# US 12,113,586 B2 · Method and apparatus for determining passive intermodulation signal strength in a communication network

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- Number: US 12,113,586 B2
- Document ID: US12113586B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/732,051
- Filed: 2022-04-28
- Published: 2022-08-11
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2019-10-31
- Assignees: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Jingfang Zha; Chunyuan Chen; Qingjiang Wang; Chun Wang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12113586B2

## CPC

- H04B 17/318: Received signal strength
- G01R 23/20: Measurement of non-linear distortion
- H04B 17/191: {Over-the-air testing}
- H04B 17/3912: {Simulation models, e.g. distribution of spectral power density or received signal strength indicator [RSSI] for a given geographic region}
- H04W 72/542: using measured or perceived quality
- H04B 1/1027: {assessing signal quality or detecting noise/interference for the received signal}
- H04B 17/104: {of other parameters, e.g. DC offset, delay or propagation times}
- H04B: TRANSMISSION
- G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

Embodiments of this application disclose a signal processing method and a related apparatus, to estimate a passive intermodulation (PIM) signal strength. The method in embodiments of this application includes: obtaining first downlink signal data corresponding to each of N cells in a preset bandwidth resource scheduling solution. Then, first characteristic data corresponding to each piece of the first downlink signal data is determined. Then, a first passive intermodulation PIM signal strength corresponding to a first cell is determined based on a preset signal strength evaluation model and the first characteristic data corresponding to each of the N cells, to accurately estimate impact of the first PIM signal on the first cell.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A signal processing method, comprising:
obtaining first downlink signal data corresponding to each of N cells in a preset bandwidth resource scheduling solution, wherein N is a positive integer greater than 1;
determining first characteristic data corresponding to each piece of the first downlink signal data; and
determining, based on a preset signal strength evaluation model and the first characteristic data corresponding to each of the N cells, a first passive intermodulation (PIM) signal strength corresponding to a first cell, wherein the signal strength evaluation model is used to output the first PIM signal strength based on input the first characteristic data, and the first cell is one of the N cells;
wherein before the determining, based on the preset signal strength evaluation model and the first characteristic data corresponding to each of the N cells, the first PIM signal strength corresponding to the first cell, the method further comprises:
obtaining second downlink signal data corresponding to each of the N cells within a preset time period, wherein none of the N cells has uplink data being received within the preset time period;
obtaining a second uplink signal strength corresponding to the first cell within the preset time period, and using the second uplink signal strength as a second PIM signal strength;
determining training characteristic data based on the second downlink signal data corresponding to the N cells within the preset time period; and
performing training, based on: the training characteristic data; the second PIM signal strength within the preset time period; and a preset model training function, to obtain the signal strength evaluation model.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein before the determining training characteristic data based on the second downlink signal data corresponding to the N cells within the preset time period, the method further comprises:
aligning the second downlink signal data corresponding to each of the N cells within the preset time period with the second PIM signal strength corresponding to the first cell in terms of time.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method according to claim 2, wherein the aligning the second downlink signal data corresponding to each of the N cells within the preset time period with the second PIM signal strength corresponding to the first cell in terms of time comprises:
for each cell in the N cells, calculating a most relevant value based on a preset calculation function, the second downlink signal data within the preset time period, and the second PIM signal strength corresponding to the first cell within the preset time period; and
aligning, based on the most relevant value, the second downlink signal data within the preset time period with the second PIM signal strength corresponding to the first cell within the preset time period in terms of time.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining training characteristic data based on the second downlink signal data corresponding to the N cells within the preset time period comprises:
generating M intermodulation bases based on the second downlink signal data corresponding to the N cells within the preset time period, wherein M is a positive integer; and
determining the M intermodulation bases and the second downlink signal data corresponding to the N cells as the training characteristic data.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:
scheduling a bandwidth resource of the first cell based on the first PIM signal strength of the first cell in a plurality of bandwidth resource scheduling solutions.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:
determining a health degree of an antenna feeder system according to the first PIM signal strength of the first cell.

### Claim 7

A signal processing apparatus, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory comprises instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
obtaining first downlink signal data corresponding to each of N cells in a preset bandwidth resource scheduling solution, wherein N is a positive integer greater than 1;
determining first characteristic data corresponding to each piece of the first downlink signal data; and
determining, based on a preset signal strength evaluation model and the first characteristic data corresponding to each of the N cells, a first passive intermodulation (PIM) signal strength corresponding to a first cell, wherein the signal strength evaluation model is used to output the first PIM signal strength based on input the first characteristic data, and the first cell is one of the N cells;
wherein the operations further comprise:
before the determining, based on the preset signal strength evaluation model and the first characteristic data corresponding to each of the N cells, the first PIM signal strength corresponding to the first cell;
obtaining second downlink signal data corresponding to each of the N cells within a preset time period, wherein none of the N cells has uplink data being received within the preset time period;
obtaining a second uplink signal strength corresponding to the first cell within the preset time period, and using the second uplink signal strength as a second PIM signal strength;
determining training characteristic data based on the second downlink signal data corresponding to the N cells within the preset time period; and
performing training based on; the training characteristic data; the second PIM signal strength within the preset time period; and a preset model training function, to obtain the signal strength evaluation model.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The signal processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:
aligning the second downlink signal data corresponding to each of the N cells within the preset time period with the second PIM signal strength corresponding to the first cell in terms of time.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The signal processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:
for each cell in the N cells, calculating a most relevant value based on a preset calculation function, the second downlink signal data within the preset time period, and the second PIM signal strength corresponding to the first cell within the preset time period; and
aligning, based on the most relevant value, the second downlink signal data within the preset time period with the second PIM signal strength corresponding to the first cell within the preset time period in terms of time.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

The signal processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:
generating M intermodulation bases based on the second downlink signal data corresponding to the N cells within the preset time period, wherein M is a positive integer; and
determining the M intermodulation bases and the second downlink signal data corresponding to the N cells as the training characteristic data.

### Claim 11 (depends on 7)

The signal processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:
scheduling a bandwidth resource of the first cell based on the first PIM signal strength of the first cell in a plurality of bandwidth resource scheduling solutions.

### Claim 12 (depends on 7)

The signal processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:
determining a health degree of an antenna feeder system according to the first PIM signal strength of the first cell.