CN110050490B

CN110050490B - Method and device for monitoring synchronous signals

Info

Publication number: CN110050490B
Application number: CN201780075799.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 庄宏成
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-02-20
Filing date: 2017-05-31
Publication date: 2021-10-22
Anticipated expiration: 2037-05-31
Also published as: CN110050490A; WO2018149051A1

Abstract

A method and device for monitoring a synchronization signal are provided to solve the problem of low monitoring efficiency of a terminal device in an LAA-NR system for monitoring the synchronization signal. The method comprises the following steps: when the base station detects that a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell is idle, the base station occupies the channel to send a synchronous signal and sends a channel detection result to the controller; after receiving the channel detection result, the controller carries the identifier of the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell and the synchronization signal configuration information in the monitoring indication information and sends the monitoring indication information to the terminal equipment; after receiving the monitoring indication information, the terminal device may monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the synchronization signal configuration information. In this way, the controller can inform the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending the monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so that the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device for monitoring the synchronization signal can be improved, and the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device can be further improved.

Description

Method and device for monitoring synchronous signals

The present application claims priority from chinese patent application entitled "a method and apparatus for monitoring synchronization signals for LAA-NR" filed by chinese patent office on 20/02/2017 with application number 201710091251.9, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for monitoring a synchronization signal.

Background

With the rapid development of mobile communication technology, the conflict between the public outbreak of demand for high-bandwidth communication services and the scarcity of licensed spectrum resources becomes increasingly acute. To address the current crisis of scarce Licensed spectrum, the third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) proposes the concept of Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA). LAA technology is a technology that can extend a Long Term Evolution (LTE) operating spectrum from a licensed spectrum to an unlicensed spectrum, and perform communication by means of licensed spectrum-assisted control of the unlicensed spectrum.

In an LTE system (also referred to as LAA-LTE system) using LAA technology, by configuring a licensed Carrier in a licensed band as a primary Carrier and an unlicensed Carrier in an unlicensed band as a secondary Carrier through Carrier Aggregation (CA) of the licensed band and the unlicensed band, a Mobile Broadband (Mobile Broadband) network capacity can be enlarged and a spectrum utilization rate of the system can be improved.

In LAA-LTE systems, a base station using a secondary carrier (or an unlicensed carrier) may follow a Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) mechanism of a Load-Based Equipment (LBE). The LBE mechanism is: when a base station using an auxiliary carrier needs to communicate with a terminal device (including content such as transmission data or a Synchronization Signal (SS)), before accessing a Channel on an auxiliary carrier resource, Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) detection needs to be performed on the Channel, and if the detection result is that the Channel is idle, the base station can communicate on the Channel; if the detection result is that the channel is busy, the base station continues to perform Extended Clear Channel Assessment (ECCA) detection. And the ECCA detection generates a CCA detection backoff number N for the base station, and the base station can communicate on the channel only when the detection result of the subsequent N CCA detections is that the channel is idle.

Since New Radio (NR) technology supports the advantage of flexible air interface, the NR technology is also a development trend of mobile communication systems. The mobile communication system adopting the NR technology supports flexible transmission of synchronization signals, that is, synchronization signals may be transmitted in the form of a synchronization signal block (SS block), a synchronization signal bulk (SS burst), a synchronization signal bulk set (SS burst set), and may be transmitted in various transmission manners; the SS burst set comprises a plurality of SS bursts, one SS burst comprises a plurality of SS blocks, and one SS block comprises a plurality of synchronous signals.

For example, when a carrier used by a base station is in a low frequency band (less than 6 gigahertz (GHz)), the base station may transmit a synchronization signal in an omni-directional transmission manner. When the carrier used by the base station is in a high frequency band (greater than 6GHz), the base station may transmit the synchronization signal in a semi-omni transmission manner or a directional transmission manner.

As can be seen from the above discussion, in a mobile communication system (which may be referred to as an LAA-NR system) employing both LAA and NR techniques, a base station using a secondary carrier needs to perform channel detection on a channel on a secondary carrier resource by using an LBT mechanism of LBE before transmitting a synchronization signal, and after determining that a channel access condition is satisfied, can transmit a synchronization signal on the channel by using a certain transmission method. Since there are a plurality of base stations using different secondary carriers in the LAA-NR system, the secondary carrier used by each base station is not fixed, and therefore, the terminal device cannot determine the secondary carrier used by each base station.

To sum up, the terminal device in the LAA-NR system cannot determine the channel occupied by the base station using the secondary carrier to transmit the synchronization signal, and cannot determine the transmission mode used by the base station to transmit the synchronization signal, that is, the terminal device cannot determine when and how to receive the synchronization signal on which channel, which results in lower monitoring efficiency of the terminal device for monitoring the synchronization signal, and further affects the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a method and equipment for monitoring a synchronous signal, which are used for solving the problem of low monitoring efficiency of monitoring the synchronous signal by terminal equipment in an LAA-NR system.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for monitoring a synchronization signal, which is applicable to a mobile communication system shown in fig. 4, and the method includes:

after receiving a channel detection result of an unlicensed cell from a base station, a controller determines synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, wherein the channel detection result is used for informing the controller that a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell is idle, and the unlicensed cell is a cell which uses the unlicensed carrier and is maintained by the base station; the synchronization signal configuration information is used for indicating a sending mode of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell; then, the controller generates monitoring indication information including an identifier of the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell and the synchronization signal configuration information, and sends the monitoring indication information to a terminal device.

In the above method, after receiving the channel detection result, the controller sends the monitoring indication information to the terminal device, that is, the controller sends the monitoring indication information after determining that the base station detects that the channel is idle, and indicates the terminal device to monitor the synchronization signal, so that by using the method, the controller can accurately notify the terminal device in the system when to monitor the synchronization signal, thereby avoiding a phenomenon that the terminal device cannot determine when to monitor the synchronization signal, and reducing power consumption caused by the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal for a long time; in addition, since the monitoring indication information includes the identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the terminal device may monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, and therefore, by the method, the controller may also notify the terminal device how to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which ensures that the terminal device can accurately monitor the synchronization signal. In summary, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so as to improve the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal, thereby further improving the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

In one possible design, before the controller receives the channel detection result, the controller allocates the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell maintained by the base station and sends an identification of the unlicensed carrier to the base station.

Through the design, the controller can control and manage the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell.

In one possible design, the controller may allocate the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell by:

the controller allocates the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell according to at least one of: traffic volume in the unlicensed cell, a history of usage of the unlicensed carrier by the unlicensed cell, a history of received channel detection results of the unlicensed cell, a remaining capacity of the unlicensed cell.

Through the design, the controller allocates the unlicensed carrier to the base station, so that the utilization rate of the unlicensed carrier can be improved, and the probability of accessing the base station to a channel on the unlicensed carrier can be improved.

In one possible design, the controller may allocate an unlicensed carrier to all unlicensed cells in the mobile communication system in the manner described above.

Through the design, the controller can arrange competition of the unlicensed carriers from the whole mobile communication system, reduce the probability of different unlicensed cells competing for the same unlicensed carriers (competition conflict), and further improve the utilization rate of the unlicensed carriers and the probability of the base station accessing the channels on the unlicensed carriers.

In one possible design, the controller may determine the synchronization signal configuration information by:

the first mode is as follows: the controller determines the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the license-free cell according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the cell and the synchronous signal configuration information;

the second mode is as follows: the controller determines the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the license-free carrier according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the license-free carrier and the synchronous signal configuration information;

the third mode is as follows: the controller acquires the synchronization signal configuration information contained in the channel detection result.

Through the design, the controller can quickly and accurately determine the synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell.

In one possible design, the synchronization signal configuration information includes: the size and the beam direction of the synchronizing signal block SS, the size and the period of the synchronizing signal batch SS burst, and the size and the period of the synchronizing signal batch set SS burst set.

With the above design, the synchronization signal configuration information may indicate a transmission manner of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell through the included information items.

In one possible design, the synchronization signal configuration information is a synchronization signal configuration template identifier, where the synchronization signal configuration template identifier is used to determine a synchronization signal configuration template, and the synchronization signal configuration template includes: the size and beam direction of the SS block, the size and period of the SS burst, and the size and period of the SS burst set.

Through the design, the synchronization signal configuration template can be determined through the synchronization signal configuration information, so that each item of information is determined, and the synchronization signal configuration information indicates the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell.

In one possible design, the sending, by the controller, the listening indication information to the terminal device includes:

and the controller sends a broadcast signaling, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer signaling or a physical layer control signaling carrying the monitoring indication information to the terminal equipment.

Through the design, the controller can send the monitoring indication information to the terminal equipment through broadcast signaling, RRC signaling, MAC layer signaling or physical layer control signaling, and ensure that the terminal equipment in the mobile communication system can receive the monitoring indication information.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a method for monitoring a synchronization signal, where the method is applied in a mobile communication system as shown in fig. 4, and the method includes:

a base station detects a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell, for example, the channel CCA detection or ECCA detection, where the unlicensed cell is a cell using the unlicensed carrier maintained by the base station; the base station determines synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, wherein the synchronization signal configuration information is used for indicating a sending mode of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell; and when the base station determines that the channel is idle, occupying the channel to send the synchronous signal according to the sending mode of the synchronous signal indicated by the synchronous signal configuration information, and sending a channel detection result to the controller.

By the method, the base station sends the channel detection result to the controller after detecting that the channel is idle, so as to inform the controller that the channel on the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell is idle. In this way, the controller may instruct the terminal device to start monitoring the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell by sending monitoring instruction information to the terminal device. Therefore, by the scheme, the controller can accurately inform the terminal equipment in the mobile communication system when to monitor the synchronous signals, the phenomenon that the terminal equipment cannot determine when to monitor the synchronous signals can be avoided, and power consumption caused by long-time monitoring of the synchronous signals by the terminal equipment can be reduced.

In one possible design, before the base station detects a channel on the unlicensed carrier, the base station may determine the unlicensed carrier by:

the first mode is as follows: the base station receives the identifier of the license-free carrier from the controller and determines the license-free carrier according to the identifier of the license-free carrier;

the second mode is as follows: the base station allocates the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell.

Through the design, the base station can determine the unlicensed carrier of the unlicensed cell, so that the channel on the unlicensed carrier can be detected.

In one possible design, the base station may determine the synchronization signal configuration information by:

the first mode is as follows: the base station determines the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the license-free cell according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the cell and the synchronous signal configuration information;

the second mode is as follows: the base station determines the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the license-free carrier according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the license-free carrier and the synchronous signal configuration information;

the third mode is as follows: and under the scene that the controller or configuration personnel preset the synchronous signal configuration information at the base station, the base station acquires the preset synchronous signal configuration information.

Through the design, the base station can quickly and accurately determine the synchronization signal configuration information.

In one possible design, the channel detection result further includes the synchronization signal configuration information.

With the above design, after the controller receives the channel detection result of the unlicensed cell from the base station, the synchronization signal configuration information included in the channel detection result may be acquired.

Through the design, the base station can obtain the various pieces of information contained in the synchronization signal configuration information by determining the synchronization signal configuration information, so that the base station can subsequently send the synchronization signal according to the various pieces of information in the synchronization signal configuration information.

Through the design, the base station can determine the corresponding synchronous signal configuration template by determining the synchronous signal configuration information, and further obtain the various information contained in the synchronous signal configuration template, so that the base station can subsequently send the synchronous signal according to the various information in the synchronous signal configuration information.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for listening to a synchronization signal, where the method is applied in a mobile communication system as shown in fig. 4, and the method includes:

firstly, receiving, by a terminal device, monitoring indication information including an identifier of an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell and synchronization signal configuration information from a controller, where the unlicensed cell is a cell using the unlicensed carrier, and the synchronization signal configuration information is used to indicate a transmission mode of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell; then, the terminal device monitors the synchronous signal in the channel on the license-exempt carrier corresponding to the identifier of the license-exempt carrier according to the synchronous signal configuration information in the monitoring indication information.

By the method, the terminal equipment starts to monitor the synchronous signal after receiving the monitoring indication information sent by the controller, and the monitoring indication information is sent after the controller determines that the base station detects that the channel is idle, so that the terminal equipment can determine when to monitor the synchronous signal through the monitoring indication information, the phenomenon that the terminal equipment cannot determine when to monitor the synchronous signal can be avoided, and the power consumption caused by long-time monitoring of the synchronous signal by the terminal equipment can be reduced; in addition, because the monitoring indication information includes the identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the terminal device may monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, and therefore, according to the scheme, the controller may further notify the terminal device how to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which ensures that the terminal device may accurately monitor the synchronization signal. In summary, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so as to improve the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal, thereby further improving the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

In the above design, the terminal device may determine a sending method of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell according to the various pieces of information included in the synchronization signal configuration information.

In a possible design, based on the above design, the terminal device may listen to the synchronization signal in the channel according to the synchronization signal configuration information by:

the terminal equipment monitors SS burst Set in the channel according to the size and the period of the SS burst Set in the synchronous signal configuration information; monitoring the SS burst in the SS burst Set according to the size and the period of the SS burst in the synchronous signal configuration information; and monitoring the SS block in the SS burst according to the size and the beam direction of the SS block in the synchronizing signal configuration information to obtain the synchronizing signal in the SS block.

Through the design, the terminal device can monitor the synchronization signal according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the license-exempt cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information.

In one possible design, the synchronization signal configuration information is a synchronization signal configuration template identifier, where the synchronization signal configuration template identifier corresponds to a synchronization signal configuration template one to one, and the synchronization signal configuration template includes: the size and the beam direction of the SS block, the size and the period of the SS burst, and the size and the period of the SS burst set;

through the design, the terminal device can determine a synchronization signal configuration template through the synchronization signal configuration information, and further determine a sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell according to each item of information in the synchronization signal configuration template.

the terminal equipment determines the synchronous signal configuration template corresponding to the synchronous signal configuration template identification according to the synchronous signal configuration template identification; the terminal equipment monitors SS burst Set in the channel according to the size and the period of the SS burst Set in the synchronous signal configuration template; monitoring the SS burst in the SS burst Set according to the size and the period of the SS burst in the synchronous signal configuration template; and monitoring the SS block in the SS burst according to the size and the beam direction of the SS block to obtain the synchronizing signal in the SS block.

In one possible design, the terminal device may receive the listening indication information from the controller by:

and the terminal equipment receives a broadcast signaling, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer signaling or a physical layer control signaling which carries the monitoring indication information from the controller.

Through the design, the terminal equipment can receive the monitoring indication information sent by the controller.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a controller, where the controller has a function of implementing the controller behavior in the foregoing method example. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In a possible design, the structure of the controller includes a receiving unit, a processing unit, and a sending unit, and these units may perform corresponding functions in the foregoing method example, specifically refer to the detailed description in the method example, and are not described herein again.

In one possible design, the controller includes a transceiver for receiving and transmitting data, a processor configured to support the controller to perform the corresponding functions of the above method, and a memory. The memory is coupled to the processor and holds the program instructions (or applications) and data necessary for the controller.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a base station, where the base station has a function of implementing the base station behavior in the foregoing method example. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In a possible design, the structure of the base station includes a receiving unit, a processing unit, and a transmitting unit, and these units may perform corresponding functions in the foregoing method example, which is specifically described in detail in the method example, and details are not repeated here.

In one possible design, the structure of the base station includes a transceiver for receiving and transmitting data, a processor configured to support the base station to perform the corresponding functions of the above method, and a memory. The memory is coupled to the processor and holds the program instructions (or applications) and data necessary for the base station.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a terminal device, where the terminal device has a function of implementing a behavior of the terminal device in the foregoing method example. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In a possible design, the structure of the terminal device includes a receiving unit and a processing unit, and these units may execute corresponding functions in the foregoing method example, which is specifically referred to the detailed description in the method example, and is not described herein again.

In one possible design, the terminal device includes a transceiver for receiving and transmitting data, a processor configured to support the terminal device to perform the corresponding functions of the above method, and a memory. The memory is coupled to the processor and holds the program instructions (or applications) and data necessary for the terminal device.

In a seventh aspect, this application further provides a computer storage medium storing a software program that, when read and executed by one or more processors, can implement the method provided by any one of the designs of the first to sixth aspects and any one of the above aspects.

In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product containing instructions, which when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the above aspects.

In this embodiment of the application, after receiving the channel detection result, the controller sends the monitoring indication information to the terminal device, that is, the controller sends the monitoring indication information after determining that the base station detects that the channel is idle, and indicates the terminal device to monitor the synchronization signal, so that, according to this scheme, the controller can accurately notify the terminal device in the system when to monitor the synchronization signal, which can avoid the phenomenon that the terminal device cannot determine when to monitor the synchronization signal, and can also reduce power consumption caused by the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal for a long time; in addition, because the monitoring indication information includes the identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the terminal device may monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, and therefore, according to the scheme, the controller may further notify the terminal device how to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which ensures that the terminal device may accurately monitor the synchronization signal. In summary, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so as to improve the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device in monitoring the synchronization signal, and further improve the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first method for sending a synchronization signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second sending method of a synchronization signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third sending method of a synchronization signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is an architecture diagram of a mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method for monitoring a synchronization signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for monitoring a synchronization signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a block diagram of a first controller according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a structural diagram of a first base station according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a structural diagram of a first terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a block diagram of a second controller provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a structural diagram of a second base station according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a structural diagram of a second terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The embodiment of the application provides a method and equipment for monitoring a synchronous signal, which are used for solving the problem of low monitoring efficiency of monitoring the synchronous signal by terminal equipment in an LAA-NR system. The method and the device are based on the same inventive concept, and because the principles of solving the problems of the method and the device are similar, the device and the method can be implemented by referring to each other, and repeated parts are not repeated.

In the embodiment of the present application, a base station in an LAA-NR system detects a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell, and when detecting that the channel is idle, occupies the channel to transmit a synchronization signal according to a transmission manner of the synchronization signal indicated by synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, and transmits a channel detection result to a controller; after receiving the channel detection result, the controller carries the identifier of the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell and the synchronization signal configuration information in monitoring indication information and sends the monitoring indication information to terminal equipment; after receiving the monitoring indication information, the terminal device may monitor a synchronization signal in a channel on the unlicensed carrier according to a sending manner of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information.

In the above solution, since the controller sends the monitoring indication information to the terminal device after receiving the channel detection result, that is, the controller sends the monitoring indication information after determining that the base station detects that the channel is idle, and indicates the terminal device to monitor the synchronization signal, according to the solution, the controller can accurately notify the terminal device in the LAA-NR system when to monitor the synchronization signal, which can avoid the phenomenon that the terminal device cannot determine when to monitor the synchronization signal, and can also reduce power consumption caused by the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal for a long time; in addition, because the monitoring indication information includes the identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the terminal device may monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, and therefore, according to the scheme, the controller may further notify the terminal device how to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which ensures that the terminal device may accurately monitor the synchronization signal. In summary, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so as to improve the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device in monitoring the synchronization signal, and further improve the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

Hereinafter, some terms in the present application are explained to be understood by those skilled in the art.

1) The embodiment of the application relates to an LAA-NR system and a mobile communication system adopting an LAA technology and an NR technology.

2) The base station related to the embodiment of the present application is a device for accessing a terminal device to a wireless network, and includes but is not limited to: evolved Node B (eNB), Radio Network Controller (RNC), Node B (NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Home Base Station (e.g., Home evolved Node B, or Home Node B, HNB), BaseBand Unit (BBU), Access Point (Access Point, AP), and the like. One base station may maintain at least one cell.

3) The terminal device, also referred to as a User Equipment (UE), in the embodiments of the present application is a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a User, for example, a handheld device with a wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a computing device, a Mobile Station (MS), or other processing device connected to a wireless modem.

4) The controller according to the embodiment of the present application is a functional entity responsible for controlling and managing the monitoring of the synchronization signal by the terminal device in the LAA-NR system. Optionally, the controller may also be responsible for the usage and allocation of unlicensed carriers in the LAA-NR system. Alternatively, the controller may be a separate physical device with wireless communication capability, which is capable of communicating with the base station and the terminal device in the LAA-NR system. Alternatively, the controller may be integrated in a base station of the LAA-NR system, and the function of the controller is implemented by a wireless communication function of the base station.

5) The unlicensed carrier related to the embodiment of the present application is a carrier with a frequency in an unlicensed frequency band.

Accordingly, the licensed carrier referred to in this application is a carrier having a frequency in a licensed frequency band.

6) The unlicensed cell according to the embodiment of the present application is a cell using an unlicensed carrier. In other words, a cell in which the operating channel is a channel on an unlicensed carrier is an unlicensed cell. It should be noted that, in the LAA-NR system, a base station to which an unlicensed cell belongs performs CCA detection or ECCA detection on a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell, following an LBE mechanism, before transmitting a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell.

Accordingly, the licensed cell according to the embodiment of the present application is a cell using a licensed carrier.

7) The transmission method of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell according to the embodiment of the present application defines a transmission rule to be followed by the base station when transmitting the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell. For example, the beam direction of each synchronization signal transmitted by the base station, the transmission timing of the synchronization signal, and the transmission format of the synchronization signal (e.g., SS block, SS burst set).

The following description will be made by taking, as an example, a transmission method of a synchronization signal in a mobile communication system currently using the NR technique:

the first sending mode is as follows: as shown in fig. 1, when the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell is less than 6GHz, the base station of the unlicensed cell may transmit the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell in an omni-directional manner, that is, the base station transmits a minimum granularity (SS block) of the synchronization signal using beams in all directions. As shown in fig. 1, the circles of solid lines below each SS block represent beams in all directions used by the base station.

And a second transmission mode: as shown in fig. 2, when the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell is greater than 6GHz, the base station of the unlicensed cell may transmit the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell in a semi-omni-directional manner, that is, the base station transmits SS blocks within the same SS burst using beams in the same direction, and transmits different SS bursts using beams in different directions. As shown in fig. 2, the dotted circle below each SS block represents a beam in all directions, and the circle formed by the solid line below each SS block represents a beam in a certain direction used by the base station. Wherein the direction of the beam can be represented by the position of the solid line circle relative to the dashed line circle.

And a third sending mode: as shown in fig. 3, when the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell is greater than 6GHz, the base station of the unlicensed cell may directionally transmit the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell, that is, the base station transmits SS blocks within the same SS burst using beams in different directions and transmits different SS bursts using beams in different directions. As shown in fig. 3, the dotted circle below each SS block represents a beam in all directions, and the ellipse formed by the solid line below each SS block represents a beam in a certain direction used by the base station. Wherein the direction of the beam can be represented by the position of the ellipse relative to the dashed circle.

The present example is not limited to the transmission method of the synchronization signal according to the embodiment of the present application, and the transmission method of the synchronization signal in the embodiment of the present application may include various transmission methods other than the present example.

As can be seen from the above examples of the transmission method of the synchronization signal, in a scenario where the synchronization signal is transmitted in a transmission form (for example, in a transmission form of SS block, SS burst, and SS burst set), the base station needs to determine at least information such as the size and beam direction of the SS block, the size and period of the SS burst, and the size and period of the SS burst set, so that the synchronization signal can be transmitted according to the information.

The SS burst set comprises a plurality of SS bursts, one SS burst comprises a plurality of SS blocks, and one SS block comprises a plurality of synchronous signals.

8) The synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell according to the embodiment of the present application is used to indicate a transmission mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell. Therefore, in the LAA-NR system, both the base station and the terminal device may determine the transmission mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell according to the synchronization signal configuration information. As can be seen from the above discussion of the transmission method of the synchronization signal, both the base station and the terminal device may determine information such as the size and beam direction of the SS block, the size and period of the SS burst, and the size and period of the SS burst set according to the synchronization signal configuration information.

Optionally, the synchronization signal configuration information may include the above information, so that the base station and the terminal device may obtain the above information directly after determining the synchronization signal configuration information.

Due to the fact that the information contents such as the size and the beam direction of the SS block, the size and the period of the SS burst set and the like are more, if the SS block is carried in the synchronization signal configuration information, the information overhead of the synchronization signal configuration information is larger, and the transmission efficiency in the process of transmitting the synchronization signal configuration information is also reduced. Therefore, optionally, the base station and the terminal device may maintain at least one synchronization signal configuration template, where each synchronization signal configuration template includes the above information, and certainly, values of the above information included in different synchronization signal configuration templates are different. Therefore, the synchronous signal configuration information can be provided with the template identification, so that the information overhead of the synchronous signal configuration information is reduced, and the transmission efficiency in the process of transmitting the synchronous signal configuration information is improved.

9) The remaining capacity of the unlicensed cell according to the embodiment of the present application is a capacity other than the capacity already occupied in the total capacity of the unlicensed cell.

Plural means two or more.

In addition, it is to be understood that the terms first, second, etc. in the description of the present application are used for distinguishing between the descriptions and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order.

Embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 4 shows an architecture of a possible mobile communication system to which the method for listening to a synchronization signal provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied, where the mobile communication system is an LAA-NR system. Referring to fig. 4, in the LAA-NR system, there are included: a controller 401, at least one base station 402 (base station 402a, base station 402b, and base station 402c as shown in the figure), and a terminal device 403.

Because the LAA-NR system realizes carrier aggregation through the licensed carrier and the unlicensed carrier, communication transmission is realized. Therefore, in the LAA-NR system, the licensed carrier is a primary carrier, and the unlicensed carrier is a secondary carrier.

The LAA-NR system using carrier aggregation has a plurality of cells, and each component carrier corresponds to one cell. Here, a cell using a licensed carrier (primary carrier) is a licensed cell (primary cell), and a cell using an unlicensed carrier (secondary carrier) is an unlicensed cell (secondary primary cell). As shown, the cell maintained by base station 402a is a licensed cell, while the cells maintained by base stations 402b and 402c are unlicensed cells.

The base station 402a to which the licensed cell belongs is configured to implement functions such as initial access and cell handover of the terminal device 403.

The base station 402b or the base station 402c to which the unlicensed cell belongs is configured to implement data transmission with the terminal device 403, and the following description will only take the base station 402b as an example.

In order to implement cell search, enable the terminal device 403 to obtain the cell identifier of the unlicensed cell, and complete subsequent operations such as cell reselection, camping, and random access, the base station 402b needs to broadcast the cell identifier of the maintained unlicensed cell through a synchronization signal.

Since the LAA-NR system employs both LAA technology and NR technology, the base station 402b needs to perform channel detection on a channel (working channel of the unlicensed cell) on an unlicensed carrier by using an LBT mechanism before transmitting a synchronization signal, and after determining that a channel access condition is satisfied, can transmit a synchronization signal on the channel by using a certain synchronization signal transmission method.

In the process of realizing the monitoring of the synchronous signals:

the base station 402b is configured to detect a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell, and when detecting that the channel is idle, occupy the channel to send a synchronization signal according to a sending manner of the synchronization signal indicated by synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, and send a channel detection result to the controller 401;

the controller 401 is configured to, after receiving the channel detection result, carry the identifier of the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell and the synchronization signal configuration information in monitoring indication information, and send the monitoring indication information to the terminal device 403.

After receiving the monitoring indication information, the terminal device 403 may monitor a synchronization signal in a channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information. Finally, the terminal device 403 may receive and read the system message of the unlicensed cell based on the monitored synchronization signal, thereby implementing subsequent operations such as cell reselection, camping, and random access.

In the above mobile communication system, since the controller sends the monitoring indication information to the terminal device after receiving the channel detection result, that is, the controller sends the monitoring indication information after determining that the base station detects that the channel is idle, and indicates the terminal device to monitor the synchronization signal, according to the mobile communication system provided in the embodiment of the present application, the controller can accurately notify the terminal device in the system when to monitor the synchronization signal, so that a phenomenon that the terminal device cannot determine when to monitor the synchronization signal can be avoided, and power consumption caused by long-time monitoring of the synchronization signal by the terminal device can be reduced; in addition, because the monitoring indication information in the controller includes the identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the terminal device can monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, and therefore, through the mobile communication system provided by the embodiment of the application, the controller can also inform the terminal device how to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, and the terminal device can accurately monitor the synchronization signal. In summary, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so as to improve the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device in monitoring the synchronization signal, and further improve the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

Alternatively, the controller 401 may be a separate physical device with wireless communication function, and can communicate with the base station and the terminal device in the LAA-NR system.

Optionally, the controller 401 may also be integrated in the base station 402 of the LAA-NR system. Since the controller 401 needs to communicate with the terminal device 403 (transmit listening indication information) before the terminal device 403 receives the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell, the controller 401 may be integrated in the base station 402a and transmit the listening indication information to the terminal device 403 using the wireless communication function of the base station 402 a.

It is to be understood that the architecture of the mobile communication system described in the embodiment of the present application is an example for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation to the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as the architecture of the mobile communication system evolves and new services appear, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

The embodiment of the present application provides a method for monitoring a synchronization signal, which may be but is not limited to be applied to a mobile communication system as shown in fig. 4, with reference to fig. 5, a flow of the method includes:

s501: the base station detects a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell, wherein the unlicensed cell is a cell which uses the unlicensed carrier and is maintained by the base station.

Optionally, the base station is a base station maintaining an unlicensed cell, for example, the base station 402b or the base station 402c in the mobile communication system shown in fig. 4. In addition, the base station may maintain one cell, i.e., the unlicensed cell; or the base station may maintain a plurality of cells including the unlicensed cell.

Optionally, the base station may use a conventional LBE mechanism to detect the channel.

For example, the base station may implement detection on the channel by using an LBT mechanism of LBE, which includes the following specific procedures:

the base station carries out CCA detection on the channel, and if the channel is detected to be idle, the base station can access the channel;

if the channel is detected to be busy, the base station executes ECCA detection: the base station randomly generates an integer N within a set value range [1, q ], wherein N is the CCA detection backoff number;

and the base station needs to access the channel after the detection result of the subsequent N times of CCA detection indicates that the channel is idle.

Optionally, the base station may also use other methods in the LBT mechanism to detect the channel, for example, a channel detection method based on a frame structure. In addition, the base station may also use other conventional channel detection mechanisms, which is not limited in this application.

Optionally, before S501, the base station may determine the unlicensed carrier of the unlicensed cell by:

the first mode is as follows: under the scene that a controller allocates the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell maintained by the base station, the controller sends an identifier of the unlicensed carrier to the base station; and the base station receives the identifier of the unlicensed carrier from the controller and determines the unlicensed carrier according to the identifier of the unlicensed carrier.

Through the above manner, the base station may determine the unlicensed carrier of the unlicensed cell, so that detection of a channel on the unlicensed carrier may be implemented.

In the first mode, optionally, the controller allocates the unlicensed carrier to the base station by:

Optionally, the traffic may be embodied by a load condition of the unlicensed cell or the number of terminal devices that have accessed the unlicensed cell.

For example, the controller may allocate m unlicensed carriers to the unlicensed cell when traffic in the unlicensed cell is above a set traffic threshold, and allocate n unlicensed carriers to the unlicensed cell when traffic in the unlicensed cell is below the set traffic threshold, where m > n.

For another example, when the controller determines that the unlicensed cell uses the unlicensed carrier x more than other unlicensed carriers in the history of usage of the unlicensed carrier by the unlicensed cell, the controller may preferentially allocate the unlicensed carrier x to the unlicensed cell.

For another example, when the controller determines that the number of times that the channel detection result of the unlicensed carrier y is idle exceeds the number of times that the channel detection result of another unlicensed carrier is idle in the history of the channel detection result of the unlicensed cell received, the controller may preferentially allocate the unlicensed carrier y to the unlicensed cell.

For another example, when the controller determines that the remaining capacity of the unlicensed cell is higher than a set capacity threshold, the controller may allocate l unlicensed carriers to the unlicensed cell, and when the remaining capacity of the unlicensed cell is lower than the set capacity threshold, the controller may allocate s unlicensed carriers to the unlicensed cell, where l > s.

In an optional implementation manner, in the process of allocating the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell, the controller may set priorities according to the above four factors until the unlicensed carrier is allocated to the unlicensed cell.

The controller allocates the unlicensed carrier to the base station in the above manner, so that the utilization rate of the unlicensed carrier can be increased, and the probability that the base station accesses a channel on the unlicensed carrier can be increased.

In an alternative implementation, the controller may allocate an unlicensed carrier to all unlicensed cells in the mobile communication system in the manner described above. Thus, the controller can arrange competition of the unlicensed carriers from the whole mobile communication system, reduce the probability of different unlicensed cells competing for the same unlicensed carrier (competition conflict), and further improve the utilization rate of the unlicensed carriers and the probability of the base station accessing the channels on the unlicensed carriers.

S502: the base station determines synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, wherein the synchronization signal configuration information is used for indicating a sending mode of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell.

Optionally, the base station may perform S502 in the following manner:

the first mode is as follows: in a scenario where the base station stores a correspondence between an identifier of a cell that is maintained by the base station and synchronization signal configuration information, the base station may determine, according to the correspondence between the stored identifier of the cell and the synchronization signal configuration information, the synchronization signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the unlicensed cell.

The second mode is as follows: in a scenario where the base station stores a correspondence between an identifier of an unlicensed carrier and synchronization signal configuration information, the base station may determine, according to the correspondence between the stored identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the synchronization signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the unlicensed carrier.

By the above manner, the base station can quickly and accurately determine the synchronization signal configuration information.

Optionally, as can be seen from the description of the synchronization signal configuration information in the preamble, the synchronization signal configuration information has at least two following implementation manners:

the first implementation mode comprises the following steps: the synchronization signal configuration information includes: the size and beam direction of the SS block, the size and period of the SS burst, and the size and period of the SS burst set.

Through the first implementation manner, the base station may obtain the various pieces of information included in the synchronization signal configuration information by determining the synchronization signal configuration information, so that the base station may subsequently transmit a synchronization signal according to the various pieces of information in the synchronization signal configuration information.

The second implementation mode comprises the following steps: the synchronization signal configuration information is a synchronization signal configuration template identifier, where the synchronization signal configuration template identifier is used to determine a synchronization signal configuration template, and the synchronization signal configuration template includes: the size and beam direction of the SS block, the size and period of the SS burst, and the size and period of the SS burst set.

In the second implementation manner, the controller maintains at least one synchronization signal configuration template, where each synchronization signal configuration template includes a size and a beam direction of an SS block, a size and a period of an SS burst, and a size and a period of an SS burst set, and values of the pieces of information included in different synchronization signal configuration templates are different. The base station may determine a corresponding unique synchronization signal configuration template according to the identifier of the synchronization signal configuration template.

Through the second implementation manner, the base station may determine the corresponding synchronization signal configuration template by determining the synchronization signal configuration information, and further obtain the various pieces of information included therein, so that the base station may subsequently send the synchronization signal according to the various pieces of information in the synchronization signal configuration information.

In addition, since the synchronization signal configuration template identifier has a smaller information overhead than each item of information contained in the synchronization signal configuration template, in a scenario where the synchronization signal configuration information is transmitted between the controller and the base station, the information overhead of the synchronization signal configuration information transmitted by the controller and the base station can be reduced, and the transmission efficiency when the synchronization signal configuration information is transmitted by the controller and the base station is improved. In addition, when the controller carries the configuration information of the synchronous signal to the monitoring indication information and sends the monitoring indication information to the terminal equipment, the information overhead of the monitoring indication information can be reduced, and the transmission efficiency of the controller for transmitting the monitoring indication information is improved.

S503: and when the base station determines that the channel is idle, the base station occupies the channel to send the synchronous signal according to the sending mode of the synchronous signal indicated by the synchronous signal configuration information, and sends a channel detection result to the controller.

Correspondingly, the controller receives the channel detection result of the unlicensed cell from the base station, where the channel detection result is used to notify the controller that a channel on the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell is idle.

Optionally, when the controller is a base station other than the base station, the base station and the controller may communicate via an Xn interface, for example, the base station may send a channel detection result to the controller via the Xn interface; the controller may also send information such as an identity of the unlicensed cell to the base station over an Xn interface.

Optionally, when the controller is an independent physical device with a wireless communication function, the base station may communicate with the controller through a wireless connection or a physical connection between the base station and the controller.

S504: the controller determines synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, where the synchronization signal configuration information is used to indicate a transmission mode of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell.

Optionally, the controller may determine the configuration information of the synchronization signal through the following two ways:

the first mode is as follows: the channel detection result sent by the base station to the controller includes the synchronization signal configuration information, so that after the controller receives the channel detection result of the unlicensed cell from the base station, the synchronization signal configuration information included in the channel detection result can be acquired.

In the first mode, the base station may notify the controller of the transmission mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell, so that the controller may notify the terminal device in the mobile communication system.

The second mode is as follows: the controller determines the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the license-free cell according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the cell and the synchronous signal configuration information;

the third mode is as follows: and the controller determines the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the unlicensed carrier according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronous signal configuration information.

Optionally, when the controller and the base station independently determine the synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, an agreed same manner (such as the second manner or the third manner) may be used, so that it is ensured that the synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell determined by the controller and the base station is the same.

Optionally, the controller may determine the synchronization signal configuration information when allocating the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell, and send the synchronization signal configuration information and the identifier of the unlicensed carrier to the base station, so as to configure a sending manner of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell.

S505: the controller generates monitoring indication information including the identifier of the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell and the synchronization signal configuration information, and sends the monitoring indication information to a terminal device.

Correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the monitoring indication information from the controller.

Optionally, when executing S505, the controller may broadcast the monitoring indication information by:

the controller may send, to the terminal device, a broadcast signaling, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer signaling, or a physical layer Control signaling that carries the monitoring indication information.

Correspondingly, the terminal device receives a broadcast signaling, an RRC signaling, an MAC layer signaling or a physical layer control signaling from the controller, where the broadcast signaling, the RRC signaling, the MAC layer signaling or the physical layer control signaling carries the monitoring indication information.

Through the steps, the terminal device can receive the monitoring indication information so as to start monitoring the synchronous signal, and determine the sending mode of the synchronous signal through the synchronous signal configuration information in the monitoring indication information so as to determine how to monitor the synchronous signal.

Optionally, the listening indication information may further include an identifier of the unlicensed cell, so as to notify a cell of the unlicensed carrier used by the terminal device.

S506: and the terminal equipment monitors the synchronous signal in the channel on the license-free carrier corresponding to the identifier of the license-free carrier according to the synchronous signal configuration information.

As can be seen from the above description of S502, the synchronization signal configuration information has at least two implementations.

When the synchronization signal configuration information is the first implementation manner, the terminal device performs S506 through the following steps:

the terminal equipment monitors SS burst Set in the channel according to the size and the period of the SS burst Set in the synchronous signal configuration information; and are

Monitoring the SS burst in the SS burst Set according to the size and the period of the SS burst in the synchronous signal configuration information; and

and monitoring the SS block in the SS burst according to the size and the beam direction of the SS block in the synchronizing signal configuration information to obtain the synchronizing signal in the SS block.

When the synchronization signal configuration information is the second implementation manner, the terminal device performs S506 through the following steps:

the terminal equipment determines the synchronous signal configuration template corresponding to the synchronous signal configuration template identification according to the synchronous signal configuration template identification;

the terminal equipment monitors SS burst Set in the channel according to the size and the period of the SS burst Set in the synchronous signal configuration template; and are

Monitoring the SS burst in the SS burst Set according to the size and the period of the SS burst in the synchronous signal configuration template; and

and monitoring the SS block in the SS burst according to the size and the beam direction of the SS block to obtain the synchronizing signal in the SS block.

The synchronization signal configuration template maintained by the terminal device is the same as the synchronization signal configuration template maintained by the base station, so that the synchronization signal configuration modules determined by the terminal device and the base station can be ensured to be the same.

In the method for monitoring a synchronization signal provided in the embodiment of the present application, after receiving the channel detection result, the controller sends the monitoring indication information to the terminal device, that is, the controller sends the monitoring indication information after determining that the base station detects that the channel is idle, and indicates the terminal device to monitor the synchronization signal, so that, according to the scheme, the controller can accurately notify the terminal device in the system when to monitor the synchronization signal, thereby avoiding a phenomenon that the terminal device cannot determine when to monitor the synchronization signal, and reducing power consumption caused by the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal for a long time; in addition, because the monitoring indication information includes the identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the terminal device may monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, and therefore, according to the scheme, the controller may further notify the terminal device how to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which ensures that the terminal device may accurately monitor the synchronization signal. In summary, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so as to improve the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal, thereby further improving the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

In practical applications, the mobile communication system shown in fig. 4 may perform the above-mentioned method for monitoring the synchronization signal for each unlicensed cell, so that the terminal device in the mobile communication system can determine when and how to monitor the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell, thereby improving the efficiency of monitoring the synchronization signal by the terminal device, and further improving the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application further provides an example of a method for monitoring a synchronization signal, which is shown in fig. 6, and the example may be but is not limited to be applied to the mobile communication system shown in fig. 4, where the mobile communication system includes N unlicensed cells: in CELL1 and CELL2 … … CELLN, the base stations maintaining the N unlicensed CELLs are base station 1 and base station 2 … …, respectively, and fig. 6 only schematically shows base station 1 and base station N and omits other base stations for clarity of the drawing. As shown, the flow of this example includes:

s601: the controller allocates an unlicensed carrier to an unlicensed cell maintained by each base station. As shown, the controller allocates unlicensed carrier 1, … … to CELL1 maintained by base station 1 and allocates unlicensed carrier N to CELLN maintained by base station N.

Optionally, the controller may allocate an unlicensed carrier to each unlicensed cell according to at least one of: traffic volume in each unlicensed cell, history of usage of the unlicensed carrier by each unlicensed cell, history of received channel detection results for each unlicensed cell, remaining capacity of each unlicensed cell.

Thus, the controller can arrange competition of the unlicensed carriers from the whole mobile communication system, reduce the probability of different unlicensed cells competing for the same unlicensed carrier (competition conflict), and further improve the utilization rate of the unlicensed carriers and the probability of the base station accessing the channels on the unlicensed carriers.

S602: the controller sends to each base station an identification of an unlicensed carrier allocated for the unlicensed cell it maintains. As shown, the controller sends an unlicensed carrier 1 assigned for CELL1 to base station 1, and the controller sends an unlicensed carrier N assigned for CELLN to base station N.

Optionally, the controller may allocate a plurality of unlicensed carriers to one unlicensed cell. For example, the controller allocates unlicensed carrier 1 and unlicensed carrier 2 to the unlicensed CELL2 maintained by the base station 2, then the controller needs to send unlicensed carrier 1 and unlicensed carrier 2 allocated to the CELL2 to the base station 2 when executing S602.

S603: each base station respectively detects the channels on the unlicensed carriers used by the respective maintained unlicensed cells. As shown, base station 1 detects channel 1 on unlicensed carrier 1 used by CELL1, and base station N detects channel N on unlicensed carrier N used by CELLN.

S604: each base station determines synchronization signal configuration information of a respective maintained unlicensed cell. As shown, base station 1 determines synchronization signal configuration information 1 for CELL1 and base station N determines synchronization signal configuration information N for CELLN.

The base station can adopt different synchronous signal transmission modes on different license-free carriers. Continuing with the example of base station 2, the base station 2 determines that the synchronization signal configuration information 2 of CELL2 includes the synchronization signal configuration information for unlicensed carrier 1 and the synchronization signal configuration information for unlicensed carrier 2.

S605: and when at least one base station in the N base stations determines that the channel is idle, occupying the channel to send the synchronous signal according to the sending mode of the synchronous signal indicated by the determined synchronous signal configuration information, and sending a channel detection result to the controller. The channel detection result is used for informing the controller that the channel on the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell maintained by the base station is idle.

As shown in the figure, when the base station 1 determines that the channel 1 is detected to be idle, the base station 1 occupies the channel 1 to send the synchronization signal of the CELL1 according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information 1; and when the base station N determines that the channel 1 is detected to be idle, the base station N occupies the channel 1 to send the synchronizing signal of the CELL1 according to the sending mode of the synchronizing signal indicated by the synchronizing signal configuration information 1.

Of course, when the base station 2 determines that the channel 3 of the unlicensed carrier 1 is detected to be idle, the base station occupies the channel 3 to send the synchronization signal of the CELL2 according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information for the unlicensed carrier 1; when the base station 2 determines that the channel 4 of the unlicensed carrier 2 is detected to be idle, the base station occupies the channel 4 to transmit the synchronization signal of the CELL2 according to the transmission mode of the synchronization signal indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information for the unlicensed carrier 2.

Optionally, the channel detection result sent by any one base station includes the synchronization signal configuration information determined by the base station. As shown in the figure, the channel detection result 1 sent by the base station 1 includes synchronization signal configuration information 1; the channel detection result N sent by the base station N includes synchronization signal configuration information N. Of course, the channel detection result 2 transmitted by the base station 2 includes the synchronization signal allocation information 2.

S606: and the controller determines the synchronous signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell according to the received channel detection result of the unlicensed cell. For example, the controller may determine synchronization signal configuration information 1 of CELL1 contained therein according to the channel detection result 1, and determine synchronization signal configuration information N of CELLN contained therein according to the channel detection result N.

S607: the controller generates monitoring indication information and broadcasts the monitoring indication information to terminal equipment in the mobile communication system. The monitoring indication information includes an unlicensed carrier identifier used by an unlicensed cell corresponding to a received channel detection result, and synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell.

Since different base stations determine that the respective detected channels are idle at different times, the time for the different base stations to send the channel detection result to the controller is also different. When the controller executes S607, it may generate monitoring indication information according to a channel detection result received within a set time (e.g., within a set time period after executing S602, or within each indication period after executing S602), where the monitoring indication information includes an unlicensed carrier identifier used by an unlicensed cell corresponding to the channel detection result received within the set time, and synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell.

For example, if the controller receives the channel detection results sent by the base station 1, the base station 2, and the base station N in a certain indication period, the contents included in the monitoring indication information are:

the synchronous signal configuration information aiming at the unlicensed carrier 1 in the unlicensed carrier 1, the synchronous signal configuration information 1 and the synchronous signal configuration information 2;

an unlicensed carrier 2, synchronization signal configuration information for the unlicensed carrier 2 in the synchronization signal configuration information 2;

unlicensed carrier N, synchronization signal configuration information N.

Optionally, when the synchronization signal configuration information is a synchronization signal configuration template identifier, the content included in the monitoring indication information may be represented by table 1:

TABLE 1

Identification of unlicensed carriers	Synchronization signal configuration template identification
		Unlicensed carrier 1	Synchronization signal configuration template 1
Unlicensed carrier 1	Synchronization signal configuration template 3
		Unlicensed carrier 2	Synchronization signal configuration template 2
Unlicensed carrier N	Synchronous signal configuration template N

Where the second and third rows are for CELL 2.

Since the cell using the unlicensed carrier cannot be intuitively determined in table 1, optionally, the monitoring indication information may further include an identifier of the cell, as shown in table 2:

TABLE 2

Identification of a cell	Identification of unlicensed carriers	Synchronization signal configuration template identification
			CELL1	Unlicensed carrier 1	Synchronization signal configuration template 1
CELL2	Unlicensed carrier 1	Synchronization signal configuration template 3
			CELL2	Unlicensed carrier 2	Synchronization signal configuration template 2
CELLN	Unlicensed carrier N	Synchronous signal configuration template N

S608: and the terminal equipment monitors the synchronous signal in the channel on the license-free carrier wave corresponding to the synchronous signal configuration information according to any synchronous signal configuration information in the monitoring indication information. As shown in the figure, the terminal device may monitor a synchronization signal of CELLi in a channel i according to the synchronization signal configuration information i, where a value range of i is [1, N ].

For example, when the content in the listening indication information is as shown in table 1 or table 2, the terminal device may listen to the synchronization signal of CELL1 in channel 1 on unlicensed carrier 1 according to synchronization signal configuration 1.

For a specific process of monitoring the synchronization signal, reference may be made to the description of S506 in the foregoing embodiment, which is not described herein again.

Optionally, the controller may execute the monitoring method of the synchronization signal according to a set execution cycle. Optionally, after S606, the controller may add the channel detection result of each unlicensed cell received in the execution cycle to the history of the channel detection result of the corresponding unlicensed cell, so that the unlicensed carrier may be continuously allocated to each unlicensed cell according to the received history of the channel detection result of each unlicensed cell.

By the above example of the method for monitoring the synchronization signal, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signals of the plurality of cells in the mobile communication system by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so that the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device in monitoring the synchronization signals may be improved, and the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device may be further improved.

Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a controller, where the controller may be applied to the mobile communication system shown in fig. 4, and may implement the method for monitoring the synchronization signal in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, referring to fig. 7, where the controller 700 includes: a receiving unit 701, a processing unit 702 and a transmitting unit 703, wherein,

a receiving unit 701, configured to receive a channel detection result of an unlicensed cell from a base station, where the channel detection result is used to notify the controller that a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell is idle, and the unlicensed cell is a cell that uses the unlicensed carrier and is maintained by the base station;

a processing unit 702, configured to determine synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, where the synchronization signal configuration information is used to indicate a sending manner of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell; and

generating listening indication information comprising an identity of the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell and the synchronization signal configuration information;

a sending unit 703, configured to send the monitoring indication information to a terminal device.

Optionally, the processing unit 702 is further configured to allocate the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell maintained by the base station before the receiving unit 701 receives the channel detection result;

the sending unit 703 is further configured to send the identifier of the unlicensed carrier to the base station.

Optionally, when the unlicensed carrier is allocated to the unlicensed cell, the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to:

allocating the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell according to at least one of: traffic volume in the unlicensed cell, a history of usage of the unlicensed carrier by the unlicensed cell, a history of received channel detection results of the unlicensed cell, a remaining capacity of the unlicensed cell.

Optionally, when determining the synchronization signal configuration information, the processing unit 702 is specifically configured to:

determining the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the license-exempt cell according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the cell and the synchronous signal configuration information; or

Determining the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the license-exempted carrier according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the license-exempted carrier and the synchronous signal configuration information; or

And acquiring the synchronous signal configuration information contained in the channel detection result.

Optionally, the synchronization signal configuration information includes: the size and the beam direction of a synchronizing signal block SS, the size and the period of a synchronizing signal batch SS burst, and the size and the period of a synchronizing signal batch set SS burst set; or

The synchronization signal configuration information is a synchronization signal configuration template identifier, where the synchronization signal configuration template identifier is used to determine a synchronization signal configuration template, and the synchronization signal configuration template includes: the size and beam direction of the SS block, the size and period of the SS burst, and the size and period of the SS burst set.

Optionally, the sending unit 703, when sending the monitoring indication information to the terminal device, is specifically configured to:

and sending a broadcast signaling, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer signaling or a physical layer control signaling which carries the monitoring indication information to the terminal equipment.

In the above solution, after receiving the channel detection result sent by the base station, the controller sends the monitoring indication information to the terminal device, that is, the controller sends the monitoring indication information after determining that the channel is idle, and indicates the terminal device to monitor a synchronization signal, so that, according to the solution, the controller can accurately notify the terminal device in the system when to monitor the synchronization signal, which can avoid the phenomenon that the terminal device cannot determine when to monitor the synchronization signal, and can also reduce power consumption caused by the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal for a long time; in addition, because the monitoring indication information includes the identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the terminal device may monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, and therefore, according to the scheme, the controller may further notify the terminal device how to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which ensures that the terminal device may accurately monitor the synchronization signal. In summary, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so as to improve the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal, thereby further improving the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a base station, where the base station may be applied to the mobile communication system shown in fig. 4, and may implement the method for monitoring the synchronization signal in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, and referring to fig. 8, the base station 800 includes: a processing unit 801 and a sending unit 802, wherein,

a processing unit 801, configured to detect a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell, where the unlicensed cell is a cell that uses the unlicensed carrier and is maintained by the base station; and

determining synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, wherein the synchronization signal configuration information is used for indicating a sending mode of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell;

a sending unit 802, configured to, when the processing unit 801 determines that the channel is detected to be idle, occupy the channel according to the sending manner of the synchronization signal indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information to send the synchronization signal, and send a channel detection result to the controller.

Optionally, the base station 800 further includes: a receiving unit 803, configured to receive, from the controller, an identification of the unlicensed carrier before the processing unit 801 detects a channel on the unlicensed carrier,

the processing unit 801 is specifically configured to: determining the unlicensed carrier according to the identifier of the unlicensed carrier;

the processing unit 801 is further configured to: allocating the unlicensed carrier for the unlicensed cell prior to detecting a channel on the unlicensed carrier.

Optionally, when determining the synchronization signal configuration information, the processing unit 801 is specifically configured to:

And acquiring preset synchronization signal configuration information.

Optionally, the channel detection result further includes the synchronization signal configuration information.

In the above scheme, after detecting that the channel is idle, the base station sends a channel detection result to the controller to notify the controller that the channel on the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell is idle. In this way, the controller may instruct the terminal device to start monitoring the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell by sending monitoring instruction information to the terminal device. Therefore, by the scheme, the controller can accurately inform the terminal equipment in the mobile communication system when to monitor the synchronous signals, the phenomenon that the terminal equipment cannot determine when to monitor the synchronous signals can be avoided, and the power consumption caused by the fact that the terminal equipment monitors the synchronous signals for a long time can be reduced.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a terminal device, where the terminal device may be applied to the mobile communication system shown in fig. 4, and may implement the method for monitoring the synchronization signal in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, referring to fig. 9, where the terminal device 900 includes: a receiving unit 901 and a processing unit 902, wherein,

a receiving unit 901, configured to receive monitoring indication information from a controller, where the monitoring indication information includes an identifier of an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell and synchronization signal configuration information, where the unlicensed cell is a cell using the unlicensed carrier, and the synchronization signal configuration information is used to indicate a sending manner of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell;

a processing unit 902, configured to monitor a synchronization signal in a channel on the unlicensed carrier corresponding to the identifier of the unlicensed carrier according to the synchronization signal configuration information.

Optionally, the synchronization signal configuration information includes: the size and the beam direction of a synchronizing signal block SS, the size and the period of a synchronizing signal batch SS burst, and the size and the period of a synchronizing signal batch set SS burst set;

the processing unit 902, when monitoring the synchronization signal in the channel according to the synchronization signal configuration information, is specifically configured to:

monitoring SS burst Set in the channel according to the size and the period of the SS burst Set in the synchronous signal configuration information; and are

Optionally, the synchronization signal configuration information is a synchronization signal configuration template identifier, where the synchronization signal configuration template identifier corresponds to a synchronization signal configuration template one to one, and the synchronization signal configuration template includes: the size and the beam direction of the SS block, the size and the period of the SS burst, and the size and the period of the SS burst set;

determining the synchronous signal configuration template corresponding to the synchronous signal configuration template identification according to the synchronous signal configuration template identification;

monitoring SS burst Set in the channel according to the size and the period of the SS burst Set in the synchronous signal configuration template; and are

Optionally, when receiving the monitoring indication information from the controller, the receiving unit 901 is specifically configured to:

and receiving a broadcast signaling, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer signaling or a physical layer control signaling which carries the monitoring indication information from the controller.

In the above solution, the terminal device starts to monitor the synchronization signal after receiving the monitoring indication information sent by the controller, and because the monitoring indication information is sent after the controller determines that the base station detects that the channel is idle, according to the solution, the terminal device can determine when to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which can avoid the phenomenon that the terminal device cannot determine when to monitor the synchronization signal, and can also reduce power consumption caused by the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal for a long time; in addition, because the monitoring indication information includes the identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the terminal device may monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, and therefore, according to the scheme, the controller may further notify the terminal device how to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which ensures that the terminal device may accurately monitor the synchronization signal. In summary, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so as to improve the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal, thereby further improving the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

It should be noted that the division of the unit in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. The functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application further provides a computer storage medium, where a software program is stored, and when the software program is read and executed by one or more processors, the software program can implement the method for listening to a synchronization signal provided by the above embodiments. The computer storage medium may include: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application further provides a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method for listening to a synchronization signal provided in the above embodiments.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application further provides a controller, which is configured to implement the method for listening to the synchronization signal shown in fig. 5, and has the function of the controller 700 shown in fig. 7. Referring to fig. 10, the controller 1000 includes: a transceiver 1001, a processor 1002, and a memory 1003. The transceiver 1001, the processor 1002, and the memory 1003 are connected to each other.

Optionally, the transceiver 1001, the processor 1002, and the memory 1003 are connected to each other through a bus 1004. The bus 1004 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 10, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

The transceiver 1001 is configured to receive and transmit data, and implement communication with other devices (e.g., a base station, a terminal device, etc.).

The processor 1002 is configured to implement the method for listening to the synchronization signal shown in fig. 5, and includes:

receiving, by the transceiver 1001, a channel detection result of an unlicensed cell from a base station, where the channel detection result is used to notify the controller that a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell is idle, and the unlicensed cell is a cell using an unlicensed carrier maintained by the base station;

and generating monitoring indication information including the identifier of the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell and the synchronization signal configuration information, and transmitting the monitoring indication information to a terminal device through the transceiver 1001.

Optionally, the processor 1002 is further configured to:

prior to receiving the channel detection result by the transceiver 1001, allocating the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell maintained by the base station;

the identity of the unlicensed carrier is sent to the base station through the transceiver 1001.

Optionally, when the unlicensed carrier is allocated to the unlicensed cell, the processor 1002 is specifically configured to:

Optionally, when determining the synchronization signal configuration information, the processor 1002 is specifically configured to:

Optionally, when the processor 1002 sends the monitoring indication information to the terminal device through the transceiver 1001, the processor is specifically configured to:

and sending a broadcast signaling, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer signaling or a physical layer control signaling carrying the monitoring indication information to the terminal equipment through the transceiver 1001.

The memory 1003 is used for storing program instructions and the like. In particular, the program instructions may include program code comprising computer operational instructions. The memory 1003 may include a Random Access Memory (RAM) and may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk memory. The processor 1002 executes the program instructions stored in the memory 1003 to implement the above functions, thereby implementing the method for monitoring the synchronization signal provided in the above embodiments.

In the above solution, after receiving the channel detection result sent by the base station, the controller sends the monitoring indication information to the terminal device, that is, the controller sends the monitoring indication information after determining that the channel is idle, and indicates the terminal device to monitor a synchronization signal, so that, according to the solution, the controller can accurately notify the terminal device in the system when to monitor the synchronization signal, which can avoid the phenomenon that the terminal device cannot determine when to monitor the synchronization signal, and can also reduce power consumption caused by the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal for a long time; in addition, because the monitoring indication information includes the identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the terminal device may monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, and therefore, according to the scheme, the controller may further notify the terminal device how to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which ensures that the terminal device may accurately monitor the synchronization signal. In summary, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so as to improve the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device in monitoring the synchronization signal, and further improve the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application further provides a base station, where the base station is configured to implement the method for monitoring the synchronization signal shown in fig. 5, and has the function of the base station 800 shown in fig. 8. Referring to fig. 11, the base station 1100 includes: a transceiver 1101, a processor 1102, and a memory 1103. Wherein the transceiver 1101, the processor 1102 and the memory 1103 are connected to each other.

Optionally, the transceiver 1101, the processor 1102 and the memory 1103 are connected to each other through a bus 1104. The bus 1104 may be a PCI bus or an EISA bus, etc. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 11, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

The transceiver 1101 is configured to receive and transmit data, and enable communication with other devices (e.g., a controller and a terminal device).

The processor 1102 is configured to implement the method for listening to the synchronization signal shown in fig. 5, and includes:

detecting a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell, wherein the unlicensed cell is a cell which uses the unlicensed carrier and is maintained by the base station;

when it is determined that the channel is detected to be idle, according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, the transceiver 1101 occupies the channel to send the synchronization signal, and the transceiver 1101 sends a channel detection result to the controller.

Optionally, the processor 1102 is further configured to:

prior to detecting a channel on the unlicensed carrier, receiving, by the transceiver 1101, an identification of the unlicensed carrier from the controller, and determining the unlicensed carrier from the identification of the unlicensed carrier; or

Allocating the unlicensed carrier for the unlicensed cell prior to detecting a channel on the unlicensed carrier.

Optionally, when determining the synchronization signal configuration information, the processor 1102 is specifically configured to:

And acquiring preset synchronization signal configuration information.

The memory 1103 is used for storing program instructions and the like. In particular, the program instructions may include program code comprising computer operational instructions. The memory 1103 may comprise RAM, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk memory. The processor 1102 executes the program instructions stored in the memory 1103 to implement the above functions, thereby implementing the method for listening to the synchronization signal provided in the above embodiments.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application further provides a terminal device, where the terminal device is configured to implement the method for monitoring the synchronization signal shown in fig. 5, and has the function of the terminal device 900 shown in fig. 9. Referring to fig. 12, the terminal apparatus 1200 includes: a transceiver 1201, a processor 1202, and a memory 1203. Wherein the transceiver 1201, the processor 1202 and the memory 1203 are connected to each other.

Optionally, the transceiver 1201, the processor 1202, and the memory 1203 are connected to each other through a bus 1204. The bus 1204 may be a PCI bus or an EISA bus, etc. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 12, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

The transceiver 1201 is configured to receive and transmit data, and implement communication with other devices (e.g., a controller and a terminal device).

The processor 1202 is configured to implement the method for listening to the synchronization signal shown in fig. 5, and includes:

receiving, by the transceiver 1201, monitoring indication information from a controller, where the monitoring indication information includes an identifier of an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell and synchronization signal configuration information, where the unlicensed cell is a cell using the unlicensed carrier, and the synchronization signal configuration information is used to indicate a sending method of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell;

and monitoring a synchronous signal in a channel on the license-exempted carrier corresponding to the identifier of the license-exempted carrier according to the synchronous signal configuration information.

the processor 1202, when monitoring the synchronization signal in the channel according to the synchronization signal configuration information, is specifically configured to:

Optionally, when the transceiver 1201 receives the monitoring indication information from the controller, the processor 1202 is specifically configured to:

receiving, by the transceiver 1201, a broadcast signaling, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer signaling, or a physical layer control signaling carrying the monitoring indication information from the controller.

The memory 1203 is used for storing program instructions and the like. In particular, the program instructions may include program code comprising computer operational instructions. The memory 1203 may comprise RAM, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk memory. The processor 1202 executes the program instructions stored in the memory 1203 to implement the above functions, thereby implementing the method for monitoring the synchronization signal provided in the above embodiments.

In the above solution, the terminal device starts to monitor the synchronization signal after receiving the monitoring indication information sent by the controller, and because the monitoring indication information is sent after the controller determines that the base station detects that the channel is idle, according to the solution, the terminal device can determine when to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which can avoid the phenomenon that the terminal device cannot determine when to monitor the synchronization signal, and can also reduce power consumption caused by the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal for a long time; in addition, because the monitoring indication information includes the identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the terminal device may monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, and therefore, according to the scheme, the controller may further notify the terminal device how to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which ensures that the terminal device may accurately monitor the synchronization signal. In summary, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so as to improve the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device in monitoring the synchronization signal, and further improve the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

To sum up, the embodiment of the present application provides a method and a device for monitoring a synchronization signal, in the method, a base station in an LAA-NR system detects a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell, and when detecting that the channel is idle, occupies the channel to send the synchronization signal according to a sending method of the synchronization signal indicated by synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, and sends a channel detection result to a controller; after receiving the channel detection result, the controller carries the identifier of the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell and the synchronization signal configuration information in monitoring indication information and sends the monitoring indication information to terminal equipment; after receiving the monitoring indication information, the terminal device may monitor a synchronization signal in a channel on the unlicensed carrier according to a sending manner of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information.

In the above solution, after receiving the channel detection result, the controller sends the monitoring indication information to the terminal device, that is, the controller sends the monitoring indication information after determining that the base station detects that the channel is idle, and indicates the terminal device to monitor the synchronization signal, so that according to the solution, the controller can accurately notify the terminal device in the system when to monitor the synchronization signal, which can avoid the phenomenon that the terminal device cannot determine when to monitor the synchronization signal, and can also reduce power consumption caused by the terminal device monitoring the synchronization signal for a long time; in addition, because the monitoring indication information includes the identifier of the unlicensed carrier and the synchronization signal configuration information, the terminal device may monitor the synchronization signal in the channel on the unlicensed carrier according to the sending mode of the synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information, and therefore, according to the scheme, the controller may further notify the terminal device how to monitor the synchronization signal through the monitoring indication information, which ensures that the terminal device may accurately monitor the synchronization signal. In summary, the controller may notify the terminal device when and how to monitor the synchronization signal by sending monitoring indication information to the terminal device, so as to improve the monitoring efficiency of the terminal device in monitoring the synchronization signal, and further improve the access performance and the service performance of the terminal device.

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

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

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

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

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiments of the present application without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to encompass such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for listening to a synchronization signal, comprising:

the controller allocates an unlicensed carrier to an unlicensed cell maintained by the base station;

the controller sends an identification of the unlicensed carrier to the base station;

the controller receives a channel detection result of the unlicensed cell from the base station, where the channel detection result is used to notify the controller that a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell is idle, and the unlicensed cell is a cell using the unlicensed carrier and maintained by the base station; the controller determines synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, wherein the synchronization signal configuration information is used for indicating a sending mode of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell;

the controller generates monitoring indication information including the identifier of the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell and the synchronization signal configuration information, and sends the monitoring indication information to a terminal device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the controller allocates the unlicensed carrier for the unlicensed cell, comprising:

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the controller determining the synchronization signal configuration information comprises:

the controller determines the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the license-free cell according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the cell and the synchronous signal configuration information; or

The controller determines the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the license-free carrier according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the license-free carrier and the synchronous signal configuration information; or

The controller acquires the synchronization signal configuration information contained in the channel detection result.

4. The method of claim 1 or 2,

the synchronization signal configuration information includes: the size and the beam direction of a synchronizing signal block SS, the size and the period of a synchronizing signal batch SS burst, and the size and the period of a synchronizing signal batch set SS burst set; or

5. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the controller sending the listening indication information to the terminal device comprises:

6. A method for listening to a synchronization signal, comprising:

the base station receives an identifier of an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell from a controller, and determines the unlicensed carrier according to the identifier of the unlicensed carrier; or the base station allocates the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell;

the base station detects a channel on the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell, wherein the unlicensed cell is a cell which is maintained by the base station and uses the unlicensed carrier;

the base station determines synchronization signal configuration information of the unlicensed cell, wherein the synchronization signal configuration information is used for indicating a sending mode of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell;

and when the base station determines that the channel is idle, occupying the channel to send the synchronous signal according to the sending mode of the synchronous signal indicated by the synchronous signal configuration information, and sending a channel detection result to a controller, wherein the channel detection result is used for informing the controller to send monitoring indication information to terminal equipment, and the monitoring indication information comprises the synchronous signal configuration information and the identifier of the license-free carrier.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the base station determining the synchronization signal configuration information comprises:

the base station determines the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the license-free cell according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the cell and the synchronous signal configuration information; or

The base station determines the synchronous signal configuration information corresponding to the identifier of the license-free carrier according to the corresponding relation between the stored identifier of the license-free carrier and the synchronous signal configuration information; or

And the base station acquires preset synchronization signal configuration information.

8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the channel detection result further comprises the synchronization signal configuration information.

9. The method of claim 6 or 7,

10. A method for listening to a synchronization signal, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives monitoring indication information from a controller, wherein the monitoring indication information comprises identification of an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell and synchronization signal configuration information, the unlicensed cell is a cell using the unlicensed carrier, and the synchronization signal configuration information is used for indicating a sending mode of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell; the identity of the unlicensed carrier is allocated by the controller for the unlicensed cell or the identity of the unlicensed carrier is allocated by a base station for the unlicensed cell; the monitoring indication information is sent to the terminal equipment after the controller receives a detection result sent by a base station, and the detection result is sent to the controller when the base station sends a synchronization signal according to a sending mode of the synchronization signal indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information and occupying a channel on the license-free carrier;

and the terminal equipment monitors the synchronous signal in a channel on the license-free carrier corresponding to the identifier of the license-free carrier according to the synchronous signal configuration information.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the synchronization signal configuration information comprises: the size and the beam direction of a synchronizing signal block SS, the size and the period of a synchronizing signal batch SS burst, and the size and the period of a synchronizing signal batch set SS burst set;

the terminal device monitors the synchronization signal in the channel according to the synchronization signal configuration information, and the method includes:

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the synchronization signal configuration information is a synchronization signal configuration template identifier, wherein the synchronization signal configuration template identifier corresponds to a synchronization signal configuration template in a one-to-one manner, and the synchronization signal configuration template comprises: the size and the beam direction of the SS block, the size and the period of the SS burst, and the size and the period of the SS burst set;

13. The method of any of claims 10-12, wherein the receiving, by the terminal device, the listen indication information from the controller comprises:

14. A controller, comprising:

a memory for storing program instructions;

a transceiver for receiving and transmitting data;

a processor, configured to allocate an unlicensed carrier to an unlicensed cell maintained by a base station, and send an identifier of the unlicensed carrier to the base station;

invoking the program instructions stored in the memory to perform the steps of:

receiving, by the transceiver, a channel detection result of the unlicensed cell from the base station, where the channel detection result is used to notify the controller that a channel on an unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell is idle, and the unlicensed cell is a cell using an unlicensed carrier maintained by the base station;

and generating monitoring indication information containing the identifier of the unlicensed carrier used by the unlicensed cell and the synchronization signal configuration information, and sending the monitoring indication information to terminal equipment through the transceiver.

15. The controller of claim 14, wherein the processor, when allocating the unlicensed carrier for the unlicensed cell, is specifically configured to:

16. The controller according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the processor, when determining the synchronization signal configuration information, is specifically configured to:

17. The controller according to claim 14 or 15,

18. The controller according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the processor, when sending the listening indication information to the terminal device through the transceiver, is specifically configured to:

and sending a broadcast signaling, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer signaling or a physical layer control signaling carrying the monitoring indication information to the terminal equipment through the transceiver.

19. A base station, comprising:

a memory for storing program instructions;

a transceiver for receiving and transmitting data;

a processor for calling the program instructions stored in the memory, performing the steps of:

receiving, by the transceiver, an identifier of an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell from a controller, and determining the unlicensed carrier according to the identifier of the unlicensed carrier; or allocating the unlicensed carrier to the unlicensed cell;

when the idle channel is detected, according to the sending mode of the synchronous signal indicated by the synchronous signal configuration information, the transceiver occupies the channel to send the synchronous signal, and sends a channel detection result to the controller, wherein the channel detection result is used for informing the controller to send monitoring indication information to the terminal equipment, and the monitoring indication information comprises the synchronous signal configuration information and the identifier of the license-free carrier.

20. The base station of claim 19, wherein the processor, when determining the synchronization signal configuration information, is specifically configured to:

And acquiring preset synchronization signal configuration information.

21. The base station of claim 19 or 20, wherein the channel detection result further comprises the synchronization signal configuration information.

22. The base station of claim 19 or 20,

23. A terminal device, comprising:

a memory for storing program instructions;

a transceiver for receiving and transmitting data;

receiving monitoring indication information from a controller through the transceiver, wherein the monitoring indication information comprises an identifier of an unlicensed carrier used by an unlicensed cell and synchronization signal configuration information, the unlicensed cell is a cell using the unlicensed carrier, and the synchronization signal configuration information is used for indicating a sending mode of a synchronization signal of the unlicensed cell; wherein the identity of the unlicensed carrier is allocated by the controller for the unlicensed cell or the identity of the unlicensed carrier is allocated by a base station for the unlicensed cell; the monitoring indication information is sent to the terminal equipment after the controller receives a detection result sent by a base station, and the detection result is sent to the controller when the base station sends a synchronization signal according to a sending mode of the synchronization signal indicated by the synchronization signal configuration information and occupying a channel on the license-free carrier;

and monitoring the synchronous signal in a channel on the license-exempted carrier corresponding to the identifier of the license-exempted carrier according to the synchronous signal configuration information.

24. The terminal device of claim 23, wherein the synchronization signal configuration information comprises: the size and the beam direction of a synchronizing signal block SS, the size and the period of a synchronizing signal batch SS burst, and the size and the period of a synchronizing signal batch set SS burst set;

the processor, when monitoring the synchronization signal in the channel according to the synchronization signal configuration information, is specifically configured to:

25. The terminal device of claim 23, wherein the synchronization signal configuration information is a synchronization signal configuration template identifier, wherein the synchronization signal configuration template identifier corresponds to a synchronization signal configuration template in a one-to-one manner, and the synchronization signal configuration template comprises: the size and the beam direction of the SS block, the size and the period of the SS burst, and the size and the period of the SS burst set;

26. The terminal device according to any of claims 23 to 25, wherein the processor, when receiving the listening indication information from the controller via the transceiver, is specifically configured to:

and receiving a broadcast signaling, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer signaling or a physical layer control signaling carrying the monitoring indication information from the controller through the transceiver.