CN115379578A

CN115379578A - Bandwidth allocation method and device and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN115379578A
Application number: CN202211021898.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 肖天; 刘光海; 李贝; 程新洲; 许国平; 成晨; 狄子翔; 周诗雨; 王昭宁
Original assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Current assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-08-24
Filing date: 2022-08-24
Publication date: 2022-11-22

Abstract

The application provides a bandwidth allocation method, a bandwidth allocation device and a storage medium, relates to the technical field of communication, and is used for solving the technical problem that BWP cannot be allocated to a terminal reasonably. The method comprises the following steps: determining load information of each dedicated bandwidth part (BWP) of a plurality of BWPs configured by a target cell; the load information of each dedicated BWP is used to represent the load carried on each dedicated BWP; determining transmission state information of a terminal residing on a first private BWP when the first private BWP and a second private BWP among the plurality of private BWPs conform to a first preset condition; when the transmission state information of the terminal meets a second preset condition, sending a switching indication message to the terminal; the handover indication message is used to indicate that the terminal is handed over from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP. The terminal can be reasonably allocated with BWP.

Description

Bandwidth allocation method and device and storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a bandwidth allocation method, apparatus, and storage medium.

Background

Currently, the New Radio (NR) protocol of the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) proposes the concept of bandwidth part (BWP), i.e. dividing the total bandwidth of the 5G cell into multiple BWPs.

Based on this, the related art proposes an allocation scheme based on the traffic data volume size when allocating BWP to terminals in a 5G cell. That is, when the amount of the service data to be transmitted is high, the terminal may transmit the service data at a high rate and with low delay on the BWP with a large bandwidth in the 5G cell. When the amount of the service data needing to be transmitted is low, the terminal can transmit the service data on the BWP with the smaller bandwidth in the 5G cell, so as to reduce power consumption.

However, the mechanism for allocating BWPs to terminals based on only the traffic data size is not flexible enough, and when facing terminals with high traffic data volume or terminals with low traffic data volume, it is difficult to allocate these terminals on multiple BWPs in a 5G cell in a balanced manner, which easily causes the situation of terminal aggregation on a certain BWP or BWPs, and affects the user experience.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a bandwidth allocation method, a bandwidth allocation device and a storage medium, which are used for solving the problem that BWP cannot be allocated to a terminal reasonably.

In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme is as follows:

in a first aspect, a bandwidth allocation method is provided, including: determining load information of each dedicated bandwidth part (BWP) of a plurality of BWPs configured by a target cell; the load information of each dedicated BWP is used to represent the load carried on each dedicated BWP; determining transmission state information of a terminal residing on a first private BWP when the first private BWP and a second private BWP among the plurality of private BWPs conform to a first preset condition; when the transmission state information of the terminal meets a second preset condition, sending a switching indication message to the terminal; the handover indication message is used to indicate that the terminal is handed over from the first private BWP to the second private BWP.

Optionally, the load information of each dedicated BWP includes an uplink physical resource block PRB utilization and a downlink PRB utilization of each dedicated BWP; when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition includes: the uplink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, or the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, or the difference between the uplink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the third load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, or the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the third load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold; wherein the first loading threshold is greater than the second loading threshold.

Optionally, when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition includes: the uplink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the fourth load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold, or the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold, or the difference between the uplink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the sixth load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold, or the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the sixth load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold.

Optionally, when the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the bandwidth of the third dedicated BWP, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the uplink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP, or the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the downlink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP; when the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the third dedicated BWP, the difference between the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is less than the seventh load threshold, or the difference between the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is less than the seventh load threshold; the third dedicated BWP is any one dedicated BWP of the plurality of dedicated BWPs except the first dedicated BWP and the second dedicated BWP.

Optionally, the transmission state information of the terminal includes an average value of data traffic of the terminal in a first preset duration and an average occupancy rate of a control channel element CCE of the terminal in a second preset duration; when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the second preset condition includes: the average value of the data traffic is less than or equal to the first traffic threshold and the average occupancy of the CCEs is less than or equal to the first occupancy threshold.

Optionally, when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the second preset condition includes: the average value of the data traffic is greater than the second traffic threshold and the average occupancy of the CCEs is greater than the second occupancy threshold.

Optionally, when the frequency-domain resources of the first dedicated BWP cover the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, the bandwidth allocation method further includes: the load information of the frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP, excluding the frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, is determined as the load information of the first dedicated BWP.

Optionally, when there are overlapping frequency domain resources between the frequency domain resource of the first dedicated BWP and the frequency domain resource of the second dedicated BWP, the bandwidth allocation method further includes: determining load information of frequency domain resources except overlapping frequency domain resources in the frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP as the load information of the first dedicated BWP; the load information of the frequency domain resources other than the overlapping frequency domain resources among the frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP is determined as the load information of the second dedicated BWP.

In a second aspect, there is provided a bandwidth distribution apparatus comprising: a determination unit and a transmission unit;

a determining unit configured to determine load information of each dedicated bandwidth part BWP of a plurality of dedicated BWPs configured by a target cell; the load information of each dedicated BWP is used to represent the load carried on each dedicated BWP;

a determining unit, further configured to determine transmission state information of a terminal residing on a first dedicated BWP when the first dedicated BWP and a second dedicated BWP among the plurality of dedicated BWPs conform to a first preset condition;

the sending unit is used for sending a switching indication message to the terminal when the transmission state information of the terminal meets a second preset condition; the handover indication message is used to indicate that the terminal is handed over from the first private BWP to the second private BWP.

Optionally, the determining unit is further configured to determine, as the load information of the first dedicated BWP, the load information of the frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP except the frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP.

Optionally, the determining unit is further configured to determine, as the load information of the first dedicated BWP, load information of frequency domain resources, except the overlapped frequency domain resources, in the frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP; a determining unit, further configured to determine load information of frequency domain resources other than the overlapping frequency domain resources in the frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP as load information of the second dedicated BWP.

In a third aspect, a bandwidth allocation apparatus is provided, comprising a memory and a processor; the memory is used for storing computer execution instructions, and the processor is connected with the memory through a bus; when the bandwidth allocation apparatus is operating, the processor executes computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to cause the bandwidth allocation apparatus to perform the bandwidth allocation method as in the first aspect.

The bandwidth allocation apparatus may be a network device, or may be a part of an apparatus in the network device, such as a system on chip in the network device. The system on chip is configured to support the network device to implement the functions involved in the first aspect and any one of the possible implementations thereof, for example, to receive, determine, and offload data and/or information involved in the bandwidth allocation method. The chip system includes a chip and may also include other discrete devices or circuit structures.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the bandwidth allocation method of the first aspect.

It should be noted that all or part of the above computer instructions may be stored on the first computer readable storage medium. The first computer readable storage medium may be packaged with the processor of the bandwidth allocation apparatus, or may be packaged separately from the processor of the bandwidth allocation apparatus, which is not limited in this application.

In the present application, the names of the bandwidth allocation means described above do not limit the devices or functional modules themselves, which may appear by other names in practical implementations. As long as the functions of the respective devices or functional modules are similar to those of the present application, they fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

These and other aspects of the present application will be more readily apparent from the following description.

The technical scheme provided by the application at least brings the following beneficial effects:

in any of the above aspects, in the present application, after determining the load information of each of the plurality of dedicated BWPs configured by the target cell, if a first dedicated BWP and a second dedicated BWP of the plurality of dedicated BWPs meet a first preset condition, transmission state information of the terminal camped on the first dedicated BWP may be further determined, and a handover indication message may be sent to the terminal when the transmission state information of the terminal meets a second preset condition, thereby indicating that the terminal is handed over from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP.

In this way, the present application, by analyzing the load status of the dedicated BWPs in combination with the transmission status information of the terminals, can instruct the terminals meeting the requirements to switch to the dedicated BWPs with lower load when the load of one or some dedicated BWPs is higher. Compared with the scheme of performing BWP allocation based on the size of the traffic data volume in the related art, the method and the device for allocating the multiple terminals on the multiple dedicated BWPs can evenly allocate the multiple terminals on the multiple dedicated BWPs, avoid the situation that the multiple terminals are aggregated on one or some dedicated BWPs, and ensure the user experience. Therefore, the present application can reasonably allocate BWP to the terminal.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a scenario of a wide-band part application according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a first schematic flow chart illustrating a partial bandwidth handover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a partial bandwidth handover according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a bandwidth distribution system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a bandwidth allocation method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a first schematic diagram illustrating a switching of a bandwidth portion according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second switching of a bandwidth part according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a third schematic diagram illustrating a switching of a bandwidth part according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a bandwidth distribution apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present concepts related in a concrete fashion.

For the convenience of clearly describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the terms "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and actions, and those skilled in the art can understand that the terms "first" and "second" are not used to limit the quantity and execution order.

Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having" in the description of the embodiments and claims of the present application and the accompanying drawings are not exclusive. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or modules is not limited to only those steps or modules listed, but may include other steps or modules not listed.

Cells in a 5G network support a larger bandwidth than Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. That is, in the 5G cell, the terminal and the base station can transmit the service data at a higher rate and with a lower delay through a larger bandwidth. However, when the terminal transmits the service data through a larger bandwidth, a problem of a large increase in power consumption may also be encountered. In this case, the concept of BWP is proposed in the 5G NR protocol, where the total bandwidth of the 5G cell is divided into an initial BWP and a plurality of dedicated BWPs. The protocol allows the terminal to use BWP for data transmission, i.e. the terminal can operate on a fraction of the total bandwidth of the 5G cell.

As shown in fig. 1, the first terminal is assumed to camp in the first cell, and the first cell is configured with a dedicated BWP1 and a dedicated BWP2. Wherein the bandwidth of the dedicated BWP1 is equal to the total bandwidth of the first cell. The bandwidth of the dedicated BWP2 is a fractional bandwidth of the total bandwidth of the first cell. That is, the bandwidth of the dedicated BWP1 is greater than the bandwidth of the dedicated BWP2. When transmitting large-packet service data at high rate, the first terminal may transmit the service data at high rate and with low delay through the dedicated BWP1 with large bandwidth. When the service data of the small data packet is transmitted at a low rate, the terminal may transmit the service data through the dedicated BWP2 with a smaller bandwidth to save power consumption.

And, the first base station to which the first cell in fig. 1 belongs may instruct the first terminal to perform handover between the private BWP1 and the private BWP2 based on the size of the traffic data volume. Specifically, when instructing the first terminal to switch the dedicated BWP, the first base station may instruct the first terminal to switch the BWP by using a handover scheme based on Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling or a Downlink Control Information (DCI).

With reference to fig. 1, as shown in fig. 2, a schematic flow chart of RRC signaling based handover according to an embodiment of the present application is provided. When the first terminal and the first cell establish an initial connection, the first terminal generally completes configuration of a System Information Block (SIB), a Random Access (RA), and the like on an initial BWP, thereby entering an RRC connected state.

In this case, the first base station may send an RRC reconfiguration (RRC reconfiguration) message to the first terminal, and configure a new BWP for uplink and downlink transmission for the first terminal in the RRC reconfiguration message to indicate that the first terminal is switched from the initial BWP to the new BWP. Meanwhile, the first base station stops data scheduling with the first terminal before the first terminal switches to the new BWP. Accordingly, the first terminal may receive the RRC reconfiguration message from the first base station and parse the RRC reconfiguration message to receive the configuration and switch to a new BWP (received configuration switch to new BWP).

The first base station may then allocate resources for the first terminal on the new BWP and send a resource indication message to the first terminal. The resource indication message may be used to indicate that the DCI format is DCI format0 (DCI format0, DCI 0), and includes common control information and first terminal-specific information. Accordingly, the first terminal may receive the resource indication message from the first base station and send an RRC reconfiguration complete (RRC reconfiguration complete) message to the first base station.

It should be understood that the bandwidth of the dedicated BWP is generally larger than that of the initial BWP, and the first terminal can better ensure the speed and stability of data transmission after switching from the initial BWP to the dedicated BWP.

In a possible manner, the RRC reconfiguration message may carry a reconfiguration parameter. The reconfiguration parameter includes a first active downlink BWP-identity (first active downlink BWP-identity) and a first active uplink BWP-identity (first active uplink BWP-identity). For example, the first active downlink BWP identity and the first active uplink BWP identity may both be used to identify the dedicated BWP1, so that at least the first terminal switches to the dedicated BWP1.

With reference to fig. 1, as shown in fig. 3, a schematic flow diagram based on DCI handover provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. When the DCI-based handover scheme is adopted, the first base station may send a DCI indication message to the first terminal during data transmission of the first terminal through the dedicated BWP1. Wherein, the DCI indication message is used for indicating the first terminal to switch to the dedicated BWP2. For example, the DCI indication message may be a message such as DCI0-1 and DCI1-1, and the dedicated BWP2 is identified by a carried bandwidth part indicator (bandwidth part indicator). Meanwhile, the first base station stops data scheduling with the first terminal before the first terminal switches to the new BWP (i.e., the dedicated BWP 2). Accordingly, the first terminal may receive the DCI indication message from the first base station and parse the DCI indication message to receive the configuration and switch to the new BWP (i.e., dedicated BWP 2).

In one possible approach, the first base station may transmit the DCI indication message to the first terminal through a Control Channel Element (CCE) resource of a dedicated BWP1. And, the DCI indication message may indicate that the first terminal performs feedback of a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) through the CCE resource of the dedicated BWP2. And, the first base station may indicate the handover processing time for the first terminal to be handed over from the dedicated BWP1 to the dedicated BWP2 through K0/K2 in a time domain resource allocation (time resource allocation) field carried by the DCI indication message. It will be appreciated that the length of the handover processing time is dependent on the hardware configuration of the first terminal.

The first base station may then send a PDSCH message to the first terminal on active BWP (i.e., dedicated BWP 2). Accordingly, the first terminal may receive a PDSCH message from the first base station on the dedicated BWP2 and transmit a PUSCH message or a PUCCH message to the first base station on the dedicated BWP2. Accordingly, the first base station may receive a PUSCH message or a PUCCH message from the first terminal and allocate resources for the first terminal on the dedicated BWP2.

Based on this, a scheme for allocating BWP to a terminal based on the traffic data size is proposed in the related art. However, the mechanism for allocating BWPs to terminals based on only the traffic data size is not flexible enough, and when facing terminals with high traffic data volume or terminals with low traffic data volume, it is difficult to allocate these terminals on multiple BWPs in a 5G cell in a balanced manner, which easily causes the situation of terminal aggregation on a certain BWP or BWPs, and affects the user experience.

In view of the above problems, embodiments of the present application provide a bandwidth allocation method that, after determining load information of each of a plurality of dedicated BWPs configured by a target cell, may further determine transmission state information of a terminal residing on a first dedicated BWP if the first and second dedicated BWPs of the plurality of dedicated BWPs meet a first preset condition, and send a handover indication message to the terminal when the transmission state information of the terminal meets a second preset condition, thereby indicating that the terminal is handed over from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP.

In this way, the present application, by analyzing the load condition of the dedicated BWP in combination with the transmission state information of the terminal, can instruct the terminal meeting the requirement to switch to the dedicated BWP with lower load when the load carried by a certain dedicated BWP or dedicated BWPs is higher. Compared with the scheme for performing BWP allocation based on the size of the traffic data volume in the related art, the present application can allocate multiple terminals on multiple dedicated BWPs in a balanced manner, thereby avoiding the situation that multiple terminals are aggregated on a certain dedicated BWP or on some dedicated BWPs, and ensuring the user experience. Therefore, the present application can reasonably allocate BWP to the terminal.

The bandwidth allocation method is suitable for a bandwidth allocation system. Fig. 4 shows one configuration of the bandwidth allocation system 100. As shown in fig. 4, the bandwidth allocation system 100 includes: base station 101 and terminal 102. Base station 101 may be communicatively coupled to terminal 102.

In practical applications, the base station 101 in fig. 4 may be communicatively connected to a plurality of terminals 102.

For ease of understanding, the present application will be described with reference to a communication connection between a base station 101 and a terminal 102.

Alternatively, the base station 101 in fig. 4, i.e. the public mobile communication base station, is an interface device for accessing the mobile device to the internet, and is also a form of a radio station, and refers to a radio transceiver station for performing information transfer between the mobile communication switching center and the terminal 102 in a certain radio coverage area.

Alternatively, terminal 102 in fig. 4 may be a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a pointing user, a handheld device having wireless connection capability, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. A wireless terminal may communicate with one or more core networks via a Radio Access Network (RAN). The wireless terminal may be a mobile terminal, such as a computer having a mobile terminal, or a portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-embedded mobile device, which exchanges language and/or data with a radio access network, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a netbook, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). The embodiments of the present application do not set any limit to this.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The base station comprises a processor 21, a memory 22, a communication interface 23, a bus 24. The processor 21, the memory 22 and the communication interface 23 may be connected by a bus 24.

The processor 21 is a control center of the base station, and may be a single processor or a collective term for a plurality of processing elements. For example, the processor 21 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, or the like. Wherein a general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like.

For one embodiment, processor 21 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG. 5.

The memory 22 may be, but is not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that may store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

In a possible implementation, the memory 22 may exist separately from the processor 21, and the memory 22 may be connected to the processor 21 via a bus 24 for storing instructions or program code. The processor 21, when calling and executing the instructions or program codes stored in the memory 22, can implement the bandwidth allocation method provided by the following embodiments of the present application.

In another possible implementation, the memory 22 may also be integrated with the processor 21.

A communication interface 23, configured to connect the base station with other devices through a communication network, where the communication network may be an ethernet, a radio access network, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), or the like. The communication interface 23 may include a receiving unit for receiving data, and a transmitting unit for transmitting data.

The bus 24 may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an extended ISA (enhanced industry standard architecture) bus, or the like. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 5, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

It is noted that the structure shown in fig. 5 does not constitute a limitation of the base station, which may comprise more or less components than those shown in fig. 5, or a combination of some components, or a different arrangement of components than those shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a bandwidth allocation method according to an embodiment of the present application. The bandwidth allocation method is applied to the base station in the bandwidth allocation system shown in fig. 4. The bandwidth allocation method comprises the following steps: S601-S603.

S601, the base station determines load information of each of a plurality of dedicated BWPs configured by the target cell.

Wherein the load information of each dedicated BWP is used to indicate the load carried on each dedicated BWP. The target cell may be any one of a plurality of cells belonging to the base station.

It will be appreciated that the coverage area of a base station may generally be divided into a number of cells. Further, each cell may divide the total bandwidth into an initial BWP and a plurality of dedicated BWPs based on the 5G NR protocol.

Based on this, for a plurality of dedicated BWPs in the target cell, the base station may determine the load information of each dedicated BWP in real time or periodically to determine the load situation on each dedicated BWP.

In one possible approach, the load information of one dedicated BWP may include Physical Resource Block (PRB) utilization and downlink PRB utilization of the one dedicated BWP.

Alternatively, the base station may calculate the uplink PRB utilization and the downlink PRB utilization of the dedicated BWP in each slot in real time in multiple consecutive slots. Then, the base station may determine the average of the uplink PRB utilization rates of the multiple slots and the average of the downlink PRB utilization rates of the multiple slots as the load information of the dedicated BWP, so as to reflect the load condition of the dedicated BWP more accurately.

It should be understood that the manner for the base station to calculate the uplink PRB utilization or the downlink PRB utilization of a dedicated BWP in a slot is easy to understand by those skilled in the art, and will not be described herein.

S602, when a first private BWP and a second private BWP of the plurality of private BWPs conform to a first preset condition, the base station determines transmission state information of the terminal residing on the first private BWP.

In one implementation, the base station may compare the load information of a plurality of dedicated BWPs with a plurality of preset load thresholds after determining the load information of each dedicated BWP in the target cell. When the first and second dedicated BWPs meet the first preset condition, it indicates that the load of the first dedicated BWP is higher than that of the second dedicated BWP, and the difference between the load of the first dedicated BWP and the load of the second dedicated BWP is large.

In this case, it may be considered to switch a terminal on the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP to reduce the load of the first dedicated BWP. Based on this, the base station may further determine transmission state information of the terminal residing on the first dedicated BWP in order to determine whether the terminal may be handed over from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP.

In one possible manner, the transmission status information of the terminal may include an average value of data traffic of the terminal in a first preset duration, and an average occupancy rate of CCEs of the terminal in a second preset duration.

Alternatively, the first preset time period and the second preset time period may be preset in the base station by an operator. The first preset duration and the second preset duration may be the same. For example, the first preset duration and the second preset duration may each be 10s. Alternatively, the first preset time period and the second preset time period may be different. For example, the first preset time period may be 10s, and the second preset time periods may each be 5s.

In one possible example, as shown in fig. 7, the total bandwidth of the predetermined target cell is 100 megahertz (MHz), and is divided into an initial BWP with a bandwidth of 20MHz, a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 100MHz, and a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 40 MHz. The dedicated BWP with the bandwidth of 100MHz can be used for supporting the terminal high-speed and low-delay transmission large data packet service. A dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 40MHz may be used to support low-rate transmission small packet traffic of the terminal to save power consumption.

In such a scenario where the target cell is divided into two dedicated BWPs, when the first dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 100MHz and the second dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 40MHz, that is, the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition may include: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than a first load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold,

or the downlink PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold,

or the difference between the uplink PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is greater than a third load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold,

or the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the third load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold.

In one implementation, the first load threshold, the second load threshold, and the third load threshold may be preset in the base station by a worker.

Optionally, the first loading threshold may be greater than the second loading threshold. As such, when the first and second dedicated BWPs meet the first preset condition, it may indicate that the load of the first dedicated BWP is higher than that of the second dedicated BWP. And, when the difference between the first load threshold and the second load threshold is large, it may further indicate that the gap between the load of the first dedicated BWP and the load of the second dedicated BWP is large.

It should be noted that, in order to avoid the degradation of the user experience caused by switching the terminal on the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP in the case that the first dedicated BWP (i.e. the dedicated BWP with the bandwidth of 100 MHz) can bear a large load, the first load threshold and the third load threshold may be set as large thresholds. For example, the first loading threshold may be 70% and the third loading threshold may be 40%. Also, for a terminal residing on the first private BWP, it may be necessary to transmit the traffic data of the large data packet again after switching from the first private BWP to the second private BWP. Based on this, in order to avoid the overload of the second dedicated BWP, which may be caused after the terminal on the first dedicated BWP is switched to the second dedicated BWP, the second load threshold may be set to a smaller threshold to ensure load balancing when the load of the second dedicated BWP is lower. For example, the second loading threshold may be 20%.

In such a scenario where the target cell is divided into two dedicated BWPs, when the first dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 40MHz and the second dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 100MHz, that is, the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is smaller than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition may include: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the fourth load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold,

or the downlink PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold,

or the difference between the uplink PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is greater than a sixth load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a fifth load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a fifth load threshold,

alternatively, the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the sixth load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold.

Wherein the fourth load threshold, the fifth load threshold and the sixth load threshold may be preset in the base station by a worker.

In one possible approach, the fourth loading threshold may be less than the first loading threshold and greater than the sixth loading threshold. The fifth loading threshold may be greater than the second loading threshold. The sixth loading threshold may be less than the third loading threshold and greater than the fifth loading threshold.

It should be noted that, when the first dedicated BWP is a 40MHz dedicated BWP, if the load borne by the first dedicated BWP increases, it indicates that the terminal residing in the first dedicated BWP may need to transmit the service data of the large data packet. Based on this, to guarantee the user experience, the fourth loading threshold may be set to a smaller threshold than the first loading threshold, and the sixth loading threshold may be set to a smaller threshold than the third loading threshold, to ensure that the terminal on the first dedicated BWP can be switched to the second dedicated BWP in a timely manner. For example, the fourth loading threshold may be 60% and the sixth loading threshold may be 30%. And, for the second dedicated BWP (i.e., the dedicated BWP with the bandwidth of 100 MHz), a larger load can be generally borne. Based on this, in order to ensure that a terminal on the first dedicated BWP can be switched to the second dedicated BWP in a timely manner, the fifth load threshold may be set to a threshold greater than the second load threshold. For example, the fifth loading threshold may be 30%.

It should be understood that, if the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is equal to the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, in order to better avoid the situation where the first dedicated BWP or the second dedicated BWP is overloaded, the base station may refer to the setting of the first preset condition when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is smaller than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP when comparing the load of the first dedicated BWP and the second dedicated BWP.

In one possible example, in conjunction with the example in fig. 7 described above, as shown in fig. 8, the pre-set target cell is divided into an initial BWP with a bandwidth of 20MHz, a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 100MHz, a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 40MHz, and a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 20MHz.

In such a scenario where the target cell is divided into three dedicated BWPs, when the first dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 100MHz and the second dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 40MHz, that is, the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition may include: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the first rule,

or the downlink PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the first rule,

or the difference between the uplink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than a third load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies a first rule,

alternatively, the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the third load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the first rule.

It will be appreciated that the third dedicated BWP at this point is a 20MHz dedicated BWP.

Wherein the first rule may include: the downlink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP, and a difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is less than a seventh load threshold, or the uplink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP, and a difference between the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is less than the seventh load threshold, or the downlink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP, or the uplink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP.

It should be noted that, when the downlink PRB usage rate of the third dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the downlink PRB usage rate of the second dedicated BWP and the difference between the downlink PRB usage rate of the second dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB usage rate of the third dedicated BWP is less than the seventh load threshold, or the uplink PRB usage rate of the third dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the uplink PRB usage rate of the second dedicated BWP and the difference between the uplink PRB usage rate of the second dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB usage rate of the third dedicated BWP is less than the seventh load threshold, it indicates that the load of the third dedicated BWP is the smallest of the three dedicated BWPs and the difference between the load of the second dedicated BWP and the load of the third dedicated BWP is small. In this case, since the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is greater than that of the third dedicated BWP, the terminal on the first dedicated BWP should be preferentially switched to the second dedicated BWP. Therefore, the terminal can transmit the service data through a larger bandwidth, thereby ensuring the user experience. Based on this, the seventh load threshold may be set in advance in the base station by the staff as a smaller threshold. For example, the seventh loading threshold may be 10%.

If the downlink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP or the uplink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP, it indicates that the load of the second dedicated BWP is lower than the load of any one of the plurality of dedicated BWPs except the first dedicated BWP. In this case, the base station may determine to handover a terminal on the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP.

In such a scenario where the target cell is divided into three dedicated BWPs, when the first dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 100MHz and the second dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 20MHz, that is, the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition may include: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the second rule,

or the downlink PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the second rule,

or the difference between the uplink PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is greater than a third load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies a second rule,

alternatively, the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the third load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the second rule.

It should be understood that the third dedicated BWP at this point is the 40MHz dedicated BWP.

Wherein the second rule may include: the downlink PRB usage ratio of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the downlink PRB usage ratio of the second dedicated BWP, and the difference between the downlink PRB usage ratio of the third dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB usage ratio of the second dedicated BWP is greater than or equal to the seventh load threshold, or the uplink PRB usage ratio of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the uplink PRB usage ratio of the second dedicated BWP, and the difference between the uplink PRB usage ratio of the second dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB usage ratio of the third dedicated BWP is greater than or equal to the seventh load threshold.

It should be noted that, under this condition, since the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP (i.e. the dedicated BWP of 20 MHz) is smaller, in order to avoid the degradation of the user experience that may be caused after the terminal on the first dedicated BWP is switched to the second dedicated BWP, the first loading threshold and the second loading threshold may be set to be larger thresholds. For example, the first loading threshold may be set to 80% and the second loading threshold may be set to 50%.

Based on this, when the load of the first dedicated BWP (i.e., the dedicated BWP having the bandwidth of 100 MHz) is too high, if the downlink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP and the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than or equal to the seventh load threshold, or the uplink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP and the difference between the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is greater than or equal to the seventh load threshold, it indicates that the load of any one dedicated BWP other than the first dedicated BWP among the plurality of dedicated BWPs is significantly lower than the load of the third dedicated BWP in the case that the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP (i.e., the dedicated BWP having the bandwidth of 20 MHz) is less than the bandwidth of the third dedicated BWP (i.e., the dedicated BWP having the bandwidth of 40 MHz). In this case, the base station may determine to switch the terminal on the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP to avoid the situation of terminal aggregation on the dedicated BWP of 40 MHz.

In such a scenario where the target cell is divided into three dedicated BWPs, when the first dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 40MHz and the second dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 20MHz, that is, the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition may include: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies a third rule,

or the downlink PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the third rule,

or the difference between the uplink PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is greater than a third load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies a third rule,

or the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the third load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the third rule.

It should be understood that the third dedicated BWP at this point is a dedicated BWP of 100 MHz.

Wherein the third rule may include: the downlink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the eighth load threshold, or the uplink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the eighth load threshold. The eighth load threshold may be preset in the base station by a worker. For example, the eighth loading threshold may be 50%.

It should be noted that, when the load of the first dedicated BWP (i.e. the 40MHz dedicated BWP) is high, it indicates that the terminal residing on the first dedicated BWP may need to transmit the traffic of the large data packet, and it should be prioritized to switch the terminal on the first dedicated BWP to the third dedicated BWP with a larger bandwidth to ensure the user experience. However, if the downlink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the eighth load threshold, or the uplink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the eighth load threshold, it indicates that the load of the third dedicated BWP is also high. In this case, the base station may determine to initiate load balancing between the first dedicated BWP and the second dedicated BWP (i.e., the 20MHz dedicated BWP).

In one possible example, in conjunction with the example in fig. 8 described above, as shown in fig. 9, the pre-set target cell is divided into an initial BWP with a bandwidth of 20MHz, a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 100MHz, a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 40MHz, and a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 20MHz.

In such a scenario where the target cell is divided into three dedicated BWPs, when the first dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 40MHz and the second dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 100MHz, that is, the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is smaller than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition may include: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than a first load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold,

or the difference between the uplink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than a third load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold,

or, the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the third load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold.

It should be noted that, when the load of the first dedicated BWP (i.e. the dedicated BWP of 40 MHz) is high, it indicates that the terminal residing on the first dedicated BWP may need to transmit the traffic of the large data packet, and it should be prioritized to switch the terminal on the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP with larger bandwidth (i.e. the dedicated BWP of 100 MHz) to ensure the user experience. In this case, if the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is smaller than the second load threshold and the downlink PRB utilization is smaller than the second load threshold, it indicates that the load of the second dedicated BWP is low. Accordingly, the base station may determine to handover a terminal on the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP.

In such a scenario where the target cell is divided into three dedicated BWPs, when the first dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 20MHz and the second dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 100MHz, that is, the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is smaller than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition may include: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the fourth rule,

or the downlink PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the fourth rule,

or the difference between the uplink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the third load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the fourth rule,

or the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the third load threshold, the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the load information of the third dedicated BWP satisfies the fourth rule.

It should be understood that the third dedicated BWP at this time is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 40 MHz.

Wherein the fourth rule may include: the downlink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the eighth load threshold, or the uplink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the eighth load threshold.

It should be noted that when the load of the first dedicated BWP (i.e. the dedicated BWP of 20 MHz) is high, it indicates that the terminal residing on the first dedicated BWP may need to transmit the traffic of large data packets. At this time, since the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is small, it should be prioritized to switch the terminal on the first dedicated BWP to the dedicated BWP with the bandwidth of 40MHz (i.e., the third BWP) in order to increase the transmission rate of the terminal and ensure that the power consumption of the terminal is at a low level. If the downlink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the eighth load threshold, or the uplink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is greater than the eighth load threshold, it indicates that the load of the third dedicated BWP is higher. In this case, to guarantee the user experience, the base station may determine to handover the terminal on the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP (i.e., the dedicated BWP of 100 MHz).

In such a scenario where the target cell is divided into three dedicated BWPs, when the first dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 20MHz and the second dedicated BWP is a dedicated BWP with a bandwidth of 40MHz, that is, the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is smaller than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition may include: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than a first load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold,

It should be noted that when the load of the first dedicated BWP (i.e. the dedicated BWP of 20 MHz) is high, it indicates that the terminal residing on the first dedicated BWP may need to transmit the traffic of large data packets. In this case, since the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is small, it should be prioritized to switch the terminal on the first dedicated BWP to the dedicated BWP with the bandwidth of 40MHz (i.e., the second BWP) in order to increase the transmission rate of the terminal and ensure that the power consumption of the terminal is at a lower level. When the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is smaller than the second load threshold and the downlink PRB utilization is smaller than the second load threshold, it indicates that the load of the second BWP is low, and load balancing may be performed between the second BWP and the first dedicated BWP. Accordingly, the base station may determine to handover a terminal on the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP.

In one possible approach, when the load of the dedicated BWP in the target cell is high, the load balancing function of the target cell towards the neighboring cells is further triggered. In this case, the base station may instruct the terminal to perform handover according to the inter-cell load balancing method in the prior art. And will not be described in detail herein.

S603, when the transmission state information of the terminal meets a second preset condition, the base station sends a switching indication message to the terminal.

Wherein the handover indication message is used for indicating the terminal to be handed over from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP.

In an implementation manner, after determining the transmission state information of the terminal, the base station may determine whether the transmission state information of the terminal meets a second preset condition. When the transmission state information of the terminal meets the second preset condition, it indicates that the terminal can be switched from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP.

In this case, the base station may transmit a handover indication message to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal may receive a handover indication message from the base station and may handover from the first private BWP to the second private BWP in response to the handover indication message. In this way, the load of the first dedicated BWP may be reduced, thereby avoiding a situation where multiple terminals are aggregated.

Alternatively, in conjunction with fig. 2, the base station may instruct the terminal to switch from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP in a handover manner based on RRC signaling. In this case, the handover indication message may be an RRC reconfiguration message. Alternatively, in conjunction with fig. 3, the base station may employ a DCI-based handover scheme to instruct the terminal to handover from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP. In this case, the handover indication message may be a DCI indication message.

In one possible approach, when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is greater than that of the second dedicated BWP, a priority should be given to switching the terminal transmitting the service data of the small data packet through the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP, so as to guarantee the user experience. Based on this, the second preset condition may include: the average value of the data traffic is less than or equal to the first traffic threshold and the average occupancy of the CCEs is less than or equal to the first occupancy threshold.

The first flow rate threshold and the first occupancy rate threshold may be preset in the base station by a worker according to the working condition.

Illustratively, when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is 100MHz and the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is 20MHz, the first traffic threshold may be 1 megabits per second (Mbps) and the first occupancy threshold may be 5%. When the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is 100MHz and the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is 40MHz, the first traffic threshold may be 5Mbps and the first occupancy threshold may be 10%. When the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is 40MHz and the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is 20MHz, the first traffic threshold may be 0.5Mbps and the first occupancy threshold may be 2%.

In one possible approach, when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, a priority should be given to switching the terminal transmitting the service data of the large data packet through the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP, so as to ensure the user experience. Based on this, the second preset condition may include: the average value of the data traffic is greater than the second traffic threshold and the average occupancy of the CCEs is greater than the second occupancy threshold.

The second flow rate threshold and the second occupancy rate threshold may be preset in the base station by a worker according to the working condition.

In one possible approach, the second traffic threshold may be less than or equal to the first traffic threshold, and the second occupancy threshold may be less than or equal to the first occupancy threshold.

Illustratively, when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is 20MHz and the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is 100MHz, the first traffic threshold may be 0.5Mbps and the first occupancy threshold may be 2%. When the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is 40MHz and the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is 100MHz, the first traffic threshold may be 5Mbps and the first occupancy threshold may be 10%. When the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is 20MHz and the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is 40MHz, the first traffic threshold may be 1Mbps and the first occupancy threshold may be 5%.

In one embodiment, when the base station determines the load information of each dedicated BWP in the plurality of dedicated BWPs configured by the target cell when the frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP cover the frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, the present application provides an alternative implementation manner, including: and S701.

S701, the base station determines load information of frequency domain resources, excluding frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, in the frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP as load information of the first dedicated BWP.

It should be noted that, when the frequency-domain resources of the first dedicated BWP cover the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, in order to accurately evaluate the loading condition of the first dedicated BWP, the base station may determine, as the loading information of the first dedicated BWP, the loading information of the frequency-domain resources of the first dedicated BWP except the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP. That is, the base station may determine the upper and lower PRB utilization rates and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the frequency-domain resources of the first dedicated BWP, excluding the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, as the load information of the first dedicated BWP, so as to avoid the influence of the load increase of the second dedicated BWP on the load condition of the first dedicated BWP.

In this way, the load condition of the first dedicated BWP can be further accurately evaluated, so that the start and close timings of load balancing between the dedicated BWPs are more accurate.

Illustratively, in connection with the example in fig. 9, the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is preset to be 100MHz, and the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is preset to be 20MHz. Wherein the frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP are overlaid with the frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP. For example, the second dedicated BWP may be 20MHz, with frequencies going low to high, of the 100MHz of the first dedicated BWP. In this case, in calculating the uplink PRB utilization rate and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP, the base station may calculate the uplink PRB utilization rate and the downlink PRB utilization rate of 80MHz excluding 20MHz of the second dedicated BWP from 100 MHz.

In one embodiment, when the base station determines load information of each dedicated BWP in a plurality of dedicated BWPs configured by a target cell when there are overlapping frequency-domain resources of the first dedicated BWP and the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, the application provides an alternative implementation manner, including: S801-S802.

S801, the base station determines load information of frequency domain resources other than the overlapped frequency domain resources among the frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP as load information of the first dedicated BWP.

It should be noted that, when there are overlapping frequency-domain resources between the frequency-domain resources of the first dedicated BWP and the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, in order to accurately evaluate the load condition of the first dedicated BWP, the base station may determine, as the load information of the first dedicated BWP, the load information of the frequency-domain resources other than the overlapping frequency-domain resources in the frequency-domain resources of the first dedicated BWP, so as to avoid the influence on the load condition of the first dedicated BWP due to the load increase of the second dedicated BWP.

Illustratively, the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is preset to be 40MHz, and the location of the frequency domain resource is between 3500MHz and 3540 MHz. And, the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is also 40MHz, and the location of the frequency domain resources is between 3520MHz and 3560 MHz. In this case, the base station may determine uplink PRB usage rates and downlink PRB usage rates of the frequency-domain resources between 3500MHz and 3520MHz as load information of the first dedicated BWP.

And the PRB utilization rate of BWP3 (3540-3560 MHz) to avoid the mutual influence of statistical indexes.

S802, the base station determines load information of frequency domain resources other than the overlapped frequency domain resources among the frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP as load information of the second dedicated BWP.

It should be noted that, when there are overlapping frequency-domain resources between the frequency-domain resources of the first dedicated BWP and the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, the base station may determine, as the load information of the second dedicated BWP, the load information of the frequency-domain resources other than the overlapping frequency-domain resources in the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, in order to avoid the impact on the load condition of the second dedicated BWP due to the load increase of the first dedicated BWP.

In connection with the example in S801 described above, the base station may determine uplink PRB utilization rates and downlink PRB utilization rates of the frequency-domain resources between 3540MHz and 3560MHz as the load information of the second dedicated BWP.

In the embodiment of the present application, after determining the load information of each of the plurality of dedicated BWPs configured by the target cell, if a first dedicated BWP and a second dedicated BWP of the plurality of dedicated BWPs meet a first preset condition, the base station may further determine transmission state information of the terminal residing on the first dedicated BWP, and send a handover indication message to the terminal when the transmission state information of the terminal meets a second preset condition, thereby indicating that the terminal is handed over from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP.

In this way, the present application, by analyzing the load condition of the dedicated BWP in combination with the transmission state information of the terminal, can instruct the terminal meeting the requirement to switch to the dedicated BWP with lower load when the load carried by a certain dedicated BWP or dedicated BWPs is higher. Compared with the scheme of performing BWP allocation based on the size of the traffic data volume in the related art, the method and the device for allocating the multiple terminals on the multiple dedicated BWPs can evenly allocate the multiple terminals on the multiple dedicated BWPs, avoid the situation that the multiple terminals are aggregated on one or some dedicated BWPs, and ensure the user experience. Therefore, the present application can reasonably allocate BWP to the terminal.

The scheme provided by the embodiment of the application is mainly introduced from the perspective of a method. To implement the above functions, it includes hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art would readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. 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.

In the embodiment of the present application, the base station may be divided into the functional modules according to the above method example, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode. Optionally, the division of the modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a bandwidth distribution apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The bandwidth allocation apparatus may be configured to perform the bandwidth allocation methods as shown in fig. 6 to 9. The bandwidth allocation apparatus includes: a determining unit 901 and a transmitting unit 902.

A determining unit 901, configured to determine load information of each dedicated bandwidth part BWP in the plurality of dedicated BWPs configured by the target cell; the load information of each dedicated BWP is used to represent the load carried on each dedicated BWP; for example, in conjunction with fig. 6, the determining unit 901 may be configured to perform S601.

A determining unit 901, further configured to determine transmission state information of a terminal residing on a first dedicated BWP when the first dedicated BWP and a second dedicated BWP in the plurality of dedicated BWPs conform to a first preset condition; for example, in conjunction with fig. 6, the determining unit 901 may be configured to perform S602.

A sending unit 902, configured to send a handover indication message to the terminal when the transmission state information of the terminal meets a second preset condition; the handover indication message is used to indicate that the terminal is handed over from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP. For example, in conjunction with fig. 6, the sending unit 902 may be configured to perform S603.

Optionally, the determining unit 901 is further configured to determine, as the load information of the first dedicated BWP, load information of frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP except the frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP.

Optionally, the determining unit 901 is further configured to determine, as the load information of the first dedicated BWP, the load information of the frequency domain resources other than the overlapped frequency domain resources in the frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP; the determining unit 901 is further configured to determine, as the load information of the second dedicated BWP, the load information of the frequency domain resources other than the overlapped frequency domain resources in the frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer-readable storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

Through the description of the foregoing embodiments, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the functional modules is illustrated, and in practical applications, the above function distribution may be completed by different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the apparatus may be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the above described functions.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the modules or units is only one logical function division, and there may be other division ways in actual implementation. For example, various elements or components may be combined or may be integrated into another device, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented. 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. Units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may be one physical unit or a plurality of physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to a plurality of different places. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

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 changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present application should be covered within the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of bandwidth allocation, comprising:

determining load information of each dedicated bandwidth part (BWP) of a plurality of BWPs configured by a target cell; the load information of each dedicated BWP is used to represent the load carried on each dedicated BWP;

determining transmission state information of a terminal residing on a first private BWP when the first and second private BWPs among the plurality of private BWPs conform to a first preset condition;

when the transmission state information of the terminal meets a second preset condition, sending a switching indication message to the terminal; the handover indication message is used to indicate that the terminal is handed over from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the load information of each dedicated BWP comprises an uplink physical resource block, PRB, utilization and a downlink PRB utilization of each dedicated BWP; when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition includes: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than a first load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold,

or the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the first load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold,

or the difference between the uplink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than a third load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold,

or the difference between the downlink PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the third load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold; wherein the first loading threshold is greater than the second loading threshold.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition comprises: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than a fourth load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a fifth load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold,

or the difference between the uplink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than a sixth load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold,

or the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the sixth load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold.

4. The bandwidth allocation method according to any one of claims 2-3, wherein when the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the bandwidth of a third dedicated BWP, the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the upstream PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP, or the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the downstream PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP; when the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the third dedicated BWP, the difference between the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP and the uplink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is less than a seventh load threshold, or the difference between the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP is less than the seventh load threshold; the third dedicated BWP is any one dedicated BWP of the plurality of dedicated BWPs except for the first dedicated BWP and the second dedicated BWP.

5. The method for allocating bandwidth as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission status information of the terminal includes an average value of data traffic of the terminal in a first preset duration and an average occupancy rate of a control channel element CCE of the terminal in a second preset duration; when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the second preset condition includes: the average value of the data traffic is less than or equal to a first traffic threshold, and the average occupancy of the CCEs is less than or equal to a first occupancy threshold.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the second preset condition comprises: the average value of the data traffic is greater than a second traffic threshold and the average occupancy of the CCEs is greater than a second occupancy threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein when the frequency-domain resources of the first dedicated BWP overlap the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, further comprising:

determining load information of frequency-domain resources of the first dedicated BWP, excluding the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, as the load information of the first dedicated BWP.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein when there are overlapping frequency domain resources for the frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP and the frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP, further comprising:

determining load information of frequency-domain resources other than the overlapping frequency-domain resources among the frequency-domain resources of the first dedicated BWP as load information of the first dedicated BWP;

determining load information of frequency-domain resources other than the overlapping frequency-domain resources among the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP as load information of the second dedicated BWP.

9. A bandwidth distribution apparatus, comprising: a determination unit and a transmission unit;

the determining unit is configured to determine load information of each dedicated bandwidth part BWP in a plurality of dedicated BWPs configured by the target cell; the load information of each dedicated BWP is used to represent the load carried on each dedicated BWP;

the determining unit is further configured to determine transmission state information of a terminal residing on a first dedicated BWP among the plurality of dedicated BWPs when the first and second dedicated BWPs conform to a first preset condition;

the sending unit is used for sending a switching indication message to the terminal when the transmission state information of the terminal meets a second preset condition; the handover indication message is used to indicate that the terminal is handed over from the first dedicated BWP to the second dedicated BWP.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the load information of each dedicated BWP comprises an uplink physical resource block, PRB, utilization and a downlink PRB utilization of each dedicated BWP; when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition includes: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than a first load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a second load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold,

or the difference between the downlink PRB utilization rate of the first dedicated BWP and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the third load threshold, and the uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold, and the downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP is less than the second load threshold; wherein the first loading threshold is greater than the second loading threshold.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the first preset condition comprises: the upstream PRB utilization of the first dedicated BWP is greater than a fourth load threshold, and the upstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than a fifth load threshold, and the downstream PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the fifth load threshold,

12. The apparatus according to any of claims 10-11, wherein when the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the bandwidth of a third dedicated BWP, the uplink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the uplink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP, or the downlink PRB utilization of the second dedicated BWP is less than the downlink PRB utilization of the third dedicated BWP; when the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the third dedicated BWP, a difference between an uplink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP and an uplink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is less than a seventh loading threshold, or a difference between a downlink PRB utilization rate of the second dedicated BWP and a downlink PRB utilization rate of the third dedicated BWP is less than the seventh loading threshold; the third dedicated BWP is any one dedicated BWP of the plurality of dedicated BWPs except for the first dedicated BWP and the second dedicated BWP.

13. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the transmission status information of the terminal includes an average value of data traffic of the terminal in a first preset duration and an average occupancy rate of control channel elements CCE of the terminal in a second preset duration; when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is greater than the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the second preset condition includes: the average value of the data traffic is less than or equal to a first traffic threshold, and the average occupancy of the CCEs is less than or equal to a first occupancy threshold.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein when the bandwidth of the first dedicated BWP is less than or equal to the bandwidth of the second dedicated BWP, the second preset condition comprises: the average value of the data traffic is greater than a second traffic threshold and the average occupancy of the CCEs is greater than a second occupancy threshold.

15. The bandwidth allocation apparatus according to claim 9,

the determining unit is further configured to determine, as the load information of the first dedicated BWP, load information of frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP other than the frequency domain resources of the second dedicated BWP.

16. The bandwidth allocation apparatus according to claim 9,

the determining unit is further configured to determine, as the load information of the first dedicated BWP, the load information of the frequency domain resources other than the overlapping frequency domain resources in the frequency domain resources of the first dedicated BWP;

the determining unit is further configured to determine, as the load information of the second dedicated BWP, load information of frequency-domain resources other than the overlapping frequency-domain resources among the frequency-domain resources of the second dedicated BWP.

17. A bandwidth allocation apparatus comprising a memory and a processor; the memory is used for storing computer execution instructions, and the processor is connected with the memory through a bus; the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored by the memory when the bandwidth allocation apparatus is operating to cause the bandwidth allocation apparatus to perform the bandwidth allocation method of any of claims 1-8.

18. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of allocating bandwidth as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.