CN116918446A - Method, device, equipment and readable storage medium for determining period duration - Google Patents

Abstract

The disclosure provides a method, a device, equipment and a readable storage medium for determining period duration, which are applied to the technical field of wireless communication. A method of determining a period duration, performed by a user equipment, the method comprising: determining a second time length according to a first time length, wherein the first time length is the time length occupied by one period of Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) of the network equipment, the second time length is the time length of an indication period, the indication period is the period of a measurement result for evaluating the quality of a wireless link, and the measurement result is the measurement result of a Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) reference signal.

Description

Method, device, equipment and readable storage medium for determining period duration

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to wireless communication technology, and in particular, to a method, apparatus, device, and readable storage medium for determining a period duration.

Background

One power saving approach for a network device involves discontinuous transmission (DTX, discontinuous transmission) by the network device, during which active periods of DTX the network device normally transmits downlink information, and during inactive periods of DTX the network device abnormally transmits downlink information, e.g. does not transmit some periodic reference signals.

For cells configured with DTX functionality, the active period of DXT may also be referred to as a first period, an on period, etc., in which the DTX state of the network device may be marked as DTX-on; the inactive period of DXT, during which the DTX status of the network device may be marked as DTX-off, may also be referred to as a second period, a shut down period, etc.

The network device may configure a periodic cell DTX on-off pattern including parameters such as time domain period, time domain offset, active period duration, or inactive period duration.

The ue needs to monitor radio links (Radio link monitoring, RLM) in some cells, and periodically evaluate the quality of the radio links and report the evaluation result. The influence of the DTX functionality of the network device on the above described evaluation functionality of the user equipment needs to be taken into account.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure provides a method, apparatus, device, and readable storage medium for determining a period duration.

In a first aspect, there is provided a method of determining a period duration, performed by a user equipment, the method comprising:

determining a second time length according to a first time length, wherein the first time length is the time length occupied by one period of Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) of the network equipment, the second time length is the time length of an indication period, the indication period is the period of a measurement result for evaluating the quality of a wireless link, and the measurement result is the measurement result of a Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) reference signal.

In some possible embodiments, the determining the second time period according to the first time period includes: the second duration is a maximum between a shortest period of the RLM reference signal and the first duration.

In some possible implementations, the user equipment is not configured for connected discontinuous reception, C-DRX.

In some possible implementations, the user equipment is configured for C-DRX.

In some possible embodiments, there is no overlapping area between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, or there is an overlapping area between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, where the duration of the overlapping area is less than a fourth duration, and the fourth duration is an evaluation duration required to obtain a RLM evaluation result.

In some possible embodiments, the determining the second time period according to the first time period includes: in the case that the user equipment is configured with C-DRX, the second duration is a maximum value among a shortest period of the RLM reference signal, the first duration, and a third duration, and the third duration is a duration occupied by one period of the C-DRX.

In some possible embodiments, the method further comprises: and an overlapping area exists between the activation period of the DTX and the activation period of the C-DRX, and the duration of the overlapping area is longer than a fourth duration, wherein the fourth duration is the evaluation duration required for obtaining an RLM evaluation result.

In some possible embodiments, the method further comprises: and determining the fourth time length according to protocol conventions.

In a second aspect, there is provided an apparatus for determining a period duration, configured to a user equipment, the apparatus comprising:

a processing module configured to determine a second time period according to a first time period, wherein the first time period is a time period occupied by one period of discontinuous transmission DTX of the network device, the second time period is a time period of an indication period, the indication period is a period of a measurement result for evaluating radio link quality, and the measurement result is a measurement result of monitoring RLM reference signals for the radio link.

In a third aspect, a system for assessing wireless link quality is provided, the system comprising a network device and a user device;

the network device is configured to transmit a radio link monitoring, RLM, reference signal to the user device during an active period of discontinuous transmission, DTX;

the user equipment is configured to: determining a second time length according to a first time length, wherein the first time length is the time length occupied by one period of Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) of the network equipment, the second time length is the time length of an indication period, the indication period is a period for evaluating a measurement result of radio link quality, and the measurement result is a measurement result of Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) reference signals; and receiving the RLM reference signal, measuring the RLM reference signal to obtain a measurement result, and evaluating the quality of the wireless link according to the measurement result to obtain an evaluation result.

In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory; the memory is used for storing a computer program; the processor is configured to execute the computer program to implement the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having stored therein instructions (or computer programs, programs) which when invoked for execution on a computer, cause the computer to perform the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of embodiments of the disclosure, illustrate and explain the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the disclosure, and do not constitute an undue limitation on the embodiments of the disclosure. In the drawings:

the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the embodiments of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating DTX configuration information in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining a period duration according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a DTX period and a C-DRX period, according to an example embodiment;

fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a DTX period and a C-DRX period, according to an example embodiment;

fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a DTX period and a C-DRX period, according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an interaction diagram illustrating a method of assessing wireless link quality in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for determining a period duration according to an example embodiment;

fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for determining a period duration according to an exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be further described with reference to the drawings and detailed description.

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, the same numbers in different drawings refer to the same or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with some aspects of the present disclosure as detailed in the accompanying claims.

The terminology used in the embodiments of the disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the embodiments of the disclosure. As used in this disclosure of embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any or all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in embodiments of the present disclosure to describe various information, these information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, the first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as first information, without departing from the scope of embodiments of the present disclosure. The words "if" and "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at … …" or "at … …" or "in response to a determination", depending on the context.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to the like or similar elements throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are exemplary and intended for the purpose of explaining the present disclosure and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 1, a method of determining a period duration provided by embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a wireless communication system 100, which may include, but is not limited to, a network device 101 and a user device 102. User equipment 102 is configured to support carrier aggregation, and user equipment 102 may be connected to multiple carrier elements of network equipment 101, including one primary carrier element and one or more secondary carrier elements.

It should be appreciated that the above wireless communication system 100 is applicable to both low frequency and high frequency scenarios. Application scenarios of the wireless communication system 100 include, but are not limited to, long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD) systems, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for micro wave access, wiMAX) communication systems, cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN) systems, future fifth Generation (5 th-Generation, 5G) systems, new Radio (NR) communication systems, or future evolved public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN) systems, and the like.

The user equipment 102 shown above may be a User Equipment (UE), a terminal, an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a Mobile Station (MS), a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile terminal (mobile terminal), a wireless communication device, a terminal proxy, a user equipment, or the like. The user device 102 may be provided with wireless transceiver functionality capable of communicating (e.g., wirelessly communicating) with one or more network devices 101 of one or more communication systems and receiving network services provided by the network devices 101, where the network devices 101 include, but are not limited to, the illustrated base stations.

The user device 102 may be, among other things, a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (personal digital assistant) personal digital assistant, a PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a user device in a future 5G network or a user device in a future evolved PLMN network, etc.

The network device 101 may be an access network device (or access network site). The access network device refers to a device that provides a network access function, such as a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) base station, etc. The network device may specifically include a Base Station (BS) device, or include a base station device, a radio resource management device for controlling the base station device, and the like. The network device may also include a relay station (relay device), an access point, a base station in a future 5G network, a base station in a future evolved PLMN network, or an NR base station, etc. The network device may be a wearable device or an in-vehicle device. The network device may also be a communication chip with a communication module.

For example, network device 101 includes, but is not limited to: a next generation base station (gnodeB, gNB) in 5G, an evolved node B (eNB) in LTE system, a radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), a Node B (NB) in WCDMA system, a radio controller under CRAN system, a base station controller (basestation controller, BSC), a base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS) in GSM system or CDMA system, a home base station (e.g., home evolved nodeB, or home node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a transmission point (transmitting and receiving point, TRP), a transmission point (transmitting point, TP), a mobile switching center, or the like.

The network device may perform DRX configuration for the carrier when performing DRX configuration. For example: DRX configuration is respectively carried out for different carriers, namely different DRX configuration is respectively carried out for different cells. In an example, as shown in fig. 2, different DRX configuration information is configured for carrier 1 and carrier 2, respectively.

When the user equipment is in a cell and is at an active period of DRX (or referred to as DRX-On period) at a certain moment, it is referred to as the network equipment being in DRX-On state during the period. When it is in an inactive period of DRX (or referred to as DRX-Off period) at a certain time, it is referred to as the network device being in a DRX-Off state during that period.

The user equipment may occupy different cells, for example: a Primary Cell (Pcell) and at least one Secondary Cell (Scell) in the Primary Cell group, and a Primary Cell (Primary Secondary Cell, PScell) and at least one Secondary Cell in the Secondary Cell group. Here, the Primary Cell (Pcell) and the Primary and secondary cells (Primary Secondary Cell, PScell) are collectively called a Special Cell (SPcell).

In some possible embodiments, the ue needs to monitor the radio link in a special cell (SPcell), measure the RLM reference signal for monitoring the radio link, obtain a measurement result, evaluate the quality of the radio link according to the measurement result periodically, and report the evaluation result. The period of the measurement result for evaluating the radio link quality may be referred to as an indication period (indication period).

The user equipment may be configured with discontinuous reception (C-DRX, connected Discontinuous Reception) functionality in a connected state, i.e. the C-DRX functionality is configured for the user equipment by the network device. In some possible embodiments, it is agreed in the protocol that when the user equipment is not configured with C-DRX, the indication period of the user equipment is a maximum between the shortest period of the RLM reference signal and 10 ms; when the user equipment is configured with C-DRX, the indication period of the user equipment is the maximum value between the shortest period of the RLM reference signal and the period of the C-DRX. Where 10ms is a fixed value agreed in the protocol. The shortest period of the RLM reference signal refers to a period of the RLM reference signal having the shortest period when the RLM reference signals are provided.

When the network device is configured with a DTX functionality, during the DTX-off period of the cell, no RLM reference signal may be transmitted, and how to determine the indication period of the user equipment is a challenge.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for determining a period duration, which is performed by a user equipment, and fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a period duration according to an exemplary embodiment, and as shown in fig. 3, the method includes step S301, specifically:

step S301, determining a second duration according to the first duration.

The first duration is a duration occupied by one period of DTX of the network device, the second duration is a duration of an indication period of the user device, the indication period is a period for evaluating a measurement result of radio link quality, and the measurement result is a measurement result of monitoring RLM reference signals for the radio link.

The radio link monitoring RLM reference signal is a periodic signal, for example, a synchronization signal and a PBCH block (Synchronization Signal and PBCH block, SSB) signal or a channel-state information reference signal (CSI-state information reference signal, CSI-RS) signal, and the number of the reference signals may be one or more, which is determined according to practical situations.

In some possible embodiments, when determining the second time period according to the first time period, the following three cases are included:

in the first case, when the user equipment is not configured with C-DRX, the second duration is a maximum value between the shortest period of the RLM reference signal and the first duration.

The shortest period of the RLM reference signal is the minimum between periods corresponding to all periodic reference signals in the radio link monitoring RLM.

In an example, the first duration is T, the RLM reference signal includes two periodic reference signals, which are a first reference signal and a second reference signal, respectively, the period of the first reference signal is T1, the period of the second reference signal is T2, when T1< T2 is satisfied, the shortest period of the reference signal is T1, the maximum value between the shortest period T1 of the reference signal and the first duration T is T, and the second duration is T.

In a second case, when the user equipment is configured with C-DRX, the second duration is a maximum between a shortest period of the RLM reference signal and the first duration. The specific process of comparing and acquiring the second time period is the same as the first case above.

In the case that the user equipment is configured with the C-DRX, the second duration is irrelevant to a third duration, and the third duration is the duration occupied by one period of the C-DRX. I.e. the second duration is independent of the period of the C-DRX.

The user equipment needs to receive the RLM reference signal sent by the network equipment in the cell DTX-on period, measure according to the RLM reference signal, periodically evaluate the quality of the wireless link and report the evaluation result. At this time, the user equipment may be in the active period of C-DRX and may also be in the inactive period of C-DRX.

In a third case, when the user equipment is configured with C-DRX, the second duration is a maximum value between a shortest period of the RLM reference signal, the first duration, and a third duration, and the third duration is a duration occupied by one period of the C-DRX.

In some possible embodiments, the third case does not need to consider whether an overlapping area exists between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, that is, the second duration may be determined according to the third case when an overlapping area exists between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, and the second duration may also be determined according to the third case when an overlapping area does not exist between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX.

In an example, the first duration is T, the RLM reference signal includes two periodic reference signals, which are a first reference signal and a second reference signal, respectively, the period of the first reference signal is T1, the period of the second reference signal is T2, the third duration is T0, and when T0< T1< T2 is satisfied, the shortest period of the reference signal is T1, the maximum value between the first duration T and the third duration T0 is T, and the second duration is T.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, when the network device starts the DTX function, the user device determines the duration of the indication period according to the duration occupied by one period of the DTX of the network device, so that it can be ensured that a DTX activation period always exists in one indication period, and the user device can receive the RLM reference signal in the activation period of the DTX of the network device and complete the evaluation of the measurement result of the radio link quality.

In some possible embodiments, when the user equipment is configured with C-DRX, since there is an active period and an inactive period in one period of C-DRX and DTX, the network equipment transmits an RLM reference signal during the active period of DTX, and after the user equipment receives the RLM reference signal transmitted by the network equipment, the user equipment measures the RLM reference signal, and thus when the user equipment is configured with C-DRX, the following two cases are included:

first, there is an overlapping area between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, where the duration of the overlapping area is greater than a fourth duration.

In some possible embodiments, the fourth time period is determined according to a protocol convention.

The fourth time period is an evaluation time period required for obtaining an RLM evaluation result of one radio link detection, and in this evaluation time period, the user equipment needs to measure one or more RLM reference signals, evaluate measurement results of all RLM reference signals, and obtain a comprehensive evaluation result. When the duration of the overlapping region is greater than the fourth duration, the user equipment can complete the evaluation of the measurement result of the radio link quality in the C-DRX active period. At this time, the second duration is a maximum value between the shortest period of the RLM reference signal, the first duration occupied by one period of DTX, and the third duration occupied by one period of C-DRX.

In an example, the duration of one cycle of DTX is an integer multiple of the duration of one cycle of C-DRX, and the time domain offset of the active period of DTX is the same as the time domain offset of the active period of C-DRX.

For example, the duration of one cycle of DTX is 2 times the duration of one cycle of C-DRX, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the DTX cycle and the C-DRX cycle according to an exemplary embodiment, where, as shown in fig. 4, the duration of one cycle of DTX is Td, the duration of an active period of DTX is Td1, the duration of an inactive period is Td2, the duration of one cycle of C-DRX is Tc1, the duration of an inactive period is Tc2, where td=2×tc, the duration of an overlapping region where the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX exist is Tc1, and the user equipment can complete the evaluation of the measurement result of the radio link quality in the active period.

Second, there is an overlap region between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, but the duration of the overlap region is less than the fourth duration, or there is no overlap region between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX.

In some possible implementations, the user equipment receives the RLM reference signal during an inactive period of the C-DRX.

When the user equipment cannot complete the evaluation of the measurement result of the radio link quality in the activated period of the C-DRX, the user equipment needs to receive the RLM reference signal sent by the network equipment in the deactivated period of the C-DRX, and at this time, the second duration is irrelevant to the period of the C-DRX configured by the user equipment, and is the maximum value between the shortest period of the RLM reference signal and the first duration occupied by one period of DTX.

In an example, the duration of one period of DTX is not an integer multiple of the duration of one period of C-DRX.

For example, fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between a DTX period and a C-DRX period according to an exemplary embodiment, where, as shown in fig. 5, a period occupied by one period of DTX is Td, a period occupied by an active period of DTX is Td1, a period occupied by an inactive period of C-DRX is Td2, a period occupied by one period of C-DRX is Tc, a period occupied by an active period of C-DRX is Tc1, and a period of an inactive period is Tc2, where a period of an overlapping area between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX is less than a fourth period, and the user equipment cannot complete evaluation of a measurement result of radio link quality in the active period of C-DRX, and needs to receive an RLM reference signal sent by the network equipment in the inactive period of C-DRX.

In another example, the time domain offset of the active period of DTX is different from the time domain offset of the active period of C-DRX.

For example, fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between a DTX period and a C-DRX period according to an exemplary embodiment, where, as shown in fig. 6, a period occupied by one period of DTX is Td, a period occupied by an active period of DTX is Td1, a period occupied by an inactive period is Td2, a period occupied by one period of C-DRX is Tc, a period occupied by an active period of C-DRX is Tc1, and a period occupied by an inactive period is Tc2, where the inactive period of DTX overlaps with the active period of C-DRX, there is no overlapping area between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, and the ue cannot complete evaluation of a measurement result of radio link quality during the active period of C-DRX, and needs to receive an RLM reference signal sent by the network device during the inactive period of C-DRX.

The disclosed embodiments provide a method for evaluating the quality of a wireless link, and fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for evaluating the quality of a wireless link according to an exemplary embodiment, and as shown in fig. 7, the method includes step S701, specifically:

s701, the user equipment determines a second time length according to the first time length.

The first duration is a duration occupied by one period of discontinuous transmission DTX of the network device, the second duration is a duration of an indication period, the indication period is a period of measurement results for evaluating radio link quality, and the measurement results are measurement results of radio link monitoring RLM reference signals.

The content of S701 is the same as that of S301, see S301, and will not be described here again.

S702, the network device transmits an RLM reference signal to the user device during an active period of DTX.

S703, the user equipment receives the RLM reference signal, measures the RLM reference signal to obtain a measurement result, and evaluates the quality of the wireless link according to the measurement result to obtain an evaluation result.

In some possible embodiments, when the user equipment is not configured with C-DRX, the user equipment receives the RLM reference signal during an active period of DTX of the network equipment, measures the RLM reference signal to obtain a measurement result, and evaluates the measurement result of the radio link quality in a corresponding indication period to obtain an evaluation result; wherein the duration of the indication period is the maximum between the shortest period of the RLM reference signal and the first duration.

In some possible embodiments, the user equipment is configured with C-DRX, and when there is no overlapping area between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, the user equipment receives an RLM reference signal sent by the network equipment in the active period of DTX during the inactive period of DTX, measures the RLM reference signal to obtain a measurement result, and evaluates the measurement result of the radio link quality in a corresponding indication period to obtain an evaluation result; wherein the duration of the indication period is the maximum between the shortest period of the RLM reference signal and the first duration.

In some possible embodiments, the user equipment is configured with C-DRX, and an overlapping area exists between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, where when the duration of the overlapping area is less than the fourth duration, the user equipment needs to receive an RLM reference signal sent by the network equipment during an inactive period of C-DRX, measure the RLM reference signal to obtain a measurement result, and evaluate the measurement result of the radio link quality in a corresponding indication period to obtain an evaluation result when the active period of C-DRX fails to complete the evaluation of the measurement result of the radio link quality; wherein the duration of the indication period is the maximum between the shortest period of the RLM reference signal and the first duration.

In some possible embodiments, the user equipment is configured with C-DRX, and an overlapping area exists between an active period of the DTX and an active period of the C-DRX, where when a time length of the overlapping area is greater than or equal to a fourth time length, the user equipment receives an RLM reference signal sent by the network equipment during the active period of the C-DRX, measures the RLM reference signal to obtain a measurement result, and evaluates a measurement result of radio link quality in a corresponding indication period to obtain an evaluation result; the duration of the indication period is the shortest period of the RLM reference signal, the maximum value between the first duration and the third duration, and the third duration is the duration occupied by one period of the C-DRX.

S704, the physical layer in the user equipment reports the evaluation result to the higher layer in the user equipment.

Based on the same concept as the above method embodiments, the present disclosure also provides a communication apparatus, which may have the functions of the user equipment 102 in the above method embodiments, and is configured to perform the steps performed by the user equipment 102 provided in the above embodiments. The functions may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by software or hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In one possible implementation, the communication apparatus 800 shown in fig. 8 may be used as the user equipment 102 according to the above-described method embodiment, and perform the steps performed by the user equipment 102 in the above-described one method embodiment.

The communication device 800 comprises a transceiver module 801 and a processing module 802.

The processing module 802 is configured to determine a second time period from a first time period, the first time period being a time period occupied by one period of discontinuous transmission, DTX, of the network device, the second time period being a time period of an indication period, the indication period being a period of a measurement result for evaluating a radio link quality, the measurement result being a measurement result of a radio link monitoring, RLM, reference signal.

In some possible embodiments, the second time period is a maximum between a shortest period of the RLM reference signal and the first time period.

In some possible implementations, the user equipment is not configured for connected discontinuous reception, C-DRX.

In some possible implementations, the user equipment is configured for C-DRX.

In some possible embodiments, there is no overlapping area between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, or there is an overlapping area between the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, where the duration of the overlapping area is less than a fourth duration, and the fourth duration is an evaluation duration required to obtain a RLM evaluation result.

In some possible embodiments, in a case where the user equipment is configured with C-DRX, the second duration is a maximum value among a shortest period of the RLM reference signal, the first duration, and a third duration, and the third duration is a duration occupied by one period of the C-DRX.

In some possible embodiments, the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX have an overlap region, where the duration of the overlap region is greater than a fourth duration, and the fourth duration is an evaluation duration required to obtain an RLM evaluation result.

In some possible implementations, the processing module 802 is further configured to determine the fourth duration according to a protocol convention.

When the communication device is a user equipment, its structure may also be as shown in fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus 900 for determining a period duration according to an example embodiment. For example, apparatus 900 may be a mobile phone, computer, digital broadcast terminal, messaging device, game console, tablet device, medical device, exercise device, personal digital assistant, or the like.

Referring to fig. 9, apparatus 900 may include one or more of the following components: a processing component 902, a memory 904, a power component 906, a multimedia component 908, an audio component 910, an input/output (I/O) interface 912, a sensor component 914, and a communication component 918.

The processing component 902 generally controls overall operations of the apparatus 900, such as operations associated with display, telephone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing component 902 may include one or more processors 920 to execute instructions to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described above. Further, the processing component 902 can include one or more modules that facilitate interaction between the processing component 902 and other components. For example, the processing component 902 can include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between the multimedia component 908 and the processing component 902.

The memory 904 is configured to store various types of data to support operations at the device 900. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on the device 900, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, and the like. The memory 904 may be implemented by any type of volatile or nonvolatile memory device or combination thereof, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disk.

The power component 906 provides power to the various components of the device 900. Power components 906 may include a power management system, one or more power sources, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power for device 900.

The multimedia component 908 comprises a screen between the device 900 and the user that provides an output interface. In some embodiments, the screen may include a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and a Touch Panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from a user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches, swipes, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensor may sense not only the boundary of a touch or slide action, but also the duration and pressure associated with the touch or slide operation. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 908 includes a front-facing camera and/or a rear-facing camera. The front-facing camera and/or the rear-facing camera may receive external multimedia data when the device 900 is in an operational mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode. Each front camera and rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have focal length and optical zoom capabilities.

The audio component 910 is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 910 includes a Microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when the device 900 is in an operational mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may be further stored in the memory 904 or transmitted via the communication component 918. In some embodiments, the audio component 910 further includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

The I/O interface 912 provides an interface between the processing component 902 and peripheral interface modules, which may be keyboards, click wheels, buttons, etc. These buttons may include, but are not limited to: homepage button, volume button, start button, and lock button.

The sensor assembly 914 includes one or more sensors for providing status assessment of various aspects of the apparatus 900. For example, the sensor assembly 914 may detect the on/off state of the device 900, the relative positioning of the components, such as the display and keypad of the apparatus 900, the sensor assembly 914 may also detect the change in position of the apparatus 900 or one component of the apparatus 900, the presence or absence of user contact with the apparatus 900, the orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the apparatus 900, and the change in temperature of the apparatus 900. The sensor assembly 914 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. The sensor assembly 914 may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor assembly 914 may also include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscopic sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component 918 is configured to facilitate communication between the apparatus 900 and other devices in a wired or wireless manner. The device 900 may access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi,4G or 5G, or a combination thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 918 receives broadcast signals or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 918 further includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) module to facilitate short range communications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, infrared data association (IrDA) technology, ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In an exemplary embodiment, apparatus 900 may be implemented by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), digital Signal Processors (DSPs), digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic elements for executing the methods described above.

The embodiment of the disclosure also provides a system for evaluating the quality of a wireless link, which comprises network equipment and user equipment;

the network device is configured to transmit a radio link monitoring, RLM, reference signal to the user device during an active period of discontinuous transmission, DTX;

the user equipment is configured to: determining a second time length according to a first time length, wherein the first time length is the time length occupied by one period of Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) of the network equipment, the second time length is the time length of an indication period, the indication period is a period for evaluating a measurement result of radio link quality, and the measurement result is a measurement result of Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) reference signals; and receiving the RLM reference signal, measuring the RLM reference signal to obtain a measurement result, and evaluating the quality of the wireless link according to the measurement result to obtain an evaluation result.

Other implementations of the disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the application disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any adaptations, uses, or adaptations of the embodiments of the disclosure following, in general, the principles of the embodiments of the disclosure and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the disclosure pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments being indicated by the following claims.

It is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings, and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Industrial applicability

When the network equipment starts the DTX function, the user equipment determines the period of the measurement result for evaluating the quality of the wireless link according to the duration occupied by one period of the DTX of the network equipment, so that the RLM reference signal can be ensured to be received in the activation period of the DTX of the network equipment, and the evaluation of the measurement result of the quality of the wireless link is completed.

Claims (12)

1. A method of determining a period duration, performed by a user equipment, the method comprising:

determining a second time length according to a first time length, wherein the first time length is the time length occupied by one period of Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) of the network equipment, the second time length is the time length of an indication period, the indication period is the period of a measurement result for evaluating the quality of a wireless link, and the measurement result is the measurement result of a Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) reference signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the second time period from the first time period comprises:

the second duration is a maximum between a shortest period of the RLM reference signal and the first duration.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user equipment does not configure connected discontinuous reception, C-DRX.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the user equipment is configured for C-DRX.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein there is no overlapping area of the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, or wherein there is an overlapping area of the active period of DTX and the active period of C-DRX, the overlapping area having a duration less than a fourth duration, the fourth duration being an evaluation duration required to obtain a RLM evaluation result.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the second time period from the first time period comprises:

in the case that the user equipment is configured with C-DRX, the second duration is a maximum value among a shortest period of the RLM reference signal, the first duration, and a third duration, and the third duration is a duration occupied by one period of the C-DRX.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:

and an overlapping area exists between the activation period of the DTX and the activation period of the C-DRX, and the duration of the overlapping area is longer than a fourth duration, wherein the fourth duration is the evaluation duration required for obtaining an RLM evaluation result.

8. The method of claim 5 or 7, wherein the method further comprises:

and determining the fourth time length according to protocol conventions.

9. An apparatus configured for a user equipment to determine a period duration, the apparatus comprising:

a processing module configured to determine a second time period according to a first time period, wherein the first time period is a time period occupied by one period of discontinuous transmission DTX of the network device, the second time period is a time period of an indication period, the indication period is a period of a measurement result for evaluating radio link quality, and the measurement result is a measurement result of monitoring RLM reference signals for the radio link.

10. A system for assessing the quality of a wireless link, the system comprising a network device and a user device;

the network device is configured to transmit a radio link monitoring, RLM, reference signal to the user device during an active period of discontinuous transmission, DTX;

the user equipment is configured to: determining a second time length according to a first time length, wherein the first time length is the time length occupied by one period of Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) of the network equipment, the second time length is the time length of an indication period, the indication period is a period for evaluating a measurement result of radio link quality, and the measurement result is a measurement result of Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) reference signals; and receiving the RLM reference signal, measuring the RLM reference signal to obtain a measurement result, and evaluating the quality of the wireless link according to the measurement result to obtain an evaluation result.

11. A communication device includes a processor and a memory, wherein,

the memory is used for storing a computer program;

the processor is configured to execute the computer program to implement the method of any one of claims 1-8.

12. A computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein which, when invoked for execution on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 1-8.