CN112203287B

CN112203287B - Cell capacity adjusting method, device, equipment and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN112203287B
Application number: CN201910611021.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张灿淋; 蔡志勇; 胡国峰; 朱峰; 姚志华
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Group Zhejiang Co Ltd
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Group Zhejiang Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-07-08
Filing date: 2019-07-08
Publication date: 2022-11-22
Anticipated expiration: 2039-07-08
Also published as: CN112203287A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of wireless communication, and discloses a method, a device, equipment and a storage medium for adjusting cell capacity, wherein the method comprises the following steps: acquiring capacity data of a cell; calculating the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted according to the capacity data of the cell; determining a scheme for adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted; and adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the adjusting scheme. Through the mode, the embodiment of the invention pertinently adjusts the capacity, improves the working efficiency, improves the accuracy of the scheme and saves network resources.

Description

Cell capacity adjusting method, device, equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of wireless communication, in particular to a cell capacity adjusting method, a cell capacity adjusting device, cell capacity adjusting equipment and a storage medium.

Background

With the rapid development of mobile networks, the LTE network generally adopts multi-band fusion networking, and in particular, in an indoor scenario, E \ D \ F \ FDD multi-band stacking is often adopted, so that the existing indoor sub-network becomes more and more complex, multi-dimensional network coverage is achieved, and the complex and variable mobile user load is added, and the existing indoor sub-network needs to be capable of continuously expanding or reducing capacity according to the network load, so as to cope with the impact of load change on the network on the premise of ensuring resource saving.

In the process of implementing the embodiment of the present invention, the inventor finds that certain defects exist in the flow of the existing wireless indoor networking capacity increasing and decreasing method: on one hand, when the load condition of the cell is evaluated, capacity indexes of the cell need to be manually extracted and then judged according to the indexes, so that the low working efficiency is caused by a large amount of manual labor; meanwhile, when the capacity increase and decrease scheme is made, the current hardware resource configuration information of the cell and the co-sited cell information need to be artificially checked, and the manual checking easily causes the inaccurate making of the capacity increase and decrease scheme; in addition, the load fluctuation of the indoor sub-cell is large, and the cell is expanded only through one-time calculation and evaluation, so that the waste of hardware resources is easily caused.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the foregoing problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a cell capacity adjustment method, apparatus and device, which overcome the foregoing problems or at least partially solve the foregoing problems.

According to an aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a cell capacity adjustment method, including:

acquiring capacity data of a cell;

calculating the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted according to the capacity data of the cell;

determining a scheme for adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted;

and adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the adjustment scheme.

In an optional manner, the obtaining capacity data of the cell includes:

acquiring uplink PRB utilization rate P of each cell of the whole network in busy hour _UP And the utilization rate P of the downlink PRB in busy hour of the cell _DOWN Maximum number of synchronous users N in a cell _ue Total uplink flow T of cell _UP Total downlink flow T of cell _DOWN 。

In an optional manner, the calculating, according to the cell capacity data, a cell capacity elasticity index α of the cell to be adjusted includes:

calculating the maximum synchronous state user number of the average cell of the whole network cell

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells;

calculating the average uplink total flow of the whole network cell

And the average downlink total flow of the whole network cell

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells;

calculating the cell elasticity index alpha of the cell to be adjusted:

in an optional manner, determining a scheme for adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted includes:

when alpha is more than 0 and less than or equal to 2, determining a scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted;

when the alpha is more than 2 and less than or equal to 10, determining that the capacity of the cell to be adjusted is not adjusted;

and when alpha is larger than 10, determining a scheme for performing capacity reduction adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted.

In a selectable mode, a scheme for determining to adjust the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted includes:

acquiring hardware configuration information of the cell to be adjusted: the base band board number s of the station, the maximum carrier capacity k of the RRUs, the carrier number t of the RRUs, the number z of the RRUs, the number p of cells sharing the station and the coverage position information of the cell to be adjusted;

and determining a scheme for adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted and the hardware configuration information of the cell to be adjusted.

In an optional manner, determining a scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted includes:

and when p =6s and s =6, determining that the scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is to add new main equipment hardware.

In an optional manner, the determining a scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on a cell to be adjusted includes:

when p =6s and s <6, calculating the RRU residual carrier margin k' = k-20t;

when k-20t is more than or equal to 20, determining that the scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is that a carrier cell is newly added after a base band plate is newly added;

when the k-20t is formed by the number of the RRUs of 20, further judging the number z of the RRUs, and when the number z =1, determining that the scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is the capacity expansion of newly-added main equipment hardware; when z is more than or equal to 2, determining that the scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is cell splitting after a base band plate is newly added.

when p is less than 6s, calculating the RRU residual carrier margin k' = k-20t;

when k-20t is more than or equal to 20, determining the scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted as a newly added carrier cell;

when k-20t < -20, further judging the number z of RRUs, and when z =1, determining that the scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is capacity expansion of newly-added main equipment hardware; and when the z is more than or equal to 2, determining that the scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is cell splitting.

In an optional manner, the determining a scheme for performing capacity reduction adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted includes:

acquiring a cell elasticity index alpha of each carrier cell under the RRU of the cell to be adjusted;

and when the cell elasticity index alpha of the carrier cell under at least one RRU is more than 10, determining that the scheme for performing capacity reduction adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is a network-quitting carrier cell.

when the cell elasticity index α of all carrier cells under the RRU is less than or equal to 10, or when no carrier exists under the RRU, the cell elasticity index α of each co-sited cell of the cell to be adjusted is obtained:

when the cell elasticity index alpha of at least one co-sited cell is more than 10, determining that the capacity reduction adjustment scheme of the cell to be adjusted is to combine the cell to be adjusted and the co-sited cell which has the largest cell elasticity index and continuously covers the cell to be adjusted;

and when the cell elasticity indexes alpha of all the co-sited cells are less than or equal to 10 or the co-sited cells do not exist in the cell to be adjusted, determining that the scheme for performing capacity reduction adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is not adjusted.

In an optional manner, when the cell elasticity index α of at least one of the co-sited cells is greater than 10, determining that the solution for performing capacity reduction adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is to combine the cell to be adjusted with the co-sited cell having the largest cell elasticity index and continuously covered by the cell to be adjusted, further including:

selecting a co-sited cell with the largest cell elasticity index alpha from all co-sited cells with the cell elasticity index alpha larger than 10, and judging whether the co-sited cell with the largest cell elasticity index alpha and the cell to be adjusted continuously cover or not;

if so, determining that the scheme for performing capacity reduction adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is to combine the cell to be adjusted and the co-sited cell with the largest cell elasticity index alpha;

if not, removing the co-sited cell, and then re-executing the steps until determining the co-sited cell which has the largest cell elasticity index and continuously covers the cell to be adjusted;

and if the co-sited cell with the largest co-sited cell elasticity index alpha continuously covered with the cell to be checked is not determined finally, determining that the scheme for performing capacity reduction adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is not adjusted.

In an optional manner, the adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the adjustment scheme includes:

counting all adjustment schemes in a preset time period, taking the adjustment scheme which has the longest duration and is not adjusted as a final capacity adjustment scheme of a cell to be adjusted, and adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the final capacity adjustment scheme.

According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a cell capacity adjusting apparatus, including:

a capacity acquisition module: for obtaining capacity data of a cell;

a cell capacity elasticity index determination module: the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted is calculated according to the capacity data of the cell;

a capacity adjustment scheme determination module: determining a scheme for adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted;

a capacity adjustment module: and the adjusting device is used for adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the adjusting scheme.

According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a cell capacity adjustment apparatus, including: the system comprises a processor, a memory, a communication interface and a communication bus, wherein the processor, the memory and the communication interface complete mutual communication through the communication bus;

the memory is used for storing at least one executable instruction, and the executable instruction causes the processor to execute the cell capacity adjusting method.

According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a computer storage medium having at least one executable instruction stored therein, where the executable instruction causes the processor to execute the cell capacity adjustment method.

The embodiment of the invention preliminarily judges whether the cell needs capacity adjustment or not by calculating the cell capacity elasticity index, decides a specific cell capacity adjustment scheme according to cell hardware equipment information and coverage information acquired by an OMC or other cell capacity adjustment equipment, and finally decides a final capacity adjustment scheme of the cell by counting the adjustment scheme within a preset time and feeds back decision information to the OMC. The working efficiency is improved, the scheme making accuracy is improved, and the network resources are saved.

The foregoing description is only an overview of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and in order that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention can be clearly understood, the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented according to the content of the description, and the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention can be more clearly understood, the detailed description of the present invention is provided below.

Drawings

Various additional advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like reference numerals are used to refer to like parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network architecture to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for adjusting cell capacity according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating another cell capacity adjustment method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a cell capacity expansion method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for reducing cell volume according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 shows a flow chart of determining a cell capacity adjustment scheme according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cell capacity adjustment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a cell capacity adjustment device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the invention may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

As shown in fig. 1, a network architecture diagram applied in the embodiment of the present invention includes an operation maintenance center OMC and base stations NodeB, where each NodeB includes multiple cells, and the NodeB periodically monitors state information of the cells, for example: the method comprises the steps of monitoring the capacity, the coverage area and the like of cells, sending monitored cell state information to OMC equipment, obtaining hardware equipment information of each cell by the OMC equipment according to the state information of each cell, and adjusting each cell through a base station according to the cell state, the hardware equipment information of each cell and the like. The current strategy for adjusting the cell capacity of a wireless network is roughly divided into three aspects: and (3) load evaluation: extracting capacity type indexes (busy hour uplink PRB utilization rate, busy hour downlink PRB utilization rate, maximum synchronous state user number of a cell, cell uplink total flow and cell downlink total flow) of the cell of the current network, and evaluating whether the cell belongs to a super-busy cell or a super-idle cell according to the indexes, wherein capacity expansion is carried out on the super-busy cell, and capacity reduction is carried out on the super-idle cell; and (3) volume increasing and reducing scheme making: checking hardware resource information and co-station cell information under the station of the evaluated super busy or super idle cell, and finally making a cell capacity increasing and decreasing scheme; and (4) implementing the capacity increasing and reducing scheme, wherein network optimization personnel implement the correspondingly formulated capacity increasing and reducing scheme for the super busy or super idle cells. The embodiment of the invention starts from the demand of increasing and reducing the capacity of the indoor sub-district, improves the final capacity adjustment scheme of the district, accurately analyzes the load condition of the district on OMC equipment or other district capacity adjustment devices added between ENODEB and OMC, judges whether the district needs to increase and reduce the capacity, and decides the final capacity increase and reduction scheme according to the hardware resource information of the district, improves the working efficiency, improves the scheme making accuracy and saves the network resources.

Fig. 2 shows a flowchart of a cell capacity adjustment method according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the method is applied to an OMC device or another cell capacity adjustment device independent of the OMC device. The method comprises the following steps:

step 100: acquiring capacity data of a cell;

the mobile user resides in the indoor network and establishes RRC data link with the network, the NodeB periodically collects the capacity data of the cell and reports the collected data to the OMC or other cell capacity adjusting equipment, the capacity data includes: utilization rate P of uplink PRB in busy hour of each cell of whole network _UP And the utilization rate P of the downlink PRB in busy hour of the cell _DOWN Maximum number of synchronous users N in a cell _ue Total uplink flow T of cell _UP Total downlink traffic T in a cell _DOWN And so on.

Step 200: calculating the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted according to the capacity data of the cell;

after receiving the cell capacity data, calculating a cell capacity elasticity index α of the cell to be adjusted, specifically including:

firstly, calculating the maximum synchronous state user number of the average cell of the whole network cell

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells.

Then, the average uplink total flow of the whole network cell is calculated

And the average downlink total traffic of the whole network cell

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells.

Then, according to the average cell maximum synchronous state user number of the whole network cell

Average uplink total flow of whole network cell

And the average downlink total flow of the whole network cell

And the utilization rate P of the uplink PRB of the cell to be adjusted in busy hour _UP And the utilization rate P of the downlink PRB in busy hour of the cell _DOWN Calculating the cell elasticity index alpha of the cell to be adjusted:

according to the information, the cell capacity adjusting device can calculate the cell elasticity indexes of all cells of the whole network according to the acquired capacity information of each cell.

Step 300: determining a scheme for adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted;

as can be seen from the above calculation process, the data range of the cell elasticity index can objectively reflect the capacity status of the cell, and according to years of research and simulation verification by the present inventors, preferably, 0< α ≦ 2,2< α ≦ 10, and α >10 are used as reference standards for determining the capacity status of the cell, and a corresponding cell capacity adjustment scheme is formulated according to different situations, which is specifically shown in fig. 3 and includes:

step 320: judging the size of the cell capacity elasticity index;

dividing the cell capacity elasticity index into three conditions of 0< alpha <2, 2< alpha < 10 and alpha >10, and turning to step 340 when 0< alpha < 2; when alpha is more than 2 and less than or equal to 10, turning to step 360; when alpha >10, go to step 380.

Step 340: determining a scheme for expanding the capacity of a cell to be adjusted;

when alpha is more than 0 and less than or equal to 2, the capacity elasticity of the cell is insufficient, and capacity expansion is needed.

Step 360: determining that the capacity of the cell to be adjusted is not adjusted;

when the alpha is more than 2 and less than or equal to 10, the community elasticity can meet the daily conformity of the community without capacity expansion or capacity reduction treatment.

Step 380: determining to carry out capacity reduction adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted;

when alpha is more than 10, the flexibility of the cell capacity is relatively sufficient, and the capacity reduction is needed to save network resources.

According to the embodiment of the invention, different capacity adjustment schemes are determined by judging different numerical value ranges of the cell elasticity indexes, so that the cell capacity can be adjusted in a targeted manner.

Step 400: and adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the adjusting scheme.

After determining the scheme for adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted by using the method described in fig. 3, the OMC device or other cell capacity adjustment devices adjust the capacity of the cell according to the determined scheme. Of course, the adjustment may be performed daily or periodically according to a predetermined setting.

As can be seen from the above, in the above embodiments provided by the present invention, the cell elasticity index is calculated by automatically obtaining the capacity data of each cell in the entire network, and the capacity is specifically adjusted according to the cell elasticity index, so that the working efficiency is improved, the accuracy of the scheme is improved, and the network resources are saved.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a scheme for expanding the capacity of a cell, as shown in fig. 4, in the above embodiment, in step 340, when α is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 2, the expanding and adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted specifically includes:

step 340: determining a scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted;

when alpha is more than 0 and less than or equal to 2, the OMC equipment or the cell capacity adjusting equipment acquires the hardware configuration information of the cell, and the method comprises the following steps: the base band board number s of the station, the maximum carrier capacity k (MHz) of the RRUs, the carrier number t of the RRUs, the number z of the RRUs, the cell number p of the co-station and the coverage position information thereof and the like, wherein the coverage position information is used for indicating whether the cell continuously covers other cells. And deciding a specific capacity adjustment scheme of the cell to be adjusted by a hardware checking system and combining the cell capacity elasticity index.

Step 341: judging the number s of site baseband boards and the number p of co-site cells of the cell to be adjusted;

when p =6s and s <6, go to step 342;

when p =6s and s =6, go to step 348;

if p <6s, go to step 349.

Step 342: calculating the residual carrier wave margin k' of the RRU;

and when p =6s and s <6, judging whether the cell RRU has redundant carrier margin k ' capable of expanding capacity, wherein k ' = k-20t, and judging the value of k '.

Step 343: judging whether k-20t is less than 20 (MHz);

when k' is not less than 20, go to step 344;

when k' <20, go to step 345.

Step 344: newly adding a carrier cell after the base band plate is newly added;

when k' is not less than 20, determining that the capacity expansion scheme is a newly increased carrier cell after a newly increased baseband board, wherein the carrier cell can also be a CA auxiliary cell.

Step 345: judging whether the RRU quantity z of the cell to be adjusted is larger than 1;

according to the obtained number z of the RRUs in the cell to be adjusted in the above step, when z =1, turning to step 346; when z is equal to or greater than 2, go to step 347.

Step 346: newly adding main equipment hardware;

and when z =1, determining the capacity expansion scheme as the newly added main device hardware.

Step 347: carrying out cell splitting after a base band plate is newly added;

and when the z is more than or equal to 2, determining the capacity expansion scheme as a newly added base band plate and then carrying out cell splitting.

Step 348: newly adding main equipment hardware;

and when p =6s and s =6, determining that the capacity expansion scheme is the newly added main device hardware.

Step 349: calculating residual carrier wave margin k' of the RRU;

and when p is less than 6s, judging whether the cell RRU has redundant carrier margin k ' capable of expanding capacity, wherein k ' = k-20t, and judging the value of k '.

Step 350: judging whether k' is less than 20 (MHz);

when k' <20, go to step 352;

when k' is greater than or equal to 20, go to step 351.

Step 351: newly adding a carrier cell;

and when k' is not less than 20, determining that the capacity expansion scheme of the cell to be adjusted is a newly increased carrier cell, and certainly, the newly increased carrier cell can also be a newly increased CA secondary cell.

Step 352: whether the RRU quantity z of the cell to be adjusted is larger than 1 or not;

according to the obtained number z of the RRUs in the cell to be adjusted in the above step, when z =1, go to step 354; when z is more than or equal to 2, go to step 353.

Step 353: splitting a cell;

and when z is more than or equal to 2, determining the capacity expansion scheme as cell splitting.

Step 354: newly adding main equipment hardware;

and when z =1, determining that the capacity expansion scheme is the newly added main device hardware.

According to the embodiment, the capacity elasticity index of the cell and the hardware configuration information of the cell to be adjusted are judged, and the capacity is adjusted in a targeted manner according to the specific situation of the cell, so that the working efficiency is improved, the accuracy of the scheme is improved, and the network resources are saved.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a solution for reducing the capacity of a cell, as shown in fig. 5, in the foregoing embodiment, in step 380, when α >10, the capacity of the cell to be adjusted is reduced and adjusted, specifically, the method includes:

step 380: determining a scheme for carrying out capacity reduction adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted;

when alpha is greater than 10, the OMC device or the cell capacity adjusting device collects hardware configuration information of the cell, including: the base band board number s of the station, the maximum carrier capacity k (MHz) of the RRUs, the carrier number t of the RRUs, the number z of the RRUs, the cell number p of the co-station and the coverage position information thereof and the like, wherein the coverage position information is used for indicating whether the cell continuously covers other cells. And (4) deciding a specific capacity adjustment scheme of the cell to be adjusted by a hardware correction system and combining the cell capacity elasticity index.

Step 381: acquiring a cell elasticity index alpha of each carrier cell under the RRU of the cell to be adjusted;

step 200 may be implemented by acquiring capacity data of each cell of the entire network by the OMC device or the capacity adjustment device of another cell, and then determining the maximum number of synchronous users of the average cell of the entire network

Average uplink total flow of whole network cell

And the average downlink total traffic of the whole network cell

And the utilization rate P of uplink PRB in busy hour of each carrier cell under RRU _UP And the utilization rate P of the downlink PRB in busy hour of the cell _DOWN And the cell elasticity index alpha is calculated,the specific calculation scheme is described in step 200, and is not described herein again.

It should be noted that the cell elasticity index of each carrier cell under each RRU may be calculated at one time when the system starts capacity adjustment, or may be calculated in real time during the adjustment process, and neither calculation mode affects the capacity adjustment process.

Step 382: judging the cell elasticity index of each carrier cell under each RRU, and judging whether a carrier cell with the cell elasticity index larger than 10 exists;

if there is at least one carrier cell with a cell resiliency index greater than 10, go to step 383;

if the cell elasticity indexes of all carrier cells under the RRU are less than or equal to 10, or if the RRU is under a cell without a carrier, go to step 384.

Step 383: determining that the capacity adjustment scheme is a network quitting carrier cell;

if the cell elasticity index of at least one carrier cell is greater than 10, it indicates that the cell capacity elasticity is very large, and the carrier cell is directly quitted, of course, if the cell is a CA secondary cell, the carrier cell can also be directly quitted.

Step 384: acquiring cell elasticity indexes of co-sited cells of the cell to be adjusted;

according to the capacity data information of the cell obtained in the above step, determining the co-sited cell information of the cell to be adjusted, and obtaining or calculating the cell elasticity index of each co-sited cell according to the method in step 200, where the specific calculation method is described in detail in step 200 and is not described herein again.

Step 385: judging whether a co-sited cell with a cell elasticity index larger than 10 exists;

after cell elasticity indexes of all co-sited cells of the cell to be adjusted are obtained, judging whether at least one co-sited cell with the cell elasticity index larger than 10 exists or not, and turning to step 386 if the co-sited cell with the cell elasticity index larger than 10 does not exist or the co-sited cell does not exist in the cell to be adjusted; if so, go to step 387, determine the co-sited cell having the largest cell elasticity index and continuously covered with the cell to be adjusted from the co-sited cells, see step 387 specifically.

Step 386: no adjustment is carried out;

and if the cell to be adjusted does not have the co-sited cell or the cell elasticity indexes of all the co-sited cells are not more than 10, determining that the cell capacity adjustment scheme is empty, namely not adjusting.

Step 387: selecting a co-sited cell with the largest cell elasticity index from the co-sited cells which meet the cell elasticity index alpha more than 10;

selecting all co-sited cells with alpha larger than 10 from the p co-sited cells of the cell to be adjusted to form an integrated omega = { alpha = _i >10 < i =1L m, m being m co-sited cells of alpha >10 selected from p co-sited cells.

Let us say from the set Ω = { α = _i Selecting the cell j, alpha with the largest cell elastic index from >10 mm i =1L m _j ＝Max(α _i |i＝1L m)。

Step 388: judging whether the cell j has continuous coverage with the cell to be adjusted;

extracting coverage position information from the cell capacity data to judge whether the coverage ranges of the cell to be adjusted and the jth co-sited cell are overlapped, and if so, turning to a step 389; if not, go to step 390.

Step 389: merging the cell to be adjusted and the co-sited cell j with the largest cell elasticity index;

if there is overlap, combining the cell to be adjusted and the co-sited cell j as an adjustment scheme in order to save capacity.

Step 390: judging whether m is 0;

when the coverage area of the jth co-sited cell is not overlapped with the coverage area of the cell to be adjusted, that is, discontinuous coverage, it is determined whether there are other co-sited cells in the set Ω, that is, it is determined whether m is 0, if m is not 0, step 392 is performed, and if m is 0, step 391 is performed.

Step 391: no adjustment is carried out;

when m is 0, it is stated that there is no co-sited cell continuously covered with the base station to be adjusted in the set Ω, then it is determined that the capacity adjustment scheme is: no adjustment is made.

Step 392: delete the cell j, m = m-1;

and if other co-sited cells exist in the omega, deleting the cell j from the set, wherein m = m-1, continuously judging whether the co-sited cell with the largest capacity elasticity index of other cells has continuous coverage with the cell to be adjusted, and turning to the step 387 to continuously judge. Until finding the co-sited cell with continuous coverage with the cell to be adjusted or not finding the co-sited cell with continuous coverage with the cell to be adjusted.

According to the embodiment, the capacity reduction adjustment is performed in a targeted manner according to the specific conditions of the cell by judging the cell capacity elasticity index and the hardware configuration information of the cell to be adjusted, so that the working efficiency is improved, the accuracy of the scheme is improved, and the network resources are saved.

In a specific practice, before cell capacity adjustment is performed, the OMC or other cell capacity adjustment devices make a careful judgment to determine an accurate adjustment scheme. OMC or other cell capacity adjustment determines a daily cell capacity adjustment scheme according to the cell capacity adjustment scheme in the above embodiment, and may perform adjustment according to the daily cell capacity adjustment scheme, or may count the probability of the adjustment scheme according to the daily cell capacity adjustment scheme, and determine a final adjustment scheme according to a week or a month or other time period, as specifically shown in fig. 6:

step 410: counting all adjustment schemes in a preset time period;

the day-level cell capacity adjustment schemes reported by the OMC or other cell capacity adjustment devices in one week can be counted by taking a week as a unit, and the duration of each scheme can be counted.

Step 411: judging whether an adjusting scheme with the duration time larger than a first threshold value exists or not;

setting the first threshold to be 3 days, if the proposed volume-increasing/decreasing schemes for the cell on days continuously exceeding 3 days in the last week are consistent, further determining whether the adjusting scheme is not adjusting, and going to step 412.

If the duration of none of the adjustment schemes exceeds the first threshold during the week, go to step 415, and end the capacity adjustment decision of the week.

Step 412: judging whether the adjusting scheme is not adjusted;

if the scheme is not adjusted, it indicates that the cell capacity allocation is normal, and no operation is needed, go to step 415, and end the capacity adjustment judgment in this week.

If the scheme is not unadjusted, go to step 413.

Step 413: taking the scheme as a final adjusting scheme for adjusting the capacity of the adjusting cell;

and feeding back the scheme as a final adjustment scheme for adjusting the capacity of the adjustment cell to the OMC equipment.

Step 414: and adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the final capacity adjustment scheme.

Step 415: and (6) ending.

Through the embodiment, the capacity adjustment scheme in the preset time period is counted and analyzed, and the final capacity adjustment scheme of the cell to be adjusted is decided, so that the capacity adjustment of the cell according to one-time evaluation is avoided, and the probability of misjudgment is reduced.

In summary, the method for adjusting cell capacity according to the embodiments of the present invention primarily determines whether a cell needs to perform capacity adjustment by calculating a cell capacity elasticity index, then decides a specific cell capacity adjustment scheme according to cell hardware device information and coverage information acquired by an OMC or other cell capacity adjustment devices, and finally decides a final capacity adjustment scheme of the cell by counting the adjustment scheme within a predetermined time, and feeds back decision information to the OMC. The working efficiency is improved, the scheme making accuracy is improved, and the network resources are saved.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a cell capacity adjustment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 7, the apparatus 700 includes: a capacity obtaining module 701, a cell capacity elasticity index determining module 702, a capacity adjustment scheme determining module 703 and a capacity adjustment module 704.

The capacity obtaining module 701 is configured to obtain capacity data of a cell;

the cell capacity elasticity index determining module 702 is configured to calculate a cell capacity elasticity index of a cell to be adjusted according to the capacity data of the cell;

the capacity adjustment scheme determining module 703 is configured to determine a scheme for adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted;

the capacity adjusting module 704 is configured to adjust the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the adjustment scheme.

The capacity obtaining module 701 is further configured to obtain a utilization rate P of uplink PRBs in busy hours of each cell of the whole network _UP And the utilization rate P of the downlink PRB in busy hour of the cell _DOWN Maximum number of synchronous users N in a cell _ue Total uplink flow T of cell _UP Total downlink flow T of cell _DOWN 。

The cell capacity elasticity index determining module 702 is further configured to calculate the maximum number of synchronous state users of the average cell of the whole network cell

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells;

calculating the average uplink total flow of the whole network cell

And the average downlink total flow of the whole network cell

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells;

calculating the cell elasticity index alpha of the cell to be adjusted:

the capacity adjustment scheme determining module is further configured to determine a scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted when α is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 2; when the alpha is more than 2 and less than or equal to 10, determining that the capacity of the cell to be adjusted is not adjusted; and when alpha is larger than 10, determining a scheme for performing capacity reduction adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted.

The capacity adjustment scheme determining module 703 is further configured to obtain hardware configuration information of the cell to be adjusted: the base band board number s of the station, the maximum carrier capacity k of the RRUs, the carrier number t of the RRUs, the number z of the RRUs, the number p of cells sharing the station and the coverage position information of the cell to be adjusted;

The capacity adjustment scheme determining module 703 is further configured to determine, when p =6s and s =6, that the scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is to add new main device hardware;

when p =6s and s <6, calculating the RRU residual carrier margin k' = k-20t; when k-20t is more than or equal to 20, determining that the scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is that a carrier cell is newly added after a base band plate is newly added; when the k-20t is formed by the number of the RRUs of 20, further judging the number z of the RRUs, and when the number z =1, determining that the scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is the capacity expansion of newly-added main equipment hardware; when z is more than or equal to 2, determining that the scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is cell splitting after a base band plate is newly added;

when p is less than 6s, calculating the RRU residual carrier margin k' = k-20t; when k-20t is more than or equal to 20, determining the scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted as a newly added carrier cell; when k-20t < -20, further judging the number z of RRUs, and when z =1, determining that the scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is capacity expansion of newly-added main equipment hardware; and when z is more than or equal to 2, determining that the scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is cell splitting.

The capacity adjustment module 704 is further configured to count all adjustment schemes in a predetermined time period, use the adjustment scheme with the longest duration and that is not adjusted as a final capacity adjustment scheme of the cell to be adjusted, and adjust the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the final capacity adjustment scheme.

In summary, the cell capacity adjustment apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention preliminarily determines whether a cell needs to perform capacity adjustment by calculating a cell capacity elasticity index, then decides a specific cell capacity adjustment scheme according to cell hardware device information and coverage information acquired by the OMC or other cell capacity adjustment devices, and finally decides a final capacity adjustment scheme of the cell by counting the adjustment scheme within a predetermined time, and feeds back decision information to the OMC. The working efficiency is improved, the scheme making accuracy is improved, and the network resources are saved.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer program product, configured to execute the cell capacity adjustment method in the foregoing method embodiment.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a non-volatile computer storage medium, where the computer storage medium stores at least one executable instruction, and the computer executable instruction may execute the cell capacity adjustment method in any of the above method embodiments.

The executable instructions may be specifically configured to cause the processor to perform the following operations:

acquiring capacity data of a cell;

and adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the adjusting scheme.

In an optional manner, the obtaining capacity data of the cell includes:

acquiring uplink PRB utilization rate P of each cell of the whole network in busy hour _UP And the utilization rate P of downlink PRB in busy hour of the cell _DOWN Maximum number of synchronous users N in a cell _ue Total uplink flow T of cell _UP Total downlink flow T of cell _DOWN 。

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells;

calculating the average uplink total flow of the whole network cell

And the average downlink total flow of the whole network cell

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells;

calculating the cell elasticity index alpha of the cell to be adjusted:

and when alpha is larger than 10, determining a scheme for carrying out capacity reduction adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted.

when p =6s and s <6, calculating the RRU residual carrier margin k' = k-20t;

when the k-20t is formed by the number of the RRUs of 20, further judging the number z of the RRUs, and when the number z =1, determining that the scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is the capacity expansion of newly-added main equipment hardware; and when the z is more than or equal to 2, determining that the scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is cell splitting after a base band plate is newly added.

when p is less than 6s, calculating the RRU residual carrier margin k' = k-20t;

when k-20t < -20, further judging the number z of RRUs, and when z =1, determining that the scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is capacity expansion of newly-added main equipment hardware; and when z is more than or equal to 2, determining that the scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is cell splitting.

and when the cell elasticity index alpha of the carrier cell under at least one RRU is more than 10, determining that the scheme for carrying out capacity reduction adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is a network-quitting carrier cell.

and when the cell elasticity indexes alpha of all the co-sited cells are less than or equal to 10 or the co-sited cells do not exist in the cell to be adjusted, determining that the capacity reduction adjustment scheme of the cell to be adjusted is not adjusted.

In summary, the computer storage medium provided in the embodiment of the present invention preliminarily determines whether a cell needs to perform capacity adjustment by calculating a cell capacity elasticity index, then decides a specific cell capacity adjustment scheme according to cell hardware device information and coverage information acquired by an OMC or other cell capacity adjustment devices, and finally decides a final capacity adjustment scheme of the cell by counting the adjustment schemes within a predetermined time and feeding back decision information to the OMC. The working efficiency is improved, the scheme making accuracy is improved, and the network resources are saved.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a cell capacity adjustment device according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the specific embodiment of the present invention does not limit a specific implementation of the device.

As shown in fig. 8, the cell capacity adjustment apparatus may include: a processor (processor) 802, a Communications Interface 804, a memory 806, and a communication bus 808.

Wherein: the processor 802, communication interface 804, and memory 806 communicate with one another via a communication bus 808. A communication interface 804 for communicating with network elements of other devices, such as clients or other servers. The processor 802 is configured to execute the program 810, and may specifically execute the relevant steps in the method embodiment for cell capacity adjustment described above.

In particular, the program 810 may include program code comprising computer operating instructions.

The processor 802 may be a central processing unit CPU, or an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more Integrated circuits configured to implement an embodiment of the invention. The cell capacity adjustment device includes one or more processors, which may be the same type of processor, such as one or more CPUs; or may be different types of processors such as one or more CPUs and one or more ASICs.

The memory 806 stores a program 810. The memory 806 may include high-speed RAM memory, and may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk memory.

The program 810 may be specifically configured to cause the processor 802 to perform the following operations:

acquiring capacity data of a cell;

In an optional manner, the obtaining capacity data of the cell includes:

acquiring the utilization rate P of uplink PRB (physical resource block) of each cell of the whole network in busy hour _UP And the utilization rate P of downlink PRB in busy hour of the cell _DOWN Maximum number of synchronous users N in a cell _ue Total uplink flow T of cell _UP Total downlink flow T of cell _DOWN 。

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells;

calculating the average uplink total flow of the whole network cell

And the average downlink total flow of the whole network cell

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells;

calculating the cell elasticity index alpha of the cell to be adjusted:

acquiring hardware configuration information of the cell to be adjusted: the number s of base band boards of a station, the maximum carrier capacity k of RRUs, the number t of RRU carriers, the number z of RRUs, the number p of co-station cells and the coverage position information of the cell to be adjusted;

when p =6s and s <6, calculating the RRU residual carrier margin k' = k-20t;

when p is less than 6s, calculating the RRU residual carrier margin k' = k-20t;

when the k-20t is formed by the number of the RRUs of 20, further judging the number z of the RRUs, and when the number z =1, determining that the scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is the capacity expansion of newly-added main equipment hardware; and when the z is more than or equal to 2, determining that the scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is cell splitting.

when the cell elasticity index alpha of all carrier cells under the RRU is less than or equal to 10, or when no carrier exists under the RRU, the cell elasticity index alpha of each co-sited cell of the cell to be adjusted is obtained:

when the cell elasticity index alpha of at least one co-sited cell is more than 10, determining that the scheme for carrying out capacity reduction adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is to combine the cell to be adjusted with the co-sited cell which has the largest cell elasticity index and continuously covers the cell to be adjusted;

In an optional manner, when the cell elasticity index α of at least one of the co-sited cells is greater than 10, determining that a solution for performing capacity reduction adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is to merge the cell to be adjusted and the co-sited cell having the largest cell elasticity index and continuously covering the cell to be adjusted, further including:

In summary, the cell capacity adjustment device provided in the embodiment of the present invention preliminarily determines whether the cell needs to perform capacity adjustment by calculating the cell capacity elasticity index, then decides a specific cell capacity adjustment scheme according to cell hardware device information and coverage information acquired by the OMC or other cell capacity adjustment devices, and finally decides a final capacity adjustment scheme of the cell by counting the adjustment scheme within a predetermined time, and feeds back decision information to the OMC. The working efficiency is improved, the scheme making accuracy is improved, and the network resources are saved.

The algorithms or displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer, virtual system, or other apparatus. Various general purpose systems may also be used with the teachings herein. The required structure for constructing such a system will be apparent from the description above. In addition, embodiments of the present invention are not directed to any particular programming language. It is appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the present invention as described herein, and any descriptions of specific languages are provided above to disclose the best mode of the invention.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the embodiments of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. However, the disclosed method should not be construed to reflect the intent: rather, the invention as claimed requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the modules in the device in an embodiment may be adaptively changed and disposed in one or more devices different from the embodiment. The modules or units or components in the embodiments may be combined into one module or unit or component, and furthermore, may be divided into a plurality of sub-modules or sub-units or sub-components. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and all of the processes or elements of any method or apparatus so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or processes or elements are mutually exclusive. Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise.

Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that while some embodiments herein include some features included in other embodiments, rather than other features, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention and form different embodiments. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in a claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The usage of the words first, second and third, etcetera do not indicate any ordering. These words may be interpreted as names. The steps in the above embodiments should not be construed as limiting the order of execution unless specified otherwise.

Claims

1. A method for adjusting cell capacity, comprising:

acquiring capacity data of a cell;

calculating the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted according to the cell capacity data, wherein the cell capacity elasticity index comprises the following steps: calculating the maximum synchronous state user number of the whole network cell, calculating the average uplink total flow and the average downlink total flow of the whole network cell, and calculating the cell elasticity index alpha of the cell to be adjusted according to the maximum synchronous state user number of the whole network cell, the average uplink total flow and the average downlink total flow of the whole network cell;

when alpha is more than 0 and less than or equal to 2, determining a scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted; when the alpha is more than 2 and less than or equal to 10, determining that the capacity of the cell to be adjusted is not adjusted; when alpha is larger than 10, determining a scheme for carrying out capacity reduction adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted;

2. The method for adjusting cell capacity according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining the capacity data of the cell includes:

acquiring the utilization rate P of uplink PRB (physical resource block) of each cell of the whole network in busy hour _UP And the utilization rate P of the downlink PRB in busy hour of the cell _DOWN Maximum number of synchronous users N in a cell _ue Total upstream flow T of residential area _UP Total downlink flow T of cell _DOWN 。

3. The method for adjusting cell capacity according to claim 2, wherein the calculating the cell capacity elasticity index α of the cell to be adjusted according to the cell capacity data includes:

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells;

computing the full net miniZone average upstream total flow

And the average downlink total flow of the whole network cell

Wherein n is the number of the whole network cells;

calculating the cell elasticity index alpha of the cell to be adjusted:

4. the method for adjusting cell capacity according to claim 3, wherein determining a scheme for adjusting the cell capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted includes:

and when the alpha is larger than 10, determining a scheme for carrying out capacity reduction adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted.

5. The method for adjusting cell capacity according to claim 4, wherein determining a scheme for adjusting the cell capacity to be adjusted according to the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted includes:

6. The method for adjusting cell capacity according to claim 5, wherein determining a scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell capacity to be adjusted includes:

7. The method for adjusting cell capacity according to claim 5, wherein the determining a scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted includes:

when p =6s and s <6, calculating RRU residual carrier margin k' = k-20t;

8. The method for adjusting cell capacity according to claim 5, wherein the determining a scheme for performing capacity expansion adjustment on the cell to be adjusted includes:

when p is less than 6s, calculating the RRU residual carrier margin k' = k-20t;

9. The method for adjusting cell capacity according to claim 5, wherein the determining a solution for performing capacity reduction adjustment on the cell capacity to be adjusted includes:

and when the cell elasticity index alpha of the carrier cell under at least one RRU is larger than 10, determining that the scheme for carrying out capacity reduction adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is a network-quitting carrier cell.

10. The method for adjusting cell capacity according to claim 5, wherein the determining a solution for performing capacity reduction adjustment on the cell capacity to be adjusted includes:

when the cell elasticity index alpha of at least one co-sited cell is greater than 10, determining that the scheme for carrying out capacity reduction adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is to combine the cell to be adjusted with the co-sited cell which has the largest cell elasticity index and continuously covers the cell to be adjusted;

11. The method of claim 10, wherein when the cell elasticity index α of at least one of the co-sited cells is greater than 10, determining that the solution for performing the capacity reduction adjustment on the cell to be adjusted is to combine the cell to be adjusted with the co-sited cell having the largest cell elasticity index and continuously covering the cell to be adjusted, further comprises:

and if the co-sited cell with the largest co-sited cell elasticity index alpha continuously covered with the cell to be adjusted is not determined finally, determining that the capacity reduction adjustment scheme of the cell to be adjusted is not adjusted.

12. The method for adjusting cell capacity according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the adjusting the cell capacity to be adjusted according to the adjustment scheme includes:

counting all adjustment schemes in a preset time period, taking the adjustment scheme which has the longest duration and is not adjusted as a final capacity adjustment scheme of the cell to be adjusted, and adjusting the capacity of the cell to be adjusted according to the final capacity adjustment scheme.

13. An apparatus for adjusting cell capacity, the apparatus comprising:

a capacity acquisition module: capacity data for acquiring a cell;

a cell capacity elasticity index determination module: the method is used for calculating the cell capacity elasticity index of the cell to be adjusted according to the capacity data of the cell, and comprises the following steps: calculating the maximum synchronous state user number of the whole network cell, calculating the average uplink total flow and the average downlink total flow of the whole network cell, and calculating the cell elasticity index alpha of the cell to be adjusted according to the maximum synchronous state user number of the whole network cell, the average uplink total flow and the average downlink total flow of the whole network cell;

a capacity adjustment scheme determination module: when alpha is more than 0 and less than or equal to 2, determining a scheme for carrying out capacity expansion adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted; when the alpha is more than 2 and less than or equal to 10, determining that the capacity of the cell to be adjusted is not adjusted; when alpha is larger than 10, determining a scheme for carrying out capacity reduction adjustment on the capacity of the cell to be adjusted;

14. A cell capacity adjustment apparatus comprising: the system comprises a processor, a memory, a communication interface and a communication bus, wherein the processor, the memory and the communication interface complete mutual communication through the communication bus;

the memory is configured to store at least one executable instruction, which causes the processor to perform the cell capacity adjustment method according to any one of claims 1-12.

15. A computer storage medium having stored therein at least one executable instruction for causing a processor to perform a method of cell capacity adjustment as claimed in any one of claims 1-12.