Patent Grant
11736184
The present disclosure relates to wireless communication and in particular to extending the coverage and quality of cellular services available to surrounding wireless devices in a communications network by selecting a particular wireless device to serve as a base station and perform preselected base station functions for the other wireless devices.
Modern radio access networks (RAN) are designed to provide high hit rate mobile access to a variety of core networks (CNs), including public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet switched data networks (PDNs) and enterprise networks based on the Internet Protocol (IP) suite. The interface between the RAN and the CN is typically designed and standardized in a way that facilitates the provisioning of high quality end-to-end services to a large variety of wireless devices belonging to different categories characterized by a wide range of UE capabilities. Such UE capabilities include the supported peak data rate, UE size, cost, battery life, multi-antenna and radio frequency (RF) capabilities, etc. In 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LIE) Release 8 and Release 9 systems, for example, Category 5 UEs support up to 300 Mbps in the downlink (DL) and 75 Mbps in the uplink (UL), whereas Category 1 UEs need to support only 10 Mbps in the DL and 5 Mbps in the UL. The DL represents a telecommunications link for signals sent from a network node such as a base station to a wireless device. The UL represents a telecommunications link for signals sent from the wireless device to a network node such as a base station.
Likewise, the capabilities of the deployed RAN infrastructure, including the capabilities of the base stations (BS) and the interconnecting (backhaul) network are different in terms of the supported bitrates, coverage area, inter-BS communication capabilities and the technology options that can be used to connect the RAN to the CN nodes. In LTE systems, the interface between the RAN and the CN, referred to as the S1 interface, can be implemented by a variety of Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Layer 2 and Layer 3 technologies, including fixed Ethernet and IP based networks, fiber optical wavelength division multiplexing networks and/or, micro- or mmWave radio links.
Referring to
In disaster situations caused by, for example, earthquakes, hurricanes or tsunami, there is a need to maintain at least local communication services to allow the discovery of victims and allow rudimentary communication services between rescue personnel. To meet such requirements, the 3GPP has defined technology components that can be used to maintain local communications when parts of the whole of RAN 12 is affected by Public Protection and Disaster relief (PDDR) and National Strategic Protective System (NSPS) situations. For example, parts or the whole of the coverage of RAN 12 can become dysfunctional, or the S1 interface can become unavailable even if the RAN nodes 16 remain intact. For example, in
Another problem with existing technologies arises when a large number of wireless devices 17 requests service simultaneously. In such situations, a RAN node 16, such as a BS, may not be able to provide sufficient bitrates to all or the majority of the wireless devices 17 requesting high quality end-to-end services. The bottleneck in such a scenario may be, for example, the radio interface between the user interface and the radio access point (i.e., BS) or the interface between the RAN and the CN, the processing capability of the BS and/or CN node or the combinations thereof. Existing technologies, in such situations limit the number of simultaneously served wireless devices or limit the service provided to the served wireless devices or employ some combination of such techniques.
The present disclosure advantageously provides a method, a wireless device, and a network node for extending the coverage and quality of cellular services available to surrounding wireless devices in a communications network by selecting a particular wireless device to serve as a base station and perform preselected base station functions for the other wireless devices.
According to one aspect of the disclosure, a method for enabling a wireless device to serve as a base station to at least one other wireless device in a communications network where the wireless device is configured to perform predetermined base station functions, is provided. In one embodiment, the method includes determining a condition triggering a need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device, notifying a network node in the communications network that the wireless device is available to provide the predetermined base station functions, receiving approval from the network node to provide the predetermined base station functions, and providing the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device.
According to one embodiment of this aspect, determining the condition triggering the need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device includes performing measurements to determine a quality of cellular coverage. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the measurements include at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), end-to-end hit rates, packet error probability, and latency.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, the predetermined base station functions performed by the wireless device include emulating a base station uplink (UL) and a base station downlink (DL) to support the at least one other wireless device such that base station UL and base station DL protocols used with respect to the at least one other wireless device are maintained. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the predetermined base station functions performed by the wireless device include establishing sidelinks to support the at least one other wireless device using sidelink protocols to maintain connectivity. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the network node is an edge router and wherein providing the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device in the communication network comprises emulating an S1 interface with the edge router.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, receiving approval from the network node to provide the predetermined base station functions further includes receiving configuration parameters from the network node, the configuration parameters concerning operation of the wireless device when it performs the predetermined base station functions. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the configuration parameters include at least one of a carrier frequency, an operational bandwidth for DL and, UL operation, a new cell identity (Cell ID) for the wireless device, a neighbor cell list, a maximum allowed transmit power, and S1 interface parameters.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, determining the condition triggering the need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device includes detecting a loss of cellular coverage between the wireless device and a base station serving the wireless device. According to another embodiment of this aspect, determining the condition triggering the need to provide predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device includes receiving a signal from the network node indicating that an S1 interface between a base station serving the wireless device and a radio access network (RAN) has become impaired. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the method further includes sending an acknowledgement to the network node, the acknowledgment indicating that the wireless device will provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the network node is a base station and wherein determining the condition triggering the need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device is performed by the base station based upon detection of a predetermined load on the base station.
According to another aspect of this disclosure, a wireless device configured to serve as a base station to at least one other wireless device in a communications network, the wireless device being configured to perform predetermined base station functions, is provided. According to an embodiment of this aspect, the wireless device includes processing circuitry including a memory and a processor, the memory in communication with the processor, the memory having instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the processor to determine a condition triggering a need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device. The wireless device also includes a communications interface configured to notify a network node in the communications network that the wireless device is available to provide the predetermined base station functions and receive approval from the network node to provide the predetermined base station functions. The processor is further configured to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device in the communication network.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, determining the condition triggering the need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device includes performing measurements to determine a quality of the cellular coverage. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the measurements include at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), end-to-end bit rates, packet error probability, and latency. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the predetermined base station functions performed by the wireless device include emulating a base station uplink (UL) and a base station downlink (DL) to support the at least one other wireless device such that base station UL and base station DL protocols used with respect to the at least one other wireless device are maintained.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, the predetermined base station functions performed by the wireless device include establishing sidelinks to support the at least one other wireless device using sidelink protocols to maintain connectivity. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the network node is an edge router and wherein providing the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device in the communication network includes emulating an S1 interface towards the edge router.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, receiving approval from the network node to provide the predetermined base station functions further includes receiving, by the communications interface, configuration parameters from the network node, the configuration parameters concerning operation of the wireless device when it performs the predetermined base station functions. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the configuration parameters include at least one of a carrier frequency, an operational bandwidth for DL and UL operation, a new cell identity (Cell ID), for the wireless device, a neighbor cell list, a maximum allowed transmit power, and S1 interface parameters.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, determining the condition triggering the need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device includes detecting a loss of cellular coverage between the wireless device and a base station serving the wireless device. According to another embodiment of this aspect, determining the condition triggering the need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device includes receiving, by the communication interface, a signal from the network node indicating that an S1 interface between a base station serving the wireless device and a radio access network (RAN) has become impaired. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the communications interface is further configured to send an acknowledgement to the network node, the acknowledgment indicating that the wireless device will provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the network node is a base station and wherein determining the condition triggering the need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device is performed by the base station based upon detection of a predetermined load at the base station.
According to another aspect of this disclosure, a method for enabling a wireless device of a plurality of wireless devices in a communications network to provide predetermined base station functions to at least one other wireless device of the plurality of wireless devices, the wireless device being configured to perform the predetermined base station functions, is provided. According to an embodiment of this aspect, the method includes receiving, from at least one candidate wireless device, a notification that the at least one candidate wireless device is available to provide the predetermined base station functions, evaluating the at least one candidate wireless device, based at least upon on the evaluating of the at least one candidate. wireless device, approving at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device in the communications network.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, the predetermined base station functions performed by the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device include emulating a base station uplink (UL) and a base station downlinks (DL) to support the at least one other wireless device such that base station UL and base station DL protocols used with respect to the at least one other wireless devices are maintained. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the predetermined base station functions performed by the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device include establishing sidelinks to support the at least one other wireless device using sidelink protocols to maintain connectivity. According to another embodiment of this aspect, providing the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device in the communications network includes emulating an S1 interface towards an edge router.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, evaluating the at least one candidate wireless device includes considering at least one of signal strength and category of the at least one or more candidate wireless device. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the method further includes transmitting to the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device configuration parameters concerning operation of the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device when it performs the predetermined base station functions. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the configuration parameters include at least one of a carrier frequency, an operational bandwidth for DL and, UL operation, a new cell identity (Cell ID) for the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device, a neighbor cell list, a maximum allowed transmit power, and S1 interface parameters.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, the method further includes receiving an acknowledgement from the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device, the acknowledgment indicating that the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device will provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device. According to another embodiment of this aspect, upon receipt of the acknowledgement, the method further includes broadcasting a presence of the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device to other network nodes in the communication network.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, the method further includes broadcasting network node capability information to the plurality of wireless devices in the communication network. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the network node capability information includes at least one of supported frequency hands, supported interfaces, communication protocols, a maximum number of simultaneously supported network nodes, and quality of service (QoS) parameters. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the method further includes receiving from a base station in the communications network, identification parameters related to the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device.
According to another aspect of this disclosure, a network node for enabling a wireless device of a plurality of wireless devices to provide predetermined base station functions to at least one other wireless device of the plurality of wireless devices in a communications network, the wireless device being configured to perform the predetermined base station functions, is provided. In one embodiment of this aspect, the network node includes a communications interface configured to receive, from at least one candidate wireless device, a notification that the at least one candidate wireless device is available to provide the predetermined base station functions. The network node also includes processing circuitry including a memory and a processor, the memory in communication with the processor, the memory having instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the processor to evaluate the at least one candidate wireless device. Based at least upon the evaluating of the at least one candidate wireless device, the network node is configured to approve at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device in the communications network.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, the predetermined base station functions performed by the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device include emulating a base station UL and a base station DL to support the at least one other wireless device such that base station UL and base station DL protocols used with respect to the at least one other wireless device are maintained. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the predetermined base station functions performed by the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device include establishing sidelinks to support the at least one other wireless device using sidelink protocols to maintain connectivity.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, providing the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device in the communication network emulates an S1 interface towards an edge router. According to another embodiment of this aspect, evaluating the at least one candidate wireless device includes considering at least one of signal strength and category of the at least one or more candidate wireless device. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the communications interface is further configured to transmit to the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device configuration parameters concerning operation of the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device when it performs the predetermined base station functions.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, the configuration parameters include at least one of a carrier frequency, an operational bandwidth for DL and UL operation, a new cell identity (Cell ID) for the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device, a neighbor cell list, a maximum allowed transmit power, and S1 interface parameters. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the communications interface is further configured to receive an acknowledgement from the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device, the acknowledgment indicating that the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device will provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, upon receipt of the acknowledgement, the communications interface is further configured to broadcast a presence of the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device to other network nodes in the communication network. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the communications interface is further configured to broadcast network node capability information to the plurality of wireless devices in the communication network. According to another embodiment of this aspect, the network node capability information includes at least one of supported frequency bands, supported interfaces, communication protocols, a maximum number of simultaneously supported network nodes, and quality of service (QoS) parameters.
According to another embodiment of this aspect, the processor is further configured to receive from a base station in the communications network identification parameters related to the approved at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device.
According to another aspect of this disclosure, a wireless device configured to serve as a base station to at least other wireless device in a communications network, the wireless device being configured to perform predetermined base station functions, is provided. In one embodiment of this aspect, the wireless device includes a base station function determination module configured to determine a condition triggering a need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device, and a communications interface module configured to notify a network node in the communications network that the wireless device is available to provide the predetermined base station functions and receive approval from the network node to provide the predetermined base station functions. The base station function determination module is further configured to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device in the communication network.
According to another aspect of this disclosure, a network node for enabling a wireless device of a plurality of wireless devices to provide predetermined base station functions to at least one other wireless device of the plurality of wireless devices in a communications network, the wireless device being configured to perform the predetermined base station functions, is provided. In one embodiment of this aspect, the network node includes a communications interface module configured to receive, from at least one candidate wireless device, a notification that the at least one candidate wireless device is available to provide the predetermined base station functions, and a candidate wireless device evaluation module configured to evaluate the at least one candidate wireless device. Based at least upon the evaluating of the at least one candidate wireless device, the network node is configured to approve at least one of the at least one candidate wireless device to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device in the communications network.
A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Before describing in detail exemplary embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to extending the coverage and quality of cellular services available to surrounding wireless devices in a communications network by selecting a particular wireless device to serve as a base station and perform preselected base station functions for the other wireless devices. By enhancing the capabilities of certain wireless devices in order to allow select wireless devices to perform preselected base station functions, the method and arrangements disclosed herein advantageously provide connectivity in order to maintain end-to-end services to wireless devices that may move outside the coverage of the regularly deployed base stations. This can be due to, for example, disaster or other situations leading to the damage or dysfunction of RAN equipment. Further, the methods and arrangements disclosed herein can advantageously enhance the capacity of the regularly deployed RAN without requiring costly infrastructure deployments or upgrades depending on the fluctuations of the load in terms of number of users and requested bit rates. Thus, an advantage of the methods and arrangements disclosed herein is the enhancement of cellular services in terms of basic core network connectivity and/or capacity without the deployment or upgrading of the cellular infrastructure.
Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. In addition, the terms “class” and “category” are used interchangeably herein as well as the terms “classifying” and “categorizing.”
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.
Referring now to drawing figures in which like reference designators refer to like elements there is shown in
Network 21 may be any wireless communication network including, for example, an LTE RAN. It will be understood, however, that the present disclosure is not limited to such embodiments and may be embodied generally in any type of wireless communication network according to one or more radio access technologies. Network 21 includes backhaul network 18 and one or more edge routers 22, which are part of CN 14. Backhaul network 18 is a link between CN 14 and edge routers 22. Note that in some embodiments, backhaul network 18 uses the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/internet Protocol (IP) protocol for communication between elements of network 21. Network 21 also includes one or more RAN nodes 16g-16j of RAN 12, each of which are in communication with one of Edge Router A and Edge router B of CN 14. For simplicity, only four RAN nodes 16g-16j are shown in
Wireless devices 17 are in communication with respective RAN nodes 16. It is understood that more or fewer than the wireless devices 17 depicted in
Further, while terminology from 3GPP LTE (or Evolved Universal Terrestrial Access Network (E-UTRAN)) is used in this disclosure to describe the embodiments, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementioned system. Other wireless systems, including Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Evolved Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA)-Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD), UTRA Time Division Duplexing (TDD), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Edge Radio Access Network (GERAN)/EDGE, may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.
As shown in
As used herein, BSWD 23 may be but is not limited to a UE. BSWD 23 is any type of device that is configured or configurable for communication through wireless communication but with added base station functionality as discussed herein. Examples of such base station wireless devices 23 are sensors, modems, smart phones, machine type (MTC) devices a.k.a. machine to machine (M2M) devices, Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), iPADs, Tablets, smart phones, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), Universal Serial Bus (USB) dongles, etc. BSWDs 23 may include D2D communication capability allowing BSWDs 23 to communicate directly with some or all of the other wireless devices 17 or other BSWDs 23, which have D2D communication capability.
As shown in
As illustrated in
Referring to
In step S402, ER 22 of backhaul network 18 broadcasts its capability information to other base stations 16 and wireless devices 17 in network 21. In some embodiments, the capability information contains details of the available wired (fixed) and wireless capabilities of the ER 22. Such broadcasted information can, contain information about, for example, the supported frequency bands, (e.g. 30 GHz, 60 GHz, etc.), supported interfaces (e.g. 3GPP S1 interface), wireless and IP related protocols (e.g. mobile IP), maximum number of simultaneously supported connected BSs (e.g., S1 capacity) and possibly other parameters related to quality of service (QoS), security and other aspects (e.g., processing capabilities).
If the candidate BSWD 23 becomes aware of the need for cellular service improvement or coverage extension (either by its own measurements and/or RAN 12/CN 14 signaling), the candidate BSWD 23 evaluates its own capabilities for improving the cellular service. High end handheld wireless devices 17 or provisionally deployed stationary wireless devices 17, for example, can, for example, be able to simultaneously maintaining a wireless S1 connection while emulating DL/UL, interfaces towards other wireless devices 17. If the candidate BSWD 23 determines that it is capable of providing base station services to other wireless devices 17 in network 21 and is within a predetermined distance of ER 22, at step S403, the candidate BSWD 23 signals its willingness and capabilities (e.g., maximum output power, number of antennas, supported frequency bands) to RAN node 16 (i.e., its serving base station) if RAN node 16 is available. Alternatively, such signaling can be sent to the wireless ER 22 based on the previously broadcasted ER capabilities. In yet another embodiment, the capability to act as a BSWD 23 may be communicated to network 21 as part of a regular capability transfer from BSWD 23, e.g., upon initial connection of BSWD 23 to network 21 before the corresponding capabilities of network 21 are known to BSWD 23.
Upon receiving such signaling from the candidate BSWD 23, ER 22 evaluates the candidate BSWD 23 that indicated their availability for cellular service improvement to ER 22. This evaluation may take into account the signaled wireless devices' capabilities or wireless device category as well as the received signal strength from the candidate BSWDs 23. The output of this evaluation is the set of BSWDs 23 that ER 22 and/or RAN 12 approves for cellular service enhancement.
If RAN node 16 is dysfunctional, ER 22, at step S404, signals to the candidate BSWD 23 indicating an approval of one or more of the candidate BSWDs 23 (i.e., “qualifying BSWD 23”) to act in the capacity of a base station. Included in the signaling is a set of default configuration parameters that concern the operation of the qualifying BSWD 23. Such parameters may include the operational bandwidth and/or carrier frequencies for DL and UL operation, the new cell identity (Cell ID) that the qualifying BSWD 23 should use, a neighbor cell list, a maximum allowed transmit power, as well as parameters of the S1 interface. In one embodiment, in step S405, after receiving this set of configuration parameters, the qualifying BSWD 23 sends an acknowledgement (ACK) to ER 22.
When ER 22 receives the ACK from the qualifying BSWD, ER 22 broadcasts, at step S406, the presence of the newly approved BS (implemented by one or more qualifying BSWDs 23) to surrounding RAN nodes 16 and ERs 22. Note that the present disclosure enables the use of a fixed (wired) interface between the RAN 12 and the CN 14. This can be the case, if, for example, the qualifying BSWD 23 is inserted into a fixed mounted socket in a small office or home environment to serve as a temporary base station or wireless access point. When the qualifying BSWD 23 receives the approval and the configuration parameters from the RAN 12 (in the case when the RAN nodes 16 are available) or from the CN ER 22, the qualifying BSWD 23 starts acting as a base station according to the configured parameters by transmitting DL signals to neighboring wireless devices 17, at step S407. The neighboring wireless devices 17 then can detect the presence of, and connect to the “new” base station, i.e., the qualifying BSWD 23 at step S408.
Thus, in one embodiment, RAN node 16 determines a condition triggering a need to provide predetermined base station functions to other wireless devices 17 in communications network 21. In other embodiments, one or more base station wireless devices 23 in communications network 21 determine the condition triggering the need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the other wireless devices 17. In another embodiment, RAN node 16 broadcasts a signal to the entire coverage area, the signal indicating that a high load has been detected. Similar to the scenario in
When the candidate BSWDs 23 within the set of wireless devices 17 receives such signaling information from RAN node 16, each candidate BSWD 23 starts an evaluation process that determines whether or not they are configured to provide and are willing to extend the cellular service. Such evaluation process can take into account the capabilities of the candidate BSWDs 23 as well as incentive-based parameters broadcasted or signaled by the candidate BSWDs 23. Such incentives can indicate, for example, free-of-charge cellular services for the candidate BSWD 23, or improved QoS for services requested by the candidate BSWDs 23. The candidate BSWDs 23 may also take into account their respective battery status or battery charging capabilities when evaluating their capability in participating in cellular service provisioning. For instance, a candidate BSWD 23 can become a BSWD (when necessary) if the candidate BSWD 23 is connected to a charger, and hence the power consumption may be less of an issue. At step S503, one or more of the candidate BSWDs 23 offer to assume predetermined base station functions. At step S504, RAN node 16 signals the candidate BSWDs 23 and selects one or more of the candidate BSWDs 23 to assume the role of a base station. At step S505, RAN node 16 sends wireless device identification information and associated configuration parameters for the selected. BSWDs 23 to ER 22. At step S506, ER 22 signals to the candidate BSWDs 23 indicating an approval of one or more of the candidate BSWDs 23 (i.e., “qualifying BSWDs”) to act in the capacity of a base station by providing predetermined base station functions.
Included in the signaling is a set of default configuration parameters that concern the operation of the qualifying BSWDs 23 as described above with respect to step S404 in
The above listing is part of the so-called master information block (MIB) and system information block (SIB) in LTE, for example. In one embodiment, these parameters are broadcasted or signaled by an LTE BS and therefore are also provided by the wireless device which is to become a BS (BSWD 23) as well. It should be noted that the configuration parameters listed above are merely exemplary and the present disclosure is not limited to only those configuration parameters listed above. Thus, the list above may include other system information (SI) parameters as well, i.e., such configuration parameters such as the ones contained in MIB/SIB known by one skilled in the art. These may include Physical (PHY), Media Access Control (MAC)/ Radio Link Control (RLC) and higher layer parameters, and parameters that include carrier frequency, i.e., where the frequency is parameterized as a channel number such as, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN) number. The set of parameters may also include scheduling parameters in order to share common resources (such as time/frequency physical resources) between BSWD 23 and the rest of RAN 12. This may be used to keep interference levels in RAN 12 on acceptable levels.
In one embodiment, in step S507, after receiving this set of configuration parameters, the qualifying BSWD 23 (or BSWDs 23) sends an acknowledgement (ACK) to ER 22, where the acknowledgement provides a notification to ER 22 or any other network nodes in communications network 21 that the BSWD 23 is available to provide the predetermined base station functions. When ER 22 receives the ACK from the qualifying BSWD 23, it broadcasts, at step S508, the presence of the newly approved BS (implemented by the qualifying BSWD 23) to surrounding RAN nodes 16 and ERs 22. When the qualifying BSWD 23 receives the approval and the configuration parameters from the RAN 12 (in the case when the RAN nodes 16 are available) or from the CN ER 22, the qualifying BSWD 23 starts acting as a base station according to the configured parameters by transmitting DL signals to neighboring wireless devices 17, at step S509. The neighboring wireless devices 17 then connect to the “new” base station, i.e., the qualifying BSWD 23, at step S510.
Memory 26 has instructions, including base station functionality code 32, that, when executed by processor 28, configure processor 28 to perform the functions described in this disclosure, including determining a condition triggering a need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device 17. Base station functionality code 32 may, in one embodiment, be (fully or partly) downloaded from a RAN node 16, i.e., the base station functionality of BSWD 23 is not necessarily fixed but can be dynamic based on current needs and/or updated behavior. BSWD 23 also includes communications interface 30, which is configured to notify a network node, such as edge router 22, in communications network 21 that BSWD 23 is available to provide the predetermined base station functions and also configured to receive approval from the network node 22 to provide the predetermined base station functions. Processor 28 is further configured to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device 17 in communication network 21.
Memory 34 has instructions, including candidate wireless device approval code 40, that, when executed by processor 36, configure processor 36 to perform the functions described in this disclosure, including evaluating at least one candidate BSWD 23, and based at least upon the evaluating of the at least one candidate BSWD 23, approving at least one of the at least one candidate BSWDs to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device 1′7 in communications network 21. Network node 25 also includes a communications interface 38 configured to receive, from at least one candidate BSWD 23, a notification that the at least one candidate BSWD 23 is available to provide the predetermined base station functions.
In another embodiment, determining the condition triggering the need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device 17 includes performing measurements to determine a quality of cellular coverage. In another embodiment, these measurements include at least one of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), end-to-end bit rates, packet error probability, and latency.
In another embodiment, the predetermined base station functions performed by BSWD 23 include emulating a base station uplink (UL) and a base station downlink (DL) to support the at least one other wireless device 17 such that base station UL and base station DL protocols used with respect to the at least one other wireless device 17 are maintained. In another embodiment, the predetermined base station functions performed by BSWD 23 include establishing sidelinks to support the at least one other wireless device 17 using sidelink protocols to maintain connectivity. In another embodiment, the network node 25 is an edge router 22 and wherein providing the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device 17 in communication network 21 includes emulating an S1 interface with the edge router 22.
In another embodiment, receiving approval from the network node 25 to provide the predetermined base station functions further includes receiving, by communications interface 30, configuration parameters from the network node 25, the configuration parameters concerning operation of the BSWD 23 when it performs the predetermined base station functions. In another embodiment, the configuration parameters include at least one of a carrier frequency, an operational bandwidth for DL and UL operation, a new cell identity (Cell ID) for BSWD 23, a neighbor cell list, a maximum allowed transmit power, and S1 interface parameters. In another embodiment, determining the condition triggering the need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device 17 includes detecting a loss of cellular coverage between BSWD 23 and a RAN node 16 (i.e., base station) serving BSWD 23.
In another embodiment, determining the condition triggering the need to provide, predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device 17 includes receiving a signal from the network node 25 indicating that an S1 interface between a RAN node 16 serving BSWD 23 and a radio access network (RAN) 12 has become impaired. In another embodiment, the method further includes sending, by communications interface 30, an acknowledgement to the network node 25, the acknowledgment indicating that BSWD 23 will provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device 17. In another embodiment, the network node 25 is a base station and wherein determining the condition triggering the need to provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device 17 is performed by the base station based upon detection of a predetermined load on the base station.
In another embodiment, the predetermined base station functions performed by the approved at least one of the at least one candidate BSWD 23 include emulating a base station uplink (UL) and a base station downlink (DL) to support the at least one other wireless device 17 such that base station UL and base station DL protocols used with respect to the at least one other wireless devices 17 are maintained. In another embodiment, the predetermined base station functions performed by the approved at least one of the at least one candidate BSWD 23 include establishing sidelinks to support the at least one other wireless device 17 using sidelink protocols to maintain connectivity. In another embodiment, providing the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device 17 in the communications network comprises emulating an S1 interface towards an edge router 22.
In another embodiment, evaluating the at least one candidate BSWD 23 includes considering at least one of signal strength and category of the at least one or more candidate BSWD 23. In another embodiment, the method further includes transmitting, by communications interface 38, to the approved at least one of the at least one candidate BSWD 23 configuration parameters concerning operation of the approved at least one of the at least one candidate BSWD 23 when it performs the predetermined base station functions. In another embodiment, the configuration parameters include at least one of a carrier frequency, an operational bandwidth for DL and UL, operation, a new cell identity (Cell ID) for the approved at least one of the at least one candidate BSWD 23, a neighbor cell list, a maximum allowed transmit power, and S1 interface parameters.
In another embodiment, the method further includes receiving, by communications interface 38, an acknowledgement from the approved at least one of the at least one candidate BSWD 23, the acknowledgment indicating that the approved at least one of the at least one candidate BSWD 23 will provide the predetermined base station functions to the at least one other wireless device 17. In another embodiment, upon receipt of the acknowledgement, communications interface 38 of network node 25 is further configured to broadcast a presence of the approved at least one of the at least one candidate BSWD 23 to other network nodes in the communication network 21. In another embodiment, the method further includes broadcasting, by communications interface 38 of network node 25, network node capability information to the plurality of wireless devices 17 in communication network 21. In another embodiment, the network node capability information includes at least one of supported frequency bands, supported interfaces, communication protocols, a maximum number of simultaneously supported network nodes, and quality of service (QoS) parameters. In another embodiment, the method further includes receiving, by communications interface 38 of network node 25, from a RAN node 16 such as a base station in communications network 21, identification parameters related to the approved at least one of the at least one candidate BSWD 23.
Although the disclosure describes implementing the process using a processor and a memory, embodiments are not limited to such. It is contemplated that embodiments performing the functions and calculations can be implemented using programmable gate arrays (PGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and the like. Further, although embodiments are described using a network node such as base station or edge router, it is contemplated that the process steps can be performed in other network entities and even distributed across multiple network entities. Also, although the embodiments described above refer to a BSWD 23 providing base station functions to other wireless devices 17, it is understood that a BSWD 23 can provide base station functions to other BSWDs 23 that may not themselves be serving as base stations for other wireless devices 23.
As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, and/or computer program product. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.
Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
It is to be understood that the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.
Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Java® or C++. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).
Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and/or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope of the following claims.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/SE2016/050812 | 8/30/2016 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2018/044212 | 3/8/2018 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6047178 | Frlan | Apr 2000 | A |
| 6415146 | Capece | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 20020058480 | Ikeda | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20030203716 | Takahashi | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20120087396 | Nimbalker | Apr 2012 | A1 |
| 20120315841 | Zhou | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20130343261 | Gonsa | Dec 2013 | A1 |
| 20140056124 | Yeow | Feb 2014 | A1 |
| 20140213244 | Oh | Jul 2014 | A1 |
| 20140254373 | Varma | Sep 2014 | A1 |
| 20150109910 | Hurd | Apr 2015 | A1 |
| 20150382159 | Kim | Dec 2015 | A1 |
| 20160262142 | Nagata | Sep 2016 | A1 |
| 20160302181 | Fujishiro | Oct 2016 | A1 |
| 20170026937 | Jung | Jan 2017 | A1 |
| 20170093541 | Pan | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20170244469 | Seo | Aug 2017 | A1 |
| 20170324608 | Ohta | Nov 2017 | A1 |
| 20170359766 | Agiwal | Dec 2017 | A1 |
| 20180014262 | Lee | Jan 2018 | A1 |
| 20180069618 | Loehr | Mar 2018 | A1 |
| 20180076877 | Liu | Mar 2018 | A1 |
| Entry |
|---|
| Unknown, Author, “Discussion on relay initiation and discovery”, 3GPP TSG RAN WG2 #91, R2-153765, Beijing, China, Aug. 24-28, 2015, 1-5. |
| Unknown, Author, “Discussions on L3-based UE-to-Network Relays communication procedure”, 3GPP TSG RAN WG2 Meeting #91, R1-153488, Beijing, China, Aug. 24-28, 2015, 1-8. |
| Unknown, Author, “Relay selection criteria for public safety discovery”, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 #91 bis, R2-154160, Malmo, Sweden, Oct. 5-9, 2015, 1-5. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180294864 A1 | Oct 2018 | US |
