CN104219715B

CN104219715B - control method and device

Info

Publication number: CN104219715B
Application number: CN201310213294.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 胡文权; 花梦
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honor Device Co Ltd
Priority date: 2013-05-31
Filing date: 2013-05-31
Publication date: 2018-06-05
Anticipated expiration: 2033-05-31
Also published as: CN104219715A

Abstract

The present invention provides a kind of control method and device, for controlling the working condition of low power nodes LPN in heterogeneous network, the described method includes：When the LPN is currently without user equipment UE access, detect with the presence or absence of the first UE in the coverage of the LPN, wherein, the first UE is any UE being currently accessed in the UE of the macro station；If there are the first UE LPN is controlled to be in operating mode in the coverage of the LPN.Control method and device provided by the invention, if by accessing LPN currently without user equipment, then detection is currently accessed the first UE that whether there is in the user equipment of macro station in LPN coverages, if in the presence of, the LPN is then controlled to be in the technical solution of operating mode, realization control effectively to the current working status of LPN, so as to avoid communication failure.

Description

Control method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a control method and apparatus.

Background

With the popularization of smart phones, the demand of mobile users for mobile data services presents a high-speed development situation. The existing Heterogeneous network (HetNet) can realize switching a terminal accessed to a macro station to a Low Power Node (LPN) in a working state, and perform transmission of uplink signals and downlink signals, thereby reducing the load of the macro station.

In practical applications, an area in which LPNs are deployed may be an unmanned area for a certain period of time and may become a hot spot traffic area for another period of time, such as a city center square or the like. The working state of the LPN needs to be controlled accordingly. However, there is no method for effectively controlling the working state of the LPN in the existing scheme, which may result in communication failure. For example, when an area with LPNs is changed from an unmanned area to a hot spot traffic area, if the LPNs are still in a non-operating mode at this time, communication failure of users in the area may be caused.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a control method and a control device, which are used for solving the problem that the communication fails because the working state of a low power Node (LPN for short) cannot be effectively controlled in the prior art.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a control method, configured to control a working state of a low power node LPN in a heterogeneous network, where the heterogeneous network includes: macro station and LPN, include:

when the LPN is not accessed by User Equipment (UE) currently, detecting whether first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN, wherein the first UE is any UE in the UE currently accessed to the macro station; and if the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN, controlling the LPN to be in a working mode.

According to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, after the controlling the LPN to be in the working mode, the method further includes: starting a timer; and if the timer expires and when the timer expires and UE accesses the LPN, restarting the timer.

According to a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, after the starting the timer, the method further includes: if the timer expires and no UE accesses the LPN when the timer expires, performing the step of detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN again; if yes, restarting the timer; and if not, controlling the LPN to enter a non-working mode.

According to the first aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, after the detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN, the method further includes: and if the first UE does not exist in the coverage of the LPN, controlling the LPN to be in a non-working mode.

According to the first aspect or one of the first three possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the detecting whether the first UE exists within the coverage of the LPN includes: acquiring the current position information of the UE currently accessed to the macro station through a wireless access technology; determining a coverage of the LPN; and judging whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN or not according to the current position information of the UE currently accessing the macro station and the coverage of the LPN.

According to the first aspect or one of the first three possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the detecting whether the first UE exists within a coverage of the LPN includes: acquiring a first intensity value of the UE currently accessed to the macro station relative to an uplink signal of the macro station and a second intensity value of the UE currently accessed to the macro station relative to the uplink signal of the LPN; subtracting the first strength value from the second strength value to obtain an uplink signal strength difference value; if the uplink signal strength difference is greater than a preset threshold value, judging that the first UE exists in the coverage range of the LPN; if the uplink signal strength difference is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, judging that the first UE does not exist in the LPN coverage range; wherein the threshold is obtained according to a difference between a maximum transmission power of the macro station and a maximum transmission power of the LPN.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a control apparatus, configured to control an operating state of a low power node LPN in a heterogeneous network, where the heterogeneous network includes: macro station and LPN, include:

a processing module, configured to detect whether a first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN when no UE is currently accessed by the LPN, where the first UE is any UE in UEs currently accessed to the macro station; a control module, configured to control the LPN to be in a working mode if the first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN.

According to a second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the apparatus further comprises: the timing module is used for starting a timer; the control module is further configured to instruct the timing module to restart the timer if the timer expires and when the timer expires and the UE accesses the LPN, the control module is further configured to instruct the timing module to restart the timer.

According to the first implementable manner of the second aspect, in a second implementable manner of the second aspect, the processing module is further configured to, if the timer expires and no UE accesses the LPN when the timer expires, perform the step of detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN again; the control module is further configured to instruct the timing module to restart the timer if the timer exists; and if not, controlling the LPN to enter a non-working mode.

In a third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the control module is further configured to control the LPN to be in a non-operating mode if the first UE is not in the coverage area of the LPN.

In a fourth possible implementation form of the second aspect, according to the second aspect as such or according to one of the first three possible implementation forms of the second aspect, the processing module comprises: a first obtaining unit, configured to obtain current location information of the first UE through a radio access technology if no UE accesses the LPN currently; the second acquisition unit is further used for determining the coverage range of the LPN; a first detecting unit, configured to determine whether the first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN according to the current location information of the first UE and the coverage area of the LPN.

In a fifth possible implementation form of the second aspect, according to the second aspect as such or any one of the first three possible implementation forms of the second aspect, the processing module comprises: a third obtaining unit, configured to obtain, if no UE accesses the LPN currently, a first strength value of the UE currently accessing the macro station with respect to an uplink signal of the macro station, and a second strength value of the UE currently accessing the macro station with respect to the uplink signal of the LPN; a fourth obtaining unit, configured to subtract the first strength value from the second strength value to obtain an uplink signal strength difference; a second detecting unit, configured to determine that the first UE exists within a coverage area of the LPN if the uplink signal strength difference is greater than a preset threshold; if the uplink signal strength difference is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, judging that the first UE does not exist in the LPN coverage range; wherein the threshold is obtained according to a difference between a maximum transmission power of the macro station and a maximum transmission power of the LPN.

According to the control method and device provided by the invention, if no User Equipment (UE) is currently accessed into the LPN, whether a first UE in the coverage range of the LPN exists in the UE currently accessed into the macro station is detected, and if the first UE exists, the LPN is controlled to be in the working mode, so that the current working state of the LPN is effectively controlled, and thus, communication failure is avoided.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a control method according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a control method according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a control method according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a control method according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the method is used to control a working state of a Low Power Node (LPN) in a heterogeneous network, and the heterogeneous network includes: macro station and LPN, as shown in fig. 1, the method comprising:

101. when no User Equipment (UE) is currently accessed to the LPN, detecting whether a first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN, where the first UE is any UE in UEs currently accessed to the macro station;

102. and if the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN, controlling the LPN to be in a working mode.

Wherein the LPN is within a coverage area of the macro station. The execution main body of this embodiment may be a control device, the LPN, or a Radio Network Controller (RNC), where the control device may be disposed in the LPN or the RNC. Specifically, when the LPN is in an operating mode, the LPN provides a service including transmitting a downlink common signal to a terminal and receiving an uplink signal transmitted by the terminal; when the LPN is in the non-operation mode, the LPN does not provide a service of transmitting a downlink common signal to a terminal and receiving an uplink signal transmitted from the terminal, and the LPN off means turning off a power supply of the LPN, unlike a so-called LPN off. For example, when the LPN is in the non-operating mode, the uplink signal strength and the location information of the terminal may still be acquired.

Specifically, when the execution subject is the LPN, whether a terminal accesses the LPN currently may be detected and determined by the LPN's own device; when the execution main body is an RNC, whether a terminal is currently accessed to the LPN is determined, specifically, a query request may be sent to the LPN through the RNC, and a query result returned after the LPN performs detection according to the query request is received, so as to determine whether a terminal is currently accessed to the LPN.

Optionally, when the execution subject is the RNC, 102 may include:

and if the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN, the RNC sends an operating mode control instruction to the LPN so as to enable the LPN to be in a non-operating mode.

Optionally, when the execution subject is the RNC, 102 may specifically include:

if the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN, the RNC acquires the current state of the LPN;

and if the LPN is in the working mode currently, the RNC sends a state keeping instruction to the LPN so as to enable the LPN to keep the current state.

Optionally, after the RNC acquires the current state of the LPN, the method may further include:

and if the LPN is in a non-working mode currently, the RNC sends a working mode control instruction to the LPN so as to enable the LPN to enter a working mode.

Optionally, when the execution subject is the LPN, 102 may include:

and if the first UE exists in the coverage range of the LPN, the LPN controls the equipment to be in a working mode.

Optionally, when the execution subject is the LPN, 102 may specifically include:

if the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN, the LPN detects the current state of the equipment of the LPN;

and if the LPN is in the working mode currently, the LPN controls the equipment to keep the current state.

Optionally, after the LPN detects the current state of its own device, the method may further include:

and if the LPN is in a non-working mode currently, the LPN controls the equipment to enter a working mode.

Optionally, after 101, the method may further include:

and if the first UE does not exist in the coverage of the LPN, controlling the LPN to be in a non-working mode.

By the embodiment, the interference of the LPN to the signal transmission of the terminal accessed to the adjacent macro station can be effectively reduced, and the equipment power consumption generated by the LPN per se can be reduced

Specifically, after the control of the LPN is in the non-operating mode, the execution 101 may be returned.

Optionally, when the execution subject is the RNC, the controlling the LPN to be in the non-operating mode may specifically include:

and if the first UE does not exist in the coverage of the LPN, the RNC sends an operating state control instruction to the LPN so as to enable the LPN to be in a non-operating mode.

if the first UE does not exist in the coverage of the LPN, the RNC acquires the current state of the LPN;

and if the LPN is in a non-working mode currently, the RNC sends a state maintaining instruction to the LPN so as to enable the LPN to maintain the current state.

and if the LPN is in a working state currently, the RNC sends a non-working mode control instruction to the LPN so as to enable the LPN to enter a non-working mode.

Specifically, when the execution subject is the LPN, the controlling the LPN to be in the non-operating mode may include:

and if the first UE does not exist in the coverage range of the LPN, the LPN controls the self equipment to be in a non-working mode.

Optionally, when the execution subject is the LPN, the controlling the LPN to be in the non-operating mode may specifically include:

if the first UE does not exist in the coverage of the LPN, the LPN detects the current state of the equipment of the LPN;

and if the LPN is in a non-working mode currently, the LPN controls the equipment to keep the current state.

and if the LPN is in the working mode currently, the LPN controls the equipment to enter a non-working mode.

In the control method provided in this embodiment, if no UE accesses the LPN currently, it is detected whether a first UE in the coverage area of the LPN exists in the UE currently accessing the macro station, and if so, the LPN is controlled to be in the working mode.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a control method according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 2, according to the control method of the first embodiment, if the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN, the method may further include:

201. a timer is started.

The main body of execution in this embodiment and any embodiment described later may be the LPN or the RNC. Specifically, 201 may be performed after 102, or simultaneously with 102, and is shown in the figure as a specific embodiment, without limitation.

Specifically, the timing period of the timer may be set as needed, for example, the timing period of the timer is set to 100 seconds, which is not limited in this embodiment.

202. And if the timer expires and when the timer expires and UE accesses the LPN, restarting the timer.

Optionally, after 201, the method may further include:

203. if the timer expires and no UE accesses the LPN when the timer expires, performing the step of detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN again; .

Optionally, after 203, the method may further include:

204. if yes, restarting the timer; and if not, controlling the LPN to enter a non-working mode.

That is, after detecting that there are terminals within the coverage of the LPN among terminals currently accessing the macro station and controlling the LPN to be in the operating mode, a timer is started, and the LPN is maintained in the operating mode until the timer expires. When the timer expires, in one scenario, if there is a UE currently accessing the LPN, the timer is restarted, and it can be understood that the LPN still maintains the working mode, that is, the LPN is controlled to be in the working mode; another scenario is that, if no terminal accesses the LPN currently, the step of detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN is executed again, and if so, the timer is restarted to keep the LPN in the current state; otherwise, controlling the LPN to enter a non-working mode. When the timer expires, if the timer is not restarted, the timer stops counting.

In the embodiment, after the LPN is controlled to be in the working mode, the timer is started, and when the timer expires, the technical scheme that if no UE is currently accessed to the LPN, whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN is detected is executed again, so that frequent switching of the LPN between the working mode and the non-working mode caused by frequent access of the UE to the LPN if the UE accessed to the macro station frequently enters and exits inside and outside the coverage area boundary of the LPN when no UE is accessed to the LPN is effectively avoided.

In the control method provided by this embodiment, if no terminal is currently accessed to the LPN, it is detected whether a terminal in the coverage of the LPN exists in a terminal currently accessed to the macro station, and the LPN is in the coverage of the macro station, and if the terminal exists, the LPN is controlled to be in the working state.

Fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a control method according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 3, according to the control method described in the first embodiment or the second embodiment, 101 may specifically include:

301. acquiring current position information of the first UE through a wireless access technology;

302. determining a coverage of the LPN;

303. and judging whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN or not according to the current position information of the first UE and the coverage of the LPN.

The execution subject of this embodiment may be an RNC, the LPN, or the macro station. Specifically, the form of the location information in this embodiment may be geographic coordinates. The wireless access technology includes, but is not limited to, Wi-Fi technology, Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, and Bluetooth technology.

Optionally, in an implementation manner of this embodiment, 302 may specifically include:

acquiring the position information of the LPN;

and determining the coverage range of the LPN according to a preset radius value by taking the position of the LPN as a center.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, 303 may specifically include:

calculating the distance between the UE currently accessed to the macro station and the LPN according to the current position information of the UE currently accessed to the macro station and the position information of the LPN;

and detecting whether the distance between the UE of the current access macro station and the LPN is larger than the radius value, if so, determining that the UE of the current access macro station is not in the coverage of the LPN, otherwise, determining that the UE of the current access macro station is in the coverage of the LPN.

The radius value may be determined according to an actual network plan, for example, the radius value is determined to be 100 meters according to a position of the LPN relative to the macro station and a maximum transmission power of the LPN, which is not limited herein.

Optionally, the obtaining of the location information of the LPN specifically may include: and acquiring the position information of the LPN stored in advance. Specifically, in practical applications, after the base station devices such as the LPN and the macro station are built based on network planning, the positions of the base station devices are generally fixed, so that the position information of the LPN can be stored in advance.

The method and the device take the position of the LPN as the center, and determine the coverage area of the LPN according to the preset radius value, so that whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN can be determined simply and quickly according to the distance between the LPN and the UE currently accessing the macro station and the radius value.

Optionally, in another implementation manner of this embodiment, 302 may specifically include:

obtaining position information of a plurality of downlink balance points of the LPN through field measurement, obtaining functions corresponding to the downlink balance points according to the position information of the downlink balance points, and determining the boundary of the coverage range of the LPN so as to determine the coverage range of the LPN.

When the UE is located at a position corresponding to any one of the downlink balance points, the downlink signal intensity of the macro station received by the UE is equal to the downlink signal intensity of the LPN received by the UE.

Optionally, in this embodiment or the foregoing embodiments, 303 may be implemented by a plurality of methods, and specifically for example, 303 may include:

detecting whether the number of intersections of any ray taking the UE currently accessing the macro station as a starting point and the boundary of the coverage area of the LPN is odd, if so, determining that the UE currently accessing the macro station is in the coverage area of the LPN, otherwise, determining that the UE currently accessing the macro station is not in the coverage area of the LPN.

The embodiment determines the boundary of the coverage of the LPN through field measurement, thereby more accurately detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN is determined by detecting whether a UE currently accessing the macro station is in the coverage of the LPN. For example, if the device detects that a UE currently accessing a macro station is in the coverage of the LPN, it is determined that the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN; if the device detects that all the UE currently accessing the macro station is not in the coverage of the LPN, determining that the first UE does not exist in the coverage of the LPN.

In the control method provided in this embodiment, if no terminal accesses the LPN currently, the current location information of the UE currently accessing the macro station is obtained, the coverage area of the LPN is determined, and whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN is detected, so that the current state of the LPN is effectively controlled, and thus, a communication failure is avoided.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a control method according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 4, according to the control method according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment, the detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN in 101 specifically may include:

401. acquiring a first intensity value of the UE currently accessed to the macro station relative to an uplink signal of the macro station and a second intensity value of the UE currently accessed to the macro station relative to the uplink signal of the LPN;

402. subtracting the first strength value from the second strength value to obtain an uplink signal strength difference value;

403. if the uplink signal strength difference is greater than a preset threshold value, judging that the first UE exists in the coverage range of the LPN;

404. and if the uplink signal strength difference is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, judging that the first UE does not exist in the LPN coverage range.

Wherein the threshold is obtained according to a difference between a maximum transmission power of the macro station and a maximum transmission power of the LPN.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, it is also detected whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN by detecting whether the UE currently accessing the macro station is in the coverage area of the LPN, and a specific process thereof is similar to related contents in the third embodiment, and details of this embodiment are not repeated herein.

Optionally, in an implementation manner of this embodiment, an execution subject of the foregoing step may be an RNC, and then 401 may specifically include:

the RNC sends a first information query request to the macro station so that the macro station obtains the channel information and the first strength value of the UE currently accessed to the macro station according to the first information query request;

the RNC receives a first information query response returned by the macro station, wherein the first information query response comprises the channel information of the UE currently accessed to the macro station and the first intensity value;

the RNC sends a second information query request carrying the channel information of the UE of the current access macro station to the LPN so as to indicate the LPN to obtain the second strength value according to the channel information of the UE of the current access macro station;

and the RNC receives a second information query response returned by the LPN, wherein the second information query response comprises the second strength value.

Optionally, in another implementation manner of this embodiment, an execution subject of the foregoing step may also be the LPN, and then the obtaining a first strength value of the UE currently accessing the macro station relative to the uplink signal of the macro station in 401 may specifically include:

the LPN sends a third information query request to the macro station so that the macro station obtains the first intensity value according to the third information query request;

and the LPN receives a third information inquiry response returned by the macro station, wherein the third information inquiry response comprises the first intensity value.

Wherein, the specific form of the first intensity value and the second intensity value can be decibel values. The specific method for obtaining the first intensity value and the second intensity value by the LPN may be implemented by various methods in the communication field, and this embodiment is not specifically described here.

The specific form of the maximum transmit power of the macro station and the maximum transmit power of the LPN may also be a decibel value, and the maximum transmit power of the macro station and the maximum transmit power of the LPN may be determined according to the operating parameters of the macro station and the LPN, for example, if the maximum transmit power of the macro station is 43 decibel milliwatts (dBm for short) and the maximum transmit power of the LPN is 37dBm, the threshold value is 6 dBm.

Optionally, obtaining the threshold value according to a difference between the maximum transmission power of the macro station and the maximum transmission power of the LPN may include:

taking a difference value between the maximum transmission power of the macro station and the maximum transmission power of the LPN as the threshold value; or,

and adding the difference value between the maximum transmission power of the macro station and the maximum transmission power of the LPN to a preset adjusting value to obtain the threshold value.

Specifically, for example, if the maximum transmission power of the macro station is 43 decibel milliwatts (dBm for short), the maximum transmission power of the LPN is 37dBm, and if the adjustment value is 3dBm, the threshold value is 6 dBm; and if the adjusting value is-3 dBm, the threshold value is 3 dBm. In this embodiment, the threshold value may be adjusted by setting the adjustment value, and the coverage of the LPN for comparison with the uplink signal strength difference may be adjusted.

In the control method provided in this embodiment, by obtaining the first intensity value and the second intensity value, and comparing the difference between the first intensity value and the second intensity value with the threshold value, whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN is determined more effectively and accurately, so that the current state of the LPN is effectively controlled more effectively and accurately, and a communication failure is avoided.

Fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a control method according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 5, the method includes:

501. when the LPN is not accessed by User Equipment (UE) currently, detecting whether first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN, wherein the first UE is any UE in the UE currently accessed to the macro station;

502. acquiring a first intensity value of the UE currently accessed to the macro station relative to an uplink signal of the macro station and a second intensity value of the UE currently accessed to the macro station relative to the uplink signal of the LPN;

503. detecting whether a first UE exists in the coverage range of the LPN according to the first intensity value, the second intensity value and a threshold value, if so, executing 505, otherwise, executing 504;

504. controlling the LPN to be in a non-working mode, and returning to execute 501;

505. controlling the LPN to be in a working mode, and starting a timer;

506. detecting whether the timer expires, if so, executing 507, otherwise, repeatedly executing 506;

507. detecting whether UE is accessed to the LPN currently, if so, returning to the step 505, otherwise, returning to the step 501;

it should be noted that, the specific method executed by each step in this embodiment may refer to the related contents in the foregoing embodiments, and therefore, the detailed description of this embodiment is omitted here.

In the control method provided in this embodiment, by obtaining a difference between the first intensity value and the second intensity value, and comparing the difference with a threshold, it is detected whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN, so as to implement effective control over the current state of the LPN, thereby avoiding communication failure.

Fig. 6 is a control device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, configured to control a working state of a low power node LPN in a heterogeneous network, where the heterogeneous network includes: macro station and LPN, as shown in fig. 6, the apparatus includes:

a processing module 61, configured to detect whether a first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN when no User Equipment (UE) is currently accessed by the LPN, where the first UE is any UE in UEs currently accessed to the macro station;

a control module 62, configured to control the LPN to be in an operating mode if the first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN.

Optionally, the control module 62 is further configured to control the LPN to be in a non-operating mode if the first UE does not exist in the coverage of the LPN.

Optionally, in an implementation manner of this embodiment, if the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN, the apparatus may further include:

the timing module is used for starting a timer; correspondingly, the control module 62 is further configured to instruct the timing module to restart the timer if the timer expires and when the timer expires and a UE accesses the LPN, the timer is started.

Specifically, the timing period of the timer may be set as needed.

Optionally, in the above embodiment, the processing module 61 is further configured to, if the timer expires and no UE accesses the LPN when the timer expires, perform the step of detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN again;

correspondingly, the control module 62 is further configured to instruct the timing module to restart the timer if the timer exists; and if not, controlling the LPN to enter a non-working mode.

That is, when the processing module 61 detects that the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN, the control module 62 controls the LPN to be in the working mode, and the timing module starts a timer; before the timer expires, the LPN is in an operational mode. When the timer expires, in one scenario, if there is a UE currently accessing the LPN, the control module 62 instructs the timing module to restart the timer, and it can be understood that the LPN still maintains the working mode; in another scenario, if no UE accesses the LPN, the processing module 61 detects whether there is a first UE in the coverage of the LPN again, and if so, the control module 62 instructs the timing module to restart the timer, so that the LPN maintains a current state; otherwise, the control module 62 controls the LPN to enter a non-operational mode. When the timer expires, if the timer is not restarted, the timer stops counting.

In this embodiment, if the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN, the timer is started, and when the timer expires, if no terminal accesses the LPN currently, the technical scheme of detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN is executed again, so that frequent switching of the LPN between the operating mode and the non-operating mode due to frequent entering and exiting of the UE accessing the macro station inside and outside the coverage of the LPN when no UE accesses the LPN is effectively avoided.

The control device provided in this embodiment detects whether there is a first UE in the coverage area of the LPN in the UE currently accessing the macro station if there is no UE currently accessing the LPN, and controls the LPN to be in the working mode if there is the first UE in the coverage area of the LPN, so as to implement effective control on the current state of the LPN, thereby avoiding communication failure.

Optionally, in any of the above embodiments, the processing module 61 may include:

a first obtaining unit, configured to obtain current location information of the first UE through a radio access technology if no UE accesses the LPN currently;

the second acquisition unit is further used for determining the coverage range of the LPN;

a first detecting unit, configured to determine whether the first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN according to the current location information of the first UE and the coverage area of the LPN.

Still optionally, in any of the above embodiments, the processing module 61 may include:

a third obtaining unit, configured to obtain, if no UE accesses the LPN currently, a first strength value of the UE currently accessing the macro station with respect to an uplink signal of the macro station, and a second strength value of the UE currently accessing the macro station with respect to the uplink signal of the LPN;

a fourth obtaining unit, configured to subtract the first strength value from the second strength value to obtain an uplink signal strength difference;

a second detecting unit, configured to determine that the first UE exists within a coverage area of the LPN if the uplink signal strength difference is greater than a preset threshold; and if the uplink signal strength difference is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, judging that the first UE does not exist in the LPN coverage range.

Wherein the control device may be disposed in the LPN or the RNC.

Optionally, the apparatus may further include: the device comprises a sending module and a receiving module.

Correspondingly, if the control apparatus is disposed in the RNC, the third obtaining unit may be specifically configured to instruct the sending module to send a first information query request to the macro station, so that the macro station obtains the channel information and the first strength value of the UE currently accessing the macro station according to the first information query request;

the receiving module is configured to receive and transmit a first information query response returned by the macro station to the fourth obtaining unit, where the first information query response includes the channel information of the UE currently accessing the macro station and the first strength value;

the third obtaining unit may be further specifically configured to instruct the sending module to send, to the LPN, a second information query request carrying channel information of the UE currently accessing the macro station, so as to instruct the LPN to obtain the second strength value according to the channel information of the UE currently accessing the macro station;

the receiving module is further configured to receive and transmit a second information query response returned by the LPN to the fourth obtaining unit, where the second information query response includes the second strength value.

Optionally, if the control apparatus is disposed in the LPN, the third obtaining unit may be specifically configured to instruct the sending module to send a third information query request to the macro station, so that the macro station obtains the first strength value according to the third information query request;

the receiving module is configured to receive and transmit a third information query response returned by the macro station to the fourth obtaining unit, where the third information query response includes the first strength value.

The specific method for obtaining the first strength value by the macro station and obtaining the second strength value by the LPN may be implemented by various methods in the communication field, and this embodiment is not specifically set forth herein.

The LPN control apparatus provided in this embodiment obtains the uplink signal strength values of the UE currently accessing the macro station to the macro station and to the LPN, and compares the difference between the two strength values with a threshold value, to more effectively and accurately determine whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN, so as to more effectively and accurately implement effective control on the current state of the LPN.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 7, the control device includes:

the memory 71 stores programs. In particular, the program may include program code comprising computer operating instructions. The memory 71 may comprise a high-speed RAM memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk memory.

A processor 72 executing a program stored in the memory 71 for: when the LPN is not accessed by User Equipment (UE) currently, detecting whether a first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN; if the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN, controlling the LPN to be in a working mode; the first UE is any one of the UEs currently accessing the macro station.

Optionally, based on the program stored in the storage 71, the processor 72 is further configured to start a timer if the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN; and if the timer expires and when the timer expires and UE accesses the LPN, restarting the timer.

The processor 72 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more Integrated circuits configured to implement embodiments of the present invention.

Optionally, based on the program stored in the memory 71, in any of the above embodiments, the processor 72 is further configured to, if the timer expires and no UE accesses the LPN when the timer expires, perform the step of detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN again, if so, restart the timer, and if not, control the LPN to enter the non-operating mode.

Through the embodiment, the frequent switching of the LPN between the working mode and the non-working mode caused by the fact that the UE accessing the macro station frequently enters and exits from the coverage boundary of the LPN when no UE accesses the LPN can be effectively avoided.

Optionally, the processor 72 is further configured to control the LPN to be in a non-operating mode if the first UE does not exist in the coverage area of the LPN.

Specifically, in order to detect whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN, optionally, based on a program stored in the memory 71, in any of the above embodiments,

a processor 72, configured to, if no UE accesses the LPN currently, obtain current location information of the UE currently accessing the macro station through a radio access technology; determining a coverage of the LPN; and judging whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN or not according to the current position information of the UE currently accessing the macro station and the coverage of the LPN.

By the embodiment, whether the first UE exists in the coverage range of the LPN can be conveniently and quickly detected.

Also for detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN, optionally based on the program stored in the memory 71, in any of the above embodiments, the apparatus further includes:

a communication interface 73, configured to obtain a first strength value of the UE currently accessing the macro station relative to an uplink signal of the macro station and a second strength value of the UE currently accessing the macro station relative to the uplink signal of the LPN if no UE currently accesses the LPN;

correspondingly, the processor 72 is specifically configured to subtract the first strength value from the second strength value according to the first strength value and the second strength value obtained by the communication interface 73 to obtain an uplink signal strength difference value; if the uplink signal strength difference is greater than a preset threshold value, judging that the first UE exists in the coverage range of the LPN; if the uplink signal strength difference is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, judging that the first UE does not exist in the LPN coverage range; wherein the threshold is obtained according to a difference between a maximum transmission power of the macro station and a maximum transmission power of the LPN.

In this embodiment, the control device may be provided in an RNC or the LPN.

Specifically, if the control apparatus is disposed in the RNC, the communication interface 73 is specifically configured to send a first information query request to the macro station, so that the macro station obtains the channel information and the first strength value of the UE currently accessing the macro station according to the first information query request; receiving a first information query response returned by the macro station, wherein the first information query response comprises the channel information of the UE currently accessing the macro station and the first intensity value;

a communication interface 73, further specifically configured to send a second information query request carrying channel information of the UE currently accessing the macro station to the LPN, so as to instruct the LPN to obtain the second strength value according to the channel information of the UE currently accessing the macro station; the communication interface 73 is further specifically configured to receive a second information query response returned by the LPN, where the second information query response includes the second strength value.

Specifically, if the control device is disposed in the LPN, the communication interface 73 is specifically configured to send a third information query request to the macro station, so that the macro station obtains the first strength value according to the third information query request; and receiving a third information inquiry response returned by the macro station, wherein the third information inquiry response comprises the first intensity value.

By the embodiment, whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN can be determined more effectively and accurately, and the current state of the LPN can be effectively controlled more effectively and accurately, so that communication failure is avoided.

Alternatively, in a specific implementation, if the memory 71, the processor 72 and the communication interface 73 are implemented independently, the memory 71, the processor 72 and the communication interface 73 may be connected to each other through a bus and perform communication with each other. The bus may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended ISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) bus, or the like. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 7, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

Optionally, in a specific implementation, if the memory 71, the processor 72 and the communication interface 73 are integrated on a chip, the memory 71, the processor 72 and the communication interface 73 may communicate with each other through an internal interface.

The control device provided in this embodiment detects whether a first UE in the coverage area of the LPN exists in the UE currently accessing the macro station if no UE accesses the LPN currently, and controls the LPN to be in the working mode if the first UE exists, so as to implement effective control over the current working state of the LPN, thereby avoiding communication failure.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the apparatus described above may refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, and is not described herein again.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or a portion of the steps of implementing the above-described method embodiments may be performed by hardware associated with program instructions. The program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When executed, the program performs steps comprising the method embodiments described above; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, and not to limit the same; while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control method is used for controlling the working state of a Low Power Node (LPN) in a heterogeneous network, and the heterogeneous network comprises the following steps: macro station and LPN, characterized by, including:

when the LPN is not accessed by User Equipment (UE) currently, detecting whether first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN, wherein the first UE is any UE in the UE currently accessed to the macro station;

if the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN, controlling the LPN to be in a working mode;

if the first UE does not exist in the coverage of the LPN, controlling the LPN to be in a non-working mode;

when the LPN is in an operating mode, the LPN provides services including transmitting a downlink common signal to the first UE and receiving an uplink signal transmitted by the first UE; when the LPN is in a non-operating mode, the LPN does not provide services of transmitting a downlink common signal to the first UE and receiving an uplink signal transmitted by the first UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein after controlling the LPN to be in the working mode, further comprising:

starting a timer;

and if the timer expires and when the timer expires and UE accesses the LPN, restarting the timer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein after the starting the timer, further comprising:

if the timer expires and no UE accesses the LPN when the timer expires, performing the step of detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN again; if yes, restarting the timer;

and if not, controlling the LPN to enter a non-working mode.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the detecting whether the first UE exists within the coverage of the LPN comprises:

acquiring the current position information of the UE currently accessed to the macro station through a wireless access technology;

determining a coverage of the LPN;

and judging whether the first UE exists in the coverage of the LPN or not according to the current position information of the UE currently accessing the macro station and the coverage of the LPN.

5. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the detecting whether the first UE exists within the coverage of the LPN comprises:

acquiring a first intensity value of the UE currently accessed to the macro station relative to an uplink signal of the macro station and a second intensity value of the UE currently accessed to the macro station relative to the uplink signal of the LPN;

subtracting the first strength value from the second strength value to obtain an uplink signal strength difference value;

if the uplink signal strength difference is greater than a preset threshold value, judging that the first UE exists in the coverage range of the LPN;

if the uplink signal strength difference is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, judging that the first UE does not exist in the LPN coverage range;

6. A control device is used for controlling the working state of a Low Power Node (LPN) in a heterogeneous network, and the heterogeneous network comprises: macro station and LPN, characterized by, including:

a processing module, configured to detect whether a first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN when no UE is currently accessed by the LPN, where the first UE is any UE in UEs currently accessed to the macro station;

a control module, configured to control the LPN to be in a working mode if the first UE exists in a coverage area of the LPN;

the control module is further configured to control the LPN to be in a non-operating mode if the first UE does not exist within a coverage of the LPN;

7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

the timing module is used for starting a timer;

the control module is further configured to instruct the timing module to restart the timer if the timer expires and when the timer expires and the UE accesses the LPN, the control module is further configured to instruct the timing module to restart the timer.

8. The apparatus of claim 7,

the processing module is further configured to, if the timer expires and no UE accesses the LPN when the timer expires, perform the step of detecting whether the first UE exists in the coverage area of the LPN again;

the control module is further configured to instruct the timing module to restart the timer if the timer exists; and if not, controlling the LPN to enter a non-working mode.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 6-8, wherein the processing module comprises:

10. The apparatus according to any one of claims 6-8, wherein the processing module comprises:

a second detecting unit, configured to determine that the first UE exists within a coverage area of the LPN if the uplink signal strength difference is greater than a preset threshold; if the uplink signal strength difference is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, judging that the first UE does not exist in the LPN coverage range;