Multi-Link Configuration Method, Base Station, and User Equipment

Abstract

A multi-link configuration method, a base station, and a user equipment, where the UE generates uplink information and sends the uplink information to the base station. The base station configures a first set or a second set for the UE based on the uplink information. In this process, the transmission point included in the first set is a candidate transmission point, and the transmission point included in the second set establishes a plurality of links to a user, and is a transmission point that actually transmits data to the UE. When a signal of the transmission point included in the second set is weak or interrupted, a transmission point with good quality is selected from the first set and added to the second set to reduce a quantity of times of link interruption and service interruption.

Claims

1. A multi-link configuration method, comprising: receiving, by a base station, uplink information from a user equipment (UE); configuring, by the base station, a first set or a second set for the UE based on the uplink information; and establishing, by the base station, a plurality of links between transmission points comprised in the first set or the second set and the UE when the first set or the second set is configured, the first set comprising at least two transmission points, and the second being a subset of the first set.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a transmission point in the first set is a transmission point whose measured signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold, a transmission point in the second set being a transmission point whose measured signal strength is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the second threshold being greater than the first threshold, and each transmission point comprised in the second set being activated or deactivated from the first set.

3. (canceled)

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a transmission point comprised in the second set does not meet the second threshold, and a transmission point in the first set and outside the second set meeting the second threshold being added to the second set.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink information is a downlink measurement result in at least one downlink measurement result greater than a first threshold or a second threshold, the at least one downlink measurement result being obtained by the UE by measuring a downlink signal of at least one transmission point, and the at least one downlink measurement result being obtained by the UE by performing radio resource management (RRM) measurement on the downlink signal of the at least one transmission point.

6. (canceled)

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink information is at least one transmission point identifier, the at least one transmission point identifier being a transmission point identifier corresponding to a downlink measurement result greater than a first threshold or a second threshold in at least one downlink measurement result obtained by the UE by measuring a downlink signal of at least one transmission point, and the uplink information being obtained by the UE by sorting, in ascending order or descending order, transmission point identifiers greater than a second preset threshold.

8. (canceled)

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink information comprises an uplink signal received from the UE, and the uplink signal being at least one of the following signals: an uplink sounding signal; an uplink sounding reference signal; an uplink sequence code; or a preamble, and before receiving the uplink information from the UE, the method further comprising notifying, by the base station, an uplink transmission subframe or an unlink transmission subframe set of the uplink signal using radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

10.-11. (canceled)

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a transmission point comprised in the first set constitutes a first cell, the first cell being a first cluster, a first virtual cell, or a first super cell, a primary transmission point comprised in the first cell being fixed or variable, the first cell having a corresponding cell identifier, and the ceil identifier corresponding to the first cell being a cluster identifier, a virtual cell identifier, or a super cell identifier.

13.-14. (canceled)

15. The method of claim 1, wherein a transmission point comprised in the second set constitutes a second cell, the second cell being a second cluster, a second virtual cell, or a second super cell, a primary transmission point comprised in the second cell changing with a movement of the UE, the second cell having a corresponding cell identifier, and the cell identifier corresponding to the second cell being a cluster identifier, a virtual cell identifier, or a super cell identifier.

16.-17. (canceled)

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set is: in a multi-radio resource control (RRC) link mode, and at least two transmission points in the second set establishing RRC links to the UE; in a single-RRC link mode, and one transmission point in the second set establishing an RRC link to the UE; or in a semi-static mode, and a transmission point in the second set changing in the first set in a semi-static manner.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein before receiving the uplink information, the method further comprises sending, by the base station, a first threshold or a second threshold to the UE using configuration signaling, and receiving the uplink information comprising receiving by the base station, uplink information of a transmission point meeting the first threshold or the second threshold from the UE.

20. (canceled)

21. The method of claim 1, wherein after configuring the first set or the second set for the UE based on the uplink information, the method further comprises: sending, by the base station, information about the first set or the second set to the UE using radio resource control (RRC) signaling; or sending, by the base station, activation or deactivation information of the second set to the UE using Media Access Control (MAC) signaling.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending, by the base station, multi-link configuration information to the UE using radio resource control (RRC) signaling to instruct the UE to perform multi-link collaboration, and the multi-link collaboration comprising at least one of the following collaboration: power collaboration; random access collaboration; or power headroom collaboration.

23. (canceled)

24. The method of claim 1, wherein an inactive link in the links is activated, and the method further comprising triggering by the base station using Media Access Control (MAC) signaling on a previously activated link, the currently activated link to perform uplink transmission, and the uplink transmission comprising at least one of the following transmission: random access transmission; scheduling requirement transmission; sounding reference signal transmission; or buffer status report transmission.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station is a macro base station or a master node, and a transmission point being a small cell.

26. A multi-link configuration method, comprising: generating, by a user equipment (UE), uplink information; sending, by the UE, the uplink information to a base station to enable the base station to configure a first set or a second set for the UE based on the uplink information; and establishing, by the UE, a plurality of links between transmission points comprised in the first set or the second set and the UE when the first set or the second set is configured, the first set comprising at least two transmission points, and the second set being a subset of the first set.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein a transmission point in the first set is a transmission point whose measured signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold, a transmission point in the second set being a transmission point whose measured signal strength is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the second threshold being greater than the first threshold, and each transmission point comprised in the second set being activated or deactivated from the first set.

28. (canceled)

29. The method of claim 26, wherein a transmission point comprised in the second set does not meet a second threshold, and a transmission point in the first set and outside the second set meeting the second threshold being added to the second set.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the uplink information comprises a downlink measurement result greater than a first threshold or a second threshold, and generating the uplink information comprising: measuring, by the UE, a downlink signal of at least one transmission point to obtain at least one downlink measurement result; and determining, by the UE from the at least one downlink measurement result, the downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold, and measuring the downlink signal of the at least one transmission point comprising performing, by the UE, radio resource management (RRM) measurement on the downlink signal of the at least one transmission point to obtain the at least one downlink measurement result.

31. (canceled)

32. The method of claim 26, wherein the uplink information comprises a transmission point identifier corresponding to a downlink measurement result greater than a first threshold or a second threshold, and generating the uplink information comprising: measuring, by the UE, a downlink signal of at least one transmission point to obtain at least one downlink measurement result; and determining, by the UE from the at least one downlink measurement result, the transmission point identifier corresponding to the downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold, and the uplink information being obtained by the UE by sorting, in ascending order or descending order, the transmission point identifier corresponding to the downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold.

33. (canceled)

34. The method of claim 26, wherein the uplink information comprises an uplink signal from the UE, and the uplink signal being at least one of the following signals: an uplink sounding signal; an uplink sounding reference signal; an uplink sequence code; or a preamble, and before sending the uplink information to the base station, the method further comprising receiving, by the UE, an uplink transmission subframe or an uplink transmission subframe set of the unlink signal notified by the base station using radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the uplink transmission subframe or the uplink transmission subframe set being coordinated or preconfigured by the base station using an inter-base station interface.

35.-36. (canceled)

37. The method of claim 26, wherein a coverage area of a transmission point comprised in the first set constitutes a first cell, the first cell is a first cluster, a first virtual cell, or a first super cell, a primary transmission point comprised in the first cell being fixed or variable, the first cell having a corresponding cell identifier, and the cell identifier corresponding to the first cell being a cluster identifier, a virtual cell identifier, or a super cell identifier.

38.-39. (canceled)

40. The method of claim 26, wherein a coverage area of a transmission point comprised in the second set constitutes a second cell, the second cell being a second cluster, a second virtual cell, or a second super cell, a primary transmission point comprised in the second cell changing with a movement of the UE, the second cell having a corresponding cell identifier, and the cell identifier corresponding to the second cell being a cluster identifier, a virtual cell identifier, or a super cell identifier.

41.-42. (canceled)

43. The method of claim 26, wherein the second set is: in a multi-radio resource control (RRC) link mode, and at least two transmission points in the second set establishing RRC links to the UE; in a single-RRC link mode, and one transmission point in the second set establishing an RRC link to the UE; or in a semi-static mode, and the transmission point in the second set changing in the first set in a semi-static manner.

44. The method of claim 26, wherein before sending the uplink information to the base station, the method further comprises receiving, by the UE, a first threshold or a second threshold from the base station by using configuration signaling, and sending the uplink information to the base station comprising sending, by the UE, uplink information of a transmission point meeting the first threshold or the second threshold to the base station.

45. (canceled)

46. The method of claim 26, wherein after sending the uplink information to the base station, the method further comprises: receiving, by the UE, information about the first set or the second set and from the base station using radio resource control (RRC) signaling; or receiving, by the UE, activation or deactivation information of the second set from the base station to the UE Media Access Control (MAC) signaling.

47. The method of claim 26, further comprising receiving, by the UE, multi-link configuration information from the base station using RRC signaling to perform multi-link collaboration, and the multi-link collaboration comprising at least one of the following collaboration: power collaboration; random access collaboration; or power headroom collaboration.

48.-98. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0139] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a UDN architecture to which a multi-link configuration method is applicable according to the present invention;

[0140] FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram of Embodiment 1 of a multi-link configuration method according to the present invention;

[0141] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a multi-RRC link mode and a single-RRC link mode in which a macro base station is deployed in Embodiment 2 of a multi-link configuration method according to the present invention;

[0142] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a multi-RRC link mode and a single-RRC link mode in which no macro base station is deployed in Embodiment 3 of a multi-link configuration method according to the present invention;

[0143] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of semi-static handover of a transmission point included in a second set in Embodiment 4 of a multi-link configuration method according to the present invention;

[0144] FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of Embodiment 5 of a multi-link configuration method according to the present invention;

[0145] FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a base station according to the present invention;

[0146] FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of user equipment according to the present invention;

[0147] FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of a base station according to the present invention; and

[0148] FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of user equipment according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0149] Currently, a large quantity of small cells are deployed in a UDN, and the small cell has a small coverage area. Therefore, frequent handover is caused even if user equipment (User Equipment, UE) moves at a low or medium speed. Therefore, during UDN deployment, how to resolve a problem of frequent handover of UE in a UDN network is an urgent problem to be resolved in the industry.

[0150] In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a multi-link configuration method, a base station, and user equipment, to resolve the problem of frequent handover of UE in a UDN network by configuring a plurality of links for the user equipment.

[0151] The technology described in this specification may be applied to various communications systems, for example, current 2G and 3G communications systems and a next-generation communications system, such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (Global System for Mobile Communications, GSM), a Code Division Multiple Access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA) system, a Time Division Multiple Access (Time Division Multiple Access, TDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access Wireless, WCDMA) system, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (Frequency Division Multiple Addressing, FDMA) system, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access, OFDMA) system, a single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) system, a General Packet Radio Service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS) system, a Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) system, a UDN system, an E-UTRA system, and another communications system of this type.

[0152] The user equipment in this application may be a wireless terminal. The wireless terminal may be a device that provides a user with voice and/or data connectivity, a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or another processing device connected to a wireless modem. The wireless terminal may communicate with one or more core networks by using a radio access network (for example, RAN, Radio Access Network). The wireless terminal may be a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (or referred to as a cellular phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal, for example, may be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer built-in, or in-vehicle mobile apparatus, which exchanges voice and/or data with the radio access network. For example, the wireless terminal may be a device such as a personal communications service (Personal Communication Service, PCS) phone, a cordless telephone set, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (Wireless Local Loop, WLL) station, or a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA). The wireless terminal may also be called a system, a subscriber unit (Subscriber Unit), a subscriber station (Subscriber Station), a mobile station (Mobile Station), a mobile console (Mobile), a remote station (Remote Station), a remote terminal (Remote Terminal), an access terminal (Access Terminal), a user terminal (User Terminal), a user agent (User Agent), a user device (User Device), or user equipment (User Equipment).

[0153] The small cell, namely, a transmission point, in this application may be a device that communicates with a wireless terminal by using one or more sectors over an air interface in an access network. The base station may be configured to mutually convert a received over-the-air frame and an IP packet and serve as a router between the wireless terminal and a remaining part of the access network, where the remaining part of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

[0154] In addition, the present invention is not limited to a low-frequency system, and a high-frequency millimeter wave system may be used. Therefore, related measurement and all related configurations may be performed for beamforming (beamforming). In other words, the related measurement and all the related configurations may be performed based on a beam beam.

[0155] For ease of description and for clarity, that a system architecture is specifically a UDN system is used as an example below to describe the technical solutions of the present invention in detail. Specifically, refer to FIG. 1.

[0156] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a UDN architecture to which a multi-link configuration method is applicable according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the architecture includes a macro base station and five transmission points, namely, small cells 1 to 5. The small cells 1, 2, 3, and 5 are three adjacent small cells in the UDN, and the small cell 4 is a small cell that is not adjacent to the small cells 1, 2, 3, and 5. It is assumed that transmission points included in a first set configured for UE are the small cells 1, 2, 3, and 5. Because a second set is a subset of the first set, transmission points included in the second set may be 1 and 3, or transmission points included in the second set may be 2 and 3, or the like.

[0157] It should be noted that in a cell virtualization technology, a plurality of transmission points around the UE constitute a virtual cell to provide a service for a user. Resource composition and setting of the virtual cell may be dynamically configured and modified based on a movement, a service requirement, or the like of the user, and hibernation and signal sending of a transmission node may also be coordinated. One transmission node in these transmission nodes is selected as a primary transmission node.

[0158] The following describes the multi-link configuration method of the present invention in detail based on FIG 1. For details, refer to FIG. 2.

[0159] FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram of Embodiment 1 of a multi-link configuration method according to the present invention. In this embodiment, interaction between a base station and user equipment is applicable to a scenario in which a multi-link configuration is required. Specifically, this embodiment includes the following steps.

[0160] 101. User equipment UE generates uplink information.

[0161] In this step, the UE generates the uplink information based on a downlink signal or an uplink signal. For example, the UE may generate the uplink information in the following manners:

[0162] Manner 1: The uplink information is specifically a downlink measurement result greater than a first threshold or a second threshold. In this case, the UE performs measurement such as RRM measurement on a downlink signal of at least one transmission point to obtain at least one downlink measurement result, determines, from the at least one downlink measurement result, the downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold, and uses the downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold as the uplink information.

[0163] Manner 2: The uplink information is specifically a transmission point identifier corresponding to a downlink measurement result greater than a first threshold or a second threshold. In this case, the UE measures a downlink signal of at least one transmission point to obtain at least one downlink measurement result, and determines, from the at least one downlink measurement result, the transmission point identifier corresponding to the downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold. For example, the UE sorts, in ascending order or descending order, the transmission point identifier corresponding to the downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold, to obtain the uplink information.

[0164] Manner 3: The uplink information is specifically an uplink signal sent by the UE, and the uplink signal is at least one of the following signals: an uplink sounding signal, an uplink sounding reference signal, an uplink sequence code, or a preamble.

[0165] In this manner, the uplink information is at least one uplink signal sent by the UE, such as an uplink sounding signal, an uplink sequence code, or a preamble.

[0166] 102. The user equipment UE sends the uplink information to a base station.

[0167] In this step, the UE sends the uplink information in 101 to the base station. When the uplink information is generated in the foregoing manner 3, the UE first receives an uplink transmission subframe or an uplink transmission subframe set that is of the uplink signal and that is notified by the base station by using radio resource control RRC signaling, and then sends the uplink information to the base station in the uplink transmission subframe or a subframe included in the uplink transmission subframe set. In this process, the uplink transmission subframe or the uplink transmission subframe set is coordinated or preconfigured by the base station by using an inter-base station interface.

[0168] 103. The base station configures a first set and/or a second set for the UE based on the uplink information.

[0169] When the first set or the second set is configured, a plurality of links are established between transmission points included in the first set or the second set and the UE; and when the first set and the second set are configured, the first set includes at least two transmission points, and the second set is a subset of the first set.

[0170] Referring to FIG. 1, in this embodiment of the present invention, the base station is, for example, a macro base station, a macro eNB, or a master node master node (not shown in the figure). In this step, a transmission point in the first set is a transmission point whose measured signal strength is greater than or equal to the first threshold, a transmission point in the second set is a transmission point whose measured signal strength is greater than or equal to the second threshold, and the second threshold is greater than the first threshold. Each transmission point included in the second set may be activated or deactivated from the first set. When the UE moves, and when the transmission point included in the second set does not meet the second threshold, for example, when a signal of the transmission point in the second set is weak or interrupted, a transmission point that is in the first set and outside the second set and that meets the second threshold is added to the second set. The measured signal strength is obtained through radio resource management RRM measurement, and may include at least one of the following: a reference signal received power RSRP (reference signal receiving power), a reference signal received quality RSRQ (reference signal receiving quality), a received signal strength indicator RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication), or any beam-based measurement parameter.

[0171] According to the multi-link configuration method provided in this embodiment of the present invention, the UE generates the uplink information and sends the uplink information to the base station. The base station configures the first set and/or the second set for the UE based on the uplink information. When the first set or the second set is configured, the plurality of links are established between the transmission points included in the first set or the second set and the UE. When the first set and the second set are configured, the first set includes at least two transmission points, and the second set is the subset of the first set. In this process, the transmission point included in the first set is a candidate transmission point, and the transmission point included in the second set establishes a plurality of links to a user, and is a transmission point that actually transmits data to the UE. When a signal of the transmission point included in the second set is weak or interrupted, a transmission point with good quality is selected from the first set and added to the second set to reduce a quantity of times of link interruption and service interruption, thereby resolving a problem of frequent handover of the UE in a UDN network.

[0172] Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment, the transmission point included in the first set constitutes a first cell, and a primary transmission point included in the first cell is fixed or variable. The first cell is a first cluster, a first virtual cell, or a first super cell. In addition, the first cluster has a corresponding cluster identifier, the first virtual cell has a corresponding virtual cell identifier, and the first super cell has a corresponding super cell identifier.

[0173] Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment, the transmission point included in the second set constitutes a second cell, and a primary transmission point included in the second cell changes with a movement of the UE. The second cell is a second cluster, a second virtual cell, or a second super cell. The second cluster has a corresponding cluster identifier, the second virtual cell has a corresponding virtual cell identifier, and the second super cell has a corresponding super cell identifier.

[0174] Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment, the second set is in a multi-RRC link mode, and at least two transmission points in the second set establish RRC links to the UE; or the second set is in a single-RRC link mode, and one transmission point in the second set establishes an RRC link to the UE; or the second set is in a semi-static mode, and the transmission point in the second set changes in the first set in a semi-static manner. Specifically, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a multi-RRC link mode and a single-RRC link mode in which a macro base station is deployed in Embodiment 2 of a multi-link configuration method according to the present invention.

[0175] Referring to FIG. 3, in an overlay (overlay) scenario including a macro base station, it is assumed that transmission points included in a second set are a small cell D, a small cell E, and a small cell F, and if UE works in the multi-RRC link mode, the UE may retain RRC links to the macro base station and the transmission point small cell D, as shown by solid line arrows in the multi-RRC link mode in the figure (a dashed line arrow indicates that an RRC link is not established). It is assumed that the transmission points included in the second set are a small cell A, a small cell B, and a small cell C, and if the UE works in the single-RRC link mode, the UE retains only an RRC link to the macro base station. As shown in the figure, in the single-RRC link mode, the UE retains the RRC link to the macro base station, and does not retain an RRC link, shown by a dashed line, between the UE and each of the small cell A, the small cell B, and the small cell C.

[0176] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a multi-RRC link mode and a single-RRC link mode in which no macro base station is deployed in Embodiment 3 of a multi-link configuration method according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, in a standalone (standalone) scenario, it is assumed that transmission points included in a second set are a small cell D, a small cell E, and a small cell F, and if UE works in the multi-RRC link mode, the UE may retain RRC links to the transmission point small cell D and the transmission point small cell F, as shown by solid line arrows in the multi-RRC link mode in the figure. In other words, RRC links between the UE and some or all of the transmission points in the second transmission point set may be retained. If the UE works in the single-RRC link mode and it is assumed that the transmission points included in the second set are a small cell A, a small cell B, and a small cell C, the UE retains only an RRC link to the transmission point small cell A. In other words, an RRC link between the UE and one transmission point in the second set is retained.

[0177] In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, regardless of the multi-RRC link mode or the single-RRC link mode, to ensure energy balance of transmission points, semi-static conversion may be performed between transmission points that meet a transmission requirement, where meeting the transmission requirement means that a measured signal strength is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold. Specifically, refer to FIG. 5.

[0178] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of semi-static handover of a transmission point included in a second set in Embodiment 4 of a multi-link configuration method according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, as time, namely, a subframe goes by, transmission points included in the second set in a first period may be a small cell A and a small cell B, transmission points included in the second set in a second period may be changed to the small cell B and a small cell C, and transmission points included in the second set in a third period may be changed to the small cell C and the small cell A. In a multi-RRC link mode, at least one transmission point in any semi-statically converted transmission point needs to maintain a link to UE.

[0179] Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment, a base station pre-sends a first threshold to the UE by using configuration signaling, so that the UE sends, to the base station, uplink information of a transmission point that meets the first threshold, to avoid a disadvantage of a large amount of information and occupation of a large quantity of resources caused by the UE by sending uplink information of all transmission points.

[0180] Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment, after the base station configures a first set and/or the second set for the UE based on the uplink information, the base station sends configuration information of the first set and/or the second set to the UE or the transmission point. For example, the base station sends information about the first set and the second set to the UE by using radio resource control RRC signaling. For another example, the base station sends activation or deactivation information of the second set to the UE by using Media Access Control MAC signaling.

[0181] Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment, after configuring the first set and the second set for a user, the base station sends multi-link configuration information to the UE by using RRC signaling, to instruct the UE to perform multi-link collaboration. The multi-link collaboration includes at least one of the following collaboration: power collaboration, random access collaboration, and power headroom collaboration.

[0182] Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment, when an inactive link in a plurality of links is activated, the base station triggers, by using Media Access Control MAC signaling on a previously activated link, the currently activated link to perform uplink transmission, where the uplink transmission includes at least one of the following transmission: random access transmission, scheduling requirement transmission, sounding reference signal transmission, and buffer status report transmission.

[0183] Optionally, in the foregoing embodiment, the base station is specifically a macro base station macro eNB or a master node master node, and the transmission point is a small cell.

[0184] FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of Embodiment 5 of a multi-link configuration method according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, in this embodiment, an area covered by a macro base station includes a small cell A and a small cell B. The small cell A and the small cell B constitute a virtual cell, the small cell A is a master node or a primary cell in the virtual cell, and the small cell B is a secondary node or a secondary cell in the virtual cell. UE is first connected to the small cell A. In an embodiment, when the UE gradually approaches the small cell B, the UE may report information about the approach to the macro base station. Then, the macro base station performs coordination on an X2 interface between the macro base station and the small cell A and an X2 interface between the macro base station and the small cell B, determines that the UE may be configured to be in an MC mode, and notifies the UE of the MC mode by using signaling. In this case, the UE establishes links to the small cell A and the small cell B. Some system information, for example, a virtual cell ID and system bandwidth, of a small cell in the virtual cell may be delivered by the small cell A. Other system information and a UE-specific configuration may be delivered by a secondary cell such as the small cell B. The macro base station may further send multi-link configuration information to the small cell A, the small cell B, and the UE by using RRC signaling. Then, the UE performs multi-link collaboration, for example, power collaboration, random access collaboration, and power headroom collaboration.

[0185] In another embodiment, the UE may report information about the approach to the small cell A. Then, the small cell A performs coordination on an X2 interface between the small cell A and the small cell B, determines that the UE may be configured to be in an MC mode, and notifies the UE of the MC mode by using signaling. In this case, the UE establishes links to the small cell A and the small cell B. Some system information, for example, a virtual cell ID and system bandwidth, of a small cell in the virtual cell may be delivered by the small cell A. Other system information and a UE-specific configuration may be delivered by a secondary cell such as the small cell B. The small cell A may further send multi-link configuration information to the small cell B and the UE by using RRC signaling. Then, the UE performs multi-link collaboration, for example, power collaboration, random access collaboration, and power headroom collaboration.

[0186] FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a base station according to the present invention. The base station provided in this embodiment may implement steps of a method that is applied to the base station and that is provided in any embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, the base station provided in this embodiment includes:

[0187] a transceiver module 11, configured to receive uplink information sent by user equipment UE; and

[0188] a processing module 12, configured to configure a first set and/or a second set for the UE based on the uplink information, and when the first set or the second set is configured, establish a plurality of links between transmission points included in the first set or the second set and the UE, where when the first set and the second set are configured, the first set includes at least two transmission points, and the second set is a subset of the first set.

[0189] The base station provided in this embodiment of the present invention receives the uplink information generated and sent by the UE, and configures the first set and/or the second set for the UE based on the uplink information. When the first set or the second set is configured, the plurality of links are established between the transmission points included in the first set or the second set and the UE. When the first set and the second set are configured, the first set includes at least two transmission points, and the second set is the subset of the first set. In this process, the transmission point included in the first set is a candidate transmission point, and the transmission point included in the second set establishes a plurality of links to a user, and is a transmission point that actually transmits data to the UE. When a signal of the transmission point included in the second set is weak or interrupted, a transmission point with good quality is selected from the first set and added to the second set to reduce a quantity of times of link interruption and service interruption, thereby resolving a problem of frequent handover of the UE in a UDN network.

[0190] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, a transmission point in the first set is a transmission point whose measured signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold, a transmission point in the second set is a transmission point whose measured signal strength is greater than or equal to a second threshold, and the second threshold is greater than the first threshold.

[0191] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, each transmission point included in the second set may be activated or deactivated from the first set.

[0192] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the processing module 12 is further configured to: when the transmission point included in the second set does not meet the second threshold, add a transmission point that is in the first set and outside the second set and that meets the second threshold to the second set.

[0193] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the uplink information is a downlink measurement result that is in at least one downlink measurement result and that is greater than the first threshold or the second threshold, and the at least one downlink measurement result is obtained by the UE by measuring a downlink signal of at least one transmission point.

[0194] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one downlink measurement result is obtained by the UE by performing RRM measurement on the downlink signal of the at least one transmission point.

[0195] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the uplink information is at least one transmission point identifier, and the at least one transmission point identifier is a transmission point identifier corresponding to a downlink measurement result that is greater than the first threshold or the second threshold and that is in at least one downlink measurement result obtained by the UE by measuring a downlink signal of at least one transmission point.

[0196] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the uplink information is obtained by the UE by sorting, in ascending order or descending order, transmission point identifiers greater than the second preset threshold.

[0197] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the uplink information is specifically an uplink signal sent by the UE, and the uplink signal is at least one of the following signals: an uplink sounding signal, an uplink sounding reference signal, an uplink sequence code, or a preamble.

[0198] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, before receiving the uplink information sent by the user equipment UE, the transceiver module 11 is further configured to notify an uplink transmission subframe or an uplink transmission subframe set of the uplink signal by using radio resource control RRC signaling.

[0199] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, before notifying the uplink transmission subframe or the uplink transmission subframe set of the uplink signal by using RRC signaling, the transceiver module 11 is further configured to coordinate or preconfigure the uplink transmission subframe or the uplink transmission subframe set by using an inter-base station interface.

[0200] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the transmission point included in the first set constitutes a first cell, and the first cell is a first cluster, a first virtual cell, or a first super cell.

[0201] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, a primary transmission point included in the first cell is fixed or variable.

[0202] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the first cell has a corresponding cell identifier, and when the first cell is the first cluster, the first virtual cell, or the first super cell, the cell identifier corresponding to the first cell is a cluster identifier, a virtual cell identifier, or a super cell identifier.

[0203] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the transmission point included in the second set constitutes a second cell, and the second cell is a second cluster, a second virtual cell, or a second super cell.

[0204] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, a primary transmission point included in the second cell changes with a movement of the UE.

[0205] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the second cell has a corresponding cell identifier, and when the second cell is the second cluster, the second virtual cell, or the second super cell, the cell identifier corresponding to the second cell is a cluster identifier, a virtual cell identifier, or a super cell identifier.

[0206] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the second set is in a multi-RRC link mode, and at least two transmission points in the second set establish RRC links to the UE; or the second set is in a single-RRC link mode, and one transmission point in the second set establishes an RRC link to the UE; or the second set is in a semi-static mode, and the transmission point in the second set changes in the first set in a semi-static manner.

[0207] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, before receiving the uplink information sent by the user equipment UE, the transceiver module 11 is further configured to send the first threshold or the second threshold to the UE by using configuration signaling.

[0208] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the transceiver module 11 is specifically configured to receive uplink information that is sent by the user equipment UE and that is of a transmission point that meets the first threshold or the second threshold.

[0209] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, after the processing module 12 configures the first set and/or the second set for the UE based on the uplink information, the transceiver module 11 is further configured to: send information about the first set and/or the second set to the UE by using radio resource control RRC signaling; and/or send activation or deactivation information of the second set to the UE by using Media Access Control MAC signaling.

[0210] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the transceiver module 11 is further configured to send multi-link configuration information to the UE by using RRC signaling, to instruct the UE to perform multi-link collaboration.

[0211] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-link collaboration includes at least one of the following collaboration: power collaboration, random access collaboration, and power headroom collaboration.

[0212] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the processing module 12 is further configured to: when an inactive link in the plurality of links is activated, trigger, by using Media Access Control MAC signaling on a previously activated link, the currently activated link to perform uplink transmission, where the uplink transmission includes at least one of the following transmission: random access transmission, scheduling requirement transmission, sounding reference signal transmission, and buffer status report transmission.

[0213] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the base station is specifically a macro base station macro eNB or a master node master node, and the transmission point is a small cell.

[0214] FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of user equipment according to the present invention. The user equipment provided in this embodiment may implement steps of a method that is applied to the user equipment and that is provided in any embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, the user equipment provided in this embodiment includes:

[0215] a processing module 21, configured to generate uplink information; and

[0216] a transceiver module 22, configured to: send the uplink information to a base station, so that the base station configures a first set and/or a second set for the UE based on the uplink information; and when the first set or the second set is configured, establish a plurality of links between transmission points included in the first set or the second set and the UE, where when the first set and the second set are configured, the first set includes at least two transmission points, and the second set is a subset of the first set.

[0217] The UE provided in this embodiment of the present invention generates the uplink information and sends the uplink information to the base station. The base station configures the first set and/or the second set for the UE based on the uplink information. When the first set or the second set is configured, the plurality of links are established between the transmission points included in the first set or the second set and the UE. When the first set and the second set are configured, the first set includes at least two transmission points, and the second set is the subset of the first set. In this process, the transmission point included in the first set is a candidate transmission point, and the transmission point included in the second set establishes a plurality of links to a user, and is a transmission point that actually transmits data to the UE. When a signal of the transmission point included in the second set is weak or interrupted, a transmission point with good quality is selected from the first set and added to the second set to reduce a quantity of times of link interruption and service interruption, thereby resolving a problem of frequent handover of the UE in a UDN network.

[0218] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, a transmission point in the first set is a transmission point whose measured signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold, a transmission point in the second set is a transmission point whose measured signal strength is greater than or equal to a second threshold, and the second threshold is greater than the first threshold.

[0219] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, each transmission point included in the second set may be activated or deactivated from the first set.

[0220] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, when the transmission point included in the second set does not meet the second threshold, a transmission point that is in the first set and outside the second set and that meets the second threshold is added to the second set.

[0221] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the uplink information includes a downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold; and

[0222] the processing module 21 is configured to measure a downlink signal of at least one transmission point to obtain at least one downlink measurement result; and determine, from the at least one downlink measurement result, the downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold.

[0223] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the processing module 21 is specifically configured to perform RRM measurement on downlink reference information of the at least one transmission point to obtain the at least one downlink measurement result.

[0224] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the uplink information includes a transmission point identifier corresponding to a downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold; and

[0225] the processing module 21 is specifically configured to measure a downlink signal of at least one transmission point to obtain at least one downlink measurement result; and determine, from the at least one downlink measurement result, the transmission point identifier corresponding to the downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold.

[0226] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the processing module 21 is further configured to sort, in ascending order or descending order, the transmission point identifier corresponding to the downlink measurement result greater than the first threshold or the second threshold, to obtain the uplink information.

[0227] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the uplink information is specifically an uplink signal sent by the UE, and the uplink signal is at least one of the following signals: an uplink sounding signal, an uplink sounding reference signal, an uplink sequence code, or a preamble.

[0228] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, before sending the uplink information to the base station, the transceiver module 22 is further configured to receive an uplink transmission subframe or an uplink transmission subframe set that is of the uplink signal and that is notified by the base station by using radio resource control RRC signaling.

[0229] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the uplink transmission subframe or the uplink transmission subframe set is coordinated or preconfigured by the base station by using an inter-base station interface.

[0230] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, a coverage area of the transmission point included in the first set constitutes a first cell, and the first cell is a first cluster, a first virtual cell, or a first super cell.

[0231] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, a primary transmission point included in the first cell is fixed or variable.

[0232] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the first cell has a corresponding cell identifier, and when the first cell is the first cluster, the first virtual cell, or the first super cell, the cell identifier corresponding to the first cell is a cluster identifier, a virtual cell identifier, or a super cell identifier.

[0233] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, a coverage area of the transmission point included in the second set constitutes a second cell, and the second cell is a second cluster, a second virtual cell, or a second super cell.

[0234] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, a primary transmission point included in the second cell changes with a movement of the UE.

[0235] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the second cell has a corresponding cell identifier, and when the second cell is the second cluster, the second virtual cell, or the second super cell, the cell identifier corresponding to the second cell is a cluster identifier, a virtual cell identifier, or a super cell identifier.

[0236] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the second set is in a multi-RRC link mode, and at least two transmission points in the second set establish RRC links to the UE; or

[0237] the second set is in a single-RRC link mode, and one transmission point in the second set establishes an RRC link to the UE; or

[0238] the second set is in a semi-static mode, and the transmission point in the second set changes in the first set in a semi-static manner.

[0239] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, before sending the uplink information to the base station, the transceiver module 22 is further configured to receive the first threshold or the second threshold sent by the base station by using configuration signaling.

[0240] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the transceiver module 22 is specifically configured to send uplink information of a transmission point that meets the first threshold or the second threshold to the base station.

[0241] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, after sending the uplink information to the base station, the transceiver module 22 is further configured to receive information that is about the first set and/or the second set and that is sent by the base station by using radio resource control RRC signaling; and/or receive activation or deactivation information that is of the second set and that is sent by the base station to the UE by using Media Access Control MAC signaling.

[0242] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the transceiver module 22 is further configured to receive multi-link configuration information sent by the base station by using RRC signaling, to perform multi-link collaboration.

[0243] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-link collaboration includes at least one of the following collaboration: power collaboration, random access collaboration, and power headroom collaboration.

[0244] FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of a base station according to the present invention. A base station 300 provided in this embodiment includes: a processor 31, a memory 32, a communications interface 33, and a system bus 34, where the memory 32, the communications interface 33, and the processor 31 are connected and implement mutual communication by using the system bus 34, the memory 32 is configured to store a computer execution instruction, the communications interface 33 is configured to communicate with another device, and the processor 31 is configured to run the computer execution instruction, so that the base station 300 performs the steps of the method applied to the base station.

[0245] FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of user equipment according to the present invention. User equipment 400 provided in this embodiment includes: a processor 41, a memory 42, a communications interface 43, and a system bus 44, where the memory 42, the communications interface 43, and the processor 41 are connected and implement mutual communication by using the system bus 44, the memory 42 is configured to store a computer execution instruction, the communications interface 43 is configured to communicate with another device, and the processor 41 is configured to run the computer execution instruction, so that the user equipment 400 performs the steps of the method applied to the user equipment.

[0246] In FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the system bus may be a peripheral component interconnect (peripheral component interconnect, PCI) bus, an extended industry standard architecture (extended industry standard architecture, EISA) bus, or the like. The system bus may be classified into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of indication, the bus is indicated by using only one bold line in the figure. However, it does not indicate that there is only one bus or only one type of bus. The communications interface is configured to implement communication between a database access apparatus and another device (such as a client, a read/write library, and a read-only library). The memory may include a random access memory (random access memory, RAM), or may further include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), for example, at least one magnetic disk storage.

[0247] The processor may be a general purpose processor, including a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), a network processor (Network Processor, NP), and the like; or may be a digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), a field programmable gate array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA), another programmable logic device, a discrete gate, a transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component.

[0248] Persons of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or some of the steps of the method embodiments may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware. The program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. When the program runs, the steps of the method embodiments are performed. The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

[0249] Finally, it should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are merely intended for describing the technical solutions of the present invention, but not for limiting the present invention. Although the present invention is described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, persons of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they may still make modifications to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent replacements to some or all technical features thereof, without departing from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.