CN117479261A

CN117479261A - Control method and system of wireless forwarding equipment and related equipment

Info

Publication number: CN117479261A
Application number: CN202210855112.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 许森; 刘悦; 信金灿; 熊尚坤; 张化
Original assignee: China Telecom Corp Ltd
Current assignee: China Telecom Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2022-07-20
Filing date: 2022-07-20
Publication date: 2024-01-30

Abstract

The invention discloses a control method, a control system and related equipment of wireless forwarding equipment, and relates to the field of wireless communication. The control method of the wireless forwarding device comprises the following steps: the wireless forwarding equipment disconnects the control surface connection relation on the access link between the wireless forwarding equipment and the base station in a first state, and maintains the control surface connection relation on the access link with the base station in a second state; the wireless forwarding device is in a second state: forwarding or amplifying signals between the base station and the terminal; switching from the second state to the first state according to signaling sent by the base station; the wireless forwarding device is in a first state: forwarding or amplifying the received signal according to the indication of the configuration information for discontinuous monitoring; accessing a corresponding cell according to the cell selection indication; according to the forwarding instruction, adopting a corresponding forwarding mode to forward the terminal signals in the coverage range of the wireless forwarding equipment; and carrying out discontinuous monitoring on the information sent by the base station according to the configuration information, and switching to the second state under the condition that the preset information is monitored.

Description

Control method and system of wireless forwarding equipment and related equipment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular, to a method, a system, and a related device for controlling a wireless forwarding device.

Background

Repeater is a common device used in wireless communication systems for extended coverage, with related applications ranging from the 2G to the 5G age. At present, the main function of the radio frequency repeater is to amplify the signal, and the signal itself is not analyzed. Compared with a base station, the wireless repeater has a simpler structure, and comprises an antenna, a radio frequency duplexer, a low noise amplifier, a mixer, an electrically tunable attenuator, a filter, a power amplifier and other components or modules, and comprises an uplink amplifying link and a downlink amplifying link. Since the function of the wireless repeater is to amplify only the signal, noise and interference signals are amplified while the useful signal is amplified.

As a technical means of coverage compensation, in addition to the Layer 1 (Layer 1, L1) device of the repeater, in the standard evolution and practice process of the wireless network, some coverage expansion devices, such as a Relay device in the 4G age and an integrated access backhaul (Integrated Access Backhaul, abbreviated as "IAB") device in the 5G age, are defined. These devices are characterized by having all layer 1 to layer 3 radio protocol stacks and are opaque to the terminal (UE) side. That is, from the terminal's point of view, either the 4G Relay or the 5G IAB is a base station identity; while from the base station point of view, either the 4G Relay or the IAB is a terminal identity. Therefore, the base station transmits and receives data by scheduling Relay or IAB.

The 5G standard is about to introduce a new wireless forwarding device technology, namely a network control repeater (Network Controlled Repeater, abbreviated as NCR) in Rel-18. NCR includes two parts: the NCR-RU (Radio Unit) part completes the forwarding and amplifying work of UE signaling and data signals, and the function of the part is the same as that of the existing repeater; the NCR-MT (Mobile Terminal) part mainly realizes part of functions similar to the UE and is responsible for carrying out signaling interaction with the base station.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect of some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a wireless forwarding device, wherein in a first state, a control plane connection relationship on an access link is disconnected between the wireless forwarding device and a base station; in the second state, the wireless forwarding device and the base station maintain a control plane connection relationship on an access link; and, the control method includes:

in the second state:

-the wireless forwarding device forwards or amplifies signals between the base station and the terminal; the method comprises the steps of,

-in case the signaling sent by the base station is received and the signaling comprises a return indication, the wireless forwarding device transitions from the second state to the first state;

in the first state:

-the wireless repeater device repeating or amplifying the received signal in case the pre-acquired configuration information for discontinuous interception indicates a repeating and amplifying function of the hold signal;

-in case the signaling comprises a cell selection indication, the wireless forwarding device accesses the respective cell according to the cell selection indication;

the wireless forwarding device forwards the terminal signals in the coverage range of the wireless forwarding device by adopting a corresponding forwarding mode under the condition that the forwarding instruction is acquired in advance; the method comprises the steps of,

the wireless repeater device monitors information sent by the base station discontinuously according to the configuration information and switches to the second state when the preset information is monitored.

In some embodiments, in the first state, the wireless forwarding device periodically listens for information sent by the base station according to the configuration information.

In some embodiments, the configuration information includes: at least one of a period of non-consecutive listening, a number and offset of frames that can be listened to, or a signal forwarding amplification function off indication.

In some embodiments, the signal forwarding amplification function off indication is used to instruct the wireless forwarding device not to forward and amplify signals between the base station and the terminal in the first state.

In some embodiments, the control method further comprises: the wireless forwarding device receives configuration information through a first broadcast message or a preset signaling in a first state or a second state.

In some embodiments, the signaling is a downlink control information, DCI, indication, a control unit, MAC CE, of the medium access control layer or a radio resource control, RRC, message.

In some embodiments, when the wireless forwarding device acquires the forwarding instruction in advance, forwarding, by using a corresponding forwarding manner, the terminal signal in the coverage area of the wireless forwarding device includes: and under the condition that the signaling comprises a forwarding instruction, the wireless forwarding equipment forwards the terminal signals in the coverage range of the wireless forwarding equipment by adopting a corresponding forwarding mode.

In some embodiments, the forwarding indication includes at least one of a downstream forwarding stop indication or an upstream forwarding stop indication.

In some embodiments, in the case that the signaling carries a downlink forwarding stop indication, the wireless forwarding device does not forward the received downlink signal; under the condition that the signaling carries a downlink forwarding stop instruction and does not carry an uplink forwarding stop instruction, the wireless forwarding equipment does not forward the received uplink signal; and under the condition that the signaling does not carry the downlink forwarding stop instruction, the wireless forwarding equipment forwards the received downlink signal.

In some embodiments, in the case that the signaling carries an uplink forwarding stop indication, the wireless forwarding device does not forward the received uplink signal; and the wireless forwarding equipment forwards the received uplink signal under the condition that the signaling does not carry the uplink forwarding stop instruction.

In some embodiments, in the case that the signaling carries a cell selection indication, the wireless forwarding device accesses a different cell than the last access in the first state; in case the signaling does not carry a cell selection indication, the wireless forwarding device maintains the cell accessed last time.

In some embodiments, the signaling further includes a waiting duration indication, where the waiting duration indication is a preset duration with preset granularity, and is used to instruct the wireless forwarding device to attempt to read the broadcast message to determine whether the base station resumes operation if the duration of performing discontinuous monitoring exceeds the preset duration.

In some embodiments, when the wireless forwarding device acquires the forwarding instruction in advance, forwarding, by using a corresponding forwarding manner, the terminal signal in the coverage area of the wireless forwarding device includes: and under the condition that the wireless forwarding device determines the forwarding instruction through an algorithm or is preconfigured with the forwarding instruction, the wireless forwarding device forwards the terminal signals in the coverage range of the wireless forwarding device in a corresponding forwarding mode.

In some embodiments, the control method further comprises: in the second state, the wireless forwarding device transitions from the second state to the first state if it is determined to be out of synchronization with the base station.

In some embodiments, the wireless forwarding device in the second state determines that the wireless forwarding device is out of sync with the base station if the broadcast message of the base station and the master system information block MIB message cannot be correctly decoded for a consecutive preset number of downlink radio frames.

In some embodiments, the preset information is a broadcast of a radio system in which a cell in which the wireless forwarding device resides, or wake-up indication information.

In some embodiments, the wireless forwarding device performs discontinuous monitoring on information sent by the base station according to the configuration information, and transitions to the second state when the preset information is monitored, including: the wireless forwarding equipment monitors the second broadcast message sent by the base station discontinuously on the wireless frame meeting the preset condition according to the configuration information; and switching the wireless forwarding device to a second state under the condition that the signal strength of the monitored second broadcast message is larger than a preset threshold and the second broadcast message indicates that the cell where the wireless forwarding device is located can restore the connection.

In some embodiments, the radio frames meeting the preset conditions are determined according to a pre-configured number and offset of the listened frames, a period of non-continuous listening, an identification of the wireless forwarding device, and an identification of the radio frames.

In some embodiments, the radio frames satisfying the preset condition are determined according to the following formula:

(SFN+offset)modT＝(T/N)*(IDmodN)

wherein SFN is the identification of the radio frame; offset is the offset of a preset snoopable frame; t is a preset discontinuous monitoring period; n is the number of preset listened frames; the ID is the identification of the wireless forwarding device, and the identification of the wireless forwarding device is sent to the base station by the wireless forwarding device through random access or a pre-configuration mode.

In some embodiments, the control method further comprises: under the first state, under the condition that the discontinuous monitoring time of the wireless forwarding equipment exceeds the preset waiting time, attempting to read the broadcast message to determine whether the base station resumes operation; in the case that the base station is determined not to resume operation and the wireless forwarding device is configured with a cell selection indication, the wireless forwarding device selects a cell different from the last access and attempts access.

In some embodiments, the second broadcast message includes a forwarding device access indication, a dedicated resource for forwarding device access, and an accessible signal quality threshold.

In some embodiments, the control method further comprises: and under the condition that the base station is closed or a cell accessed by the wireless forwarding equipment is closed, the base station sends signaling to the wireless forwarding equipment, wherein the signaling comprises at least one of a return instruction, a forwarding instruction and a cell selection instruction.

In some embodiments, the control method further comprises: and the base station sends a second broadcast message after recovering the work, wherein the second broadcast message comprises a forwarding equipment access instruction, a special resource accessed by the forwarding equipment and an accessible signal quality threshold.

In some embodiments, the control method further comprises: the base station transmits configuration information for discontinuous interception to the wireless forwarding device in the first state or the second state.

According to a second aspect of some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a wireless forwarding device, wherein in a first state, a control plane connection relationship on an access link is disconnected between the wireless forwarding device and a base station; in the second state, the wireless forwarding device and the base station maintain a control plane connection relationship on an access link; and, the wireless forwarding device includes:

the receiving module is configured to receive signaling sent by the base station in a second state, wherein the signaling comprises at least one of a return instruction, a forwarding instruction or a cell selection instruction;

A signal forwarding and amplifying module configured to forward or amplify a signal between the base station and the terminal in a second state; in a first state, forwarding or amplifying the received signal in case the configuration information for discontinuous monitoring obtained in advance indicates a forwarding and amplifying function of the hold signal; and under the condition that the forwarding instruction is obtained in advance, forwarding the terminal signals in the coverage range of the wireless forwarding equipment by adopting a corresponding forwarding mode according to the forwarding instruction;

the monitoring module is configured to perform discontinuous monitoring on information sent by the base station according to the configuration information in a first state;

a state transition module configured to: in the second state, switching from the second state to the first state according to the return instruction; in the first state, the wireless forwarding device is switched to the second state under the condition that the preset information is monitored; and

and the cell selection module is configured to access a corresponding cell according to the cell selection indication in the case that the signaling comprises the cell selection indication in the first state.

In some embodiments, the wireless forwarding device is an intelligent repeater.

According to a third aspect of some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a control system of a wireless forwarding device, including: the wireless forwarding device; and a base station.

According to a fourth aspect of some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute any of the foregoing methods of controlling the wireless forwarding device based on instructions stored in the memory.

According to a fifth aspect of some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, wherein the program, when executed by a processor, implements a control method of any one of the foregoing wireless forwarding devices.

Some of the embodiments of the above invention have the following advantages or benefits. According to the embodiment of the invention, two states are set for the wireless forwarding equipment according to the connection relation between the base station and the control plane of the wireless forwarding equipment on the access link, and when the connection relation of the control plane is disconnected, namely when the control plane is in the first state, the wireless forwarding equipment can perform discontinuous monitoring so as to save energy consumption, and when the condition of recovering normal recovery work is met, the connection can be quickly recovered, and the wireless forwarding equipment can be timely converted to the second state so as to continue normal signal forwarding and amplification work, thereby reducing the occurrence of service interruption, guaranteeing the experience of users under coverage, and saving the energy consumption of the wireless forwarding equipment. And moreover, the situation that the intelligent repeater is accessed to other cells due to uncontrolled behavior of the wireless forwarding equipment when the base station is closed is avoided, the control of the network on the wireless forwarding equipment is ensured, and the performance of the terminal covered by the wireless forwarding equipment is ensured.

Other features of the present invention and its advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the invention or the technical solutions of the prior art, the drawings which are used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described, it being obvious that the drawings in the description below are only some embodiments of the invention, and that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without inventive faculty for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1A schematically illustrates a structure of a radio frequency repeater.

Fig. 1B schematically illustrates an operating scenario of a radio frequency repeater.

Fig. 1C schematically illustrates a structure of an intelligent repeater and a connection relationship with a terminal and a base station.

Fig. 1D schematically illustrates an operation scenario of the intelligent repeater.

Fig. 2A illustrates a flow diagram of a method of controlling a wireless forwarding device according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 2B is a flow chart illustrating a method of controlling a wireless forwarding device according to other embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a discontinuous listening method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 4 shows a flow diagram of a discontinuous listening method according to further embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of controlling an intelligent repeater in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart of a control method of an intelligent repeater according to other embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless forwarding device according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of a control system of a wireless forwarding device according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 10 shows a schematic structural view of an electronic device according to further embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is apparent that the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

The relative arrangement of the components and steps, numerical expressions and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention unless it is specifically stated otherwise.

Meanwhile, it should be understood that the sizes of the respective parts shown in the drawings are not drawn in actual scale for convenience of description.

Techniques, methods, and apparatus known to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but should be considered part of the specification where appropriate.

In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values should be construed as merely illustrative, and not a limitation. Thus, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

It should be noted that: like reference numerals and letters denote like items in the following figures, and thus once an item is defined in one figure, no further discussion thereof is necessary in subsequent figures.

Fig. 1A schematically illustrates a structure of a radio frequency repeater. As shown in FIG. 1A, the RF repeater is composed of an antenna, an RF duplexer, a low noise amplifier, a mixer, an electrically tunable attenuator, a filter, a power amplifier and other components or modules, and comprises an uplink amplifying link and a downlink amplifying link.

Fig. 1B schematically illustrates an operating scenario of a radio frequency repeater. As shown in fig. 1B, the radio frequency repeater RF repeater is located in the coverage area of the base station gNB, and the terminal UE is located in the coverage area of the RF repeater. The RF repeater forwards and amplifies signals between the gNB and the UE.

Fig. 1C schematically illustrates the structure of the intelligent repeater NCR and the connection relationship with the UE and the gNB. As shown in fig. 1C, the UE is communicatively connected with the NCR-RU through a Uu interface; the gNB is in communication connection with the NCR-RU and the NCR-MT through a Uu interface, wherein uplink and downlink control signaling and data of the UE are transmitted between the gNB and the NCR-RU, and control signaling of the NCR is transmitted between the gNB and the NCR-MT.

Fig. 1D schematically illustrates an operation scenario of the intelligent repeater. As shown in fig. 1D, the intelligent repeater RF repeater is in the coverage of the base station gNB, and the terminal UE is in the coverage of the intelligent repeater RF repeater. The intelligent repeater RF repeater forwards and amplifies signals between the gNB and the UE. Compared with a radio frequency repeater, the intelligent repeater can support data transmission based on a beam forming mode.

In the 5G network, the introduced large bandwidth and more antennas cause the increase of the power consumption of the 5G base station, so the energy-saving technology is further applied in the 5G network. In standard and practical use, deactivation is often used to save power for 5G base stations. At this time, for the terminal in the connected state, a switching manner is generally adopted, so that service loss caused by no signal is avoided.

The traditional repeater can work all the time after being started up so as to perform network synchronization, signal forwarding, amplification and other works. When the base station has no signal, the repeater generally continues to operate, and the power consumption of the repeater is still relatively large.

Moreover, if the repeater is always in a listening state, the power consumption of the base station is relatively high, so from the viewpoint of reducing the power consumption, there is also a need for a way of informing the repeater to resume connection and synchronization.

Furthermore, when the macro is turned off, repeater behavior is undefined and, in different implementations, may result in the repeater being in a different, and uncontrolled, state. Since the repeater also supports some UE-related functions, when the macro station is turned off, the repeater will not typically switch to other cells, and thus may result in no service; if the idle state is exited, other cells may be reselected, etc. If the associated state is not defined, it may result in the repeater state not being controlled by the network.

Therefore, the current protocols cannot meet the design requirements of the intelligent repeater. In addition, in the case that the protocol stack architecture of the repeater is still unclear, the functions are required to be enhanced by a new standardized mode so as to meet the requirements of network deployment and optimization.

Based on the above, one technical problem to be solved by the embodiment of the invention is: how to reduce the energy consumption of the repeater and meet the design requirement of the intelligent repeater.

The embodiment of the invention configures two states for the wireless forwarding device. In a first state, disconnecting a control plane connection relationship on an access link between the wireless forwarding equipment and the base station; in the second state, the wireless forwarding device maintains a control plane connection relationship with the base station over the access link and forwards or amplifies signals between the base station and the terminal.

When the wireless forwarding device in the second state finds that it cannot continue to provide service to the base station, the wireless forwarding device transitions from the second state to the first state. The conversion process can be triggered by the base station or by the wireless forwarding device.

An embodiment of a control method of the wireless forwarding device of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 2A. In this embodiment, the wireless forwarding device is instructed by the base station to transition to the first state by signaling.

Fig. 2A illustrates a flow diagram of a method of controlling a wireless forwarding device according to some embodiments of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2A, the control method of the wireless forwarding device of this embodiment includes steps S202 to S216.

Steps S202 to 206 describe the operation of the wireless forwarding device in the second state.

In step S202, the wireless repeater apparatus repeats or amplifies a signal between the base station and the terminal. I.e. the wireless forwarding device is in a normal operating state.

In some embodiments, the wireless forwarding device is an intelligent repeater.

In step S204, the base station transmits signaling to the wireless forwarding device.

For example, the base station transmits the signaling in the case that the base station is turned off, or a cell to which the wireless forwarding device has access is turned off.

The signaling sent by the base station is used for indicating the wireless forwarding device to return to the first state. The signaling may also include other content to indicate some configuration information after the base station has transitioned to the first state. In some embodiments, the signaling includes at least one of a return indication, a forward indication, and a cell selection indication.

In some embodiments, the signaling is a DCI (Downlink Control Information ) indication, a MAC CE (MAC: media Access Control, CE: control Element, control Element of the medium access Control layer) or an RRC (Radio Resource Control ) message.

In some embodiments, the signaling includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

-return indication information, e.g. represented by 1 bit, indicating that the forwarding device returns from the second state to the first state when carried;

-a downstream forwarding stop indication, e.g. represented by 1 bit, for indicating whether the wireless forwarding device continues downstream forwarding after transition to the first state;

in some embodiments, in the case that the signaling carries a downlink forwarding stop indication, the wireless forwarding device does not forward the received downlink signal; under the condition that the signaling carries a downlink forwarding stop instruction and does not carry an uplink forwarding stop instruction, the wireless forwarding equipment does not forward the received uplink signal; under the condition that the signaling does not carry the downlink forwarding stop instruction, the wireless forwarding equipment forwards the received downlink signal;

-an upstream forwarding stop indication, e.g. represented by 1 bit, for indicating whether the wireless forwarding device continues upstream forwarding after transition to the first state;

in some embodiments, in the case that the signaling carries an uplink forwarding stop indication, the wireless forwarding device does not forward the received uplink signal; the wireless forwarding device forwards the received uplink signal under the condition that the signaling does not carry the uplink forwarding stop instruction;

-a cell selection indication, for example represented by 1 bit, for indicating that the wireless forwarding device accesses a cell different from the last access when transitioning from the first state to the second state; otherwise, maintaining the last accessed cell;

-a waiting time duration indication, which is a preset time duration with preset granularity, for indicating the wireless forwarding device to attempt to read the broadcast message to determine whether the base station resumes operation if the time duration of performing discontinuous monitoring exceeds the preset time duration; and monitoring information sent by the base station in a discontinuous monitoring mode before overtime.

In step S206, in the case where the signaling sent by the base station is received and the signaling includes a return instruction, the wireless forwarding device transitions from the second state to the first state.

Steps S208 to S216 describe the operation of the wireless forwarding device in the second state.

In step S208, in the case where the configuration information for discontinuous monitoring acquired in advance indicates a function of maintaining the forwarding and amplifying of the signal, the wireless forwarding device forwards or amplifies the received signal.

In some embodiments, the configuration information is issued by the base station for discontinuous listening.

In some embodiments, the wireless forwarding device receives the configuration information in the first state or the second state through a broadcast message or preset signaling. If the wireless forwarding device acquires the configuration information in the second state, the configuration information is saved, but the operation of monitoring the information is not performed in the second state.

In some embodiments, the configuration information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

-periods of non-continuous listening, for example expressed in integer values;

-number and offset of the listened frames, for example comprising one or more sets, each set comprising a plurality of integers, the length of the set representing the number of radio frames listened to in a period of non-consecutive listening, the value in the set representing the listened frame offset (offset);

-a signal forwarding amplification function off indication, e.g. an enumerated value or a boolean value, in which case the wireless forwarding device is instructed not to forward and amplify signals between the base station and the terminal in the first state.

In step S210, in the case that the signaling includes a cell selection indication, the wireless forwarding device accesses a corresponding cell according to the cell selection indication.

Thus, the wireless forwarding device can determine the home cell according to the indication of the base station.

In step S212, the wireless forwarding device forwards the terminal signal in the coverage area of the wireless forwarding device in a corresponding forwarding manner when the forwarding instruction is acquired in advance.

In some embodiments, the forwarding indication includes an indication of at least one of an upstream forwarding mode or a downstream forwarding mode, the content of the indication including, for example, whether to stop forwarding in the respective direction.

The forwarding indication may be signaled, may be algorithmically determined, or may be pre-configured.

In step S214, the wireless forwarding device performs discontinuous monitoring on the information sent by the base station according to the configuration information.

In some embodiments, the discontinuous snoop is a periodic snoop. Other discontinuous monitoring methods can be adopted by those skilled in the art as required, and are not described herein.

In step S216, the wireless forwarding device transitions to the second state if it monitors the preset information.

The preset information is used for indicating that the base station or the cell of the base station resumes normal operation. In some embodiments, the preset information is a broadcast of a radio system in which a cell in which the wireless forwarding device resides, or wake-up indication information.

According to the control plane connection relation between the base station and the wireless forwarding device on the access link, the wireless forwarding device is provided with two states, and when the control plane connection relation is disconnected, namely when the control plane connection relation is in the first state, the wireless forwarding device can perform discontinuous monitoring so as to save energy consumption, and when the condition of recovering normal recovery work is met, the connection can be quickly recovered, and the wireless forwarding device can be timely converted to the second state so as to continue normal signal forwarding and amplification work, so that service interruption is reduced, user experience is guaranteed, and energy consumption of the wireless forwarding device is also saved. And moreover, the situation that the intelligent repeater is accessed to other cells due to uncontrolled behavior of the wireless forwarding equipment when the base station is closed is avoided, the control of the network on the wireless forwarding equipment is ensured, and the performance of the terminal covered by the wireless forwarding equipment is ensured.

An embodiment of a control method of the wireless forwarding device of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 2B. In this embodiment, the process of transitioning to the first state is triggered by the wireless forwarding device itself.

Fig. 2B is a flow chart illustrating a method of controlling a wireless forwarding device according to other embodiments of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2B, the control method of the wireless forwarding device of this embodiment includes steps S222 to S224.

In step S222, in the second state, the wireless forwarding device determines that the base station is out of synchronization.

In some embodiments, the wireless forwarding device in the second state determines that the wireless forwarding device is out of sync with the base station if the broadcast message and MIB (Master Information Block, master system information block) message of the base station cannot be correctly decoded for a consecutive preset number of downlink radio frames.

In step S224, the wireless forwarding device transitions from the second state to the first state.

Therefore, when the first base station cannot inform the wireless forwarding equipment to enter the first state through the control signaling due to abnormal reasons such as power failure, the wireless forwarding equipment can perform state transition according to the judging result, and the purpose of energy saving is achieved.

An embodiment of a discontinuous monitoring method of the wireless forwarding device of the present invention in a first state is described below with reference to fig. 3.

Fig. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a discontinuous listening method according to some embodiments of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the method of discontinuous monitoring of this embodiment includes steps S302 to S306.

In step S302, the wireless forwarding device performs discontinuous monitoring on the second broadcast message sent by the base station on the radio frame meeting the preset condition according to the configuration information.

In some embodiments, a radio frame satisfying a preset condition is determined according to formula (1):

(SFN+offset)modT＝(T/N)*(ID mod N) (1)

In step S304, the base station transmits a second broadcast message after resuming operation.

In some embodiments, the second broadcast message includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following information:

-a forwarding device access indication, e.g. 1 bit, indicating that the forwarding device can access a cell of the base station when the second broadcast message carries the indication;

-dedicated resources accessed by the forwarding device, e.g. including configuration information related to PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel ) etc.;

an accessible signal quality threshold, for example an integer value, for determining the value of the minimum signal strength or minimum signal quality accessible to the forwarding device.

In step S306, the wireless forwarding device transitions to the second state if the signal strength of the monitored second broadcast message is greater than the preset threshold and the second broadcast message indicates that the cell in which the wireless forwarding device is located can resume connection.

Through the embodiment, the wireless forwarding device can be timely converted into the second state under the condition that the cell is judged to be recovered to be normal, so that normal operation can be performed.

Fig. 4 shows a flow diagram of a discontinuous listening method according to further embodiments of the present invention. As shown in fig. 4, the method of discontinuous monitoring of this embodiment is performed in a first state, including steps S402 to S408.

In step S402, it is determined whether the duration of the discontinuous monitoring exceeds a preset waiting duration. If not, executing step S404; if so, step S406 is performed.

In step S404, the wireless forwarding device performs discontinuous listening. The monitoring method may refer to the foregoing embodiments, and will not be described herein.

In step S406, an attempt is made to read the broadcast message to determine whether the base station resumes operation.

In step S408, in the case where it is determined that the base station has not resumed operation and the wireless forwarding device has configured the cell selection instruction, the wireless forwarding device selects a cell different from the last access and attempts access.

Therefore, under the condition that the current base station does not recover to work, the access to other cells can be tried, and the resource utilization rate of the wireless forwarding equipment is improved.

Fig. 5 and 6 exemplarily describe two exemplary application examples of the present invention.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of controlling an intelligent repeater in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. As shown in fig. 5, the control method of this embodiment includes steps S502 to S514.

In step S502, the base station gNB issues configuration information of discontinuous interception through SIB1 (System Information Block, system information block 1), including:

period T of discontinuous interception: 1280ms;

-number of frames N and Offset that can be listened to: the number of the frames which can be monitored is 4, and the offset is 0;

-signal forwarding amplification function off indication: is the result.

In step S504, the intelligent repeater SP saves the content in the SIB1 message.

In step S506, the SP implements a synchronization procedure with the base station through the MIB message.

In step S508, in the connected state (i.e., the second state), after the gNB is powered off and turned off, the SP finds that the signal of the base station gNB cannot be detected after 2 minutes, determines that the SP is out of step, and enters the idle state (i.e., the first state).

In step S510, the SP turns off the signal forwarding and amplifying function to the terminal under its coverage according to the signal forwarding and amplifying function turn-off instruction.

In step S512, the SP determines the monitored frame according to the received MIB/SIB1 radio frame number, and the SFN requirement of the frame meeting the condition satisfies the formula: MIB/SIB1 information, (SFN) mod 1280= (1280/4) × (3407 mod 4), where the identity of the SP is 3407.

In step S514, the SP transitions to the second state when it monitors the broadcast message sent by the gNB and the signal strength of the broadcast message is greater than the preset threshold, and at the same time indicates that the cell in which the SP is located can resume connection.

Through the above embodiment, the base station gNB can notify the intelligent repeater station to switch to the first state through the broadcast message, and the intelligent repeater station can also perform discontinuous monitoring in the first state.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart of a control method of an intelligent repeater according to other embodiments of the present invention. As shown in fig. 6, the control method of this embodiment includes steps S602 to S612.

In step S602, when the base station gNB triggers temporary shutdown of the base station for energy saving reasons, the gNB notifies the intelligent repeater SP in the connected state (i.e., the second state) to return to the idle state (i.e., the first state) through RRC message control signaling. The control signaling includes:

-returning indication information: is;

-a downstream forwarding stop indication: is;

-cell selection indication: is;

-waiting duration indication information: 10 minutes.

In step S604, after receiving the control signaling sent by the gNB, the SP returns from the connection state to the idle state, and determines, according to the uplink and/or downlink forwarding stop instruction, that the forwarding mode is to not forward the downlink signal to the terminal in the coverage area of the terminal, and forward the uplink signal to the gNB.

In step S606, since the control signaling carries the cell selection indication, the SP determines not to select a new cell for re-access.

In step S608, the SP determines the monitored frame according to the received MIB/SIB1 radio frame number, and the SFN requirement of the frame meeting the condition satisfies the formula: (SFN) mod 1280= (1280/4) × (3407 mod 4).

In step S610, after 5 minutes from the SP to start listening, the base gNB resumes normal operation and sends the following information in the broadcast message:

-forwarding device access indication: is;

-dedicated resources accessed by forwarding devices: PRACH related configuration information;

-an accessible signal quality threshold: -120dBm.

In step S612, when the SP starts listening for 5 minutes, the SP detects that the SS-RSRP signal strength of the gNB is-110 dB, the accessible signal quality threshold is satisfied, and the waiting duration indication information is not timed out, so that the SP re-accesses the gNB and enters the connection state.

Through the above embodiment, when the base station gNB instructs the intelligent repeater SP to return to the idle state through the RRC message due to the energy saving operation, the intelligent repeater in the idle state can not forward the wireless signals from other base stations to the terminals in its coverage area according to the instruction.

Fig. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless forwarding device according to some embodiments of the present invention. In a first state, disconnecting a control plane connection relationship on an access link between the wireless forwarding equipment and the base station; in the second state, the wireless forwarding device maintains a control plane connection relationship with the base station over the access link. As shown in fig. 7, the wireless forwarding apparatus 700 includes:

A receiving module 7100 configured to receive, in a second state, signaling sent by the base station, where the signaling includes at least one of a return indication, a forwarding indication, or a cell selection indication;

a signal forwarding and amplifying module 7200 configured to forward or amplify a signal between the base station and the terminal in the second state; in a first state, forwarding or amplifying the received signal in case the configuration information for discontinuous monitoring obtained in advance indicates a forwarding and amplifying function of the hold signal; and under the condition that the forwarding instruction is obtained in advance, forwarding the terminal signals in the coverage range of the wireless forwarding equipment by adopting a corresponding forwarding mode according to the forwarding instruction;

a monitoring module 7300 configured to perform discontinuous monitoring on information sent by the base station according to the configuration information in the first state;

a state transition module 7400 configured to: in the second state, switching from the second state to the first state according to the return instruction; in the first state, the wireless forwarding device is switched to the second state under the condition that the preset information is monitored; and

the cell selection module 7500 is configured to access a corresponding cell according to the cell selection indication in case the signaling comprises the cell selection indication in the first state.

In some embodiments, in the first state, the listening module 7300 is further configured to periodically listen for information sent by the base station according to the configuration information.

In some embodiments, the receiving module 7100 is further configured to receive the configuration information through a first broadcast message or preset signaling in the first state or the second state.

In some embodiments, the signaling is a DCI indication, a MAC CE, or an RRC message.

In some embodiments, the signal forwarding and amplification module 7200 is further configured to forward the terminal signals within the coverage area of the wireless forwarding device in a corresponding forwarding manner, if the signaling includes a forwarding indication.

In some embodiments, the signal forwarding and amplification module 7200 is further configured to: under the condition that the signaling carries a downlink forwarding stop instruction, not forwarding the received downlink signal; under the condition that the signaling carries a downlink forwarding stop instruction and does not carry an uplink forwarding stop instruction, the received uplink signal is not forwarded; and forwarding the received downlink signal under the condition that the signaling does not carry the downlink forwarding stop instruction.

In some embodiments, the signal forwarding and amplification module 7200 is further configured to: under the condition that the signaling carries an uplink forwarding stop instruction, the received uplink signal is not forwarded; and forwarding the received uplink signal under the condition that the signaling does not carry the uplink forwarding stop instruction.

In some embodiments, the cell selection module 7500 is further configured to access a different cell than the last access in the first state if the signaling carries a cell selection indication; in case the signaling does not carry a cell selection indication, the cell last accessed is maintained.

In some embodiments, the signal forwarding and amplifying module 7200 is further configured to forward the terminal signal within the coverage area of the wireless forwarding device in a corresponding forwarding manner if the wireless forwarding device algorithmically determines a forwarding indication, or if the forwarding indication is preconfigured.

In some embodiments, the state transition module 7400 is further configured to transition from the second state to the first state in the second state if it is determined that the base station is out of synchronization.

In some embodiments, the state transition module 7400 is further configured to determine that the wireless forwarding device is out of step with the base station if the broadcast message and the master system information block MIB message of the base station cannot be correctly decoded for a consecutive preset number of downlink radio frames when the wireless forwarding device is in the second state.

In some embodiments, the monitoring module 7300 is further configured to perform discontinuous monitoring on the second broadcast message sent by the base station on the radio frame that meets the preset condition according to the configuration information by the wireless forwarding device; the state transition module 7400 is further configured to transition to the second state if the signal strength of the second broadcast message is greater than the preset threshold and the second broadcast message indicates that the cell in which the wireless forwarding device is located can resume the connection.

(SFN+offset)modT＝(T/N)*(IDmodN)

In some embodiments, the cell selection module 7500 is further configured to, in the first state, attempt to read the broadcast message to determine whether the base station resumes operation if the duration of the discontinuous listening by the wireless forwarding device exceeds a preset waiting duration; in the case that the base station is determined not to resume operation and the wireless forwarding device is configured with a cell selection indication, a cell different from the last access is selected and an access is attempted.

In some embodiments, wireless forwarding device 700 is an intelligent repeater.

An embodiment of a control system of a wireless forwarding device of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 8.

Fig. 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of a control system of a wireless forwarding device according to some embodiments of the present invention. As shown in fig. 8, the control system 80 of this embodiment includes a wireless forwarding device 810 and a base station 820.

Specific embodiments of wireless forwarding device 810 may refer to wireless forwarding device 700 and are not described herein.

In some embodiments, the base station 820 is further configured to send signaling to the wireless forwarding device in the event of a base station shutdown, or a cell shutdown for which the wireless forwarding device accesses, wherein the signaling includes at least one of a return indication, a forwarding indication, and a cell selection indication.

In some embodiments, the base station 820 is further configured to send a second broadcast message after resuming operation, wherein the second broadcast message includes a forwarding device access indication, a dedicated resource for forwarding device access, and an accessible signal quality threshold.

In some embodiments, the base station 820 is further configured to transmit configuration information for discontinuous listening to the wireless forwarding device in the first state or the second state.

Fig. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the invention. As shown in fig. 9, the electronic device 90 of this embodiment includes: a memory 910 and a processor 920 coupled to the memory 910, the processor 920 being configured to execute the method of controlling the wireless forwarding device in any of the foregoing embodiments based on instructions stored in the memory 910.

The memory 910 may include, for example, system memory, fixed nonvolatile storage media, and so forth. The system memory stores, for example, an operating system, application programs, boot Loader (Boot Loader), and other programs.

Fig. 10 shows a schematic structural view of an electronic device according to further embodiments of the present invention. As shown in fig. 10, the electronic apparatus 100 of this embodiment includes: the memory 1010 and the processor 1020 may also include an input-output interface 1030, a network interface 1040, a storage interface 1050, and the like. These interfaces 1030, 1040, 1050 and the memory 1010 and processor 1020 may be connected by, for example, a bus 1060. The input/output interface 1030 provides a connection interface for input/output devices such as a display, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen, and the like. Network interface 1040 provides a connection interface for a variety of networking devices. Storage interface 1050 provides a connection interface for external storage devices such as SD cards, U-discs, and the like.

An embodiment of the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, wherein the program when executed by a processor implements a control method of any one of the foregoing wireless forwarding devices.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable non-transitory storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flowchart and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flowcharts and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and any such modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. In a first state, disconnecting a control plane connection relationship on an access link between the wireless forwarding device and a base station; in a second state, the wireless forwarding device and the base station maintain a control plane connection relationship on an access link; and, the control method includes:

In the second state:

-the wireless forwarding device forwarding or amplifying signals between the base station and a terminal; the method comprises the steps of,

-in case of receiving signaling sent by the base station and the signaling comprising the return indication, the wireless forwarding device transitions from the second state to the first state;

in the first state:

-the wireless forwarding device forwarding or amplifying the received signal in case the pre-acquired configuration information for discontinuous interception indicates a forwarding and amplifying function of the hold signal;

-in case the signaling comprises the cell selection indication, the wireless forwarding device accessing the respective cell according to the cell selection indication;

-the wireless forwarding device forwarding the terminal signals within the coverage area of the wireless forwarding device using a corresponding forwarding mode if a forwarding indication is obtained in advance; the method comprises the steps of,

-the wireless forwarding device non-continuously listens for information sent by the base station according to the configuration information and switches to the second state if a preset information is heard.

2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein in the first state, the wireless forwarding device periodically listens for information sent by the base station according to the configuration information.

3. The control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein:

the configuration information includes: at least one of a period of non-consecutive listening, a number and offset of frames that can be listened to, or a signal forwarding amplification function off indication.

4. A control method according to claim 3, wherein the signal forwarding amplification function off indication is for instructing the wireless forwarding device not to forward and amplify signals between the base station and the terminal in the first state.

5. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

and the wireless forwarding equipment receives the configuration information through a first broadcast message or a preset signaling in the first state or the second state.

6. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the signaling is a downlink control information, DCI, indication, a control unit, MAC CE, of a medium access control layer or a radio resource control, RRC, message.

7. The control method according to claim 1, wherein, when the wireless forwarding device acquires the forwarding instruction in advance, forwarding the terminal signal within the coverage area of the wireless forwarding device by adopting a corresponding forwarding manner includes:

And under the condition that the signaling comprises the forwarding instruction, the wireless forwarding equipment forwards the terminal signals in the coverage range of the wireless forwarding equipment by adopting a corresponding forwarding mode.

8. The control method according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the forwarding instruction includes at least one of a downstream forwarding stop instruction or an upstream forwarding stop instruction.

9. The control method according to claim 8, wherein:

under the condition that the signaling carries the downlink forwarding stop instruction, the wireless forwarding equipment does not forward the received downlink signal;

the wireless forwarding device does not forward the received uplink signal when the signaling carries the downlink forwarding stop indication and does not carry the uplink forwarding stop indication;

and the wireless forwarding equipment forwards the received downlink signal under the condition that the signaling does not carry the downlink forwarding stop instruction.

10. The control method according to claim 8, wherein:

under the condition that the signaling carries the uplink forwarding stop instruction, the wireless forwarding equipment does not forward the received uplink signal;

and the wireless forwarding equipment forwards the received uplink signal under the condition that the signaling does not carry the uplink forwarding stop instruction.

11. The control method according to claim 8, wherein:

the wireless forwarding device accesses a cell which is different from the last access in the first state under the condition that the signaling carries the cell selection indication;

in case the signaling does not carry the cell selection indication, the wireless forwarding device maintains the last accessed cell.

12. The control method according to claim 8, wherein the signaling further includes a waiting time duration indication, the waiting time duration indication being a preset time duration with preset granularity, for indicating the wireless forwarding device to attempt to read a broadcast message to determine whether the base station resumes operation if the time duration of the discontinuous monitoring exceeds the preset time duration.

13. The control method according to claim 1, wherein, when the wireless forwarding device acquires the forwarding instruction in advance, forwarding the terminal signal within the coverage area of the wireless forwarding device by adopting a corresponding forwarding manner includes:

and under the condition that the wireless forwarding device determines the forwarding instruction through an algorithm or configures the forwarding instruction in advance, the wireless forwarding device forwards the terminal signals in the coverage range of the wireless forwarding device in a corresponding forwarding mode.

14. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

in the second state, the wireless forwarding device transitions from the second state to the first state if it is determined that the wireless forwarding device is out of synchronization with the base station.

15. The control method of claim 14, wherein the wireless repeater in the second state determines that the wireless repeater is out of synchronization with the base station if the broadcast message and the master system information block MIB message of the base station cannot be correctly decoded for a consecutive preset number of downlink wireless frames.

16. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the preset information is a broadcast of a radio system in which a cell in which the wireless forwarding device resides is located, or wake-up indication information.

17. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless forwarding device performs discontinuous monitoring on information sent by the base station according to the configuration information, and transitions to the second state when preset information is monitored, including:

the wireless forwarding device monitors the second broadcast message sent by the base station discontinuously on a wireless frame meeting preset conditions according to the configuration information;

And when the signal strength of the monitored second broadcast message is greater than a preset threshold and the second broadcast message indicates that the cell where the wireless forwarding device is located can be connected again, the wireless forwarding device is switched to the second state.

18. The control method of claim 17, wherein the radio frames satisfying the preset condition are determined according to a pre-configured number and offset of the listened frames, a period of discontinuous listening, an identification of the wireless forwarding device, and an identification of the radio frames.

19. The control method of claim 18, wherein the radio frame satisfying the preset condition is determined according to the following formula:

(SFN+offset)mod T＝(T/N)*(ID mod N)

wherein SFN is the identification of the radio frame; offset is the offset of a preset snoopable frame; t is a preset discontinuous monitoring period; n is the number of preset listened frames; the ID is the identification of the wireless forwarding device, and the identification of the wireless forwarding device is sent to the base station by the wireless forwarding device through random access or a pre-configured mode.

20. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

under a first state, under the condition that the discontinuous monitoring duration of the wireless forwarding equipment exceeds a preset waiting duration, attempting to read a broadcast message to determine whether the base station resumes operation;

In the case that the base station is determined not to resume operation and the wireless forwarding device is configured with a cell selection indication, the wireless forwarding device selects a cell different from the last access and attempts access.

21. The control method according to any one of claims 17-20, wherein the second broadcast message comprises a forwarding device access indication, a dedicated resource for forwarding device access, and an accessible signal quality threshold.

22. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

and under the condition that the base station is closed or a cell accessed by the wireless forwarding equipment is closed, the base station sends signaling to the wireless forwarding equipment, wherein the signaling comprises at least one of a return instruction, a forwarding instruction and a cell selection instruction.

23. The control method according to claim 22, further comprising:

and the base station sends a second broadcast message after recovering the work, wherein the second broadcast message comprises a forwarding equipment access instruction, a special resource accessed by the forwarding equipment and an accessible signal quality threshold.

24. The control method according to claim 22, further comprising:

the base station transmits the configuration information for discontinuous monitoring to the wireless forwarding device in the first state or the second state.

25. A wireless forwarding device, wherein in a first state, a control plane connection relationship on an access link is disconnected between the wireless forwarding device and a base station; in a second state, the wireless forwarding device and the base station maintain a control plane connection relationship on an access link; and, the wireless forwarding device includes:

a receiving module configured to receive, in the second state, signaling sent by the base station, where the signaling includes at least one of a return indication, a forwarding indication, or a cell selection indication;

a signal forwarding and amplifying module configured to forward or amplify a signal between the base station and a terminal in the second state; in the first state, forwarding or amplifying the received signal in case that the configuration information for discontinuous monitoring obtained in advance indicates a forwarding and amplifying function of the hold signal; and forwarding the terminal signal in the coverage area of the wireless forwarding equipment by adopting a corresponding forwarding mode according to the forwarding instruction under the condition that the forwarding instruction is acquired in advance;

A state transition module configured to: in the second state, switching from the second state to the first state according to the return instruction; in the first state, the wireless forwarding device transitions to the second state if preset information is monitored; and

and a cell selection module configured to access a corresponding cell according to the cell selection indication in the case that the signaling includes the cell selection indication in the first state.

26. The wireless forwarding device of claim 25 wherein the wireless forwarding device is an intelligent repeater.

27. A control system for a wireless forwarding device, comprising:

the wireless forwarding device of claim 26; and

and (5) a base station.

28. An electronic device, comprising:

a memory; and

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to perform the method of controlling a wireless forwarding device of any of claims 1-24 based on instructions stored in the memory.

29. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the method of controlling a wireless forwarding device of any of claims 1 to 24.