WO2014191025A1 - Energy management for signal processing means - Google Patents

Energy management for signal processing means Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2014191025A1
WO2014191025A1 PCT/EP2013/060969 EP2013060969W WO2014191025A1 WO 2014191025 A1 WO2014191025 A1 WO 2014191025A1 EP 2013060969 W EP2013060969 W EP 2013060969W WO 2014191025 A1 WO2014191025 A1 WO 2014191025A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
signal processing
processing means
node
actions
taken
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2013/060969
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Martin Lundqvist
Peter Brauer
David ENGDAL
Original Assignee
Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) filed Critical Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ)
Priority to PCT/EP2013/060969 priority Critical patent/WO2014191025A1/en
Publication of WO2014191025A1 publication Critical patent/WO2014191025A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04WWIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W52/00Power management, e.g. TPC [Transmission Power Control], power saving or power classes
    • H04W52/02Power saving arrangements
    • H04W52/0203Power saving arrangements in the radio access network or backbone network of wireless communication networks
    • H04W52/0206Power saving arrangements in the radio access network or backbone network of wireless communication networks in access points, e.g. base stations
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04WWIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W76/00Connection management
    • H04W76/20Manipulation of established connections
    • H04W76/28Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02DCLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE
    • Y02D30/00Reducing energy consumption in communication networks
    • Y02D30/70Reducing energy consumption in communication networks in wireless communication networks

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

The present invention relates to a node (1) in a communication system (2). The node (1) comprises at least one signal processing means (3) and is arranged to receive information regarding future signal processing actions (A) at said signal processing means (3). Said information is received a certain time before an action time (T) when said actions (A) are taken. The node (1) is arranged to adjust the degree of operation for said signal processing means (3) in dependence of said information. The present invention also relates to a corresponding method.

Description

TITLE
Energy management for signal processing means TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a node in a communication system. The node comprises at least one signal processing means and is arranged to receive information regarding future signal processing actions at said signal processing means. Said information is received a certain time before an action time when said actions are taken.
The present invention also relates to method for energy handling at a node in a communication system. The method comprises the step of receiving information regarding future signal processing actions at signal processing means in the node a certain time before an action time when said actions are taken.
BACKGROUND
Today, the need for saving energy has increased, both for economical and environmental reasons. There is therefore a desire to save energy in many fields of technology, but at the same time there is a desire to maintain an expected service quality. Many types of equipment, such as radio base station (RBS) equipment, comprise signal processing devices. Software signal processing applications are not often exclusively static environments; the dynamics of a radio base station baseband application is particularly multidimensional and constantly shifting. The need for processing resources can vary greatly, depending on the current user scheduling - valid for one millisecond, before it instantly changes again - while the requirements on processing latency are continuously tight and rigorous. In systems adapted for saving energy, as many as feasible of the processing devices shall be turned off, or put to a sleep mode. For an RBS, the power management of today can be divided into three typical cases:
1 ) All resources are always available. In this case there is a high energy consumption, but no unnecessary lateness.
2) Offline optimization. In this case, the best power utilization is determined offline for a corresponding predetermined load case. This means that a number of load cases are predetermined before the RBS is set on line, each load case being associated with a certain power utilization mode. When the
RBS is running, a certain load case among the predetermined load cases is determined to exist at a certain moment, and then the corresponding power utilization mode is applied. At another moment, the load may be of such a kind that another load case is determined to exist, leading to that another power utilization mode is applied. In this way, the most suitable power utilization mode case is chosen continuously as the load case of the RBS changes. However, it is difficult, or even impossible to foresee all possible load cases.
3) Online optimization. In this case, the best power utilization is continuously determined when the RBS already is running and immediately applied to the real time system. However, as the load situation is dynamically changing, this technique will always lead to either increased lateness, or unnecessary energy waste. It is therefore a desire to provide a device and method for power management technology at a signal processing device that offers a possibility to optimally minimize energy consumption and latency at the same time.
SUMMARY
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device and method for power management technology at a signal processing device that offers a possibility to optimally minimize energy consumption and latency at the same time. Said object is obtained by means of a node in a communication system. The node comprises at least one signal processing means and is arranged to receive information regarding future signal processing actions at said signal processing means. Said information is received a certain time before an action time when said actions are taken. The node is arranged to adjust the degree of operation for said signal processing means in dependence of said information.
Said object is also obtained by means of a method for energy handling at a node in a communication system. The method comprises the steps of:
- Receiving information regarding future signal processing actions at signal processing means in the node a certain time before an action time when said actions are taken.
- Using said information for adjusting the degree of operation for said signal processing means.
According to an example, said information comprises scheduling grants for user terminals that are served by the base station.
According to another example, the node is arranged introduce at least one auxiliary task, corresponding to at least one resource, to said signal processing means a certain time before the action time when said actions are to be taken. This enables said signal processing means to have a certain desired degree of operation at the action time when said actions are to be taken. Alternatively, the node is arranged to decrease the time required to at least partly turn on said signal processing means before said actions are to be taken.
More examples are disclosed in the dependent claims. A number of advantages are obtained by means of the present invention; mainly signal processing means will be able to respond to critical tasks with the lowest possible latency, while at the same time minimizing energy waste. The signal processing means is enabled to optimize its behavior in any desired way, compromising between energy consumption and task responsiveness.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will now be described more in detail with reference to the appended drawings, where:
Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a node in a wireless communication system; Figure 2 shows a diagram of resources versus time according to a first example;
Figure 3 shows a diagram of resources versus time according to a second example; and Figure 4 shows a flowchart for a method according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference to Figure 1 , showing a first example, there is a node 1 , here in the form of a radio base station (RBS) in a wireless communication system 2, for example an LTE (Long Term Evolution) system, a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) system or a WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) system. The RBS 1 comprises an air interface scheduling device 7 that is arranged for scheduling the air interface 15 for user terminals 4, 5, 6 of different types such as cell phones and laptops. The RBS 1 comprises a plurality of signal processing means 3, where the air interface scheduling device 7 is connected to the signal processing means 3 and is arranged to determine which user terminal 4, 5, 6 that will be granted use of what air interface resources at what time.
The RBS further comprises a task scheduling device 14 that is connected to the air interface scheduling device 7 and the signal processing means 3, the task scheduling device 14 being arranged to control the signal processing means 3 by providing resource scheduling instructions. The RBS 1 is arranged to transmit the scheduling grants provided from the air interface scheduling device 7 to the user terminals 4, 5, 6 concerned. This information will then be used by each user terminal 4, 5, 6 for transmission and reception.
With reference also to Figure 2, showing a first bar diagram of resources versus time, where the amount of processing resources 3a, 3b that are used of the signal processing means 3 at a certain time is indicated with a corresponding bar, this means that the RBS 1 is arranged to receive information regarding future signal processing actions A at said signal processing means 3. The signal processing actions A correspond to the processing resources indicated with bars within the indicated span A. The received information in question is received a certain time before said actions A are to be taken. According to the present invention, the RBS 1 is arranged to adjust the degree of operation for said signal processing means 3 in dependence of said information. This is made possible by having air interface scheduling information in the form of at least part of the scheduling grants transferred to the task scheduling device 14, which in this way acquires foreknowledge of the work to be done, the future load, typically a few milliseconds in advance. The task scheduling device 14 may then adjust the degree of operation, for example by turning on or turning off, the signal processing means 3; 3a, 3b.
The present invention is thus based on use of the received information, constituting foreknowledge in order to make good online decisions on what recourses to turn on or off in the RBS. As much a priori information as possible is used to predict the future need for processing capability. With this prediction, the conflicting demands for latency and energy consumption can be optimized. The amount of energy that could be saved in this way is very substantial.
More in detail, the air interface scheduling device 7 is arranged to perform scheduling of the radio interface, i.e. to decide whom to transmit to on an up-link, and in what way. The scheduling information is then sent to the user terminals 4, 5, 6 in question via a down-link, and at least partly also sent to the task scheduling device 14. Thus the RBS 1 will comprise advance knowledge regarding in what signal processing work that has to be done in an up-link receiver 3a and downlink processing equipment 3b, the up-link receiver 3a and downlink processing equipment 3b being comprised in the signal processing means 3. The downlink processing equipment 3b also comprises information about input user data buffer sizes that can be used to predict the processing need.
For the task scheduling device 14, it is possible to use a combination of number of active users, buffer status and classes of user terminal to estimate the upcoming workload for both uplink and downlink.
The above information is used to make the RBS 1 adjust its available resources in the form of said signal processing means 3 to minimize energy consumption and latency. The task scheduling device 14 will be able to switch on signal processing means 3 in advance and even start to perform task scheduling in advance, and thus achieve both minimum latency and minimum energy consumption at the same time.
With reference to Figure 2, a first example will now be described. In this example, the a priori information according to the above is provided to the signal processing means 3 in an indirect manner. This is for example the case if the task scheduling device 14 has predetermined settings regarding wake-up time for processing resources 3a, 3b that are not possible to alter dynamically. The task scheduling device 14 is arranged to create a plurality of auxiliary tasks, zero-time tasks, corresponding to a desired certain increase 8, 9, 10, 1 1 of the use of resources at the signal processing means 3, due to the knowledge of an upcoming processing resource need at a certain action time T. These auxiliary tasks are provided to the signal processing devices 3. The auxiliary tasks are first introduced to the signal processing devices 3 at a certain time tL+tR before the action time T, compensating for the system's wake-up inertia that here is represented by the individual processing resources' wake-up latency tL and their combined wake-up rate tR, respectively. This procedure would cause a number of signal processing resources 3a, 3b at the signal processing means 3 to have exited a precious low-energy state at the action time T when they are needed, providing zero-latency handling of the application's tasks upon arrival at the action time T. The number N may indicate the desired number of signal processing resources 3a, 3b that are ready for action at the action time T.
Generally, the node 1 is arranged to introduce at least one auxiliary task to the signal processing means 3 a certain time tL+tR before the action time T when said actions A are to be taken, enabling said signal processing means 3 to have a certain desired degree of operation at the time T when said actions A are to be taken.
This method could be implemented as a totally independent add-on to a previously working system, not affecting the design of the existing resource scheduler.
With reference to Figure 3, a second example will now be described. Figure 3 shows a second bar diagram of resources versus time, where the amount of resources that are used of the signal processing means 3 at a certain time is indicated with a corresponding bar. The signal processing actions A that are to be taken at a certain action time T correspond to the resources indicated with bars within the span A. In this example, the a priori information according to the above is provided to the signal processing means 3 in a more direct manner. This is for example the case if the task scheduling device 14 has settings regarding wake-up time for processing resources 3a, 3b that may be altered dynamically. The settings of the task scheduling device 14 are then dynamically modify, reducing a wake-up latency of the signal processing resources 3a, 3b. Energy-saving modes are then not allowed to be entered when an increased processing resource need is imminent at a certain action time T. The modification is performed a first time tA before said action time T.
Alternatively the distributed wake-up rate could be increased by letting processing resources activate more neighboring resources from low-energy states, at the time for an anticipated increased resource need.
This means that processing means 3; 3a, 3b that normally have a certain start-up time due to a sleep mode or other low-energy state, now have this low-energy state removed or at least reduced, allowing a quick start of the needed signal resources corresponding to the actions A at the action time T.
Generally, the node 1 is arranged to decrease the time tA required to at least partly turn on said signal processing means 3 before the actions A are to be taken, enabling said signal processing means 3 to have a certain desired degree of operation at the action time T when said actions A are to be taken.
As soon as the critical, latency-sensitive tasks have been initiated, the settings of the task scheduling device 14 are re-set to their default settings, where energy saving may be of higher priority than swift response to sudden task bursts. This re- modification is performed a second time tB after said action time T.
A real-time resource scheduler in a multi-core environment is most often nothing but a just-in-time resource scheduler, mapping tasks to be executed onto available processing resources to execute them on. The tasks may be placed in one or more global or local task queues, and processing resources may be immediately responding when they are active; or forced to be brought active from a previous low- energy state. The way the a priori information - upon which this invention is based - can be used, depends on how the existing resource scheduler is implemented.
With reference to Figure 8, the present invention relates to a method for energy handling at a node 1 in a communication system 2. The method comprises the steps of: 12: receiving information regarding future signal processing actions A at signal processing means 3 in the node 1 a certain time before an action time T when said actions A are taken; and
13: using said information for adjusting the degree of operation for said signal processing means 3.
The present invention is not limited to the examples above, but may vary freely within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the signal processing means 3 may simply be turned on or turned off, or alternatively, a certain degree of operation of the signal processing means 3 may be set.
The number of auxiliary tasks, and the nature of the actions A to be taken, may of course vary. The air interface scheduling device 7 and/or the task scheduling device 14 may, or may not, be comprised in the signal processing means 3.
The bar diagrams in Figure 2 and Figure 3 should not be regarded as showing exact time measures or resource use, but only to be indicative of understanding the present invention.
Although the description above has related to a RBS in a wireless communications system, the present invention may relate to any type of node 1 in a communication system 2, where communication either is wireless and/or via some type of wire such as copper or fiber. The node may be a repeater device or a user terminal that is communicating with another device.
As another example, the node may be in the form of a media player of similar that via fiber cable or copper cable receives media data and also data comprising information regarding future signal processing actions A at the media player. By means of this information, the media player may adjust the degree of operation for its signal processing means 3 to the upcoming processing needs, enabling energy to be saved in a similar way as described for the RBS. In this context, signal processing means may be any type of means that processes information or at least are participating in the process of processing information such as for example coding devices, decoding devices, amplifiers, active filters, switches, transmitters, receivers, microprocessors, memories, digital circuit elements, analogue circuit elements, active microwave components etc.
Furthermore, the node may be any type of device in a communication system, where the device is arranged to process any type of signals and/or data, where the device also is arranged to receive information regarding future signal processing actions A.
The task scheduling device 14 may be arranged to provide control of the signal processing means 3 even in the absence of air interface scheduling information from the air interface scheduling device 7. Then the task scheduling device 14 will be arranged to maintain an estimated degree of operation.

Claims

1 . A node (1 ) in a communication system (2), where the node (1 ) comprises at least one signal processing means (3) and is arranged to receive information regarding future signal processing actions (A) at said signal processing means (3), said information being received a certain time before an action time (T) when said actions (A) are taken, characterized in that the node (1 ) is arranged to adjust the degree of operation for said signal processing means (3) in dependence of said information.
2. A node according to claim 1 , characterized in that the node is in the form of a base station (1 ), and that said information comprises scheduling grants for user terminals (4, 5, 6) that are served by the base station (1 ).
3. A node according to claim 2, characterized in that the node (1 ) comprises a scheduling device (7) that is arranged to take into account at least one of:
- number of active user terminals (4, 5, 6);
- buffer status; and
- classes of user terminals (4, 5, 6)
when adjusting the degree of operation for said signal processing means (3).
4. A node according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that the node (1 ) is arranged introduce at least one auxiliary task, corresponding to a certain increase (8, 9, 10, 1 1 ) of the use of resources at the signal processing means (3), to said signal processing means (3) a certain time (tL+tR) before the action time (T) when said actions (A) are to be taken, enabling said signal processing means (3) to have a certain desired degree of operation at the action time (T) when said actions (A) are to be taken.
5. A node according to any one of the claims 1 -3, characterized in that the node (1 ) is arranged to decrease the time (tA) required to at least partly turn on said signal processing means (3) before said actions (A) are to be taken, enabling said signal processing means (3) to have a certain desired degree of operation at the action time (T) when said actions (A) are to be taken.
6. A node according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that the node (1 ) comprises an air interface scheduling device (7) that is arranged for scheduling the air interface (15) for the user terminals (4, 5, 6), where the air interface scheduling device (7) is arranged to determine which user terminal (4, 5, 6) that will be granted use of what air interface resources at what time and to send air interface scheduling information to the user terminals (4, 5, 6).
7. A node according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that the node (1 ) comprises a task scheduling device (14) that is connected to the air interface scheduling device (7) and the signal processing means (3), the task scheduling device (14) being arranged to adjust the degree of operation for said signal processing means (3) at least partly in dependence of at least a part of said air interface scheduling information.
8. A method for energy handling at a node (1 ) in a communication system (2), the method comprising the step of:
(12) receiving information regarding future signal processing actions (A) at signal processing means (3) in the node (1 ) a certain time before an action time (T) when said actions (A) are taken; characterized in that the method further comprises the step of:
(13) using said information for adjusting the degree of operation for said signal processing means (3).
9. A method according to claim 8, characterized in that that the method comprises the step of using information which comprises scheduling grants for user terminals (4, 5, 6).
10. A method according to one of the previous claims 8 or 9, characterized in that at least one of:
- number of active user terminals (4, 5, 6);
- buffer load; and
- classes of user terminals (4, 5, 6)
is taken into account when adjusting the degree of operation for said signal processing means (3).
1 1 . A method according to any one of the previous claims 9 or 10, characterized in that the method comprises the step of introducing at least one auxiliary task, corresponding to a certain increase (8, 9, 10, 1 1 ) of the use of resources at the signal processing means (3), to said signal processing means (3) a certain time (tL+tR) before the action time (T) when said actions (A) are to be taken, enabling said signal processing means (3) to have a certain desired degree of operation at the action time (T) when said actions (A) are to be taken.
12. A method according to any one of the previous claims 9 or 10, characterized in that the method comprises the step of decreasing the time (tA) required to at least partly turn on said signal processing means (3) before said actions (A) are to be taken, enabling said signal processing means (3) to have a certain desired degree of operation at the action time (T) when said actions (A) are to be taken.
PCT/EP2013/060969 2013-05-28 2013-05-28 Energy management for signal processing means WO2014191025A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/EP2013/060969 WO2014191025A1 (en) 2013-05-28 2013-05-28 Energy management for signal processing means

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/EP2013/060969 WO2014191025A1 (en) 2013-05-28 2013-05-28 Energy management for signal processing means

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2014191025A1 true WO2014191025A1 (en) 2014-12-04

Family

ID=48570113

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/EP2013/060969 WO2014191025A1 (en) 2013-05-28 2013-05-28 Energy management for signal processing means

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2014191025A1 (en)

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6584330B1 (en) * 2000-07-18 2003-06-24 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Adaptive power management for a node of a cellular telecommunications network
US20100151920A1 (en) * 2008-12-16 2010-06-17 Electronics And Telecommunications Research Institute Method of operating base station with low power consumption
US20120163305A1 (en) * 2010-12-28 2012-06-28 Motorola Mobility, Inc. Energy-saving base station and method

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6584330B1 (en) * 2000-07-18 2003-06-24 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Adaptive power management for a node of a cellular telecommunications network
US20100151920A1 (en) * 2008-12-16 2010-06-17 Electronics And Telecommunications Research Institute Method of operating base station with low power consumption
US20120163305A1 (en) * 2010-12-28 2012-06-28 Motorola Mobility, Inc. Energy-saving base station and method

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
HUAWEI: "Energy saving techniques for LTE", 3GPP DRAFT; R2-101824 ENERGY SAVING TECHNIQUES FOR LTE, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), MOBILE COMPETENCE CENTRE ; 650, ROUTE DES LUCIOLES ; F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS CEDEX ; FRANCE, vol. RAN WG2, no. San Francisco, USA; 20100222, 24 February 2010 (2010-02-24), XP050421968 *

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
CN1947388B (en) Load control in shared medium many-to-one communication systems
CN104125615A (en) Dual-band adaptive concurrent handling method and dual-band adaptive concurrent handling device
KR20050038977A (en) System and method for transmitting/receiving resource allocation information in a radio communication system
JP5995253B2 (en) Pilot signal transmission method, channel estimation method, apparatus and system
US20060246935A1 (en) Scheduling apparatus and scheduling apparatus method
JP2007134840A (en) Mobile communication system, base station apparatus, power consumption reduction method for use therein and its program
CN107079373B (en) System and method for adaptive cooperative mode selection strategy of wireless network
CN101810028A (en) A method and device for power reduction in an LTE system
CN103181232A (en) Methods and apparatus to poll in wireless communications
JP2015523770A (en) System and method for scheduling MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) HSDPA (High-SpeedDownlinkPacketAccess) pilot channel
US20160285727A1 (en) Method for controlling transmission power and transmission delay, and communication terminal using same
CN111133802A (en) Network node power control
EP2665311B1 (en) Control method and apparatus for multi-carrier frequency power amplifier resources
US8825067B2 (en) Method, device and system for scheduling transfer of data from a mobile terminal to a base station
CN101185359A (en) Implementing downlink code management for fractional dpch in timing conflict situations
CN103181226A (en) Methods and apparatus to communicate data between wireless network and mobile station
US7203498B2 (en) Transmission rate switching control method for mobile communication system and mobile communication control apparatus
KR20160018030A (en) Method and apparatus for executing software in a electronic device
WO2014191025A1 (en) Energy management for signal processing means
WO2011093790A1 (en) A method, device, and computer program of scheduling transferring of application messages in a mobile device
US11550384B2 (en) Methods and apparatus for adaptive power profiling in a baseband processing system
CN104753658A (en) Method and device for data transmission in simultaneous same-frequency full duplex system
CN114466434A (en) Information transmission method and communication device
Wang et al. Resource allocation and access strategy selection for QoS provisioning in cognitive networks
CN114779879B (en) Frequency-voltage adjusting method and related device

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 13726492

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 13726492

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1