CN114650543B

CN114650543B - Networking coverage optimization method and base station

Info

Publication number: CN114650543B
Application number: CN202110171095.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杜冠贤; 蒋村杰
Original assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute ITRI
Current assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute ITRI
Priority date: 2020-12-17
Filing date: 2021-02-08
Publication date: 2024-04-09
Anticipated expiration: 2041-02-08
Also published as: CN114650543A

Abstract

The invention provides a networking coverage optimization method and a base station. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a measurement report from a user equipment; transmitting member tracking information to the first base station in response to determining that the measurement report indicates the presence of a neighboring first base station; judging whether the first base station belongs to other base station groups or not based on member tracking response from the first base station; in response to determining that the first base station does not belong to the other base station group, joining the first base station to the base station group managed by the base station; and merging the group of base stations with the other group of base stations in response to the determination that the member tracking response indicates that the first base station belongs to the other group of base stations. Therefore, a better transmission experience of the user equipment can be provided at lower cost.

Description

Networking coverage optimization method and base station

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a mechanism for adjusting network coverage, and more particularly, to a method and a base station for optimizing a networking (self-defined network) coverage.

Background

In the 5 th generation (5G) communication system, the most commonly encountered problem in networking of mobile Base Stations (BS) is signal coverage optimization, which is not only complex, but also an important key directly related to user experience. For example, if the coverage area of each base station in the networking is too small (i.e., the transmission power of each base station is small), a coverage hole (coverage hole) occurs in the overall coverage area, so that a UE (user equipment) located in the coverage hole may fail to be networked. On the other hand, if the coverage area of each base station in the network is too large (i.e., the transmission power of each base station is large), serious interference occurs between the base stations.

The current mainstream solution is to solve the problem of signal coverage optimization during networking by using a centralized server with complex Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm, high hardware specification and global view (i.e. known location information of base stations and UEs), and the centralized server can directly calculate the most perfect answer and set the most perfect answer into a large number of base stations.

With the rapid development of 5G private network applications in recent years, there are increasing applications of small-scale indoor networks using a small number of base stations. However, the above-mentioned high-specification centralized server is mainly designed for a large network, and can process at high speed and serve tens of thousands of base stations at the same time, but the price is very high, so that it is slightly wasteful if it is used for serving a small number of base stations.

In small private network applications, since there are a small number of base stations, distributed algorithms are often used to implement networking, and the management server may also use a more economical specification (e.g., only the simplest management interface is reserved) to reduce the cost of deployment.

In the distributed signal coverage optimization algorithm of the related art, three essential elements such as a UE position, a BS position, and a measurement report (measurement report) of the UE are all required to be implemented. However, this simply puts the centralized server effort on the base station, with more limited hardware to accomplish complex AI operations, and also increases the effort to collect device location information and set up on a per-station basis.

Therefore, it is an important issue for those skilled in the art how to design a low-cost distributed signal coverage optimization mechanism that can be implemented by only UE measurement reporting without UE location and BS location.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the present invention provides a method and a base station for optimizing a coverage area of a network, which can be used to solve the above-mentioned technical problems.

The invention provides a networking coverage optimization method which is suitable for serving a first specific base station of first user equipment, wherein the first specific base station manages a first base station group. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a first measurement report from a first user equipment; transmitting first member tracking information to the first base station in response to determining that the first measurement report indicates the presence of a neighboring first base station, wherein the first base station transmits a first member tracking response back to the first particular base station in response to the first member tracking information; judging whether the first base station belongs to other base station groups or not based on the first member tracking response; in response to determining that the first base station does not belong to the other base station group, joining the first base station to the first base station group; and combining the first group of base stations and the second group of base stations in response to determining that the first member tracking response indicates that the first base station belongs to the second group of base stations.

The invention provides a networking coverage optimization method which is suitable for a first base station. The method comprises the following steps: receiving first member tracking information from a first particular base station, wherein the first particular base station manages a first group of base stations; and returning a first member tracking response to the first specific base station in response to the first member tracking information, wherein the first member tracking response comprises a base station class to which the first base station belongs, a neighbor list of the first base station, and a first group list of the first base station, wherein the base station class comprises an edge base station class or an internal base station class, and the location of the first base station is unknown to the first specific base station.

The present invention provides a base station that serves a first user equipment and manages a first base station group. The base station includes a memory circuit, a transceiver, and a processor. The memory circuit stores program codes. The processor is coupled to the memory circuit and the transceiver and loads the program code to perform the following steps: receiving, by the transceiver, a first measurement report from the first user device; in response to determining that the first measurement report indicates the presence of a neighboring first base station, transmitting, by the transceiver, first member tracking information to the first base station, wherein the first base station transmits a first member tracking response back to the first particular base station in response to the first member tracking information; judging whether the first base station belongs to other base station groups or not based on the first member tracking response; in response to determining that the first base station does not belong to the other base station group, joining the first base station to the first base station group; and combining the first group of base stations and the second group of base stations in response to determining that the first member tracking response indicates that the first base station belongs to the second group of base stations.

The present invention provides a base station comprising: a memory circuit, a transceiver, and a processor. The memory circuit stores program codes. The processor is coupled to the memory circuit and the transceiver and loads the program code to perform the following steps: receiving, by the transceiver, first member tracking information from a first particular base station, wherein the first particular base station manages a first group of base stations; and returning a first member tracking response to the first specific base station through the transceiver in response to the first member tracking information, wherein the first member tracking response includes a base station class to which the first base station belongs, a neighbor list of the first base station, and a first group list of the first base station, wherein the base station class includes an edge base station class or an intra base station class, and a location of the first base station is unknown to the first specific base station.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating network coverage optimization according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 1B is a schematic diagram of a plurality of base station groups and corresponding group lists according to the embodiment shown in fig. 1A.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for optimizing networking coverage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3A to 3V are application scenario diagrams illustrating various embodiments according to the present invention.

Fig. 4A to 4F are application scenario diagrams illustrating removal of an internal base station according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5A to 5E are application scenarios of the newly added internal base station according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6A to 6D are application scenario diagrams of a mobile internal base station according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7A to 7C are application scenario diagrams of a closed edge base station according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8A to 8H are application scenario diagrams of an added edge base station according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9A to 9H are application scenario diagrams of a mobile edge base station according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a functional block diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for optimizing networking coverage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

In general terms, the method proposed by the present invention can adjust the transmission power of the BS gradually inwards from the outer edge of the service area in a distributed manner by an edge base station belonging to the class of edge base stations or an inner base station belonging to the class of inner base stations. Therefore, the BS in the service area can estimate the coverage ratio of the service area by the number of edge BSs which can be connected with each other in the neighbor relation (neighbor relation) without causing mutual interference, so as to be used as a quantization index of the signal coverage ratio of the service area, and thereby, the setting of the coverage of the network is adjusted. As will be further described below.

Referring to fig. 1A, a schematic diagram of network coverage optimization is shown according to an embodiment of the invention. In the scenario of FIG. 1A, a service range 199 may be defined by the locations of base stations e 1-e 4 (which individually may be referred to as edge base stations) belonging to an edge base station class. In another embodiment, the related network manager can also place the base stations e 1-e 4 on the edge of the service area 199 after determining the service area 199, but the invention is not limited thereto. The service area 199 may be provided with base stations i1 to i5 belonging to the category of the internal base station (which may be individually referred to as internal base stations).

In embodiments of the present invention, the locations of the individual base stations e 1-e 4 and i 1-i 5 are unknown to the other base stations, and the locations of UEs within/outside the service area 199 are also unknown to the respective base stations e 1-e 4 and i 1-i 5.

In the initial stage of the immediately-started up of the respective base stations e1 to e4 and i1 to i5, the respective base stations e1 to e4 and i1 to i5 may use a transmission power (expressed as txpower) of a predetermined value (e.g., 0 dbm), and the transmission ranges (i.e., circles surrounding the respective base stations e1 to e4 and i1 to i 5) corresponding to the respective base stations e1 to e4 and i1 to i5 may be shown in the left half of fig. 1A.

Over time, the method of the present invention enables each of the base stations e 1-e 4 and i 1-i 5 to correspondingly adjust to a better transmission power, and further enables the overall coverage area formed by each of the base stations e 1-e 4 and il-i 5 to better (e.g., no coverage holes are generated and no excessive inter-base station interference exists) cover the service area 199, as shown in the right half of fig. 1A.

In the embodiment of the invention, each base station can maintain a corresponding group list, a neighbor list and an interference list. For example, for a reference base station belonging to a reference base station group, the maintained group list may record information (e.g., global cell identity (global cell identity, CGI), number of hops away from the edge base station (hereinafter referred to as edge base station hops), connectivity with other base stations in the reference base station group, and roles within the base station group (e.g., management base station or member base station) about each member base station in the reference base station group (which may be an edge base station belonging to an edge base station class or an inner base station belonging to an inner base station class) and a particular base station managing the base station group (which is an edge base station belonging to an edge base station class).

In addition, the interference list of the reference base station may record interference information of the reference base station to other base stations (hereinafter referred to as interfered base stations) in the reference base station group, such as CGI of each interfered base station and interference level (e.g. potential interference/strong interference) of the reference base station to each interfered base station, etc., but is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the format of the interference list of a base station may be as shown in table 1 below.

TABLE 1

Index	CGI of a scrambled base station	Time	Interference level
				0	1000	2020-07-29 10:00:00	Strong interference
1	2000	2020-07-29 14:00:00	Potential interference
				2	3000	2020-07-30 09:30:00	Strong interference
3	5000	2020-07-30 10:30:00	Strong interference
				4	6000	2020-07-30 11:00:00	Potential interference

Furthermore, the neighbor list of the reference base station may record information of other base stations having a neighbor relation with the reference base station, and the description thereof may refer to the description of the 3gpp TS 38.331 specification, which is not repeated herein.

Fig. 1B is a schematic diagram of a plurality of base station groups and corresponding group lists according to the embodiment shown in fig. 1A. The scenario of fig. 1B is, for example, one of the processes from the left half of fig. 1A to the right half of fig. 1A, but may not be limited thereto.

In fig. 1B, assuming that the base station group G1 includes the base stations e1, i1 and i2, the content of the group list GL1 corresponding to the base station group G1 may be as shown in fig. 1B. In an embodiment of the present invention, each group member belonging to the same base station group will hold the same group list. In other words, the group lists held by the base stations e1, i1 and i2 are all the same as the group list GL1.

As shown in fig. 1B, the group list GL1 may record each group member of the base station group G1 and its related information. Taking the base station e1 belonging to the edge base station class as an example, the group list GL1 may record the edge base station hop count of the base station e1 (the hop count is 0 because the base station e1 is an edge base station), connectivity between the base station e1 and other group members, and roles of the base station e 1. In addition, since the base station e1 is directly connected to the base stations i1, i2, the connectivity of the base station e1 can be expressed as "111". In addition, assuming that the base station e1 is a specific base station managing the base station group G1, the role of the base station e1 may be denoted as a managing base station.

Taking the base station i1 belonging to the internal base station class as an example, the group list GL1 may record the number of hops from the base station i1 to the edge base station (e.g., the base station e 1), connectivity between the base station i1 and other group members, and roles of the base station i 1. In addition, since the base station i1 is directly connected to the base stations e1 and i2, the connectivity of the base station i1 can be expressed as "111". In addition, since the base station i1 is managed by the base station e1, the base station i1 may be denoted as a member base station.

In addition, assuming that the base station group G2 includes the base stations e2, i3, i4 and e3, the content of the group list GL2 corresponding to the base station group G2 can be shown in fig. 1B, and the group lists held by the base stations e2, i3, i4 and e3 are all the same as the group list GL2.

As shown in fig. 1B, the group list GL2 may record each group member of the base station group G2 and its related information. Taking the base station e2 belonging to the edge base station class as an example, the group list GL2 may record the edge base station hop count of the base station e2 (the hop count is 0 because the base station e2 is an edge base station), the connectivity of the base station e2 with other group members, and the role of the base station e 2. In addition, since the base station e2 is directly connected to only the base station i4, the connectivity of the base station e2 may be expressed as "1010". In addition, assuming that the base station e2 is a specific base station managing the base station group G2, the role of the base station e2 may be denoted as a managing base station.

Taking the base station i3 belonging to the internal base station class as an example, the group list GL2 may record the edge base station hops from the base station i3 to the edge base station (e.g., the base station e2 or e 3), connectivity between the base station i3 and other group members, and roles of the base station i 3. In addition, since the base station i3 is directly connected to only the base station i4, the connectivity of the base station i3 can be expressed as "0110". In addition, since the base station i3 is managed by the base station e2, the base station i3 may be denoted as a member base station.

Taking the base station e3 belonging to the edge base station class as an example, the group list GL2 may record the edge base station hop count of the base station e3 (the hop count is 0 because the base station e3 is an edge base station), the connectivity of the base station e3 and other group members, and the role of the base station e 3. In addition, since the base station e3 is directly connected to only the base station i4, the connectivity of the base station e3 may be expressed as "1011". In addition, assuming that the base station e3 is a backup management base station of the base station group G2, the role of the base station e3 may be denoted as a member base station (backup management base station), wherein the meaning of the backup management base station will be described later.

As shown in fig. 1B, the group list GL3 may record each group member of the base station group G3 and its related information. Taking the base station e4 belonging to the edge base station class as an example, the group list GL3 may record the edge base station hop count of the base station e4 (the hop count is 0 because the base station e4 is an edge base station), the connectivity of the base station e4 with other group members, and the role of the base station e 4. In fig. 1B, it is assumed that the base station group G3 includes only the base station e4, so the role of the base station e4 can be denoted as management base station. The meaning of the rest of the group list contents in fig. 1B should be deduced based on the above description, and is not repeated here.

In the embodiment of the present invention, in order to make the method of the present invention work smoothly, the present invention proposes 5 specific information/requests and their respective corresponding response messages as shown in the following table 2.

TABLE 2

In an embodiment, the format of the member tracking information may be as shown in table 3 below.

TABLE 3 Table 3

Parameter name	Parameter class	Use of the same
			Source	String	CGI for marking initiator
Target object	String	CGI for identifying receiver
			Time	timestamp	Indication information initiation time
Security key	Double	Security information

In an embodiment, the format of the member tracking response may be as shown in Table 4 below.

TABLE 4 Table 4

In an embodiment, the format of the update information may be as shown in table 5 below.

TABLE 5

In an embodiment, the format of the update response message may be as shown in table 6 below.

TABLE 6

Parameter name	Parameter class	Use of the same
			Source	String	CGI for marking initiator
Target object	String	CGI for identifying receiver
			Time	timestamp	Indication information initiation time
Security key	Double	Security information
			Results	Boolean	Whether or not to successfully update the group list

In an embodiment, the format of the group combination and request may be as shown in Table 7 below.

TABLE 7

In an embodiment, the format of the group combined and responded to may be as illustrated in Table 8 below.

TABLE 8

In an embodiment, the format of the power control information may be as shown in table 9 below.

TABLE 9

In an embodiment, the format of the power control response may be as shown in table 10 below.

Table 10

Parameter nameWeighing scale	Parameter class	Use of the same
			Source	String	CGI for marking initiator
Target object	String	CGI for identifying receiver
			Time	timestamp	Indication information initiation time
Confirmation of	Boolean	Whether or not to accept power control

In an embodiment, the format of the interference control information may be as shown in table 11 below.

TABLE 11

Parameter name	Parameter class	Use of the same
			Source	String	Marking hairCGI of initiator
Target object	String	CGI for identifying receiver
			Time	timestamp	Indication information initiation time
Interference level	INT	Strong or potential interference

In an embodiment, the format of the interference control response may be as shown in table 12 below.

Table 12

Parameter name	Parameter class	Use of the same
			Source	String	CGI for marking initiator
Target object	String	CGI for identifying receiver
			Time	timestamp	Indication information initiation time
Security key	Double	Security information
			Results	Boolean	Whether or not to successfully update

In the embodiments of the present invention, it is assumed that there is a network management protocol connection between each base station in the considered networking, which may be used to transfer the various information/responses in table 2 between base stations to each other, but may not be limited thereto. In various embodiments, the network management protocol connection may be established based on the CPE wide area network management protocol (CPE WAN Management Protocol, CWMP), the simple network management protocol (Simple Network Management Protocol, SNMP), and Netconf, but is not limited thereto.

Referring to fig. 2, a flowchart of a method for optimizing a coverage area of a network is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method of the present embodiment may be performed by a particular base station managing any group of base stations. For ease of understanding, the following description will be further described with reference to fig. 3A to 3V, where fig. 3A to 3V are application scenarios illustrated in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

In fig. 3A, assuming that the base station e1 just completes the relevant initialization and power-up procedure, the base station e1 will default to the management base station of the base station group G1 it manages. That is, the base station e1 is a specific base station managing the base station group G1. In this case, the group list GL1 of the base station group G1 may be as shown in fig. 3A. As mentioned previously, the base station e1 will transmit a signal with a transmission power having a preset value (e.g., 0 dbm).

In an embodiment, it is assumed that the UE 311 attaches (attach) to the base station e1 due to being located in the transmission range of the base station e1. Then, the UE 311 may be required to detect the neighboring base station through the configuration information of the radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) by the base station e1, and the UE 311 may be required to provide a corresponding measurement report. For details, reference may be made to the content of the 5G specification, and details are not described herein.

In fig. 3B, the base station e1 may perform step S210 to receive a measurement report from the UE 311, and may determine whether there is a neighboring base station based on the measurement report. In an embodiment, assuming that the base station e1 determines that the measurement report provided by the UE 311 indicates that there are no nearby base stations, the base station e1 may boost the transmission power (e.g., 2 dbm) of the base station e1 accordingly in an attempt to expand the transmission range of the base station e1 to cover more UEs.

In fig. 3C, assuming that another UE 312 attaches to the base station e1 after the base station e1 expands the transmission range, the base station e1 will also request the UE 312 to provide a measurement report, and execute step S210 to receive the measurement report from the UE 312, and determine whether there is a neighboring base station (hereinafter referred to as a first base station) neighboring the base station e1 based on the measurement report. If yes, the base station e1 may correspondingly execute step S220, otherwise, the transmission power may be increased again.

In step S220, in response to determining that the measurement report of the UE 312 indicates the presence of a first base station, the base station e1 may transmit member tracking information (i.e., information 1) to this first base station.

In an embodiment, since the measurement report of the UE 312 may include the physical cell identity (physical cell identity, PCI) of the first base station, the base station e1 may request the UE 312 to obtain the identifier (e.g. CGI) of the first base station through RRC configuration information.

After the UE 312 returns the identifier of the first base station, the base station e1 may request the IP address of the first base station from the core network through the NG interface based on the identifier of the first base station and establish a neighbor relation with the first base station based on the IP address of the first base station. Thereafter, the base station e1 may record the first base station in the neighbor list maintained by the base station e1, and the first base station may also record the base station e1 in the neighbor list maintained by the first base station, but is not limited thereto.

In an embodiment, the first base station may return a member tracking response (i.e. information 2) in response to the member tracking information sent by the base station e1, and the base station e1 may determine whether the first base station belongs to other base station groups based on the member tracking response in step S230. If not, the base station e1 can execute step S240 to join the first base station to the base station group G1. On the other hand, assuming that the member tracking response indicates that the first base station belongs to another base station group, the base station e1 may perform step S250 to combine the base station group G1 with the other base station group.

In fig. 3D, assuming that the base stations i1 to i3 are the first base stations indicated in the measurement report of the UE 312, the base station e1 may individually establish network management protocol connection with the base stations i1 to i3 according to the above description, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Thereafter, in fig. 3E, the base station E1 may send member tracking information (i.e., information 1) to each of the base stations i1 to i3, and receive member tracking responses (i.e., information 2 including the group list) returned from each of the base stations i1 to i 3. In this embodiment, assuming that the base stations i 1-i 3 do not belong to any base station group, the individual group list of the base stations i 1-i 3 will be empty, as indicated by the group list GLE. Accordingly, the base station e1 can learn that the base stations i1 to i3 do not belong to any base station group based on the empty group list in the member tracking response returned by each base station i1 to i 3. In this case, the base station e1 may join the base stations i1 to i3 to the base station group G1 (step S240).

In an embodiment, in the process that the base station E1 adds the base stations i1 to i3 to the base station group G1, the base station E1 may consider the base stations i1 to i3 as member base stations of the base station group G1 and add the related information of the base stations i1 to i3 to the group list GL1 to update the group list GL1, as shown in fig. 3E.

In fig. 3F, the base station e1 may send update information (i.e., information 3) to each of the base stations i1 to i3, wherein the update information may include an updated group list GL1, and may be used to request each of the base stations i1 to i3 to update the group list of each of the base stations i1 to i3 according to the updated group list GL 1. In the present embodiment, after the update is completed, the group list held by each base station i1 to i3 will also have the content of the group list GL1 shown in fig. 3F, and each base station i1 to i3 may send an update response message (i.e. information 4) back to the base station e1 to inform the updated result, but is not limited thereto.

In an embodiment, after adding the base stations i1 to i3 to the base station group G1, the base station e1 may determine whether the number of edge base stations in the base station group G1 is not less than a number threshold, or whether each member base station of the base station group G1 refuses to adjust the transmission power.

If the number of edge base stations in the base station group G1 is less than the number threshold, and none of the member base stations in the base station group G1 refuses to adjust the transmission power, the base station e1 may request each of the member base stations (i.e., the base stations i 1-i 3) in the base station group G1 to increase the transmission power through the power control information (i.e., the information 7) in an attempt to make the base station group G1 include more edge base stations/inner base stations. In various embodiments, the threshold value may be set to any value according to the requirements of the related network manager. For ease of illustration, an example value of 5 will be used as the number threshold value, but the invention may not be limited thereto.

As mentioned previously, each base station i 1-i 3 will be preset to transmit signals with a transmission power having a preset value (e.g., 0 dbm). Since there are only 1 edge base stations (i.e., base station e 1) in the base station group G1 in the scenario of fig. 3F, the base station e1 may request the base stations i 1-i 3 to increase the transmission power through the power control information (i.e., information 7) after determining that the number of edge base stations in the base station group G1 is less than 5 (i.e., the number threshold value), as shown in fig. 3G.

In fig. 3G, in response to the power control information from the base station e1, the base stations i1 to i3 can individually determine whether their interference lists are empty. In this embodiment, assuming that the interference lists of the base stations i1 to i3 are all empty, each of the base stations i1 to i3 can, for example, boost the transmission power to 2dbm and correspondingly transmit a power control response (i.e., information 8) back to the base station e1.

In other embodiments, assuming that the interference list of a member base station in the base station group G1 is not null, after it receives the power control information, the base station e1 may be informed of the rejection of the adjustment of the transmission power by the power control response.

In fig. 3H, it is assumed that after the base station i3 boosts the transmission power, there is a UE 313 correspondingly attached to the base station i3, and this UE 313 can correspondingly provide measurement reports to the base station i3. In this embodiment, assuming that the measurement report of the UE 313 indicates that there is a base station i4 adjacent to the base station i3, the base station i3 can establish a neighbor relation with the base station i4 according to the previous description, and the base station i3 can record the base station i4 in the neighbor list maintained by the base station i3.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the base station e1 managing the base station group G1 may send the member tracking information to each member base station (i.e., the base stations i1 to i 3) at regular or irregular time, and obtain the information such as the base station category, neighbor list, group list, etc. of each member base station based on the member tracking response returned by each member base station.

In fig. 3I, assuming that the base station e1 knows the existence of the base station I4 from the neighbor list in the member tracking response returned by the base station I3, the base station e1 may first add the base station I4 to the group list GL1 and send the member tracking information to the base station I4 accordingly. Accordingly, the base station i4 transmits back the member tracking response to the base station e1.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the base station i4 does not belong to any base station group, and its group list will be empty, as shown in the group list GLE. In this case, the base station e1 may join the base station i4 to the base station group G1 as described previously, and update the group list GL1 to that shown in fig. 3J.

Thereafter, in fig. 3K, the base station e1 may send update information to each of the base stations i1 to i4, so that each of the base stations i1 to i3 updates the held group list to the content of the group list GL1 as shown in fig. 3J.

In fig. 3L, since the number of edge base stations in the base station group G1 is still smaller than the number threshold (i.e. 5), the base station e1 may request each member base station (i.e. base stations i 1-i 4) of the base station group G1 to boost the transmission power through the power control information (i.e. information 7) in an attempt to let the base station group G1 include more edge base stations/internal base stations.

As mentioned previously, the base station i4 will be preset to transmit a signal with a transmission power having a preset value (e.g., 0 dbm). In fig. 3L, in response to the power control information from the base station e1, the base stations i1 to i4 may, for example, boost the transmission power to 4, 2dbm, respectively, and correspondingly return the power control response (i.e., information 8) to the base station e1.

In fig. 3M, a UE 314 attached to base station i4 may provide a measurement report to base station i 4. In this embodiment, the measurement report of the UE 314 may include the received power of the UE 312 for the base stations i3 and i4 (e.g., reference signal received power (Reference Symbol Received Power, RSRP)). In this case, the base station i4 may determine whether the received power of the UE 312 for the base station i3 satisfies an interference condition.

In an embodiment, if the base station i4 determines that the RSRP of the UE 312 to the base station i3 is between the first interference threshold and the second interference threshold (which is greater than the first interference threshold), or is higher than the second interference threshold, the base station i4 may determine that the received power of the UE 312 to the base station i3 satisfies the interference condition.

If the base station i4 determines that the UE 312 satisfies the interference condition with respect to the received power of the base station i3, the base station i4 may determine whether the number of edge base station hops (e.g., 2) of the base station i4 is greater than the number of edge base station hops (e.g., 1) of the base station i 3. In an embodiment, if the base station i4 determines that the number of edge base station hops of the base station i4 is greater than the number of edge base station hops of the base station i3 (i.e., the scenario in fig. 3M), this represents that the base station i4 is farther away from the edge base station, and thus is more suitable for covering more UEs with greater transmission power. In this case, the base station i4 may transmit interference control information (i.e., information 9) to the base station i3 to require the base station i3 closer to the edge base station to maintain or reduce the transmission power.

In an embodiment, the interference control information may include an interference level of the base station i3 to the base station i 4. For example, if the RSRP of the UE 312 to the base station i3 is between the first interference threshold and the second interference threshold, the base station i4 may determine that the interference level of the base station i3 to the base station i4 belongs to potential interference. In addition, if the RSRP of the UE 312 to the base station i3 is greater than the second interference threshold value, the base station i4 may determine that the interference level of the base station i3 to the base station i4 belongs to strong interference, but is not limited thereto.

In an embodiment, assuming that the base station i3 receives the interference control information from the base station i4, the base station i3 may record the interference level indicated by the base station i4 and the interference control information in the interference list of the base station i3, and determine whether the interference control information is more than a first preset time period (e.g. 30 minutes) away from the previous interference control information (e.g. other interference control information received previously).

In response to determining that the interference control information is more than a first predetermined length of time from the previous interference control information, the base station i3 may maintain or reduce the transmission power of the base station i3 according to the interference level indicated by the interference control information. For example, if the interference level of the several scrambling control information is potential interference, the base station i3 may maintain the transmission power of the base station i 3. In addition, if the interference level of the several pieces of interference control information is strong interference, the base station i3 may reduce the transmission power of the base station i3, but may not be limited thereto. In an embodiment, the base station i3 may decrease the transmission power by a smaller magnitude (e.g., 1 dbm) than the previous increase in transmission power (e.g., 2 dbm). In addition, before the base station i3 reduces the transmission power, it may be determined whether the limit number of times of reducing the transmission power has been reached. If not, the base station i3 may correspondingly reduce the transmission power, otherwise, the transmission power may not be reduced, but may not be limited thereto.

On the other hand, in response to determining that the interference control information is not more than a first preset length of time from the previous interference control information, the base station i3 may ignore the interference control information. Therefore, the base station i3 may be prevented from dropping its own transmission power too frequently, but may not be limited thereto.

In other embodiments, if the base station i4 determines that the number of hops of the edge base station of the base station i4 is less than or equal to the number of hops of the edge base station of the base station i3, this represents that the base station i3 is far away from the edge base station, and thus is more suitable for covering more UEs with larger transmission power. In this case, base station i4 may adjust or maintain the transmission power of base station i4 to maintain or reduce interference to base station i3.

In the scenario of fig. 3M, assuming that base station i4 determines that base station i3 is strong interference, base station i4 may send interference control information (i.e., information 9) to base station i3. Accordingly, the base station i3 may update the interference list and reduce its own transmission power (e.g., from 4dbm to 3 dbm) based on the strong interference indicated in the interference control information. Thereafter, the base station i3 may transmit an interference control response (i.e. information 10) back to the base station i4 to inform the base station i4 of the related result, but is not limited thereto. In this case, the interference of base station i3 to UE 314 will be correspondingly mitigated, as shown in fig. 3N.

In fig. 3O, after the transmission power boost, the base station i4 assumes that the UE 315 is attached to the base station i4, and the base station i4 knows that there is a neighboring base station i5 from the measurement report provided by the UE 315.

In fig. 3P, the base station e1 can learn about the presence of the base station i5 through the member tracking response (i.e., information 2) from the base station i4, and accordingly send the member tracking information (i.e., information 1) to the base station i5, as shown in fig. 3Q. The details of fig. 3O and 3P can be referred to the descriptions of fig. 3I and 3J, and are not described herein.

In fig. 3Q, it is assumed that the base station i5 belongs to the base station group G2, where the base station group G2 may include the base station e2 belonging to the management base station (which is an edge base station) and the base stations i 5-i 6 belonging to the member base stations (where the base stations i5 and i6 are all internal base stations), and the group list held by the base stations e2, i5, i6 may be as shown in the group list GL2 of fig. 3Q. In this case, after the base station i5 receives the member tracking information from the base station e1, a member tracking response (i.e., information 2) will be correspondingly returned to the base station e1. Accordingly, the base station e1 can know that the base station i5 belongs to the base station group G2 based on the non-empty group list GL2 in the member tracking response returned by the base station i5, and can combine the base station groups G1 and G2 accordingly (step S250).

In fig. 3R, during the process of merging the base station groups G1 and G2 by the base station e1, the base station e1 can determine whether the number of base stations in the group list GL1 is greater than the number of base stations in the group list GL 2. In the scenario of fig. 3R, since the number of base stations within group list GL1 (i.e., 5) is greater than the number of base stations within group list GL2 (i.e., 3), base station e1 may send a group combination and request (i.e., information 5) to base station e2. Accordingly, the base station e2 may return a group combination and response (i.e., information 6), and the base station e1 may accordingly merge the base station group G1 and the base station group G2 into a base station group G3 (which includes the base stations e1, e2, i 1-i 6) managed by the base station e1 based on the group lists GL2 and GL1, and update the group list GL1 to a group list GL3 corresponding to the base station group G3 accordingly, as shown in fig. 3S. In addition, in fig. 3S, the base station e1 may set the base station e2 as a backup management base station of the base station group G3.

In other embodiments, assuming that the number of first base stations in the group list GL1 is not greater than the number of second base stations in the group list GL2, the base station e1 may also send a group combination and request to the base station e2 to combine the base station groups G1 and G2 into the base station group G3, and the base station group G3 may be managed by the base station e2, but is not limited thereto. Then, the base station e1 can respond to the group combination and request and return the group combination and respond to the base station e2. Thereafter, the base station e2 may merge the base station group G1 and the base station group G2 into a base station group G3 managed by the base station e2 based on the group lists GL2 and GL1, wherein the base station group G3 may include the base stations e1, e2, i1 to i6. In this case, the base station e2 may set the base station e1 as the backup management base station of the base station group G3. In short, the management base station of the merged base station group may be a management base station that originally manages more member base stations, and the edge base station that originally manages less member base stations may become a backup management base station, but may not be limited thereto.

Thereafter, in fig. 3T, the base station e1 managing the base station group G3 may send update information (i.e., information 3) including the group list GL3 to the base stations e2, i 1-i 6, and the base stations e2, i 1-i 6 correspondingly return update response messages (i.e., information 4) to the base station e1 after updating the held group list accordingly.

Thereafter, in fig. 3U, since the number of edge base stations in the base station group G3 is still smaller than the number threshold (e.g., 5), the base station e1 may request the base stations e2, i 1-i 6 to boost the transmission power through the power control information (i.e., information 7) in an attempt to let the base station group G3 include more edge base stations/inner base stations.

In other embodiments, the above mechanism continues until an edge base station in the service area 199 determines that the number of edge base stations in the managed base station group is not less than a number threshold (e.g., 5), or each member base station in the base station group refuses to adjust the transmission power.

In fig. 3V, it is assumed that the group list corresponding to the base station group G99 managed by the base station e1 is the group list GL99 shown over time. As can be seen from the group list GL99, the number of edge base stations in the base station group G99 has reached the number threshold, so the base station e1 can stop requesting the member base stations managed by it to adjust the transmission power. In this case, the overall coverage area formed by the base station group G99 should preferably cover the service area 199 with less coverage holes and interference, thereby providing a better transmission experience for the ue.

Therefore, the method of the invention can gradually adjust the transmission power of each member base station by each management base station in a distributed manner based on the measurement report provided by the UE under the condition that the base station position and the UE position are unknown, so that the formed whole coverage range can better cover the service range under the condition of less coverage holes and interference. Therefore, a better transmission experience of the user equipment can be provided at lower cost.

In some embodiments, in managing the base station to manage the base station group, since the location of each base station in the base station group may vary according to the needs of the network manager, the base station topology and the neighbor relation between base stations established based on the above description may also vary accordingly. In various embodiments, the case of a change in base station topology generally includes: (1) removing the internal base station; (2) adding an internal base station; (3) moving the internal base station; (4) removing the edge base station; (5) adding an edge base station; (6) moving the edge base station. The operation performed when the above situation occurs will be described below.

Fig. 4A to 4F are application scenario diagrams illustrating removal of an internal base station according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In detail, in fig. 4A, it is assumed that the base station group G1 managed by the base station e1 includes the base stations e1, e2, i1 to i6, and the group list corresponding to the base station group G1 is the group list GL1 shown. In this case, assuming that the network manager 499 gives a shutdown instruction to the base station i3 belonging to the internal base station class, the base station i3 is correspondingly shutdown.

Thereafter, as mentioned previously, the base station e1 will send the member tracking information (i.e. information 1) to the base stations e2, i 1-i 6 periodically or non-periodically, wherein the base stations e2, i1, i2, i 4-i 6 can correspondingly transmit the member tracking response (information 2) back to the base station e1, but the base station i3 cannot transmit the member tracking response back to the base station e1 due to the power-off, as shown in fig. 4B.

In a first embodiment, in response to determining that the corresponding member tracking response is not received from base station i3 a default number of times (e.g., 3 times), base station e1 may accordingly remove base station i3 from base station group G1. Then, the base station e1 can find out the member base stations still connected to the base station e1 among the base stations e2, i1, i2, i4 to i6 based on the connectivity between the base station e1 and the base stations e2, i1, i2, i4 to i 6.

In fig. 4C, the base station e1 may find the member base station still connected to the base station e1, for example, based on a Breadth-first search (briadth-first search) algorithm. For example, the base station e1 may perform the following steps: creating an empty breadth-first search queue, and placing the base station e1 into the queue; removing the base station e1 from the breadth first search queue, and adding the base stations i1 and i2 directly connected to the base station e1 into the breadth first search queue; removing base station i1 from the breadth first search queue, and adding a base station (not present) directly connected to base station i1 to the breadth first search queue; base station i2 is removed from the breadth first search queue and a base station (not present) directly connected to base station i2 is added to the breadth first search queue. After the base station i2 is removed from the breadth first search queue, the breadth first search queue is again empty, so the base station e1 can correspondingly determine that the base stations i1 and i2 are still connected to the base station e1, and update the base station group G1 and the corresponding group list GL1 accordingly, as shown in fig. 4D.

In addition, the base station e1 may again perform the breadth-first search algorithm starting from the base station i4 to find other base stations (i.e., base stations e2, i5, i 6) still connected to the base station i 4. Thereafter, the base station e1 may establish a base station group G2 including the base stations e2, i4 to i6, and establish a group list GL2 corresponding to the base station group G2, as shown in fig. 4D. In the group list GL2, the base station e1 may set any one of the edge base stations (e.g., the base station e 2) as a management base station that manages the base station group G2, but may not be limited thereto.

Then, the base station e1 may send the group list GL1 to the base stations i1, i2 belonging to the base station group G1 with corresponding update information (i.e. information 3), so that the base stations i1, i2 update the held group list accordingly. In addition, the base station e1 may send the group list GL2 to the base stations e2, i 4-i 6 belonging to the base station group G2 with corresponding update information (i.e. information 3), so that the base stations e2, i 4-i 6 update the held group list accordingly.

In fig. 4E, the base station E1 managing the base station group G1 may send member tracking information (i.e., information 1) to the base stations i1, i2 belonging to the base station group G1, and the base stations i1, i2 may transmit member tracking responses (i.e., information 2) back to the base station E1 accordingly. Similarly, the base station e2 managing the base station group G2 may send member tracking information to the base stations i 4-i 6 belonging to the base station group G2, and the base stations i 4-i 6 may correspondingly return member tracking responses (i.e., information 2) to the base station e2.

In fig. 4F, the base stations e1, i2 in the base station group G1 can continue to operate according to the various mechanisms described above. For example, the base station e1 may request the base stations i1, i2 to boost transmission power via the power control information (i.e., information 7) in an attempt to cover more UEs. In addition, the base stations e2, i 4-i 6 in the base station group G2 may also continue to operate according to various mechanisms described previously. For example, base station e2 may request base stations i 4-i 6 to boost transmission power via power control information (i.e., information 7) in an attempt to cover more UEs. In the scenario of fig. 4F, assuming interference occurs between base stations e2 and i5, base stations e2 and i5 may also reduce power by interference control information (i.e., information 9) based on the previous description (e.g., base station i5 may reduce transmission power from 6dbm to 5 dbm) to reduce interference, but may not be limited thereto.

Fig. 5A to 5E are application scenario diagrams of an added internal base station according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the scenario of fig. 5A may be understood as a scenario occurring subsequent to fig. 4F, but may not be limited thereto.

In fig. 5A, it is assumed that the network manager 499 sets the base station i7 belonging to the internal base station category at the illustrated position and turns on. Thereafter, as shown in fig. 5B, it is assumed that the base station i7 is detected by the UE 511 attached to the base station i5, and the base station i5 knows the presence of the base station i7 through the measurement report provided by the UE 511 and records the base station i7 in the neighbor list of the base station i 5.

In fig. 5C, base station e2 may send member tracking information (i.e., information 1) to base stations i 4-i 6 that it manages. Base station e2 may then learn of the presence of base station i7 from the neighbor list in the member tracking response (i.e., information 2) returned by base station i 5.

In fig. 5D, base station e2 may send member tracking information (i.e., information 1) to base station i 7. Then, the base station e2 can learn from the empty group list in the member tracking response (i.e. information 2) returned by the base station i7 that the base station i7 does not belong to any base station group, so that the base station i7 can be added to the base station group G2, and the group list GL2 of the base station group G2 can be updated accordingly.

In fig. 5E, the base station E2 may send the updated group list GL2 to the base stations i4 to i7 through the update information (i.e., information 3), and the base stations i4 to i7 may update the held group list to the content of the group list GL2 accordingly.

Fig. 6A to 6D are application scenario diagrams of a mobile internal base station according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the scenario of fig. 6A may be understood as a scenario occurring subsequent to fig. 5E, but may not be limited thereto.

In fig. 6A, it is assumed that the network manager 499 intends to move the base station i7 belonging to the intra base station class to the illustrated position. In this case, the network manager 499 may set the base station i7 to a mobile (moved) state, and move the base station i7 to the position shown in fig. 6A and turn on. After being set to the mobile state, the base station i7 may clear the group list, the interference list, and the neighbor list of the base station i7, and restore the transmission power of the base station i7 to a preset value (e.g., 0 dbm).

In fig. 6B, the base station e2 may transmit member tracking information (i.e., information 1) to the managed base stations i4 to i 7. In the third embodiment, the base station e2 can learn that the base station i7 is in a mobile state according to the member tracking response (i.e. information 2) returned by the base station i 7.

In this case, base station e2 may move base station i7 out of base station group G2 and update group list GL2 accordingly to what is shown in fig. 6C. Thereafter, the base station e2 may send the updated group list GL2 to the base stations i4 to i6 through the update information (i.e., the information 3), and the base stations i4 to i6 may update the held group list to the content of the group list GL2 accordingly.

Thereafter, in fig. 6D, assuming that the base station i7 is detected by a UE (not labeled) attached to the base station i2, the base station e1 may join the base station i7 into the base station group G1 through the previous description, and details thereof are not described herein.

Fig. 7A to 7C are application diagrams of a closed edge base station according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, the scenario of fig. 7A may be understood as a scenario occurring subsequent to fig. 6D, but may not be limited thereto.

In fig. 7A, it is assumed that the network manager 499 gives an instruction to turn off to the base station e1 belonging to the edge base station class. Accordingly, the base station e1 can check whether there are other backup management base stations in the base station group G1 managed by it. If so, the base station e1 may set the backup management base station as the management base station.

On the other hand, if there is no backup management base station in the base station group G1 (i.e., the scenario of fig. 7A), the base station e1 may send the empty group list GLE to the base stations i1, i2 and i7 managed by the base station e1 by updating the information (i.e., the information 3) as shown in fig. 7B, and the base stations i1, i2 and i7 may clear the group list held by themselves accordingly. Thereafter, in fig. 7C, the base station e1 may be turned off, and the base station group G1 disappears accordingly.

Fig. 8A to 8H are application diagrams of an added edge base station according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the fifth embodiment, the scenario of fig. 8A may be understood as a scenario occurring subsequent to fig. 7C, but may not be limited thereto.

In fig. 8A, it is assumed that the network manager 499 sets the base station e3 belonging to the edge base station class at the shown location and starts up, and the base station e3 can default itself to be the management base station for managing the base station group G3, and generates the corresponding group list GL3.

In fig. 8B, it is assumed that the base station i7 is detected by a UE (not otherwise labeled) attached to the base station e3, and the base station e3 knows the presence of the base station i7 through a measurement report provided by this UE and records the base station i7 in the neighbor list of the base station e 3.

In fig. 8C, the base station e3 may send the member tracking information (i.e., information 1) to the base station i7, and may learn that the base station i7 does not belong to any base station group based on the empty group list in the member tracking response (i.e., information 2) returned by the base station i 7. Accordingly, base station e3 may join base station i7 in base station group G3. In addition, the base station e3 may also learn about the existence of the base station i2 based on the neighbor list in the member tracking response (i.e., information 2) returned by the base station i7, and may send member tracking information (i.e., information 1) to the base station i2 accordingly.

Then, the base station e3 can learn that the base station i2 does not belong to any base station group based on the empty group list in the member tracking response (i.e. information 2) returned by the base station i 2. Accordingly, the base station e3 can add the base station i2 to the base station group G3 and update the group list GL3, as shown in fig. 8D.

In fig. 8E, the base station E3 may send the updated group list GL3 to the base stations i2, i7 through the update information (i.e., information 3), and the base stations i2, i7 may update the held group list to the content of the group list GL3 accordingly.

In fig. 8F, the base station e3 may request, via the power control information (i.e., information 7), that each member base station (i.e., base stations i2, i 7) of the base station group G3 boost the transmission power in an attempt to let the base station group G3 include more edge base stations/inner base stations.

In fig. 8G, it is assumed that base station i4 is detected by a UE (not otherwise labeled) attached to base station i7, and that base station i7 knows the presence of base station i4 from the measurement report provided by this UE and records base station i4 in the neighbor list of base station i 7.

Thereafter, the base station e3 may send member tracking information (i.e., information 1) to the base station i7, and may learn about the presence of the base station i4 based on the neighbor list in the member tracking response (i.e., information 2) returned by the base station i 7.

Then, the base station e3 may send the member tracking information (i.e. information 1) to the base station i4 accordingly, and the base station e3 may learn that the base station i4 belongs to the base station group G2 managed by the base station e2 based on the group list GL2 in the member tracking response (i.e. information 2) returned by the base station i 4. Accordingly, base station e3 may send a group combination and request (i.e., information 5) to base station e2 in an attempt to merge base station groups G2 and G3 into base station group G4.

In the scenario of fig. 8G, since the number of base stations (i.e., 4) of base station group G2 is greater than the number of base stations (i.e., 3) of base station group G3, the management base station of base station group G4 may be the base station e2 that originally managed base station group G2, and the base station e3 that originally managed base station group G3 may be the backup management base station of base station group G4, as shown in fig. 8H, but may not be limited thereto.

Thereafter, the base station e2 may generate a group list GL4 corresponding to the group G4 of the base station, and send the updated group list GL4 to the base stations e3, i2, i 4-i 7 managed by the base station e2 through the update information (i.e. information 3), and the base stations e3, i2, i 4-i 7 may update the held group list to the content of the group list GL4 accordingly.

Fig. 9A to 9H are application diagrams of a mobile edge base station according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In the sixth embodiment, the scenario of fig. 9A may be understood as a scenario occurring subsequent to fig. 8H, but may not be limited thereto.

In fig. 9A, assuming that the network manager 499 wants to move the base station e2 to another location, the network manager 499 may modify the base station e2 to a moving state accordingly. Thereafter, the base station e2 can find other base stations still connected to the base station e3 (i.e., the redundancy management base station) according to the breadth-first search algorithm described above.

In fig. 9B, the base station e2 can determine that the rest of the base stations i2, i4, i5, i7 are still connected to the base station e3 except the base station i 6. In this case, the base station e2 may establish a base station group G5 including the base stations e3, i2, i4, i5, i7, and designate the base station e3, which is originally a backup management base station, as a management base station of the base station group G5. And, the base station e2 can generate a corresponding group list GL5 based on the base station group G5.

In fig. 9C, the base station e2 may send the group list GL5 to the base stations e3, i2, i4, i5, i7 belonging to the base station group G5 by updating information (i.e., information 3), and the base stations e3, i2, i4, i5, i7 may update the held group list to the contents of the group list GL5 accordingly.

On the other hand, for base station i6 not connected to any edge base station, base station e2 may send an empty group list GLE to base station i6 by updating the information (i.e., information 3), and base station i6 may clear the held group list accordingly. Then, the base station e2 can clear and shut down the held group list, interference list, neighbor list.

In fig. 9D, it is assumed that the base station e2 is moved to the illustrated position and turned on, and the base station e2 can default itself to be a management base station for managing the base station group G6, and generate the corresponding group list GL6.

In fig. 9E, it is assumed that the base station E2 is detected by a UE (not labeled) attached to the base station E3, and the base station E3 knows the presence of the base station E2 through a measurement report provided by this UE and records the base station E2 in the neighbor list of the base station E3. Thereafter, the base station e3 may send member tracking information (i.e. information 1) to the base station e2, and may learn that the base station e2 belongs to the base station group G6 based on the group list GL6 in the member tracking response (i.e. information 2) returned by the base station e 2.

Accordingly, base station e3 may send a group combination and request (i.e., information 5) to base station e2 in an attempt to merge base station groups G5 and G6 into base station group G7 shown in fig. 9G.

In the scenario of fig. 9F, since the number of base stations (i.e., 5) of base station group G5 is greater than the number of base stations (i.e., 1) of base station group G6, the management base station of base station group G7 may be the base station e3 that originally managed base station group G5, while the base station e2 that originally managed base station group G6 may be the backup management base station of base station group G7, as shown in fig. 9G, but may not be limited thereto.

Thereafter, the base station e3 may generate a group list GL7 corresponding to the group G7 of the base station, and send the group list GL7 to the base stations e2, i4, i5, i7 managed by the base station e3 through update information (i.e., information 3), and the base stations e2, i4, i5, i7 may update the held group list to the contents of the group list GL7 accordingly.

In fig. 9H, the base station e3 may request, via the power control information (i.e., information 7), the base stations (i.e., base stations i2, i4, i5, i 7) of each member of the base station group G7 to boost the transmission power in an attempt to let the base station group G7 include more edge base stations/inner base stations.

It should be appreciated that base station i5 is otherwise limited in transmission power due to interference to base station e2, but after base station e2 moves, because there is no longer a neighbor relationship between base station i5 and base station e2, base station i5 can accordingly remove base station e2 from the interference list and can increase transmission power under the control of base station e 3.

In some embodiments, in response to base station e2 (i.e., the backup management base station of base station group G7) determining that any member tracking information has not been received from base station e3 for a predetermined length of time, this represents that base station e3 may have failed to continue managing base station group G7 for reasons. In this case, the base station e3 may set itself as the management base station of the base station group G7, and start to manage the base station group G7.

In some embodiments, it is assumed that a base station group includes a plurality of edge base stations, and the management base station that manages the base station group groups the base station group into a plurality of sub-base station groups. In this case, each edge base station can find a specific sub-base station group to which it belongs from among the above-mentioned sub-base station groups, and determine whether or not itself satisfies a specific condition. In various embodiments, the specific conditions may be determined by the designer. For example, an edge base station may determine whether its CGI is minimal compared to other edge base stations within the same particular group of child base stations. If so, the edge base station may determine that itself satisfies the above specific condition, but may not be limited thereto.

In the embodiment, after the edge base station determines that the edge base station itself satisfies the above specific condition, it may start to manage the specific child base station group to which it belongs, whereas the specific child base station group may not be managed, but may not be limited thereto.

In addition, to facilitate implementation of the various techniques of the present invention, various base stations may maintain various parameters as set forth in table 13 below.

TABLE 13

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Referring to fig. 10, a functional block diagram of a base station is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention. In various embodiments, the base station 100 of fig. 10 may be used to implement the various base stations mentioned above, such as an edge base station or an internal base station, but may not be limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 10, the base station 100 includes a transceiver 101, a memory circuit 102, and a processor 104. The transceiver 101 may be a component such as a protocol unit that supports signaling for a global system for mobile communications (global system for mobile communication, GSM), personal Handyphone System (PHS), code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA) system, wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, wi-Fi) system, or worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, wiMAX).

The transceiver 101 also provides wireless access to the base station 100 of fig. 10 by means of components including at least transmitter circuitry, receiver circuitry, analog-to-digital (a/D) converters, digital-to-analog (D/a) converters, low noise amplifiers (low noise amplifier, LNAs), mixers, filters, matching circuits, transmission lines, power Amplifiers (PA), one or more antenna elements, and a local storage medium, but not limited thereto. In addition, the transceiver 101 may also exchange data with other base stations via the network protocol management connection mentioned above, but is not limited thereto.

The Memory circuit 102 is, for example, any type of fixed or removable random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), read-Only Memory (ROM), flash Memory (Flash Memory), hard disk, or other similar device or combination of these devices, and may be used to record a plurality of program codes or modules.

The processor 104 is coupled to the transceiver 101 and the memory circuit 102, and may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, a controller, a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), a field programmable gate array circuit (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA), any other type of integrated circuit, a state machine, an advanced reduced instruction set machine (Advanced RISC Machine, ARM) based processor, and the like.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the processor 104 may access the modules and program codes recorded in the memory circuit 102 to implement the networking coverage optimization method proposed in the present invention.

In the embodiment, when the base station 100 is used for implementing the management base station for managing the base station group, the corresponding operation manner may refer to the description in the previous embodiment, and is not repeated herein.

In addition, when the base station 100 is used to implement a member base station (which may be an edge base station or an internal base station) belonging to a certain base station group, it may be used to perform the networking coverage optimization method as shown in fig. 11.

Referring to fig. 11, a flowchart of a method for optimizing a coverage area of a network is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method of the present embodiment may be performed by the base station 100 implemented as a member base station, and the steps of fig. 11 are described below with reference to the components shown in fig. 10.

In step S1101, the processor 104 may control the transceiver 101 to receive member tracking information from a specific base station. In various embodiments, the base station 100 may or may not belong to the group of base stations managed by this particular base station.

Next, in step S1102, the processor 104 may control the transceiver 101 to transmit a member tracking response back to the specific base station in response to the member tracking information.

The details of the above steps may be referred to the description of the previous embodiments, and are not described herein.

In summary, in the method of the present invention, when the base station position and the UE position are unknown, each management base station can gradually adjust the transmission power of each member base station based on the measurement report provided by the UE in a distributed manner, so that the formed overall coverage should preferably cover the service range with less coverage holes and interference. Therefore, a better transmission experience of the user equipment can be provided at lower cost.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present invention, and not for limiting the same; although the invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical scheme described in the foregoing embodiments can be modified or some or all of the technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A method of optimizing networking coverage adapted to serve a first edge base station of a first user equipment, wherein the first edge base station manages a first group of base stations, the method comprising:

receiving a first measurement report from the first user equipment;

transmitting first member tracking information to the first base station in response to determining that the first measurement report indicates that there is a neighboring first base station, wherein the first base station transmits a first member tracking response back to the first edge base station in response to the first member tracking information;

judging whether the first base station belongs to other base station groups based on the first member tracking response;

In response to determining that the first base station does not belong to other base station groups, joining the first base station to the first base station group; and

and combining the first base station group and the second base station group in response to determining that the first member tracking response indicates that the first base station belongs to a second base station group.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to the step of transmitting the first member tracking information to the first base station, further comprising:

requesting the first user equipment to report a first identifier of the first base station;

requesting an IP address of the first base station from a core network based on the first identifier;

a neighbor relation is established with the first base station based on the IP address of the first base station.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein in response to determining that the first measurement report indicates that there are no nearby base stations, the method further comprises boosting a transmission power of the first edge base station.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first member tracking response comprises a base station class to which the first base station belongs, a neighbor list of the first base station, and a first group list of the first base station, wherein the base station class comprises an edge base station class or an interior base station class.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein in response to determining that the first group list of the first base station is empty, determining that the first base station does not belong to other base station groups.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first edge base station comprises a first particular group list comprising at least one first member base station of the first group of base stations and the first edge base station that manages the first group of base stations, and the step of combining the first group of base stations and the second group of base stations comprises:

in response to determining that the group list of the first base station is not empty, retrieving at least one second member base station included in the second group of base stations and a second edge base station managing the second group of base stations based on the first member tracking response;

in response to determining that the number of first base stations in the first particular group list is greater than the number of second base stations in the second particular group list, sending a first group combination and request to the second edge base station, the second edge base station returning a first group combination and response in response to the first group combination and request;

The first group combination is received and responded, and the first base station group and the second base station group are combined into a third base station group managed by the first edge base station based on the group list of the first base station and the first specific group list, wherein the third base station group comprises the at least one first member base station, the at least one second member base station, the first edge base station and the second edge base station.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first group of base stations and the second group of base stations are combined into a third group of base stations managed by the second edge base station in response to determining that a first number of base stations within the first particular group list is less than or equal to a second number of base stations within the second particular group list.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first base station has a first group list, the first edge base station comprises a first specific group list comprising at least one first member base station of the first base station group and the first edge base station that manages the first base station group, and the step of joining the first base station to the first base station group comprises:

Adding the first base station to the first specific group list to update the first specific group list;

regarding the first base station as one of the at least one first member base station, and sending first update information to each of the first member base stations, wherein the first update information includes updated first specific group lists, and the first update information is used for requesting each of the first member base stations to update the group list of each of the first member base stations according to the updated first specific group list.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first group of base stations comprises a second base station, and the method further comprises:

in response to determining that the first measurement report indicates that a first transmission power of the second base station satisfies an interference condition, transmitting first interference control information to the second base station, wherein the first interference control information indicates an interference level of the second base station to the first edge base station, and the second base station maintains or reduces the transmission power of the second base station in response to the interference level indicated by the first interference control information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first edge base station comprises a first particular group list comprising at least one first member base station of the first group of base stations and the first edge base station that manages the first group of base stations, and further comprising:

And responding to the judgment that the number of the edge base stations in the first specific group list is smaller than a number threshold value or that each first member base station does not reject to adjust the transmission power, and requesting each first member base station to increase the transmission power through power control information.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first edge base station comprises a first particular group list comprising at least one first member base station of the first group of base stations and the first edge base station that manages the first group of base stations, and further comprising:

transmitting second member tracking information to each of the first member base stations, wherein each of the first member base stations transmits a corresponding second member tracking response back to the first edge base station in response to the second member tracking information;

responsive to determining that a corresponding second member tracking response is not received from a first particular member base station of the at least one first member base station for a preset number of times, the first particular member base station is removed from the first group of base stations.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first particular group list comprises at least one first member base station of the first group of base stations and the first edge base station that manages the first group of base stations, the first particular group list further comprising connectivity of the at least one first member base station and the first edge base station to each other, and upon removing the first particular member base station from the first group of base stations, the method further comprises:

Finding at least one second specific member base station still connected to the first edge base station among the at least one first member base station based on the connectivity of the at least one first member base station and the first edge base station with each other;

updating the first group list corresponding to the first group of base stations based on the at least one second particular member base station;

and sending second updating information to each second specific member base station, wherein the second updating information comprises the updated first specific group list, and the second updating information is used for requesting each second specific member base station to update the group list of each second specific member base station according to the updated first specific group list.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first edge base station has a first particular group list and a first neighbor list, and the method further comprises:

and in response to determining that the first edge base station is set to be in a mobile state, clearing the first specific group list and the first neighbor list, and recovering the transmission power of the first edge base station to a preset value.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein a location of the first base station is unknown to the first edge base station.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the first group of base stations and the third group of base stations are combined in response to receiving a second group combination and request from a third edge base station that manages the third group of base stations.

16. A method of optimizing networking coverage, adapted to a first base station, the method comprising:

receiving first member tracking information from a first edge base station, wherein the first edge base station manages a first group of base stations; and

returning a first member tracking response to the first edge base station in response to the first member tracking information, wherein the first member tracking response comprises a base station class to which the first base station belongs, a neighbor list of the first base station, and a first group list of the first base station, wherein the base station class comprises an edge base station class or an internal base station class, and a location of the first base station is unknown to the first edge base station.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein in response to the first group manifest being empty, the method further comprises:

First update information is received from the first edge base station, wherein the first update information includes a first specific group list corresponding to the first group of base stations, and the first update information is used to request the first base station to update the first group list according to the first specific group list.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the first base station belongs to the first base station group and serves a particular user device, the first base station group further comprising a first member base station, the first group list further recorded with a first number of edge base station hops for the first base station, the group list of first member base stations recorded with a second number of edge base station hops for the first member base station, and the method further comprising:

receiving a specific measurement report from the specific user equipment;

in response to determining that the particular measurement report indicates that the particular user equipment meets an interference condition for a first received power of the first member base station, determining whether the first edge base station hop count is greater than the second edge base station hop count;

transmitting interference control information to the first member base station in response to determining that the first edge base station hop count is greater than the second edge base station hop count, wherein the interference control information indicates a level of interference of the first member base station to the first base station; and

In response to determining that the first edge base station hop count is less than or equal to the second edge base station hop count, the transmission power of the first base station is turned down or maintained.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the first base station belongs to the first group of base stations, the first group of base stations further comprising a first member base station, and the method further comprising:

in response to the first member base station receiving interference control information, judging whether the interference control information is more than a first preset time length away from the previous interference control information, wherein the interference control information indicates the interference level of the first base station to the first member base station;

recording the interference level indicated by the first member base station and the interference control information in an interference list of the first base station;

and in response to determining that the interference control information is more than the first preset time length away from the previous interference control information, maintaining or reducing the transmission power of the first base station according to the interference level indicated by the interference control information, and otherwise, ignoring the interference control information.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

In response to receiving power control information from the first edge base station, determining whether the interference list of the first base station is empty;

in response to determining that the interference list of the first base station is empty, increasing the transmission power of the first base station, and otherwise not adjusting the transmission power of the first base station.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

in response to determining that the first member base station has failed, the first member base station is removed from the interference list of the first base station.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the first base station belongs to the first group of base stations and is a backup management base station for the first group of base stations, the method further comprising:

in response to determining that no member tracking information has been received from the first edge base station for a second predetermined length of time, managing the first group of base stations is initiated.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the first base station belongs to the first group of base stations and to the edge base station type, and further comprising:

in response to determining that update information from the first edge base station indicates that the first base station group has been partitioned into a plurality of sub-base station groups, find a particular sub-base station group among the plurality of sub-base station groups to which the first base station belongs;

Judging whether the first base station meets a specific condition or not;

in response to determining that the first base station satisfies the particular condition, managing the particular group of sub-base stations is commenced, and otherwise the particular group of sub-base stations is not managed.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein the first group list of the first base station indicates at least one second member base station of a second group of base stations to which the first base station belongs and a second edge base station that manages the second group of base stations in response to the first group list not being empty.

25. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

and in response to determining that the first base station is set to a mobile state, clearing the first group list and the neighbor list of the first base station, and recovering the transmission power of the first base station to a preset value.

26. The method of claim 16, wherein the first edge base station managing the first group of base stations belongs to an edge base station class, the first base station belongs to the edge base station class or an intra base station class.

27. A base station serving a first user equipment and managing a first group of base stations, comprising:

a memory circuit storing program codes;

A transceiver; and

a processor coupled to the memory circuit and the transceiver and loading the program code to perform the steps of:

receiving a first measurement report from the first user equipment;

transmitting first member tracking information to the first base station in response to determining that the first measurement report indicates that there is a neighboring first base station, wherein the first base station transmits a first member tracking response back to a first edge base station in response to the first member tracking information;

28. A base station, comprising:

a memory circuit storing program codes;

a transceiver; and

controlling the transceiver to receive first member tracking information from a first edge base station, wherein the first edge base station manages a first group of base stations; and

Controlling the transceiver to transmit a first member tracking response back to the first edge base station in response to the first member tracking information, wherein the first member tracking response includes a base station class to which the first base station belongs, a neighbor list of the first base station, and the first base station

A first group list, wherein the base station categories include an edge base station category or an interior base station category,

and the location of the first base station is unknown to the first edge base station.