CN104322096A

CN104322096A - Cell measurement method, base station, and UE (user equipment)

Info

Publication number: CN104322096A
Application number: CN201380002235.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 纪鹏宇; 权威; 张戬
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2013-04-12
Filing date: 2013-04-12
Publication date: 2015-01-28
Anticipated expiration: 2033-04-12
Also published as: CN104322096B

Abstract

The invention provides a cell measurement method, a base station and UE (user equipment). The cell measurement method includes that the base station sends first indication information to the UE in the cell, wherein the base station is one that serves the cell; the first indication information is used for indicating the UE not to measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state. The cell measurement method further includes that the base station switches the base station to a sleep state. The cell measurement method, the base station and the UE can prevent the UE from measuring the cell when the base station is in a sleep state, thereby saving the electricity consumption of the UE.

Description

Cell measurement method, base station and user equipment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a cell measurement method, a base station, and a user equipment.

Background

In a Long term Evolution (Long Time Evolution; hereinafter abbreviated as LTE) system, a New Carrier Type (NCT) cell with a relatively small coverage area may be configured under a conventional macro cell. The NCT cell adopts an enhanced physical Downlink Control Channel (ePDCCH), thereby improving the capacity of the Control Channel, reducing the number of pilot frequencies by designing new pilot frequencies and saving frequency domain resources; and a base station (evolved NodeB, hereinafter abbreviated eNB) serving the NCT cell may transition to a sleep state according to a service requirement of a User Equipment (User Equipment, hereinafter abbreviated UE) in the current NCT cell or according to a power saving requirement of the base station serving the NCT cell itself, and turn off a transmitter of the base station serving the NCT cell, so as to save energy consumption on a network side. Based on these advantages, the NCT cell becomes a new deployment scheme suitable for hot spot area communication.

After the UE is switched or reselected to the NCT cell, the UE can periodically receive the pilot frequency of the NCT cell to complete the measurement process of the NCT cell; when the UE is near the NCT cell and has not entered the NCT cell, the macro cell informs the UE of the NCT cell and the pilot transmission frequency of the NCT cell by sending a frequency list, the UE detects or measures the pilot, and if the obtained measurement result is good enough, the UE reselects the NCT cell through handover or cell.

However, for power saving reasons, the eNB serving the NCT cell may enter a sleep state. However, at this time, the UE in the NCT cell does not know that the eNB serving the NCT cell has slept, so that the UE still detects and measures the serving NCT cell or the neighboring NCT cell when the eNB is in a sleeping state. However, since the transmitter of the eNB serving the NCT cell is already turned off at this time, the UE cannot detect the pilot signal, resulting in unsuccessful completion of the measurement, which results in unnecessary power consumption.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a cell measurement method, a base station and user equipment, which are used for avoiding unnecessary measurement of a cell by UE and saving the electric quantity of the UE.

In a first aspect, a cell measurement method is provided, including:

a base station sends first indication information to user equipment in a cell, wherein the base station is a base station serving the cell, and the first indication information is used for indicating the user equipment not to measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state;

the base station transitions the base station to the sleep state.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first indication information includes an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that no measurement is performed on the cell.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first indication information further includes sleep state time information, where the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time length when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

With reference to the first aspect, or the first or second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the sending, by the base station, the first indication information to the user equipment in the cell includes:

and if the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the base station sends the first indication information in the Nth subframe from the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, wherein N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes contained in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

With reference to the first aspect, or the first, second, or third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, if the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information further includes a number of cycles included in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode and at least two of a length of each cycle of the base station in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each cycle, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each cycle.

With reference to the first aspect, or the first, second, third, or fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the sending, by the base station, the first indication information to the user equipment in the cell includes:

the base station sends a broadcast message to user equipment in the cell, wherein the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or,

and the base station sends a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message to the user equipment in the radio resource control connection state in the cell, wherein the radio resource control connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

With reference to the first aspect, or the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: the base station receives second indication information sent by the base station serving the adjacent cell through an X2 interface between the base station and the base station serving the adjacent cell, and the base station sends the second indication information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment does not measure the adjacent cell when the base station serving the adjacent cell is in a sleep state, wherein the adjacent cell is a cell adjacent to the cell.

With reference to the first aspect, or the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the cell served by the base station is a new carrier type NCT cell.

In a second aspect, a cell measurement method is provided, including:

receiving first indication information sent by a base station by user equipment in a cell, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the user equipment does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state, and the base station is a base station serving the cell;

and the user equipment does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state according to the first indication information.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information includes an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that no measurement is performed on the cell.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information further includes sleep state time information, where the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time length when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

With reference to the second aspect, or the first or second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the receiving, by the user equipment in the cell, the first indication information sent by the base station includes:

if the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the user equipment receives the first indication information sent by the base station in the Nth subframe from the last of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic discontinuous transmission mode; wherein, N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes contained in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

With reference to the second aspect, or the first, second, or third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, if the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information further includes a number of cycles included in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode and at least two of a length of each cycle, a length of a non-sleep time in each cycle, and a length of a time period in a sleep state in each cycle of the base station in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode.

With reference to the second aspect, or the first, second, third, or fourth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the receiving, by the user equipment in the cell, the first indication information sent by the base station includes:

the user equipment receives a broadcast message sent by the base station, wherein the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or,

and when the user equipment is in a radio resource control connection state, the user equipment receives a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message sent by the base station, wherein the radio resource control connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

With reference to the second aspect, or the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes:

the user equipment receives second indication information sent by the base station, wherein the second indication information sent by the base station is received by the base station through an X2 interface with a base station serving an adjacent cell, and the adjacent cell is a cell adjacent to the cell;

and the user equipment does not measure the adjacent cell when the base station serving the adjacent cell is in a sleep state according to the second indication information.

With reference to the second aspect, or the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the not measuring, by the user equipment, the cell when the base station is in the sleep state according to the first indication information includes:

and the user equipment starts a timer corresponding to the cell at the moment when the base station is switched to the sleep state according to the indication that the base station is about to enter the sleep state in the first indication information, and does not measure the cell within the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell, wherein the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell is the duration of the base station in the sleep state.

With reference to the second aspect, or the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the cell served by the base station is a new carrier type NCT cell.

In a third aspect, a base station is provided, including:

a sending module, configured to send first indication information to a user equipment in a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state, and the base station is a base station serving the cell;

a switching module, configured to switch the base station to the sleep state after the sending module sends the first indication information to the ue in the cell.

With reference to the third aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the first indication information sent by the sending module includes an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that the cell is not measured.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the first indication information sent by the sending module further includes sleep state time information, where the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits from the sleep state.

With reference to the third aspect, or the first or second possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the sending module is specifically configured to send the first indication information to the user equipment in the cell as follows: when the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information is sent in the Nth subframe of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, wherein N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes contained in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

With reference to the third aspect, or the first, second, or third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, if the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information sent by the sending module further includes at least two of a length of each period in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period of the base station, and a number of cycles included in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode.

With reference to the third aspect, or the first, second, third, or fourth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the sending module is specifically configured to send the first indication information to the user equipment in the cell as follows: sending a broadcast message to user equipment in the cell, wherein the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or, sending a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message to the user equipment in the radio resource control connection state in the cell, where the radio resource control connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

With reference to the third aspect, or the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the base station further includes: a receiving module;

the receiving module is configured to receive, through an X2 interface with a base station serving a neighboring cell, second indication information sent by the base station serving the neighboring cell, where the neighboring cell is a cell adjacent to the cell;

the sending module is further configured to send the second indication information received by the receiving module to the user equipment, so that the user equipment does not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state.

A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a user equipment, comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive first indication information sent by a base station serving a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the ue does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state;

and the measuring module is used for not measuring the cell when the base station is in a sleep state according to the first indication information received by the receiving module.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first indication information received by the receiving module includes an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that no measurement is performed on the cell.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first indication information received by the receiving module further includes sleep state time information, where the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits from the sleep state.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or the first or second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the receiving module is specifically configured to receive the first indication information sent by the base station serving the cell in the following manner: when the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, receiving the first indication information sent by the base station in the Nth subframe from the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic discontinuous transmission mode; wherein, N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes contained in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or the first, second, or third possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, if the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information received by the receiving module further includes a number of cycles included in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode and at least two of a length of each cycle of the base station in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each cycle, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each cycle.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or the first, second, third, or fourth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the receiving module is specifically configured to receive the first indication information sent by the base station serving the cell in the following manner: receiving a broadcast message sent by the base station, wherein the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or, when the ue is in the rrc connected state, receiving an rrc connection reconfiguration message sent by the base station, where the rrc connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the receiving module is further configured to receive second indication information sent by the base station, where the second indication information is received by the base station through an X2 interface with a base station serving an adjacent cell, where the adjacent cell is a cell adjacent to the cell;

the measurement module is further configured to not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state according to the second indication information received by the receiving module.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the measurement module is specifically configured to not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state as follows: according to the indication that the base station is about to enter the sleep state in the first indication information received by the receiving module, starting a timer corresponding to the cell at the time when the base station is switched to the sleep state, and not measuring the cell within the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell, wherein the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell is the duration that the base station is in the sleep state.

In a fifth aspect, a base station is provided, including: the device comprises a transmitter, a receiver, a memory and a processor which is respectively connected with the transmitter, the receiver and the memory;

the transmitter is configured to send first indication information to a user equipment in a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state, and the base station is a base station serving the cell;

the memory for storing program code;

the processor is configured to invoke the program code stored in the memory to transition the base station to the sleep state.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the first indication information sent by the transmitter includes an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that no measurement is performed on the cell.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the first indication information sent by the transmitter further includes sleep state time information, where the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

With reference to the fifth aspect, or the first or second possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the transmitter is specifically configured to send the first indication information to the user equipment in the cell as follows: when the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information is sent in the Nth subframe of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, wherein N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes contained in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

With reference to the fifth aspect, or the first, second, or third possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, if the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information sent by the transmitter further includes at least two of a length of each period in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period, and a number of periods included in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode.

With reference to the fifth aspect, or the first, second, third, or fourth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the transmitter is specifically configured to send the first indication information to the user equipment in the cell as follows: sending a broadcast message to user equipment in the cell, wherein the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or, sending a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message to the user equipment in the radio resource control connection state in the cell, where the radio resource control connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

With reference to the fifth aspect, or the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the receiver is configured to receive, through an X2 interface with a base station serving a neighboring cell, second indication information sent by the base station serving the neighboring cell, where the neighboring cell is a cell adjacent to the cell;

the transmitter is further configured to send the second indication information received by the receiver to the user equipment, so that the user equipment does not measure the neighboring cell when a base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state.

In a sixth aspect, a user equipment is provided, including: the device comprises a transmitter, a receiver, a memory and a processor which is respectively connected with the transmitter, the receiver and the memory;

the memory for storing program code;

the receiver is configured to receive first indication information sent by a base station serving a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the ue does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state;

the processor is configured to invoke the program code stored in the memory, and according to the first indication information received by the receiver, not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the first indication information received by the receiver includes an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that no measurement is performed on the cell.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the first indication information received by the receiver further includes sleep state time information, where the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

With reference to the sixth aspect, or the first or second possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the receiver is specifically configured to receive the first indication information sent by the base station serving the cell, as follows: when the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, receiving the first indication information sent by the base station in the Nth subframe from the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic discontinuous transmission mode; wherein, N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes contained in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

With reference to the sixth aspect, or the first, second, or third possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, if the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information received by the receiver further includes a number of cycles included in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode and at least two of a length of each cycle of the base station in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each cycle, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each cycle.

With reference to the sixth aspect, or the first, second, third, or fourth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the receiver is specifically configured to receive the first indication information sent by the base station serving the cell, as follows: receiving a broadcast message sent by the base station, wherein the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or, when the ue is in the rrc connected state, receiving an rrc connection reconfiguration message sent by the base station, where the rrc connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

With reference to the sixth aspect, or the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the receiver is further configured to receive second indication information sent by the base station, where the second indication information is received by the base station through an X2 interface with a base station serving a neighboring cell, where the neighboring cell is a cell adjacent to the cell;

the processor is further configured to not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state according to the second indication information received by the receiver.

With reference to the sixth aspect, or the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the processor is specifically configured to not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state as follows: according to an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state in first indication information received by the receiver, starting a timer corresponding to the cell at the time when the base station is switched to the sleep state, and not measuring the cell within the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell, wherein the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell is the duration that the base station is in the sleep state.

Through the scheme, a base station sends first indication information to user equipment in a cell, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the user equipment does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state; the base station then transitions the base station to the sleep state. Therefore, the UE can be prevented from measuring the cell when the base station is in the sleep state, and the electric quantity of the UE is saved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings needed to be 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 flowchart of an embodiment of a cell measurement method of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a cell measurement method of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a cell measurement method according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a cell measurement method according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the ue 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 flowchart of an embodiment of a cell measurement method according to the present invention, and as shown in fig. 1, the cell measurement method may include:

step 101, a base station sends first indication information to a UE in a cell, where the base station is a base station serving the cell, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state.

Step 102, the base station transitions to the sleep state.

The first indication information may include an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that the cell is not measured.

Further, the first indication information may further include sleep state time information, where the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time period when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

In addition, a time length for which the base station is in the sleep state may be preset in the UE, so that when the first indication information includes an indication for not measuring the cell, the UE may not measure the cell when the base station is in the sleep state according to the preset time length for which the base station is in the sleep state from the time when the first indication information is received; or, after receiving the first indication information and after a predetermined time length elapses, the UE may not measure the cell when the base station is in the sleep state according to a preset duration for which the base station is in the sleep state. The predetermined time length may be set according to actual needs, which is not limited in this embodiment, for example: the predetermined length of time may be 5 seconds.

In this embodiment, the sending, by the base station, the first indication information to the UE in the cell may be: if the cell is configured as a periodic Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) mode, the base station sends the first indication information in the Nth subframe of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic DTX mode; wherein, N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes included in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

In this embodiment, if the cell is configured as a periodic DTX mode, the first indication information may further include at least two of a length of each period of the base station in the periodic DTX mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period, and a period number included in the periodic DTX mode.

In this embodiment, the sending, by the base station, the first indication information to the UE in the cell may be: a base station sends a broadcast message to UE in the cell, wherein the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or, the base station sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message to a UE in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state in the cell, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

Further, in this embodiment, the base station may further receive second indication information sent by a base station serving a neighboring cell through an X2 interface with the base station serving the neighboring cell, and then the base station sends the second indication information to the UE, so that the UE does not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state. The step of receiving, by the base station, the second indication information and sending the second indication information to the UE may be executed before or after step 101, or may be executed in parallel with step 101.

In this embodiment, the cell may be an NCT cell, or may be another type of cell such as a macro cell or a micro cell, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In the above embodiment, a base station sends first indication information to a user equipment in a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the user equipment does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state; the base station then transitions the base station to the sleep state. Therefore, the UE can be prevented from measuring the cell when the base station is in the sleep state, and the electric quantity of the UE is saved.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a cell measurement method according to the present invention, as shown in fig. 2, the cell measurement method may include:

step 201, a UE in a cell receives first indication information sent by a base station, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state, and the base station is a base station serving the cell.

Step 202, the UE does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state according to the first indication information.

In this embodiment, the first indication information may include an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that the cell is not to be measured.

In this embodiment, the receiving, by the UE in the cell, the first indication information sent by the base station may be: if the cell is configured in a periodic DTX mode, the UE receives the first indication information sent by the base station in the Nth subframe of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic DTX mode; wherein, N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes included in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

In this embodiment, if the cell is configured as a periodic DTX mode, the first indication information further includes at least two of a length of each period of the base station in the periodic DTX mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period, and a period number included in the periodic DTX mode.

In this embodiment, the receiving, by the UE in the cell, the first indication information sent by the base station may be: the UE receives a broadcast message sent by the base station, wherein the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or, when the UE is in the RRC connected state, the UE receives an RRC connection reconfiguration message sent by the base station, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

In this embodiment, further, the UE may further receive second indication information sent by a base station, where the second indication information is received by the base station through an X2 interface with the base station serving the neighboring cell; and the UE does not measure the adjacent cell when the base station serving the adjacent cell is in a sleep state according to the second indication information, wherein the adjacent cell is a cell adjacent to the cell. The step of receiving, by the UE, the second indication information sent by the base station may be executed before or after step 201, before or after step 202, or may be executed in parallel with step 201.

In this embodiment, step 202 may be: and the UE starts a timer corresponding to the cell at the moment when the base station is switched to the sleep state according to the indication that the base station is about to enter the sleep state in the first indication information, the cell is not measured within the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell, and the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell is the duration of the base station in the sleep state.

More specifically, setting the timer corresponding to the cell may be: and when the number of the cells is at least two, the UE sets a corresponding timer for each cell of the at least two cells.

In this embodiment, the function of the timer corresponding to the cell is to prohibit the UE from measuring the cell within a timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell.

In the above embodiment, a UE in a cell receives first indication information sent by a base station, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state; then, the UE does not measure the cell when the base station is in the sleep state according to the first indication information, so that the UE can be prevented from measuring the cell when the base station is in the sleep state, and the electric quantity of the UE is saved.

The method provided by the embodiment of fig. 1 and fig. 2 of the present invention can solve the problem of unnecessary power consumption caused by that the UE in the NCT cell still performs measurement because it is not known that the base station serving the NCT cell has entered the sleep state.

After a UE enters an NCT cell, if the NCT cell needs to transition a base station serving the NCT cell to a sleep state for power saving purposes, the base station serving the NCT cell sends first indication information to the UE in the NCT cell before entering the sleep state, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not measure the NCT cell when the base station is in the sleep state. The first indication information may include an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that the NCT cell is not measured.

In addition, the time length of the base station in the sleep state may be preset in the UE, so that when the first indication information includes an indication that the measurement is not performed on the NCT cell, the UE may start from the time when the first indication information is received, and according to the preset time length of the base station in the sleep state, not perform the measurement on the NCT cell when the base station is in the sleep state; or, after receiving the first indication information and after a predetermined period of time elapses, the UE may not measure the NCT cell when the base station is in the sleep state according to a preset duration for which the base station is in the sleep state. The predetermined time length may be set according to actual needs, which is not limited in this embodiment, for example: the predetermined length of time may be 5 seconds.

Specifically, a base station serving the NCT cell may send a broadcast message to a UE in the NCT cell, where the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or, the base station serving the NCT cell may send an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the UE in the RRC connected state in the NCT cell, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

After receiving the first indication information, the UE may start a timer corresponding to the NCT cell, where a timing duration of the timer is configured as a duration that the base station is in a sleep state, and the function of the timer is to prohibit the UE from measuring the NCT cell within the timing duration of the timer. After the timer expires, the UE may resume the measurement of the NCT cell.

In addition, if the NCT cell is configured in the periodic DTX mode, that is, the base station served by the NCT cell normally operates for a period of time, then transitions to the sleep state, and wakes up again to normally operate after maintaining for a period of time, and the base station periodically performs the above process. In order to avoid unnecessary measurement of the NCT cell by the UE when the base station is in the sleep time in the periodic DTX mode, the base station may send the first indication information to the UE in a last subframe of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic DTX mode, so as to instruct the UE to start a timer corresponding to the NCT cell, where a timing duration of the timer is a duration of the base station in the sleep state.

Optionally, in order to allow the UE to have enough time to process the first indication information, the base station may also send the first indication information in a penultimate subframe or a third subframe of a non-sleep time in each period of the periodic DTX mode, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention; that is, the base station may send the first indication information in the nth last subframe of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic DTX mode; wherein, N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes contained in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

In this way, the UE starts the timer corresponding to the NCT cell by the first indication information received periodically, so that the measurement of the NCT cell can be performed only when the base station is in the non-sleep state in each period of the periodic DTX mode, and the measurement of the NCT cell is not performed when the base station is in the sleep state.

Optionally, when the NCT cell is configured in a periodic DTX mode, the first indication information may further include at least two of a length of a period of the periodic DTX mode, a length of a non-sleep time in the period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in the period, and a number of periods included in the periodic DTX mode; in this way, the base station may send the first indication information to the UE after the UE successfully accesses the NCT cell, and at this time, the UE only needs to receive the first indication information once after the UE successfully accesses the NCT cell, so that the measurement of the NCT cell can be performed only when the base station is in the non-sleep state in each period of the periodic DTX mode, and the measurement of the NCT cell is not performed when the base station is in the sleep state, thereby avoiding multiple times and repeated reception of the first indication information by the UE.

Further, the base station may receive second indication information transmitted by a base station serving a neighboring cell of the NCT cell through an X2 interface with the base station serving the neighboring cell, and then the base station may transmit the second indication information to the UE so that the UE does not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state. The neighbor cell of the NCT cell may be a macro cell or another NCT cell, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, it should be noted that if the number of NCT cells is at least two, the UE may configure one timer for each NCT cell independently. Each timer can prohibit the UE from measuring the NCT cell corresponding to the timer, and the timers do not affect each other, so that the UE can be prevented from performing unnecessary measurements on at least two NCT cells, where the at least two NCT cells may include a serving cell of the UE and/or a neighboring cell of the serving cell of the UE.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a cell measurement method according to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 3, the cell measurement method may include:

step 301, a base station serving a cell receives indication information sent by a base station serving a neighboring cell through an X2 interface with the base station serving the neighboring cell.

The neighboring cell is a cell adjacent to the cell, and the indication information is used to indicate that the UE in the cell does not measure the neighboring cell when a base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state.

Step 302, the base station sends the indication information to the UE in the cell, so that the UE does not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state.

In this embodiment, the indication information may include an indication that a base station serving the neighboring cell is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that the neighboring cell is not to be measured.

Further, the indication information may further include sleep state time information including at least two of a time when the base station serving the neighboring cell transits to the sleep state, a time when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station serving the neighboring cell exits from the sleep state

In addition, a time duration during which the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state may be preset in the UE, so that when the indication information includes an indication that the measurement is not performed on the neighboring cell, the UE may not perform the measurement on the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state according to the preset time duration during which the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state from the time when the indication information is received; or, after receiving the indication information and after a predetermined time length, the UE may not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state according to a preset duration that the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state. The predetermined time length may be set according to actual needs, which is not limited in this embodiment, for example: the predetermined length of time may be 5 seconds.

In this embodiment, in step 302, when the base station sends the indication information to the UE in the cell, the method used by the base station to send the first indication information to the UE in the cell in the embodiment shown in fig. 1 of the present invention may be used, and details are not repeated here.

In the above embodiment, after receiving the indication information sent by the base station serving the cell through the X2 interface with the base station serving the neighboring cell, the base station serving the cell sends the indication information to the UE in the cell, so that the UE does not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state, thereby saving power of the UE.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a cell measurement method according to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, the cell measurement method may include:

in step 401, the UE receives indication information sent by a base station serving a cell, where the indication information is received by the base station through an X2 interface with a base station serving a neighboring cell.

The neighboring cell is a cell adjacent to the cell, and the indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not measure the neighboring cell when a base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state.

Step 402, the UE does not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state according to the indication information.

In this embodiment, in step 401, the manner used when the UE receives the first indication information sent by the base station serving the cell in the embodiment shown in fig. 2 of the present invention may be used when the UE receives the indication information sent by the base station serving the cell, and details are not repeated here.

In the above embodiment, the UE receives the indication information sent by the base station serving the cell, and then does not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state according to the indication information, so that the power of the UE can be saved.

The method provided by the invention can reduce unnecessary measurement processes before and after the UE enters the NCT cell, save the electric quantity of the UE, and meet the power saving requirements of the UE in various scenes through configuration schemes in different scenes.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or part of the steps for implementing the method embodiments may be implemented by hardware related to program instructions, and the program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and when executed, the program performs the steps including the method embodiments; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a base station of the present invention, where the base station in this embodiment may implement the process of the embodiment shown in fig. 1 of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 5, the base station may include: a sending module 51 and a conversion module 52;

a sending module 51, configured to send first indication information to a UE in a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state, where the base station is a base station serving the cell;

a transition module 52, configured to transition the base station to the sleep state after the sending module 51 sends the first indication information to the UE in the cell.

In this embodiment, the first indication information sent by the sending module 51 may include an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that the cell is not measured.

Further, the first indication information sent by the sending module 51 may further include sleep state time information, where the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

In addition, a time duration during which the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state may be preset in the UE, so that when the first indication information includes an indication that the measurement is not performed on the neighboring cell, the UE may not perform the measurement on the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state according to the preset time duration during which the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state, starting from a time when the first indication information is received; or, after receiving the first indication information and after a predetermined time length elapses, the UE may not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state according to a preset duration for which the base station serving the neighboring cell is in the sleep state. The predetermined time length may be set according to actual needs, which is not limited in this embodiment, for example: the predetermined length of time may be 5 seconds.

In this embodiment, the sending module 51 is specifically configured to, when the cell is configured in the periodic DTX mode, send the first indication information in an nth subframe from the last of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic DTX mode; wherein, N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes contained in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

Further, if the cell is configured as the periodic DTX mode, the first indication information sent by the sending module 51 further includes at least two of a length of each period in the periodic DTX mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period, and a period number included in the periodic DTX mode.

In this embodiment, the sending module 51 is specifically configured to send a broadcast message to the UE in the cell, where the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or sending an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the UE in the RRC connected state in the cell, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

Further, in an implementation manner of this embodiment, the base station may further include: a receiving module 53;

the receiving module 53 is configured to receive, through an X2 interface with a base station serving a neighboring cell, second indication information sent by the base station serving the neighboring cell, where the neighboring cell is a cell adjacent to the cell;

the sending module 51 is further configured to send the second indication information received by the receiving module 53 to the UE, so that the UE does not measure the neighboring cell when a base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state.

In hardware implementation, the above sending module 51 may be a transmitter or a transceiver, the above receiving module 53 may be a receiver or a transceiver, and the sending module 51 and the receiving module 53 may be integrated together to form a sending and receiving unit, which corresponds to hardware implementation as a transceiver. The above conversion module 52 may be embedded in a processor of the base station or independent from the processor of the base station in a hardware form, or may be stored in a memory of the base station in a software form, so that the processor can call and execute operations corresponding to the above modules. The processor can be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a singlechip and the like.

In the above embodiment, the sending module 51 sends first indication information to the ue in a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the ue does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state; the transition module 52 then transitions the base station to the sleep state. Therefore, the UE can be prevented from measuring the cell when the base station is in the sleep state, and the electric quantity of the UE is saved.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a user equipment of the present invention, where a UE in this embodiment may implement the procedure of the embodiment shown in fig. 2 of the present invention, as shown in fig. 6, the UE may include: a receiving module 61 and a measuring module 62;

a receiving module 61, configured to receive first indication information sent by a base station serving a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state;

a measuring module 62, configured to not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state according to the first indication information received by the receiving module 61.

In this embodiment, the first indication information received by the receiving module 61 may include an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that the cell is not measured.

Further, the first indication information received by the receiving module 61 may further include sleep state time information, where the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

In this embodiment, the receiving module 61 is specifically configured to receive, when the cell is configured in the periodic DTX mode, the first indication information sent by the base station in the nth subframe from the last of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic DTX mode; wherein, N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes included in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

If the cell is configured as a periodic DTX mode, the first indication information received by the receiving module 61 may further include at least two of a length of each period of the base station in the periodic DTX mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period, and a period number included in the periodic DTX mode.

In this embodiment, the receiving module 61 is specifically configured to receive a broadcast message sent by a base station, where the broadcast message carries first indication information; or, when the UE is in an RRC connected state, receiving an RRC connection reconfiguration message sent by the base station, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

In this embodiment, the receiving module 61 is further configured to receive second indication information sent by the base station, where the second indication information is received by the base station through an X2 interface with a base station serving an adjacent cell, where the adjacent cell is a cell adjacent to the cell; in this case, the measuring module 62 is further configured to not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state according to the second indication information received by the receiving module 61.

In this embodiment, the measuring module 62 is specifically configured to start a timer corresponding to the cell at the time when the base station is transitioned to the sleep state according to the indication that the base station is about to enter the sleep state in the first indication information received by the receiving module 61, and not measure the cell within a timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell, where the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell is a duration that the base station is in the sleep state.

In terms of hardware implementation, the above receiving module 61 may be a receiver or a transceiver, and the above measuring module 62 may be embedded in a processor of the base station in a hardware form or independent from the processor of the base station, or may be stored in a memory of the base station in a software form, so that the processor invokes and executes operations corresponding to the above modules. The processor can be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a singlechip and the like.

In the above embodiment, the receiving module 61 receives first indication information sent by a base station serving a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state; then, the measurement module 62 does not measure the cell when the base station serving the cell is in the sleep state according to the first indication information, so that the UE can be prevented from measuring the cell when the base station is in the sleep state, and the power of the UE is saved.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the base station of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 7, the base station may include a transmitter 71, a receiver 72, a memory 73, and a processor 74 respectively connected to the transmitter 71, the receiver 72, and the memory 73. Of course, the base station may further include general components such as an antenna, a baseband processing component, a medium radio frequency processing component, and an input/output device, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited in this respect.

The transmitter 71 is configured to transmit first indication information to a UE in a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not perform measurement on the cell when the base station is in a sleep state, and the base station is a base station serving the cell;

a memory 73 for storing program code;

a processor 74 for invoking program code stored in the memory 73 to transition the base station to a sleep state.

In this embodiment, the first indication information sent by the transmitter 71 may include an indication that the base station is going to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that no measurement is performed on the cell.

Further, the first indication information sent by the transmitter 71 may further include sleep state time information, where the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

In this embodiment, the transmitter 71 is specifically configured to, when the cell is configured in the periodic DTX mode, send the first indication information in an nth subframe from the last of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic DTX mode; wherein, N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes contained in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

Further, if the cell is configured as the periodic DTX mode, the first indication information sent by the transmitter 71 further includes at least two of a length of each period in the periodic DTX mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period, and a period number included in the periodic DTX mode.

In this embodiment, the transmitter 71 is specifically configured to send a broadcast message to the UE in the cell, where the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or sending an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the UE in the RRC connected state in the cell, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

In this embodiment, the receiver 72 is configured to receive, through an X2 interface with a base station serving a neighboring cell, second indication information sent by the base station serving the neighboring cell, where the neighboring cell is a cell adjacent to the cell;

the transmitter 71 is further configured to transmit the second indication information received by the receiver 72 to the UE, so that the UE does not perform measurement on the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state.

It should be noted that the base station shown in fig. 7 can be used to implement the method provided by the embodiment shown in fig. 1 of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the transmitter 71 sends first indication information to the UE in the cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not measure the cell when the base station is in the sleep state, and then the processor 74 transitions the base station to the sleep state. Therefore, the UE can be prevented from measuring the cell when the base station is in the sleep state, and the electric quantity of the UE is saved.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the UE of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 8, the UE may include a transmitter 81, a receiver 82, a memory 83, and a processor 84 respectively connected to the transmitter 81, the receiver 82, and the memory 83. Of course, the UE may further include general components such as an antenna, a baseband processing component, a medium radio frequency processing component, and an input/output device, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

A memory 83 for storing program codes;

a receiver 82, configured to receive first indication information sent by a base station serving a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state;

a processor 84, configured to call the program code stored in the memory 83, and according to the first indication information received by the receiver 82, not measure the cell when the base station is in the sleep state.

In this embodiment, the first indication information received by the receiver 82 may include an indication that the base station is going to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that no measurement is performed on the cell.

Further, the first indication information received by the receiver 82 may further include sleep state time information, where the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

In this embodiment, the receiver 82 is specifically configured to receive, when the cell is configured in the periodic DTX mode, the first indication information sent by the base station in the nth last subframe of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic DTX mode; wherein, N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes included in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

If the cell is configured as a periodic DTX mode, the first indication information received by the receiver 82 may further include at least two of a length of each period of the base station in the periodic DTX mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period, and a number of periods included in the periodic DTX mode.

In this embodiment, the receiver 82 is specifically configured to receive a broadcast message sent by a base station, where the broadcast message carries first indication information; or, when the UE is in an RRC connected state, receiving an RRC connection reconfiguration message sent by the base station, where the RRC connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

In this embodiment, the receiver 82 is further configured to receive second indication information sent by the base station, where the second indication information is received by the base station through an X2 interface with a base station serving a neighboring cell, where the neighboring cell is a cell adjacent to the cell; in this case, the processor 84 is further configured to not measure the neighboring cell when the base station serving the neighboring cell is in a sleep state according to the second indication information received by the receiver 82.

In this embodiment, the processor 84 is specifically configured to, according to the indication that the base station is about to enter the sleep state in the first indication information received by the receiver 82, start the timer corresponding to the cell at the time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, and not measure the cell within the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell, where the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell is the duration of the sleep state of the base station.

It should be noted that the UE shown in fig. 8 can be used to implement the method provided by the embodiment shown in fig. 2 of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the receiver 82 receives first indication information sent by a base station serving a cell, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE does not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state; then, the processor 84 does not measure the cell when the base station serving the cell is in the sleep state according to the first indication information, so that the UE can be prevented from measuring the cell when the base station is in the sleep state, and the power of the UE is saved.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drawings are merely schematic representations of one preferred embodiment and that the blocks or flow diagrams in the drawings are not necessarily required to practice the present invention.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the modules in the devices in the embodiments may be distributed in the devices in the embodiments according to the description of the embodiments, and may be correspondingly changed in one or more devices different from the embodiments. The modules of the above embodiments may be combined into one module, or further split into multiple sub-modules.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above examples are only intended to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it; although the present 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 solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some 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 method of cell measurement, comprising:

the base station transitions the base station to the sleep state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information comprises an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that no measurement is performed on the cell.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first indication information further comprises sleep state time information, and wherein the sleep state time information comprises at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

4. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the base station sending the first indication information to the user equipment in the cell comprises:

5. The method according to any of claims 1-2, wherein if the cell is configured as a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information further includes at least two of a length of each period in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period, and a number of periods included in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode.

6. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the base station sending the first indication information to the user equipment in the cell comprises:

7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, further comprising:

the base station receives second indication information sent by the base station serving the adjacent cell through an X2 interface between the base station and the base station serving the adjacent cell, and the base station sends the second indication information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment does not measure the adjacent cell when the base station serving the adjacent cell is in a sleep state, wherein the adjacent cell is a cell adjacent to the cell.

8. The method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein the cell served by the base station is a new carrier type, NCT, cell.

9. A method of cell measurement, comprising:

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first indication information comprises an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that no measurement is performed on the cell.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first indication information further comprises sleep state time information, and wherein the sleep state time information comprises at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

12. The method according to any of claims 9-11, wherein the receiving, by the ue in the cell, the first indication information sent by the base station comprises:

13. The method according to any of claims 9-12, wherein if the cell is configured as a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information further includes at least two of a length of each period in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period, and a number of periods included in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode.

14. The method according to any of claims 9-13, wherein the receiving, by the ue in the cell, the first indication information sent by the base station comprises:

15. The method according to any one of claims 9-14, further comprising:

16. The method according to any one of claims 11-14, wherein the ue not measuring the cell while the base station is in the sleep state according to the first indication information comprises:

17. The method according to any of claims 9-16, wherein the cell served by the base station is a new carrier type NCT cell.

18. A base station, comprising:

19. The base station of claim 18, wherein the first indication information sent by the sending module comprises an indication that the base station is about to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that no measurement is performed on the cell.

20. The base station of claim 19, wherein the first indication information sent by the sending module further includes sleep state time information, and wherein the sleep state time information includes at least two of a time when the base station transitions to the sleep state, a time when the base station is in the sleep state, and a time when the base station exits the sleep state.

21. The base station according to any of claims 18-20,

the sending module is specifically configured to send first indication information to user equipment in a cell as follows: when the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information is sent in the Nth subframe of the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, wherein N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes contained in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

22. The base station according to any of claims 18 to 19, wherein if the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information sent by the sending module further includes at least two of a length of each period in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period, and a number of periods included in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode.

23. The base station according to any of claims 18-22,

the sending module is specifically configured to send first indication information to user equipment in a cell as follows: sending a broadcast message to user equipment in the cell, wherein the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or, sending a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message to the user equipment in the radio resource control connection state in the cell, where the radio resource control connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

24. The base station according to any of claims 18-23, further comprising: a receiving module;

25. A user device, comprising:

26. The UE of claim 25, wherein the first indication information received by the receiving module comprises an indication that the BS is going to enter a sleep state and/or an indication that no measurement is performed on the cell.

27. The UE of claim 26, wherein the first indication information received by the receiving module further comprises sleep state time information, and wherein the sleep state time information comprises at least two of a time when the BS transits to the sleep state, a duration of time when the BS is in the sleep state, and a time when the BS exits the sleep state.

28. The user equipment according to any of claims 25-27,

the receiving module is specifically configured to receive first indication information sent by a base station serving a cell in the following manner: when the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, receiving the first indication information sent by the base station in the Nth subframe from the non-sleep time in each period of the periodic discontinuous transmission mode; wherein, N is greater than or equal to 1 and less than the number of subframes contained in the non-sleep time in each period, and N is an integer.

29. The UE of any one of claims 25 to 26, wherein if the cell is configured in a periodic discontinuous transmission mode, the first indication information received by the receiving module further includes at least two of a length of each period in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode, a length of a non-sleep time in each period, and a duration of being in a sleep state in each period, and a number of periods included in the periodic discontinuous transmission mode.

30. The user equipment according to any of claims 25-29,

the receiving module is specifically configured to receive first indication information sent by a base station serving a cell in the following manner: receiving a broadcast message sent by the base station, wherein the broadcast message carries the first indication information; or, when the ue is in the rrc connected state, receiving an rrc connection reconfiguration message sent by the base station, where the rrc connection reconfiguration message carries the first indication information.

31. The user equipment according to any of claims 25-30,

the receiving module is further configured to receive second indication information sent by the base station, where the second indication information is received by the base station through an X2 interface with a base station serving an adjacent cell, where the adjacent cell is a cell adjacent to the cell;

32. The user equipment according to any of claims 27-30,

the measurement module is specifically configured to not measure the cell when the base station is in a sleep state as follows: according to the indication that the base station is about to enter the sleep state in the first indication information received by the receiving module, starting a timer corresponding to the cell at the time when the base station is switched to the sleep state, and not measuring the cell within the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell, wherein the timing duration of the timer corresponding to the cell is the duration that the base station is in the sleep state.