device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application. This device may be used or deployed in a network device of a method embodiment of the present application. The device communicates with a terminal device within the coverage area of ​​the device. The communication device 1000 includes a Broadband Handshake (BBH) 1010 and a Broadband Handshake (BBL) 1020.

[0095] The BBH 1010 is configured to obtain received power information for terminal devices in a plurality of grids in a first time period, the plurality of grids being included in the coverage of the device.

[0096] The BBH 1010 is further configured to transmit, via an enhanced common public air interface (eCPRI) to the BBL 1020, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids during a first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter, where the first parameter is a tolerance for the total received power of all terminal devices in the multiple grids, and the second parameter is an energy saving policy control parameter.

[0097] The BBL 1020 is configured to determine a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the device in a second time period based on received power information for terminal devices in multiple grids in a first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

[0098] Optionally, the apparatus further includes an RRC layer 1030 .

[0099] The RRC layer 1030 is configured to receive received power information for a first time period from the terminal device.

[0100] The RRC layer 1030 is further configured to transmit the received power information of the terminal device in the first time period to the BBH 1010 .

[0101] The BBH 1010 is specifically configured to receive received power information for a terminal device in a first time period from the RRC layer 1030 .

[0102] Optionally, the BBL 1020 is specifically configured to determine a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the device in the second time period based on the total load power of the device in the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

[0103] Optionally, the BBL 1020 is further configured to switch off or on multiple physical antennas of the device during a second time period according to a switch-off policy.

[0104] 11 is a block diagram of another communication device 1100 according to an embodiment of the present application. This device can be used or deployed in a network device of a method embodiment of the present application. The device communicates with a terminal device within the coverage of the device. The communication device 1100 includes the following units:

[0105] The transceiver unit 1110 is configured to obtain received power information for terminal devices in a plurality of grids in a first time period, the plurality of grids being included in coverage of the device.

[0106] The processing unit 1120 is configured to determine a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the device in a second time period based on received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in a first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter, where the first parameter is a tolerance for the total received power of all terminal devices in the multiple grids, and the second parameter is an energy saving policy control parameter.

[0107] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1110 is specifically configured to receive received power information for a terminal device in a first time period.

[0108] Optionally, the processing unit 1120 is specifically configured to determine a switch-off policy for multiple physical antennas of the device in the second time period based on the total load power of the device in the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the second time period, received power information for terminal devices in the multiple grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

[0109] Optionally, the processing unit 1120 is further configured to switch off or on multiple physical antennas of the apparatus according to a switch-off policy during a second time period.

[0110] 12 is a block diagram of another communication device 1200 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1200 includes a processor 1210, a memory 1220, and a communication interface 1230.

[0111] The memory 1220 is configured to store a computer program.

[0112] The processor 1210 is coupled to the memory 1220 via a communication interface 1230, and is configured to call and execute a computer program in the memory 1220 to implement the method of the embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be used as a first terminal of the embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the processor 1210 and the memory 1220 are integrated together.

[0113] The processor 1210 may be an integrated circuit chip and have signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, the steps of the aforementioned method embodiments may be completed using the hardware integrated logic circuitry of the processor or using instructions in the form of software. The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), another programmable logic device, a discrete gate, a transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The processor may implement or perform the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the methods disclosed with reference to the embodiments of the present application may be performed and completed directly using a hardware decoding processor, or may be performed and completed using a combination of hardware and software modules of the decoding processor. The software module may be in a storage medium mature in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable memory, or a register, etc. The storage medium is in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the aforementioned method in combination with the hardware of the processor.

[0114] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device. The communication device includes an input / output interface and a logic circuit. The input / output interface is configured to obtain input information and / or output information. The logic circuit is configured to implement the method of any one of the method embodiments, performing processing based on the input information and / or generating the output information.

[0115] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, including a network device and a terminal device in the method for switching off a physical antenna of an embodiment of the present application.

[0116] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program for implementing the method of the aforementioned method embodiments, and when the computer program is executed on a computer or processor, the computer or processor is enabled to implement the method of the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0117] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, which, when run on a computer, implements the methods of the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0118] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip including a processor, the processor connected to a memory, the memory configured to store a computer program, and the processor configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory to enable the chip to perform the method of the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0119] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the numbers "first," "second," and the like are used merely to distinguish different objects, for example, to distinguish different time periods, and do not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application, which are not limited thereto.

[0120] In addition, the term "and / or" in this application should be understood to describe only the relational relationship to describe related objects and represent that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent the following three cases: only A is present, both A and B are present, and only B is present. In addition, the character " / " in this specification typically represents an "or" relationship between related objects. In this application, the term "at least one" may represent "one" and "two or more." For example, at least one of A, B, and C may represent the following seventh case: only A is present, only B is present, only C is present, both A and B are present, both A and C are present, both C and B are present, or all of A, B, and C are present.

[0121] Those skilled in the art may recognize that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the units and algorithm steps may be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether a function is performed by hardware or software depends on the design constraints of a specific application and technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations are not considered to go beyond the scope of this application.

[0122] It may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that for the sake of convenient and concise description, the detailed work processes of the aforementioned systems, devices and units may be referred to the corresponding processes of the aforementioned method embodiments, and the details will not be described again in this specification.

[0123] It should be understood that in some embodiments provided in this application, the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the described device embodiments are merely examples. For example, the division into units is merely a logical division of function, and other divisions may be used in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated to form another system, or some features may be omitted or not implemented. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented via some interfaces. Indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units may be implemented in an electrical, mechanical, or other manner.

[0124] The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separated, and the parts presented as units may or may not be physical units, i.e., they may be located in one location or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

[0125] In addition, the functional units of the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, each of the units may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0126] When a function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the function may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the essential technical solution of the present application, or a portion contributing to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution may be implemented in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes any medium capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0127] The above description is merely a specific implementation of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any variations or replacements that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be determined by the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method for switching off a physical antenna, wherein a network device includes a baseband higher order BBH and a baseband lower order BBL, and the method comprises: The BBH obtains received power information for terminal devices in a plurality of grids during a first time period, the plurality of grids being included in the coverage of the network device; the BBH transmitting the received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids during the first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter to the BBL via an enhanced common public air interface (eCPRI), wherein the first parameter is a tolerance of total received power of all the terminal devices in the plurality of grids, and the second parameter is an energy saving policy control parameter; the BBL determining a switch-off policy for a plurality of physical antennas of the network device in a second time period based on the received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter; A method comprising:

2. The step of the BBH obtaining the received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period includes: a radio resource control (RRC) layer receiving the received power information for the first time period from the terminal device, the network device including the RRC layer; the RRC layer transmitting the received power information for the terminal device in the first time period to the BBH; the BBH receiving the received power information for the terminal device in the first time period from the RRC layer; 10. The method of claim 1, comprising:

3. The step of the BBL determining the switch-off policy for the plurality of physical antennas of the network device in the second time period based on the received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter includes:

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising: determining the switch-off policy for the plurality of physical antennas of the network device in the second time period based on a total load power of the network device in the second time period, received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the second time period, the received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

4. The method comprises: the BBL switching off or on the plurality of physical antennas of the network device during the second time period according to the switch-off policy. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

5. 1. A communications device, the device comprising: a baseband high level BBH and a baseband low level BBL; The BBH is configured to obtain received power information for terminal devices in a plurality of grids during a first time period, the plurality of grids being included in a coverage area of ​​the device; The BBH is further configured to transmit, to the BBL via an enhanced common public air interface (eCPRI), the received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids during the first time period, a first parameter, and a second parameter, wherein the first parameter is a tolerance of total received power of all the terminal devices in the plurality of grids, and the second parameter is an energy saving policy control parameter; and the BBL is configured to determine a switch-off policy for a plurality of physical antennas of the device during a second time period based on the received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids during the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

6. The apparatus further includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer; The RRC layer is configured to receive the received power information for the first time period from the terminal device; The RRC layer is further configured to transmit the received power information for the terminal device in the first time period to the BBH; and The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the BBH is specifically configured to receive the received power information for the terminal device in the first time period from the RRC layer.

7. 7. The device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the BBL is particularly configured to determine the switch-off policy for the plurality of physical antennas of the device in the second time period based on a total load power of the device in the second time period, received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the second time period, the received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

8. The device of claim 5 , wherein the BBL is further configured to switch off or on the plurality of physical antennas of the device during the second time period according to the switch-off policy.

9. The communication device a transceiver unit configured to obtain received power information for terminal devices in a plurality of grids during a first time period, the plurality of grids being included in a coverage area of ​​the device; a processing unit configured to determine a switch-off policy for a plurality of physical antennas of the apparatus in a second time period based on the received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter, wherein the first parameter is a tolerance of total received power of all the terminal devices in the plurality of grids, and the second parameter is an energy saving policy control parameter; A communication device comprising:

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the transceiver unit is specifically configured to receive the received power information for the terminal device in the first time period.

11. 11. The apparatus of claim 9 or 10, wherein the processing unit is particularly configured to determine the switch-off policy for the plurality of physical antennas of the apparatus in the second time period based on a total load power of the apparatus in the second time period, received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the second time period, the received power information for the terminal devices in the plurality of grids in the first time period, the first parameter, and the second parameter.

12. The device of claim 9 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to switch off or on the plurality of physical antennas of the device during the second time period according to the switch-off policy.

13. 5. A communications device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory configured to store a computer program, and the processor configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory to enable the communications device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 4.

14. 5. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program enabling the computer or processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 4 when the computer program is run on the computer or processor.

15. A computer program product comprising a computer program, characterized in that said computer program implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 when said computer program is run on a computer.

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