CN111586723B

CN111586723B - Communication method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN111586723B
Application number: CN201910117846.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郝金平; 晋英豪; 杨水根; 张宏卓
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-02-15
Filing date: 2019-02-15
Publication date: 2022-04-22
Anticipated expiration: 2039-02-15
Also published as: WO2020164402A1; CN111586723A

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, aiming at solving the problem of remote interference. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that a first network device obtains information of reference signals from N second network devices, wherein N is an integer larger than or equal to 1, the N second network devices perform remote interference on an interfered network device group, and the information of the reference signals comprises identification information of the interfered network device group; based on the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices, the first network device sends information indicating interference cancellation to M second network devices of the N second network devices, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is less than or equal to N.

Description

Communication method and communication device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication apparatus.

Background

Under particular atmospheric conditions, electromagnetic wave energy is super-refractively propagated in the atmosphere as if propagating forward within the waveguide, which is referred to as the atmospheric waveguide phenomenon. Due to the atmospheric wave guide phenomenon, network devices in a certain area may be interfered by signals from network devices in a certain area which are far apart. Such interference may be referred to as remote interference.

For example, in some scenarios, such as a Time Division Duplex (TDD) scenario or a New Radio (NR) scenario, the network device downlink signal of the area a propagates to the area B, which is far away, due to the atmospheric waveguide phenomenon. When the downlink signal of the network device in the area a experiences long-distance transmission delay and reaches the area B, the area B may be performing uplink transmission, and at this time, the signal in the area a may cause interference to the area B, thereby affecting the communication performance of the network device in the area B.

How to solve the remote interference problem becomes a problem which needs to be solved at present.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, aiming at solving the problem of remote interference.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the method comprises the steps that a first network device obtains information of reference signals from N second network devices, wherein N is an integer larger than 1 or equal to 1, and the information of the reference signals comprises identification information of an interfered network device group; based on the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices, the first network device sends information indicating interference cancellation to M second network devices of the N second network devices, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is less than or equal to N.

Based on the above technical solution, the first network device selects one or more network devices from the N second network devices for interference cancellation based on the information of the reference signals reported by the N second network devices, so that interference cancellation can be performed, interference to an interfered network device group is reduced or eliminated, and influence on communication performance at the N second network devices can be reduced as much as possible.

On the contrary, if the N second network devices directly perform interference cancellation after learning that the N second network devices interfere with the interfered network device group, the N second network devices all perform interference cancellation, which greatly affects the communication performance at the N second network devices.

Therefore, through negotiation of the first network device, that is, based on the reported information of the reference signal, one or more network devices are selected from the N second network devices for interference cancellation, so that the communication performance at the N second network devices can be ensured while reducing or eliminating interference.

Alternatively, the interfered network device group may be specifically one or more network devices.

Optionally, the N second network devices remotely interfere with the interfered network device group.

Optionally, the information of the reference signal includes identification information of the interfered network device group, that is, the information indicating the reference signals of the N second network devices all includes identification information of the interfered network device group, and the identification information of the interfered network device group included in the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices may be the same or different.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the identification information of the interfered network device group included in the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices is the same, the information of the reference signals includes information of reference signal strength, and the reference signal strength of the M second network devices exceeds a first threshold; alternatively, the reference signal strengths of the M second network devices are greater than or equal to the reference signal strengths of the (N-M) second network devices, the (N-M) second network devices being different from the network devices of the M second network devices.

Based on the above technical solution, the first network device may select a main interference source to perform interference cancellation, for example, select a network device with a higher reference signal strength to perform interference cancellation.

Alternatively, the first threshold may be preset, e.g., protocol predefined, or network device preconfigured; alternatively, the reference signal strength may be dynamically set according to actual conditions, such as an average value of the reference signal strengths; alternatively, the estimation may be performed based on historical conditions, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices includes the same identification information of the interfered network device group, the information of the reference signals includes information of interference strength or information of strength subjected to remote interference, and the interference strength of the M second network devices or the strength subjected to remote interference of the M second network devices exceeds a second threshold; or the interference strength of the M second network devices is greater than or equal to the interference strength of the (N-M) second network devices, or the strength of the M second network devices subjected to remote interference is greater than or equal to the strength of the (N-M) second network devices subjected to remote interference, and the (N-M) second network devices are different from the network devices in the M second network devices.

Based on the above technical solution, the first network device may select a main interference source to perform interference cancellation, for example, select a network device with a higher interference strength to perform interference cancellation.

Alternatively, the second threshold may be preset, e.g., protocol predefined, or network device preconfigured; or, the interference level may be dynamically set according to actual conditions, such as an average value of a plurality of interference levels or an average value of a plurality of remote interference levels; alternatively, the estimation may be performed based on historical conditions, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

Alternatively, the interference strength may be an interference strength calculated by the second network device based on the reference signal.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first network device sends an inquiry message for inquiring about the disturbed status of the disturbed network device group.

Optionally, the interfered state, in other words, whether the interference is cancelled or whether the interference is still present or, in other words, whether the remote interference is cancelled or whether the remote interference is still present. Whether the interference is cancelled may indicate whether the interference is completely cancelled; alternatively, it may also indicate whether the interference strength exceeds a preset threshold; alternatively, it may also mean determining whether the interference strength is reduced; alternatively, it may be indicated to determine whether the degree of interference reduction exceeds a preset value or the like. The preset threshold may be a predefined threshold, such as a predefined threshold defined by a protocol, or a predefined threshold configured by a network device, which is not limited in this respect.

Accordingly, the fact that the interference is cancelled, in other words, the fact that the remote interference is cancelled, may indicate that the interference is completely cancelled, or may also indicate that the interference strength does not exceed a preset threshold, or may also indicate that the interference strength has decreased, or may also indicate that the degree of decrease in the interference strength exceeds a preset value, or the like. The non-cancellation of interference, in other words, the non-cancellation of remote interference, may indicate that the interference is not completely cancelled, or may also indicate that the interference strength exceeds a preset threshold, or may also indicate that the interference strength is not changed or the interference strength is increased, or may also indicate that the degree of decrease in the interference strength does not exceed a preset value, or the like.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first network device receives response information for the query information.

Optionally, the response information includes information that the interfered state is an interference unremoved state, or the response information includes information that the interfered state is an interference removed state.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first network equipment receives a notification message, and the notification message is used for notifying the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group to be a eliminated state or an unremoved state.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementation manners of the first aspect, the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices includes the same identification information of the interfered network device group, and when the first network device does not receive the information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state within the preset time period, the method further includes: the first network device sends a message for indicating interference cancellation to T second network devices of the (N-M) second network devices, wherein the (N-M) second network devices are different from the M second network devices, T is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and T is less than or equal to (N-M).

Based on the above technical solution, when it is determined that the interference is not cancelled according to that information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state is not received within the preset time period, at this time, one or more network devices may be selected from the remaining network devices (for example, referred to as (N-M) second network devices) to perform interference cancellation, so that the efficiency of interference cancellation may be improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first network device receives information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is a cancelled state within a preset time length.

Based on the above technical solution, the first network device may determine whether the interference is cancelled according to whether information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is a cancelled state is received within a preset time period. For example, if information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state is received within a preset time length, interference cancellation is determined; if the information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is the cancelled state is not received within the preset time length, the interference is determined not to be cancelled. Therefore, whether the interference is eliminated or not can be accurately confirmed, and signaling overhead can be saved.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first network device receiving remote interference strength information from the interfered network device group; the first network device determines an interfered state of the interfered network device group according to the remote interference strength information.

Optionally, the remote interference strength information of the interfered network device group, that is, the remote interference strength to which the interfered network device group is subjected, may be an IoT value, or may also be other remote interference strength information.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: when the first network device receives the remote interference strength information from the interfered network device group, the first network device determines that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is an unremoved state.

Based on the above scheme, the first network device may determine whether the interference is cancelled according to whether the remote interference strength information of the interfered network device group is received.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: when the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is an uncancelled state, the first network equipment sends a message for indicating interference cancellation to T second network equipment in (N-M) second network equipment, wherein the (N-M) second network equipment is different from the network equipment in the M second network equipment, T is an integer which is greater than or equal to 1, and T is less than or equal to (N-M).

Based on the above technical solution, when the first network device determines that the interference is not cancelled, one or more network devices may be selected from the remaining network devices (for example, referred to as (N-M) second network devices) to perform interference cancellation, so that the efficiency of interference cancellation may be improved.

Optionally, the interfered state is an un-cancelled state, in other words, the remote interference is not cancelled, which may indicate that the interference is not completely cancelled, or may also indicate that the interference strength exceeds a preset threshold, or may also indicate that the interference strength is not changed or the interference strength is increased, or may also indicate that the degree of decrease in the interference strength does not exceed a preset value, and so on.

Optionally, when determining that the interfered state is the non-cancelled state, the interfered state may be determined by a response message, that is, the response message carries information that the interfered state is the non-cancelled state; or, the determination may also be performed through the notification message, that is, the notification message carries information that the interfered state is the non-cancelled state; alternatively, the determination may be made by not receiving the information of interference cancellation within a preset time period, and the like, which is not limited.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first network device is one or more centralized units of an access network device, and the second network device is a distributed unit of the access network device; or, the first network device is a core network device or a network management device, and the second network device is a base station; or the first network device is one or more of the N second network devices, and the second network device is a base station.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the second network equipment sends the information of the reference signal to the first network equipment, wherein the information of the reference signal contains the identification information of the interfered network equipment group; the second network equipment acquires indication information which is determined by the first network equipment based on the information of the reference signal, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the second network equipment to carry out interference cancellation; based on the indication information, the second network device performs interference cancellation.

Based on the above technical solution, the second network device performs interference cancellation after receiving the indication information, in other words, the second network device does not perform interference cancellation if not receiving the indication information. The first network device may select a part of the network devices from the plurality of second network devices for interference cancellation based on the information of the reference signals reported by the plurality of second network devices, so that interference cancellation may be performed, interference to an interfered network device group may be reduced or eliminated, and an influence on communication performance at the second network devices may be reduced as much as possible.

Conversely, if the second network device directly performs interference cancellation after knowing that it interferes with the interfered network device group, the communication performance at the second network device is greatly affected.

Therefore, interference cancellation is performed through the indication of the first network device, and the communication performance at the second network device can be ensured while interference is reduced or eliminated.

Optionally, the second network device remotely interferes with the interfered network device group.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the information of the reference signal includes at least one of: information of reference signal strength, information of interference strength, or information of strength subject to remote interference.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second network device sends inquiry information for inquiring whether the interference to the interfered network device group is eliminated.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second network device receives response information for the query information.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second network device receives the reference signal and resolves the interfered state of the interfered network device group from the reference signal.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, when the interfered state of the interfered network device group is a cancelled state, the method further includes: and the second network equipment sends notification information to the first network equipment, wherein the notification information is used for notifying that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group of the first network equipment is a eliminated state.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, when the interfered state of the interfered network device group is an unremoved state, the method further includes: and the second network equipment sends notification information to the first network equipment, wherein the notification information is used for notifying that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group of the first network equipment is an unremoved state.

Optionally, the second network device sends notification information to the first network device, or it may also be understood that the second network device sends request information requesting interference cancellation to the first network device, which is not limited in this application.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, when the first network device does not receive the information indicating that the interfered status of the interfered network device group is the cancelled status within the preset time period, the method further includes: and the second network equipment sends notification information to the first network equipment, wherein the notification information is used for notifying that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group of the first network equipment is an unremoved state.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: and the second network equipment receives information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is a cancelled state within a preset time length.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second network device receiving remote interference strength information from the interfered network device group; the second network device determines an interfered state of the interfered network device group according to the remote interference strength information.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: when the second network device receives the remote interference strength information from the interfered network device group, the second network device determines that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is an unremoved state.

Based on the above scheme, the second network device may determine whether the interference is cancelled according to whether the remote interference strength information of the interfered network device group is received.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first network device is one or more centralized units of an access network device, and the second network device is a distributed unit of the access network device; or, the first network device is a core network device or a network management device, and the second network device is a base station; or, the first network device is a base station, and the second network device is a base station.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the second network equipment receives the first reference signal; and when the first condition is met, the second network equipment carries out interference elimination.

Based on the above technical solution, after acquiring the reference signal (for example, referred to as a first reference signal), the second network device determines whether to perform interference cancellation according to whether a certain condition (for example, referred to as a first condition) is satisfied. For example, when this condition is satisfied, interference cancellation is performed; when this condition is not satisfied, interference cancellation is not performed. Therefore, the interference elimination can be carried out, the interference to the interfered network equipment group is reduced or eliminated, and the influence on the communication performance of the second network equipment can be reduced as much as possible.

Therefore, the second network device determines whether to perform interference cancellation according to the acquired first reference signal and the first condition, and the communication performance at the second network device can be ensured while reducing or canceling the interference.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first condition is: the first reference signal strength exceeds a first threshold.

Based on the above technical solution, the second network device may determine whether to perform interference cancellation according to the reference signal strength (for example, referred to as a first reference signal strength) and the first threshold. For example, when the strength of the reference signal exceeds a first threshold, interference cancellation is performed; and when the strength of the reference signal does not exceed the first threshold value, not carrying out interference elimination. Therefore, interference cancellation is performed by referring to the network device with relatively large signal strength, so that interference cancellation can be performed by the main interference source, thereby improving the efficiency of interference cancellation.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: the second network device obtains the first threshold from the first network device.

Based on the above technical solution, the first threshold may be sent by the first network device to the second network device.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first condition is: the first interference strength exceeds a second threshold, or the strength of the remote interference exceeds a second threshold.

Alternatively, the first interference strength may be determined based on the first reference signal, or the first interference strength may also be the detected remote interference.

Based on the above technical solution, the second network device may determine whether to perform interference cancellation according to the interference strength (for example, referred to as a first interference strength) and a second threshold. For example, when the interference strength or the strength subjected to remote interference exceeds a second threshold value, interference cancellation is performed; and when the interference intensity or the intensity subjected to remote interference does not exceed the second threshold value, not carrying out interference elimination. Therefore, interference cancellation is performed by the network device with relatively large interference strength, so that interference cancellation can be performed by the main interference source, thereby improving the efficiency of interference cancellation.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: the second network device obtains a second threshold from the first network device.

Based on the above technical solution, the second threshold may be sent by the first network device to the second network device.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: the second network device sends an inquiry message for inquiring about the disturbed status of the disturbed group of network devices.

Optionally, the interfered state includes whether the interference is cancelled or not, or whether the interference is still present or, in other words, whether the remote interference is cancelled or whether the remote interference is still present. Whether the interference is cancelled may indicate whether the interference is completely cancelled; alternatively, it may also indicate whether the interference strength exceeds a preset threshold; or may also indicate a determination of whether the interference strength is reduced, etc. The preset threshold may be a predefined threshold, such as a predefined threshold defined by a protocol, or a predefined threshold configured by a network device, which is not limited in this respect.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: the second network device receives response information for the query information.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: and the second network equipment receives information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is a cancelled state within a preset time length.

Based on the above technical solution, the second network device may determine whether the interference is cancelled according to whether information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is a cancelled state is received within a preset time period. For example, if information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state is received within a preset time length, interference cancellation is determined; if the information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is the cancelled state is not received within the preset time length, the interference is determined not to be cancelled. Therefore, whether the interference is eliminated or not can be accurately confirmed, and signaling overhead can be saved.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: and when the second network equipment does not receive the information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is the eliminated state within the preset time length and when a second condition is met, the second network equipment carries out interference elimination.

Based on the above technical solution, when the information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state is not received within the preset time, the second network device may determine that the interference is not cancelled, and at this time, the second network device may determine whether to perform interference cancellation again according to the information of the first reference signal and the second condition. If the second network device determines not to perform interference cancellation according to the information of the first reference signal and the first condition, the second network device further determines whether to perform interference cancellation according to the information of the first reference signal and the second condition when determining that the interference is not cancelled.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: the second network device receiving remote interference strength information from the interfered network device group; the second network device determines an interfered state of the interfered network device group according to the remote interference strength information.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: when the second network device receives the remote interference strength information from the interfered network device group, the second network device determines that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is an unremoved state.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: when the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is the non-elimination state and when a second condition is met, the second network equipment carries out interference elimination.

Based on the above technical solution, when the second network device determines that the interference is not cancelled, the second network device may determine whether to cancel the interference again according to the information of the first reference signal and the second condition. If the second network device determines not to perform interference cancellation according to the information of the first reference signal and the first condition, the second network device further determines whether to perform interference cancellation according to the information of the first reference signal and the second condition when determining that the interference is not cancelled.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the second condition is: the first reference signal strength exceeds a third threshold value, and the third threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value; or, the second condition is: the first interference strength exceeds a fourth threshold, or the strength of the remote interference exceeds the fourth threshold, and the fourth threshold is smaller than the second threshold.

Based on the above technical solution, the third threshold is smaller than the first threshold, and the fourth threshold is smaller than the second threshold, so that the efficiency of interference cancellation can be improved.

Optionally, the first threshold, the second threshold, the third threshold, and the fourth threshold are all allocated for the first reference signal, for example, the first threshold, the second threshold, the third threshold, and the fourth threshold may be allocated for the first reference signal in advance; alternatively, the first threshold and the second threshold may be allocated to the first reference signal first, and when it is determined that the interference is not eliminated, the third threshold and the fourth threshold may be allocated to the first reference signal.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: the second network device obtains the third threshold or the fourth threshold from the first network device.

Based on the above technical solution, the third threshold or the fourth threshold may be sent by the first network device to the second network device.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: when the second network device does not receive the information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the eliminated state within the preset time length, the second network device receives a second reference signal; and when the third condition is met, the second network equipment carries out interference elimination.

Based on the above technical solution, when the information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state is not received within the preset time period, it may be determined that the interference is not cancelled, and at this time, the second network device may determine whether to perform interference cancellation based on the received second reference signal and the third condition. Alternatively, the second reference signal and the first reference signal may be the same or different, and are not limited thereto.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: when the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is an unremoved state, the second network equipment receives a second reference signal; and when the third condition is met, the second network equipment carries out interference elimination.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the third condition is: the second reference signal strength exceeds a fifth threshold value, and the fifth threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value; or, the third condition is: the second interference strength exceeds a sixth threshold, or the strength of the remote interference exceeds the sixth threshold, and the sixth threshold is smaller than the second threshold.

Based on the above technical solution, the fifth threshold is smaller than the first threshold, and the sixth threshold is smaller than the second threshold, so that the efficiency of interference cancellation can be improved.

Optionally, the second interference strength may be determined based on the second reference signal, or the second interference strength may also be the detected remote interference.

Optionally, the first threshold and the second threshold are allocated for the first reference signal, for example, the first threshold and the second threshold may be allocated for the first reference signal in advance; and when the interference is determined not to be eliminated, allocating a fifth threshold and a sixth threshold for the second reference signal.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: the second network device obtains the fifth threshold or the sixth threshold from the first network device.

Based on the above technical solution, the fifth threshold or the sixth threshold may be sent by the first network device to the second network device.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first network device is one or more centralized units of the access network device, and the second network device is a distributed unit of the access network device; or, the first network device is a core network device or a network management device, and the second network device is a base station; or, the first network device is a base station, and the second network device is a base station.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the method comprises the steps that a first network device obtains information of first reference signals from N second network devices, wherein N is an integer larger than 1 or equal to 1, and the information of the first reference signals comprises identification information of an interfered network device group; based on the information of the first reference signals of the N second network devices, the first network device sends first information indicating a first condition to the N second network devices, where the first condition is used for the N second network devices to determine whether to perform interference cancellation.

Based on the above technical solution, the first network device may send, to the N second network devices, information for indicating the first condition based on the information of the reference signal reported by the N second network devices, so that the N second network devices may determine whether to perform interference cancellation according to the information of the reference signal and the first condition. For example, when the first condition is satisfied, interference cancellation is performed; when the first condition is not satisfied, interference cancellation is not performed. Therefore, the interference elimination can be carried out, the interference to the interfered network equipment group is reduced or eliminated, and the influence on the communication performance of the N second network equipment can be reduced as much as possible.

On the contrary, if the N second network devices directly perform interference cancellation after learning that the N second network devices interfere with the interfered network device group, the communication performance at the N second network devices is greatly affected.

Therefore, by indicating the first condition to the N second network devices, so that the N second network devices determine whether to perform interference cancellation according to the acquired first reference signal and the first condition, the communication performance at the second network devices can be ensured while reducing or eliminating interference.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the first information includes a first threshold; the first condition is: the first reference signal strength exceeds a first threshold.

Based on the above technical solution, the first network device may send the first threshold to the N second network devices, so that the N second network devices may determine whether to perform interference cancellation according to the reference signal strength (for example, referred to as a first reference signal strength) and the first threshold. For example, when the strength of the reference signal exceeds a first threshold, interference cancellation is performed; and when the strength of the reference signal does not exceed the first threshold value, not carrying out interference elimination. Therefore, interference cancellation is performed by referring to the network device with relatively large signal strength, so that interference cancellation can be performed by the main interference source, thereby improving the efficiency of interference cancellation.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the first information includes a second threshold; the first condition is: the first interference strength exceeds a second threshold, or the strength of the remote interference exceeds a second threshold.

Based on the above technical solution, the first network device may send the second threshold to the N second network devices, so that the N second network devices may determine whether to perform interference cancellation according to the interference strength (for example, referred to as the first interference strength) or the strength subjected to remote interference exceeding the second threshold, and the second threshold. For example, when the interference strength exceeds a second threshold, interference cancellation is performed; and when the interference strength does not exceed the second threshold value, not eliminating the interference. Therefore, interference cancellation is performed by the network device with relatively large interference strength, so that interference cancellation can be performed by the main interference source, thereby improving the efficiency of interference cancellation.

Alternatively, the interference strength (e.g., denoted as the first interference strength) may be an interference strength calculated by the second network device based on the reference signal.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further comprises: the first network device sends an inquiry message for inquiring about the disturbed status of the disturbed network device group.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further comprises: the first network device receives response information for the query information.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further comprises: the first network device receives notification information, and the notification information is used for notifying that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is an unremoved state or an interference removed state.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further comprises: the first network device receives information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is a cancelled state within a preset time length.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further comprises: when the first network device does not receive the information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state within the preset time length, the first network device sends second information indicating a second condition to the N second network devices, and the second condition is used for judging whether interference cancellation is required by the N second network devices.

Based on the above technical solution, when the information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state is not received within the preset time period, the first network device may determine that the interference is not cancelled, and at this time, the first network device may send the second condition to the N second network devices, so that the N second network devices determine whether to cancel the interference according to the information of the first reference signal and the second condition.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further comprises: the first network device receiving remote interference strength information from the interfered network device group; the first network device determines an interfered state of the interfered network device group according to the remote interference strength information.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further comprises: when the first network device receives the remote interference strength information from the interfered network device group, the first network device determines that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is an unremoved state.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further comprises: when the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is the non-eliminated state, the first network equipment sends second information used for indicating a second condition to the N second network equipment, and the second condition is used for judging whether to eliminate interference by the N second network equipment.

Based on the above technical solution, when the first network device determines that the interference is not cancelled, the first network device may send the second condition to the N second network devices, so that the N second network devices determine whether to cancel the interference according to the information of the first reference signal and the second condition.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the second information includes a third threshold, and the second condition is: the first reference signal strength exceeds a third threshold value, and the third threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value; or, the second information includes a fourth threshold, and the second condition is: the first interference strength or the strength of the remote interference exceeds a fourth threshold value, which is smaller than the second threshold value.

Based on the above technical solution, the third threshold is smaller than the first threshold, and the fourth threshold is smaller than the second threshold. That is, when the first network device determines that the interference is not cancelled, the first network device may send a third threshold smaller than the first threshold and a fourth threshold smaller than the second threshold to the N second network devices, so that the N second network devices may determine whether to perform interference cancellation according to the first reference signal strength and the third threshold, or so that the N second network devices may determine whether to perform interference cancellation according to the first interference strength or the strength subjected to remote interference and the fourth threshold.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, when the first network device does not receive the information indicating that the interfered status of the interfered network device group is the cancelled status within the preset time period, the method further includes: the first network equipment acquires information of second reference signals from N second network equipment; based on the information of the second reference signals of the N second network devices, the first network device sends third information indicating a third condition to the N second network devices, where the third condition is used for the N second network devices to determine whether to perform interference cancellation.

Based on the above technical solution, when the information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state is not received within the preset time period, the first network device may determine that the interference is not cancelled, and at this time, the first network device may determine the third condition based on the received second reference information, so that the second network device may determine whether to cancel the interference based on the received second reference signal and the third condition. Alternatively, the second reference signal and the first reference signal may be the same or different, and are not limited thereto.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further comprises: when the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is the non-elimination state, the method further comprises the following steps: the first network equipment acquires information of second reference signals from N second network equipment; based on the information of the second reference signals of the N second network devices, the first network device sends third information indicating a third condition to the N second network devices, where the third condition is used for the N second network devices to determine whether to perform interference cancellation.

Based on the above technical solution, when the interference is not cancelled, the first network device may determine the third condition based on the received second reference information, so that the second network device may determine whether to cancel the interference based on the received second reference signal and the third condition. Alternatively, the second reference signal and the first reference signal may be the same or different, and are not limited thereto.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the third information includes a fifth threshold, and the third condition is: the second reference signal strength exceeds a fifth threshold value, and the fifth threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value; or, the third information includes a sixth threshold, and the third condition is: the second interference strength or the strength subjected to remote interference exceeds a sixth threshold value, which is smaller than the second threshold value.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first network device is one or more centralized units of the access network device, and the second network device is a distributed unit of the access network device; or, the first network device is a core network device or a network management device, and the second network device is a base station; or the first network device is one or more of the N second network devices, and the second network device is a base station.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, wherein the device is a centralized unit and has the function of implementing the method of the first aspect or the fourth aspect. These functions may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions.

A sixth aspect provides a communication apparatus, which is a core network device and has the function of implementing the method of the first aspect or the fourth aspect. These functions may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions.

In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, where the apparatus is a network management device and has a function of implementing the method in the first aspect or the fourth aspect. These functions may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions.

In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, wherein the communication device is a base station and has the function of implementing the method of the first aspect or the fourth aspect. These functions may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus, which is a distributed unit having the function of implementing the method of the second or third aspect. These functions may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions.

A tenth aspect provides a communication apparatus, which is a base station and has the function of implementing the method of the second or third aspect. These functions may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus, which is a centralized unit and comprises a memory for storing computer programs or instructions, a communication interface, and a processor, which is coupled to the memory and the communication interface and when executed by the processor, causes the apparatus to perform the method of the first or fourth aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is a core network device and includes a memory, a communication interface, and a processor, wherein the memory is used for storing a computer program or instructions, and the processor is coupled with the memory and the communication interface, and when the processor executes the computer program or instructions, the apparatus is caused to perform the method of the first aspect or the fourth aspect.

In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus, the apparatus being a network management device, the apparatus comprising a memory for storing a computer program or instructions, a communication interface, and a processor, the processor being coupled to the memory and the communication interface, and the computer program or instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the apparatus to perform the method of the first or fourth aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a communication device, the device being a base station, the device comprising a memory for storing a computer program or instructions, a communication interface, and a processor, the processor being coupled to the memory and the communication interface, and the processor, when executing the computer program or instructions, causes the device to perform the method of the first or fourth aspect.

In a fifteenth aspect, there is provided a communication device, the device being a distributed unit, the device comprising a memory for storing a computer program or instructions, a communication interface, and a processor coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the processor, when executing the computer program or instructions, causing the device to perform the method of the second or third aspect.

In a sixteenth aspect, there is provided a communication device, the device being a base station, the device comprising a memory for storing a computer program or instructions, a communication interface, and a processor coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the processor, when executing the computer program or instructions, causing the device to perform the method of the second or third aspect.

In a seventeenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: computer program code for causing a computer to perform the method of the first or fourth aspect described above when said computer program code is run on a computer.

In an eighteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: computer program code for causing a computer to perform the method of the second or third aspect described above when said computer program code is run on a computer.

A nineteenth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when executed, implements the method of the first or fourth aspect.

A twentieth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when executed, implements the method of the second or third aspect.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario suitable for use in embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario suitable for use with embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of yet another application scenario suitable for use with embodiments of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic flow diagram of remote interference management;

FIG. 5 is a schematic interaction diagram of a communication method of an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication method suitable for use in one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic interaction diagram of a communication method of a further embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic interaction diagram of a communication method of another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic interaction diagram of a communication method of yet another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device of an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication apparatus of another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solution in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a fifth generation (5G) system, a New Radio (NR), a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, a Time Division Duplex (TDD), a universal mobile communication system (universal mobile communication system, UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwave communication (WiMAX), and the like.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario applicable to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1, the terminal 130 accesses a wireless network to acquire a service of an external network (e.g., the internet) through the wireless network or to communicate with other terminals through the wireless network. The wireless network includes a RAN110 and a Core Network (CN)120, where the RAN110 is used to access terminals 130 to the wireless network and the CN120 is used to manage the terminals and provide a gateway for communication with external networks.

Among them, a terminal, also called User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), etc., is a device providing voice/data connectivity to a user, for example, a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. Currently, some examples of terminals are: a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a Mobile Internet Device (MID), a wearable device, a Virtual Reality (VR) device, an Augmented Reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote surgery (remote medical supply), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (smart security), a wireless terminal in city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), etc., alternatively, the terminal device may be a terminal device in a 5G network or a terminal device in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) in future evolution, and the present application embodiment does not limit this.

The network device is a device in a wireless network, for example, a Radio Access Network (RAN) node that accesses a terminal to the wireless network. Currently, some examples of RAN nodes are: a gbb, a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), a Base Band Unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) Access Point (AP), etc. In one network configuration, a network device may include a Centralized Unit (CU) node, or a Distributed Unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario applicable to the embodiment of the present application.

Access and mobility management function (AMF) entity: the method is mainly used for mobility management, access management, and the like, and can be used for implementing functions other than session management in Mobility Management Entity (MME) functions, such as functions of lawful interception, or access authorization (or authentication), and the like.

As shown in fig. 2, the gNB1 may be connected to the AMF1 via a first communication interface and the gNB2 may be connected to the AMF2 via a second communication interface. Alternatively, the first communication interface and the second communication interface may be denoted by NG. The present application is not limited to the representation of the first communication interface and the second communication interface, and the communication interfaces may adopt other tabular forms. Alternatively, the gNB1 and the gNB2 may be connected to the same AMF or different AMFs. For example, the gNB1 and the gNB2 may belong to different vendors and correspond to different AMFs, respectively.

The AMF in fig. 2 may also be replaced with Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM). The gNB1 may be connected to the OAM via a first communication interface and the gNB2 may be connected to the OAM via a second communication interface. Alternatively, the first communication interface can be represented by OM1, and the second communication interface can be represented by OM 2. The present application is not limited to the representation of the first communication interface and the second communication interface, and the communication interfaces may adopt other tabular forms. Alternatively, the gNB1 and the gNB2 may be connected to the same OAM or different OAM. For example, the gNB1 and the gNB2 may belong to different vendors and correspond to different OAM.

It should be understood that the AMF entity may be understood as a network element in a core network for implementing the above functions, which may be a separate device or integrated in the same device to implement the above functions, and this application is not limited thereto.

It should also be understood that the above interface name is only an example, and the name of the interface in the specific implementation may be other names, which is not specifically limited in this application.

It should also be understood that the first network device in the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the AMF or OAM described above, and the second network device may correspond to the gNB1 or gNB2 described above.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario applicable to the embodiment of the present application.

The CU and the DU are connected through a communication interface. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication interface between the CU and the DU may be referred to as an F1 interface, in other words, the CU and the DU are connected by using an F1 interface. One CU may be connected to one or more DUs, in other words, a plurality of DUs may be centrally controlled by one CU. Alternatively, in a specific implementation, one DU may be connected to a plurality of CUs in consideration of system stability. It should be understood that the interface name shown in fig. 3 is only an example, and the name of the interface in the specific implementation may be other names, which is not specifically limited in this application.

The CU has Radio Resource Control (RRC) or partial RRC control functions, and includes all protocol layer functions or partial protocol layer functions of the existing base station; for example, the RRC layer may include only an RRC function or a part of the RRC function, or include an RRC function or a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer function, or include an RRC/Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer function, or include an RRC/PDCP and a part of a radio link layer control protocol (RLC) layer function; or include RRC/PDCP/Media Access Control (MAC) layers, or even some or all of the physical layer PHY functions, without excluding any other possibilities.

The DU has all protocol layer functions of the existing base station except for the protocol layer functions of the CU, that is, a part of protocol layer function units of RRC/SDAP/PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY, for example, includes a part of RRC functions and protocol layer functions such as PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY, or includes protocol layer functions such as RLC/MAC/PHY, or includes a part of RLC/MAC/PHY functions, or includes only all or part of PHY functions; it should be noted that the functionality of the various protocol layers mentioned herein may vary and are within the scope of the present application. For example, the DU has all the protocol layer functions of the existing base station.

Illustratively, the functions of PDCP and above protocol layers are set in the CU, and the functions of protocol layers below PDCP, such as RLC and MAC, are set in the DU. Of course, this division of the protocol layers is only an example, and it is also possible to divide the protocol layers at other protocol layers, for example, at the RLC layer, and the functions of the RLC layer and the protocol layers above are set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU. Alternatively, the functions are divided into some protocol layers, for example, a part of the functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are provided in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are provided in the DU. In addition, the processing time may be divided in other manners, for example, by time delay, a function that needs to satisfy the time delay requirement for processing is provided in the DU, and a function that does not need to satisfy the time delay requirement is provided in the CU. In addition, the radio frequency device may be pulled away, not placed in the DU, or integrated in the DU, or partially pulled away and partially integrated in the DU, which is not limited herein.

For another example, in a 5G network, a new type of relay node also has a new technical development, for example, the relay node is only deployed with a protocol stack architecture of layer 2 (e.g., including a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a MAC layer, etc.) and layer 1 (e.g., including a PHY layer), and not deployed with all protocol stack functions above layer 2, such as all RRC layer functions. Therefore, data or signaling generated by the donor base station needs to be forwarded to the terminal device by the relay node.

It should be understood that the first network device in the embodiment of the present application may correspond to a CU in a CU-DU architecture and also correspond to the above-mentioned host base station, and the second network device may correspond to a DU in the CU-DU architecture and also correspond to the above-mentioned relay node.

It should also be understood that fig. 1-3 are only exemplary and should not limit the present application in any way.

In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a brief description of several concepts related to the embodiments of the present application will be provided below.

1. Remote Interference (RI)

Under particular atmospheric conditions, electromagnetic wave energy is super-refractively propagated in the atmosphere as if propagating forward within the waveguide, which is referred to as the atmospheric waveguide phenomenon. Due to the atmospheric waveguide phenomenon, network devices (e.g., a gNB) in a certain area may be subject to interference from signals from network devices (e.g., a gNB) in a certain area that are far apart. For example, in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) scenario, a network device downlink signal in an area a propagates to an area B that is far apart due to an atmospheric waveguide phenomenon. The distance from area a to area B may be up to 300 km. When a downlink signal of a network device in the area a reaches the area B after a long-distance transmission delay, the area B may be performing uplink transmission, and the signal in the area a may cause interference to the area B. Such interference may be referred to as remote interference.

In the following embodiments, for the purpose of differentiation, the one or more network devices that are subject to interference are denoted as a group of interfered network devices, and the one or more network devices that are subject to interference are denoted as a group of interfering network devices. It should be understood that the interfered network device group may be specifically one or more network devices and the interfering network device group may be specifically one or more network devices. For example, a network device in the area B that is interfered by the signal in the area a is denoted as an interfered network device group, and a network device in the area a that interferes with the interfered network device is denoted as an interfering network device group.

It should be understood that the interfered network device group and the interfering network device group are only named for distinction and do not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

The interfered network device group may have a CU-DU architecture, that is, the interfered network device group may specifically be one or more DUs, and the one or more DUs may be centrally controlled by one CU. The interfering network device group may have a CU-DU architecture, i.e. the interfering network device group may specifically be one or more DUs, which may be centrally controlled by one CU.

2. Reference Signal (RS)

The interfered network device group suffering remote interference can inform the interfering network device group that the remote interference is generated by means of sending a reference signal. For example, the interfered network device group may continuously transmit the characteristic reference signal sequence over the air interface to notify the interfering network device group that the remote interference is generated. The reference signal carries identification information of the interfered network device group, so that the address of the interfered network device group is known by the interfering network device group.

3. Interference over thermal (IoT)

The interference-to-thermal ratio can be used to measure the amount of interference experienced by a network device, and generally describes the interference in a manner 'several times greater than the thermal dryness'. In the process of detecting the uplink remote interference, the network device usually uses IoT as a main measurement indicator to determine the uplink remote interference situation.

4. Remote Interference Management (RIM)

Remote interference management can solve the remote interference problem. Fig. 4 shows a flow diagram of remote interference management.

S410, the interfering network device group causes remote interference to the interfered network device group.

S420, the interfered network device group sends a reference signal, and accordingly, the interfering network device group receives the reference signal from the interfered network device group.

The interfering network device group may monitor the reference signal all the time, and after receiving the reference signal, the interfering network device group may determine that itself generates interference to the interfered network device group.

S430, the interference network equipment group implements the measure of eliminating the remote interference and sends a first notification message to the interfered network equipment group.

The first notification message is used for notifying the interference network device group of receiving the reference signal of the interfered network device group.

S440, the interfering network device group finishes implementing the measure for eliminating the remote interference, and sends a second notification message to the interfered network device group.

The second notification message is used to notify that the reference signal disappears and the interfering group of network devices may stop monitoring the reference signal. In other words, after the interfering network device group does not receive the reference signal, the interfering network device group ends to implement the measure of eliminating the remote interference, and may send a second notification message for notifying that the reference signal disappears to the interfered network device group.

It should be understood that the first communication message and the second communication message are only named for distinguishing and do not limit the present application.

S450, the interfered network device group stops sending the reference signal.

In one approach, the interfering network device group may take measures alone to eliminate the remote interference after receiving the reference signal, in other words, the interfering network device group may take measures alone to eliminate the remote interference after knowing that it generates interference to the interfered network device group.

If the interfering network device group takes measures to eliminate the remote interference alone, all network devices or too many network devices at the interfering network device group may participate in eliminating the remote interference, resulting in unnecessary cell performance loss at the interfering network device group.

In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which determines whether to perform interference cancellation through coordination of a CU, an AMF, or an OAM, or through a network device itself, so that fewer or most effective network devices in an interfering network device group perform interference cancellation, thereby not only achieving interference cancellation, but also reducing the influence on the communication performance at the interfering network device group.

To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following description is made before describing the embodiments of the present application.

In this embodiment of the present application, "predefined" may be implemented by saving a corresponding code, table, or other means that can be used to indicate related information in advance in a device (for example, including a terminal device and/or a network device), and this application is not limited to a specific implementation manner thereof. For example, the predefined may refer to a definition in a protocol.

References to "storing" in embodiments of the present application may refer to storing in one or more memories. The one or more memories may be provided separately or integrated in the encoder or decoder, the processor, or the communication device. The one or more memories may also be provided separately, with a portion of the one or more memories being integrated into the decoder, the processor, or the communication device. The type of memory may be any form of storage medium and is not intended to be limiting of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the "protocol" may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, and may include, for example, an LTE protocol, an NR protocol, or a related protocol applied in a future communication system, which is not limited in the present application.

In the embodiments of the present application, the first, second, etc. are only used for distinguishing different objects, and should not limit the present application in any way.

In the embodiment of the present application, "and/or" describes an association relationship of associated objects, and indicates that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may indicate: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "plurality" means two or more, and other terms are analogous. Furthermore, for elements (elements) that appear in the singular form "a," an, "and" the, "they are not intended to mean" one or only one "unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, but rather" one or more than one. For example, "a device" means for one or more such devices. Still further, at least one (at least one of a).

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method 500 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method involves a centralized unit and a distributed unit. As shown in fig. 5, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

s510, the first DU and the second DU receive a reference signal from the interfered network device group.

N DUs receive a reference signal from the interfered network device group, where the N DUs all cause remote interference to the interfered network device group, that is, the interfered network device group sends the reference signal over an air interface, and the N DUs receive the reference signal, where N is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1. For convenience of description, fig. 5 describes only the first DU and the second DU by referring to them, and the first DU and the second DU belong to any two DUs among the N DUs. The N DUs can be controlled by one CU.

The interfered network device group can be K network devices, and the K network devices are subjected to remote interference of N DUs; or, the interfered network device group has a CU-DU architecture, that is, the interfered network device group may specifically be K DUs, where K is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1.

When the interfered network device group transmits the reference signal, an Identity (ID) of the interfered network device group may be carried in the reference signal, and the N DUs may resolve the identity.

By making the N DUs know the identity of the interfered network device group, the N DUs can know which network devices cause remote interference.

Alternatively, after the N DUs receive the reference signal from the interfered network device group, the interference strength may be calculated based on the reference signal.

The interference strength may include, for example: interference strength information from the interfered network equipment group calculated based on the reference signal; and/or a measure of the strength of remote interference, such as an IoT value, measured by the N DUs themselves that are subject to remote interference from the set of interfered network devices. Hereinafter, the interference strength is used.

As can be seen from fig. 3, the DU may report information to the CU through the F1 interface. In this embodiment, the N DUs may report information of the reference signal to the CU, so that the CU can select the DU for interference cancellation, and avoid that the N DUs individually perform interference cancellation, which causes unnecessary communication performance loss at the N DUs.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, performing interference cancellation, which may also be referred to as performing remote interference cancellation, is to cancel remote interference caused by N DUs to the interfered network device group. Hereinafter, for brevity, they are all referred to as performing interference cancellation.

And S520, reporting the information of the reference signal to the CU by the first DU and the second DU.

The N DUs report information of the reference signal to the CU, and in fig. 5, for convenience of description, only the first DU and the second DU are listed as an exemplary description.

The information of the reference signals reported by the N DUs carries the identifier of the interfered network device group, so that the CU can determine which DUs carrying the same identifier are included according to the identifier of the interfered network device group, in other words, which DUs interfering the same network device are included can be determined.

Optionally, the information of the reference signals reported by the N DUs includes: reference signal strength and/or interference strength.

The reference signal strength can be represented by Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP), for example.

The interference strength may include, for example: interference strength information of the interfered network device group calculated based on the reference signal, and/or a measured value of remote interference strength measured by the N DUs themselves being subjected to remote interference from the interfered network device group. Specifically, reference is made to the description in S510, which is not repeated.

The information of the reference signals reported by the N DUs can be transmitted through F1AP message, that is, the N DUs send the information of the reference signals to the CU through F1AP message.

The information of the reference signals reported by the N DUs may be carried in the existing message. Alternatively, a new class 2element procedure may be defined for the information of the reference signals reported by the N DUs, and may be represented by RIM RS Indication, for example, which includes the information of the reference signals and may be represented by RIM RS Indication message, as shown in table 1 below. It should be understood that the RIM RS Indication and the RIM RS Indication message are only named and not limited.

TABLE 1

Elementary Procedure	Message
		RIM RS Indication	RIM RS INDICATION message

After receiving the information of the reference signals reported by the N DUs, the CU can select the DU for interference cancellation.

S530, CU selects DU for interference elimination.

The N DUs report information of the reference signal to the CU, and the identifiers of the interfered network device groups carried in the reported information of the reference signal may be the same or different. The CU selects one or more DUs from the DUs carrying the same identity for interference cancellation respectively.

A CU may select a DU for interference cancellation by any of the following implementations.

In implementation mode 1, a CU may select, based on information of a currently reported reference signal, a DU for interference cancellation from DUs carrying the same identifier.

The example is given by taking the same identifier carried by N DUs as an example. And the CU randomly selects N1 DUs from the reported N DUs for interference cancellation, wherein N1 is smaller than N, and N1 is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1.

In implementation 2, a CU may select, based on information of a currently reported reference signal, DUs for interference cancellation from DUs carrying the same identifier respectively in combination with a historical interference cancellation process (e.g., a last interference cancellation process).

The example is given by taking the same identifier carried by N DUs as an example. Assuming that N2 DUs in the N DUs are subjected to interference cancellation in the historical interference cancellation process, the CU selects N2 DUs from the N DUs reported for interference cancellation, where N2 is less than or equal to N, and N2 is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1. The DU selected by the CU may be completely the same as, may be partially the same as, or may be completely different from the DU in the historical interference cancellation process, which is not limited herein.

In implementation 3, a CU may select, based on information of a currently reported reference signal and in combination with information of a historically reported reference signal, a DU for interference cancellation from DUs carrying the same identifier.

The example is given by taking the same identifier carried by N DUs as an example. For example, the reference information reported historically includes reference signal strength and/or interference strength, and the CU may determine the reference signal strength and/or interference strength by combining the information of the reference signals reported historically, and select a DU for interference cancellation from the N DUs based on the reference signal strength and/or interference strength.

In implementation manner 4, a CU may select, based on the reference signal strength and/or the interference strength included in the information of the currently reported reference signal, the DUs for performing interference cancellation from the DUs carrying the same identifier.

The example is given by taking the same identifier carried by N DUs as an example. For example, the information of the reference signal reported by the N DUs includes a reference signal strength and/or an interference strength, and the CU may select a DU from the N DUs for interference cancellation based on the reference signal strength and/or the interference strength.

The foregoing list only exemplifies several possible implementations, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto, and any implementation that enables a CU to select one or more DUs from N DUs for interference cancellation falls within the scope of the embodiment of the present application.

In the above several implementations, when the CU selects the target DU based on the reference signal strength and/or the interference strength, the target DU may be selected by any one of the following methods:

the method 1, selecting the reference signal with higher intensity;

method 2, selecting the reference signal strength exceeding a first threshold;

method 3, selecting the interference with higher intensity;

method 4, selecting the interference strength exceeding the second threshold.

The above-mentioned methods 1 to 4 will be specifically described later.

After a CU selects a DU for interference cancellation, the CU transmits instruction information to the DU for interference cancellation to instruct the DU to perform interference cancellation. Still taking the first DU and the second DU as an example, assuming that in S530, the CU selects the first DU for interference cancellation, the method 500 further includes S540:

s540, the CU sends instruction information to the first DU, where the instruction information is used to instruct the first DU to perform interference cancellation.

For convenience of illustration, fig. 5 only illustrates that the CU sends the indication information indicating to perform the interference message to the first DU. It should be understood that in S540, the CU sends indication information to each DU selected to be interference cancelled.

There are many methods for performing interference cancellation on the DU, and this application is not limited thereto. For example, the DU may eliminate or reduce remote interference to the interfered network device group by reducing downlink power; as another example, the DU can eliminate or reduce remote interference to the interfered network device group by stopping transmitting data in the frequency domain (e.g., frequency band, etc.), the time domain (e.g., sub-frame, etc.), or the spatial domain (e.g., beam or beam set, etc.) where interference occurs, etc. It should be understood that any measures that can be taken to reduce the remote interference of N DUs to the interfered network device group fall within the scope of the present application.

Optionally, the CU may also determine whether the remote interference of the N DUs to the interfered network device group is cancelled.

S550, the CU determines whether the remote interference is eliminated.

In the embodiment of the present application, whether remote interference is cancelled, in other words, whether remote interference still exists, in other words, whether interference is cancelled or whether interference still exists. Whether the remote interference is cancelled may indicate whether the remote interference is completely cancelled; alternatively, it may also indicate whether the interference strength exceeds a preset threshold; alternatively, it may indicate whether the interference strength is reduced; alternatively, it may indicate whether the interference reduction degree is greater than a preset value, or the like. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to the above, and the following description indicates whether remote interference is cancelled. The preset threshold or preset value may be a preset threshold, for example, a preset threshold or a preset value preset by a protocol, or a preset threshold or a preset value configured by a network device, which is not limited herein.

Accordingly, in the embodiment of the present application, the fact that the remote interference is cancelled, in other words, the fact that the interference is cancelled, may indicate that the remote interference is completely cancelled, or may also indicate that the interference strength does not exceed a preset threshold, or may also indicate that the interference strength has decreased, or may also indicate that the degree of decrease in the interference strength exceeds a preset value, or the like. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto, and the following description refers to remote interference cancellation.

Accordingly, in the embodiment of the present application, the non-cancellation of the remote interference, in other words, the non-cancellation of the interference, may indicate that the remote interference is not completely cancelled, or may also indicate that the interference strength exceeds a preset threshold, or may also indicate that the interference strength is not changed or the interference strength is increased, or may also indicate that the degree of decrease of the interference strength does not exceed a preset value, or the like. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this, and the following description refers to the case where the remote interference is not cancelled.

One possible scenario is where the CU determines remote interference cancellation.

In this case, the interference-canceled DU keeps the current configuration, or the interference-canceled DU keeps the current communication resource configuration until the RIM procedure is finished. Regarding the RIM process, reference is made to the description of fig. 4, which is not repeated herein.

Yet another possible scenario is where the CU determines that the remote interference is not cancelled.

In this case, the CU may perform S530, i.e., the CU selects one or more DUs among the remaining DUs to continue interference cancellation, and then may also continue to perform S540, S550 until it is determined that the remote interference has been cancelled. Wherein, the remaining DUs are DUs that are not subjected to interference cancellation in the N DUs, such as the second DU.

Alternatively, in this case, the N DUs may perform S510, that is, re-receive the reference signal and then report to the CU, and the CU may perform S530, that is, the CU selects one or more DUs in the remaining DUs or all the reported DUs to continue interference cancellation, and then may further continue to perform S540 and S550 until it is determined that the remote interference has been cancelled.

Alternatively, in this case, the interference-cancelled DU may further reduce the downlink power or stop communication until the CU determines that the remote interference has been cancelled.

Hereinafter, details regarding the actions after the CU determines the remote interference cancellation or the CU determines that the remote interference is not cancelled are not described.

The CU may determine whether the remote interference is cancelled by any of the following means.

Mode A: the CU inquires the remote interference state of the interfered network equipment group and receives a response message replied by the interfered network equipment group;

mode B: the CU inquires the remote interference state of the interfered network equipment group and determines whether the remote interference is eliminated according to whether a response message is received within a preset time length;

mode C: the CU determines whether the remote interference is eliminated according to whether the notification message is received within a preset time length;

mode D: the CU determines whether the remote interference is eliminated according to the remote interference strength information sent by the interfered network equipment group.

The above-described modes a, B, C, and D will be described in detail below.

Mode A: the CU queries the remote interference status of the group of interfered network devices and receives a response message in reply from the group of interfered network devices.

Based on the identity of the interfered network device group, the CU or the N DUs may send an inquiry message to the interfered network device group, where the inquiry message is used to inquire whether remote interference caused by the N DUs to the interfered network device group is eliminated, for example, to inquire about a remote interference status from the interfered network device group through fallback (backhaul) signaling. Wherein, the N DUs send inquiry messages to the interfered network device group, which can be understood as that any one or more DUs in the N DUs send inquiry messages to the interfered network device group; alternatively, it can also be understood that a DU with a coordination function in the N DUs sends an inquiry message to the interfered network device group; alternatively, it can also be understood that a representative DU from the N DUs sends a query message to the interfered network device group; alternatively, it can also be understood that one or more of the DUs that perform interference cancellation send inquiry messages to the interfered network device group.

The following is an example of a CU sending an inquiry message to a group of interfered network devices.

The CU sends the query message to the interfered network device group, where the query may be after the CU instructs the DU to perform interference cancellation, or may be after the DU interference cancellation process, or may be after the CU selects the DU for interference cancellation, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The query message sent by the CU to the group of interfered network devices may be transmitted by the NGAP message, as shown in fig. 6, where the CU sends the query message to the AMF, which in turn sends the query message to the group of interfered network devices. The inquiry message may be carried in an existing message, such as by an information element Request RI status IE in an existing NGAP message, to Request a remote interference status for the group of interfered network devices. Alternatively, the inquiry message may be a redefined NGAP message, which includes the cell Request RI status IE. It should be understood that the cell Request RI status IE is only a naming method and is not limited.

It should be understood that the foregoing is only an example of the AMF, and the present application is not limited thereto, and any solution that can implement the AMF function falls within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

The redefined NGAP message may be represented, for example, by RAN RI STATUS REQUEST message and AMF RI STATUS REQUEST message. Wherein, the RAN RI STATUS REQUEST message is a message from CU to AMF, and the RAN RI STATUS REQUEST message contains a cell REQUEST RI STATUS IE. The AMF RI STATUS REQUEST message is a message from the AMF to the interfered network equipment group, and the AMF RI STATUS REQUEST message contains a cell REQUEST RI STATUS IE.

It should be understood that the naming of the above messages is only one way of naming and is not limiting.

And after receiving the inquiry message, the interfered network equipment group replies a response message to the CU. The response message is used to indicate that the remote interference has been cancelled or the response message is used to indicate that the remote interference has not been cancelled. The CU can determine from the response message whether the remote interference is cancelled.

In one possible implementation, the response message may be transmitted via a reference signal message sent over the air interface. I.e. the interfered network device group can send a message of reference signal to DU, in which message t bits (bit) indicate whether the DU remote interference is eliminated, and the DU informs CU whether the remote interference is eliminated. Wherein t is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1. Assuming that t is equal to 1, it can be represented by '1' that the remote interference is not eliminated and '0' that the remote interference is eliminated; alternatively, the remote interference may be eliminated by '1' and not eliminated by '0'.

In yet another possible implementation, the response message may be transmitted via an NGAP message, as shown in fig. 6, and the interfered network device group sends the response message to the AMF, which in turn sends the response message to the CU. Whether the interference is cancelled or not may be indicated by an information element RI status IE in an existing NGAP message, for example. As another example, whether the remote interference is eliminated may also be indicated by a redefined NGAP message, which may be represented by RAN RI STATUS message and AMF RI STATUS message, for example. The RAN RI STATUS message is a message from the interfered network device group to the AMF, and includes a cell RI STATUS IE. Wherein, the AMF RI STATUS message is the message from AMF to CU, and the AMF RI STATUS message contains cell RI STATUS IE.

Based on the mode A, the CU can conveniently and quickly confirm whether the remote interference is eliminated or not by inquiring the remote interference state of the interfered network device group and according to the response message replied by the interfered network device group.

Mode B: the CU inquires the remote interference state of the interfered network equipment group and determines whether remote interference is eliminated according to whether a response message is received within a preset time length or not.

Based on the identity of the interfered network device group, the CU or the N DUs may send an inquiry message to the interfered network device group for inquiring whether remote interference caused by the DU to the interfered network device group is eliminated, for example, inquiring the interfered network device group about a remote interference status through fallback signaling. For sending the query message to the interfered network device group by the CU or the N DUs, reference may be made to the description in the manner a, and details are not described here again.

For a CU, if the response message is received by the CU within a preset time length and is used for indicating that remote interference is eliminated, determining that the remote interference is eliminated by the CU; and if the CU does not receive the response message within the preset time length, the CU determines that the remote interference is not eliminated. For example, after the CU sends an inquiry message to the interfered network device group, the CU starts a timer with a preset time length as a time length, and if the CU receives a response message in the timer operation stage and the response message is used to indicate that the remote interference is eliminated, the CU determines that the remote interference is eliminated; if the CU has not received the response message at the end of the timer, the CU determines that the remote interference has not been cancelled.

Or, for the DU, if the DU receives a response message within a preset time period, and the response message is used to indicate that the remote interference has been eliminated, the DU determines that the remote interference has been eliminated, and notifies the CU that the remote interference has been eliminated; and if the DU does not receive the response message within the preset time length, the DU determines that the remote interference is not eliminated and informs the CU that the remote interference is not eliminated. For example, after the DU sends an inquiry message to the interfered network device group, the DU starts a timer with a preset duration as a time length, and if the DU receives a response message in a timer operation phase, and the response message is used to indicate that the remote interference is eliminated, the DU determines that the remote interference is eliminated; if the DU has not received the response message at the end of the timer, the DU determines that the remote interference has not been cancelled.

The preset time length may be a preset time length, for example, a preset time length specified by a protocol, or a preset time length configured by a network device; or, the time length can be dynamically set according to the actual situation; or, the time duration may be estimated according to a history situation, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

For the form of the response message, reference may be made to the description in the manner a, and details are not described here again.

For the interfered network equipment group, after receiving the inquiry message, if the interfered network equipment group detects remote interference cancellation, a response message can be immediately replied to the DU or CU, and the response message is used for indicating that the remote interference is cancelled; if the interfered network equipment group detects that the remote interference is not eliminated, the response message is not replied.

Wherein, the interfered network device group can detect whether the remote interference is eliminated after receiving the inquiry message; alternatively, the interfered network device group may periodically detect whether the remote interference is eliminated after receiving the inquiry message; alternatively, the interfered network device group may occasionally detect whether the remote interference is cancelled after receiving the inquiry message; alternatively, the interfered network device group may periodically or aperiodically detect whether the remote interference is eliminated, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

Based on the mode B, the CU can accurately determine whether the interference is eliminated and can save signaling overhead by inquiring the interfered network device group about the interference state and according to whether the response message replied by the interfered network device group is received within the preset time period.

Mode C: the CU determines whether the remote interference is eliminated according to whether the notification message is received within a preset time length.

In contrast to approach B, in approach C, the DU or CU does not need to send an inquiry message to the group of interfered network devices.

For a CU, if the CU receives a notification message within a preset time length, and the notification message is used for indicating that remote interference is eliminated, the CU determines that the remote interference is eliminated; and if the CU does not receive the notification message within the preset time length, the CU determines that the remote interference is not eliminated. For example, when a CU instructs a DU to start interference cancellation, the CU starts a timer with a preset duration as a time length, and if the CU receives a notification message in a timer operation phase, and the notification message is used to indicate that remote interference is cancelled, the CU determines that the remote interference is cancelled; if the CU has not received the notification message at the end of the timer, the CU determines that the remote interference has not been cancelled.

Or, for the DU, if the DU receives a notification message within a preset time period, and the notification message is used to indicate that the remote interference has been eliminated, the DU determines that the remote interference has been eliminated, and notifies the CU that the interference has been eliminated; and if the DU does not receive the notification message within the preset time length, the DU determines that the remote interference is not eliminated and notifies the CU that the interference is not eliminated. For example, when the DU starts to perform interference cancellation, a timer is started with a preset duration as a time length, and if the DU receives a notification message in a timer operation phase, and the notification message is used to indicate that remote interference is cancelled, the DU determines that the remote interference is cancelled; if the DU has not received the notification message at the end of the timer, the DU determines that the remote interference has not been cancelled.

For the form of the notification message, reference may be made to the description about the response message in the manner a, and details are not described here.

For the interfered network device group, it may periodically or aperiodically detect whether the remote interference is cancelled, if the interfered network device group detects that the remote interference is cancelled, it may immediately send a notification message that the remote interference is cancelled to the DU or CU, where the notification message may be sent through backhaul, or may be carried in a reference signal sent over an air interface; if the interfered network device group detects that the remote interference is not eliminated, the notification message may not be sent, or the reference signal sent over the air interface may carry the message that the remote interference is not eliminated.

Based on the mode C, the DU or CU may accurately determine whether remote interference is eliminated according to whether the notification message of the interfered network device group is received within the preset time period, and may save signaling overhead.

The remote interference strength information sent by the interfered network device group, that is, the remote interference strength experienced by the interfered network device group, may be an IoT value, or may also be other remote interference strength information. The remote interference strength information may be carried in a reference signal transmitted by the interfered network device group, may be specifically transmitted by the interfered network device group, or may be carried in a response message as described in the manner a. The form of the remote interference strength information is not limited.

Whether the interference is eliminated or not can be determined by the CU according to whether the remote interference strength information is received or not, or whether the interference is eliminated or not can also be determined according to the received remote interference strength information. For example, if the CU receives the remote interference strength information, the CU determines that the remote interference is not cancelled; if the remote interference strength information is not received by the CU, the CU determines remote interference cancellation. If the CU receives the remote interference strength information within the preset time length, the CU determines that the remote interference is not eliminated; and if the CU does not receive the remote interference strength information within the preset time length, the CU determines remote interference elimination.

Alternatively, for the DU, whether the interference is cancelled may be determined according to whether the remote interference strength information is received, or whether the interference is cancelled may be determined according to the received remote interference strength information. For example, if the DU receives the remote interference strength information, the DU determines that the remote interference is not cancelled; if the DU does not receive the remote interference strength information, the DU determines remote interference cancellation. For another example, if the DU receives the remote interference strength information DU within a preset time period, the DU determines that the remote interference is not eliminated; and if the DU does not receive the remote interference strength information within the preset time length, the DU determines remote interference cancellation.

For the interfered network device group, it can periodically or aperiodically detect whether the remote interference is eliminated and send remote interference strength information to the DU or CU. Or, if the interfered network device group detects remote interference cancellation, it may immediately send remote interference strength information to the DU or CU, where the remote interference strength information may be carried in a reference signal sent over an air interface, or may also be carried in a response message as described in the manner a; if the interfered network device group detects that the remote interference is not eliminated, the remote interference strength information may not be sent, or a reference signal sent by an air interface may carry a message that the remote interference is not eliminated.

The above list exemplifies only four ways, and a CU may determine whether remote interference is cancelled based on any one of the ways. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto, and any way that the CU can determine whether the remote interference is eliminated falls within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

The above-mentioned methods 1 to 4 are described in detail below.

In the method 1, the reference signal strength is selected to be higher.

The reference signal strength is selected to be larger, and it can also be understood that the reference signal strength of the interference cancellation DU is larger than that of the remaining DUs. Assuming that the identifiers of the interfered network device groups in the information of the reference signals reported by the N DUs are the same, the remaining DUs are DUs of the N DUs except for the DU performing interference cancellation.

For example, N DUs include DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6, and the identities of the interfered network device groups in the information of the reference signals reported by DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6 are all the same, and the reference signal strengths of DU1, DU2, and DU3 are all greater than the reference signal strengths of DU4, DU5, and DU6, then the DUs that perform interference cancellation include DU1, DU2, and DU3, in other words, the CU can select DU1, DU2, and DU3 to perform interference cancellation.

Method 2, selecting the reference signal strength exceeding a first threshold.

Wherein, the first threshold value can be preset, for example, predefined by a protocol, or preconfigured by a network device; alternatively, the reference signal strength may be dynamically set according to actual conditions, such as an average value of the reference signal strengths; alternatively, the estimation may be performed based on historical conditions, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

For example, the N DUs include DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6, and the identities of the interfered network device groups in the information of the reference signals reported by DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6 are all the same. For example, the first threshold may be an average value of reference signal strengths reported by DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6, and a DU whose reference signal strength exceeds the first threshold is a DU for performing interference cancellation. For another example, the first threshold may be a product of a sum of reference signal strengths reported by DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6 and a coefficient t, where t is greater than 0 and is smaller than 1, and a DU whose reference signal strength exceeds the first threshold is a DU for interference cancellation.

And 3, selecting the method with higher interference strength.

The selection of the channel with a higher interference strength may also be understood as the interference strength of the interference cancellation DU is greater than the interference strength of the remaining DUs.

For example, N DUs include DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6, and the identities of the interfered network device groups in the information of the reference signals reported by DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6 are all the same, and the interference strengths of DU1, DU2, and DU3 are all greater than the interference strengths of DU4, DU5, and DU6, then the DUs that perform interference cancellation include DU1, DU2, and DU3, in other words, the CU may select DU1, DU2, and DU3 to perform interference cancellation.

Method 4, selecting the interference strength exceeding the second threshold.

Wherein the second threshold may be preset, for example, predefined by a protocol, or preconfigured by a network device; or, the interference level may be dynamically set according to actual conditions, such as an average value of a plurality of interference levels; alternatively, the estimation may be performed based on historical conditions, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

For example, the second DU includes DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6, and the identities of the interfered network device groups in the information of the reference signals reported by DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6 are all the same. For example, the second threshold may be an average value of interference strengths reported by DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6, and a DU with an interference strength exceeding the second threshold is a target DU. For another example, the second threshold may be a product of a sum of interference strengths reported by DU1, DU2, DU3, DU4, DU5, and DU6 and a coefficient t, where t is greater than 0 and is less than 1, and a DU whose interference strength exceeds the second threshold is a target DU.

Based on the four methods, the CU can select the main interference source, so that the main interference source can take interference elimination measures, the remote interference effect is obviously reduced, and unnecessary cell performance loss at the DU position is avoided.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned methods are only exemplary, the present application is not limited thereto, and for example, any modification based on the above-mentioned four methods falls within the scope of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method involves AMF or OAM, and gNB. As shown in fig. 7, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

s710, the first gbb and the second gbb receive a reference signal from the interfered network device group.

N gnbs receive reference signals from the interfered network device group, where the N gnbs all cause remote interference to the interfered network device group, that is, the interfered network device group sends the reference signals over an air interface, and the N gnbs receive the reference signals, where N is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1. For convenience of illustration, fig. 7 only lists the first and second gnbs, which belong to any two gnbs of the N gnbs.

In addition, in this embodiment, the interfering network device group does not have a CU-DU architecture, for example, the interfering network device group is a gNB, or may be other network devices.

The description of the interfered network device group reference method 500 is omitted for brevity.

When the interfered network device group sends the reference signal, the reference signal carries an Identifier (ID) of the interfered network device group, and the N gnbs can resolve the identifier.

By enabling the N gnbs to know the identifier of the interfered network device group, the N gnbs can know which network devices cause remote interference.

Alternatively, after the N gnbs receive the reference signals from the interfered network device group, the interference strength may be calculated based on the reference signals. For the interference strength, reference may be made to the description in the method 500, which is not repeated herein.

In this embodiment of the present application, the N gnbs may report information of the reference signal to the coordinating network element, so that the coordinating network element can select the gnbs for performing interference cancellation, and avoid that the N gnbs perform interference cancellation independently, which causes unnecessary communication performance loss at the N gnbs.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, performing interference cancellation, which may also be referred to as performing remote interference cancellation, is to cancel remote interference caused by N gnbs to a interfered network device group. Hereinafter, for brevity, they are all referred to as performing interference cancellation.

The coordinating network element is only a name used for indicating the function of the coordinating network element, and the name does not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The coordinating network element may be, for example, an AMF; or, the coordinating network element may also be OAM; alternatively, the coordinating network element may also be one or more gnbs of the N gnbs, where the one or more gnbs may be a gNB with a coordinating function, or the one or more gnbs may be representative gnbs, which is not limited thereto. The following is an example of a coordinating network element, and it should be understood that the coordinating network element in the following may be replaced by AMF or OAM or gNB.

S720, the first gNB and the second gNB report the information of the reference signal to the coordination network element.

For convenience of description, fig. 7 only lists the first and second gnbs as an exemplary illustration.

The reference signals reported by the N gnbs carry identifiers of interfered network device groups, so that the coordinating network element can determine which gnbs carrying the same identifier are provided by the identifiers of the interfered network device groups, in other words, which gnbs remotely interfering with the same interfered network device group are provided.

Optionally, the information of the reference signals reported by the N gnbs includes: reference signal strength and/or interference strength. With respect to the reference signal strength and the interference strength, reference may be made to the description in the method 500, which is not repeated herein.

The information of the reference signals reported by the N gnbs may be transmitted through an NGAP message. Assuming that the coordinated network element is an AMF, N gbbs send information of reference signals to the AMF. The information of the reference signals reported by the N gnbs may be carried in an existing message. Alternatively, a new class 2element procedure may be defined for the information of the reference signals reported by the N gnbs, and may be represented by RIM RS Indication, for example, which includes the information of the reference signals and may be represented by RIM RS Indication message, for example, as shown in table 1. It should be understood that the RIM RS Indication and the RIM RS Indication message are only named and not limited.

After receiving the information of the reference signals reported by the N gbbs, the coordination network element may select a gbb for interference cancellation from the N gbbs.

And S730, coordinating the network element to select the gNB for interference elimination.

And the N gNBs report the information of the reference signal to the coordination network element, and the identifiers of the interfered network equipment groups carried in the reported information of the reference signal may be the same or different. And the coordination network element selects one or more gNBs from the gNBs carrying the same identifier to perform interference cancellation.

The coordinating network element may select the gNB for interference cancellation by any of the following implementations.

In implementation mode 1, the coordinating network element may select, based on information of the currently reported reference signal, the gnbs for interference cancellation from the gnbs carrying the same identifier, respectively.

The example is given by taking the same identifier carried by N gnbs as an example. And the coordination network element selects N1 gNBs from the reported N gNBs for interference cancellation, wherein N1 is less than or equal to N, and N1 is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1.

In implementation manner 2, the coordinating network element may select, based on the information of the currently reported reference signal, the gnbs for performing interference cancellation from the gnbs carrying the same identifier, respectively, in combination with a historical interference cancellation process (e.g., a last interference cancellation process).

The example is given by taking the same identifier carried by N gnbs as an example. Assuming that N2 gnbs of the N gnbs perform interference cancellation in the historical interference cancellation process, the coordination network element selects N2 gnbs from the reported N gnbs to perform interference cancellation, where N2 is less than or equal to N, and N2 is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1. The gNB selected by the coordinating network element may be completely the same as, may be partially the same as, or may be completely different from the gNB in the historical interference cancellation process, which is not limited herein.

In implementation manner 3, the coordinating network element may select, based on the information of the currently reported reference signal and in combination with the information of the historically reported reference signal, the gnbs that perform interference cancellation from the gnbs that carry the same identifier, respectively.

The example is given by taking the same identifier carried by N gnbs as an example. For example, the reference information reported historically includes reference signal strength and/or interference strength, and the coordination network element may determine the reference signal strength and/or interference strength by combining the information of the reference signals reported historically, and select a gNB for interference cancellation from the N gnbs based on the reference signal strength and/or interference strength.

In implementation manner 4, the coordinating network element may select, based on the reference signal strength and/or the interference strength included in the information of the currently reported reference signal, the gnbs that perform interference cancellation from the gnbs that carry the same identifier, respectively.

The example is given by taking the same identifier carried by N gnbs as an example. For example, in S720, the information of the reference signals reported by the N gnbs includes reference signal strength and/or interference strength, and the coordinating network element may select, based on the reference signal strength and/or the interference strength, a gNB for performing interference cancellation from the N gnbs.

The foregoing merely illustrates several possible implementations, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto, and any implementation that can enable the coordinating network element to select one or more gnbs from the N gnbs for interference cancellation falls within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

In the foregoing several implementation manners, when the coordinating network element selects the gNB for performing interference cancellation based on the reference signal strength and/or the interference strength, the selection may be performed by any one of the following methods:

the method 1, selecting the reference signal with higher intensity;

method 2, selecting the reference signal strength exceeding a first threshold;

method 3, selecting the interference with higher intensity;

method 4, selecting the interference strength exceeding the second threshold.

For the above methods 1 to 4, reference may be made to the description of the method 500, and details are not repeated here.

After selecting the gNB for interference cancellation, the coordinating network element sends indication information to the selected gNB for indicating the gNB to perform interference cancellation. Still taking the first gNB and the second gNB as an example, assuming that in S730, the coordinating network element selects the first gNB for interference cancellation, the method 700 further includes S740:

s740, the coordinating network element sends indication information to the first gNB, where the indication information is used to indicate the first gNB to perform interference cancellation.

For convenience of illustration in fig. 7, it is only illustrated that the coordinating network element sends the indication information for indicating to perform the interference message to the first gNB. It should be understood that in S740, the coordinating network element sends indication information to each selected gNB that needs to perform interference cancellation.

There are many methods for interference cancellation by the gNB, and this application is not limited thereto. For example, the gNB may eliminate or reduce remote interference to the interfered network device group by reducing downlink power; as another example, the gNB may cancel or reduce remote interference to the interfered network device group by ceasing to transmit data in the frequency domain (e.g., frequency band, etc.), the time domain (e.g., sub-frame, etc.), or the spatial domain (e.g., beam or beam set, etc.) where the interference is generated, and so on. It should be understood that any measures taken to reduce the remote interference of the N gnbs to the interfered network device group fall within the scope of the present application.

Optionally, the coordinating network element may further determine whether interference of the N gnbs to the interfered network device group is eliminated.

S750, the coordinating network element determines whether the remote interference is eliminated.

The coordinating network element determines whether the remote interference is cancelled or the gNB may also determine whether the remote interference is cancelled. When the coordinating network element is OAM, the gNB may determine whether remote interference is eliminated, or the gNB may report a result of determining whether remote interference is eliminated to the OAM, so that the OAM determines whether remote interference is eliminated; when the coordinating network element is the AMF, the AMF may determine whether the remote interference is cancelled, or the AMF may send a result of determining whether the remote interference is cancelled to the gNB, so that the gNB may determine whether the remote interference is cancelled.

The following is an exemplary description of the case where the gNB determines whether remote interference is cancelled.

One possible scenario, the gNB determines remote interference cancellation.

In this case, the interference-cancelled gNB maintains the current configuration, or the interference-cancelled gNB maintains the current communication resource configuration until the RIM procedure is finished. Regarding the RIM process, reference is made to the description of fig. 4, which is not repeated herein.

Yet another possible scenario, the gNB determines that the remote interference is not cancelled.

In this case, the coordinating network element may perform S730, that is, the coordinating network element selects one or more gnbs among the remaining gnbs to continue interference cancellation, and then may further continue to perform S740, S750 until it is determined that the remote interference has been cancelled. Wherein, the remaining gnbs are the gnbs that have not been subjected to interference cancellation among the N gnbs.

Or, in this case, the N gnbs may perform S710, that is, re-receive the reference signal and then report to the coordinating network element, and the coordinating network element may perform S530, that is, the coordinating network element selects one or more gnbs from the remaining gnbs or all reported gnbs to continue interference cancellation, and then may further continue to perform S740 and S750 until it is determined that the remote interference is cancelled.

Or, in this case, the interference-cancelled gNB may further reduce the downlink power or stop communication until it is determined that the remote interference has been cancelled.

The gNB may determine whether the remote interference is cancelled by any of the following means.

Mode A: the gNB inquires the remote interference state of the interfered network equipment group and receives a response message replied by the interfered network equipment group;

mode B: the gNB inquires the remote interference state of the interfered network equipment group and determines whether the remote interference is eliminated according to whether a response message replied within a preset time length is received;

mode C: the gNB determines whether the remote interference is eliminated according to whether the notification message is received within a preset time length;

mode D: and the gNB determines whether the remote interference is eliminated according to the remote interference strength information sent by the interfered network equipment group.

The above-described modes a, B, C, and D will be described in detail below.

Mode A: the gNB inquires about the remote interference state of the interfered network equipment group and receives a response message replied by the interfered network equipment group.

Based on the identity of the interfered network device group, the gNB may send an inquiry message to the interfered network device group, or the coordination network element may send an inquiry message to the interfered network device group, where the inquiry message is used to inquire whether remote interference caused by the N gnbs to the interfered network device group still exists, for example, inquire a remote interference state from the interfered network device group through fallback signaling. The following is an example of the gNB sending an inquiry message to the interfered network device group. The gNB sends the query message to the interfered network device group, where the query may be after the coordinating network element indicates that the gNB that needs to perform interference cancellation performs interference cancellation, or may be after the interference cancellation of the gNB that performs interference cancellation is completed, or may be after the coordinating network element selects the gNB that needs to perform interference cancellation, and the query is performed, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The gNB sends the query message to the interfered network device group, which may be understood as that any one or more gnbs in the N gnbs send the query message to the interfered network device group; alternatively, it may also be understood that a gNB with a coordination function in the N gnbs sends an inquiry message to the interfered network device group; alternatively, it may be understood that a representative gNB of the N gnbs sends a query message to the interfered network device group. The following is an example of the gNB sending an inquiry message to the interfered network device group.

The query message sent by the gNB to the group of interfered network devices may be communicated through the NGAP message. Assuming that the coordinating network element is AMF, the gNB sends a query message to the AMF, and the AMF sends a query message to the interfered network device group. The inquiry message may be carried in an existing message, such as by an information element Request RI status IE in an existing NGAP message, to Request a remote interference status for the group of interfered network devices. Alternatively, the inquiry message may be a redefined NGAP message, which includes the cell Request RI status IE. It should be understood that the cell Request RI status IE is only a naming method and is not limited.

The redefined NGAP message may be represented, for example, by RAN RI STATUS REQUEST message and AMF RI STATUS REQUEST message. Wherein, the RAN RI STATUS REQUEST message is a message from gNB to AMF, and the RAN RI STATUS REQUEST message contains cell REQUEST RI STATUS IE. The AMF RI STATUS REQUEST message is a message from the AMF to the interfered network equipment group, and the AMF RI STATUS REQUEST message contains a cell REQUEST RI STATUS IE.

And after receiving the inquiry message, the interfered network equipment group replies a response message to the coordinating network element or the gNB. The response message is used to indicate that the remote interference has been cancelled or the response message is used to indicate that the remote interference has not been cancelled. The coordinating network element or the gNB can determine whether the remote interference is eliminated through the received response message.

In one possible implementation, the response message may be transmitted via a reference signal message sent over the air interface. That is, the interfered network device group may send a message of a reference signal to the gNB, where the reference signal message indicates whether remote interference is cancelled by t bits (bits), where t is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1. Assuming that t is equal to 1, it can be represented by '1' that the remote interference is not eliminated and '0' that the remote interference is eliminated; alternatively, the remote interference may be eliminated by '1' and not eliminated by '0'.

In yet another possible implementation, the response message may be transmitted via an NGAP message. Assuming that the coordinating network element is an AMF, the interfered network device group sends a response message to the AMF, and the AMF may send a response message to the gNB. Whether the remote interference is cancelled or not may be indicated by an information element RI status IE in an existing NGAP message, for example. As another example, whether the remote interference is eliminated may also be indicated by a redefined NGAP message, which may be represented by RAN RI STATUS message and AMF RI STATUS message, for example. The RAN RI STATUS message is a message from the interfered network device group to the AMF, and includes a cell RI STATUS IE. Wherein, the AMF RI STATUS message is the message from AMF to gNB, and the AMF RI STATUS message contains cell RI STATUS IE.

It should be understood that, when the coordinating network element is an AMF, the interfered network device group sends a response message to the AMF, the AMF may determine whether remote interference is eliminated according to the response message, and the AMF may not send the response message to the gNB. When the coordinating network element is OAM, the gNB sends an inquiry message to the interfered network device group, and receives a response message from the interfered network device group, and the gNB reports the received response message to the OAM, so that the OAM can determine whether remote interference is eliminated.

Based on the mode a, the gNB may conveniently and quickly determine whether the remote interference is eliminated according to a response message replied by the interfered network device group by querying the interfered network device group for the remote interference state.

Mode B: and the gNB inquires the remote interference state of the interfered network equipment group and determines whether the remote interference is eliminated according to whether a response message is received within a preset time length.

Based on the identity of the interfered network device group, the gNB may send an inquiry message to the interfered network device group, or the coordination network element may send an inquiry message to the interfered network device group, where the inquiry message is used to inquire whether remote interference caused by the N gnbs to the interfered network device group still exists, for example, inquire a remote interference state from the interfered network device group through fallback signaling. For the gNB sending the query message to the interfered network device group, reference may be made to the description in the manner a, and details are not described herein again.

For the gNB, if the gNB receives a response message within a preset time length, and the response message is used for indicating that the remote interference is eliminated, the gNB determines that the remote interference is eliminated; if the gNB does not receive the response message within the preset time length, the gNB determines that the remote interference is not eliminated. For example, after the gNB sends an inquiry message to the interfered network device group, the gNB starts a timer with a preset time length as a time length, and if the gNB receives a response message in the timer operation stage and the response message is used for indicating that the remote interference is eliminated, the gNB determines that the remote interference is eliminated; if the response message has not been received by the gNB at the end of the timer, the gNB determines that the remote interference has not been cancelled.

Or, for the coordinating network element, if the coordinating network element receives a response message within a preset time length, and the response message is used for indicating that the remote interference is eliminated, the coordinating network element determines that the remote interference is eliminated; and if the coordination network element does not receive the response message within the preset time length, the coordination network element determines that the remote interference is not eliminated. For example, after sending an inquiry message to the interfered network device group, the coordinating network element starts a timer with a preset time length as a time length, and if the coordinating network element receives a response message in a timer operation stage and the response message is used for indicating that remote interference is eliminated, the coordinating network element determines that the remote interference is eliminated; if the coordinating network element has not received the response message at the end of the timer, the coordinating network element determines that the remote interference has not been cancelled.

For the interfered network device group, after receiving the query message, if the interfered network device group detects that the remote interference is eliminated, a response message can be immediately replied to the gNB or the coordinating network element, and the response message is used for indicating that the remote interference is eliminated; if the interfered network equipment group detects that the remote interference is not eliminated, the response message is not replied.

Based on the mode B, the gNB may accurately determine whether the remote interference is eliminated by querying the interfered network device group for the remote interference state and according to whether the response message replied by the interfered network device group is received within the preset time period, and may save signaling overhead.

Mode C: and the gNB determines whether the remote interference is eliminated according to whether the notification message is received within a preset time length.

Compared with the mode B, in the mode C, the gNB or the coordinating network element does not need to send the query message to the interfered network device group.

For the gNB, if the gNB receives a notification message within a preset time length, and the notification message is used for indicating that the remote interference is eliminated, the gNB determines that the remote interference is eliminated; if the notification message is not received by the gNB within a preset time period, the gNB determines that the remote interference is not eliminated. For example, when the gNB starts to perform interference cancellation, starting a timer with a preset time length as a time length, and if the gNB receives a notification message in a timer operation phase, and the notification message is used for indicating that remote interference is cancelled, the gNB determines that the remote interference is cancelled; if the notification message has not been received by the gNB at the end of the timer, the gNB determines that the remote interference has not been cancelled.

Or, for the coordinating network element, if the coordinating network element receives the notification message within the preset time duration, and the notification message is used to indicate that the remote interference has been eliminated, the coordinating network element determines that the remote interference has been eliminated; and if the coordination network element does not receive the notification message within the preset time length, the coordination network element determines that the remote interference is not eliminated. For example, when the coordinating network element instructs the gNB to perform interference cancellation, a timer may be started with a preset duration as a time length, and if the coordinating network element receives a notification message in a timer operation phase, and the notification message is used to indicate that remote interference is cancelled, the coordinating network element determines that the remote interference is cancelled; if the coordinating network element has not received the notification message at the end of the timer, the coordinating network element determines that the remote interference has not been cancelled.

For the interfered network device group, it may periodically or aperiodically detect whether the remote interference is cancelled, if the interfered network device group detects that the remote interference is cancelled, it may immediately send a notification message that the remote interference has been cancelled to the gNB or the coordinating network element, where the notification message may be sent through backhaul, or may be carried in a reference signal sent over an air interface; if the interfered network device group detects that the remote interference is not eliminated, the notification message may not be sent, or the reference signal sent over the air interface may carry the message that the remote interference is not eliminated.

Based on the mode C, the gNB or the coordinating network element may accurately determine whether remote interference is eliminated according to whether the notification message sent by the interfered network device group is received within the preset time period, and may save signaling overhead.

The remote interference strength information sent by the interfered network device group, that is, the remote interference strength experienced by the interfered network device group, may be an IoT value, or may also be other remote interference strength information. The interference strength information may be carried in the reference signal sent by the interfered network device group, may also be sent exclusively by the interfered network device group, or may also be carried in the response message as described in the manner a. The form of the remote interference strength information is not limited.

For the gNB, whether the interference is cancelled may be determined according to whether the remote interference strength information is received, or may also be determined according to the received remote interference strength information. For example, if the remote interference strength information is received by the gNB, the gNB determines that the remote interference is not cancelled; if the remote interference strength information is not received by the gNB, the gNB determines remote interference cancellation. For another example, if the gNB receives the remote interference strength information gNB within a preset time period, the gNB determines that the remote interference is not cancelled; and if the gNB does not receive the remote interference strength information within the preset time length, the gNB determines remote interference cancellation.

Alternatively, for the coordinating network element, whether to cancel interference may be determined according to whether the remote interference strength information is received, or whether to cancel interference may be determined according to the received remote interference strength information. For example, if the coordinating network element receives the remote interference strength information, the coordinating network element determines that the remote interference is not eliminated; and if the coordination network element does not receive the remote interference strength information, the coordination network element determines to eliminate the remote interference. If the coordination network element receives the remote interference strength information coordination network element within the preset time length, the coordination network element determines that the remote interference is not eliminated; and if the coordination network element does not receive the remote interference strength information within the preset time length, the coordination network element determines to eliminate the remote interference.

For the interfered network device group, whether remote interference is eliminated or not can be periodically or aperiodically detected, and remote interference strength information can be sent to the gNB or the coordinating network element. Or, if the interfered network device group detects remote interference cancellation, it may immediately send remote interference strength information to the gNB or the coordination network element, where the remote interference strength information may be carried in a reference signal sent by an air interface, or may also be carried in a response message as described in the manner a; if the interfered network device group detects that the remote interference is not eliminated, the remote interference strength information may not be sent, or a reference signal sent by an air interface may carry a message that the remote interference is not eliminated.

Four ways are listed above by way of example only, and the gNB or the coordinating network element may determine whether remote interference is cancelled based on any of the ways. The embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto, and any manner that enables the gNB or the coordinating network element to determine whether remote interference is cancelled falls into the scope of the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method 800 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method involves a centralized unit and a distributed unit. As shown in fig. 8, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

s810, the DU receives a reference signal from the interfered network device group.

N DUs receive a reference signal from the interfered network device group, where the N DUs all cause remote interference to the interfered network device group, that is, the interfered network device group sends the reference signal over an air interface and receives the reference signal to the N DUs, where N is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1. For convenience of explanation, fig. 8 illustrates only one DU, which belongs to any DU among N DUs.

For the DU and the interfered network device group, reference may be made to the description in the method 500, which is not described herein again.

In this embodiment of the present application, the DU may determine whether to perform interference cancellation itself based on the received reference signal, so as to avoid that the DU performs interference cancellation alone after receiving the reference signal, thereby causing unnecessary communication performance loss at the DU.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, performing interference cancellation, which may also be referred to as performing remote interference cancellation, is to cancel remote interference caused by the DU to the interfered network device group. Hereinafter, for brevity, they are all referred to as performing interference cancellation.

S820, the DU determines whether remote interference cancellation is to be performed.

In one possible implementation, the DU may be determined according to whether the reference signal strength exceeds a threshold # 1.

The DU may determine whether to perform interference cancellation based on the reference signal strength and a threshold # 1. For example, when the reference signal strength of the DU exceeds the threshold #1, interference cancellation is performed; when the reference signal strength of the DU does not exceed the threshold #1, interference cancellation is not performed. The description of the reference signal strength reference method 500 is not repeated herein.

In one case, the threshold #1 may be a preset threshold, such as a protocol predefined threshold, or a network device preconfigured threshold; alternatively, the threshold may be estimated based on historical conditions.

In yet another case, the threshold #1 may be a threshold that the CU previously allocated to the DU. The CU may refer to the description in the method 500, and is not described in detail again.

Specifically, the DU reports information of the reference signal to the CU, and accordingly, the CU receives the information of the reference signal reported by the DU. The information of the reference signal reported by the DU carries the identifier of the interfered network device group, so that the CU can determine which DUs carrying the same identifier are available through the identifier of the interfered network device group, in other words, which DUs remotely interfering the same network device are available. For a specific form of reporting the information of the reference signal to the CU by the DU, reference may be made to S520 in the method 500, which is not described herein again.

For DUs carrying the same identity, the CU is assigned threshold # 1. For example, the information of the reference signal includes the strength of the reference signal, and the CU determines a threshold #1 according to the strength of the reference signal, for example, an average value of the N reference signal strengths is taken, and sends the threshold #1 to the DU. For another example, the CU determines a threshold #1 according to the reference signal strength in the reference information reported historically, and sends the threshold #1 to the DU.

In yet another possible implementation, the DU may be determined according to whether the interference strength exceeds a threshold # 2.

The DU may determine whether to perform interference cancellation based on the interference strength and a threshold # 2. If the interference strength of the DU exceeds the threshold #2, performing interference cancellation; when the interference strength of the DU does not exceed the threshold #2, interference cancellation is not performed. For interference strength, reference is made to the description in the method 500, which is not repeated herein.

In one case, the threshold #2 may be a preset threshold, such as a protocol predefined threshold, or a network device preconfigured threshold; alternatively, the threshold may be estimated based on historical conditions.

In yet another case, the threshold #2 may be a threshold that the CU previously allocated to the DU. The CU may refer to the description in the method 500, and is not described in detail again.

For DUs carrying the same identity, the CU is assigned threshold # 2. For example, the information of the reference signal includes interference strength, the CU determines a threshold #2 according to the interference strength, for example, an average value of N interference strengths is taken, and the threshold #2 is sent to the DU. For another example, the CU determines a threshold #2 according to the interference strength in the reference information reported historically, and sends the threshold #2 to the DU.

The method for performing interference cancellation on the DU refers to the description in the method 500, and is not described herein again.

Optionally, the DU may also determine whether remote interference to the interfered network device group by the DU is eliminated, or it may be understood that the CU determines whether remote interference to the interfered network device group by the DU is eliminated, or it may be understood that the DU performing interference cancellation in the DU determines whether remote interference to the interfered network device group is eliminated. The following description takes DU determination of whether remote interference is cancelled as an example.

S830, DU determines whether remote interference is eliminated.

In the embodiment of the present application, whether interference is cancelled, in other words, whether interference still exists, in other words, whether remote interference is cancelled or whether remote interference still exists. Whether the interference is cancelled may indicate whether the interference is completely cancelled; alternatively, it may also indicate whether the interference strength exceeds a preset threshold; alternatively, it may indicate whether the interference strength is reduced; alternatively, it may be indicated whether or not the degree of interference reduction exceeds a preset value, and the like. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to the above, and the following description will show whether interference is eliminated or not. The preset threshold or preset value may be a preset threshold, for example, a preset threshold or a preset value preset by a protocol, or a preset threshold or a preset value configured by a network device, which is not limited herein.

One possible scenario, the DU determines remote interference cancellation.

In this case, the DU keeps the current configuration, or the DU keeps the current communication resource configuration until the RIM flow ends. Regarding the RIM process, reference is made to the description of fig. 4, which is not repeated herein.

Yet another possible scenario, the DU determines that the remote interference is not cancelled.

In this case, the DU may inform the CU that the remote interference is not cancelled, and the CU may allocate a threshold #3 and/or a threshold #4 to the DU, which continues to perform S820 until it is determined that the remote interference has been cancelled; alternatively, the CU may assign threshold #3 and/or threshold #4 to the remaining DUs, which continue to perform S820 until it is determined that the remote interference has been cancelled, and which are DUs in which interference cancellation is not performed. The threshold #3 is smaller than the preset threshold #1, and the threshold #4 is smaller than the preset threshold # 2.

Or, in this case, the DU performing interference cancellation in the DU may further reduce the downlink power or stop communication until the DU determines that the remote interference has been cancelled.

Among them, there are many ways to determine the threshold #3 and the threshold # 4:

in one possible approach, the threshold #3 may be a preset threshold, such as a protocol-specified threshold, or a network device preconfigured threshold; alternatively, the threshold may be estimated based on historical conditions. In other words, a plurality of thresholds may be configured in advance, including, for example, the threshold #1 and the threshold #3, or the threshold #2 and the threshold # 4.

In yet another possible way, the threshold #3 may be a threshold that the CU previously allocated to the DU. For example, when a CU assigns a threshold #1 to a DU, a threshold #3 is assigned, that is, the CU assigns the threshold #1 and the threshold #3 to the DU. For another example, when the CU assigns the threshold #2 to the DU, the threshold #4 is assigned, that is, the CU assigns the threshold #2 and the threshold #4 to the DU.

In yet another possible way, the threshold #3 may be a threshold allocated to the DU by the CU according to information of a previously received reference signal. When the DU determines that the remote interference is not cancelled, the CU assigns a threshold, such as threshold #3 or threshold #4, to the DU based on the information of the reference signal received before.

In another possible way, when the DU determines that the remote interference is not eliminated, the DU reports information of the reference signal to the CU, and accordingly, the CU receives the information of the reference signal reported by the DU. For a specific form of reporting the information of the reference signal to the CU by the DU, reference may be made to S520 in the method 500, which is not described herein again. The threshold #3 or #4 may be a threshold allocated by the CU for the DU according to the reported information of the reference signal.

Several possible ways of determining the threshold #3 or the threshold #4 are described above, but the present application is not limited thereto.

Hereinafter, details of the action after the DU determines remote interference cancellation or the DU determines that remote interference is not cancelled are not repeated.

The DU may determine whether the remote interference is cancelled by any of the following means.

Mode A: the DU inquires the remote interference state of the interfered network equipment group and receives a response message replied by the interfered network equipment group;

mode B: the DU inquires the remote interference state of the interfered network equipment group, and determines whether the remote interference is eliminated according to whether a response message replied within a preset time length is received;

mode C: the DU determines whether remote interference is eliminated according to whether the notification message is received within a preset time length;

The above modes a, B, C and D can refer to the description in the method 500, and are not repeated here.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method 900 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method involves an AMF or OAM, and a base station. As shown in fig. 9, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

s910, the gNB receives a reference signal from the interfered network device group.

N gnbs receive reference signals from the interfered network device group, where the N gnbs all cause remote interference to the interfered network device group, that is, the interfered network device group sends the reference signals over an air interface, and the N gnbs receive the reference signals, where N is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1. For convenience of explanation, fig. 9 describes only one gNB, which belongs to any of the N gnbs.

For the gNB and the interfered network device group, reference may be made to the description of the method 700, which is not described herein again.

In this embodiment of the present application, the gNB may determine whether to perform interference cancellation itself based on the received reference signal, so as to avoid that the interference cancellation is performed separately after the gNB receives the reference signal, which may cause unnecessary communication performance loss at the gNB.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, performing interference cancellation, which may also be referred to as performing remote interference cancellation, is to cancel remote interference caused by the gNB to the interfered network device group. Hereinafter, for brevity, they are all referred to as performing interference cancellation.

S920, the gNB determines whether to perform interference cancellation.

In one possible implementation, the gNB may be determined according to whether the reference signal strength exceeds threshold # 5.

The gNB may determine whether to perform interference cancellation based on the reference signal strength and a threshold # 5. If the reference signal strength exceeds the threshold value #5, carrying out interference elimination; when the reference signal strength does not exceed the threshold #5, interference cancellation is not performed. The description of the reference signal strength reference method 500 is not repeated herein.

In one case, the threshold #5 may be a preset threshold, such as a protocol predefined threshold, or a network device preconfigured threshold; alternatively, the threshold may be estimated based on historical conditions.

In yet another case, threshold #5 may be one threshold that the coordinating network element previously allocated to the gNB. For the coordinating network element, reference may be made to the description in the method 700, and details are not repeated.

Specifically, the gNB reports information of the reference signal to the coordination network element. The information of the reference signal reported by the gNB carries the identifier of the interfered network device group, so that the coordinating network element can determine which gnbs carrying the same identifier are provided by the identifier of the interfered network device group, in other words, which gnbs remotely interfering the same network device are provided. For a specific form of the information about reporting the reference signal to the coordinating network element by the gNB, reference may be made to S720 in the method 700, which is not described herein again.

For the gnbs carrying the same identity, the coordinating network element allocates a threshold # 5. For example, the information of the reference signal includes the strength of the reference signal, and the coordination network element determines a threshold #5 according to the strength of the reference signal, for example, an average value of the strengths of the N reference signals is taken, and the threshold #5 is sent to the gNB. For another example, the coordinating network element determines a threshold #5 according to the reference signal strength in the reference information reported historically, and sends the threshold #5 to the gNB.

In yet another possible implementation, the gNB may be determined according to whether the interference strength exceeds threshold # 6.

The gNB may determine whether to perform interference cancellation based on the interference strength and threshold # 6. If the interference strength exceeds the threshold value #6, carrying out interference elimination; when the interference strength does not exceed the threshold #6, interference cancellation is not performed. For interference strength, reference is made to the description in the method 500, which is not repeated herein.

In one case, the threshold #6 may be a preset threshold, such as a protocol predefined threshold, or a network device preconfigured threshold; alternatively, the threshold may be estimated based on historical conditions.

In yet another case, threshold #6 may be one threshold that the coordinating network element previously allocated to the gNB. The description of the method 700 may be referred to for the coordinating network element, and is not repeated here.

For the gnbs carrying the same identity, the coordinating network element allocates a threshold # 6. For example, the information of the reference signal includes interference strength, and the coordination network element determines a threshold #6 according to the interference strength, for example, an average value of N interference strengths is taken, and the threshold #6 is sent to the gNB. For another example, the coordinating network element determines a threshold #6 according to the interference strength in the reference information reported historically, and sends the threshold #6 to the gNB.

The method for interference cancellation by the gNB refers to the description in the method 700, and is not described herein again.

Optionally, the gNB may also determine whether interference of the interfered network device group is cancelled.

S930, the gNB determines whether the remote interference is cancelled.

In the embodiment of the present application, whether remote interference is cancelled, in other words, whether remote interference still exists, in other words, whether interference is cancelled or whether interference still exists. Whether the remote interference is cancelled may indicate whether the remote interference is completely cancelled; alternatively, it may also indicate whether the interference strength exceeds a preset threshold; alternatively, it may indicate whether the interference strength is reduced; alternatively, it may indicate whether the interference reduction degree is greater than a preset value, or the like. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to the above, and the following description will show whether interference is eliminated or not. The preset threshold or preset value may be a preset threshold, for example, a preset threshold or a preset value preset by a protocol, or a preset threshold or a preset value configured by a network device, which is not limited herein.

The gNB determines whether the remote interference is cancelled, which may also be understood as that the coordinating network element determines whether the remote interference of the gNB to the interfered network device group is cancelled. When the coordinating network element is the AMF, the AMF may determine whether the remote interference is eliminated, or the AMF may also send a result of determining whether the remote interference is eliminated to the gNB, so that the gNB determines whether the remote interference is eliminated; when the coordinating network element is OAM, the gNB may determine whether remote interference is eliminated, or the gNB may report a result of determining whether remote interference is eliminated to the OAM, so that the OAM determines whether remote interference is eliminated. The following is an exemplary description of the case where the gNB determines whether remote interference is cancelled.

One possible scenario, the gNB determines remote interference cancellation.

In this case, the gNB maintains the current configuration, or the gNB maintains the current communication resource configuration until the RIM flow is finished. Regarding the RIM process, reference is made to the description of fig. 4, which is not repeated herein.

In this case, the coordinating network element may assign threshold #7 and/or threshold #8 to the gNB, which continues to perform S920 until the coordinating network element or the gNB determines that the remote interference has been cancelled; alternatively, the coordinating network element may allocate the threshold #7 and/or the threshold #8 to the remaining gNB, and the remaining gNB continues to perform S520 until the coordinating network element or the gNB determines that the remote interference has been cancelled, and the remaining gNB is a gNB of the N gnbs that has not been subjected to interference cancellation. The threshold #7 is smaller than the preset threshold #5, and the threshold #8 is smaller than the preset threshold # 6. Or, in this case, the gNB performing interference cancellation among the N gnbs may further reduce downlink power or stop communication until the gNB determines that the remote interference has been cancelled.

Among them, the threshold #7 and the threshold #8 are determined in many ways:

in one possible approach, the threshold #7 may be a preset threshold, such as a protocol-specified threshold, or a network device preconfigured threshold; alternatively, the threshold may be estimated based on historical conditions. In other words, a plurality of thresholds may be configured in advance, including, for example, threshold #5 and threshold #7, or including threshold #6 and threshold # 8.

In yet another possible approach, the threshold #7 may be a threshold that the coordinating network element previously allocated to the gNB. For example, when the coordinating network element assigns threshold #5 to the gNB, threshold #7 is assigned, i.e., the coordinating network element assigns threshold #5 and threshold #7 to the gNB. As another example, when the coordinating network element allocates threshold #6 to the gNB, threshold #8 is allocated, that is, the coordinating network element allocates threshold #6 and threshold #8 to the gNB.

In yet another possible manner, the threshold #7 may be a threshold value allocated by the coordinating network element to the gNB according to information of a previously received reference signal. When the gNB determines that the remote interference is not eliminated, the coordinating network element assigns a threshold, such as threshold #7 and threshold #8, to the gNB again based on the information of the previously received reference signal.

In another possible manner, when the gNB determines that the remote interference is not eliminated, the gNB reports the information of the reference signal to the coordination network element, and accordingly, the coordination network element receives the information of the reference signal reported by the gNB. For a specific form of reporting the information of the reference signal to the coordinating network element by the gNB, reference may be made to S720 in the method 700, which is not described herein again. The threshold #7 or #8 may be a threshold allocated by the coordinating network element for the gNB according to the reported information of the reference signal.

Several possible ways of determining the threshold #7 or the threshold #8 are described above, but the present application is not limited thereto.

Hereinafter, details about actions after the gNB determines remote interference cancellation or determines that remote interference is not cancelled are not described.

The above modes a, B, C and D refer to the description of the method 700, and are not repeated here.

The communication method of the embodiment of the present application is described above with reference to fig. 1 to 9, and the apparatus of the embodiment of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 10, the apparatus 1000 may include a communication unit 1010 and a processing unit 1020.

In one possible design, the apparatus 1000 may implement the steps or processes performed by the centralized unit or the coordinating network element (such as the AMF, OAM, network device, and the like described above) corresponding to the above method embodiments, for example, the steps or processes may be implemented by the centralized unit or the coordinating network element, or a chip or a circuit configured in the centralized unit or the coordinating network element.

In one possible implementation, the communication unit 1010 is configured to: acquiring information of reference signals from N second network devices, wherein N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the information of the reference signals contains identification information of an interfered network device group; the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: based on the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices, the first network device sends information indicating interference cancellation to M second network devices of the N second network devices, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is less than or equal to N.

Optionally, the identification information of the interfered network device group included in the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices is the same, the information of the reference signals includes information of reference signal strength, and the reference signal strength of the M second network devices exceeds a first threshold; alternatively, the reference signal strengths of the M second network devices are greater than or equal to the reference signal strengths of the (N-M) second network devices, the (N-M) second network devices being different from the network devices of the M second network devices.

Optionally, the identification information of the interfered network device group included in the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices is the same, the information of the reference signals includes information of interference strength or information of strength subjected to remote interference, and the interference strength of the M second network devices or the strength subjected to remote interference of the M second network devices exceeds a second threshold; or the interference strength of the M second network devices is greater than or equal to the interference strength of the (N-M) second network devices, or the strength of the M second network devices subjected to remote interference is greater than or equal to the strength of the (N-M) second network devices subjected to remote interference, and the (N-M) second network devices are different from the network devices in the M second network devices.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: and sending inquiry information, wherein the inquiry information is used for inquiring the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: response information to the query information is received.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: and receiving a notification message, wherein the notification message is used for notifying the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group to be an unremoved state.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: and receiving information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is a cancelled state within a preset time length.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: the identification information of the interfered network device group contained in the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices is the same, and when the information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state is not received within the preset time length, the information for indicating interference cancellation is sent to T second network devices in the (N-M) second network devices, wherein the (N-M) second network devices are different from the M second network devices, T is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and T is less than or equal to (N-M).

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: the identification information of the interfered network device group contained in the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices is the same, and when the processing unit 1020 determines that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the non-cancelled state, a message for indicating interference cancellation is sent to T second network devices of the (N-M) second network devices, where the (N-M) second network devices are different from the network devices of the M second network devices, T is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and T is less than or equal to (N-M).

Optionally, the second network device is a distributed unit of the access network device; alternatively, the second network device is a base station.

In another possible implementation manner, the communication unit 1010 is configured to: receiving information of first reference signals from N second network devices, wherein N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the information of the first reference signals contains identification information of an interfered network device group; the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: and sending first information used for indicating a first condition to the N second network devices based on the information of the first reference signals of the N second network devices, wherein the first condition is used for judging whether to eliminate the interference by the N second network devices.

Optionally, the first information comprises a first threshold; the first condition is: the first reference signal strength exceeds a first threshold.

Optionally, the first information comprises a second threshold; the first condition is: the first interference strength or the strength of the remote interference exceeds a second threshold.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: and receiving a notification message, wherein the notification message is used for notifying the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group to be a eliminated state or an unremoved state.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: the reference signal information of the N second network devices includes the same identification information of the interfered network device group, and when the information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state is not received within the preset time, the second information indicating a second condition is sent to the N second network devices, where the second condition is used for the N second network devices to determine whether to perform interference cancellation.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: the reference signal information of the N second network devices includes the same identification information of the interfered network device group, and when the processing unit 1020 determines that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the non-cancelled state, the processing unit sends second information indicating a second condition to the N second network devices, where the second condition is used for the N second network devices to determine whether to perform interference cancellation.

Optionally, the second information comprises a third threshold, and the second condition is: the first reference signal strength exceeds a third threshold value, and the third threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value; or, the second information includes a fourth threshold, and the second condition is: the first interference strength or the strength of the remote interference exceeds a fourth threshold value, which is smaller than the second threshold value.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices comprises the same identification information of the interfered network device group, and when the information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the eliminated state is not received within the preset time length, the information of the second reference signals from the N second network devices is obtained; and sending third information for indicating a third condition to the N second network devices based on the information of the second reference signals of the N second network devices, wherein the third condition is used for judging whether to eliminate the interference by the N second network devices.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: when the processing unit 1020 determines that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the non-cancelled state, acquiring information of second reference signals from N second network devices; and sending third information for indicating a third condition to the N second network devices based on the information of the second reference signals of the N second network devices, wherein the third condition is used for judging whether to eliminate the interference by the N second network devices.

Optionally, the third information includes a fifth threshold, and the third condition is: the second reference signal strength exceeds a fifth threshold value, and the fifth threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value; or, the third information includes a sixth threshold, and the third condition is: the second interference strength or the strength subjected to remote interference exceeds a sixth threshold value, which is smaller than the second threshold value.

Optionally, the second network device is a centralized unit of the access network device; alternatively, the second network device is a base station.

In particular, the apparatus 1000 may implement steps or flows corresponding to the centralized unit or the coordinated network element in the method 500, the method 700, the method 800, the method 900 according to the embodiment of the present application, and the apparatus 1000 may include a unit for performing the method performed by the centralized unit or the coordinated network element in the method 500, the method 700, the method 800, the method 900. Also, the units in the apparatus 1000 and other operations and/or functions described above are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows of the methods 500, 700, 800, 900.

It should be understood that the specific processes of the units for executing the corresponding steps are already described in detail in the above method embodiments, and therefore, for brevity, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

In another possible design, the apparatus 1000 may implement the steps or processes performed by the distributed unit or the network device (such as the gNB) corresponding to the above method embodiment, for example, the steps or processes may be distributed unit or network device, or chips or circuits configured in the distributed unit or network device.

In one possible implementation, the communication unit 1010 is configured to: sending information of a reference signal to the first network equipment, wherein the information of the reference signal comprises identification information of an interfered network equipment group; the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: obtaining indication information determined by the first network device based on the information of the reference signal, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the device 1000 to perform interference cancellation; the processing unit 1020 is configured to: and based on the indication information, carrying out interference elimination.

Optionally, the information of the reference signal comprises at least one of: information of reference signal strength, information of interference strength, or information of strength subject to remote interference.

Optionally, the processing unit 1020 is further configured to resolve an interfered status of the interfered network device group from the reference signal.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: when the processing unit 1020 determines that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the non-cancelled state, notification information is sent to the first network device, and the notification information is used for notifying that the interfered state of the interfered network device group of the first network device is the non-cancelled state.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: when the processing unit 1020 determines that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state, notification information is sent to the first network device, and the notification information is used for notifying the first network device that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: when the information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is the eliminated state is not received within the preset time length, the notification information is sent to the first network equipment, and the notification information is used for notifying that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group of the first network equipment is the non-eliminated state.

Optionally, the first network device is one or more distributed units of the access network device; or, the first network device is a core network device or a network management device; alternatively, the first network device is a base station.

In another possible implementation manner, the communication unit 1010 is configured to: receiving a first reference signal; the processing unit 1020 is configured to: when the first condition is satisfied, interference cancellation is performed.

Optionally, the first condition is: the first reference signal strength exceeds a first threshold.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: a first threshold value is obtained from a first network device.

Optionally, the first condition is: the first interference strength or the strength of the remote interference exceeds a second threshold.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: a second threshold value is obtained from the first network device.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: the first network device receives response information for the query information.

Optionally, the processing unit 1020 is further configured to: and when the information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is the eliminated state is not received within the preset time length and the second condition is met, carrying out interference elimination.

Optionally, the processing unit 1020 is further configured to: and when the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is determined to be the non-eliminated state and the second condition is met, eliminating the interference.

Optionally, the second condition is: the first reference signal strength exceeds a third threshold value, and the third threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value; or, the second condition is: the first interference strength or the strength subjected to remote interference exceeds a fourth threshold value, the fourth threshold value being smaller than the second threshold value, the first interference strength being determined based on the first reference signal.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: a third threshold or a fourth threshold from the first network device is obtained.

Optionally, when the information indicating that the interfered status of the interfered network device group is the cancelled status is not received within the preset time period, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: receiving a second reference signal; when the third condition is satisfied, the processing unit 1020 is further configured to: and carrying out interference elimination.

Optionally, when determining that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the non-cancelled state, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: receiving a second reference signal; when the third condition is satisfied, the processing unit 1020 is further configured to: and carrying out interference elimination.

Optionally, the third condition is: the second reference signal strength exceeds a fifth threshold value, and the fifth threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value; or, the third condition is: the second interference strength or the strength subjected to remote interference exceeds a sixth threshold value, which is smaller than the second threshold value, the second interference strength being determined based on the second reference signal.

Optionally, the communication unit 1010 is further configured to: a fifth threshold or a sixth threshold from the first network device is obtained.

In particular, the apparatus 1000 may implement steps or flows corresponding to those performed by the distributed unit or network device in the methods 500, 700, 800, 900 according to the embodiments of the present application, and the apparatus 1000 may include units for performing the methods performed by the distributed unit or network device in the methods 500, 700, 800, 900. Also, the units in the apparatus 1000 and other operations and/or functions described above are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows of the methods 500, 700, 800, 900.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus 1100 according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus may implement the units of the various steps performed by the centralized unit in the above embodiments. For example, methods performed by the centralized unit in method 500 or method 800 may be performed. The apparatus 1100 comprises:

a memory 1110 for storing programs;

a communication interface 1120 for communicating with other devices;

a processor 1130 configured to execute the program in the memory 1110, wherein when the program is executed, the processor 1130 is configured to obtain information of reference signals from N second network devices through the communication interface 1120, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the information of the reference signals includes identification information of a disturbed network device group; and sending information for indicating interference cancellation to M second network devices in the N second network devices based on information of reference signals of the N second network devices, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is less than or equal to N.

Alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

when the program is executed, the processor 1130 is configured to obtain, through the communication interface 1120, information of a first reference signal from N second network devices, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, where the information of the first reference signal includes identification information of a group of interfered network devices; and sending first information used for indicating a first condition to the N second network devices based on the information of the first reference signals of the N second network devices, wherein the first condition is used for judging whether to eliminate the interference by the N second network devices.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus 1200 according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus may implement the elements of the various steps performed by the coordinating network element in the above embodiments. For example, the method performed by the coordinating network element in method 700 or method 900 may be performed. The apparatus 1200 includes:

a memory 1210 for storing programs;

a communication interface 1220 for communicating with other devices;

a processor 1230 configured to execute the program in the memory 1210, wherein when the program is executed, the processor 1230 is configured to obtain information of reference signals from N second network devices through the communication interface 1220, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the information of the reference signals includes identification information of a network device group to be interfered; and sending information for indicating interference cancellation to M second network devices in the N second network devices based on information of reference signals of the N second network devices, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is less than or equal to N.

Alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

when the program is executed, the processor 1230 is configured to obtain, through the communication interface 1220, information of a first reference signal from N second network devices, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the information of the first reference signal includes identification information of a group of interfered network devices; and sending first information used for indicating a first condition to the N second network devices based on the information of the first reference signals of the N second network devices, wherein the first condition is used for judging whether to eliminate the interference by the N second network devices.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus 1300 according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus may implement the units of the respective steps performed by the distributed units in the above embodiments. For example, methods performed by distributed units in method 500 or method 800 may be performed. The apparatus 1300 includes:

a memory 1310 for storing a program;

a communication interface 1320 for communicating with other devices;

a processor 1330 configured to execute the program in memory 1310, wherein when the program is executed, the processor 1330 is configured to transmit information of a reference signal to a first network device through the communication interface 1320, the information of the reference signal including identification information of a group of interfered network devices; obtaining indication information determined by the first network equipment based on the information of the reference signal, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the second network equipment to carry out interference cancellation; and the processor 1330 is configured to perform interference cancellation based on the indication information.

Alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

when the program is executed, the processor 1330 is configured to receive information of a first reference signal through the communication interface 1320; and the processor 1330 is configured to perform interference cancellation when the information of the first reference signal satisfies a first condition.

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus 1400 according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus may implement the elements of the various steps performed by the network device (e.g., the gNB) in the above embodiments. For example, the method performed by the network device in method 700 or method 900 may be performed. The apparatus 1400 comprises:

a memory 1410 for storing programs;

a communication interface 1420 for communicating with other devices;

a processor 1430 for executing the program in the memory 1410, the processor 1430 for transmitting information of a reference signal to the first network device through the communication interface 1420 when the program is executed, the information of the reference signal containing identification information of the interfered network device group; obtaining indication information determined by the first network equipment based on the information of the reference signal, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the second network equipment to carry out interference cancellation; and the processor 1430 is configured to perform interference cancellation based on the indication information.

Alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

when the program is executed, the processor 1430 is configured to receive information of a first reference signal through the communication interface 1420; and the processor 1430 is configured to perform interference cancellation when the information of the first reference signal satisfies a first condition.

Optionally, the communication interface (1120, 1220, 1320, 1420) may be a receiver or a transmitter, or may also be a transceiver.

In implementation, the steps of the above method may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with hardware of the processor. To avoid repetition, it is not described in detail here.

It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capability. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The processor described above may be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with hardware of the processor.

It will be appreciated that the memory in the embodiments of the subject application can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM, enhanced SDRAM, SLDRAM, Synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of the embodiments illustrated by methods 500, 700, 800, 900.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable medium is further provided, and the computer-readable medium stores program code, which when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method of any one of the embodiments shown in the methods 500, 700, 800, and 900.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the application to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

As used in this specification, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the internet with other systems by way of the signal).

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

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

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a first network device obtains information of reference signals from N second network devices, wherein N is an integer larger than 1 or equal to 1, the information of the reference signals comprises identification information of an interfered network device group, and the N second network devices remotely interfere the interfered network device group;

based on the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices, the first network device sends information indicating interference cancellation to M second network devices of the N second network devices, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is less than or equal to N.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices includes the same identification information of the interfered network device group, and the information of the reference signals includes information of reference signal strength,

the reference signal strengths of the M second network devices exceed a first threshold; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the reference signal strengths of the M second network devices are greater than or equal to the reference signal strengths of (N-M) second network devices, the (N-M) second network devices being different from the network devices of the M second network devices.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices includes the same identification information of the interfered network device group, and the information of the reference signals includes information of interference strength or information of strength subjected to remote interference,

the interference strength of the M second network devices or the strength of the M second network devices subjected to remote interference exceeds a second threshold; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the interference strength of the M second network devices is greater than or equal to the interference strength of (N-M) second network devices, or the strength of the M second network devices subjected to remote interference is greater than or equal to the strength of the (N-M) second network devices subjected to remote interference, and the network devices in the (N-M) second network devices and the M second network devices are different.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

the first network device sends inquiry information, and the inquiry information is used for inquiring the interfered state of the interfered network device group.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

and the first network equipment receives a notification message, wherein the notification message is used for notifying that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is an unremoved state.

6. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices comprises the same identification information of the interfered network device group,

when the first network device does not receive the information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is the cancelled state within the preset time length, the method further includes:

the first network device sending a message to T of the (N-M) second network devices indicating interference cancellation, the (N-M) second network devices and the network devices of the M second network devices being different,

wherein T is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and T is less than or equal to (N-M).

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

and the first network equipment receives information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is a cancelled state within a preset time length.

8. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices comprises the same identification information of the interfered network device group,

when the interfered state of the interfered network device group is an uncancelled state, the method further comprises:

9. A method of communication, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a second network device sends information of a reference signal to a first network device, wherein the information of the reference signal comprises identification information of an interfered network device group, and the second network device remotely interferes the interfered network device group;

the second network equipment acquires indication information determined by the first network equipment based on the information of the reference signal, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the second network equipment to carry out interference cancellation;

and based on the indication information, the second network equipment carries out interference elimination.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the information of the reference signal comprises at least one of: information of reference signal strength, information of interference strength, or information of strength subject to remote interference.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the method further comprises:

the second network device sends inquiry information, and the inquiry information is used for inquiring the interfered state of the interfered network device group.

12. The method according to claim 9 or 10,

when the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is an un-eliminated state, or when the second network equipment does not receive the information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is an eliminated state within a preset time length,

the method further comprises the following steps:

and the second network equipment sends notification information to the first network equipment, wherein the notification information is used for notifying the first network equipment that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is an unremoved state.

13. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and the second network equipment receives information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is a cancelled state within a preset time length.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 9, 10,

the first network device is one or more centralized units of the access network device, and the second network device is a distributed unit of the access network device; or

The first network equipment is core network equipment or network management equipment, and the second network equipment is a base station; or

The first network device is a base station, and the second network device is a base station.

15. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a transceiver, configured to acquire information of reference signals from N second network devices, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, the information of the reference signals includes identification information of an interfered network device group, and the N second network devices perform remote interference on the interfered network device group;

the transceiver is further configured to send information indicating interference cancellation to M second network devices of the N second network devices based on the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is less than or equal to N.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices includes the same identification information of the interfered network device group, and the information of the reference signals includes information of reference signal strength,

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the information of the reference signals of the N second network devices includes the same identification information of the interfered network device group, and the information of the reference signals includes information of interference strength or information of strength subjected to remote interference,

18. The apparatus of any of claims 16-17, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:

sending inquiry information, wherein the inquiry information is used for inquiring the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group.

19. The apparatus of any of claims 16-17, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:

and receiving a notification message, wherein the notification message is used for notifying that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is an unremoved state.

20. The apparatus of any one of claims 16 to 17, further comprising:

when the information indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is the cancelled state is not received within the preset time length,

the transceiver is further configured to transmit a message to instruct interference cancellation to T of the (N-M) second network devices, the (N-M) second network devices and the network devices of the M second network devices being different,

21. The apparatus of any of claims 16-17, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:

and receiving information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is a cancelled state within a preset time length.

22. The apparatus according to any of claims 16-17, wherein when the interfered state of the interfered network device group is an non-cancelled state,

the transceiver is further configured to:

transmitting a message to instruct interference cancellation to T of the (N-M) second network devices, the (N-M) second network devices and the network devices of the M second network devices being different,

23. The apparatus of any one of claims 16 to 17,

the device is one or more centralized units of the access network equipment, and the second network equipment is a distributed unit of the access network equipment; or

The device is core network equipment or network management equipment, and the second network equipment is a base station; or

The device is one or more of the N second network devices, and the second network devices are base stations.

24. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a transceiver, configured to send information of a reference signal to a first network device, where the information of the reference signal includes identification information of an interfered network device group, and the apparatus performs remote interference on the interfered network device group;

the transceiver is further configured to acquire indication information determined by the first network device based on the information of the reference signal, where the indication information is used to instruct the apparatus to perform interference cancellation;

and the processor is used for carrying out interference elimination based on the indication information.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the information of the reference signal comprises at least one of: information of reference signal strength, information of interference strength, or information of strength subject to remote interference.

26. The apparatus of claim 24 or 25, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:

27. The apparatus of claim 24 or 25,

when the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is an un-eliminated state, or when the information for indicating that the interfered state of the interfered network equipment group is an eliminated state is not received within a preset time length,

the transceiver is further configured to:

and sending notification information to the first network device, where the notification information is used to notify the first network device that the interfered state of the interfered network device group is an unremoved state.

28. The apparatus of claim 24 or 25, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:

29. The apparatus of any one of claims 24 or 25,

the first network equipment is one or more centralized units of the access network equipment, and the device is a distributed unit of the access network equipment; or

The first network equipment is core network equipment or network management equipment, and the device is a base station; or

The first network equipment is a base station, and the device is a base station.

30. A computer storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which when executed by a computer causes the computer to perform: the method of any one of claims 1 to 8, or the method of any one of claims 9 to 14.