Communication methods and related devices

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and related device for waking up a remote device based on parameters corresponding to an optical signal, thereby reducing the overhead of analyzing a wake-up instruction by the remote device. Additionally, if the remote device does not continuously maintain a communication link for bidirectional communication between the remote device and a control device, the remote device can wake up at any time. As a result, a remote device in an energy-saving mode can power off more components, thereby improving energy savings. In the method, the control device transmits a first optical signal to a first remote device, and the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device. In some implementations, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include at least one of optical signal strength or loss of signal (LOS) detection.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to communication methods and related devices. [Background technology]

[0002] As wireless communication technologies evolve from 2G, 3G, and 4G to 5G and future 6G, etc., network communication standards also continuously evolve accordingly, and requirements for the bearer capabilities of network devices become increasingly higher. Components such as filters or power amplifiers (PAs) may be newly added to network devices to enhance the bearer capabilities of the network devices.

[0003] However, as the number of components in a network device increases, the power consumption of the network device increases significantly. Therefore, how to implement energy saving optimization of a network device is an urgent technical problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and related device for waking up a remote device based on parameters corresponding to an optical signal, thereby reducing the overhead of analyzing a wake-up instruction by the remote device. In addition, if the remote device does not continuously maintain a communication link for bidirectional communication between the remote device and a control device, the remote device can wake up at any time, so that the remote device in an energy saving mode can power off more components, which is expected to improve energy saving effects. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A first aspect of the present application provides a communication method. The method is applied to a control device. The method is executed by the control device, and may be executed by a part of a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) within the control device, or may be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the control device. In the first aspect and its possible implementations, an example in which the method is executed by the control device is used for explanation. In the method, the control device transmits a first optical signal to a first remote device, and a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device.

[0006] Based on the above technical solution, when the first remote device is in an energy-saving mode, the control device may transmit a first optical signal to the first remote device when the control device determines that the first remote device needs to be woken up, and the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device. In other words, after receiving the first optical signal, the first remote device may wake up the first remote device based on the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal. Therefore, compared with an implementation in which the remote device analyzes the optical signal and further determines a wake-up instruction only based on the analysis result, the above technical solution allows the first remote device to wake up based on the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal. As a result, the overhead of analyzing the wake-up instruction by the remote device can be reduced, and the energy saving effect is expected to be improved.

[0007] Additionally, in the above-described implementation in which the first remote device is woken up based on a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal, when the first remote device does not continuously maintain a communication link for bidirectional communication between the remote device and the control device, the first remote device may be woken up at any time, so that the first remote device in the energy saving mode can power off more components in the hope of further improving the energy saving effect.

[0008] It should be understood that in this application, a remote device (e.g., a first remote device, or a second remote device or a third remote device that may occur below) being in an energy saving mode means that some of the functional components within the remote device are in a powered-off state (or a sleep state, a low power consumption state, a standby state, etc.). Thus, the energy saving mode may also be referred to as a sleep mode, a low power consumption mode, a standby mode, etc. This is not limited herein.

[0009] In this application, a remote device is a network device having wireless signal processing capabilities, and a control device is a network device having the capability to control a remote device, and it should be understood that the remote device and the control device may have other names.

[0010] For example, the remote device is radio equipment (RE) and the control device is a radio equipment controller (REC).

[0011] In another example, the remote device is a remote radio unit (RRU) and the control device is a baseband unit (BBU).

[0012] In another example, the remote device is an active antenna unit (AAU) and the control device is a BBU.

[0013] In another example, the remote device is a radio unit (RU) and the control device is a distributed unit (DU).

[0014] In another example, the remote device is a RE / RRU / AAU / RU, and the control device is a remote control device, including but not limited to a remote network management device, an operation and maintenance center (OMC), a base station control unit, etc.

[0015] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of optical signal strength or loss of signal (LOS) detection.

[0016] It should be understood that the optical signal strength refers to an optical signal power value, and is for waking up the first remote device when the power value of the first optical signal is a specific value (the optical signal power value is within a preset range). Specifically, when the specific value is 0 (or the preset range is greater than 0), the optical signal strength may alternatively be expressed as whether there is an optical signal, whether there is optical power, whether there is a flash, etc.

[0017] Optionally, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes optical signal strength, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered when the first remote device determines that the value of the optical signal strength of the first optical signal is a preset value (or is within a preset range).

[0018] Optionally, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include LOS detection, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered when the first remote device determines that an LOS signal occurs (or that an LOS signal does not occur) for the first optical signal.

[0019] Optionally, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include optical signal strength and LOS detection, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, when the first remote device determines that the value of the optical signal strength of the first optical signal is a preset value (or within a preset range) and an LOS signal occurs (or no LOS signal occurs) for the first optical signal, a wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered.

[0020] It should be noted that the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal may be alternatively implemented in other manners in addition to the implementation described above. For example, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal may include the magnitude of the optical signal energy, the duration of the continuous optical signal, or another parameter corresponding to the optical signal. This is not limited herein.

[0021] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device include, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include an optical signal strength, the optical signal strength is represented as N bits, and when the value of the N bits is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, where N is a positive integer.

[0022] Based on the above technical solution, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes optical signal intensity, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, the first remote device may represent the received first optical signal as N bits, and determine to wake up the first remote device when the value of the N bits is a first value, so that the first remote device is flexibly controlled to perform corresponding behaviors based on the value of the N bits.

[0023] Optionally, if the value of the N bits is a value other than the first value, the control device may instruct the first remote device to perform a different behavior based on the different value, for example, instruct the first remote device to align clock information, instruct the first remote device to send related information of one or more power supplies (e.g., operating voltage and operating current), or perform another implementation, which is not limited herein.

[0024] Optionally, the N bits include at least two portions of bits, for example, a first portion of bits may be denoted as N1 bits, a second portion of bits may be denoted as N2 bits, where the N1 bits indicate a target remote device to be woken up (e.g., the value of the N1 bits is an identifier or index number of the target remote device), and the N2 bits are for waking up the target remote device.

[0025] Optionally, when the value of the N bit is a first value, the N bit indicates to wake up a first remote device, and when the value of the N bit is a second value, the N bit indicates to wake up another remote device (e.g., a second remote device described below).

[0026] Optionally, the first value is a preconfigured value or a group of preconfigured values. When the first value is a group of preconfigured values, the group of values ​​satisfies that M bits out of the N bits have values ​​of 1 and NM remaining bits have values ​​of 0, where M is an integer less than or equal to N.

[0027] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0028] Based on the above technical solution, the first optical signal for waking up the first remote device may be a periodic signal, and a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal in which transmission is performed in each period indicates waking up the first remote device, so that the first remote device can be woken up in each period, which is expected to improve the probability that the first remote device is woken up.

[0029] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first remote device is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascaded to the control device.

[0030] Based on the above technical solution, the first remote device woken up based on the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascade-connected to the control device, so that the solution is not limited by a direct connection scenario and can be applied to a cascade connection scenario (for example, the at least two remote devices and the control device are networked in a chain format, a star format, or a mesh network format).

[0031] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, and the method further includes the control device transmitting a second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device, wherein the parameter corresponding to the second optical signal is for waking up the second remote device.

[0032] Based on the above technical solution, when the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, the control device can further send a second optical signal to another remote device through the first remote device, and wake up the other remote device based on parameters corresponding to the second optical signal, so as to flexibly control different remote devices in a cascade connection scenario.

[0033] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the control device transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device includes the control device transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device after determining that the first remote device has been woken up.

[0034] Based on the above technical solution, after determining that the first remote device has been woken up, the control device transmits a second optical signal to the second remote device through the first remote device, so that the first remote device identifies the second optical signal after being woken up, and when the receiver of the second optical signal determines that it indicates the second remote device, transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device. In other words, before the first remote device is woken up, the first remote device may power off (or put to sleep) components corresponding to the communication link between the first remote device and the second remote device (and components configured to identify the second optical signal), thereby further improving the energy saving effect of the first remote device.

[0035] Optionally, the process by which the control device transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device does not need to depend on waking up the first remote device. For example, when the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, the first remote device can keep components corresponding to the communication link between the first remote device and the second remote device (and components configured to identify the second optical signal) powered on to support the transfer of the second optical signal before the first remote device is woken up, so that the control device flexibly controls the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0036] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, and the control device transmitting the first optical signal to the first remote device includes the control device transmitting the first optical signal to the first remote device via a third remote device.

[0037] Based on the above technical solutions, when the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, the control device may send a first optical signal to the first remote device through another remote device (e.g., a third remote device), so that the control device flexibly controls the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0038] In a possible implementation form of the first aspect, the method further includes the control device sending instruction information to the first remote device, the instruction information instructing the first remote device to enter the energy saving mode.

[0039] Optionally, the instruction information may further indicate other information, for example at least one of a start time point at which the first remote device enters the energy saving mode, an end time point at which the first remote device enters the energy saving mode, and a duration at which the first remote device enters the energy saving mode.

[0040] Optionally, after the first remote device enters the energy saving mode based on the instruction information (or after the first remote device determines that the first remote device has entered the energy saving mode, after the first remote device determines that the first remote device will enter the energy saving mode, or at a point before entering the energy saving mode), the first remote device may further send a response to the control device to indicate that the first remote device has entered (or will enter) the energy saving mode by using the response.

[0041] Optionally, the first remote device may alternatively determine to enter the energy saving mode in another manner, for example, the first remote device may determine to enter the energy saving mode for a specific period of time in a manner of manual configuration by operation and maintenance personnel (or in a manner of pre-configuration before distribution).

[0042] A second aspect of the present application provides a communication method. The method is applied to a first remote device. The method may be executed by the first remote device, or may be executed by a part of a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) within the first remote device, or may be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first remote device. In the second aspect and its possible implementations, an example in which the method is executed by the first remote device is used for explanation. In the method, the first remote device receives a first optical signal. The first remote device wakes up the first remote device based on a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal.

[0043] Based on the above technical solution, when the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, after receiving the first optical signal, the first remote device may wake up the first remote device based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal. Therefore, compared with an implementation in which the remote device can analyze the optical signal and further determine a wake-up instruction only based on the analysis result, in the above technical solution, the first remote device can wake up based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal, so that the overhead of analyzing the wake-up instruction by the remote device can be reduced and the energy saving effect is expected to be improved.

[0044] Additionally, in the above-described implementation in which the first remote device is woken up based on a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal, when the first remote device does not continuously maintain a communication link for bidirectional communication between the remote device and the control device, the first remote device may be woken up at any time, so that the first remote device in the energy saving mode can power off more components in the hope of further improving the energy saving effect.

[0045] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of optical signal strength or LOS detection.

[0046] It should be understood that the optical signal strength refers to an optical signal power value, and is for waking up the first remote device when the power value of the first optical signal is a specific value (the optical signal power value is within a preset range). Specifically, when the specific value is 0 (or the preset range is greater than 0), the optical signal strength may alternatively be expressed as whether there is an optical signal, whether there is optical power, whether there is a flash, etc.

[0047] Optionally, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes optical signal strength, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered when the first remote device determines that the value of the optical signal strength of the first optical signal is a preset value (or is within a preset range).

[0048] Optionally, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include LOS detection, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered when the first remote device determines that an LOS signal occurs (or that an LOS signal does not occur) for the first optical signal.

[0049] Optionally, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include optical signal strength and LOS detection, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, when the first remote device determines that the value of the optical signal strength of the first optical signal is a preset value (or within a preset range) and an LOS signal occurs (or no LOS signal occurs) for the first optical signal, a wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered.

[0050] It should be noted that the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal may be alternatively implemented in other manners in addition to the implementation described above. For example, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal may include the magnitude of the optical signal energy, the duration of the continuous optical signal, or another parameter corresponding to the optical signal. This is not limited herein.

[0051] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, and P modules in the first remote device are in a powered-off state, where P is a positive integer, and the P modules include at least one of: a first module configured to process wireless signals; a second module configured to provide power to the first module; a third module configured to transmit optical signals; and a fourth module configured to provide power to the third module.

[0052] It may be understood that the process of the first remote device waking up the first remote device based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal may be the first remote device waking up some or all of the P modules.

[0053] Based on the above technical solution, when the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, P modules in the first remote device are in a power-off state, and more components are powered off as much as possible, in order to expect to improve the energy saving effect. In addition, the P modules can be implemented by using at least one of the above, in order to improve the flexibility of the implementation form of the solution.

[0054] Optionally, both the second module and the fourth module are power supply modules (also referred to as power supplies). The second module and the fourth module may be the same module or different modules. This is not limited herein.

[0055] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the module configured to process the radio signal includes at least one of a main central processing unit (CPU), an intermediate frequency application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a radio frequency unit.

[0056] Optionally, the module configured to process the wireless signal may further include another component, for example, a component that may be present and configured to implement at least one function in encoding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, digital beamforming (BF), inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT), cyclic prefix (CP) addition, and analog BF, and in another example, a component that may be present and configured to implement at least one function in decoding, de-rate matching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization (or channel estimation), RE demapping, digital BF, fast fourier transform (FFT), CP removal, and analog BF.

[0057] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, and Q modules in the first remote device are in a powered-on state, where Q is a positive integer, and the Q modules include at least one of: a fifth module configured to receive an optical signal; a sixth module configured to provide power to the fifth module; a seventh module configured to identify a parameter corresponding to the optical signal; and an eighth module configured to provide power to the seventh module.

[0058] Based on the above technical solution, when the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, Q modules in the first remote device are in a power-on state, and the Q modules are for supporting receiving an optical signal and implementing wake-up at any time based on parameters corresponding to the optical signal. In addition, the Q modules can be implemented by using at least one of the above to improve the flexibility of the implementation of the solution.

[0059] Optionally, the seventh module configured to identify a parameter corresponding to the optical signal may be a micro controller unit (MCU), an optical signal detection circuit, a thin control unit, or the like.

[0060] Optionally, both the sixth module and the eighth module are power supply modules (also referred to as power supplies). The sixth module and the eighth module may be the same module or different modules. This is not limited herein.

[0061] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the seventh module is integrated into the fifth module, or the seventh module is integrated into the eighth module.

[0062] Based on the above technical solution, the seventh module configured to identify parameters corresponding to the optical signal may be implemented in any one of the above manners, so as to improve the flexibility of the implementation of the solution.

[0063] Optionally, the seventh module may be a module located independently from the fifth module or the eighth module.

[0064] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device include, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include an optical signal strength, the optical signal strength is represented as N bits, and when the value of the N bits is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, where N is a positive integer.

[0065] When the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes optical signal intensity, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, the first remote device may represent the received first optical signal as N bits, and determine to wake up the first remote device when the value of the N bits is a first value, so that the first remote device is flexibly controlled to perform a corresponding behavior based on the value of the N bits.

[0066] Optionally, if the value of the N bits is a value other than the first value, the control device may instruct the first remote device to perform a different behavior based on the different value, for example, instruct the first remote device to align clock information, instruct the first remote device to send related information of one or more power supplies (e.g., operating voltage and operating current), or perform another implementation, which is not limited herein.

[0067] Optionally, the N bits include at least two portions of bits, for example, a first portion of bits may be denoted as N1 bits, a second portion of bits may be denoted as N2 bits, where the N1 bits indicate a target remote device to be woken up (e.g., the value of the N1 bits is an identifier or index number of the target remote device), and the N2 bits are for waking up the target remote device.

[0068] Optionally, when the value of the N bit is a first value, the N bit indicates to wake up a first remote device, and when the value of the N bit is a second value, the N bit indicates to wake up another remote device (e.g., a second remote device described below).

[0069] Optionally, the first value is a preconfigured value or a group of preconfigured values. When the first value is a group of preconfigured values, the group of values ​​satisfies that M bits out of the N bits have values ​​of 1 and NM remaining bits have values ​​of 0, where M is an integer less than or equal to N.

[0070] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0071] Based on the above technical solution, the first optical signal for waking up the first remote device may be a periodic signal, and a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal in which transmission is performed in each period indicates waking up the first remote device, so that the first remote device can be woken up in each period, which is expected to improve the probability that the first remote device is woken up.

[0072] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first remote device is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascaded to the control device.

[0073] Based on the above technical solution, the first remote device woken up based on the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascade-connected to the control device, so that the solution is not limited by a direct connection scenario and can be applied to a cascade connection scenario (for example, the at least two remote devices and the control device are networked in a chain format, a star format, or a mesh network format).

[0074] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, and the method further includes the first remote device receiving a second optical signal, wherein the parameter corresponding to the second optical signal is for waking up the second remote device. The first remote device transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device.

[0075] Based on the above technical solution, when the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, the control device can further send a second optical signal to another remote device through the first remote device, and wake up the other remote device based on parameters corresponding to the second optical signal, so as to flexibly control different remote devices in a cascade connection scenario.

[0076] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first remote device transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device includes the first remote device waking up the first remote device and then transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device.

[0077] Based on the above technical solution, after determining that the first remote device has been woken up, the control device transmits a second optical signal to the second remote device through the first remote device, so that the first remote device identifies the second optical signal after being woken up, and when the receiver of the second optical signal determines that it indicates the second remote device, transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device. In other words, before the first remote device is woken up, the first remote device may power off (or put to sleep) components corresponding to the communication link between the first remote device and the second remote device (and components configured to identify the second optical signal), thereby further improving the energy saving effect of the first remote device.

[0078] Optionally, the process by which the control device transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device does not need to depend on waking up the first remote device. For example, when the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, the first remote device can keep components corresponding to the communication link between the first remote device and the second remote device (and components configured to identify the second optical signal) powered on to support the transfer of the second optical signal before the first remote device is woken up, so that the control device flexibly controls the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0079] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, and the first remote device receives the first optical signal via the third remote device.

[0080] Based on the above technical solutions, when the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, the control device may send a first optical signal to the first remote device through another remote device (e.g., a third remote device), so that the control device flexibly controls the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0081] In a possible implementation form of the second aspect, the method further includes the first remote device receiving instruction information from the control device, the instruction information instructing the first remote device to enter the energy saving mode.

[0082] Optionally, the instruction information may further indicate other information, for example at least one of a start time point at which the first remote device enters the energy saving mode, an end time point at which the first remote device enters the energy saving mode, and a duration at which the first remote device enters the energy saving mode.

[0083] Optionally, after the first remote device enters the energy saving mode based on the instruction information (or after the first remote device determines that the first remote device has entered the energy saving mode, after the first remote device determines that the first remote device will enter the energy saving mode, or at a point before entering the energy saving mode), the first remote device may further send a response to the control device to indicate that the first remote device has entered (or will enter) the energy saving mode by using the response.

[0084] Optionally, the first remote device may alternatively determine to enter the energy saving mode in another manner, for example, the first remote device may determine to enter the energy saving mode for a specific period of time in a manner of manual configuration by operation and maintenance personnel (or in a manner of pre-configuration before distribution).

[0085] A third aspect of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may implement the method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation forms of the first aspect. The communication device includes a corresponding unit or module configured to perform the method. The unit or module included in the communication device may be implemented by using software and / or hardware. For example, the device may be a control device, the device may be a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) within the control device, or the device may be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functionality of the control device.

[0086] The communication apparatus includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit. The processing unit is configured to determine a first optical signal, wherein parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up a first remote device. The transceiver unit is configured to transmit the first optical signal to the first remote device.

[0087] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of optical signal strength or LOS detection.

[0088] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device include, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include an optical signal strength, the optical signal strength is represented as N bits, and when the value of the N bits is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, where N is a positive integer.

[0089] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0090] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the first remote device is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascaded to the control device.

[0091] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, and the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit a second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device, and the parameter corresponding to the second optical signal is for waking up the second remote device.

[0092] In a possible implementation form of the third aspect, after the processing unit determines that the first remote device is woken up, the transceiver unit transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device.

[0093] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, and the transceiver unit is specifically configured to transmit the first optical signal to the first remote device via the third remote device.

[0094] A fourth aspect of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may implement the method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementation forms of the second aspect. The communication device includes a corresponding unit or module configured to perform the method. The unit or module included in the communication device may be implemented by using software and / or hardware. For example, the device may be a first remote device, the device may be a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) within the first remote device, or the device may be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functionality of the first remote device.

[0095] The communication apparatus includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit, the transceiver unit is configured to receive a first optical signal, and the processing unit is configured to wake up a first remote device based on a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal.

[0096] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of optical signal strength or LOS detection.

[0097] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, and P modules in the first remote device are in a powered-off state, where P is a positive integer, and the P modules include at least one of: a first module configured to process wireless signals; a second module configured to provide power to the first module; a third module configured to transmit optical signals; and a fourth module configured to provide power to the third module.

[0098] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the module configured to process the radio signal includes at least one of a main central processing unit CPU, an intermediate frequency application specific integrated circuit ASIC, or a radio frequency unit.

[0099] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, and Q modules in the first remote device are in a powered-on state, where Q is a positive integer, and the Q modules include at least one of: a fifth module configured to receive an optical signal; a sixth module configured to provide power to the fifth module; a seventh module configured to identify a parameter corresponding to the optical signal; and an eighth module configured to provide power to the seventh module.

[0100] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the seventh module is integrated into the fifth module, or the seventh module is integrated into the eighth module.

[0101] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device include, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include an optical signal strength, the optical signal strength is represented as N bits, and when the value of the N bits is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, where N is a positive integer.

[0102] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0103] In a possible implementation form of the fourth aspect, the first remote device is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascaded to a control device.

[0104] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a second optical signal, parameters corresponding to the second optical signal are for waking up the second remote device, and the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit the second optical signal to the second remote device.

[0105] In a possible implementation form of the fourth aspect, after the processing unit wakes up the first remote device, the transceiver unit transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device.

[0106] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, and the transceiver unit is specifically configured to receive the first optical signal via the third remote device.

[0107] A fifth aspect of the present application provides a communication device including at least one processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to execute a method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation forms of the first aspect.

[0108] For example, the memory is configured to store a program or instructions, and the at least one processor is configured to execute the program or instructions, such that the apparatus implements the method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation forms of the first aspect.

[0109] A sixth aspect of the present application provides a communication device including at least one processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to execute a method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementation forms of the second aspect.

[0110] For example, the memory is configured to store a program or instructions, and the at least one processor is configured to execute the program or instructions, such that the apparatus implements the method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementation forms of the second aspect.

[0111] A seventh aspect of the present application provides a communication device including at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface, wherein the logic circuit is configured to perform a method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation forms of the first aspect.

[0112] An eighth aspect of the present application provides a communication device including at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface, the logic circuit configured to perform a method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0113] A ninth aspect of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium configured to store one or more computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method according to the first aspect or any one of possible implementations of the first aspect, or cause the processor to perform a method according to the second aspect or any one of possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0114] A tenth aspect of the present application provides a computer program product (also referred to as a computer program), which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform a method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation forms of the first aspect, or causes the processor to perform a method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementation forms of the second aspect.

[0115] An eleventh aspect of the present application provides a chip system, the chip system including at least one processor configured to support a communication device in implementing functions of the first aspect or any one of possible implementation forms of the first aspect, or configured to support a communication device in implementing functions of the second aspect or any one of possible implementation forms of the second aspect.

[0116] In a possible design, the chip system may further include a memory configured to store program instructions and data required for the communication device. The chip system may include a chip or may include a chip and other discrete components. Optionally, the chip system may further include an interface circuit that provides the program instructions and / or data to the at least one processor.

[0117] A twelfth aspect of the present application provides a communication system, the communication system including the communication device of the third aspect and the communication device of the fourth aspect, the communication system including the communication device of the fifth aspect and the communication device of the sixth aspect, or the communication system including the communication device of the seventh aspect and the communication device of the eighth aspect.

[0118] For the technical effects brought about by any one of the design methods of the third to twelfth aspects, please refer to the technical effects brought about by the first or second aspect and different design methods of the first or second aspect, and the details will not be described again in this specification. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0119] [Figure 1] 1A-1C are diagrams of some application scenarios according to the present application; [Figure 2] 1A-1C are diagrams of some application scenarios according to the present application; [Figure 3] 1A-1C are diagrams of some application scenarios according to the present application; [Figure 4]1A-1C are diagrams of some application scenarios according to the present application; [Figure 5] 1A-1C are diagrams of some application scenarios according to the present application; [Figure 6] 1A-1C are diagrams of some application scenarios according to the present application; [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram of a signal processing method according to the present application; [Figure 8] 1A-1C are diagrams of some application scenarios according to the present application; [Figure 9] 1A-1C are diagrams of some application scenarios according to the present application; [Figure 10] 1A-1C are diagrams of some application scenarios according to the present application; [Figure 11] 1A-1C are diagrams of some application scenarios according to the present application; [Figure 12] 1A-1C are several diagrams of communication devices according to the present application. [Figure 13] 1A-1C are several diagrams of communication devices according to the present application. [Figure 14] 1A-1C are several diagrams of communication devices according to the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0120] The following describes the technical solutions of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings of the present application. All other solutions obtained by those skilled in the art based on the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0121] To aid those skilled in the art in better understanding, some terms in this application will first be explained and described.

[0122] (1) The terminal device may be a wireless terminal device capable of receiving network device scheduling and instruction information. The wireless terminal device may be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connectivity, or another processing device connected to a wireless modem.

[0123] A terminal device may communicate with one or more core networks or the Internet via a radio access network (RAN). A terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal device may be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, or satellite communication. The terminal may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver capability, a wearable device, a vehicle, an unmanned aerial vehicle, a helicopter, an airplane, a hot air balloon, a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, a smart home device, etc. The device form of the terminal is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0124] (2) A network device may be a device in a wireless network. For example, a network device may be a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to the wireless network.

[0125] In some implementations, the network devices may further include satellites, aircraft, and the like.

[0126] In addition, in another possible case, the network device may be another device that provides wireless communication capabilities to the terminal device. The specific technology used by the network device and the specific device configuration are not limited in this application. For ease of explanation, this is not limited in this application.

[0127] Optionally, the network device may further include a core network device, for example, including an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), or a session management function (SMF).

[0128] In the present application, an apparatus configured to implement the functions of a network device may be a network device, or may be an apparatus capable of supporting a network device in implementing the functions, such as a processor, a circuit, a chip, or a chip system. The apparatus may be installed in a network device or used in connection with a network device. In the technical solution provided in the present application, an example in which the apparatus configured to implement the functions of a network device is a network device is used to describe the technical solution provided in the present application.

[0129] In the present application, an apparatus configured to implement the functions of a terminal device may be a terminal device, or may be an apparatus capable of supporting a terminal device in implementing the functions, such as a processor, a circuit, a chip, or a chip system. The apparatus may be attached to a terminal device or used in combination with a terminal device. In the technical solution provided in the present application, an example in which the apparatus configured to implement the functions of a terminal device is a terminal device is used to describe the technical solution provided in the present application.

[0130] (3) The terms "system" and "network" in this application may be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes an association relationship between associated objects and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may indicate that only A is present, that both A and B are present, and that only B is present, and A and B may be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between related objects. "At least one of" or similar expressions refers to any combination of items and includes any combination of singular items or multiple items. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. Additionally, unless otherwise specified, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" in this application are intended to distinguish between multiple objects and not to limit the order, chronology, priority, or importance of the multiple objects.

[0131] This application may be applied to various possible communication systems. For example, this application may be applied to a long-term evolution (LTE) system, a new radio (NR) system, an open radio access network (open RAN, O-RAN, or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a new radio vehicle-to-everything (NR V2X) system. Alternatively, this application may be applied to a system having hybrid networking of multiple access technologies (e.g., LTE and 5G). Alternatively, this application may be applied to a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a machine-to-machine (M2M) communication system, the Internet of Things (IoT), or an unmanned aerial vehicle communication system. Alternatively, this application may be applied to a non-terrestrial communication system, such as a satellite communication system or a high-altitude communication platform.

[0132] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a possible, non-limiting application scenario according to the present application. The solution provided in the present application may be applied to a communication system 1000 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 1000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network 200. The RAN 100 may include at least one RAN device (e.g., 110a and 110b in FIG. 1, collectively referred to as 110). The RAN 100 may further include at least one terminal (e.g., 120a-120j in FIG. 1, collectively referred to as 120). The terminals 120a-120j are connected to the RAN device 110 in a wireless manner. The RAN 100 may further include other RAN devices, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in FIG. 1). The access network device 110 is connected to the core network 200 in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device in the core network and the access network device in the radio access network may be different physical devices or may be the same physical device that integrates the logical functions of the core network and the radio access network. This is not limited. Terminals may be connected to each other in a wireless manner. Access network devices may be connected to each other in a wired or wireless manner. Figure 1 is just a diagram. The communication system may further include another network device, for example, a wireless relay device and / or a wireless backhaul device (not shown in Figure 1).

[0133] For example, in FIG. 1 , the RAN 100 may be configured as a cellular system associated with the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP®). For example, the RAN 100 may be configured as a fourth generation (4G) mobile communication system, a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, or a future evolved system (e.g., a 6G mobile communication system). Alternatively, the RAN 100 may be an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN) or a cloud radio access network (CRAN). Alternatively, the RAN 100 may be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0134] The RAN device 110, which may also be referred to as a RAN node, RAN entity, access node, etc., constitutes part of a communication system and is configured to assist terminals in implementing wireless access. The multiple RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 1000 may be nodes of the same category or different categories. In some scenarios, the roles of the RAN node 110 and the terminal 120 are relative. For example, the network element 120i in FIG. 1 may be a helicopter or an unmanned aerial vehicle and may be configured as a mobile base station. In the case of a terminal 120j accessing the RAN 100 through the network element 120i, the network element 120i is a base station. However, in the case of the base station 110a, the network element 120i is a terminal. The RAN node 110 and the terminal 120 may also be referred to as communication devices. For example, the network elements 110a and 110b in FIG. 1 may be understood as communication devices having base station functionality, and the network elements 120a to 120j may be understood as communication devices having terminal functionality.

[0135] In possible scenarios, the access network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a next generation NodeB in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, an access node in a base station in a future mobile communication system, etc. The access network device may be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in FIG. 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (e.g., 110b in FIG. 1), a relay node or a donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the access network device may alternatively be a server, a wearable device, an in-vehicle device, etc. For example, an access network device in a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU). Multiple access network devices in a communication system may be base stations of the same category or different categories. A base station may communicate with a terminal or may communicate with the terminal via a relay station. A terminal can communicate with multiple base stations using different access technologies.

[0136] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes cooperate to assist terminals in performing radio access, with different RAN nodes separately implementing some of the base station functionality. For example, a RAN node may be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU control plane (CP), a CU user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU may be located separately or may be included in the same network element, e.g., a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio device or radio frequency unit, e.g., a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0137] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may alternatively have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, the CU may be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU may be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP may be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP may be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU may be referred to as an O-RU. For ease of explanation, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU are used as examples for explanation in this application. Any unit in the CU (or CU-CP or CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application may be implemented by using a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. The CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, and RU may implement different protocol layer functions.

[0138] Communications between an access network device and a terminal device may conform to a specific protocol layer structure. The protocol layers may include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer may include at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, a physical (PHY) layer, etc. The user plane protocol layer may include at least one of a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, a physical layer, etc.

[0139] In one implementation example, as shown in FIG. 2, an access network device may include at least one CU and at least one DU. This design may be referred to as CU separation and DU separation. One CU may be connected to one or more DUs. The CU and DU may be obtained through a division based on a protocol layer of a wireless network. For example, the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers above the PDCP layer (e.g., the RRC layer and the SDAP layer) are configured on the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (e.g., the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the PHY layer) are configured on the DU. In another example, the functions of the protocol layers above the PDCP layer are configured on the CU, and the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers below the PDCP layer are configured on the DU. This is not limited to this. When a CU includes a CU-CP and a CU-UP, the CU-CP may be configured to implement the control plane functions of the CU, and the CU-UP may be configured to implement the user plane functions of the CU. For example, when a CU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer, the RRC layer, and the SDAP layer, a CU-CP is configured to implement the functions of the RRC layer and the control plane functions of the PDCP layer, and a CU-UP is configured to implement the functions of the SDAP layer and the user plane functions of the PDCP layer. The names of the CU and DU are not limited in this application. For example, a CU may be referred to as a first access network element, and a DU may be referred to as a second access network element.

[0140] The division of the processing functions of the CU and DU based on protocol layers is merely an example. Alternatively, the division may be performed in another manner. For example, the CU or DU may have more protocol layer functions through division, or the CU or DU may have some of the processing functions of the protocol layers through division. For example, some of the RLC layer functions and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are configured on the CU, and the remaining RLC layer functions and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are configured on the DU. In another example, the functions of the CU or DU may be divided based on service category or another system requirement, for example, based on latency. Functions whose processing time must meet low latency requirements are configured on the DU, and functions whose processing time does not need to meet latency requirements are configured on the CU.

[0141] The CU may be connected to a core network. Optionally, the CU may have some of the functionality of the core network.

[0142] Also, some of the functions of the DU may be located separately. As shown in FIG. 2, some of the functions may be implemented by a radio unit (RU). The RU may have radio functions. The name of the RU is not limited in this application. For example, the RU may be referred to as a third access network element. The DU and the RU may be divided or separated at the PHY layer. For example, the DU may implement upper layer functions of the PHY layer, and the RU may implement lower layer functions of the PHY layer, or lower layer functions and radio functions. The upper layer functions of the PHY layer include functions closer to the MAC layer, and the lower layer functions of the PHY layer include functions closer to the radio. For example, the upper layer functions of the PHY layer include one or more of forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding, scrambling, or modulation / demodulation. The lower layer functions of the PHY layer include one or more of fast Fourier transform (FFT) / inverse fast Fourier transform (iFFT), beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc. The RU may perform radio signal communication with a terminal device over the air interface. The precoding function of the PHY layer may be located in the DU or the RU. The manner of dividing the DU and the RU may be various, but is not limited to these.

[0143] There is an interface between the DU and the RU. For example, according to different division schemes, the interface between the DU and the RU can be a common public radio interface (CPRI) interface or an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI) interface.

[0144] Figure 3 is a diagram of the architecture of an access network device. The access network device includes one or more functional modules configured to implement signal processing. As shown in Figure 3, a physical layer function is used as an example. The access network device includes one or more of the following functions: encoding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, digital beamforming (BF), inverse fast fourier transformation (IFFT) / cyclic prefix (CP) addition, decoding, de-rate matching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete fourier transformation (IDFT), channel equalization (or channel estimation), RE demapping, digital BF, fast fourier transform (FFT) / CP removal, digital-to-analog (DA) conversion, analog BF, analog-to-digital (AD) conversion, or analog BF.

[0145] One or more functional modules may be implemented by using software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. Physically, the functional modules may be separate or integrated. It may be understood that the above-mentioned functional modules are merely examples. Based on the design, the access network device may include more other modules (e.g., a scheduling module, a power control module, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) module, a flow control module, a mobility management module, or an artificial intelligence (AI) module), or may not include the functional modules shown in FIG. 4 (e.g., not including a digital BF module). The access network device further includes a fronthaul (FH) interface between the DU and the RU to implement communication between the DU and the RU. The fronthaul interface includes, but is not limited to, CPRI or eCPRI. In a possible implementation, the DU is located in the BBU, and the RU is located in the RRU / AAU / RRH, and the interface between the BBU and the RRU / AAU / RRH may be referred to as a fronthaul interface. To implement a fronthaul interface, the BBU and the RRU / AAU / RRH may be connected through a fronthaul network, or the DU and the RU may be connected through a fronthaul network. For example, the fronthaul network includes, but is not limited to, a fiber direct connect and a wavelength division network.

[0146] An access network device can support one or more categories of fronthaul interfaces, with different fronthaul interfaces corresponding to DUs and RUs with different functions. As shown in FIG. 4, when the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is CPRI, the DU is configured to implement one or more baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more radio functions. When the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is eCPRI, compared to CPRI, some of the downlink and / or uplink baseband functions are moved from the DU to the RU for implementation. Different division schemes for the DU and RU correspond to different eCPRI categories (Cat). FIG. 3 shows an example of six eCPRI interfaces represented by Cat A, B, C, D, E, and F (which may be represented by Options A to F, Options 1 to 6, or another scheme). It can be understood that further division schemes may exist between the DU and RU, i.e., further eCPRI categories may exist.

[0147] eCPRI Cat A is used as an example. For downlink transmission, the splitting is performed by using layer mapping as the splitting point. The DU is configured to implement one or more functions within layer mapping and functions before layer mapping (i.e., one or more of coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, and layer mapping), as well as another function after layer mapping is moved to the RU for implementation (e.g., RE mapping, digital BF, or IFFT / CP addition). For uplink transmission, the splitting is performed by using RE demapping as the splitting point. The DU is configured to implement one or more functions within demapping and functions before demapping (i.e., one or more of decoding, de-rate matching, descrambling, demodulation, IDFT, channel equalization, and RE demapping), as well as another function after demapping is moved to the RU for implementation (e.g., one or more of digital BF or FFT / CP removal).

[0148] Similarly, eCPRI Cat B, Cat C, Cat D, Cat E, and Cat F each correspond to different DU and RU splitting methods. The split point and functions before the split point are implemented by the DU, and functions after the split point are implemented by the RU. See Figure 4 for split points in various eCPRI categories. Details will not be explained one by one again. For example, in eCPRI Cat B, RE mapping is used as the split point for downlink transmission, and RE demapping is used as the split point for uplink transmission. For uplink transmission, RE mapping and functions before RE mapping are implemented by the DU, and functions after RE mapping and over-the-air functions are implemented by the RU. For downlink transmission, RE demapping and functions before RE demapping are implemented by the DU, and functions after RE demapping and over-the-air functions are implemented by the RU.

[0149] The eCPRI division scheme may be symmetric for the uplink and downlink, for example, eCPRI Cat B and Cat C as shown in FIG. 3. Alternatively, the eCPRI division scheme may be asymmetric for the uplink and downlink, for example, eCPRI Cat A, Cat D, Cat E, and Cat F as shown in FIG. 3. This is not limited. Optionally, different division schemes may be configured for the uplink and / or downlink, i.e., different categories of eCPRI are configured for different channels or different channel groups. One group of channels may include one or more channels.

[0150] In a possible design, the DU is located in the BBU, the RU is located in the RRU / AAU / RRH, and a processing unit configured to implement baseband functions in the BBU is referred to as a baseband high (BBH) layer unit, and a processing unit configured to implement baseband functions in the RRU / AAU / RRH is referred to as a baseband low (BBL) layer unit.

[0151] In recent years, energy saving has become a hot topic of the times. For network devices (for example, the network devices may be RAN nodes in Figure 1 or Figure 2, or functional modules in Figure 3), how to implement energy saving and emission reduction without reducing customer experience as much as possible has become a topic of discussion by equipment vendors and operators.

[0152] To implement energy saving, a network device can execute an energy saving mode (also referred to as a deep sleep mode, a sleep mode, a low power consumption mode, a standby mode, etc.) under the control of a remote network management device. When executing the energy saving mode, the network device shuts down some or all of its functions to implement energy saving. The network management device may also be referred to as a control device. The following describes an example of an implementation process of the energy saving mode when the network device is a distributed base station by using the scenarios shown in Figures 4 to 6.

[0153] As shown in FIG. 4, the distributed base station includes a baseband unit (using a BBU as an example) and one or more radio modules (using an AAU / RRU as an example) connected to the baseband unit. The BBU and the AAU / RRU may be connected to each other via an optical signal transmission link, for example, via an optical fiber. In addition, the BBU and the AAU / RRU may communicate with each other via an optical module (for example, the optical module may be a small form-factor pluggable (SFP) in the figure). The optical module includes a sub-module configured to transmit (TX) an optical signal and a sub-module configured to receive (RX) the optical signal. In addition, the optical module may be further configured to perform optical-to-electrical conversion. For example, the optical module can convert an electrical signal from a processing module (e.g., a chip or processor) into an optical signal for transmission over the optical fiber. In another example, the optical module can convert an optical signal received from the optical fiber into an electrical signal for processing performed by the processing module.

[0154] In the case of the distributed base station shown in FIG. 4 , when the BBU and the AAU / RRU are connected to each other via optical fiber or another possible communication medium, the AAU / RRU may be referred to as a remote radio module, a remote device, a remote module, etc. If the BBU can control the AAU / RRU, the BBU may also be referred to as a control device, a control module, etc. Optionally, the control device of the AAU / RRU may alternatively be a third-party device. This is not limited. For example, the control device is another control device located independently from the BBU and the AAU / RRU. In the embodiment of the present application, the BBU and the AAU / RRU are different hardware devices, software modules, or a combination of hardware devices and software modules located separately or in a distributed manner, and the actual distance between the BBU and the AAU / RRU is not limited. For example, the BBU and the AAU / RRU are independent hardware devices connected via optical fiber, or the BBU and the AAU / RRU are different software modules that can be loaded on the same device or the same group of devices. This is not limited.

[0155] Optionally, the BBU includes a main control board and a baseband board. The main control board is mainly configured to control and manage other boards in the system. In addition, the control board may further control and manage the baseband board and send services upstream to boards of higher-layer devices. The baseband board (also referred to as a baseband processing unit) mainly completes signal baseband processing (e.g., channel coding and decoding, or modulation and demodulation, see the related description of FIG. 3 for details). In addition, the baseband board may further provide transmission management and interfaces to manage radio resources, provide clock signals, etc.

[0156] The distributed base station shown in Figure 4 is used as an example. To implement energy saving, in periods of low traffic, the distributed base station is expected to enter energy saving mode (or deep sleep mode) to obtain better energy efficiency gains.

[0157] A possible energy saving scheme for the remote device is shown in FIG. 5. The wireless service components (i.e., the wireless components, intermediate frequency ASIC, etc. in FIG. 5) are powered off, but the CPU and optical module in the remote device are kept alive (i.e., kept powered on or not powered off). In FIG. 5, the optical module is mainly configured to receive or transmit optical signals over an optical fiber. Because the communication link between the remote device and the BBU is in a keep-alive state, the BBU can wake up the remote device at any time by using a message. The main CPU in the remote device is mainly configured to manage and control the components or modules in the AAU / RRU, for example, to control the operating state of each component, for example, powering the component off or on. The intermediate frequency ASIC / wireless component is mainly configured to complete intermediate wireless processing of the radio frequency unit.

[0158] As shown in Figure 5, when the base station enters the energy saving / sleep mode, the main control board and baseband board in the BBU, and the optical module, power supply, and main CPU in the AAU / RRU are all in the power consumption running mode, and the basic communication link between the AAU and the BBU is maintained. Service-related components / devices in the AAU / RRU (e.g., the radio components and intermediate frequency ASIC in the figure) enter the energy saving / power-off state. When the device needs to provide service again, the BBU wakes up the AAU / RRU by using a message.

[0159] Another possible energy saving scheme is shown in Figure 6. The time points for entering and exiting the sleep mode are configured (or agreed upon). At the time point for entering the sleep mode, the AAU / RRU enters the energy saving mode. At the time point for exiting the sleep mode, the AAU / RRU is woken up.

[0160] As shown in FIG. 6, the BBU determines a predetermined period for entering an energy-saving / sleep mode, and sends information indicating the period to a remote device such as an AAU / RRU. At the start of the predetermined period, the main control board in the BBU, the auxiliary power supply in the AAU / RRU (configured to supply power to modules such as the control unit in the energy-saving state), and the control unit (e.g., CPU) in the AAU / RRU are all in a power-consuming running mode, while other components (e.g., the optical module, main power supply, radio components, and intermediate-frequency ASIC in the AAU / RRU) enter a power-off state. During this energy-saving period, communication between the AAU / RRU and the BBU is not maintained because the optical module is powered off. That is, the AAU / RRU and the BBU cannot communicate with each other. At the end of the predetermined period, the control unit in the AAU / RRU wakes up the device. In this case, the optical module, main power supply, radio components, intermediate-frequency ASIC, etc. are powered on.

[0161] However, some problems still exist in the above-described energy saving implementation process. For example, in the energy saving process shown in FIG. 5, although the two-way communication capability between the BBU and the AAU (or between the BBU and the RRU) is maintained, the standby power consumption is still high, and it is difficult for the device to enter a standby mode with an extremely low power consumption level (e.g., milliwatt level). In another example, in the energy saving process shown in FIG. 6, since the optical module is powered off, the basic communication between the AAU and the BBU cannot be maintained, and the remote device AAU / RRU cannot wake up at any time to provide service.

[0162] To solve the above-mentioned problems, the present application provides a communication method and related device for waking up a remote device based on parameters corresponding to an optical signal, thereby reducing the overhead of analyzing a wake-up instruction by the remote device. In addition, if the remote device does not continuously maintain a communication link for bidirectional communication between the remote device and a control device, the remote device can wake up at any time. As a result, the remote device in energy saving mode can power off more components, and energy saving effects are expected to be improved. The following description is provided with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0163] 7 is a diagram of a communication method according to the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0164] S701: The control device transmits a first optical signal.

[0165] S702: A first remote device wakes up based on a parameter corresponding to a first optical signal.

[0166] In a possible implementation, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal transmitted by the control device in step S701 include at least one of optical signal strength or loss of signal (LOS) detection.

[0167] It should be understood that the optical signal strength may refer to an optical signal power value. For example, the optical signal strength is for waking up a first remote device when the power value of a first optical signal is a specific value (the optical signal power value is within a preset range). Specifically, when the specific value is 0 (or the preset range is greater than 0), the optical signal strength may alternatively be expressed as whether there is an optical signal, whether there is optical power, whether there is a flash, etc.

[0168] Optionally, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes optical signal strength, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered when the first remote device determines that the value of the optical signal strength of the first optical signal is a preset value (or is within a preset range).

[0169] Optionally, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include LOS detection, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered when the first remote device determines that an LOS signal occurs (or that an LOS signal does not occur) for the first optical signal.

[0170] In one example implementation, the LOS signal may be an LOS alarm signal that is determined to occur when a receiving end in a communication system does not receive a signal transmitted by a transmitting end. In other words, when a first remote device determines that an optical signal from a control device is not received on a communication link between the first remote device and the control device, the first remote device determines that an LOS signal has occurred for the first optical signal, thereby triggering a wake-up of the first remote device; when a first remote device determines that an optical signal from a control device is received on a communication link between the first remote device and the control device, the first remote device determines that an LOS signal has not occurred for the first optical signal, thereby triggering a wake-up of the first remote device.

[0171] In another example implementation, the LOS signal may be an LOS alarm signal that is determined to occur when the power of an optical signal received by a receiving end in a communication system is continuously lower than a specified threshold within a predetermined time duration (e.g., 5 microseconds (μs) or 10 μs). In other words, when the first remote device determines that the power of an optical signal received from a control device within a predetermined time duration on a communication link between the first remote device and the control device is continuously lower than the predetermined threshold, the first remote device determines that an LOS signal has occurred for the first optical signal, thereby triggering a wake-up of the first remote device; or when the first remote device determines that the power of an optical signal received from a control device within a predetermined time duration on a communication link between the first remote device and the control device is not continuously lower than the predetermined threshold, the first remote device determines that an LOS signal has not occurred for the first optical signal, thereby triggering a wake-up of the first remote device.

[0172] Optionally, when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include optical signal strength and LOS detection, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, when the first remote device determines that the value of the optical signal strength of the first optical signal is a preset value (or within a preset range) and an LOS signal occurs (or no LOS signal occurs) for the first optical signal, a wake-up of the first remote device may be triggered.

[0173] It should be noted that the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal may be alternatively implemented in other manners in addition to the implementation described above. For example, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal may include the magnitude of the optical signal energy, the duration of the continuous optical signal, or another parameter corresponding to the optical signal. This is not limited herein.

[0174] In a possible implementation, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes an optical signal strength, the optical signal strength may be represented as N bits, and when the value of the N bits is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, where N is a positive integer. Therefore, when the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes an optical signal strength, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, the first remote device may represent the received first optical signal as N bits, and when the value of the N bits is a first value, determine to wake up the first remote device, so that the first remote device is flexibly controlled to perform a corresponding behavior based on the value of the N bits.

[0175] Optionally, if the value of the N bits is a value other than the first value, the control device may instruct the first remote device to perform a different behavior based on the different value, for example, instruct the first remote device to align clock information, instruct the first remote device to send related information of one or more power supplies (e.g., operating voltage and operating current), or perform another implementation, which is not limited herein.

[0176] Optionally, the N bits include at least two portions of bits, for example, a first portion of bits may be denoted as N1 bits, a second portion of bits may be denoted as N2 bits, where the N1 bits indicate a target remote device to be woken up (e.g., the value of the N1 bits is an identifier or index number of the target remote device), and the N2 bits are for waking up the target remote device.

[0177] Optionally, when the value of the N bit is a first value, the N bit indicates to wake up a first remote device, and when the value of the N bit is a second value, the N bit indicates to wake up another remote device (e.g., a second remote device described below).

[0178] Optionally, the first value is a preconfigured value or a group of preconfigured values. When the first value is a group of preconfigured values, the group of values ​​satisfies that M bits out of the N bits have values ​​of 1 and NM remaining bits have values ​​of 0, where M is an integer less than or equal to N.

[0179] In a possible implementation, the first optical signal is a periodic signal. Specifically, the first optical signal for waking up the first remote device may be a periodic signal, and a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal that is transmitted in each period indicates waking up the first remote device, so that the first remote device can be woken up in each period, which is expected to improve the probability that the first remote device is woken up.

[0180] 7, when the first remote device is in an energy-saving mode, the control device may, in step S701, transmit a first optical signal to the first remote device when the control device determines that the first remote device needs to be woken up, and parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device. In other words, after the first remote device receives the first optical signal, in step S702, the first remote device may wake up the first remote device based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal. Therefore, compared with an implementation in which the remote device analyzes information carried by the optical signal and further determines a wake-up instruction only based on the analysis result, in the above technical solution, the first remote device may be woken up based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal. As a result, the overhead of analyzing a wake-up instruction by the remote device may be reduced, and energy saving effects are expected to be improved.

[0181] Additionally, in the above-described implementation in which the first remote device is woken up based on a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal, when the first remote device does not continuously maintain a communication link for bidirectional communication between the remote device and the control device, the first remote device may be woken up at any time, so that the first remote device in the energy saving mode can power off more components in the hope of further improving the energy saving effect.

[0182] It should be understood that in this application, a remote device (e.g., a first remote device, or a second remote device or a third remote device that may occur below) being in an energy saving mode means that some of the functional components within the remote device are in a powered-off state (or a sleep state, a low power consumption state, a standby state, etc.). Thus, the energy saving mode may also be referred to as a sleep mode, a low power consumption mode, a standby mode, etc. This is not limited herein.

[0183] It should be understood that in this application, a remote device may be a network device having wireless signal processing capabilities, a control device is a network device having the capability to control a remote device, and the remote device and the control device may have other names.

[0184] For example, the remote device is radio equipment (RE) and the control device is a radio equipment controller (REC).

[0185] In another example, the remote device is a remote radio unit (RRU) and the control device is a baseband unit (BBU).

[0186] In another example, the remote device is an active antenna unit (AAU) and the control device is a BBU.

[0187] In another example, the remote device is a radio unit (RU) and the control device is a distributed unit (DU).

[0188] In another example, the remote device is a RE / RRU / AAU / RU, and the control device is a remote control device, including but not limited to a remote network management device, an operation and maintenance center (OMC), a base station control unit, etc.

[0189] In a possible implementation, before step S701, the method further includes the first remote device receiving instruction information from the control device, the instruction information instructing the first remote device to enter an energy saving mode.

[0190] Optionally, the instruction information may further indicate other information, for example at least one of a start time point at which the first remote device enters the energy saving mode, an end time point at which the first remote device enters the energy saving mode, and a duration at which the first remote device enters the energy saving mode.

[0191] Optionally, after the first remote device enters the energy saving mode based on the instruction information (or after the first remote device determines that the first remote device has entered the energy saving mode, after the first remote device determines that the first remote device will enter the energy saving mode, or at a point before entering the energy saving mode), the first remote device may further send a response to the control device to indicate that the first remote device has entered (or will enter) the energy saving mode by using the response.

[0192] Optionally, the first remote device may alternatively determine to enter the energy saving mode in another manner, for example, the first remote device may determine to enter the energy saving mode for a specific period of time in a manner of manual configuration by operation and maintenance personnel (or in a manner of pre-configuration before distribution).

[0193] In a possible implementation, when the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, P modules in the first remote device are powered off, where P is a positive integer, and the P modules include at least one of: a first module configured to process wireless signals; a second module configured to provide power to the first module; a third module configured to transmit optical signals; and a fourth module configured to provide power to the third module. Therefore, when the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, the P modules in the first remote device are powered off, and it is expected that as many components as possible will be powered off, improving energy saving effects. In addition, the P modules can be implemented by using at least one of the above to improve the flexibility of the implementation of the solution.

[0194] It may be understood that the process of the first remote device waking up the first remote device based on parameters corresponding to the first optical signal may be the first remote device waking up some or all of the P modules.

[0195] Optionally, both the second module and the fourth module are power supply modules (also referred to as power supplies). The second module and the fourth module may be the same module or different modules. This is not limited herein.

[0196] Optionally, the module configured to process the radio signal includes at least one of a main central processing unit (CPU), an intermediate frequency application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a radio frequency unit.

[0197] Optionally, the module configured to process wireless signals may further include another component, for example, a component that may be present and configured to implement at least one function in encoding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, digital beamforming (BF), inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT), cyclic prefix (CP) addition, analog BF, and digital to analog (DA) conversion, and in another example, a component that may be present and configured to implement at least one function in decoding, de-rate matching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization (or channel estimation), RE demapping, digital BF, fast fourier transform (FFT), CP removal, analog BF, and analog to digital (AD) conversion.

[0198] In a possible implementation, when the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, Q modules in the first remote device are powered on, where Q is a positive integer, and the Q modules include at least one of a fifth module configured to receive an optical signal, a sixth module configured to provide power to the fifth module, a seventh module configured to identify a parameter corresponding to the optical signal, and an eighth module configured to provide power to the seventh module. Thus, when the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, the Q modules in the first remote device are powered on, and the Q modules support receiving the optical signal and are configured to implement wake-up at any time based on the parameter corresponding to the optical signal. Additionally, the Q modules can be implemented by using at least one of the above to improve the flexibility of the implementation of the solution. In this solution, the seventh module can wake up another module in the remote device. The wake-up method may be direct wake-up (e.g., the wake-up command is sent in a direct connection manner) or indirect wake-up (e.g., the wake-up command is transferred through a relay device, or the seventh module first wakes up the ninth module, and then the ninth module wakes up another module). This is not limited. The ninth module may be the first module or another independently located module. This is not limited.

[0199] Optionally, both the sixth module and the eighth module are power supply modules (also referred to as power supplies). The sixth module and the eighth module may be the same module or different modules. This is not limited herein.

[0200] Optionally, the seventh module is integrated into the fifth module (i.e., the fifth module is configured to receive an optical signal and identify a parameter corresponding to the optical signal), or the seventh module is integrated into the sixth module, or the seventh module is integrated into the eighth module.

[0201] Optionally, the seventh module may be a module located independently from the fifth module, the sixth module, or the eighth module.

[0202] The following describes the P modules and the Q modules by using an example by using the implementation scenario shown in FIG.

[0203] It should be understood that the example shown in FIG. 8 uses an example in which the control device is a BBU and the first remote device is an AAU 1 / RRU 1.

[0204] Of the P modules in the AAU 1 / RRU 1, a first module configured to process radio signals includes a main control unit CPU / hardware accelerate controller (HAC), an intermediate frequency ASIC, a radio frequency unit, etc. in the figure; a second module configured to supply power to the first module includes a portion of the power supply (the shaded portion of the power supply shown in the figure); a third module configured to transmit optical signals is an SFP-TX in the figure; and a fourth module configured to supply power to the third module includes a portion of the power supply (the shaded portion of the power supply shown in the figure).

[0205] Of the Q modules in the AAU 1 / RRU 1, the fifth module configured to receive the optical signal is the SFP-RX in the figure, the sixth module configured to supply power to the fifth module is part of the power supply in the figure (the blank part of the power supply shown in the figure), the seventh module configured to identify parameters corresponding to the optical signal includes the MCU in the figure, and the eighth module configured to supply power to the seventh module is part of the power supply in the figure (the blank part of the power supply shown in the figure).

[0206] Optionally, in the example shown in Figure 8, an example is used in which the power modules (including the second module, the fourth module, the sixth module, and the eighth module) are integrated to provide one power source. In actual application, any one of the power modules may be implemented by using an independent power source, or any two or more of the power modules may be implemented in an integrated manner. This is not limited herein.

[0207] Optionally, there may be multiple flexible implementation forms of the MCU. For example, in FIG. 8, the MCU may be integrated into the optical module. In another example, in FIG. 9, the MCU may be integrated into the power supply. In addition to the implementation examples shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the MCU may alternatively be a module that is disposed independently from the optical module and the power supply, the MCU may alternatively be integrated into the main CPU, or other implementation forms exist. This is not limited herein.

[0208] When the method shown in Fig. 7 is applied to the scenario shown in Fig. 8 , the main control board in the BBU notifies the baseband board to instruct AAU 1 / RRU 1 and AAU 2 / RRU 2 to enter energy saving mode. After receiving the instruction, AAU 1 / RRU 1 replies to the BBU with a response corresponding to the instruction, and AAU 1 / RRU 1 powers off devices / components other than the power supply that supplies power to the SFP-RX, MCU, and optical module.

[0209] Optionally, after receiving the response message, the BBU powers off the baseband board. Optionally, a module configured to receive an optical signal in the BBU may also be powered off.

[0210] Hereinafter, when a service needs to be provided, the BBU may execute step S701. That is, the BBU powers on the baseband board and sends the agreed-upon optical signal (i.e., the above-mentioned first optical signal) to the SFP-RX through the baseband board. The parameters corresponding to the agreed-upon optical signal are for waking up the AAU 1 / RRU 1. The MCU in the AAU 1 / RRU 1 receives the optical signal that meets the agreement and triggers power-on in step S702 to exit the power-off / sleep / energy-saving state.

[0211] Optionally, the MCU in the AAU 1 / RRU 1 receives the optical signal that satisfies the agreement. After the MCU triggers the power-on of the power supply, the sequence in which components such as the CPU / HAC, SFP-TX, intermediate frequency ASIC, and radio frequency unit are powered on is not limited. For example, after triggering the power-on of the power supply, the MCU can sequentially send power-on trigger signals to components such as the CPU / HAC, SFP-TX, intermediate frequency ASIC, and radio frequency unit. In another example, after triggering the power-on of the power supply, the MCU can send a power-on trigger signal to the CPU, which then sends power-on trigger signals to components such as the SFP-TX, intermediate frequency ASIC, and radio frequency unit.

[0212] In one implementation example, the parameter corresponding to the agreed-upon optical signal may be optical signal intensity. For example, in the example shown in Figure 8, the BBU controls the TX channel of this segment of the optical module to send optical on-off signals in a specific sequence, i.e., the above-mentioned agreed-upon optical signal, to wake up the AAU 1 / RRU 1.

[0213] An example in which the agreed-upon optical signal is a 4-bit symbol (i.e., N bits for representing the first optical signal in the above-mentioned method are 4 bits) is used for explanation. Assume that 1 represents the presence of light and 0 represents the absence of light (or vice versa), or 1 represents that the light intensity / power is greater than (or equal to or greater than) a first threshold and 0 represents that the light intensity / power is less than (or less than) the first threshold. Alternatively, this scheme can be described as follows: The optical signal may include four sub-periods, and the light intensity in each sub-period may be represented as 1 bit, and the value of the bit is 0 or 1 based on the light intensity, and the four sub-periods may be represented as 4 bits in total. The time lengths of all the sub-periods may be the same or different. This is not limited. The agreed-upon optical signal may be in various possible forms. A 4-bit optical signal can have 16 values. Optionally, based on an energy ratio, the 16 values ​​are: Class 0 {0000}; Class 1 {0001, 0010, 0100, and 1000}; Class 2 {0011, 0101, 0110, 1001, 1010, and 1100}; Class 3 {0111, 1110, 1011, and 1101}; and Class 4 {1111} The variances can be classified into five classes, which can be expressed as:

[0214] As explained above, when the value of the N bit is the first value, the N bit indicates to wake up the first remote device.

[0215] Optionally, when the first value is a certain value, in the above-mentioned 16 values, "1010" is used as the wake-up signal. For example, when the BBU needs to wake up the AAU 1 / RRU 1, the BBU sends an optical signal whose corresponding value is "1010" to the AAU 1 / RRU 1 through the Tx port of the optical module. After receiving the optical signal through the Rx port of the optical module, the AAU 1 / RRU 1 delivers the optical signal to the MCU for processing. When the MCU finds that the value of the optical signal is "1010", the MCU triggers the wake-up of the AAU 1 / RRU 1.

[0216] For example, if it is agreed that "1010" is the wake-up signal, the optical power transmitted on the optical fiber can be expressed as shown in Figure 10. That is, the wake-up signal may be determined depending on whether there is optical power corresponding to the signal in each preset period (e.g., the preset period may be indicated as a time width (tw) in the figure). AAU1 / RRU1 reads the received optical power (indicated as RX Power) of the optical module at a sampling period of less than tw seconds. Within the sampling period, if there is power, the record is 0, and if there is no power, the record is 1. AAU1 / RRU1 collects statistics for four consecutive seconds. If the on / off information of 0101 is identified, the device is woken up.

[0217] In particular, if it is agreed that "1111" is the wake-up signal, then this device can be woken up as long as the remote device detects optical power on the optical fiber for a particular length of time.

[0218] Optionally, when the BBU needs to wake up a remote device, the BBU cyclically (or periodically) transmits the above-mentioned optical signal, hoping to increase the probability that the AAU 1 / RRU 1 is woken up.

[0219] Optionally, the first value is a group of values. For example, in the above-mentioned five classes, a value within a class may be used as an optical signal to wake up the AAU 1 / RRU 1. For example, the entire Class 2 is used as the wake-up information. For the processing process, see the above description. In addition, for a receiver of the wake-up information, the execution of the above-mentioned five classes may be implemented by using the process in Table 1 below.

[0220] [Table 1]

[0221] Optionally, to improve the system's tolerance, a group of signals, such as the above-mentioned Class 2, can be used as a regular wake-up signal. In addition, to further improve robustness, the range from 35% to 65% (or another range including 50% corresponding to the Class, for example, 30% to 60%) can be considered as Class 2. Statistical characteristics, i.e., in the case of 50%, even if the clock deviation between the peer end and the local end is quite large, the statistical deviation of whether optical power exists or not is not large, the anti-interference ability is strong, and the discrimination degree is high.

[0222] In one example implementation, in the scenario shown in Figure 8, the MCU may alternatively be located in another location. For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 9, the MCU may be integrated into the power supply.

[0223] In a possible implementation, in any one of the above-mentioned technical solutions, the first remote device is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascade-connected to the control device. Specifically, the first remote device that is woken up based on the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascade-connected to the control device, so that the solution is not limited by a direct connection scenario and can be applied to a cascade connection scenario (for example, the at least two remote devices and the control device are networked in a chain, star, or mesh network format).

[0224] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, and the method further includes the control device sending a second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device, where the parameter corresponding to the second optical signal is for waking up the second remote device. Specifically, when the first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, the control device can further send the second optical signal to another remote device via the first remote device and wake up the other remote device based on the parameter corresponding to the second optical signal, thereby flexibly controlling different remote devices in a cascaded connection scenario.

[0225] In a possible implementation, the control device transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device through the first remote device includes the control device transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device through the first remote device after determining that the first remote device has been woken up. Specifically, after determining that the first remote device has been woken up, the control device transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device through the first remote device, thereby allowing the first remote device to identify the second optical signal after being woken up and, when a receiver of the second optical signal determines that the second optical signal indicates the second remote device, transmit the second optical signal to the second remote device. In other words, before the first remote device is woken up, the first remote device may power off (or put to sleep) components corresponding to the communication link between the first remote device and the second remote device (and components configured to identify the second optical signal) to further improve the energy saving effect of the first remote device.

[0226] Optionally, the process by which the control device transmits the second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device does not need to depend on waking up the first remote device. For example, when the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, the first remote device can keep components corresponding to the communication link between the first remote device and the second remote device (and components configured to identify the second optical signal) powered on to support the transfer of the second optical signal before the first remote device is woken up, so that the control device flexibly controls the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0227] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, and the control device transmitting the first optical signal to the first remote device includes the control device transmitting the first optical signal to the first remote device via a third remote device. Specifically, when the first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, the control device may transmit the first optical signal to the first remote device via another remote device (e.g., the third remote device), so that the control device flexibly controls the wake-up process of each remote device.

[0228] For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 11, the control device may be the BBU in the figure. For example, the first remote device may be the AAU 1 / RRU 1 in the figure, and the third remote device may be another AAU / RRU or a switching device in the figure.

[0229] 11 , in the implementation process of AAU 1 / RRU 1 entering the energy saving mode, after the BBU sends an instruction to enter the energy saving mode to the interconnected switching device, the switching device may forward an instruction to AAU 1 / RRU 1 so that AAU 1 / RRU 1 enters the energy saving mode. In addition, when the BBU determines that AAU 1 / RRU 1 needs to be woken up, the BBU wakes up the switching device by using the above-mentioned agreed optical signal, and then the switching device forwards a wake-up signal to wake up the AAU / RRU device.

[0230] Optionally, as described above, the agreed-upon optical signal received by the switching device may include N bits. When the N bits include N1 bits and N2 bits, the N1 bit indicates a target remote device to be woken up (e.g., the value of the N1 bit is an identifier or index number of the target remote device), and the N2 bit is for waking up the target remote device. Therefore, in the scenario shown in FIG. 11, after the switching device receives an optical signal from the BBU, when the switching device determines, based on the N1 bit among the N bits corresponding to the parameters of the optical signal, that the receiver of the optical signal is the switching device, the switching device may wake up the device based on the N1 bit. When the switching device determines, based on the N1 bit among the N bits corresponding to the parameters of the optical signal, that the receiver of the optical signal is AAU 1 / RRU 1, the switching device may forward the optical signal to AAU 1 / RRU 1 so that AAU 1 / RRU 1 wakes up the device based on the N1 bit. For example, when the value of the N1 bit is an agreed-upon value or within an agreed-upon value range, the optical signal is for waking up the device. For different devices, such as the switching device and the AAU 1 / RRU 1, the agreed-upon value or the agreed-upon value range may be the same or different. This is not limited.

[0231] In particular, when the switching device is a physical optical splitting device, the switching device may directly forward the wake-up signal of the BBU to the interconnected AAU 1 / RRU 1.

[0232] From the above implementation process, it can be seen that the technical solution provided in the present application does not rely on the establishment of an optical transmission link at the data link layer and layers above the data link layer, but can solve the problem of needing to wake up a remote device at any time by simply controlling parameters corresponding to an optical signal.

[0233] In some implementation processes, a thin control end (e.g., the above-mentioned MCU) is introduced into the remote device AAU / RRU to complete control / processing functions during energy-saving periods. That is, after the remote device enters deep sleep mode, the power consumption of the remote device only needs to maintain power supply to the thin control end and the optical module RX (TX may be turned off). The thin control end can be understood as a control module that provides only a few / limited control or processing functions. Compared with a traditional control module CPU in an AAU / RRU, the thin control end may have a simpler design and lower energy consumption.

[0234] In some implementation processes, the remote device reserves only the RX channel of the optical module and one thin control unit in a low power consumption operating state, and all other components / devices are energy saving / powered off.

[0235] In some implementations, the control device transmits an optical signal (or optical signal strength) on the optical fiber, and the remote device acquires the received optical power (RX channel) in the optical module. When the optical power meets a certain condition, the remote device is autonomously woken up using the thin control terminal. In other words, a signal value or a class of signal values ​​is agreed upon as a wake-up signal. Therefore, the optical power signal transmitted on the optical fiber link is demodulated using a statistical collection method, so that the system has strong noise resistance and accurate wake-up.

[0236] In some implementations, when a remote device has a cascade TOPO, a star TOPO, and other TOPOs, a higher-level device can wake up a lower-level device by level. The solution is not limited by direct connection constraints and can be applied to scenarios such as networking in a chain, star, or mesh network format.

[0237] To implement the functions in the methods provided in the present application, a device for performing the method may include a hardware structure and / or a software module to implement the above-mentioned functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module. Whether the functions in the above-mentioned functions are implemented by using a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0238] Referring to Figure 12, the present application provides a communication device 1200. The device 1200 includes a processing unit 1201 and a transceiver unit 1202.

[0239] In one implementation example, the communication device 1200 may implement the function of the control device in the above-mentioned method, and thus can also realize the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned method. In the present application, the communication device 1200 may be a control device, or may be a software module, an integrated circuit, an element, etc., in the control device, for example, a chip. This is not limited. The following provides an explanation by using an example in which the communication device 1200 is a control device.

[0240] Specifically, the processing unit 1201 is configured to determine a first optical signal, and parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device. The transceiver unit 1202 is configured to transmit the first optical signal to the first remote device.

[0241] In a possible implementation, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of optical signal strength or LOS detection.

[0242] In a possible implementation, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device include: when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include an optical signal strength, the optical signal strength is represented as N bits, and when the value of the N bits is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, where N is a positive integer.

[0243] In a possible implementation, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0244] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascaded to the control device.

[0245] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, and the transceiver unit 1202 is further configured to transmit a second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device, and the parameters corresponding to the second optical signal are for waking up the second remote device.

[0246] In a possible implementation, after the processing unit 1201 determines that the first remote device has been woken up, the transceiver unit 1202 transmits a second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device.

[0247] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, and the transceiver unit 1202 is specifically configured to transmit a first optical signal to the first remote device via a third remote device.

[0248] In another implementation example, the communication device 1200 may implement the function of the first remote device in the above-mentioned method, and thus may also implement the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned method. In the present application, the communication device 1200 may be the first remote device, or may be a software module, an integrated circuit, an element, etc., such as a chip, in the first remote device. This is not limited. The following provides an explanation by using an example in which the communication device 1200 is the first remote device.

[0249] Specifically, the transceiver unit 1202 is configured to receive a first optical signal, and the processing unit 1201 is configured to wake up a first remote device based on a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal.

[0250] In a possible implementation, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of optical signal strength or LOS detection.

[0251] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, and P modules in the first remote device are in a powered-off state, where P is a positive integer, and the P modules include at least one of: a first module configured to process wireless signals; a second module configured to provide power to the first module; a third module configured to transmit optical signals; and a fourth module configured to provide power to the third module.

[0252] In a possible implementation, the module configured to process the radio signal includes at least one of a main central processing unit CPU, an intermediate frequency application specific integrated circuit ASIC, or a radio frequency unit.

[0253] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is in an energy saving mode, and Q modules in the first remote device are in a powered-on state, where Q is a positive integer, and the Q modules include at least one of: a fifth module configured to receive an optical signal; a sixth module configured to provide power to the fifth module; a seventh module configured to identify a parameter corresponding to the optical signal; and an eighth module configured to provide power to the seventh module.

[0254] In a possible implementation, the seventh module is integrated into the fifth module, or the seventh module is integrated into the eighth module.

[0255] In a possible implementation, the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device include: when the parameters corresponding to the first optical signal include an optical signal strength, the optical signal strength is represented as N bits, and when the value of the N bits is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, where N is a positive integer.

[0256] In a possible implementation, the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

[0257] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascaded to the control device.

[0258] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, the transceiver unit 1202 is further configured to receive a second optical signal, parameters corresponding to the second optical signal are for waking up the second remote device, and the transceiver unit 1202 is further configured to transmit the second optical signal to the second remote device.

[0259] In a possible implementation, after the processing unit 1201 wakes up the first remote device, the transceiver unit 1202 transmits a second optical signal to the second remote device.

[0260] In a possible implementation, the first remote device is one of at least two remote devices and is an endpoint device cascaded to the control device, and the transceiver unit 1202 is specifically configured to receive the first optical signal via the third remote device.

[0261] Please note that for details of the contents such as the information execution process of the units in the communication device 1200, please refer to the description of the method above in this application, and the details will not be described again in this specification.

[0262] 13 is another diagram of the structure of a communication device 1300 according to the present application. The communication device 1300 has at least a logic circuit 1301. The communication device 1300 can be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0263] Optionally, the communication device further includes an input / output interface 1302 .

[0264] The transceiver unit 1202 shown in Figure 12 may be a communication interface. The communication interface may be the input / output interface 1302 of Figure 13, which may include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the communication interface may be a transceiver circuit, which may include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0265] Optionally, the logic circuit 1301 may be configured to determine a first optical signal, and the input / output interface 1302 may be configured to transmit the first optical signal, where parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up the first remote device. It should be understood that the logic circuit 1301 and the input / output interface 1302 may further perform other steps performed by the control device in any one of the above examples to implement corresponding beneficial effects. The details will not be described again herein.

[0266] Optionally, the input / output interface 1302 may be configured to receive a first optical signal, and the logic circuit 1301 may wake up the first remote device based on a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal. It should be understood that the logic circuit 1301 and the input / output interface 1302 may further perform other steps performed by the first remote device in any one of the above examples to implement corresponding beneficial effects. The details will not be described again herein.

[0267] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 1201 shown in FIG. 12 may be the logic circuit 1301 of FIG.

[0268] Optionally, logic circuitry 1301 may be a processing unit, and some or all of the functionality of the processing unit may be implemented using software.

[0269] Optionally, the processing device may include a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor reads and executes the computer program stored in the memory to perform corresponding processes and / or steps in any manner.

[0270] Optionally, the processing device may include only a processor. A memory configured to store a computer program is located outside the processing device, and the processor is connected to the memory via circuits / wires to read and execute the computer program stored in the memory. The memory and the processor may be integrated together or may be physically separate from each other.

[0271] Optionally, the processing device may be one or more chips or one or more integrated circuits. For example, the processing device may be one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), systems on chips (SoCs), central processing units (CPUs), network processors (NPs), digital signal processors (DSPs), microcontroller units (MCUs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or other integrated chips, or any combination of the aforementioned chips or processors.

[0272] 14 is a diagram of the structure of a communication device 1400 in the above example according to the present application. The communication device 1400 may specifically be a communication device used as a control device or a first remote device in the above example. For the structure of the communication device, please refer to the structure shown in FIG.

[0273] The communication device 1400 includes at least one processor 1411 and at least one network interface 1414 .

[0274] Further, optionally, the communication device further includes at least one memory 1412, at least one transceiver 1413, and one or more antennas 1415. The processor 1411, the memory 1412, the transceiver 1413, and the network interface 1414 are connected to each other, for example, via a bus. In this application, the connection may include various categories of interfaces, transmission lines, buses, etc. This is not limited in this application. The antenna 1415 is connected to the transceiver 1413. The network interface 1414 is configured to enable the communication device to communicate with another communication device over a communication link. For example, the network interface 1414 may include a network interface between the communication device and a core network device, for example, an S1 interface. The network interface may also include a network interface between the communication device and another communication device (e.g., another network device or a core network device), for example, an X2 or Xn interface.

[0275] The processor 1411 is primarily configured to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process data from the software programs, for example, to support the communication device in performing actions in the implementation processes described above. The communication device may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit. The baseband processor is primarily configured to process communication protocols and communication data. The central processing unit is primarily configured to control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process data from the software programs. The processor 1411 in FIG. 14 may integrate the functions of the baseband processor and the central processing unit. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may alternatively be independent processors and interconnected using technology such as a bus. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a network device may include multiple baseband processors to accommodate different network standards, multiple central processing units to increase the processing power of the network device, and components of the network device may be connected via various buses. The baseband processor may alternatively be referred to as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may alternatively be referred to as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The functionality for processing communication protocols and communication data may be embedded in the processor or stored in memory in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to implement the baseband processing functionality.

[0276] The memory is mainly configured to store software programs and data. The memory 1412 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 1411. Optionally, the memory 1412 may alternatively be integrated with the processor 1411, for example, integrated into one chip. The memory 1412 can store program codes for implementing the technical solutions in the present application, and the processor 1411 controls the execution. Various categories of computer program codes that are executed can also be considered as drivers for the processor 1411.

[0277] 14 shows only one memory and one processor. In an actual network device, there may be multiple processors and multiple memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium, a storage device, etc. The memory may be a storage element located on the same chip as the processor, i.e., an on-chip storage element, or an independent storage element. This is not a limitation in the present application.

[0278] The transceiver 1413 may be configured to support reception or transmission of wireless signals between a communication device and a terminal, and may be connected to an antenna 1415. The transceiver 1413 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, the one or more antennas 1415 can receive wireless signals. The receiver Rx in the transceiver 1413 is configured to receive wireless signals from the antenna, convert the wireless signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 1411, so that the processor 1411 further processes the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, for example, performing demodulation and decoding. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 1413 is further configured to receive modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals from the processor 1411, convert the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals into wireless signals, and transmit the wireless signals via the one or more antennas 1415. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one-level or multi-level downmixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the radio signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal. The sequence of the downmixing and analog-to-digital conversion is adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one-level or multi-level upmixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signal or the digital intermediate frequency signal to obtain a radio signal. The sequence of the upmixing and digital-to-analog conversion is adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital intermediate frequency signal may be collectively referred to as a digital signal.

[0279] The transceiver 1413 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver device, etc. Optionally, a component configured to implement a receiving function within the transceiver unit may be considered a receiving unit, and a component configured to implement a transmitting function within the transceiver unit may be considered a transmitting unit. That is, the transceiver unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, etc. The transmitting unit may also be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0280] It should be noted that the communication device 1400 shown in Fig. 14 may be specifically configured to implement the steps implemented by the control device or the first remote device in the above-mentioned method and to implement the corresponding technical effects of the control device or the first remote device. For specific implementation forms of the communication device 1400 shown in Fig. 14, please refer to the description in the above-mentioned method. The details will not be described one by one again in this specification.

[0281] The division into modules in this application is merely an example and is merely a logical division of functions, and other divisions may be used in actual implementation. In addition, the functional modules in this application may be integrated into one processor, may exist physically alone, or two or more modules may be integrated into one module. The integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules.

[0282] All or part of the technical solutions provided in this application may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the technical solutions, all or part of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the procedures or functions according to this application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a terminal device, or another programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from a computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio, or microwave) methods. A computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer or data storage device, such as a server or data center that consolidates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, or magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs (DVDs)), semiconductor media, etc.

[0283] In this application, cross-references may be made between examples without logical contradiction, e.g., cross-references may be made between methods and / or terms in method examples, cross-references may be made between functions and / or terms in apparatus examples, and cross-references may be made between functions and / or terms in apparatus examples and method examples.

[0284] It is apparent that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the scope of this application. This application intends to cover these modifications and variations of this application, provided that they fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalent techniques. [Explanation of symbols]

[0285] 100 RAN 110 RAN devices, RAN nodes 110a Base Station, Network Element 110b Network Elements 120 Terminal, Network Element 120a~120j Terminals, network elements 200 Core Network 300 Internet 1000 Communication Systems 1200 Communication Equipment 1201 Processing Unit 1202 Transceiver Unit 1300 Communication Equipment 1301 Logic Circuits 1302 Input / Output Interface 1400 Communication Equipment 1411 processor 1412 memory 1413 Transceiver 1414 Network Interface 1415 Antenna

Claims

1. transmitting a first optical signal, wherein parameters corresponding to the first optical signal are for waking up a first remote device; Including, the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes at least one of optical signal strength or loss of signal (LOS) detection; Communication method.

2. The parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is for waking up a first remote device; When the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal strength, the optical signal strength is represented as N bits, and when a value of the N bits is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, where N is a positive integer. The method of claim 1.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first remote device is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascaded to a control device.

5. the first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, and the method includes: transmitting a second optical signal via the first remote device to a second remote device, wherein parameters corresponding to the second optical signal are for waking up the second remote device; further comprising: The method of claim 4.

6. transmitting a second optical signal to a second remote device via the first remote device; transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device via the first remote device after determining that the first remote device has been woken up; The method of claim 5.

7. receiving a first optical signal; waking up a first remote device based on a parameter corresponding to the first optical signal, wherein the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal comprises: at least one of optical signal strength or loss of signal (LOS) detection; A communication method, including:

8. The first remote device is in an energy saving mode, and P modules in the first remote device are in a power-off state, where P is a positive integer; The P modules are: a first module configured to process wireless signals; a second module configured to provide power to the first module; a third module configured to transmit an optical signal; a fourth module configured to provide power to the third module; and including at least one of The method of claim 7.

9. The first remote device is in an energy saving mode, and Q modules in the first remote device are in a power-on state, where Q is a positive integer; The Q modules are: a fifth module configured to receive an optical signal; and a sixth module configured to provide power to the fifth module; a seventh module configured to identify a parameter corresponding to the optical signal; an eighth module configured to provide power to the seventh module; and including at least one of 9. The method of claim 7 or 8.

10. the seventh module is integrated into the fifth module, or the seventh module is integrated into the eighth module; The method of claim 9.

11. The parameter corresponding to the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, When the parameter corresponding to the first optical signal includes the optical signal strength, the optical signal strength is represented as N bits, and when a value of the N bits is a first value, the first optical signal is for waking up the first remote device, where N is a positive integer. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the first optical signal is a periodic signal.

13. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the first remote device is included in at least two remote devices, and the at least two remote devices are cascaded to a control device.

14. the first remote device is one of the at least two remote devices and is an intermediate device cascaded to the control device, and the method includes: receiving a second optical signal, wherein parameters corresponding to the second optical signal are for waking up a second remote device; transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device; 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

15. transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device; after waking up the first remote device, transmitting the second optical signal to the second remote device; The method of claim 14.

16. A communication device comprising a unit configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

17. A communications device comprising at least one processor and a memory, said at least one processor coupled to said memory, said processor configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6.

18. A communication device comprising a unit configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 7 to 15.

19. A communications device comprising at least one processor and a memory, said at least one processor coupled to said memory, said processor configured to perform the method of any one of claims 7 to 15.

20. A communication system comprising a communication device according to claim 16 or 17 and a communication device according to claim 18 or 19.

21. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 15.

22. A computer program product comprising instructions, which when executed on a computer, enable the computer to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

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