CN111988107B

CN111988107B - Method and apparatus for interference coordination

Info

Publication number: CN111988107B
Application number: CN201910421841.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 于海滨; 晋英豪; 杨晨晨; 杨水根
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-05-21
Filing date: 2019-05-21
Publication date: 2022-02-18
Anticipated expiration: 2039-05-21
Also published as: CN111988107A

Abstract

The application provides a method and a device for interference coordination, wherein the method comprises the following steps: a CU sends a first message to a first DU, wherein the first message carries ABS pattern which indicates that the first DU is used for scheduling a subframe of a first terminal device, and the first terminal device is an edge terminal device of the first DU; and the CU sends a third message to the second DU, wherein the third message carries ABS pattern which is used for indicating the second DU to configure the ABS. The method for interference coordination can support eICIC under a 5G CU-DU framework.

Description

Method and apparatus for interference coordination

Technical Field

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

Background

The physical layer of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system employs Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology, and each cell can use all available frequency bands. In an LTE communication system using OFDM, cell edge signals are weak, and therefore, terminal devices at the cell edge require large transmission power, which causes large interference to neighboring cells; in addition, the terminal equipment at the edge of the cell is closer to the neighboring cell, and is more easily interfered by the uplink and downlink of the terminal equipment and the network equipment of the neighboring cell. The neighboring cells, if using the same frequency band, will cause large inter-cell interference at the cell edge.

For the pilot frequency and the control channel, the LTE protocol uses different code words to carry out the randomization of the inter-cell interference, so the influence of the inter-cell interference on the pilot frequency and the control channel is not great. However, for the shared channel, the time-frequency resources and power control used by the edge terminal devices between cells must be coordinated to reduce the interference between cells and improve the system performance.

At present, the main strategy for reducing inter-cell interference is Inter Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC), which restricts time-frequency resources used by cell edge terminal devices to ensure that terminal devices belonging to several adjacent cells do not occupy the same Physical Resource Block (PRB) as much as possible in adjacent areas of the adjacent cells. The ICIC scheme mainly solves the interference of homogeneous networks, and a typical wireless cellular network consists of network devices with the same level of transmission power and coverage range and can be classified as a homogeneous network. Under the continuous development of communication technology, in order to further improve the capacity and coverage performance of a communication system, some low-power stations (hereinafter, referred to as micro base stations) are added within the deployment range of a macro base station to form a heterogeneous network, and a scheme for enhancing inter-cell interference coordination (eICIC) is proposed for the interference problem of the heterogeneous network, wherein the eICIC is a co-frequency multi-inter-cell interference coordination technology in a time domain and is only directed at a single frequency point scene during co-frequency networking. The scheme of the elcic is mainly that a macro cell configures one or more subframes as Almost Blank Subframes (ABS), and a micro cell provides services for cell edge terminal equipment on the ABS, thereby avoiding main interference and improving the service rate of the cell edge terminal equipment.

In the conventional elcic scheme, the configuration of the ABS is transferred through an X2 interface or through an operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) device, generally, a micro base station may transfer the configuration through an X2 interface, and if the micro base station is used as a Content Service Gateway (CSG), the configuration may also be transferred through OAM. In a 5th Generation (5G) system communication system, the network device may be further divided into at least one Distributed Unit (DU) and one Central Unit (CU) connected to the at least one DU according to a protocol layer, where each DU may be understood as one macro base station or one micro base station as described above. Under the 5G CU-DU architecture, terminal equipment under a micro base station can be influenced by a macro base station, but the conventional eICIC scheme is not suitable for being used under the 5G CU-DU architecture, so that the scheme capable of carrying out eICIC under the 5G CU-DU architecture is a problem to be solved urgently.

Disclosure of Invention

After a CU determines an ABS pattern, the ABS pattern is carried in different messages and notified to a first DU and a second DU, so that the first DU can determine which subframes to schedule a first terminal device based on the ABS pattern, the second DU can configure the ABS based on the ABS pattern, and the terminal device is served on the subframes except the ABS, thereby providing a scheme for eICIC under a 5G CU-DU architecture.

In a first aspect, a method for interference coordination is provided, including: the centralized unit CU determines an almost blank subframe pattern ABS pattern; the CU sends a first message to a first distributed unit DU, wherein the first message carries the ABS pattern, the ABS pattern indicates that the first DU schedules a subframe of a first terminal device, and the first terminal device is an edge terminal device of the first DU; and the CU sends a third message to a second DU, wherein the third message carries the ABS pattern, and the ABS pattern is used for indicating the second DU to configure the ABS, wherein the second DU is a DU which generates potential strong interference to the first terminal device.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the CU determines the ABS pattern and notifies the first DU and the second DU, where the first DU is understood as a micro base station and the second DU is understood as a macro base station, so as to achieve the purpose that the micro base station schedules an edge user on the ABS and the macro base station does not provide a dedicated service for a terminal device served by the micro base station on the ABS.

It should be understood that the first DU scheduling first terminal device referred to in this application is: and the first DU scheduling resource carries out downlink transmission to the terminal equipment.

It should also be understood that, for the second DU described above, the subframes other than the ABS are used for the second DU to provide downlink transmission for the second terminal device, and the second terminal device serves the second DU.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the determining, by the CU, the ABS pattern includes: the CU determines the ABS pattern based on the load capacity of the second DU; alternatively, the method further comprises: the CU receives quality of service (QoS) information sent by a management device, wherein the QoS information comprises session-related information of the first terminal device; the CU determines the ABS pattern comprises: the CU determines the ABS pattern based on the QoS information and the load capacity of the second DU.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the CU determines the ABS pattern based on auxiliary information required by the CU to determine the ABS pattern and a load of the second DU, where the auxiliary information may be QoS information received by the CU from a management device; or the CU is determined based on the load amount of the second DU without the side information.

It should be understood that the management device referred to in this embodiment may be an access and mobility management function AMF network element, or other device capable of implementing the function of the AMF in this embodiment.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, before the CU determines the ABS pattern, the method further includes: the CU receives an ABS pattern set from the second DU; the CU determines that the ABS pattern is not included in the set of ABS patterns based on the load amount of the second DU; or, the CU determines that the ABS pattern set does not include the ABS pattern based on the QoS information and the load amount of the second DU.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the CU may determine the ABS pattern, where the CU determines the ABS pattern based on the auxiliary information and the load of the second DU when the CU receives the ABS pattern set from the second DU and does not select a suitable ABS pattern, or the CU determines the ABS pattern based on the load of the second DU.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the determining, by the CU, the ABS pattern includes: the CU obtains an ABS pattern set; the CU selects the ABS pattern from the set of ABS patterns based on the load capacity of the second DU; alternatively, the method further comprises: the CU receives quality of service (QoS) information sent by a management device, wherein the QoS information comprises session-related information of the first terminal device; the CU selects the ABS pattern from the set of ABS patterns based on the QoS information and a load amount of the second DU.

In the method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the application, the CU determines the ABS pattern may directly call one ABS pattern from a known ABS pattern set, so as to provide a flexible scheme for the CU to determine the ABS pattern.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the obtaining, by the CU, an ABS pattern set includes: the CU receives the ABS pattern set from the second DU; or, the CU receives the ABS pattern set from a controller.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the mode for a CU to obtain an ABS pattern set may be received from the second DU, or may be received from a controller.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, before the CU determines the ABS pattern, the method further includes: and the CU determines the channel quality of the first terminal equipment, and judges that the ABS pattern needs to be determined based on the channel quality of the first terminal equipment.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the CU determines that the trigger condition of the ABS pattern may be channel quality of the first terminal device, and when the channel quality of the first terminal device does not meet a preset condition, the CU performs an action of determining the ABS pattern, so as to provide a suitable trigger condition for the CU to determine the ABS pattern.

It should be understood that the channel quality of the first terminal device referred to in this application refers to the downlink channel quality of the first terminal device.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the determining, by the CU, the channel quality of the first terminal device includes: first indication information received by the CU from the first terminal equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the channel quality of the first terminal equipment; or, the CU receives a first signal strength from the first DU, where the first signal strength is a signal strength of the first DU receiving a sounding reference signal SRS transmitted by the first terminal device, the CU receives a second signal strength from the second DU, where the second signal strength is a signal strength of the second DU receiving the SRS transmitted by the first terminal device, and the CU determines the channel quality of the first terminal device based on the first signal strength and the second signal strength.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the CU determines that the channel quality of the first terminal device may be that the CU receives, from the first terminal device, first indication information indicating the channel quality of the first terminal device, or, on the premise that the uplink channel and the downlink channel satisfy reciprocity, may obtain the quality of the downlink channel based on the quality of the uplink channel, and then the CU may obtain the quality of the uplink channel based on the first signal strength and the second signal strength respectively sent by the first DU and the second DU, thereby estimating the quality of the downlink channel of the first terminal device, determining the channel quality of the first terminal device for the CU, and providing a flexible scheme.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the determining, by the CU, that the ABS pattern needs to be determined based on the channel quality of the first terminal device includes: the CU determines that the ABS pattern needs to be determined based on a relationship between the channel quality of the first terminal device and a preset threshold, and optionally, the size of the preset threshold is adjustable.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, when a CU determines to perform ABS pattern determination based on channel quality of a first terminal device, the CU may compare the channel quality of the first terminal device with a preset threshold, where the preset threshold is adjustable.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: and the CU receives a second message sent by the first DU, wherein the second message carries a first ABS indication, and the first ABS indication is used for indicating that the first DU successfully determines the ABS.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: and the CU receives a fourth message sent by a second DU, wherein the fourth message carries a second ABS instruction, and the second ABS instruction is used for indicating that the second DU successfully configures the ABS.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, after a CU notifies ABS patterns to a first DU and a second DU, the first DU and the second DU may send feedback information to the CU.

In a second aspect, a method for interference coordination is provided, including: a first Distributed Unit (DU) receives a first message from a Central Unit (CU), wherein the first message carries an almost blank subframe pattern (ABS pattern), the ABS pattern indicates that the first DU is used for scheduling a subframe of a first terminal device, and the first terminal device is an edge terminal device of the first DU; and the first DU schedules the first terminal equipment based on the ABS pattern.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first DU may obtain an ABS pattern from the CU, and obtain a protected subframe that can be used for scheduling the edge terminal device based on the ABS pattern, so as to schedule the edge user on the protected subframe, where the first DU is a micro base station, and implement elcic under a 5G CU-DU architecture.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: and the first DU sends a second message to the CU, wherein the second message carries a first ABS instruction, and the first ABS instruction is used for indicating that the first DU successfully receives the ABS pattern.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, after receiving the ABS pattern sent by the CU, the first DU may send feedback information to the CU to notify the CU of correctly receiving the ABS pattern.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the first DU receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by first terminal equipment, wherein the signal strength of the SRS received by the first DU is first signal strength; the first DU sends the first signal strength to the CU.

According to the method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the application, the first DU can obtain the SRS from the first terminal device, the SRS received by the first DU has the first signal strength, and the first signal strength is sent to the CU, so that the CU can determine the channel quality of the first terminal device based on the first signal strength.

In a third aspect, a method for interference coordination is provided, including: a second Distributed Unit (DU) receives a third message from a Central Unit (CU), wherein the third message carries an almost blank subframe pattern (ABS pattern) which is used for indicating that the second DU configures an ABS, the second DU is a DU which generates interference to a first terminal device, the first terminal device is an edge terminal device in the first DU, a subframe except the ABS is used for providing downlink transmission for the second DU by the second DU, and the second terminal device is a terminal device served by the second DU; the second DU configures an ABS based on the ABS pattern.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the second DU may obtain an ABS pattern from the CU, and configure the ABS based on the ABS pattern, so as to invoke the terminal device on a subframe except the ABS, where the second DU is a macro base station, and implement eICIC under a 5G CU-DU architecture.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, before the second DU receives the third message from the CU, the method further includes: the second DU receives an ABS pattern set from a controller; the second DU sends the second ABS pattern set to the CU.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the second DU may receive the ABS pattern set from the OAM device, and forward the ABS pattern set to the CU, so that the CU may select an ABS pattern from the ABS pattern set.

It should be understood that the controller referred to in this application may be an operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) device, or other device capable of implementing the functions of an OAM device.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the second DU sends a fourth message to the CU, where the fourth message carries a second ABS indication, and the second ABS indication is used to indicate that the second DU successfully configures an ABS.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, after receiving the ABS pattern sent by the CU, the second DU may send feedback information to the CU to notify the CU to complete ABS configuration.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: the second DU receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by first terminal equipment, wherein the signal strength of the SRS received by the second DU is a second signal strength; the second DU sends the second signal strength to the CU.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the second DU may obtain an SRS from the first terminal device, and the signal strength of the SRS received by the second DU is the determined second signal strength, and the determined second signal strength is sent to the CU, so that the CU can determine the channel quality of the first terminal device based on the second signal strength.

In a fourth aspect, a method for interference coordination is provided, comprising: the CU sends second indication information to a second DU, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the second DU to determine ABS pattern; the CU receives response information sent by the second DU, wherein the response information comprises the ABS pattern; the CU sends a first message to a first DU, wherein the first message carries an ABS pattern, the ABS pattern indicates a subframe for downlink transmission of the first DU scheduling resource to a first terminal device, the first terminal device is an edge terminal device of the first DU, and the second DU is a DU which generates potential strong interference to the first terminal device.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the CU indicates the second DU to determine the ABS pattern, and the CU notifies the first DU after knowing the ABS pattern, where the first DU may be understood as a micro base station and the second DU may be understood as a macro base station, so as to achieve the purpose that the micro base station schedules an edge user on the ABS and the macro base station does not provide a dedicated service for the terminal device on the ABS.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: and the CU receives quality of service (QoS) information sent by a management device, wherein the QoS information is carried in the second indication information, and is used for indicating the second DU to determine the ABS pattern, and the QoS information comprises session related information of the first terminal device.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, a CU may send auxiliary information required for determining an ABS pattern to a second DU, so that the second DU can determine the ABS pattern based on the QoS information and a load of the second DU.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, before the central unit CU sends the second indication information to the second DU, the method further includes: and the CU determines the channel quality of the first terminal equipment, and determines that the second indication information needs to be sent to the second DU according to the channel quality of the first terminal equipment.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, a CU may determine, according to the channel quality of a first DU, that a second DU needs to be indicated to determine an ABS pattern.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the determining, by the CU, the channel quality of the first terminal device includes: first indication information received by the CU from the first terminal equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the channel quality of the first terminal equipment; or, the CU receives a first signal strength from the first DU, where the first signal strength is a signal strength of the first DU receiving a sounding reference signal SRS transmitted by the first terminal device, the CU receives a second signal strength from the second DU, where the second signal strength is a signal strength of the second DU receiving the SRS transmitted by the first terminal device, and the CU determines the channel quality of the first terminal device based on the first signal strength and the second signal strength.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the determining, by the CU, the channel quality of the first terminal device may be that the CU receives, from the first terminal device, first indication information indicating the channel quality of the first terminal device, or on the premise that the uplink channel and the downlink channel satisfy reciprocity, the CU may estimate the channel quality of the first terminal device based on first signal strength and second signal strength respectively sent by the first DU and the second DU, determine the channel quality of the first terminal device for the CU, and provide a flexible scheme.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the determining, by the CU, that the second indication information needs to be sent to the second DU based on the channel quality of the first terminal device includes: and the CU judges that the second indication information needs to be sent to the second DU according to the relation between the channel quality of the first terminal device and a preset threshold, wherein the size of the preset threshold is adjustable.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, when the CU determines to send the second indication information to the second DU based on the channel quality of the first terminal device, the CU may compare the channel quality of the first terminal device with a preset threshold, where the preset threshold is adjustable.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: and the CU receives a second message sent by the first DU, wherein the second message carries a first ABS indication, and the first ABS indication is used for indicating that the first DU successfully receives ABSpattern.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, after a CU notifies ABS patterns to first DUs, the first DUs may send feedback information to the CU.

In a fifth aspect, a method for interference coordination is provided, including: a first Distributed Unit (DU) receives a first message from a Central Unit (CU), wherein the first message carries an almost blank subframe pattern (ABS pattern), the ABS pattern indicates that the first DU is used for scheduling resources to send downlink transmission subframes to a first terminal device, and the first terminal device is an edge terminal device of the first DU; and the first DU carries out downlink transmission to the first terminal equipment based on the ABS pattern scheduling resource.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first DU may obtain an ABS pattern from the CU, and determine the ABS based on the ABS pattern, thereby invoking an edge user on the ABS, where the first DU is a micro base station and implements elcic under a 5G CU-DU architecture.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the method further comprises: and the first DU sends a second message to the CU, wherein the second message carries a first ABS instruction, and the first ABS instruction is used for indicating that the first DU successfully receives the ABS pattern.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the method further comprises: the first DU receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by first terminal equipment, wherein the signal strength of the SRS received by the first DU is first signal strength; the first DU sends the first signal strength to the CU.

According to the method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the application, the first DU can obtain the SRS from the first terminal device, the SRS received by the first DU has a signal strength for determining the first signal strength, and the first signal strength is sent to the CU, so that the CU can determine the channel quality of the first terminal device based on the first signal strength.

In a sixth aspect, a method for interference coordination is provided, comprising: a second Distributed Unit (DU) receives second indication information from a Central Unit (CU), wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the second DU to determine an ABS pattern, the second DU is a DU which generates interference on first terminal equipment, and the first terminal equipment is edge terminal equipment in the first DU; the second DU determines an ABS pattern and configures the ABS based on the second indication information; and the second CU sends response information to the CU, wherein the response information carries the ABS pattern.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the second DU may determine the ABS pattern based on the indication of the CU, and feed back the determined ABS pattern to the CU, thereby implementing elcic under a 5G CU-DU architecture.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, before the second DU receives second indication information from the CU, the method further includes: the second DU receives an ABS pattern set from a controller; the second DU determining, based on the second indication information, an ABS pattern includes: the second DU invokes the ABS pattern from the ABS pattern set based on the QoS information carried in the second indication information and the load capacity of the second DU, or the second DU invokes the ABS pattern from the ABS pattern set based on the load capacity of the second DU.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the second DU determines that the ABS pattern may be an ABS pattern invoked from an ABS pattern set obtained from a controller.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the determining, by the second DU, the ABS pattern based on the second indication information includes: the second DU determines the ABS pattern based on the QoS information carried in the second indication information and the load capacity of the second DU, or the second DU determines the ABS pattern based on the load capacity of the second DU.

In the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, the second DU determines the ABS pattern, which may be determined based on the QoS information and the load capacity of the second DU, or the second DU determines the ABS pattern, which may be determined based on the load capacity of the second DU.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the method further comprises: the second DU receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by first terminal equipment, wherein the signal strength of the SRS received by the second DU is a second signal strength; the second DU sends the second signal strength to the CU.

According to the method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the application, the second DU can obtain the SRS from the second terminal device, the signal strength of the SRS received by the second DU is the determined second signal strength, and the second signal strength is sent to the CU, so that the CU can determine the channel quality of the first terminal device based on the second signal strength.

Alternatively, when the method for interference coordination described above is applied in a scenario where a CU is divided into a CU-CP and a CU-U, the CU-CP performs the function of the CU in the method for interference coordination described above.

In a seventh aspect, an apparatus for interference coordination is provided, which may be used to perform the operations of the CUs in the first and fourth aspects and any possible implementation manner of the first and fourth aspects. In particular, the means (means) for interference coordination comprising corresponding means for performing the steps or functions described in the above first and fourth aspects may be the CUs or chips inside the CUs or functional modules inside the CUs of the first and fourth aspects. The steps or functions may be implemented by software, or hardware, or by a combination of hardware and software.

In an eighth aspect, an apparatus for interference coordination is provided, which may be used to perform the operations of the first DU in the second and fifth aspects and any possible implementation manner of the second and fifth aspects. In particular, the means for interference coordination may comprise means (means) for performing the steps or functions described in the second and fifth aspects above, which means may be the first DU of the second and fifth aspects or a chip inside the first DU or a functional module inside the first DU. The steps or functions may be implemented by software, or hardware, or by a combination of hardware and software.

In a ninth aspect, an apparatus for interference coordination is provided, which may be used to perform the operations of the terminal device in the third and sixth aspects and any possible implementation manners of the third and sixth aspects. Specifically, the means (means) for interference coordination may be the second DU of the third aspect and the sixth aspect or a chip inside the second DU or a functional module inside the second DU. The steps or functions may be implemented by software, or hardware, or by a combination of hardware and software.

In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, which comprises a processor, a transceiver, and a memory, wherein the memory is used for storing a computer program, the transceiver is used for executing the transceiving steps in the method for interference coordination in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to sixth aspects, and the processor is used for calling and running the computer program from the memory, so that the communication device executes the method for interference coordination in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to sixth aspects.

Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

Alternatively, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or provided separately from the processor.

Optionally, the transceiver comprises a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

In an eleventh aspect, a system is provided that includes the apparatus for interference coordination provided in the seventh aspect to the ninth aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions), which when executed, causes a computer to perform the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to sixth aspects described above.

In a thirteenth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, which stores a computer program (which may also be referred to as code or instructions) that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to sixth aspects.

In a fourteenth aspect, a chip system is provided, which includes a memory for storing a computer program and a processor for calling and executing the computer program from the memory, so that a communication device in which the chip system is installed executes the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 to which the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an ABS pattern.

Fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method for interference coordination according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of another method for interference coordination according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus 10 for interference coordination proposed by the present application.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device 20 suitable for use in the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus 30 for interference coordination proposed by the present application.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of CU40 suitable for use in the embodiments of the present application.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus 50 for interference coordination proposed by the present application.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a first DU60 suitable for use in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus 70 for interference coordination proposed by the present application.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a second DU80 suitable for use in the embodiments 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 Long Term Evolution (LTE) System, an LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) System, an LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) System, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a Worldwide Interoperability For Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication System, a future fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) System, a New Radio (NR), or the like.

A terminal device in this embodiment may refer to a User Equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a relay station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user equipment. The terminal device may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), and the like, which are not limited in this embodiment.

The network device in the embodiment of the present application may be any device with a wireless transceiving function for communicating with a terminal device. Such devices include, but are not limited to: evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation evolved Node B (next-generation evolved Node B, ng-eNB), Radio Network Controller (RNC), Node B (NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), home base station (home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), Base Band Unit (BBU), Access Point (AP), wireless relay Node, wireless backhaul Node, Transmission Point (TP), or Transmission Reception Point (TRP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, and the like, and may also be 5G, such as NR, a gbb or eNB in a system, a set of antennas or a set of antennas comprising one or more panels of TRP in a TRP system, alternatively, it may also be a network node, such as a baseband unit (BBU), etc., that constitutes a gNB or a transmission point.

It should be understood that reference to a network device in this application is primarily to a radio access network device. The radio access network device includes: a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, a Physical (PHY) layer, and a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer. The radio access network device may be the base station, or may also be a wireless local area network access point, etc. If the wireless access network equipment is a base station, the wireless access network equipment can be further subdivided into two categories of a macro base station and a small base station, and the small base station can be further divided into a micro base station, a pico base station and the like; if the wireless access network device is a wireless local area network access point, the wireless access network device may be a router, a switch, or other devices.

Further, the radio access network device may be further divided into at least one Distributed Unit (DU) and one Central Unit (CU) connected to the at least one DU according to a protocol layer. The CU and the DU may be respectively deployed on different physical devices, where the CU is responsible for operations of the RRC layer, the SDAP layer, and the PDCP layer, and the DU is responsible for operations of the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the PHY layer. Further, the CUs can be further divided into a control plane centralized unit (CU-CP) and a user plane central unit (CU-UP), wherein the CU-CP and CU-UP can also be deployed on different physical devices, the CU-CP is responsible for handling of the RRC layer and PDCP layer control planes, and the CU-UP is responsible for handling of the SDAP layer and PDCP layer user planes. The method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the application is mainly applied to the scene that the wireless access network equipment is divided into DU and CU.

In the embodiment of the application, the terminal device or the network device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Memory Management Unit (MMU), and a memory (also referred to as a main memory). The operating system may be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes (processes), such as a Linux operating system, a Unix operating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or a windows operating system. The application layer comprises applications such as a browser, an address list, word processing software, instant messaging software and the like. Furthermore, the specific structure of the execution main body of the method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the present application is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application, as long as the execution main body can perform communication according to the method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the present application by running a program recorded with a code of the method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the present application, for example, the execution main body of the method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the present application may be a terminal device or a network device, or a functional module capable of calling a program and executing the program in the terminal device or the network device.

In addition, various aspects or features of the present application may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, or magnetic tape), optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk (CD), Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), card, stick, or key drive, etc.). In addition, various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and/or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" can include, without being limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and/or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.

The method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to the scenario shown in fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 to which the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied.

The access network equipment shown in fig. 1 includes a CU and 2 DUs (DU #1 and DU #2 shown in fig. 1) connected to the CU, each DU corresponds to a cell (2 elliptical regions are 2 cells respectively shown in fig. 1), and interference exists at overlapping portions of adjacent cells. The ici can solve the interference between different cells in the same-frequency networking, the ICIC divides a cell into a center region and an edge region, a terminal device located in the center region of the cell is a Cell Center User (CCU), and a terminal device located in the edge region of the cell is a Cell Edge User (CEU), generally, the signal quality between the CCU and a serving cell is less interfered by the neighboring cell, the signal quality between the CEU and the serving cell is poorer and is easily interfered by the neighboring cell, and the central idea of the ICIC technology is to consider the situations of wireless resource usage and load in multiple cells, and coordinate the usage of wireless resources in each cell, for example, coordinate the usage of time-frequency resources, etc., so that the inter-cell interference is controlled, thereby ensuring that the throughput of the system is not decreased, and improving the spectrum efficiency of the CEU. In fig. 1, DU #1 and DU #2 partially overlap with each other, and there is interference in the overlapping portion, that is, the UE served by DU #1 and located at the overlapping position may be interfered by DU # 2.

In one possible implementation, DU #1 may be regarded as a micro base station in communication system 100, DU #2 may be regarded as a macro base station in communication system 100, and UE may be regarded as a CEU served by micro base station DU #1, in which DU #1 is located within the coverage of DU #2, which is not shown in fig. 1. It can be seen from fig. 1 that the UE is located at an edge position covered by DU #1, and the location of the UE is an area overlapped by cells corresponding to DU #1 and DU #2, respectively. It can be understood that, the quality of the communication signal between DU #1 and the UE is poor, and the UE may be interfered by the cell corresponding to DU # 2. The method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application can coordinate interference of a cell corresponding to DU #2 to a UE, and the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below, where only to facilitate understanding of the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application, a scenario where the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied is briefly described.

It should be understood that fig. 1 is only a scenario diagram to which the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied, and does not limit the present application in any way, for example, the scenario to which the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied may include one or more CEUs, a same CEU may be simultaneously interfered by multiple neighboring cells, and the like, and when the CEU in one DU is interfered by multiple neighboring cells, the CU may coordinate the configuration of subframes in the multiple neighboring cells, which is not illustrated here. In order to facilitate understanding of the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiments of the present application, first, several basic concepts related to the embodiments of the present application are introduced below:

1. ICIC techniques.

The LTE adopts an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation scheme, and each data in the high-speed data stream is modulated onto a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers in parallel, so that the mutual interference (ICI) between the subcarriers can be effectively reduced. However, the orthogonality is limited to the terminal devices served by the current cell, and the terminal devices between different cells have interference, which is very serious at the cell edge in particular in the case of co-frequency networking. The ICIC technology can be adopted for eliminating the interference among the cells under the condition of the same-frequency networking, the ICIC technology considers the conditions of the use, the load and the like of wireless resources in a plurality of cells, the use of the wireless resources in each cell is coordinated, the frequency resources used by adjacent cells are orthogonal as much as possible, and the method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the application also mainly considers how to eliminate the interference among the cells under the condition of the same-frequency networking.

Specifically, the ICIC technique ensures that CEUs served by different cells do not occupy the same PRB as much as possible in adjacent regions of adjacent cells by constraining time-frequency resources used by the CEUs, so as to achieve the purpose of eliminating inter-cell interference, for example, adjacent different cells use different frequency bands in mutually overlapped regions in a frequency division manner, thereby reducing inter-cell interference.

2. eICIC technology.

For wireless access network equipment in an LTE system, the ICIC technology mainly realizes the interference coordination among the same frequency and multiple cells in a frequency domain, and the eICIC technology mainly realizes the interference coordination among the same frequency and multiple cells in a time domain.

The elcic technique makes signals of different cells orthogonal in time domain for some terminal devices by introducing the concept of ABS.

3、ABS。

ABS technology is mainly used to resolve control channel interference: if a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) of the interfering cell is transmitted in each subframe, the PDCCH of the interfering cell may severely interfere with the PDCCH of the terminal equipment of the interfered cell, so that the terminal equipment of the interfered cell is interfered, wherein a subframe is a time unit in a time domain, and for example, one subframe may be 1 ms. By configuring the ABS, the interfering cell reduces power transmission or does not transmit on some physical channels of the ABS, so that interference on the PDCCH and the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) of the terminal device in the interfered cell can be avoided. The CEU of the interfered cell only decodes PDCCH and receives PDSCH transmission on the subframe of the interference source cell configured with ABS, so that interference can be effectively avoided.

4. ABS configuration.

The ABS configuration is implemented by ABS patterns (patterns), which actually define which subframes are set as ABS, and after the ABS patterns are determined, the same ABS pattern in a radio frame cyclically and repeatedly defines which subframes are ABS in the radio frame. The positions and periods of the ABSs defined by different ABS patterns are different, where the position of the ABS is which subframe of multiple subframes indicated by a single ABS pattern, the period of the ABS may have multiple configurations, and each period may indicate multiple ABSs, and in a radio frame, the single ABS pattern cyclically and repeatedly defines which subframes of the radio frame are ABSs according to the size of the period. In the heterogeneous network, a part of subframes of the macro base station are set as ABS, which means that the macro base station does not send a PDCCH, a Physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), and a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) dedicated to the terminal device on the ABS. The interference on the ABS of the terminal equipment served by the micro base station is small, the micro base station can schedule the CEU on the part of subframes, the normal service of the CEU is ensured, and the CEU throughput rate of the micro base station is improved.

Specifically, one possible form of the ABS pattern is a bitmap, and the ABS pattern is illustratively a bit value of each subframe included in one frame. For example, the ABS pattern is a 10-bit bitmap, and each bit represents the value of one subframe. For a macro base station configured with an ABS pattern, when a bit value of a subframe is 0, it indicates that the subframe is a normal downlink subframe, and when the bit value is 1, it indicates that the subframe is an ABS; or, when the bit value of one subframe is 1, the subframe is an ordinary downlink subframe, and when the bit value is 0, the subframe is an ABS. For a micro base station receiving an ABS pattern, when the bit value of a subframe is 0, the subframe is represented as a common downlink subframe, and when the bit value is 1, the subframe is represented as a protected subframe, namely downlink transmission of the micro base station in the subframe is not interfered by a macro base station; or, when the bit value is 1, it indicates that the subframe is a normal downlink subframe, and when the bit value is 0, it indicates that the subframe is a protected subframe. For example, the ABS pattern defines an ABS period as 20 subframes, and the ABS configuration defined by the ABS pattern continuously repeats indicating whether each subframe is an ABS in a radio frame with 20 subframes as a period. As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an ABS pattern. As a possible implementation manner, the ABS pattern in fig. 2 defines an ABS period of 10 subframes, and the ABS positions are the third subframe, the fourth subframe, the seventh subframe, and the eighth subframe in a single ABS pattern.

It should be understood that fig. 2 is only an example and does not limit the scope of the present application, for example, the ABS pattern defines a period of 30 subframes.

The foregoing describes an applicable scenario of the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application with reference to fig. 1, and describes several basic concepts involved in the embodiment of the present application in detail, it should be understood that the above application scenario is only an example, and does not limit the protection scope of the present application at all, and the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to a heterogeneous network or a homogeneous network, where the homogeneous network is composed of base stations with the same level of transmission power and coverage, and different base stations belong to the same layer coverage. Heterogeneous networking is a layered coverage, and comprises a networking form with coexistence of various station forms and access technology forms, coverage and capacity enhancement are realized by adding low-power stations in a traditional macro network, for example, a wide coverage problem is mainly solved in the former mobile network, so macro base station deployment is adopted, and micro base station deployment is added for solving indoor coverage of voice services. Since the transmission power of the macro base station is much greater than that of the micro base station, the CEU served by the micro base station is strongly interfered by signals of the macro base station, resulting in low spectrum efficiency. By setting part of downlink subframes of the macro base station as the ABS, the interference on downlink transmission of the micro base station in the subframes can be effectively reduced, so that the micro base station can schedule the subframes for downlink transmission of the CEU, and the spectrum efficiency of the CEU is improved. The method for interference coordination according to the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to fig. 3 and 4.

Fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method for interference coordination according to an embodiment of the present application. The flowchart includes a CU, a first DU, a second DU, a first terminal device, a management device, and a controller. The first DU is a micro base station serving a first terminal device, and the first terminal device is a CEU in a first DU coverage area; the second DU is a macro base station that generates potentially strong interference to the first terminal device.

It should be understood that, the method for interference coordination provided in the embodiment of the present application may indicate a plurality of macro base stations that generate interference to edge terminal devices covered by a micro base station, and for the terminal device, the procedure of configuring an ABS for each macro base station is similar.

It should also be understood that the controller referred to in this application may be an operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) device, or other device capable of implementing the function of an OAM device in this embodiment; the management device in this application may be an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element in a core network, or other devices capable of implementing the function of the AMF in this embodiment.

The method for interference coordination comprises the following steps:

s110, the CU determines the ABS pattern.

One possible implementation manner is that the CU sets the ABS pattern based on the load amount of the second DU, or the CU sets the ABS pattern based on the received auxiliary information required for setting the ABS pattern and the load amount of the second DU. In this implementation manner, optionally, the method flow described in fig. 3 further includes S112, the CU receives, from the management device, quality of service QoS information, where the QoS information is information related to a session performed by the first terminal device. For example, a packet data unit session resource modification request (packet data unit session resource modification request) message sent by the management device to the CU includes quality of service information (QoS Info), which is referred to as auxiliary information, and the auxiliary information includes PDU session aggregation maximum bit rate (PDU session aggregation maximum bit rate) and/or allocation and retention priority (allocation and retention priority), and other information. The information such as the PDU session aggregation maximum bit rate and/or the allocation and retention priority may be used to set the ABS pattern, where the allocation and retention priority includes priority level information, where the priority level defines the relative importance of the resource request, 1 represents the highest, and 15 represents the lowest, and if the priority is set to 1 and the PDU session aggregation maximum bit rate is larger, it is recommended that the ABS pattern is configured with a high proportion of blank frames. It should be understood that QoS info is not mandatory information, and further, the auxiliary information is not limited to the above described PDU session aggregation maximum bit rate and allocation and retention priority but may be other QoS information.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, it is not limited that the QoS Info sent by the management device to the CU is necessarily carried in the pdu session resource modification request message, and may be carried in other signaling or newly added signaling for transmitting the QoS Info.

Another possible implementation is that the CU selects an ABS pattern from a preset set of ABS patterns. In this implementation, the method flow described in fig. 3 may further include S113, where the controller sends the ABS pattern set to the second DU. The ABS pattern included in the ABS pattern set defines several different ABS patterns in the protocol. S114, the second DU sends ABS pattern set to CU. And after receiving the ABS pattern set preset by the controller, the second DU stores the ABS pattern set locally and forwards the ABS pattern set to the CU, so that the CU can know the ABS pattern set. For example, the second DU carries the ABS pattern set in a GNB-DU configuration update (GNB-DU configuration update) message or a GNB-CU configuration update response (GNB-CU configuration update) message; the second DU may also carry the ABS pattern set in the additional signaling used to transmit the ABS pattern set between the second DU and the CU.

Alternatively, in the case that the controller is capable of directly pre-configuring the CU with the set of ABS patterns, the method flow illustrated in fig. 3 further includes the controller sending the set of ABS patterns to the CU, which possible step is not shown in fig. 3;

or the controller sends a part of ABS patterns in the ABS pattern set specified in the protocol to the second DU, the part of ABS patterns is forwarded to the CU by the second DU, and the rest of ABS patterns are directly sent to the CU by the controller;

or, the controller sends the ABS pattern set to the first DU, and the first DU sends the ABS pattern set to the CU;

or the controller sends a part of ABS patterns in the set of ABS patterns specified in the protocol to the second DU, the part of ABS patterns is forwarded to the CU by the second DU, the rest of ABS patterns are sent to the first DU, the part of ABS patterns is forwarded to the CU by the first DU, and so on.

It should be understood that, in the present application, only the CU is limited to know the ABS pattern set, and how to know the ABS pattern set may be any one of the above cases or other cases not shown, which is not described herein again.

Further, the CU determines that the ABS pattern may need to be determined based on a certain trigger condition, and then performs S110. The triggering condition may be a current channel quality condition of the first terminal device, and specifically, the CU knows that the current channel quality of the first terminal device may be any one of the following two conditions:

the first condition is as follows:

the CU receives first indication information from a first terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate channel quality of the first terminal device, and the first terminal device is a terminal device serving the first DU. That is, the method flow described in fig. 3 further includes S111, the CU receives the first indication information from the first terminal device. For example, the CU receives a measurement report from the first terminal device, where the measurement report includes information such as Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) indicating signal strengths of reference signals of a cell corresponding to the first DU and a cell corresponding to the second DU received by the first terminal device, and/or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) indicating SINR of a signal of a cell corresponding to the first DU received by the first terminal device. It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the present application, specific information included in a measurement report sent by a terminal device is not limited, and only first indication information used for determining the current channel quality of the terminal device is included in the measurement report, for example, the SINR described above.

One possible implementation is that the first terminal device sends measurement reports to the CU periodically; alternatively, another possible implementation manner is that the first terminal device sends the measurement report to the CU based on a preset trigger manner, for example, the first terminal device sends the measurement report to the CU after sensing that the communication with the first DU is interfered by the second DU, or the first terminal device triggers to send the measurement report to the CU based on another possible preset trigger manner, which is not limited in this application.

In this case, the CU determining the ABS pattern flow includes:

first, the CU receives the measurement report sent by the first terminal device, and determines the channel quality of the first terminal device according to first indication information, such as RSRP and/or SINR, carried in the measurement report and used for indicating the current channel quality of the first terminal device. For example, a CU locally stores a reference threshold (a preset SINR threshold, or a preset RSRP threshold) of the channel quality of a first terminal device, and when the RSRP value of a cell corresponding to a first DU carried in a measurement report is smaller than the preset RSRP threshold, and/or the SINR value carried in the measurement report is smaller than the preset SINR threshold, the CU determines that the channel quality of the current channel of the terminal device is poor, the communication between the terminal device and the first DU is interfered by a second DU, and the second DU needs to configure an ABS to avoid the interference.

Further, the CU determines the ABS pattern according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU and the information included in the QoS Info received from the management device. It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, there is no limitation on how a CU knows the load amount of the cell corresponding to the second DU and how to determine the ABS pattern based on the load amount and information included in the QoS Info, and a method flow of determining the ABS pattern in an existing protocol may be used; or, the CU selects an appropriate ABS pattern from the ABS pattern set according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU and the information included in the QoS Info received from the management device; or after the CU selects an ABS pattern that is not suitable from the ABS pattern set according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU and the information included in the QoS Info received from the management device, the CU determines the ABS pattern according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU and the information included in the QoS Info received from the management device; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and the CU determines the ABS pattern according to the load capacity of the cell corresponding to the second DU. It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, how a CU knows the load amount of a cell corresponding to a second DU and how to determine an ABS pattern based on the load amount is not limited; or the CU selects an appropriate ABS pattern from the ABS pattern set according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU; or, after the CU selects a less-than-appropriate ABS pattern from the set of ABS patterns according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU, the CU determines the ABS pattern according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU. The ABS pattern is used to indicate the location and period of the ABS configured by the second DU, that is, the ABS pattern may indicate which subframes are set as ABS determined by the second DU receiving the ABS pattern.

Case two:

the CU receives a first signal strength from the first DU, where the first signal strength is a signal strength at which the first DU receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmitted by the first terminal device, and the CU receives a second signal strength from the second DU, where the second signal strength is a signal strength at which the second DU receives the SRS transmitted by the first terminal device. That is, the method flow described in fig. 3 further includes S1151, where the first DU receives the SRS from the first terminal device, S115, and the CU receives the first signal strength from the first DU; s1161, the second DU receives the SRS from the first terminal device, S116, and the CU receives the second signal strength from the second DU.

And the CU determines SINR indicating the quality of the current channel of the first terminal equipment based on the first signal strength and the second signal strength, compares the SINR with a preset SINR threshold value, and judges that the CU needs to determine the ABS so as to avoid interference. That is, the method flow described in fig. 3 further includes S117, the CU determines the channel quality of the first terminal device. The CU determines, based on the first signal strength and the second signal strength, the SINR of the first UE downlink channel mainly obtained by calculating reciprocity of channels, for example, the SINR (UE1) is S1(UE1-DU1)/(S1(UE1-DU1) + S2(UE1-DU2)), where S1(UE1-DU1) is the signal strength of the first DU receiving the SRS transmitted by the first terminal device, and S2(UE1-DU2) is the signal strength of the second DU receiving the SRS transmitted by the first terminal device.

In case two, the CU determining the ABS pattern flow includes:

firstly, the CU receives the first signal strength and the second signal strength sent by the first terminal device via the first DU and the second DU, respectively, and calculates an SINR indicating the channel quality of the first terminal device according to the measured first signal strength and the measured second signal strength. For example, the CU locally stores a reference threshold (preset SINR threshold) of the channel quality of the first terminal device, and when the calculated SINR value is smaller than the preset SINR threshold, the CU determines that the channel quality of the current channel of the terminal device is poor, the communication between the terminal device and the first DU is interfered by the second DU, and the second DU needs to be configured with an ABS to avoid interference.

Further, the CU determines an ABS pattern according to a load of a cell corresponding to the second DU and information included in the QoS Info received from the management device; or, the CU selects an appropriate ABS pattern from the ABS pattern set according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU and the information included in the QoS Info received from the management device; or after the CU selects an ABS pattern that is not suitable from the ABS pattern set according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU and the information included in the QoS Info received from the management device, the CU determines the ABS pattern according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU and the information included in the QoS Info received from the management device; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and the CU determines the ABS pattern according to the load capacity of the cell corresponding to the second DU. It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, how a CU knows the load amount of a cell corresponding to a second DU and how to determine an ABS pattern based on the load amount is not limited; or the CU selects an appropriate ABS pattern from the ABS pattern set according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU; or, after the CU selects a less-than-appropriate ABS pattern from the set of ABS patterns according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU, the CU determines the ABS pattern according to the load of the cell corresponding to the second DU.

After the CU determines the ABS pattern, it needs to notify the first DU of the ABS pattern, i.e., performs S120.

S120, the CU sends a first message to the first DU.

Specifically, the first DU is a serving base station of the first terminal device in the system. The first message includes the ABS pattern.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message may be a GNB-CU configuration update (GNB-CU configuration update) message sent by a CU to the first DU, or a GNB-DU configuration update response (GNB-DU configuration update acknowledgement) message, where the GNB-CU configuration update message sent by the CU to the first DU in this application is sent by the CU, or the GNB-DU configuration update response message is different from the GNB-CU configuration update message sent by the CU to the first DU in the existing protocol, or the GNB-CU configuration update message sent by the CU to the first DU in this application is different from the GNB-DU configuration update response message, or the above-mentioned ABS patch is carried in the GNB-DU configuration update response message;

in another possible implementation manner, the first message may be signaling between the newly added CU and the first DU for conveying the ABS pattern.

That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, sending, to the first DU, the ABS pattern to the CU is used to transfer the ABS pattern by adding an Information Element (IE) of the ABS pattern to an existing signaling, or by adding a signaling between the CU and the first DU.

In another possible implementation manner, when an ABS pattern set is preconfigured in the first DU, and the ABS pattern determined by the CU is one of the ABS patterns in the ABS pattern set, the first message may carry an identifier or an index of the ABS pattern, and the identifier or the index of the ABS pattern can determine the ABS pattern from the ABS pattern set.

After receiving a first message sent by the CU, the first DU learns a protected subframe that can be used for scheduling the first terminal device based on the ABS pattern carried in the first message or an identity of the ABS pattern or an index of the ABS pattern. The first DU may then schedule the first UE based on the received ABS pattern. The first DU scheduling method according to the present application includes: and the first DU scheduling resource carries out downlink transmission to the terminal equipment.

After the first DU knows the ABS pattern, it may send a second message to the CU, i.e., perform S140.

S140, the first DU sends a second message to the CU, where the second message carries a first ABS indication (indication), and the first ABS indication is used to notify the CU that the first DU successfully receives the ABS pattern.

In a possible implementation manner, the second message may be a GNB-CU configuration update response message, or a GNB-DU configuration update message, where the GNB-CU configuration update response message, or the GNB-DU configuration update message carries the first ABS indication (indication), that is, the GNB-CU configuration update response message sent by the first DU to the CU in this application is different from the GNB-CU configuration update response message sent by the first DU to the CU in the existing protocol, or the GNB-DU configuration update message is different from the GNB-CU configuration update response message sent by the first DU in the existing protocol, and the GNB-CU configuration update response message sent by the first DU in this application carries the first ABS indication;

in another possible implementation manner, the second message may be signaling between the newly added CU and the first DU for conveying the above-mentioned first ABS indication.

That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, the sending of the first ABS indication to the CU for the first DU is to add the first ABS indication cell to the existing signaling, or to add the signaling between the CU and the first DU for transferring the first ABS indication without limitation.

Further, after the CU sets the ABS pattern, it needs to notify the second DU of the ABS pattern, i.e., execute S150.

S150, the CU sends a third message to the second DU. Specifically, the second DU is any DU in the communication system that interferes with a signal received by the CEU serving the first DU, and the third message includes the ABS pattern.

A possible implementation manner is that the third message may be a GNB-CU configuration update message sent by the CU to the second DU, or a GNB-DU configuration update response message, where the GNB-CU configuration update message sent by the CU to the second DU in this application, or the GNB-DU configuration update response message is different from the GNB-CU configuration update message sent by the CU to the second DU in the existing protocol, or the GNB-DU configuration update response message is different from the GNB-CU configuration update message sent by the CU to the second DU in this application, or the GNB-DU configuration update response message carries the ABS pattern;

in another possible implementation manner, the third message may be signaling between the newly added CU and the second DU for conveying the ABS pattern.

That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, the sending of the ABS pattern to the second DU by the CU is performed by adding an ABS pattern cell to an existing signaling, or by adding a signaling between the CU and the first DU, and is not limited to transferring the ABS pattern.

In another possible implementation manner, when an ABS pattern set is preconfigured in the second DU, and the ABS pattern determined by the CU is one of the ABS patterns in the ABS pattern set, the third message may carry an identifier or an index of the ABS pattern, and the identifier or the index of the ABS pattern can determine the ABS pattern from the ABS pattern set.

After receiving the third message sent by the CU, the second DU configures the ABS based on the ABS pattern carried in the third message, i.e., performs S160.

S160, the second DU configures the ABS. Specifically, configuring the ABS by the second DU means that the second DU determines which subframes are set as the ABS based on the ABS pattern described above. After the second DU configures the ABS, only some necessary control channel information and system information are transmitted on the ABS and dedicated services for the terminal device are not provided, for example, the second DU does not transmit PDCCH, PHICH and PDSCH dedicated to the terminal device on the ABS.

After the second DU configures the ABS, a fourth message may be sent to the CU, i.e., S170 is performed.

S170, the second DU sends a fourth message to the CU, where the fourth message carries a second ABS indication, and the second ABS indication is used to notify the CU that the second DU completes ABS configuration.

In a possible implementation manner, the fourth message may be a GNB-CU configuration update response message, where the GNB-DU configuration update response message, or the GNB-DU configuration update message carries the second ABS indication, that is, the GNB-CU configuration update response message sent by the second DU to the CU in this application, or the GNB-DU configuration update message is different from the GNB-CU configuration update response message sent by the second DU to the CU in the existing protocol, or the GNB-DU configuration update message is different from the GNB-CU configuration update response message sent by the second DU to the CU in this application, or the GNB-DU configuration update message carries the second ABS indication;

in another possible implementation manner, the fourth message may be signaling between the newly added CU and the second DU for conveying the above-mentioned second ABS indication.

That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, the sending of the above-mentioned second ABS indication to the CU for the second DU is to add the second ABS indication cell to the existing signaling, or to add the signaling between the CU and the second DU for transferring the second ABS indication, which is not limited.

It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the CU is not limited to notify the first DU and the second DU of the precedence relationship of the ABS patterns, for example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the CU may first notify the second DU to configure the ABS, or may simultaneously send the ABS patterns to the first DU and the second DU.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the CU mainly sets or calls an ABS pattern based on the load of the second DU, or the CU sets or calls an ABS pattern based on the QoS Info received from the management device and the load of the second DU, and notifies the first DU and the second DU so that the first DU knows which subframes are ABS and CEU available for scheduling services, and instructs the second DU to configure ABS, so as to avoid the second DU from generating strong interference to the CEU served by the first DU.

Another possible scheme is that, when the CU determines that the ABS pattern needs to be set according to the trigger condition, the CU does not set or call the ABS pattern, but instructs the second DU to set or call the ABS pattern, which is described in detail below with reference to fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of another method for interference coordination according to an embodiment of the present application. The flowchart includes a CU, a first DU, a second DU, a first terminal device, a controller, and a management device. The first DU is a micro base station serving a first terminal device, and the first terminal device is a CEU in a first DU coverage area; the second DU is a macro base station that generates potentially strong interference to the first terminal device.

The method for interference coordination comprises the following steps:

s310, the CU judges that the second DU needs to be instructed to set the ABS pattern.

Similar to the case that the CU shown in fig. 3 considers that the ABS pattern needs to be determined based on certain trigger conditions, two cases are included:

the first condition is as follows: similar to S111 shown in fig. 3, that is, the method flow described in fig. 4 further includes S311, the CU receives the first indication information from the first terminal device. And will not be described in detail herein.

Case two: similar to S1151, S115, S1161, S116 and S117 shown in fig. 3, that is, the method flow described in fig. 4 further includes S3151, the first DU receives the SRS from the first terminal device, S315, the CU receives the first signal strength from the first DU, S3161, the second DU receives the SRS from the first terminal device, S316, the CU receives the second signal strength from the second DU, and S317, and the CU determines the channel quality of the first terminal device. And will not be described in detail herein.

S320, the CU sends second indication information to the second DU, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the second DU to set ABS pattern. Optionally, the second indication information includes auxiliary information QoS Info required for setting ABS pattern, that is, the method flow shown in fig. 4 may further include S312, and the QoS information sent by the CU reception management device is similar to S112 shown in fig. 3, and is not described herein again.

In a possible implementation manner, the second indication information explicitly indicates that the second DU needs to set the ABS pattern, for example, the second indication information may be an ABS setup (ABS setup) cell, where the ABS setup cell indicates that the second DU needs to set the ABS pattern;

in another possible implementation manner, the second indication information implicitly indicates that the second DU needs to set the ABS pattern, for example, the second indication information includes auxiliary information QoS Info needed to set the ABS pattern, and the second DU learns that the ABS pattern needs to be set when receiving the auxiliary information QoS Info.

In a possible implementation manner, the second indication information is a GNB-CU configuration update message sent by the CU to the second DU, or a GNB-DU configuration update response message, where the GNB-CU configuration update message, or the GNB-DU configuration update response message carries a newly added cell ABS setup, and the QoS Info sent by the CU to the second DU may be carried in a UE context setup request message or a UE context modification request message sent by the CU to the second DU; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

in another possible implementation manner, the second indication information is a UE context setup request (UE context setup request) message sent by the CU to the second DU, or a UE context modification request (UE context modification request) message, where the UE context setup request message or the UE context modification request message carries a new cell ABS setup and/or a new auxiliary information QoS Info; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

in another possible implementation manner, the second indication information is a GNB-CU configuration update message sent by the CU to the second DU, or a GNB-DU configuration update response message, where the GNB-CU configuration update message, or the GNB-DU configuration update response message carries a newly added cell ABS setup and/or a newly added auxiliary information QoS Info; alternatively, in another possible implementation manner, the signaling between the CU and the second DU for the new addition of the second indication information is used to transfer the above-mentioned auxiliary information QoS Info and/or ABS setup.

After the second DU receives the second indication information, the ABS pattern can be set based on the second indication information, i.e., S330 is performed.

S330, the second DU determines the ABS pattern and configures the ABS.

Similar to the CU determining the ABS pattern shown in S110 in fig. 3, optionally, since the CU sends the auxiliary information QoS Info required for setting the ABS pattern to the second DU through the second indication information, the second DU may determine and configure the ABS pattern based on the load of the cell and the information included in the QoS Info received from the CU; or, after receiving the second indication information, the second DU determines that the ABS pattern needs to be configured, and then the second DU may determine and configure the ABS pattern based on the load of the cell.

One possible implementation manner is that the second DU configures the ABS pattern based on the received auxiliary information required for setting the ABS pattern and the load capacity of the second DU, or the second DU configures the ABS pattern based on the load capacity of the second DU.

Another possible implementation is that the second DU determines the ABS pattern from a preset set of ABS patterns. In this implementation, the method flow described in fig. 4 further includes S313, where the controller sends the ABS pattern set to the second DU. The ABS pattern included in the ABS pattern set defines several different ABS patterns in the protocol.

Alternatively, in the case that the controller can directly pre-configure the CU with the ABS pattern set, another possible implementation is that the method flow illustrated in fig. 4 further includes that the controller sends the ABS pattern set to the CU, and the CU sends the ABS pattern set to the second DU, which is not shown in fig. 4.

Further, after the second DU sets the ABS pattern, the second DU needs to feed back the ABS pattern to the CU, that is, S340 is executed, and the second DU sends response information to the CU, where the response information carries the ABS pattern.

In a possible implementation manner, the response information may be a GNB-DU configuration update message, or a GNB-CU configuration update response message, where the GNB-DU configuration update message, or the GNB-CU configuration update response message carries the ABS pattern; alternatively, in another possible implementation manner, the response message may be signaling between the newly added CU and the second DU, which is used to transfer the ABS pattern.

After the CU knows the ABS pattern, it needs to notify the first DU of the ABS pattern, so that the first DU knows and schedules the first terminal device based on the ABS pattern, that is, performs S350-S370, which is similar to S120-S140 shown in fig. 2 and is not described herein again.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, after determining that the first terminal device is interfered by the second DU, the CU may notify the second DU to determine the ABS pattern, and learn from the second DU that the ABS pattern notifies the first DU through the first message, so as to avoid the second DU from generating strong interference to the first terminal device served by the first DU.

It should be understood that, in each method embodiment, the sequence numbers of the processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by the function and the inherent logic of the process, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application.

It should also be understood that the terms "first" and "second" in this application are used for descriptive purposes only and are not intended to limit the present application in any way.

Alternatively, when the method for interference coordination shown in fig. 3 and 4 described above is applied in a scenario in which a CU is divided into a CU-CP and a CU-U, the CU-CP performs the functions of the CU in the method for interference coordination shown in fig. 3 and 4 described above.

The method for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 3 and 4, and the apparatus for interference coordination provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to fig. 5 to 12. It is to be understood that the apparatus for interference coordination and the method for interference coordination correspond to each other, and similar descriptions may refer to method embodiments. It is noted that the apparatus for interference coordination may be used in conjunction with the method for interference coordination described above, or may be used alone.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus 10 for interference coordination proposed in the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the apparatus 10 includes a transmitting and receiving unit 110 and a processing unit 120.

A sending unit 110, configured to send first indication information to the CU;

a processing unit 120 configured to determine the first indication information.

The apparatus 10 and the terminal device in the method embodiment completely correspond to each other, and the apparatus 10 may be the terminal device in the method embodiment, or a chip or a functional module inside the terminal device in the method embodiment. The corresponding elements of the apparatus 10 are adapted to perform the corresponding steps performed by the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Wherein, the sending unit 110 in the apparatus 10 executes the steps of sending by the terminal device in the method embodiment. For example, the apparatus 10 is a first terminal device of the first DU service in the method embodiment, and executes step S111 of transmitting the first instruction information to the CU in fig. 3, step S1151 of transmitting the SRS to the first DU in fig. 3, step S311 of transmitting the first instruction information to the CU in fig. 4, and step S3151 of transmitting the SRS to the first DU in fig. 4; step S1161 of transmitting the SRS to the second DU in fig. 3 and step S3161 of transmitting the SRS to the second DU in fig. 4 are performed; the processing unit 120 performs steps implemented or processed internally by the terminal device in the method embodiment, such as determining the first indication information according to the channel measurement.

Optionally, the apparatus 10 may further include a receiving unit 130, configured to receive information sent by other devices. The receiving unit 130 and the transmitting unit 110 may constitute a transceiving unit, and have both receiving and transmitting functions. Wherein the processing unit 120 may be a processor. The transmitting unit 110 may be a transmitter. The receiving unit 120 may be a receiver. The receiver and transmitter may be integrated together to form a transceiver.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device 20 suitable for use in the embodiments of the present application. The terminal device 20 is applicable to the system shown in fig. 1. For convenience of explanation, fig. 6 shows only main components of the terminal device. As shown in fig. 6, the terminal device 20 includes a processor (corresponding to the processing unit 120 in fig. 5), a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and input-output means (corresponding to the transmitting unit 110 and the receiving unit 130 in fig. 5). The processor is used for controlling the antenna and the input and output device to send and receive signals, the memory is used for storing a computer program, and the processor is used for calling and running the computer program from the memory to execute the corresponding flow and/or operation executed by the terminal equipment in the method for interference coordination. And will not be described in detail herein.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that fig. 6 shows only one memory and processor for ease of illustration. In an actual terminal device, there may be multiple processors and memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, and the like, which is not limited in this application.

The input and output device is used for interacting information with other equipment;

and the processor is used for executing internal implementation or processing of the terminal equipment in the method embodiment.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus 30 for interference coordination proposed by the present application. As shown in fig. 7, the apparatus 30 includes a transmitting unit 310, a receiving unit 320, and a processing unit 330.

A sending unit 310, configured to send a first message to a first distributed unit DU, where the first message carries an ABS pattern, and the ABS pattern indicates that the first DU is used to schedule a subframe of a first terminal device, where the first terminal device is an edge terminal device of the first DU;

a sending unit 310, further configured to send a third message to a second DU, where the third message carries the ABS pattern, and the ABS pattern is used to indicate that the second DU configures an ABS, where the second DU is a DU that generates potential strong interference to the first terminal device, and a subframe outside the ABS is used by the second DU to provide downlink transmission for the second terminal device;

the processing unit 330 is configured to determine an almost blank subframe pattern ABS pattern.

The device 30 corresponds to the CU in the method embodiment, and the device 30 may be the CU in the method embodiment, or a chip or a functional module inside the CU in the method embodiment. The corresponding units of the device 30 are used to perform the corresponding steps performed by the CU in the method embodiments shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Wherein, the sending unit 310 in the device 30 executes the steps of CU sending in the method embodiment. For example, step S120 of sending the first message to the first DU in fig. 3, step S150 of sending the third message to the second DU in fig. 3, step S350 of sending the first message to the first DU in fig. 4, and step S320 of sending the second indication information to the second DU in fig. 4 are performed;

the receiving unit 320 performs the steps of CU reception in the method embodiments. For example, the step S111 of receiving the first indication information from the first terminal device in FIG. 3, the step S115 of receiving the first signal strength from the first DU in FIG. 3, the step S116 of receiving the second signal strength from the second DU in FIG. 3, the step S112 of receiving the QoS information from the management device in FIG. 3, the step S140 of receiving the second message from the first DU in FIG. 3, the step S170 of receiving the fourth message from the second DU in FIG. 3 are performed, performing step S311 of receiving the first indication information from the first terminal device in fig. 4, performing step S315 of receiving the first signal strength from the first DU in fig. 4, performing step S316 of receiving the second signal strength from the second DU in fig. 4, performing step S312 of receiving the QoS information from the management device in fig. 4, performing step S370 of receiving the second message from the first DU in fig. 4, performing step S340 of receiving the response information from the second DU in fig. 4;

and the processing unit 330 executes the steps realized or processed in the CU in the method embodiment. For example, step S117 in fig. 3 for determining the channel quality of the first terminal device, step S110 in fig. 3 for determining the ABS pattern, step S317 in fig. 4 for determining the channel quality of the first terminal device, and step S310 in fig. 4 for determining that the second DU needs to be instructed to set the ABS pattern are performed.

The receiving unit 320 and the transmitting unit 310 may constitute a transceiving unit, and have both receiving and transmitting functions. Wherein the processing unit 330 may be a processor. The transmitting unit 310 may be a transmitter. The receiving unit 320 may be a receiver. The receiver and transmitter may be integrated together to form a transceiver.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a CU40 suitable for use in the embodiments of the present application. This CU40 may be applied in the system shown in fig. 1. For ease of illustration, fig. 8 shows only the main components of the CU.

The CU40 may include: a processor 401 (corresponding to the processing unit 330 in fig. 7) and a transceiver 402 (corresponding to the receiving unit 320 and the transmitting unit 310 in fig. 7), the processor 401 and the transceiver 402 being communicatively coupled. Optionally, the CU40 further comprises a memory 403, the memory 403 being communicatively coupled to the processor 401. Optionally, a processor 401, a memory 403 and a transceiver 402 may be communicatively coupled, the memory 403 may be used to store instructions, and the processor 401 may be used to execute the instructions stored by the memory 403 to control the transceiver 402 to receive and/or transmit information or signals. The processor 401 and the transceiver 402 are respectively configured to execute each action or process performed by the CU described in the above method embodiments. Here, detailed description thereof is omitted in order to avoid redundancy. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that fig. 8 shows only one memory and processor for ease of illustration. In an actual CU, there may be multiple processors and memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, and the like, which is not limited in this application.

Specifically, the processor is used for executing steps of CU internal implementation or processing in the method embodiment;

and the transceiver is used for carrying out information interaction with other equipment.

Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus 50 for interference coordination proposed by the present application. As shown in fig. 9, the apparatus 50 includes a receiving unit 510, a processing unit 520, and a transmitting unit 530.

A receiving unit 510, configured to receive a first message from a central unit CU, where the first message carries an almost blank subframe pattern ABS pattern, and the ABS pattern is used to instruct the first DU to determine an ABS, where the first DU provides a service for a first terminal device, and the ABS is used for the first DU to schedule the terminal device;

a processing unit 520, configured to schedule the first terminal device based on the ABS pattern.

The apparatus 50 completely corresponds to the first DU in the method embodiment, and the apparatus 50 may be the first DU in the method embodiment, or a chip or a functional module inside the first DU in the method embodiment. The corresponding units of the apparatus 50 are adapted to perform the corresponding steps performed by the first DU in the embodiments of the method shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Wherein, the receiving unit 510 in the apparatus 50 executes the step of receiving the first DU in the method embodiment. For example, step S1151 of receiving the SRS from the first terminal device in fig. 3 is performed, step S3151 of receiving the SRS from the first terminal device in fig. 4 is performed, step S120 of receiving the first message from the CU in fig. 3 is performed, and step S350 of receiving the first message from the CU in fig. 4 is performed.

The processing unit 520 performs the steps of the internal implementation or processing of the first DU in the method embodiment. For example, step S130 of scheduling the first terminal device based on the ABS pattern in fig. 3 is executed, and step S360 of scheduling the first terminal device based on the ABS pattern in fig. 4 is executed.

The transmission unit 530 performs the steps of the first DU transmission in the method embodiment. For example, step S115 of fig. 3 of sending the first signal strength to the CU is performed, step S315 of fig. 4 of sending the first signal strength to the CU is performed, step S140 of fig. 3 of sending the second message to the CU is performed, and step S370 of fig. 4 of sending the second message to the CU is performed.

The receiving unit 510 and the transmitting unit 530 may constitute a transceiving unit, and have both receiving and transmitting functions. Wherein the processing unit 520 may be a processor. The transmitting unit 530 may be a transmitter. The receiving unit 510 may be a receiver. The receiver and transmitter may be integrated together to form a transceiver.

Referring to fig. 10, fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a first DU60 suitable for use in the embodiments of the present application. The first DU60 may be applied in the system shown in fig. 1. For convenience of explanation, fig. 10 shows only main components of the first DU.

The first DU60 may include: a processor 601 (corresponding to the processing unit 520 in fig. 9) and a transceiver 602 (corresponding to the receiving unit 510 and the transmitting unit 530 in fig. 9), the processor 601 and the transceiver 602 being communicatively coupled. Optionally, the first DU60 further includes a memory 603, the memory 603 communicatively coupled to the processor 601. Optionally, the processor 601, the memory 603 and the transceiver 602 may be communicatively coupled, the memory 603 may be used to store instructions, and the processor 601 may be used to execute the instructions stored by the memory 603 to control the transceiver 602 to receive and/or transmit information or signals. The processor 601 and the transceiver 602 are respectively configured to perform each action or process performed by the first DU in the above method embodiments. Here, detailed description thereof is omitted in order to avoid redundancy. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that fig. 10 shows only one memory and processor for ease of illustration. In the actual first DU, there may be multiple processors and memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, and the like, which is not limited in this application.

The transceiver is used for carrying out information interaction with other equipment;

the processor is configured to execute steps implemented or processed inside the first DU in the method embodiment.

Referring to fig. 11, fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus 70 for interference coordination proposed by the present application. As shown in fig. 11, the apparatus 70 includes a receiving unit 710, a processing unit 720, and a transmitting unit 730.

A receiving unit 710, configured to receive a third message from a central unit CU, where the third message carries an almost blank subframe pattern ABS pattern, and the ABS pattern is used to indicate that the second DU configures an ABS, where the second DU is a DU that generates interference to the terminal device, and a subframe outside the ABS is used by the second DU to provide a dedicated service for the terminal device;

a processing unit 720, configured to configure an ABS based on the ABS pattern.

The apparatus 70 completely corresponds to the second DU in the method embodiment, and the apparatus 70 may be the second DU in the method embodiment, or a chip or a functional module inside the second DU in the method embodiment. The corresponding units of the device 70 are adapted to perform the corresponding steps performed by the second DU in the embodiments of the methods shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Wherein the receiving unit 710 in the device 70 performs the step of receiving the second DU in the method embodiment. For example, step S1161 of fig. 3 of receiving the SRS from the first terminal device, step S3161 of fig. 4 of receiving the SRS from the first terminal device, step S150 of fig. 3 of receiving the third message from the CU, and step S320 of fig. 4 of receiving the second indication information from the CU are performed.

The processing unit 720 performs the steps of the internal implementation or processing of the second DU in the method embodiment. For example, step S160 of configuring the ABS in fig. 3, step S330 of determining the ABS pattern and configuring the ABS in fig. 4 are performed.

The transmitting unit 730 performs the step of transmitting the second DU in the method embodiment. For example, step S116 of sending the second signal strength to the CU in fig. 3 is performed, step S316 of sending the second signal strength to the CU in fig. 4 is performed, step S170 of sending the fourth message to the CU in fig. 3 is performed, and step S340 of sending the response information to the CU in fig. 4 is performed.

The receiving unit 710 and the transmitting unit 730 may constitute a transceiving unit, and have both receiving and transmitting functions. Wherein the processing unit 720 may be a processor. The transmitting unit 730 may be a transmitter. The receiving unit 710 may be a receiver. The receiver and transmitter may be integrated together to form a transceiver.

Referring to fig. 12, fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a second DU80 suitable for use in the embodiments of the present application. The second DU80 may be applied in the system shown in fig. 1. For convenience of explanation, fig. 12 shows only main components of the second DU.

The second DU80 may include: a processor 801 (corresponding to processing unit 720 in fig. 11) and a transceiver 802 (corresponding to receiving unit 710 and transmitting unit 730 in fig. 11), the processor 801 and the transceiver 802 being communicatively coupled. Optionally, the second DU80 further includes a memory 803, the memory 803 communicatively coupled to the processor 801. Optionally, the processor 801, the memory 803, and the transceiver 802 may be communicatively coupled, the memory 803 may be used to store instructions, and the processor 801 may be used to execute the instructions stored by the memory 803 to control the transceiver 802 to receive and/or transmit information or signals. The processor 801 and the transceiver 802 are respectively configured to perform each action or process performed by the second DU described in the above method embodiments. Here, detailed description thereof is omitted in order to avoid redundancy. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that fig. 12 shows only one memory and processor for ease of illustration. In the actual second DU, there may be multiple processors and memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, and the like, which is not limited in this application.

the processor is configured to execute steps implemented or processed inside the second DU in the method embodiment.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes the foregoing terminal device, CU, first DU, and second DU.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps performed by the CU in the methods described above and illustrated in fig. 3 and 4.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps performed by the first DU in the methods shown in fig. 3 and 4.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps performed by the second DU in the methods shown in fig. 3 and 4.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps performed by the terminal device in the methods shown in fig. 3 and 4.

The present application also provides a computer program product containing instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps performed by the CU in the method as shown in fig. 3 and 4.

The present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps performed by the first DU in the methods shown in fig. 3 and 4.

The present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps performed by the second DU in the methods as shown in fig. 3 and 4.

The present application also provides a computer program product containing instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps performed by the terminal device in the methods as shown in fig. 3 and 4.

The application also provides a chip comprising a processor. The processor is configured to read and execute a computer program stored in the memory to perform corresponding operations and/or processes performed by the CU in the method for interference coordination provided by the present application. Optionally, the chip further comprises a memory, the memory is connected with the processor through a circuit or a wire, and the processor is used for reading and executing the computer program in the memory. Further optionally, the chip further comprises a communication interface, and the processor is connected to the communication interface. The communication interface is used for receiving data and/or information needing to be processed, and the processor acquires the data and/or information from the communication interface and processes the data and/or information. The communication interface may be an input output interface.

The application also provides a chip comprising a processor. The processor is configured to read and execute a computer program stored in the memory to perform corresponding operations and/or procedures performed by the first DU in the method for interference coordination provided by the present application. Optionally, the chip further comprises a memory, the memory is connected with the processor through a circuit or a wire, and the processor is used for reading and executing the computer program in the memory. Further optionally, the chip further comprises a communication interface, and the processor is connected to the communication interface. The communication interface is used for receiving data and/or information needing to be processed, and the processor acquires the data and/or information from the communication interface and processes the data and/or information. The communication interface may be an input output interface.

The application also provides a chip comprising a processor. The processor is configured to call and execute a computer program stored in the memory to perform corresponding operations and/or procedures performed by the second DU in the method for interference coordination provided by the present application. Optionally, the chip further comprises a memory, the memory is connected with the processor through a circuit or a wire, and the processor is used for reading and executing the computer program in the memory. Further optionally, the chip further comprises a communication interface, and the processor is connected to the communication interface. The communication interface is used for receiving data and/or information needing to be processed, and the processor acquires the data and/or information from the communication interface and processes the data and/or information. The communication interface may be an input output interface.

The application also provides a chip comprising a processor. The processor is configured to read and execute the computer program stored in the memory to perform corresponding operations and/or procedures performed by the terminal device in the method for interference coordination provided by the present application. Optionally, the chip further comprises a memory, the memory is connected with the processor through a circuit or a wire, and the processor is used for reading and executing the computer program in the memory. Further optionally, the chip further comprises a communication interface, and the processor is connected to the communication interface. The communication interface is used for receiving data and/or information needing to be processed, and the processor acquires the data and/or information from the communication interface and processes the data and/or information. The communication interface may be an input output interface.

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 for interference coordination, comprising:

the centralized unit CU determines an almost blank subframe pattern ABS pattern;

the CU sends a first message to a first Distributed Unit (DU), wherein the first message carries the ABS pattern, the ABS pattern indicates a subframe of the first DU for scheduling first terminal equipment, and the first terminal equipment is edge terminal equipment of the first DU;

and the CU sends a third message to a second DU, wherein the third message carries the ABS pattern, and the ABS pattern is used for indicating the second DU to configure the ABS, wherein the second DU is a DU which generates potential strong interference to the first terminal device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the CU determines the ABS pattern, comprising:

the CU determines the ABS pattern based on the load capacity of the second DU; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the method further comprises the following steps:

the CU receives quality of service (QoS) information sent by a management device, wherein the QoS information comprises session-related information of the first terminal device;

the CU determines the ABS pattern based on the QoS information and the load capacity of the second DU.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the CU determines the ABS pattern comprises:

the CU obtains an ABS pattern set;

the CU selects the ABS pattern from the set of ABS patterns based on the load capacity of the second DU; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the method further comprises the following steps:

the CU selects the ABS pattern from the set of ABS patterns based on the QoS information and a load amount of the second DU.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein obtaining the set of ABS patterns by the CU comprises:

the CU receives the ABS pattern set from the second DU; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the CU receives the set of ABS patterns from a controller.

5. The method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein before the CU determines the ABS pattern, the method further comprises:

the CU determines the channel quality of the first terminal device;

and the CU judges that the ABS pattern needs to be determined based on the channel quality of the first terminal equipment.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the CU determines the channel quality of the first terminal device comprises:

first indication information received by the CU from the first terminal equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the channel quality of the first terminal equipment; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the CU receives a first signal strength from the first DU, wherein the first signal strength is the signal strength of the first DU received a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by the first terminal device,

the CU receives a second signal strength from the second DU, wherein the second signal strength is the signal strength of the SRS sent by the first terminal equipment received by the second DU,

the CU determines a channel quality of the first terminal device based on the first signal strength and the second signal strength.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the CU decides that the ABS pattern needs to be determined based on the channel quality of the first terminal device comprises:

and the CU judges that the ABS pattern needs to be determined based on the relation between the channel quality of the first terminal device and a preset threshold value.

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

and the CU receives a second message sent by a first DU, wherein the second message carries a first ABS instruction, and the first ABS instruction is used for indicating that the first DU successfully receives the ABS pattern.

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

and the CU receives a fourth message sent by a second DU, wherein the fourth message carries a second ABS instruction, and the second ABS instruction is used for indicating that the second DU successfully configures the ABS.

10. A method for interference coordination, comprising:

a first Distributed Unit (DU) receives a first message from a Central Unit (CU), wherein the first message carries an almost blank subframe pattern (ABS pattern), the ABS pattern indicates a subframe used by the first DU for scheduling first terminal equipment, and the first terminal equipment is edge terminal equipment of the first DU;

and the first DU schedules the first terminal equipment based on the ABS pattern.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

and the first DU sends a second message to the CU, wherein the second message carries a first ABS indication, and the first ABS indication is used for indicating that the first DU successfully receives the ABSpattern.

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

the first DU receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by the first terminal device, wherein the signal strength of the SRS received by the first DU is a first signal strength;

the first DU sends the first signal strength to the CU.

13. A method for interference coordination, comprising:

a second Distribution Unit (DU) receives a third message from a Central Unit (CU), wherein the third message carries an almost blank subframe pattern (ABS pattern) which is used for indicating the second DU to configure an ABS, the second DU is a DU which generates potential strong interference to a first terminal device, and the first terminal device is an edge terminal device in the first DU;

the second DU configures an ABS based on the ABS pattern.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein before the second DU receives a third message from a CU, the method further comprises:

the second DU receives an ABS pattern set from a controller;

the second DU sends the ABS pattern set to the CU.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and the second DU sends a fourth message to the CU, wherein the fourth message carries a second ABS instruction, and the second ABS instruction is used for indicating that the second DU successfully configures the ABS.

16. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the method further comprises:

the second DU receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by the first terminal device, wherein the signal strength of the SRS received by the second DU is a second signal strength;

the second DU sends the second signal strength to the CU.

17. An apparatus for interference coordination, comprising:

a processing unit, configured to determine an almost blank subframe pattern ABS pattern;

a sending unit, configured to send a first message to a first distributed unit DU, where the first message carries the ABS pattern, and the ABS pattern indicates that the first DU is used to schedule a subframe of a first terminal device, where the first terminal device is an edge terminal device of the first DU;

the sending unit is configured to send a third message to a second DU, where the third message carries the ABS pattern, and the ABS pattern is used to indicate that the second DU configures an ABS, where the second DU is a DU that generates potential strong interference to the first terminal device.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processing unit determines the ABS pattern comprises:

the processing unit determines the ABS pattern based on the load capacity of the second DU; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the device further comprises:

a receiving unit, configured to receive quality of service QoS information sent by a management device, where the QoS information includes session-related information of the first terminal device;

the processing unit determines the ABS pattern based on the QoS information and the load amount of the second DU.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processing unit to determine the ABS pattern comprises:

a receiving unit obtains an ABS pattern set;

the processing unit selects the ABS pattern from the set of ABS patterns based on the load capacity of the second DU; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the receiving unit is further configured to receive quality of service QoS information sent by a management device, where the QoS information includes session-related information of the first terminal device;

the processing unit selects the ABS pattern from the set of ABS patterns based on the QoS information and the load amount of the second DU.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for receiving obtains the set of ABS patterns comprises:

the receiving unit receives the ABS pattern set from the second DU; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the receiving unit receives the ABS pattern set from a controller.

21. The apparatus according to any of claims 17-20, wherein before the processing unit determines the ABS pattern, the processing unit is further configured to determine a channel quality of the first terminal device, and determine that the ABS pattern needs to be determined based on the channel quality of the first terminal device.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing unit determines the channel quality of the first terminal device comprises:

the receiving unit receives first indication information from the first terminal equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the channel quality of the first terminal equipment; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the receiving unit receives a first signal strength from the first DU, wherein the first signal strength is the signal strength of the Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by the first terminal device received by the first DU,

the receiving unit receives a second signal strength from the second DU, where the second signal strength is the signal strength of the second DU received the SRS transmitted by the first terminal device,

the processing unit determines a channel quality of the first terminal device based on the first signal strength and the second signal strength.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing unit determines that the ABS pattern needs to be determined based on the channel quality determination of the first terminal device comprises:

the processing unit judges that the ABS pattern needs to be determined based on the relation between the channel quality of the first terminal device and a preset threshold value.

24. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17-20, further comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a second message sent by a first DU, where the second message carries a first ABS indication, and the first ABS indication is used to indicate that the first DU successfully receives the ABS pattern.

25. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17-20, further comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a fourth message sent by a second DU, where the fourth message carries a second ABS indication, and the second ABS indication is used to indicate that the second DU successfully configures an ABS.

26. An apparatus for interference coordination, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a first message from a central unit CU, where the first message carries an almost blank subframe pattern ABS pattern, where the ABS pattern indicates that the apparatus is configured to schedule a subframe of a first terminal device, and the first terminal device is an edge terminal device of the apparatus;

and the processing unit is used for scheduling the first terminal equipment based on the ABS pattern.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:

a sending unit, configured to send a second message to the CU, where the second message carries a first ABS indication, and the first ABS indication is used to indicate that the device successfully receives the ABS pattern.

28. The apparatus according to claim 26 or 27, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive a sounding reference signal, SRS, transmitted by the first terminal device, and wherein a signal strength of the SRS received by the receiving unit is a first signal strength;

the device further comprises:

a sending unit, configured to send the first signal strength to the CU.

29. An apparatus for interference coordination, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a third message from a central unit CU, where the third message carries an almost blank subframe pattern ABS pattern, and the ABS pattern is used to instruct the apparatus to configure an ABS, where the apparatus is a DU that generates a potentially strong interference to a first terminal device, and the first terminal device is an edge terminal device in the first DU;

and the processing unit is used for configuring the ABS based on the ABS pattern.

30. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive an ABS pattern set from a controller before the receiving unit receives the third message from the CU;

a sending unit, configured to send the ABS pattern set to the CU.

31. The apparatus according to claim 29 or 30, wherein the sending unit is configured to send a fourth message to the CU, and the fourth message carries a second ABS indication, and the second ABS indication is used to indicate that the apparatus successfully configures ABSs.

32. The apparatus according to claim 29 or 30, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive a sounding reference signal, SRS, sent by the first terminal device, and a signal strength of the SRS received by the receiving unit is a second signal strength;

the device further comprises:

a sending unit, configured to send the second signal strength to the CU.

33. A communication device, comprising:

a memory for storing a computer program;

a transceiver for performing a transceiving step;

a processor for invoking and running the computer program from the memory, causing the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 1-16.

34. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising:

the computer readable medium stores a computer program;

the computer program, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-16.

35. A communication system, comprising:

the apparatus for interference coordination of any one of claims 17-25, the apparatus for interference coordination of any one of claims 26-28, and the apparatus for interference coordination of any one of claims 29-32.