Patent Application
20160381615
This disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and, in particular but not exclusively, relates to handover preparation of a mobile device from a serving cell in a wireless communication network.
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as, voice, data, and so on. Typical wireless communication networks may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmission power, etc.). Examples of such multiple-access systems may include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, and the like. Additionally, the systems can conform to specifications such as third generation partnership project (3GPP), 3GPP long-term evolution (LTE), ultra mobile broadband (UMB), evolution data optimized (EV-DO), etc.
Generally, wireless multiple-access communication networks may simultaneously support communication for multiple mobile devices. Each mobile device may communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from base stations to mobile devices, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from mobile devices to base stations.
To supplement conventional base stations, additional low-power base stations can be deployed to provide more robust wireless coverage to mobile devices. For example, low-power base stations (e.g., which can be commonly referred to as Home NodeBs or Home eNBs, collectively referred to as H(e)NBs, femto nodes, femtocell nodes, pico nodes, micro nodes, etc.) can be deployed for incremental capacity growth, richer user experience, in-building or other specific geographic coverage, and/or the like. Typically, such small-coverage base stations are connected to the Internet and the mobile operator's network via a DSL router or a cable modem.
As a mobile device moves throughout a given geographical area, the mobile device may need to be handed-off from one of the base stations of the wireless communication network to another base station. In such a system, small-coverage base stations may be deployed in an ad-hoc manner. For example, small-coverage base stations may be deployed based on the individual decision of owners that install the base stations. Thus, in a given area there may be a relatively large number of these small-coverage base stations to which the mobile unit may be handed-off. Furthermore, there can be a significant delay between the time a handover request message is sent to a neighboring cell and the time that the neighboring cell acknowledges the request, especially if backhaul quality of the neighboring cell is poor. Consequently, there is a need for effective handoff methods in a wireless communication network employing a large number of base stations and with varying degrees of backhaul performance.
Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a method, an apparatus, an access point, and non-transitory computer-readable medium for initiating handover preparation of a subset of a plurality of cells in a wireless communication network for a mobile device.
In one aspect, a method of initiating handover preparation of a subset of a plurality of cells in a wireless communication network for a mobile device includes determining, by a serving cell of the mobile device, a first set of candidate cells of the plurality of cells in the wireless communication network. The method then includes obtaining, by the serving cell, at least one data, such as backhaul performance data, historical mobility data, and historical handover data and adding at least one candidate cell of the first set of candidate cells to the subset of cells based on the at least one data. The serving cell then generates and sends a handover request message to each of the cells included in the subset of cells to initiate handover preparation of the mobile device from the serving cell.
In yet another aspect, an apparatus is provided for use in a serving cell to initiate handover preparation of a subset of a plurality of cells in a wireless communication network for a mobile device. The apparatus includes memory adapted to store program code and a processing unit coupled to the memory to access and execute instructions included in the program code. In operation, the serving cell determines a first set of candidate cells of the plurality of cells in the wireless communication network, obtains at least one data, such as backhaul performance data, historical mobility data, and historical handover data, and adds at least one candidate cell of the first set of candidate cells to the subset of cells based on the at least one data. The serving cell then generates and sends a handover request message to each cell included in the subset of the plurality of cells to initiate handover preparation of the mobile device from the serving cell.
In still another aspect, an apparatus is provided for use in a serving cell to initiate handover preparation of a subset of a plurality of cells in a wireless communication network for a mobile device. The apparatus includes means for determining, by the serving cell of the mobile device, a first set of candidate cells of the plurality of cells in the wireless communication network. The apparatus also includes means for obtaining, by the serving cell, at least one data such as backhaul performance data, historical mobility data, or historical handover data, means for adding at least on candidate cell of the first set of candidate cells to the subset of the plurality of cells based on the at least one data, and means for generating and sending a handover request message from the serving cell to each of the cells included in the subset of the plurality of cells to initiate handover preparation of the mobile device from the serving cell.
Another aspect includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium for use in a serving cell to initiate handover preparation of a subset of a plurality of cells in a wireless communication network for a mobile device. The medium includes at least one instruction to determine, by the serving cell, a first set of candidate cells of the plurality of cells in the wireless communication network and at least one instruction to obtain, by the serving cell, at least one data, such as backhaul performance data, historical mobility data, or historical handover data. The medium also includes at least one instruction to at least one candidate cell of the first set of candidate cells to the subset of the plurality of cells based on the at least one data, and at least one instruction to generate and send a handover request message from the serving cell to each of the cells included in the subset of the plurality of cells to initiate handover preparation of the mobile device from the serving cell.
The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.
More specific aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings directed to various examples provided for illustration purposes. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known aspects of the disclosure may not be described in detail or may be omitted so as not to obscure more relevant details.
Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description below may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.
Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be implemented as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described action.
Each cell (e.g., 142-1 through 142-10) includes at least one base station (e.g., 140-1 through 140-10). The base stations (e.g., 140-1 through 140-10) are geographically distributed across the wide geographic area served by the wireless communication network 100A. Each base station (e.g., 140-1 through 140-10) provides wireless coverage for one or more respective portions of that geographic area, referred to as cells (e.g., 142-1 through 142-10). Because of this, mobile device 136 may move within or between cells and may communicate with one or more base stations (e.g., 140-1 through 140-10) at any given position.
Different cells (e.g., 142-1 through 142-10) may have different nominal sizes, depending on the maximum transmit power utilized by the base stations (e.g., 140-1 through 140-10) serving those cells. For example, base station 140-1 may have a relatively large maximum transmit power and correspondingly serves mobile devices 136 within a relatively large cell 142-1, while base station 140-8 may have a relatively small maximum transmit power and correspondingly serves mobile devices 136 within a relatively small cell 142-8. In general, different base stations that have different pre-defined maximum transmit powers (and thereby serve cells of different nominal sizes) belong to different base station classes (e.g., a macro base station class, a micro base station class, a pico base station class, etc.). As used herein, small cells generally refer to a class of low-powered base stations that may include or be otherwise referred to as femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, etc.
The different base stations (e.g., 140-1 through 140-10) of
As shown in
Turning to the illustrated connections in more detail, the mobile device 136 may transmit and receive messages 130 via a wireless link with a macro base station 140-4, the message including information related to various types of communication (e.g., voice, data, multimedia services, associated control signaling, etc.). The mobile device 136 may similarly communicate with a small cell base station 140-9 via another wireless link, and the mobile device 136 may similarly communicate with the small cell base station 140-10 via another wireless link.
As is further illustrated in
The network 134 may include any type of electronically connected group of computers and/or devices, including, for example, Internet, Intranet, Local Area Networks (LANs), or Wide Area Networks (WANs). In addition, the connectivity to the network may be, for example, by remote modem, Ethernet (IEEE 802.3), Token Ring (IEEE 802.5), Fiber Distributed Datalink Interface (FDDI) Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Wireless Ethernet (IEEE 802.11), Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1), or some other connection. As used herein, the network 134 includes network variations such as the public Internet, a private network within the Internet, a secure network within the Internet, a private network, a public network, a value-added network, an intranet, and the like. In certain systems, the network 134 may also comprise a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the macro cell base stations (i.e., 140-1, 140-2, 140-3, 140-4, 140-5, 140-6, and 140-7) and/or the small cell base stations (i.e., 140-8, 140-9, and 140-10) may be connected to the network 134 using any of a multitude of devices or methods. These connections may be referred to as the “backbone” or the “backhaul” of the network, and may in some implementations be used to manage and coordinate communications among and between the macro cell base stations (i.e., 140-1, 140-2, 140-3, 140-4, 140-5, 140-6, and 140-7) and the small cell base stations. In this way, as a mobile device 136 moves through such a mixed communication network environment that provides both macro cell and small cell coverage, the mobile device 136 may be served in certain locations by macro cell base stations (i.e., 140-1, 140-2, 140-3, 140-4, 140-5, 140-6, and 140-7), at other locations by small cell base stations (i.e., 140-8, 140-9, and 140-10), and, in some scenarios, by both macro cell and small cell base stations (e.g., 140-1 through 140-10).
The illustrated wireless communication network 100A is a multiple-access system that is divided into a plurality of cells (e.g., 142-1 through 142-10) and configured to support communication for a number of mobile devices 136. Communication coverage in each of the cells (e.g., 142-1 through 142-10) is provided by a corresponding base station (e.g., 140-1 through 140-10), which interacts with one or more mobile devices 136 via DownLink (DL) and/or UpLink (UL) connections. In general, the DL corresponds to communication from a base station to a mobile device, while the UL corresponds to communication from a user device to a base station.
For their wireless air interfaces, each base station may operate according to one of several radio access technologies (RATs) depending on the network in which it is deployed. These networks may include, for example, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, and so on. The terms “network” and “system” are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a RAT such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and Low Chip Rate (LCR). cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement a RAT such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may implement a RAT such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM®, etc. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication network (UMTS). Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS, and LTE are described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP). cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2).
As will be described in more detail below, one or more of the base stations (e.g., 140-1 through 140-10) may be configured in accordance with the teachings herein to provide or otherwise support the initialization of handover preparation of mobile device 136 from a serving cell to a neighboring cell. For example, base station 140-4 may send handover request messages 120 to a subset of neighboring cells based on backhaul performance data that indicates the current backhaul performance of each neighboring cell. In one aspect, the subset of neighboring cells is selected based on which cells have a backhaul performance that is less than a performance threshold. Thus, cells with poor or low backhaul performance may be given additional time to reply with a handover acknowledgement or otherwise prepare for a handover of mobile device 136.
In some aspects, the backhaul performance data includes performance metrics like round trip delay, latency, throughput, bandwidth, and jitter or variation in aforementioned metrics. Furthermore, these performance metrics may be evaluated for the communication with a common entity (e.g., a server 102 in the network, or a web server in or coupled to the network 134). Also, these performance metrics may be evaluated for each cell in the list of candidate cells by monitoring the messages exchanged with the candidate cells in the past.
As shown in
As used herein, the terms “mobile device” and “base station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, such mobile devices may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, personal computer, server, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a communications network, and may be alternatively referred to in different RAT environments as an Access Terminal (AT), a Mobile Station (MS), a Subscriber Station (STA), a User Equipment (UE), etc. Similarly, a base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with user devices depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively referred to as an Access Point (AP), a Network Node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), etc. In addition, in some systems a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions while in other systems it may provide additional control and/or network management functions.
As with the wireless communication network 100A of
In addition to the historical mobility data received from mobile device 136, each serving cell may maintain its own historical handover data to use in determining which neighboring cells to initiate handover preparation. For example, serving cell 142-4 may store and maintain historical handover data for specific mobile device 136 that indicates which neighboring cells (e.g., 142-1 through 142-10) serving cell 142-4 has previously handed off mobile device 136 to, as well as the number of instances that serving cell 142-4 has handed off mobile device 136 to that neighboring cell (e.g., 142-1 through 142-10).
Based on the historical mobility data and/or the historical handover data, a serving cell may identify handover patterns in the mobile device 136 mobility between cells (e.g., 142-1 through 142-10). For example, in one embodiment, serving cell 142-4 may determine, based on the historical handover data, that mobile device 136 was previously handed over from serving cell 142-4 to neighboring cell 142-9 at least a threshold percentage (e.g., 95%) of the time and thus, serving cell 142-4 may initiate handover preparation for neighbor cell 142-9. These and other aspects will be described in further detail below.
In the example of
Turning to the illustrated communication in more detail, mobile device 220 may transmit and receive messages via a wireless link 230 with the AP 210, where the messages include information related to various types of communication (e.g., voice, data, multimedia services, associated control signaling, connection setup procedures, etc.). The wireless link 230 may operate over a communication medium of interest, shown by way of example in
As a particular example, medium 232 may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared with other RATs. In general, the AP 210 and mobile device 220 may operate via wireless link 230 according to one or more RATs depending on the network in which they are deployed. These networks may include, for example, different variants of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, and so on. Although different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for such communications (e.g., by a government entity such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), certain communication networks, in particular those employing small cell access points, have extended operation into unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technologies, most notably IEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies generally referred to as “Wi-Fi.”
In the example of
The RAT A transceiver 240 and the RAT B transceiver 242 may be of different RAT types, may provide different functionalities, and may be used for different purposes. As an example, the RAT A transceiver 240 may operate in accordance with Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology to provide communication with mobile device 220, while the RAT B transceiver 242 may operate in accordance with Wi-Fi technology to monitor Wi-Fi signaling on the medium 232. The communication device 222 of mobile device 220 includes similar RAT A transceiver 250 of a first RAT type (e.g., LTE) and a RAT B transceiver 252 of a second RAT type (Wi-Fi).
As mentioned above, a mobile device may need to be handed-off from a current serving base station (e.g., AP) to another base station (e.g., AP). However, there may be a relatively large number of base stations in the wireless communication network to which the mobile unit may be handed-off. Furthermore, there can be a significant delay between the time a handover request message is sent to a neighboring cell and the time that the neighboring cell acknowledges the request, especially if backhaul quality of the neighboring cell is poor.
Accordingly, embodiments discussed herein provide for an advance handover preparation by determining a subset of cells for which to send handover request messages to. That is, rather than send handover request messages to each neighboring cell, a serving cell in accordance with the teachings herein may send a handover request message to less than all the neighboring cells, and in some cases may only send the handover request message to a single neighboring cell. In the illustrated example of
In one aspect, handover manager 244 may add candidate neighboring cells to the subset of cells based on obtained backhaul performance data. For example, if a candidate neighboring cell has a backhaul performance that is below a performance threshold it may be added to the subset of cells to initiate handover preparation.
In another aspect, handover manager 244 may add candidate neighboring cells based on historical mobility data and or historical handover data. In yet another aspect, handover manager 244 may add candidate neighboring cells to the subset of cells based on at least one of dynamically identified handover patterns or one or more stored handover patterns that are maintained at the serving cell (e.g., AP 210). Thus, handover manager 244 may identify one or more identified handover patterns in the mobility of mobile device 220 between cells. For example, in one embodiment, for each candidate neighboring cell, handover manager 244 may determine a number of instances that mobile device 220 was previously handed off to the candidate neighboring cell from AP 210. If the number of instances is above a threshold percentage (e.g., 95%) of the total handovers for mobile device 220 from AP 210, then handover manager 244 may add the candidate cell to the subset of cells to initiate handover preparation.
In one aspect, identifying one or more identified handover patterns in mobility of mobile device 220 may include identifying a first sequence of previous serving cells (e.g., PM, PM-1, . . . P1) of the mobile device 220 from the historical mobility data. The identifying of the one or more identified handover patterns may then include identifying cells from the stored historical handover data that were selected for handover a threshold number of times for sequences that match the first sequence (e.g., PM, PM-1, . . . P1). For example, referring back to
If the number of previous serving cells of the mobile device 220 is one (e.g., M=1), then using stored historical handover data may include identifying the mobile device's 220 previous cell from the historical mobility history of the mobile device 220 or from handover messages. In this example, using the stored historical handover data may include identifying cells from the stored historical handover data that were selected above a percentage threshold as target for handover when the mobile device 220 came from the identified cell. For example, referring again back to
If however, the historical mobility data of the mobile device indicates no previous serving cells (e.g., M=0), then using the historical handover data may include identifying cells from the stored historical handover data that were selected above a percentage threshold as target for handover for outgoing handovers from the current serving cell. By way of example, referring again back to
In one aspect, the one or more identified handover patterns may be stored and/or maintained locally at the serving cell (e.g., AP 210). For example, the AP 210 may locally maintain stored handover patterns in memory component 218, previously identified by AP 210, or otherwise obtained by AP 210. Under direction of a handover manager 254 included in communication controller 224 of mobile device 220, the mobile device 220 is then handed off to one of the candidate neighboring cells. After completion of a hand off of the mobile device 220, the handover manager 244 may then update the stored handover patterns based on which cell the mobile device is handed off to. In one example, updating the stored handover patterns may include adding a newly identified handover pattern to the stored handover patterns. In another example, updating the stored handover patterns may include updating an existing stored handover pattern based on which cell the mobile device is handed off to.
Accordingly, handover manager 244 may determine a subset of cells for which to send handover request messages to for advance handover preparation based on (1) an identified handover pattern, itself; (2) historical mobility data, itself; (3) historical handover data, itself; (4); a stored handover pattern, itself; (5) backhaul performance data, itself; or (6) any combinations of one or more of the above.
As described above with reference to
Turning now to
In another aspect, process block 360 may include serving cell 142-4 determining the first set of candidate cells by adding cells to the first set that are included in a neighbor relation table (NRT) of the serving cell 142-4. In one example, the NRT is automatically managed by the serving cell 142-4 based on measurements of detected cells provided by various user devices and/or by the base stations themselves.
Referring back to
Next, in process block 330, the handover manager of the serving cell 142-4 then adds at least one candidate cell of the first set of candidate cells to a subset of cells based on at least one of the backhaul data, the historical mobility data, and the historical handover data. In process block 340, the handover manager of the serving cell 142-4 then generates and sends a handover request message 120 to each of the candidate cells included in the subset of cells to initiate advanced handover preparation of the mobile device from the serving cell.
In process block 410, serving cell 142-4 determines a first set of candidate cells in the wireless communication network 100A, similar as described above with reference to process block 310 of process 300. Process block 420 then includes obtaining backhaul performance data for each of the candidate cells included in the first set of candidate cells. Turning now to
Thus, in process block 460, serving cell 142-4 may then send a backhaul data request to server 102 for the backhaul performance data of one or more of the candidate cells. In response, server 102 sends, and serving cell 142-4 receives, the most recent backhaul performance data (i.e., process block 470). In one embodiment, in addition to, or in lieu of sending backhaul data requests from serving cell 142-4, server 102 may periodically push backhaul performance data down to one or more of the serving cells. That is, serving cell 142-4 may receive periodic updates from server 102 that include current backhaul performance data of one or more of the neighboring cells of serving cell 142-4.
In one example, each serving cell of wireless communication network 100A may be configured to send updated backhaul performance data 110 to server 102 when a change in its backhaul performance is detected. By way of example, base station 140-9 of cell 142-9 may detect a drop in bandwidth or response time in its backhaul link to network 134 and in response thereto, send its updated backhaul performance data 110 to server 102.
Next, referring back to process 400 of
Similar to process 300 described above, mobile device 136 is currently served by cell 142-4 and thus cell 142-4 is the current serving cell of mobile device 136. Therefore, in process block 510, serving cell 142-4 determines a first set of candidate cells in the wireless communication network 100B. Process 350 of
Next, in process block 520, serving cell 142-4 obtains historical mobility data of mobile device 136. In one aspect, the received historical mobility data indicates which of the cells of wireless communication network 100B have previously served mobile device 136. In another aspect, the received historical mobility data may also indicate an amount of time that the mobile device 136 was previously served by one or more of the cells in wireless communication network 100B. As shown in
Next, in process block 530, of process 500, the serving cell 142-4 then adds at least one candidate cell of the first set of candidate cells to the subset of cells based on the received historical mobility data. In one embodiment, serving cell 142-4 may identify one or more identified handover patterns in the mobility of mobile device 136 between cells based on the received historical mobility data. For example, a candidate cell may be added to the subset of cells if the candidate cell previously served the mobile device 136 a higher number of instances and/or for longer periods of time relative to other candidate cells. In process block 540, the serving cell 142-4 then generates and sends a handover request message 120 to each of the cells included in the subset of cells to initiate handover preparation of the mobile device 136 from the serving cell.
Similar to process 500 described above, mobile device 136 is currently served by cell 142-4 and thus cell 142-4 is the current serving cell of mobile device 136. Therefore, in process block 610, serving cell 142-4 determines a first set of candidate cells in the wireless communication network 100B. Process 350 of
Next, in process block 620, serving cell 142-4 obtains historical mobility data of mobile device 136. As described above, the received historical mobility data may indicate which of the cells of wireless communication network 100B have previously served mobile device 136. In addition, process 600 includes process block 630 of locally maintaining historical handover data at the serving cell 142-4. In one aspect, the historical handover data maintained at the serving cell indicates a number of instances that the mobile device 136 was handed off to each of the neighboring cells from the serving cell. For example, serving cell 142-4 may maintain a count of the number of times that mobile device 136 was handed off from serving cell 142-4 to neighboring cell 142-9, a count of the number of times that mobile device 136 was handed off from serving cell 142-4 to neighboring cell 142-7, and so on.
Next, in process block 640, of process 600, the serving cell 142-4 then adds at least one candidate cell of the first set of candidate cells to the subset of cells based on the received historical mobility data and/or the locally maintained historical handover data. In one embodiment, serving cell 142-4 may identify one or more handover patterns in the mobility of mobile device 136 between cells based on the received historical mobility data and/or historical handover data.
Turning now to
Returning now to process 600 of
Upon completion of the hand off, process block 820 includes the serving cell 142-4 updating the locally maintained historical handover data and/or stored handover patterns. For example, as mentioned above the historical handover data may include a count of the number of times that mobile device 136 was handed off from serving cell 142-4 to neighboring cell 142-9. Thus, process block 820 may include incrementing the handover count of neighboring cell 142-9 corresponding to mobile device 136.
A module 910 for determining a first set of candidate cells may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, a communication device or a component thereof as discussed herein (e.g., the RAT A transceiver 240 or the like) for receiving a message (e.g., MRM) from a mobile device identifying the first set of candidate cells. Module 920 for obtaining backhaul performance data may also correspond at in some aspects to a communication device, such as communication device 212 for receiving backhaul performance data from a server, such as server 102 of
A module 950 for determining a first set of candidate cells may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, a communication device or a component thereof as discussed herein (e.g., the RAT A transceiver 240 or the like) for receiving a message (e.g., MRM) from a mobile device identifying the first set of candidate cells. Module 960 for obtaining historical mobility data may also correspond in some aspects to a communication device, such as RAT A transceiver 240 for receiving historical mobility data from a mobile device, such as mobile device 136 of
The functionality of the modules of
In addition, the components and functions represented by
It should be understood that any reference to an element herein using a designation such as “first,” “second,” and so forth does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elements does not mean that only two elements may be employed there or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner. Also, unless stated otherwise a set of elements may comprise one or more elements. In addition, terminology of the form “at least one of A, B, or C” or “one or more of A, B, or C” or “at least one of the group consisting of A, B, and C” used in the description or the claims means “A or B or C or any combination of these elements.” For example, this terminology may include A, or B, or C, or A and B, or A and C, or A and B and C, or 2A, or 2B, or 2C, and so on.
In view of the descriptions and explanations above, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.
Accordingly, it will be appreciated, for example, that an apparatus or any component of an apparatus may be configured to (or made operable to or adapted to) provide functionality as taught herein. This may be achieved, for example: by manufacturing (e.g., fabricating) the apparatus or component so that it will provide the functionality; by programming the apparatus or component so that it will provide the functionality; or through the use of some other suitable implementation technique. As one example, an integrated circuit may be fabricated to provide the requisite functionality. As another example, an integrated circuit may be fabricated to support the requisite functionality and then configured (e.g., via programming) to provide the requisite functionality. As yet another example, a processor circuit may execute code to provide the requisite functionality.
Moreover, the methods, sequences, and/or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary non-transitory storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor (e.g., cache memory).
Accordingly, it will also be appreciated, that certain aspects of the disclosure can include a non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying a method for initiating handover preparation of a subset of a plurality of cells in a wireless communication network for a mobile device, such as described above with reference to processes 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 600, 700, and 800.
While the foregoing disclosure shows various illustrative aspects, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made to the illustrated examples without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims. The present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specifically illustrated examples alone. For example, unless otherwise noted, the functions, steps, and/or actions of the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although certain aspects may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.
