Radio resource management measurement method and apparatus

A radio resource management (RRM) measurement method and apparatus, where the method includes receiving, by the terminal device, indication information from the network device, where the indication information indicates a time-frequency resource used to perform received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurement on the unlicensed carrier, performing, by the terminal device on the time-frequency resource, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier to obtain an RSSI measurement result, and sending, by the terminal device, the RSSI measurement result to the network device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Stage of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2015/093946 filed on Nov. 6, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the communications field, and in particular, to a radio resource management (RRM) measurement method and apparatus.

BACKGROUND

In an existing communications system, a terminal device may perform RRM measurement, and report an RRM measurement result to a network device. The network device may determine a current channel state of the terminal device according to the RRM measurement result reported by the terminal device. The RRM measurement result may include reference signal received quality (RSRQ). The RSRQ may be defined as N×reference signal received power (RSRP)/received signal strength indicator (RSSI). N represents a quantity of resource blocks on which the measurement is performed, and the RSRP and the RSSI are obtained by means of measurement on a same resource block set. The RSSI is a parameter required for calculating the RSRQ by the terminal device, and the terminal device does not report a value of the RSSI to the network device.

In a licensed-assisted access (LAA) using Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a node needs to use a channel resource by means of listen before talk (LBT), that is, the node needs to contend for an unlicensed carrier resource with another node, and can use the unlicensed carrier resource only after the node obtains the resource by means of contention. In addition, the RRM measurement is mainly based on a reference signal. Transmission of a reference signal needs to comply with the LBT. Therefore, it is possible that the network device cannot obtain a transmission resource by means of contention, and the terminal device cannot perform the RRM measurement on an unlicensed carrier and therefore cannot report an RRM measurement result (for example, RSRQ). As a result, the network device cannot learn of the current channel state of the terminal device in time, and this affects scheduling performance of the network device.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an RRM measurement method and apparatus. This helps resolve a problem that a network device cannot transmit a reference signal on an unlicensed carrier and consequently a terminal device cannot feedback an RRM measurement result.

According to a first aspect, an RRM measurement method is provided, including receiving, by a terminal device, indication information sent by a network device, where the indication information indicates a time-frequency resource used to perform RSSI measurement on an unlicensed carrier, performing, by the terminal device on the time-frequency resource, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier to obtain an RSSI measurement result, and sending, by the terminal device, the RSSI measurement result to the network device.

According to the RRM measurement method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device receives the indication information that indicates the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier and that is sent by the network device. The terminal device performs the RSSI measurement on the time-frequency resource indicated by the indication information, to obtain the RSSI measurement result, and sends the RSSI measurement result to the network device. This helps resolve a problem that the network device cannot transmit a reference signal on the unlicensed carrier and consequently the terminal device cannot feedback an RRM measurement result.

In a first possible implementation of the first aspect, the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier is different from a time-frequency resource used to perform measurement on a discovery reference signal (DRS).

With reference to the foregoing possible implementation of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation of the first aspect, a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier is different from a discovery signals measurement timing configuration (DMTC) of the unlicensed carrier.

In this case, the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier and a time-frequency resource used to perform measurement on a DRS transmitted on the unlicensed carrier may be separately configured, or the time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier and the DMTC may be separately configured such that the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier does not necessarily depend on a DRS. This resolves the problem that the network device cannot transmit a reference signal on the unlicensed carrier and consequently the terminal device cannot feedback an RRM measurement result, thereby improving system performance.

The terminal device may perform the RSSI measurement on the time-frequency resource configured by the network device, regardless of whether the network device sends a signal on the time-frequency resource using a serving cell of the terminal device. That is, the RSSI measurement performed by the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier may be dependent on a signal sent by the serving cell of the terminal device or be independent of the signal sent by the serving cell of the terminal device. The signal may be any possible signal, including a reference signal, a common downlink signal, a data packet, or the like.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation of the first aspect, performing, by the terminal device on the time-frequency resource, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier to obtain an RSSI measurement result includes determining, by the terminal device, a total receive power that is from at least one source and that is detected on the time-frequency resource, where the at least one source does not include a signal sent by a serving cell of the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier, and processing, by the terminal device, the total receive power to obtain the RSSI measurement result.

The at least one source may not include the serving cell of the terminal device. In this case, the indication information may further instruct the terminal device to perform, without depending on the signal sent by the serving cell, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier.

In this way, the terminal device can obtain the RSSI measurement result on the configured time-frequency resource in any case, and reports the RSSI measurement result to the network device such that the network device can obtain a status of a carrier around the terminal device even if the network device cannot obtain a transmission resource of the unlicensed carrier by means of contention. In this way, management and scheduling can be performed on the terminal device based on the status, and system performance can be improved.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation of the first aspect, the indication information includes information about an RSSI measurement time window and/or information about an RSSI measurement granularity.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation of the first aspect, the RSSI measurement time window is different from the DMTC, and this includes that the RSSI measurement time window and the DMTC are partially overlapped or have no intersection set at all.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in a sixth possible implementation of the first aspect, the indication information further includes information about an RSSI valid measurement window, where the RSSI valid measurement window represents a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement in the RSSI measurement window.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in a seventh possible implementation of the first aspect, the indication information is carried in radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in an eighth possible implementation of the first aspect, the indication information is carried in downlink control information (DCI).

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in a ninth possible implementation of the first aspect, the indication information is carried in a newly-added bit of the DCI. Optionally, the indication information is further used to instruct the terminal device to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier or report the RSSI measurement result of the unlicensed carrier.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in a tenth possible implementation of the first aspect, sending, by the terminal device, the RSSI measurement result to the network device includes sending, by the terminal device, the RSSI measurement result to the network device on a licensed carrier, or sending, by the terminal device, the RSSI measurement result to the network device on the unlicensed carrier.

According to a second aspect, another RRM measurement method is provided, including sending, by a network device, indication information to a terminal device, where the indication information indicates a time-frequency resource used to perform RSSI measurement on an unlicensed carrier, and receiving, by the network device, an RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device, where the RSSI measurement result is obtained by the terminal device by performing the RSSI measurement on the time-frequency resource.

In a first possible implementation of the second aspect, the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier is different from a time-frequency resource used to perform measurement on a DRS.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementation of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation of the second aspect, a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier is different from a DMTC of the unlicensed carrier.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation of the second aspect, the RSSI measurement result is obtained by the terminal device by processing a total receive power that is from at least one source and that is detected on the time-frequency resource, where the at least one source does not include a signal sent by a serving cell of the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation of the second aspect, the indication information further instructs the terminal device to perform, without depending on the signal sent by the serving cell of the terminal device, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in a fifth possible implementation of the second aspect, the indication information includes information about an RSSI measurement time window and/or information about an RSSI measurement granularity. Optionally, the information about the RSSI measurement time window may include a start position of the RSSI measurement time window, a length of the RSSI measurement time window, and a distribution period of the RSSI measurement time window.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in a sixth possible implementation of the second aspect, the indication information further includes information about an RSSI valid measurement window, where the RSSI valid measurement window represents a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement in the RSSI measurement window.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in a seventh possible implementation of the second aspect, the network device semi-statically configures the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement. Optionally, the indication information is carried in RRC signaling.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in an eighth possible implementation of the second aspect, the network device dynamically configures the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement, and the indication information is carried in DCI.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in a ninth possible implementation of the second aspect, the indication information is carried in a newly-added bit of the DCI.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in a tenth possible implementation of the second aspect, receiving, by the network device, an RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device includes receiving, by the network device, the RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device on a licensed carrier, or receiving, by the network device, the RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier.

With reference to the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in an eleventh possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes performing, by the network device according to the received RSSI measurement result, carrier selection or scheduling on the terminal device.

According to a third aspect, an RRM measurement apparatus is provided and is configured to execute the method in the foregoing first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. Further, the apparatus includes units configured to execute the method in the foregoing first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

According to a fourth aspect, an RRM measurement apparatus is provided and is configured to execute the method in the foregoing second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. Further, the apparatus includes units configured to execute the method in the foregoing second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

According to a fifth aspect, an RRM measurement apparatus is provided, and the apparatus includes a receiver, a transmitter, a memory, a processor, and a bus system. The receiver, the transmitter, the memory, and the processor are connected using the bus system, the memory is configured to store an instruction, and the processor is configured to execute the instruction stored in the memory in order to control the receiver to receive a signal and control the transmitter to send a signal. In addition, when the processor executes the instruction stored in the memory, the processor executes the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

According to a sixth aspect, an RRM measurement apparatus is provided, and the apparatus includes a receiver, a transmitter, a memory, a processor, and a bus system. The receiver, the transmitter, the memory, and the processor are connected using the bus system, the memory is configured to store an instruction, and the processor is configured to execute the instruction stored in the memory in order to control the receiver to receive a signal and control the transmitter to send a signal. In addition, when the processor executes the instruction stored in the memory, the processor executes the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

According to a seventh aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided and is configured to store a computer program, and the computer program includes an instruction used to execute the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

According to an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided and is configured to store a computer program, and the computer program includes an instruction used to execute the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communications systems that support LAA, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) system, a general packet radio service (GPRS), an LTE system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX) communications system, a future fifth generation (5G) system, or the like.

FIG. 1shows a radio communications system100applied to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The radio communications system100may include at least one network device110. The network device110may be a device that communicates with a terminal device. Each network device110may provide communications coverage for a specific geographic area, and may communicate with a terminal device (for example, user equipment (UE)) located in the coverage area. The network device110may be a base transceiver station (BTS) in a GSM system or a CDMA system, or a NodeB (NB) in a WCDMA system, or an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNB) in an LTE system, or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or the network device may be a relay node, an access point, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a network side device in a future 5G network, or a network device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN).

The radio communications system100further includes multiple terminal devices120located in a coverage area of the network device110. The terminal device120may be mobile or fixed. The terminal device120may be referred to as an access terminal, UE, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, radio communications equipment, a user agent, or a user apparatus. The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a hand-held device having a wireless communications function, a computing device, or another processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network, a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN, or the like.

FIG. 1shows an example of one network device110and two terminal devices120. Optionally, the radio communications system100may include multiple network devices110, and another quantity of terminal devices120may be included in a coverage range of each network device, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

Optionally, the radio communications system100may include another network entity such as a network controller or a mobility management entity, but this embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The radio communications system100may support LAA. For example, the radio communications system100includes LAA-LTE or another communications system, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure. When the network device110and the terminal device120perform communications in an LAA manner, not only a licensed spectrum but also an unlicensed spectrum may be used. An unlicensed spectrum is integrated to a cellular communications network (for example, LTE) that originally uses only a licensed spectrum, and the unlicensed spectrum may be used as an auxiliary component carrier in a carrier aggregation scenario. A licensed spectrum can be used only after authorization is obtained, and an unlicensed spectrum can be legally used by anyone without requiring authorization. In this case, a carrier on the licensed spectrum is referred to as a licensed carrier, and a carrier on the unlicensed spectrum is referred to as an unlicensed carrier.

In an LAA using LTE system or another communications system that supports LAA, the network device110may perform scheduling on an unlicensed carrier with assistance of a licensed spectrum. An LBT mechanism may be used for access of the unlicensed carrier. Before using an unlicensed carrier to perform data transmission, the network device110or the terminal device120may contend for a resource on the unlicensed carrier with a node in a wireless local area network (WLAN) and another node using LAA in a cellular network, and then uses the resource obtained by means of contention to perform data transmission. The terminal device120or the network device110may contend for a resource in a manner that is based on load based equipment (LBE) or that is based on frame based equipment (FBE). In the LBE manner, whether to contend for a channel and channel occupation duration are determined based on whether data is currently to be transmitted and an amount of to-be-transmitted data, and in the FBE manner, a channel is contended for and is occupied for specific duration according to a frame structure, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2shows an RRM measurement method200according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The RRM measurement method200may be applied to the radio communications system100shown inFIG. 1, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

Step S210: A network device sends indication information to a terminal device, where the indication information indicates a time-frequency resource used to perform RSSI measurement on an unlicensed carrier (i.e. RSSI measurement configuration).

The network device may determine the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier, and sends the indication information to the terminal device. Optionally, the indication information may be different from indication information used to configure a DMTC, or the indication information may be not carried in signaling used to configure the DMTC. That is, the network device may separately configure the DMTC and the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement such that the RSSI measurement performed by the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier may not depend on a DRS. The network device and the terminal device may support LAA, that is, the terminal device may use an unlicensed carrier or a licensed carrier to perform communication with the network device in a cellular network. Optionally, the network device may send the indication information to the terminal device on a licensed carrier or the unlicensed carrier, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

Optionally, the indication information may indicate an RSSI measurement configuration of the unlicensed carrier. Optionally, the indication information may be further used to instruct the terminal device to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier. The RSSI measurement configuration may include the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement, and the time-frequency resource may include a frequency resource and/or a time resource. The time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement and a time-frequency resource used to perform measurement on a DRS may be separately configured, that is, the two time-frequency resources may be the same or different. As an optional embodiment, the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement may be different from the time-frequency resource used to perform measurement on the DRS, and this may be one of the following cases.

A time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement is different from a time resource used to perform measurement on the DRS, while a frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement is the same as a frequency resource used to perform measurement on the DRS. A frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement is different from a frequency resource used to perform measurement on the DRS, while a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement is the same as a time resource used to perform measurement on the DRS, or a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement is different from a time resource used to perform measurement on the DRS, and a frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement is different from a frequency resource used to perform measurement on the DRS.

In this case, the RSSI measurement may no longer depend on a DRS. This helps avoid a case that the network terminal cannot send a reference signal and consequently the terminal device cannot perform the RSSI measurement.

As an optional embodiment, the indication information may indicate the time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement, or further indicates the frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement. The time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement and the DMTC may be separately configured. The time resource (for example, a time window used to perform the RSSI measurement) used to perform the RSSI measurement may be the same as the DMTC or be different from the DMTC. The DMTC may be a time window used to perform measurement on a DRS transmitted on the unlicensed carrier. Optionally, the time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement may be different from the DMTC, that is, the time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement and the DMTC may be partially overlapped or have no intersection set.FIG. 3shows an example of time resources A1and A2used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier and DMTCs B1and B2used to perform measurement on the DRS transmitted on the unlicensed carrier. A1is totally overlapped with B1, and A2and B2are partially overlapped, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

As an example, the time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement may include at least one subframe or include multiple symbols. For example, the time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement or the time window used to perform the RSSI measurement may include N subframes or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, and N>1. The N subframes (or OFDM symbols) may include at least one subframe (or OFDM symbol) that does not belong to the DMTC, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

Step S220: The terminal device receives the indication information sent by the network device and performs, on the time-frequency resource indicated by the indication information, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier to obtain an RSSI measurement result.

The terminal device may perform measurement on N resource blocks in the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement. Further, the terminal device may perform measurement on the N resource blocks on a measurement band of some or all OFDM symbols in a measurement subframe, and perform arithmetic or weighted averaging on a total receive power that is from all sources and that is observed in the N resource blocks in order to obtain the RSSI measurement result. The all resources may include a serving cell and a non-serving cell of a co-channel, adjacent channel interference, thermal noise, and the like, and this embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Step S230: The terminal device sends the RSSI measurement result to the network device.

When obtaining one RSSI measurement result each time, the terminal device may send the obtained RSSI measurement result to the network device. Alternatively, after obtaining a predetermined quantity of multiple RSSI measurement results, the terminal device may send the multiple RSSI measurement results to the network device, or process the multiple RSSI measurement results and send the processed RSSI measurement results to the network device, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

The network device may receive the RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device, determine interference and load statuses of a carrier around the terminal device according to the RSSI measurement result, and perform management and scheduling on the terminal device based on the measurement result. For example, the network device may perform carrier selection or scheduling on the terminal device according to the RSSI measurement result, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

In this way, the time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier by the terminal device is configured to be not totally the same as the DMTC such that the RSSI measurement configuration may be independent of the DMTC. The RSSI measurement performed by the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier does not need to depend on the DRS. This can avoid a problem that the network device cannot transmit a DRS on the unlicensed carrier and consequently the terminal device cannot perform measurement on the unlicensed carrier, and can improve a probability that the terminal device can perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier such that a base station can obtain interference and load statuses of a carrier around the terminal device in time.

Therefore, according to the RRM measurement method provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure, the network device separately configures the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier and the time-frequency resource used to perform measurement on the DRS transmitted on the unlicensed carrier, and sends the indication information that indicates the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier to the terminal device such that the terminal device performs, on the time-frequency resource indicated by the indication information, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier to obtain the RSSI measurement result, and sends the RSSI measurement result to the network device. This helps resolve a problem that the network device cannot transmit a reference signal on the unlicensed carrier and consequently the terminal device cannot feedback an RRM measurement result. In addition, the network device may perform carrier selection or scheduling on the terminal device according to the RSSI measurement result reported by the terminal device. This helps improve scheduling performance of the network device and overall system performance.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device may perform the RSSI measurement on the configured time-frequency resource. In this case, it is possible that the network device obtains a transmission resource of the unlicensed carrier by means of contention and transmits any downlink signal or data packet on the time-frequency resource using the serving cell of the terminal device. A coverage area of the network device is divided into multiple sectors including the serving cell. Accordingly, the RSSI measurement result obtained by the terminal device on the time-frequency resource includes contribution of the serving cell of the terminal device. Alternatively, it is possible that the network device cannot obtain a transmission resource of the unlicensed carrier by means of contention and cannot transmit any downlink signal or data packet on the time-frequency resource using the serving cell of the terminal device. Accordingly, the RSSI measurement result obtained by the terminal device on the time-frequency resource does not include contribution of the serving cell of the terminal device. In this way, regardless of whether the network device transmits a signal on the unlicensed carrier using the serving cell, the terminal device can always obtain and report the RSSI measurement result of the unlicensed carrier such that the network device can learn of, based on the RSSI measurement result, current information related to the terminal device and perform management and scheduling in order to improve management and scheduling performance of the network device and improve the overall system performance.

As an optional embodiment, performing, on the time-frequency resource, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier to obtain an RSSI measurement result in step S220includes determining a total receive power that is from at least one source and that is detected on the time-frequency resource, where the at least one source does not include a signal sent by a serving cell of the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier, and processing the total receive power to obtain the RSSI measurement result.

In this case, the RSSI measurement result is obtained by the terminal device by processing the total receive power that is from the at least one source and that is detected on the time-frequency resource, and the at least one source does not include the signal sent by the serving cell of the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier. That is, the terminal device may perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier without depending on the signal sent by the serving cell of the terminal device.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the network device may indicate, in various manners, the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier. As an optional embodiment, the indication information may include information about an RSSI measurement time window and/or information about an RSSI measurement granularity.

The RSSI measurement time window represents a time resource window used to perform the RSSI measurement, and some or all time resources in the RSSI measurement time window may be used to perform the RSSI measurement. Optionally, the RSSI measurement time window and the DMTC may be separately configured. For example, the RSSI measurement time window may be different from the DMTC, that is, the RSSI measurement time window and the DMTC may be partially overlapped or have no intersection set at all, or the RSSI measurement time window may be a part of the DMTC, or the DMTC may be a part of the RSSI measurement time window, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure. Optionally, the RSSI measurement time window may be periodically distributed. In this case, the indication information may further include information about start time (for example, a start subframe or a start symbol), a length, and a distribution period of the RSSI measurement time window. Accordingly, the terminal device may determine the RSSI measurement time window according to the foregoing parameters.

The network device configures the RSSI measurement time window of the unlicensed carrier such that the terminal device performs the RSSI measurement only in the RSSI measurement time window configured by the network device, and does not need to continuously perform the RSSI measurement, thereby reducing power consumption of the terminal device.

The RSSI measurement granularity may represent a minimum time resource unit for obtaining an RSSI, that is, the terminal device may perform measurement on multiple resource blocks on a time resource that is in the RSSI measurement time window and whose length is the RSSI measurement granularity, and perform arithmetic averaging or weighted averaging on a total receive power detected on the multiple resource blocks to obtain the RSSI. The network device may set different RSSI measurement granularities according to different requirements. The network device may configure different RSSI measurement granularities for different unlicensed carriers or configure different RSSI measurement granularities for different terminal devices, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the RSSI measurement granularity of the unlicensed carrier may be set to a length of one symbol or a length of several symbols. As shown inFIG. 4, the RSSI measurement granularity of the unlicensed carrier may be set to 1 millisecond (ms), 4 ms, or 6 ms, or the network device may set the RSSI measurement granularity to another value such as 10 ms or 13 ms, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure. Optionally, the network device may set different RSSI measurement granularities according to different transmission duration in LAA such that the RSSI measurement granularity is related to transmission duration, and the RSSI measurement result of the terminal device can better reflect or present a load or interference status of the unlicensed carrier, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

In addition, optionally, a length of the RSSI measurement time window may be an integer multiple of the RSSI measurement granularity, and in this way, the terminal device can obtain at least one RSSI in one RSSI measurement time window. As shown inFIG. 4, the length of the RSSI measurement time window of the unlicensed carrier is 24 ms. The network device may configure the RSSI measurement granularity as 4 ms. In this case, if all time resources in the RSSI measurement time window can be used to perform the RSSI measurement, the terminal device may obtain six RSSIs from the RSSI measurement time window, and separately or jointly report the six RSSIs to the network device, or the terminal device may process the six RSSIs, for example, perform arithmetic or weighted averaging, to obtain a processing result, and report the processing result to the network device, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the example shown inFIG. 4, all the time resources in the RSSI measurement time window may be used to perform the RSSI measurement. Alternatively, only some of the time resources in the RSSI measurement time window may be used to perform the RSSI measurement. The terminal device may determine, according to a preset rule or configuration, a time resource that can be used to perform the RSSI measurement in the RSSI measurement time window. Alternatively, the indication information may further be used to indicate a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement in the RSSI measurement time window. Accordingly, the terminal device may determine, according to the indication information, a specific part of the time resources in the RSSI measurement time window for performing the RSSI measurement, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

As another optional embodiment, the indication information further includes information about an RSSI valid measurement window, and the RSSI valid measurement window represents a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement in the RSSI measurement window.

The terminal device may determine, according to the information about the RSSI valid measurement window, the time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement in the RSSI measurement window. Optionally, the information about the RSSI valid measurement window may include information about an RSSI measurement length, and the RSSI measurement length may represent a length of the time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement in the RSSI measurement window. In this case, a location of the RSSI valid measurement window in the RSSI measurement time window may be pre-defined or pre-configured. Alternatively, the information about the RSSI valid measurement window may further include information about the location of the RSSI valid measurement window in the RSSI measurement window, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure. Alternatively, the RSSI measurement length may represent a length of a time resource that is used to perform the RSSI measurement and that is in time resources whose length is the RSSI measurement granularity. For example, the RSSI measurement length may be a quantity M of consecutive symbols that are used to perform the RSSI measurement and that are in N symbols whose length is the RSSI measurement granularity, where 1<M<N. As shown inFIG. 5, in the time resources whose length is the RSSI measurement granularity, only a former part of the time resources whose length is the RSSI measurement length may be used to perform the RSSI measurement, or only a latter part, a middle part, or the like of the time resources whose length is the RSSI measurement length may be used to perform the RSSI measurement, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the network device may semi-statically configure the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier. For example, in step S210, the network device may send RRC signaling to the terminal device, and the RRC signaling carries the indication information. In this case, optionally, the indication information may be used to indicate the RSSI measurement configuration of the unlicensed carrier. The time-frequency resource that is used to perform the RSSI measurement and that is included in the RSSI measurement configuration may be distributed in a relatively long time period. For example, the RSSI measurement time window in the RSSI measurement configuration may be periodically distributed. After receiving the indication information, the terminal device may store the indication information or the RSSI measurement configuration in order to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier according to the RSSI measurement configuration in a relatively long subsequent period of time. For example, before receiving indication information used to indicate an updated RSSI measurement configuration of the unlicensed carrier, the terminal device may always use the current RSSI measurement configuration to perform the RSSI measurement, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

Optionally, after obtaining the RSSI measurement result, the terminal device may periodically report the RSSI measurement result to the network device. A reporting period may be the RSSI measurement granularity, that is, when obtaining an RSSI from the RSSI measurement granularity each time, the terminal device reports the obtained RSSI to the network device, or the reporting period may be multiple RSSI measurement granularities or the length of the RSSI measurement time window, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

As another optional embodiment, the indication information may further be used to indicate a manner in which the terminal device reports the RSSI measurement result. For example, the indication information may further be used to indicate that the terminal device periodically reports the RSSI measurement result. For example, the indication information includes information about a reporting period, or the indication information may be used to indicate a carrier type that is used by the terminal device to report the RSSI measurement result. For example, the indication information may further be used to indicate that the terminal device uses a licensed carrier or the unlicensed carrier to report the RSSI measurement result, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

As another optional embodiment, the network device may dynamically configure the time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier. For example, in step S210, the network device may send DCI to the terminal device, and the DCI carries the indication information. In this case, the indication information may be used to indicate that the terminal device performs RSSI measurement on an unlicensed carrier, and may indicate a time-frequency resource used to perform this RSSI measurement, that is, the foregoing time-frequency resource used to perform the RSSI measurement may be the time-frequency resource used to perform this RSSI measurement, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure. After receiving the DCI, the terminal device may perform the RSSI measurement according to the indication information configuration, and after obtaining an RSSI measurement result of this RSSI measurement, report the RSSI measurement result to the network device, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

The network device may include the indication information in the DCI in various manners, for example, use a reserved bit in the DCI to carry the indication information. Alternatively, the network device may add one or more bits to the DCI and use at least one newly-added bit of the DCI to carry the indication information, but this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

As another optional embodiment, in step S230, the terminal device may send the RSSI measurement result to the network device on a licensed carrier, or send the RSSI measurement result to the network device on the unlicensed carrier or another unlicensed carrier, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

After receiving the RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device, the network device may determine a load or interference status of a carrier around the terminal device, identify a hidden node, perform scheduling on the terminal device or carrier selection, and the like according to the RSSI measurement result in order to improve the overall system performance.

It should be understood that sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean execution sequences. Execution sequences of the processes should be determined according to functions and internal logic of the processes, and shall not constitute any limitation on implementation processes of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

The foregoing describes in detail the RRM measurement method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference toFIG. 1toFIG. 5, and the following describes in detail an RRM measurement apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference toFIG. 6toFIG. 9.

FIG. 6shows an RRM measurement apparatus300according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and the apparatus300includes a receiving unit310configured to receive indication information sent by a network device, where the indication information indicates a time-frequency resource used to perform RSSI measurement on an unlicensed carrier, and/or the indication information instructs the terminal device to perform, without depending on a signal sent by a serving cell, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier, a measurement unit320configured to perform, on the time-frequency resource indicated by the indication information received by the receiving unit310, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier to obtain an RSSI measurement result, and a sending unit330configured to send the RSSI measurement result obtained by the measurement unit320to the network device.

Optionally, a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier is different from a DMTC of the unlicensed carrier.

Optionally, the measurement unit320is further configured to determine a total receive power that is from at least one source and that is detected on the time-frequency resource, where the at least one source does not include the signal sent by the serving cell of the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier, and process the total receive power to obtain the RSSI measurement result.

Optionally, the indication information includes information about an RSSI measurement time window and/or information about an RSSI measurement granularity.

Optionally, the RSSI measurement time window is different from the DMTC.

Optionally, the indication information further includes information about an RSSI valid measurement window, where the RSSI valid measurement window represents a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement in the RSSI measurement window.

Optionally, the indication information is carried in RRC signaling.

Optionally, the indication information is carried in DCI, and optionally, the indication information may be carried in a newly-added bit of the DCI.

Optionally, the sending unit330is further configured to send the RSSI measurement result to the network device on a licensed carrier, or send the RSSI measurement result to the network device on the unlicensed carrier.

It should be noted that the apparatus300herein is presented in a form of a functional unit. A term “unit” herein may indicate an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (for example, a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group processor) used to execute one or more software or firmware programs and a memory, a combined logic circuit, and/or another proper component that supports a described function. In an optional example, a person skilled in the art may understand that, the apparatus300may be the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments, and the apparatus300may be configured to execute procedures and/or steps corresponding to the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

FIG. 7shows an RRM measurement apparatus400according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus400includes a sending unit410configured to send indication information to a terminal device, where the indication information indicates a time-frequency resource used to perform RSSI measurement on an unlicensed carrier, and/or the indication information instructs the terminal device to perform, without depending on a signal sent by a serving cell, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier, and a receiving unit420configured to receive an RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device, where the RSSI measurement result is obtained by the terminal device by performing the RSSI measurement on the time-frequency resource indicated by the indication information sent by the sending unit410.

Optionally, a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier is different from a DMTC of the unlicensed carrier.

Optionally, the RSSI measurement result is obtained by the terminal device by processing a total receive power that is from at least one source and that is detected on the time-frequency resource, where the at least one source does not include the signal sent by the serving cell of the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier.

Optionally, the indication information includes information about an RSSI measurement time window and/or information about an RSSI measurement granularity. Optionally, the RSSI measurement time window may be different from the DMTC.

Optionally, the indication information further includes information about an RSSI valid measurement window, where the RSSI valid measurement window represents a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement in the RSSI measurement window.

Optionally, the indication information is carried in RRC signaling.

Optionally, the indication information is carried in a newly-added bit of DCI.

Optionally, the receiving unit420is further configured to receive the RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device on a licensed carrier according to the indication information, or receive the RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier according to the indication information.

It should be noted that the apparatus400herein is presented in a form of a functional unit. A term “unit” herein may indicate an ASIC, an electronic circuit, a processor (for example, a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group processor) used to execute one or more software or firmware programs and a memory, a combined logic circuit, and/or another proper component that supports a described function. In an optional example, a person skilled in the art may understand that, the apparatus400may be the network device in the foregoing embodiments, and the apparatus400may be configured to execute procedures and/or steps corresponding to the network device in the foregoing method embodiments. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

FIG. 8shows an RRM measurement apparatus500according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus500includes a receiver510, a processor520, a transmitter530, a memory540, and a bus system550. The receiver510, the processor520, the transmitter530, and the memory540are connected using the bus system550, the memory540is configured to store an instruction, and the processor520is configured to execute the instruction stored in the memory540in order to control the receiver510to receive a signal and control the transmitter530to send an instruction.

The receiver510is configured to receive indication information sent by a network device, where the indication information indicates a time-frequency resource used to perform RSSI measurement on an unlicensed carrier, and/or the indication information instructs the terminal device to perform, without depending on a signal sent by a serving cell, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier.

The processor520is configured to perform, on the time-frequency resource indicated by the indication information received by the receiver510, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier to obtain an RSSI measurement result.

The transmitter530is configured to send the RSSI measurement result obtained by the processor520to the network device.

Optionally, a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier is different from a DMTC of the unlicensed carrier.

Optionally, the processor520is further configured to determine a total receive power that is from at least one source and that is detected on the time-frequency resource, where the at least one source does not include the signal sent by the serving cell of the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier, and process the total receive power to obtain the RSSI measurement result.

Optionally, the indication information includes information about an RSSI measurement time window and/or information about an RSSI measurement granularity.

Optionally, the RSSI measurement time window is different from the DMTC.

Optionally, the indication information further includes information about an RSSI valid measurement window, where the RSSI valid measurement window represents a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement in the RSSI measurement window.

Optionally, the indication information is carried in RRC signaling.

Optionally, the indication information is carried in DCI, and optionally, the indication information may be carried in a newly-added bit of the DCI.

Optionally, the transmitter530is further configured to send the RSSI measurement result to the network device on a licensed carrier, or send the RSSI measurement result to the network device on the unlicensed carrier.

It should be noted that the apparatus500may be the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments, and may be configured to execute steps and/or procedures corresponding to the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments. Optionally, the memory540may include a read-only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), and provide an instruction and data for the processor520. A part of the memory540may further include a non-volatile RAM (NVRAM). For example, the memory540may further store information about a device type. The processor520may be configured to execute the instruction stored in the memory540, and when the processor520executes the instruction, the processor520may execute steps corresponding to the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments.

FIG. 9shows an RRM measurement apparatus600according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus600includes a transmitter610, a receiver620, a processor630, a memory640, and a bus system650. The transmitter610, the receiver620, the processor630, and the memory640are connected using the bus system650, the memory640is configured to store an instruction, and the processor630is configured to execute the instruction stored in the memory640in order to control the transmitter610to send a signal and control the receiver620to receive a signal.

The transmitter610is configured to send indication information to a terminal device, where the indication information indicates a time-frequency resource used to perform RSSI measurement on an unlicensed carrier, and/or the indication information instructs the terminal device to perform, without depending on a signal sent by a serving cell, the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier.

The receiver620is configured to receive an RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device, where the RSSI measurement result is obtained by the terminal device by performing the RSSI measurement on the time-frequency resource indicated by the indication information sent by the transmitter610.

Optionally, a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement on the unlicensed carrier is different from a DMTC of the unlicensed carrier.

Optionally, the RSSI measurement result is obtained by the terminal device by processing a total receive power that is from at least one source and that is detected on the time-frequency resource, where the at least one source does not include the signal sent by the serving cell of the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier.

Optionally, the indication information includes information about an RSSI measurement time window and/or information about an RSSI measurement granularity. Optionally, the RSSI measurement time window may be different from the DMTC.

Optionally, the indication information further includes information about an RSSI valid measurement window, where the RSSI valid measurement window represents a time resource used to perform the RSSI measurement in the RSSI measurement window.

Optionally, the indication information is carried in RRC signaling.

Optionally, the indication information is carried in a newly-added bit of DCI.

Optionally, the receiver620is further configured to receive the RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device on a licensed carrier according to the indication information, or receive the RSSI measurement result sent by the terminal device on the unlicensed carrier according to the indication information.

It should be noted that the apparatus600may be the network device in the foregoing embodiments, and may be configured to execute steps and/or procedures corresponding to the network device in the foregoing method embodiments. Optionally, the memory640may include a ROM and a RAM, and provide an instruction and data for the processor630. A part of the memory640may further include a NVRAM. For example, the memory640may further store information about a device type. The processor630may be configured to execute the instruction stored in the memory640, and when the processor630executes the instruction stored in the memory640, the processor630is configured to execute steps and/or procedures in the foregoing method embodiments.

It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor520,630may be a central processing unit (CPU), or the processor520,630may be another general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or another programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, or the like. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor520,630may be any normal processor, or the like.

In an implementation process, steps in the foregoing methods can be implemented using a hardware integrated logical circuit in the processor520,630, or using instructions in a form of software. The steps of the method disclosed with reference to the embodiments of the present disclosure may be directly performed by a hardware processor, or may be performed using a combination of hardware in the processor520,630and a software module. A software module may be located in a mature storage medium in the art, such as a RAM, a flash memory, a ROM, a programmable ROM (PROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, or the like. The storage medium is located in the memory540,640, and a processor520,630reads instructions in the memory540,640and completes the steps in the foregoing methods in combination with hardware of the processor520,630. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, method steps and units may be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. To clearly describe the interchangeability between the hardware and the software, the foregoing has generally described steps and compositions of each embodiment according to functions. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on particular applications and design constraint conditions of the technical solutions. A person of ordinary skill in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of the present disclosure.