# US 11,115,987 B2 · Method and apparatus for controlling network devices providing network services for a plurality of over-the-air areas

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- Number: US 11,115,987 B2
- Document ID: US11115987B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/551,805
- Filed: 2019-08-27
- Published: 2020-01-09
- Granted: 2021-09-07
- Earliest claimed: 2017-09-27
- Assignees: Cloudminds (Shanghai) Robotics Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Cloudminds (Shanghai) Robotics Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: William Xiao-Qing Huang; Zhenkai Wang; Haitao Jiang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11115987B2

## CPC

- H04W 4/021: Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
- H04W 72/541: using the level of interference
- G05D 1/0022: {characterised by the communication link (data switching networks in general H04L12/00)}
- H04L 5/0053: {Allocation of signalling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals}
- H04L 45/42: Centralised routing
- H04L 67/12: specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
- H04L 67/52: specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
- H04W 4/029: Location-based management or tracking services
- H04W 36/20: for optimising the interference level
- B64U 2101/20: for use as communications relays, e.g. high-altitude platforms
- H04B 7/26: at least one of which is mobile
- H04L 5/0048: {Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver (allocation of control signalling H04L5/0053; use of control signalling H04L5/0091)}
- H04L 67/51: Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
- H04W 4/08: User group management
- H04W 16/10: Dynamic resource partitioning
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- B64U: UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- H04B: TRANSMISSION

## Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method and an apparatus for controlling a network device, a method and an apparatus for sending control information, and a method and an apparatus for data. According to technical solutions provided in the present disclosure, network devices providing network services for different over-the-air areas are scheduled to different time grids, so that the terminal devices located in different over-the-air areas send data to respective corresponding network devices within different time grids, thereby avoiding signal interference and improving network quality.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for controlling network devices, applied to a control device, comprising:
with respect to each over-the-air area of a plurality of over-the-air areas, determining a set of network devices that corresponds to the over-the-air area and that provides network service for the over-the-air area, wherein, the over-the-air area corresponds to an altitude level region or an altitude value range; and
sending control information to the network devices, wherein the control information is configured to instruct, for each time grid of a plurality of time grids, each network device in a set of network devices corresponding to the time grid to operate, and each network device in any other set of network devices not corresponding to the time grid to stop operating;
wherein determining a set of network devices that corresponds to the over-the-air area and that provides network service for the over-the-air area comprises:
determining first received power or second received power for each respective network device of the network devices, the first received power being received power of a terminal device located in the over-the-air area with respect to the respective network device, the second received power being received power at any location within a coverage area of network service provided by the respective network device and being determined according to a space propagation loss model between the respective network device and a terminal device at any location in the-over-the-air area and a distance between the respective network device and the terminal device, wherein the first received power or the second received power includes received power of at least one of the following signals: a reference signal, a synchronization signal, and a channel state reference signal;
determining a set of candidate network devices, wherein the first received power or the second received power for each of the set of candidate network devices is greater than a preset power threshold;
determining a coverage area of network service provided by each network device in the set of candidate network devices;
deleting a second network device from the set of candidate network devices to obtain a reduced set of network devices if a coverage area of a network service provided by a first network device in the set of candidate network devices includes a coverage area of a network service provided by the second network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are two different network devices in the set of candidate network devices; and
determining the set of network devices corresponding to the over-the-air area from the reduced set of network devices.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the set of network devices that corresponds to the over-the-air area and that provides network service for the over-the-air area comprises:
determining the set of network devices corresponding to the over-the-air area from the set of candidate network devices based on a seamless coverage principle which means that a respective network device provides the network service at any location within the over-the-air area.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the set of network devices corresponding to the over-the-air area from the reduced set of network devices comprises:
determining the set of network devices corresponding to the over-the-air area from the reduced set of network devices based on a seamless coverage principle which means that a respective network device provides the network service at any location in the over-the-air area.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:
allocating, according to the number of service requests and/or a service request delay of a terminal device located in the over-the-air area, each time grid in a control period to the over-the-air area respectively.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method according to claim 4, wherein
the number of time grids in one control period allocated to the set of network devices corresponding to the over-the-air area is directly proportional to the number of service requests of the terminal device in the over-the-air area; or
the number of time grids in one control period allocated to the set of network devices corresponding to the over-the-air area is inversely proportional to a minimum value of service delays in the service request of the terminal device in the over-the-air area.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprises one or more programs which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method according to claim 1.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

An apparatus for controlling a network device, comprising: the non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 6; and
one or more processors, configured to execute a program in the non-transitory computer readable storage medium.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

A control device, comprising the apparatus for controlling a network device according to claim 7, wherein the control device is a network management system device or a primary serving base station.

### Claim 9

A method for sending control information applied to a first network device among a plurality of network devices, comprising:
receiving control information sent by a control device, wherein the control information is configured to instruct the first network device to operate or stop operating within a time grid, and the control information is configured to instruct, for the time grid, each network device in a set of network devices corresponding to the time grid to operate, and each network device in any other set of network devices not corresponding to the time grid to stop operating, wherein, each set of network devices provides network service for an over-the-air area corresponding to an altitude level region or an altitude value range; and
performing an operation corresponding to the control information, and sending the control information to a terminal device located in an over-the-air area corresponding to a set of network devices including the first network device;
wherein, the set of network devices including the first network device is determined for the corresponding the over-the-air area by performing steps of:
determining first received power or second received power for each respective network device of the plurality of network devices, the first received power being received power of a terminal device located in the corresponding over-the-air area with respect to the respective network device, the second received power being received power at any location within a coverage area of network service provided by the respective network device and being determined according to a space propagation loss model between the respective network device and a terminal device at any location in the corresponding over-the-air area and a distance between the respective network device and the terminal device, wherein the first received power or the second received power includes received power of at least one of the following signals: a reference signal, a synchronization signal, and a channel state reference signal;
determining a set of candidate network devices, wherein the first received power or the second received power for each of the set of candidate network devices is greater than a preset power threshold;
determining a coverage area of network service provided by each network device in the set of candidate network devices;
deleting a second network device from the set of candidate network devices to obtain a reduced set of network devices if a coverage area of a network service provided by a first network device in the set of candidate network devices includes a coverage area of a network service provided by the second network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are two different network devices in the set of candidate network devices; and
determining the set of network devices corresponding to the over-the-air area from the reduced set of network devices.

### Claim 10

A method for sending data applied to a terminal device, comprising:
receiving control information sent by a network device, wherein the control information is configured to instruct the network device to operate or stop operating within each time grid, and the control information is configured to instruct, for each time grid, each network device in a set of network devices corresponding to the time grid to operate, and each network device in another set of network devices not corresponding to the time grid to stop operating, wherein, each of the set of network devices and the another set of networks comprises a plurality of network devices that provides network service for an over-the-air area, and the over-the-air area is corresponds to an altitude level region or an altitude value range;
determining an over the air area in which the terminal device is located; and
sending, within a time grid corresponding to the over the air area, data to one or more network devices that provide network services for the over-the-air area in which the terminal device is located according to the control information;
wherein, each set of network devices is determined for a corresponding over-the-air area by performing steps of:
determining first received power or second received power for each respective network device of a plurality of network devices, the first received power being received power of a terminal device located in the corresponding over-the-air area with respect to the respective network device, the second received power being received power at any location within a coverage area of network service provided by the respective network device and being determined according to a space propagation loss model between the respective network device and a terminal device at any location in the corresponding over-the-air area and a distance between the respective network device and the terminal device, wherein the first received power or the second received power includes received power of at least one of the following signals: a reference signal, a synchronization signal, and a channel state reference signal;
determining a set of candidate network devices, wherein the first received power or the second received power for each of the set of candidate network devices is greater than a preset power threshold; and
determining a coverage area of network service provided by each network device in the set of candidate network devices;
deleting a second network device from the set of candidate network devices to obtain a reduced set of network devices if a coverage area of a network service provided by a first network device in the set of candidate network devices includes a coverage area of a network service provided by the second network device, wherein the first network device and the second network device are two different network devices in the set of candidate network devices; and
determining the set of network devices corresponding to the over-the-air area from the reduced set of network devices.