Patent Application
20180132153
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to a method in which a UE performs a cell reselection procedure for load distribution, and an apparatus supporting the method.
3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) LTE (Long Term Evolution) that is an advancement of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) is being introduced with 3GPP release 8. In 3GPP LTE, OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access) is used for downlink, and SC-FDMA (single carrier-frequency division multiple access) is used for uplink. The 3GPP LTE adopts MIMO (multiple input multiple output) having maximum four antennas. Recently, a discussion of 3GPP LTE-A (LTE-Advanced) which is the evolution of the 3GPP LTE is in progress.
Cellular is concept proposed to overcome a restriction of a service region and a limitation of a frequency and subscriber capacity. This is a method of providing communication coverage by changing single high-power base station to a plurality of low-power base stations. That is, a mobile communication service region is divided in unit of several small cells so that different frequencies are assigned to adjacent cells, and two cells which are sufficiently spaced apart from each other and thus have no interference occurrence use the same frequency band to spatially reuse a frequency.
Meanwhile, there may be a particularly high communication demand in a specific region such as a hotspot inside a cell, and reception sensitivity of radio waves may deteriorate in a specific region such as a cell edge or a coverage hole. With the advance of a wireless communication technique, a small cell may be installed inside a macro cell for the purpose of enabling communication in the hotspot, the cell edge, and the coverage hole. A pico cell, a femto cell, a micro cell, or the like is a type of the small cell. The small cell may be located inside or outside the macro cell. In this case, the small cell may be located at a position where the macro cell does not reach, or may be located indoors or at the office. Such a network may be called a heterogeneous network (HetNet). In this case, the heterogeneous network does not have to use different radio access mechanisms. In a heterogeneous network environment, the macro cell is a relatively large coverage cell, and the small cell such as the femto cell and the pico cell is a small coverage cell. The macro cell and the small cell may serve to distribute the same traffic or transmit traffic of different QoS. In the heterogeneous network environment, coverage overlapping may occur between the plurality of macro cells and small cells.
Since a frequency having a highest priority is selected in the conventional cell reselection procedure for inter-frequency or inter-RAT frequency, an excessive load burden may occur on the frequency having the highest priority. In addition, the cell reselection procedure for probabilistically selecting a frequency to be reselected has a disadvantage in that a UE existing in a coverage range of a specific small cell cannot be concentrated on the small cell since the highest priority is applied to the selected frequency. Therefore, the present invention proposes a method which allows a UE existing inside the coverage of a specific small cell to perform cell reselection to the specific small cell, and allows a UE existing outside the coverage of the specific small cell to perform cell reselection to the remaining cells in a distributed manner, and an apparatus supporting the method.
According to an embodiment, a method in which a UE performs a cell reselection procedure in a wireless communication system is provided. The method may include: receiving a carrier spreading parameter and a redistribution priority from a network; selecting a frequency on the basis of a redistribution test; assigning the redistribution priority to the selected frequency; and performing the cell reselection procedure on the basis of the assigned redistribution priority. The carrier spreading parameter may be a variable for redistribution of the UE.
The method may further include receiving, by the UE, the priority from the network.
The redistribution priority may be lower than a priority of a small cell frequency.
The redistribution test may be performed on the basis of the carrier spreading parameter and an extracted random number. The carrier spreading parameter may be a probability value for selecting the frequency through the redistribution test. The extracted random number may be a value ranging from 0 to 1.
The redistribution priority may be received for each frequency. The redistribution priority may be set equally for each frequency. The redistribution priority may be set differently for each frequency.
The UE may be in an RRC_IDLE mode.
According to another embodiment, a UE for performing a cell reselection procedure in a wireless communication system is provided. The UE may include: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor operatively coupled to the memory and the transceiver. The processor may be configured for: controlling the transceiver to receive a carrier spreading parameter and a redistribution priority from a network; selecting a frequency on the basis of a redistribution test; assigning the redistribution priority to the selected frequency; and performing the cell reselection procedure on the basis of the assigned redistribution priority. The carrier spreading parameter may be a variable for redistribution of the UE. A load can be effectively distributed.
The technology described below can be used in various wireless communication systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), etc. The CDMA can be implemented with a radio technology such as universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) or CDMA-2000. The TDMA can be implemented with a radio technology such as global system for mobile communications (GSM)/general packet ratio service (GPRS)/enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE). The OFDMA can be implemented with a radio technology such as institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), etc. IEEE 802.16m is evolved from IEEE 802.16e, and provides backward compatibility with a system based on the IEEE 802.16e. The UTRA is a part of a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) is a part of an evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using the E-UTRA. The 3GPP LTE uses the OFDMA in a downlink and uses the SC-FDMA in an uplink. LTE-advanced (LTE-A) is an evolution of the LTE.
For clarity, the following description will focus on LTE-A. However, technical features of the present invention are not limited thereto.
Referring to
The E-UTRAN includes one or more evolved node-B (eNB) 20, and a plurality of UEs may be located in one cell. The eNB 20 provides an end point of a control plane and a user plane to the UE 10. The eNB 20 is generally a fixed station that communicates with the UE 10 and may be referred to as another terminology, such as a base station (BS), a base transceiver system (BTS), an access point, etc. One eNB 20 may be deployed per cell. There are one or more cells within the coverage of the eNB 20. A single cell is configured to have one of bandwidths selected from 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 MHz, etc., and provides downlink or uplink transmission services to several UEs. In this case, different cells can be configured to provide different bandwidths.
Hereinafter, a downlink (DL) denotes communication from the eNB 20 to the UE 10, and an uplink (UL) denotes communication from the UE 10 to the eNB 20. In the DL, a transmitter may be a part of the eNB 20, and a receiver may be a part of the UE 10. In the UL, the transmitter may be a part of the UE 10, and the receiver may be a part of the eNB 20.
The EPC includes a mobility management entity (MME) which is in charge of control plane functions, and a system architecture evolution (SAE) gateway (S-GW) which is in charge of user plane functions. The MME/S-GW 30 may be positioned at the end of the network and connected to an external network. The MME has UE access information or UE capability information, and such information may be primarily used in UE mobility management. The S-GW is a gateway of which an endpoint is an E-UTRAN. The MME/S-GW 30 provides an end point of a session and mobility management function for the UE 10. The EPC may further include a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PDN-GW). The PDN-GW is a gateway of which an endpoint is a PDN.
The MME provides various functions including non-access stratum (NAS) signaling to eNBs 20, NAS signaling security, access stratum (AS) security control, Inter core network (CN) node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks, idle mode UE reachability (including control and execution of paging retransmission), tracking area list management (for UE in idle and active mode), P-GW and S-GW selection, MME selection for handovers with MME change, serving GPRS support node (SGSN) selection for handovers to 2G or 3G 3GPP access networks, roaming, authentication, bearer management functions including dedicated bearer establishment, support for public warning system (PWS) (which includes earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) and commercial mobile alert system (CMAS)) message transmission. The S-GW host provides assorted functions including per-user based packet filtering (by e.g., deep packet inspection), lawful interception, UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation, transport level packet marking in the DL, UL and DL service level charging, gating and rate enforcement, DL rate enforcement based on APN-AMBR. For clarity MME/S-GW 30 will be referred to herein simply as a “gateway,” but it is understood that this entity includes both the MME and S-GW.
Interfaces for transmitting user traffic or control traffic may be used. The UE 10 and the eNB 20 are connected by means of a Uu interface. The eNBs 20 are interconnected by means of an X2 interface. Neighboring eNBs may have a meshed network structure that has the X2 interface. The eNBs 20 are connected to the EPC by means of an S1 interface. The eNBs 20 are connected to the MME by means of an S1-MME interface, and are connected to the S-GW by means of S1-U interface. The S1 interface supports a many-to-many relation between the eNB 20 and the MME/S-GW.
The eNB 20 may perform functions of selection for gateway 30, routing toward the gateway 30 during a radio resource control (RRC) activation, scheduling and transmitting of paging messages, scheduling and transmitting of broadcast channel (BCH) information, dynamic allocation of resources to the UEs 10 in both UL and DL, configuration and provisioning of eNB measurements, radio bearer control, radio admission control (RAC), and connection mobility control in LTE ACTIVE state. In the EPC, and as noted above, gateway 30 may perform functions of paging origination, LTE_IDLE state management, ciphering of the user plane, SAE bearer control, and ciphering and integrity protection of NAS signaling.
Layers of a radio interface protocol between the UE and the E-UTRAN may be classified into a first layer (L1), a second layer (L2), and a third layer (L3) based on the lower three layers of the open system interconnection (OSI) model that is well-known in the communication system. The radio interface protocol between the UE and the E-UTRAN may be horizontally divided into a physical layer, a data link layer, and a network layer, and may be vertically divided into a control plane (C-plane) which is a protocol stack for control signal transmission and a user plane (U-plane) which is a protocol stack for data information transmission. The layers of the radio interface protocol exist in pairs at the UE and the E-UTRAN, and are in charge of data transmission of the Uu interface.
A physical (PHY) layer belongs to the L1. The PHY layer provides a higher layer with an information transfer service through a physical channel. The PHY layer is connected to a medium access control (MAC) layer, which is a higher layer of the PHY layer, through a transport channel. A physical channel is mapped to the transport channel. Data is transferred between the MAC layer and the PHY layer through the transport channel. Between different PHY layers, i.e., a PHY layer of a transmitter and a PHY layer of a receiver, data is transferred through the physical channel using radio resources. The physical channel is modulated using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme, and utilizes time and frequency as a radio resource.
The PHY layer uses several physical control channels. A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reports to a UE about resource allocation of a paging channel (PCH) and a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information related to the DL-SCH. The PDCCH may carry a UL grant for reporting to the UE about resource allocation of UL transmission. A physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH) reports the number of OFDM symbols used for PDCCHs to the UE, and is transmitted in every subframe. A physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH) carries an HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)/non-acknowledgement (NACK) signal in response to UL transmission. A physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carries UL control information such as HARQ ACK/NACK for DL transmission, scheduling request, and CQI. A physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) carries a UL-uplink shared channel (SCH).
A physical channel consists of a plurality of subframes in time domain and a plurality of subcarriers in frequency domain. One subframe consists of a plurality of symbols in the time domain. One subframe consists of a plurality of resource blocks (RBs). One RB consists of a plurality of symbols and a plurality of subcarriers. In addition, each subframe may use specific subcarriers of specific symbols of a corresponding subframe for a PDCCH. For example, a first symbol of the subframe may be used for the PDCCH. The PDCCH carries dynamic allocated resources, such as a physical resource block (PRB) and modulation and coding scheme (MCS). A transmission time interval (TTI) which is a unit time for data transmission may be equal to a length of one subframe. The length of one subframe may be 1 ms.
The transport channel is classified into a common transport channel and a dedicated transport channel according to whether the channel is shared or not. A DL transport channel for transmitting data from the network to the UE includes a broadcast channel (BCH) for transmitting system information, a paging channel (PCH) for transmitting a paging message, a DL-SCH for transmitting user traffic or control signals, etc. The DL-SCH supports HARQ, dynamic link adaptation by varying the modulation, coding and transmit power, and both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation. The DL-SCH also may enable broadcast in the entire cell and the use of beamforming. The system information carries one or more system information blocks. All system information blocks may be transmitted with the same periodicity. Traffic or control signals of a multimedia broadcast/multicast service (MBMS) may be transmitted through the DL-SCH or a multicast channel (MCH).
A UL transport channel for transmitting data from the UE to the network includes a random access channel (RACH) for transmitting an initial control message, a UL-SCH for transmitting user traffic or control signals, etc. The UL-SCH supports HARQ and dynamic link adaptation by varying the transmit power and potentially modulation and coding. The UL-SCH also may enable the use of beamforming. The RACH is normally used for initial access to a cell.
A MAC layer belongs to the L2. The MAC layer provides services to a radio link control (RLC) layer, which is a higher layer of the MAC layer, via a logical channel. The MAC layer provides a function of mapping multiple logical channels to multiple transport channels. The MAC layer also provides a function of logical channel multiplexing by mapping multiple logical channels to a single transport channel. A MAC sublayer provides data transfer services on logical channels.
The logical channels are classified into control channels for transferring control plane information and traffic channels for transferring user plane information, according to a type of transmitted information. That is, a set of logical channel types is defined for different data transfer services offered by the MAC layer. The logical channels are located above the transport channel, and are mapped to the transport channels.
The control channels are used for transfer of control plane information only. The control channels provided by the MAC layer include a broadcast control channel (BCCH), a paging control channel (PCCH), a common control channel (CCCH), a multicast control channel (MCCH) and a dedicated control channel (DCCH). The BCCH is a downlink channel for broadcasting system control information. The PCCH is a downlink channel that transfers paging information and is used when the network does not know the location cell of a UE. The CCCH is used by UEs having no RRC connection with the network. The MCCH is a point-to-multipoint downlink channel used for transmitting MBMS control information from the network to a UE. The DCCH is a point-to-point bi-directional channel used by UEs having an RRC connection that transmits dedicated control information between a UE and the network.
Traffic channels are used for the transfer of user plane information only. The traffic channels provided by the MAC layer include a dedicated traffic channel (DTCH) and a multicast traffic channel (MTCH). The DTCH is a point-to-point channel, dedicated to one UE for the transfer of user information and can exist in both uplink and downlink. The MTCH is a point-to-multipoint downlink channel for transmitting traffic data from the network to the UE.
Uplink connections between logical channels and transport channels include the DCCH that can be mapped to the UL-SCH, the DTCH that can be mapped to the UL-SCH and the CCCH that can be mapped to the UL-SCH. Downlink connections between logical channels and transport channels include the BCCH that can be mapped to the BCH or DL-SCH, the PCCH that can be mapped to the PCH, the DCCH that can be mapped to the DL-SCH, and the DTCH that can be mapped to the DL-SCH, the MCCH that can be mapped to the MCH, and the MTCH that can be mapped to the MCH.
An RLC layer belongs to the L2. The RLC layer provides a function of adjusting a size of data, so as to be suitable for a lower layer to transmit the data, by concatenating and segmenting the data received from an upper layer in a radio section. In addition, to ensure a variety of quality of service (QoS) required by a radio bearer (RB), the RLC layer provides three operation modes, i.e., a transparent mode (TM), an unacknowledged mode (UM), and an acknowledged mode (AM). The AM RLC provides a retransmission function through an automatic repeat request (ARQ) for reliable data transmission. Meanwhile, a function of the RLC layer may be implemented with a functional block inside the MAC layer. In this case, the RLC layer may not exist.
A packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer belongs to the L2. The PDCP layer provides a function of header compression function that reduces unnecessary control information such that data being transmitted by employing IP packets, such as IPv4 or IPv6, can be efficiently transmitted over a radio interface that has a relatively small bandwidth. The header compression increases transmission efficiency in the radio section by transmitting only necessary information in a header of the data. In addition, the PDCP layer provides a function of security. The function of security includes ciphering which prevents inspection of third parties, and integrity protection which prevents data manipulation of third parties.
A radio resource control (RRC) layer belongs to the L3. The RLC layer is located at the lowest portion of the L3, and is only defined in the control plane. The RRC layer takes a role of controlling a radio resource between the UE and the network. For this, the UE and the network exchange an RRC message through the RRC layer. The RRC layer controls logical channels, transport channels, and physical channels in relation to the configuration, reconfiguration, and release of RBs. An RB is a logical path provided by the L1 and L2 for data delivery between the UE and the network. That is, the RB signifies a service provided the L2 for data transmission between the UE and E-UTRAN. The configuration of the RB implies a process for specifying a radio protocol layer and channel properties to provide a particular service and for determining respective detailed parameters and operations. The RB is classified into two types, i.e., a signaling RB (SRB) and a data RB (DRB). The SRB is used as a path for transmitting an RRC message in the control plane. The DRB is used as a path for transmitting user data in the user plane.
A Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer placed over the RRC layer performs functions, such as session management and mobility management.
Referring to
Referring to
Hereinafter, An RRC state of a UE and RRC connection procedure are described.
An RRC state indicates whether an RRC layer of the UE is logically connected to an RRC layer of the E-UTRAN. The RRC state may be divided into two different states such as an RRC connected state and an RRC idle state. When an RRC connection is established between the RRC layer of the UE and the RRC layer of the E-UTRAN, the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED, and otherwise the UE is in RRC_IDLE. Since the UE in RRC_CONNECTED has the RRC connection established with the E-UTRAN, the E-UTRAN may recognize the existence of the UE in RRC_CONNECTED and may effectively control the UE. Meanwhile, the UE in RRC_IDLE may not be recognized by the E-UTRAN, and a CN manages the UE in unit of a TA which is a larger area than a cell. That is, only the existence of the UE in RRC_IDLE is recognized in unit of a large area, and the UE must transition to RRC_CONNECTED to receive a typical mobile communication service such as voice or data communication.
RRC_IDLE state, the UE may receive broadcasts of system information and paging information while the UE specifies a discontinuous reception (DRX) configured by NAS, and the UE has been allocated an identification (ID) which uniquely identifies the UE in a tracking area and may perform public land mobile network (PLMN) selection and cell re-selection. Also, in RRC_IDLE state, no RRC context is stored in the eNB.
In RRC_CONNECTED state, the UE has an E-UTRAN RRC connection and a context in the E-UTRAN, such that transmitting and/or receiving data to/from the eNB becomes possible. Also, the UE can report channel quality information and feedback information to the eNB. In RRC_CONNECTED state, the E-UTRAN knows the cell to which the UE belongs. Therefore, the network can transmit and/or receive data to/from UE, the network can control mobility (handover and inter-radio access technologies (RAT) cell change order to GSM EDGE radio access network (GERAN) with network assisted cell change (NACC)) of the UE, and the network can perform cell measurements for a neighboring cell.
In RRC_IDLE state, the UE specifies the paging DRX cycle. Specifically, the UE monitors a paging signal at a specific paging occasion of every UE specific paging DRX cycle. The paging occasion is a time interval during which a paging signal is transmitted. The UE has its own paging occasion.
A paging message is transmitted over all cells belonging to the same tracking area. If the UE moves from one TA to another TA, the UE will send a tracking area update (TAU) message to the network to update its location.
When the user initially powers on the UE, the UE first searches for a proper cell and then remains in RRC_IDLE in the cell. When there is a need to establish an RRC connection, the UE which remains in RRC_IDLE establishes the RRC connection with the RRC of the E-UTRAN through an RRC connection procedure and then may transition to RRC_CONNECTED. The UE which remains in RRC_IDLE may need to establish the RRC connection with the E-UTRAN when uplink data transmission is necessary due to a user's call attempt or the like or when there is a need to transmit a response message upon receiving a paging message from the E-UTRAN.
To manage mobility of the UE in the NAS layer, two states are defined, i.e., an EPS mobility management-REGISTERED (EMM-REGISTERED) state and an EMM-DEREGISTERED state. These two states apply to the UE and the MME. Initially, the UE is in the EMM-DEREGISTERED state. To access a network, the UE performs a process of registering to the network through an initial attach procedure. If the attach procedure is successfully performed, the UE and the MME enter the EMM-REGISTERED state.
To manage a signaling connection between the UE and the EPC, two states are defined, i.e., an EPS connection management (ECM)-IDLE state and an ECM-CONNECTED state. These two states apply to the UE and the MME. When the UE in the ECM-IDLE state establishes an RRC connection with the E-UTRAN, the UE enters the ECM-CONNECTED state. When the MME in the ECM-IDLE state establishes an S1 connection with the E-UTRAN, the MME enters the ECM-CONNECTED state. When the UE is in the ECM-IDLE state, the E-UTRAN does not have context information of the UE. Therefore, the UE in the ECM-IDLE state performs a UE-based mobility related procedure such as cell selection or reselection without having to receive a command of the network. On the other hand, when the UE is in the ECM-CONNECTED state, mobility of the UE is managed by the command of the network. If a location of the UE in the ECM-IDLE state becomes different from a location known to the network, the UE reports the location of the UE to the network through a tracking area update procedure.
Referring to
The UE selects a cell that has the greatest value and that belongs to cells having measured BS and signal intensity or quality greater than a specific value (cell selection) (S420). In this case, the UE that is powered off performs cell selection, which may be called initial cell selection. A cell selection procedure is described later in detail. After the cell selection, the UE receives system information periodically by the BS. The specific value refers to a value that is defined in a system in order for the quality of a physical signal in data transmission/reception to be guaranteed. Accordingly, the specific value may differ depending on applied RAT.
If network registration is necessary, the UE performs a network registration procedure (S430). The UE registers its information (e.g., an IMSI) with the network in order to receive service (e.g., paging) from the network. The UE does not register it with a network whenever it selects a cell, but registers it with a network when information about the network (e.g., a Tracking Area Identity (TAI)) included in system information is different from information about the network that is known to the UE.
The UE performs cell reselection based on a service environment provided by the cell or the environment of the UE (S440). If the value of the intensity or quality of a signal measured based on a BS from which the UE is provided with service is lower than that measured based on a BS of a neighboring cell, the UE selects a cell that belongs to other cells and that provides better signal characteristics than the cell of the BS that is accessed by the UE. This process is called cell reselection differently from the initial cell selection of the No. 2 process. In this case, temporal restriction conditions are placed in order for a cell to be frequently reselected in response to a change of signal characteristic. A cell reselection procedure is described later in detail.
The UE sends an RRC connection request message that requests RRC connection to a network (S510). The network sends an RRC connection establishment message as a response to the RRC connection request (S520). After receiving the RRC connection establishment message, the UE enters RRC connected mode.
The UE sends an RRC connection establishment complete message used to check the successful completion of the RRC connection to the network (S530).
An RRC connection reconfiguration is used to modify RRC connection. This is used to establish/modify/release RBs, perform handover, and set up/modify/release measurements.
A network sends an RRC connection reconfiguration message for modifying RRC connection to UE (S610). As a response to the RRC connection reconfiguration message, the UE sends an RRC connection reconfiguration complete message used to check the successful completion of the RRC connection reconfiguration to the network (S620).
The following is a detailed description of a procedure of selecting a cell by a UE.
When power is turned-on or the UE is located in a cell, the UE performs procedures for receiving a service by selecting/reselecting a suitable quality cell.
A UE in an RRC idle state should prepare to receive a service through the cell by always selecting a suitable quality cell. For example, a UE where power is turned-on just before should select the suitable quality cell to be registered in a network. If the UE in an RRC connection state enters in an RRC idle state, the UE should selects a cell for stay in the RRC idle state. In this way, a procedure of selecting a cell satisfying a certain condition by the UE in order to be in a service idle state such as the RRC idle state refers to cell selection. Since the cell selection is performed in a state that a cell in the RRC idle state is not currently determined, it is important to select the cell as rapid as possible. Accordingly, if the cell provides a wireless signal quality of a predetermined level or greater, although the cell does not provide the best wireless signal quality, the cell may be selected during a cell selection procedure of the UE.
Hereinafter, a method and a procedure of selecting a cell by a UE in a 3GPP LTE is described.
A cell selection process is basically divided into two types.
The first is an initial cell selection process. In this process, UE does not have preliminary information about a wireless channel. Accordingly, the UE searches for all wireless channels in order to find out a proper cell. The UE searches for the strongest cell in each channel. Thereafter, if the UE has only to search for a suitable cell that satisfies a cell selection criterion, the UE selects the corresponding cell.
Next, the UE may select the cell using stored information or using information broadcasted by the cell. Accordingly, cell selection may be fast compared to an initial cell selection process. If the UE has only to search for a cell that satisfies the cell selection criterion, the UE selects the corresponding cell. If a suitable cell that satisfies the cell selection criterion is not retrieved though such a process, the UE performs an initial cell selection process.
After the UE selects a specific cell through the cell selection process, the intensity or quality of a signal between the UE and a BS may be changed due to a change in the mobility or wireless environment of the UE. Accordingly, if the quality of the selected cell is deteriorated, the UE may select another cell that provides better quality. If a cell is reselected as described above, the UE selects a cell that provides better signal quality than the currently selected cell. Such a process is called cell reselection. In general, a basic object of the cell reselection process is to select a cell that provides UE with the best quality from a viewpoint of the quality of a radio signal.
In addition to the viewpoint of the quality of a radio signal, a network may determine priority corresponding to each frequency, and may inform the UE of the determined priorities. The UE that has received the priorities preferentially takes into consideration the priorities in a cell reselection process compared to a radio signal quality criterion.
As described above, there is a method of selecting or reselecting a cell according to the signal characteristics of a wireless environment. In selecting a cell for reselection when a cell is reselected, the following cell reselection methods may be present according to the RAT and frequency characteristics of the cell.
The principle of a cell reselection process is as follows.
First, UE measures the quality of a serving cell and neighbor cells for cell reselection.
Second, cell reselection is performed based on a cell reselection criterion. The cell reselection criterion has the following characteristics in relation to the measurements of a serving cell and neighbor cells.
Intra-frequency cell reselection is basically based on ranking. Ranking is a task for defining a criterion value for evaluating cell reselection and numbering cells using criterion values according to the size of the criterion values. A cell having the best criterion is commonly called the best-ranked cell. The cell criterion value is based on the value of a corresponding cell measured by UE, and may be a value to which a frequency offset or cell offset has been applied, if necessary.
Inter-frequency cell reselection is based on frequency priority provided by a network. UE attempts to camp on a frequency having the highest frequency priority. A network may provide frequency priority that will be applied by UEs within a cell in common through broadcasting signaling, or may provide frequency-specific priority to each UE through UE-dedicated signaling. A cell reselection priority provided through broadcast signaling may refer to a common priority. A cell reselection priority for each UE set by a network may refer to a dedicated priority. If receiving the dedicated priority, the UE may receive a valid time associated with the dedicated priority together. If receiving the dedicated priority, the UE starts a validity timer set as the received valid time together therewith. While the valid timer is operated, the UE applies the dedicated priority in the RRC idle mode. If the valid timer is expired, the UE discards the dedicated priority and again applies the common priority.
For the inter-frequency cell reselection, a network may provide UE with a parameter (e.g., a frequency-specific offset) used in cell reselection for each frequency.
For the intra-frequency cell reselection or the inter-frequency cell reselection, a network may provide UE with a Neighboring Cell List (NCL) used in cell reselection. The NCL includes a cell-specific parameter (e.g., a cell-specific offset) used in cell reselection.
For the intra-frequency or inter-frequency cell reselection, a network may provide UE with a cell reselection black list used in cell reselection. The UE does not perform cell reselection on a cell included in the black list.
Ranking performed in a cell reselection evaluation process is described below.
A ranking criterion used to apply priority to a cell is defined as in Equation 1.
R
S
=Q
meas,s
+Q
hyst,
R
n
=Q
meas,n
−Q
offset [Equation 1]
In this case, Rs is the ranking criterion of a serving cell, Rn is the ranking criterion of a neighbor cell, Qmeas,s is the quality value of the serving cell measured by UE, Qmeas,n is the quality value of the neighbor cell measured by UE, Qhyst is the hysteresis value for ranking, and Qoffset is an offset between the two cells.
In Intra-frequency, if UE receives an offset “Qoffsets,n” between a serving cell and a neighbor cell, Qoffset=Qoffsets,n. If UE does not Qoffsets,n, Qoffset=0.
In Inter-frequency, if UE receives an offset “Qoffsets,n” for a corresponding cell, Qoffset=Qoffsets,n+Qfrequency. If UE does not receive “Qoffsets,n”, Qoffset=Qfrequency.
If the ranking criterion Rs of a serving cell and the ranking criterion Rn of a neighbor cell are changed in a similar state, ranking priority is frequency changed as a result of the change, and UE may alternately reselect the twos. Qhyst is a parameter that gives hysteresis to cell reselection so that UE is prevented from to alternately reselecting two cells.
UE measures RS of a serving cell and Rn of a neighbor cell according to the above equation, considers a cell having the greatest ranking criterion value to be the best-ranked cell, and reselects the cell. If a reselected cell is not a suitable cell, UE excludes a corresponding frequency or a corresponding cell from the subject of cell reselection.
Referring to
The UE performs a cell selection procedure for performing an RRC connection reconfiguration procedure (S720). The cell selection procedure of the RRC connection re-establishment procedure may be performed in the same manner as the cell selection procedure that is performed by the UE in the RRC idle state, although the UE maintains the RRC connection state.
After performing the cell selection procedure, the UE determines whether or not a corresponding cell is a suitable cell by checking the system information of the corresponding cell (S730). If the selected cell is determined to be a suitable E-UTRAN cell, the UE sends an RRC connection re-establishment request message to the corresponding cell (S740).
Meanwhile, if the selected cell is determined to be a cell that uses RAT different from that of the E-UTRAN through the cell selection procedure for performing the RRC connection re-establishment procedure, the UE stops the RRC connection re-establishment procedure and enters the RRC idle state (S750).
The UE may be implemented to finish checking whether the selected cell is a suitable cell through the cell selection procedure and the reception of the system information of the selected cell. To this end, the UE may drive a timer when the RRC connection re-establishment procedure is started. The timer may be stopped if it is determined that the UE has selected a suitable cell. If the timer expires, the UE may consider that the RRC connection re-establishment procedure has failed, and may enter the RRC idle state. Such a timer is hereinafter called an RLF timer. In LTE spec TS 36.331, a timer named “T311” may be used as an RLF timer. The UE may obtain the set value of the timer from the system information of the serving cell.
If an RRC connection re-establishment request message is received from the UE and the request is accepted, a cell sends an RRC connection re-establishment message to the UE.
The UE that has received the RRC connection re-establishment message from the cell reconfigures a PDCP sublayer and an RLC sublayer with an SRB1. Furthermore, the UE calculates various key values related to security setting, and reconfigures a PDCP sublayer responsible for security as the newly calculated security key values. Accordingly, the SRB 1 between the UE and the cell is open, and the UE and the cell may exchange RRC control messages. The UE completes the restart of the SRB1, and sends an RRC connection re-establishment complete message indicative of that the RRC connection re-establishment procedure has been completed to the cell (S760).
In contrast, if the RRC connection re-establishment request message is received from the UE and the request is not accepted, the cell sends an RRC connection re-establishment reject message to the UE.
If the RRC connection re-establishment procedure is successfully performed, the cell and the UE perform an RRC connection reconfiguration procedure. Accordingly, the UE recovers the state prior to the execution of the RRC connection re-establishment procedure, and the continuity of service is guaranteed to the upmost.
Referring to
Meanwhile, in addition to a method in which a UE performs cell reselection by considering a priority, there is a method in which the UE performs the cell reselection by probabilistically selecting a frequency having a highest priority. According to this method, the UE may generate a random number ranging from 0 to 1, and may consider a frequency having a value associated with the generated number as a cell having a highest priority. For this, a specific probability value may be set for each frequency.
In case of the aforementioned cell reselection method in which a priority is considered for an inter-frequency or inter-RAT frequency, the UE selects a frequency having a highest priority through absolute priority handling on a frequency basis. Therefore, the UE may intensively camp on a cell which uses one frequency, and thus it may be difficult for the UE in an RRC_IDLE mode to select a frequency in a distributed manner. In addition, in case of a method in which the UE in the RRC_IDLE mode probabilistically selects a frequency having a highest priority, since the UE applies the highest priority to the selected frequency, it may be difficult for all UEs in the RRC_IDLE mode to camp on a specific small cell when a network desires to allow all of the UEs in the RRC_IDLE mode and existing in a coverage range of the specific small cell to be concentrated on the specific small cell.
Therefore, the present invention proposes a method which allows a UE existing in a coverage range of a specific small cell to perform cell reselection to the specific small cell, and allows a UE existing outside the coverage of the specific small cell to perform cell reselection to the remaining cells in a distributed manner. Hereinafter, a method in which a UE performs cell reselection is described according to an embodiment of the present invention.
When receiving information regarding an inter-frequency or inter-RAT priority from a network, a UE receives information regarding a carrier spreading parameter and a redistribution priority. The carrier spreading parameter is a specific value assigned for each frequency with respect to frequencies for which a redistribution test is performed. For example, the specific value assigned for each frequency may be a probability value assigned for each frequency. The redistribution priority is a priority assigned to a frequency selected by the redistribution test. Therefore, the priority and the redistribution priority are different concept in the present invention.
Referring to
The network may transmit the set carrier spreading parameter and redistribution priority to the UE (S920). The carrier spreading parameter may be a probability value for selecting a specific frequency. The redistribution priority may be a priority to be applied to a frequency selected by a redistribution test.
The UE may perform the redistribution test, and may assign the redistribution priority to the frequency selected by the redistribution test (S930).
The redistribution test may be achieved by a carrier spreading mechanism. The UE may set a probability value for each frequency, and may extract one value by generating a random number uniformly distributed in the range of 0 to 1. Thereafter, the UE may determine a specific range in which the extracted random number belongs among the probability values for each frequency.
The UE may apply a new priority (i.e., a redistribution priority) to a frequency selected through the redistribution test, and may directly apply the existing priority to the remaining other frequencies. That is, when the UE performs cell reselection evaluation on the frequency selected through the redistribution test and the remaining other frequencies, a separately provided redistribution priority may be applied to the frequency selected through the redistribution test. The redistribution priority may be assigned as separate values related to the selected frequency.
Referring to
(1) UE 1: A UE 1 in an RRC_IDLE mode may receive information of Table 1 from a network to perform a redistribution test. If a random number extracted by the UE 1 is 0.31, since it belongs to a range designated by a second frequency (see
Referring to Table 2, it can be seen that a priority of a second frequency is changed from 4 to 6. The second frequency is selected by the redistribution test, and a priority of the second frequency is 6. However, since a third frequency has a highest priority, the UE 1 may select the third frequency and perform the conventional cell reselection procedure to camp on the third frequency.
(2) UE 2: A UE 2 in an RRC_IDLE mode may receive information of Table 1 from a network to perform a redistribution test. If a random number extracted by the UE 2 is 0.82, since it belongs to a range designated by a fifth frequency (see
Referring to Table 3, it can be seen that a priority of a fifth frequency is changed from 1 to 6. The fifth frequency is selected by the redistribution test, and a priority of the fifth frequency is 6. However, since a third frequency has a highest priority, the UE 2 may select the third frequency and perform the conventional cell reselection procedure to camp on the third frequency.
(3) UE 3: A UE 3 in an RRC_IDLE mode may receive information of Table 1 from a network to perform a redistribution test. If a random number extracted by the UE 3 is 0.07, since it belongs to a range designated by a first frequency (see
Referring to Table 4, it can be seen that a priority of a first frequency is changed from 5 to 6. The first frequency is selected by the redistribution test, and a priority of the first frequency is 6. However, since the UE 3 is located in a place where a third frequency having a highest priority cannot be received, the conventional cell reselection procedure may be performed to camp on with the first frequency.
(4) UE 4: A UE 4 in an RRC_IDLE mode may receive information of Table 1 from a network to perform a redistribution test. If a random number extracted by the UE 4 is 0.75, since it belongs to a range designated by a fifth frequency (see
Referring to Table 5, it can be seen that a priority of a fifth frequency is changed from 1 to 6. The fifth frequency is selected by the redistribution test, and a priority of the fifth frequency is 6. However, since the UE 4 is located in a place where a third frequency having a highest priority cannot be received, the conventional cell reselection procedure may be performed to camp on with the fifth frequency.
(5) UE 5: A UE 5 in an RRC_IDLE mode may receive information of Table 1 from a network to perform a redistribution test. If a random number extracted by the UE 5 is 0.45, since it belongs to a range designated by a second frequency (see
Referring to Table 6, it can be seen that a priority of a second frequency is changed from 4 to 6. The second frequency is selected by the redistribution test, and a priority of the second frequency is 6. However, since the UE 5 is located in a place where a third frequency having a highest priority cannot be received, the conventional cell reselection procedure may be performed to camp on with the second frequency.
(6) UE 6: A UE 6 in an RRC_IDLE mode may receive information of Table 1 from a network to perform a redistribution test. If a random number extracted by the UE 6 is 0.6, since it belongs to a range designated by a second frequency (see
Referring to Table 7, it can be seen that a priority of a fourth frequency is changed from 2 to 6. The forth frequency is selected by the redistribution test, and a priority of the fourth frequency is 6. However, since the UE 6 is located in a place where a third frequency having a highest priority cannot be received, the conventional cell reselection procedure may be performed to camp on with the fourth frequency.
(7) As a result of redistribution priority assignment and cell reselection through the redistribution test, all UEs in the IDLE mode (i.e., the UE 1 and the UE 2) which can camp on a small cell which uses the third frequency, and the remaining UEs (i.e., the UE 3 to the UE 6) which cannot camp on the small cell may camp on with frequencies selected by the redistribution test in a distributed manner by considering a load. That is, a UE existing in a coverage range of a specific small cell may be allowed to perform cell reselection to the specific small cell, and UEs existing outside the coverage of the specific small cell may be allowed to perform cell reselection to the remaining cells in a distributed manner.
The UE may receive a carrier spreading parameter and a redistribution priority from a network (S1310). The redistribution priority may be received for each frequency. The redistribution priority may be set to the same value for each frequency. Alternatively, the redistribution priority may be set differently for each frequency. The carrier spreading parameter may be a variable for redistribution of the UE.
The UE may select a frequency on the basis of the redistribution test (S1320). The redistribution test may be performed on the basis of the carrier spreading parameter and an extracted random number. The carrier spreading parameter may be a probability value for selecting the frequency through the redistribution test. The extracted random number may be a value ranging from 0 to 1. Specifically, if the extracted random number belongs to a frequency range indicated by the carrier spreading parameter, the UE may select a frequency corresponding to the frequency range.
The UE may assign the redistribution priority to the selected frequency (S1330). The redistribution priority may be lower than a priority of a small cell frequency.
The UE may perform the cell reselection procedure on the basis of the assigned redistribution priority (S1340).
The UE may further receive the priority from the network. The UE may be in an RRC_IDLE mode.
A BS 1400 includes a processor 1401, a memory 1402 and a transceiver 1403. The memory 1402 is connected to the processor 1401, and stores various information for driving the processor 1401. The transceiver 1403 is connected to the processor 1401, and transmits and/or receives radio signals. The processor 1401 implements proposed functions, processes and/or methods. In the above embodiment, an operation of the base station may be implemented by the processor 1401.
A UE 1410 includes a processor 1411, a memory 1412 and a transceiver 1413. The memory 1412 is connected to the processor 1411, and stores various information for driving the processor 1411. The transceiver 1413 is connected to the processor 1411, and transmits and/or receives radio signals. The processor 1411 implements proposed functions, processes and/or methods. In the above embodiment, an operation of the UE may be implemented by the processor 1411.
The processor may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a separate chipset, a logic circuit, and/or a data processing unit. The memory may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a memory card, a storage medium, and/or other equivalent storage devices. The transceiver may include a base-band circuit for processing a wireless signal. When the embodiment is implemented in software, the aforementioned methods can be implemented with a module (i.e., process, function, etc.) for performing the aforementioned functions. The module may be stored in the memory and may be performed by the processor. The memory may be located inside or outside the processor, and may be coupled to the processor by using various well-known means.
Various methods based on the present specification have been described by referring to drawings and reference numerals given in the drawings on the basis of the aforementioned examples. Although each method describes multiple steps or blocks in a specific order for convenience of explanation, the invention disclosed in the claims is not limited to the order of the steps or blocks, and each step or block can be implemented in a different order, or can be performed simultaneously with other steps or blocks. In addition, those ordinarily skilled in the art can know that the invention is not limited to each of the steps or blocks, and at least one different step can be added or deleted without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
The aforementioned embodiment includes various examples. It should be noted that those ordinarily skilled in the art know that all possible combinations of examples cannot be explained, and also know that various combinations can be derived from the technique of the present specification. Therefore, the protection scope of the invention should be determined by combining various examples described in the detailed explanation, without departing from the scope of the following claims.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2016/002008 | 2/29/2016 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62144986 | Apr 2015 | US |
