Patent Grant
11653279
The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus related to handover procedures in wireless communication systems.
Introduction
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.
These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with Internet of Things (IoT)), and other requirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), and ultra reliable low latency communications (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR may be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. There exists a need for further improvements in 5G NR technology. These improvements may also be applicable to other multi-access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.
The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE). The apparatus transmits, to a source base station, a capability of the UE associated with a bandwidth class or a band combination, the capability being associated with a handover in which the UE maintains connections with the source base station and a target base station. The apparatus receives a handover message from a source base station serving the UE to handover from the source base station to a target base station, wherein the handover message comprises at least one of a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE. The apparatus establishes a connection with the target base station and maintains a connection with the source base station over a period of time during the handover. The apparatus communicates with the source base station and the target base station during handover execution using at least one of the target base station configuration or the source base station configuration.
In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided for wireless communication at a source base station. The apparatus receives, from a UE, a capability of the UE associated with a bandwidth class or a band combination, the capability being associated with a handover in which the UE maintains connections with the source base station and a target base station. The apparatus transmits a handover message the UE to handover from the source base station to a target base station, wherein the handover message comprises at least one of a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE. The apparatus maintains a connection with the UE over a period of time during the handover and communicates with the UE during the handover execution using at least the source base station configuration.
In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided for wireless communication at a target base station. The apparatus receives, from a source base station a capability of the UE associated with a bandwidth class or a band combination, the capability being associated with a handover in which the UE maintains connections with the source base station and a target base station. The apparatus transmits, to the source base station, a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE. The apparatus communicates with the UE during the handover execution using at least the target base station configuration.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.
DL channels within a 5G/NR subframe, a second 5G/NR frame, and UL channels within a 5G/NR subframe, respectively.
The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.
Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.
By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented as a “processing system” that includes one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionality described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system may execute software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.
Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of the aforementioned types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.
The base stations 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with the EPC 160 through backhaul links 132 (e.g., 51 interface, N2, N3, or other interface). The base stations 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with core network 190 through backhaul links 184. In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform one or more of the following functions: transfer of user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC 160 or core network 190) with each other over backhaul links 134 (e.g., X2 interface, Xn interface). The backhaul links 134 may be wired or wireless.
The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, the small cell 102′ may have a coverage area 110′ that overlaps the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell and macrocells may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include Home Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) (HeNBs), which may provide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG). The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102 to a UE 104. The communication links 120 may use multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communication links may be through one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communication links. The base stations 102/UEs 104 may use spectrum up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, etc. MHz) bandwidth per carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of Yx MHz (x component carriers) used for transmission in each direction. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL than for UL). The component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. A primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and a secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell). Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers.
In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates operations for other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an evolved universal mobile telecommunication system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN)) and may be positioned according to a channel raster for discovery by UEs 104. A carrier may be operated in a standalone mode where initial acquisition and connection may be conducted by UEs 104 via the carrier, or the carrier may be operated in a non-standalone mode where a connection is anchored using a different carrier (e.g., of the same or a different radio access technology).
The wireless communications system may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 102 may have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations 102 may be approximately aligned in time. For example, the base stations may have a timing differences that is less than a timing offset limit, e.g., a maximum timing difference allowed by CA. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 102 may have different frame timings so that the frame timings are not aligned in time. Asynchronous timing may be completely variable or may be based on an upper limit for asynchronous operation. Base stations that are associated with the same timing advance group (TAG) may have timing that is aligned so that the base stations share the same timing. Aspects described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations.
Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use the DL/UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communications systems, such as for example, FlashLinQ, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.
The wireless communications system may further include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 in communication with Wi-Fi stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in a 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum. When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the STAs 152/AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel is available.
The small cell 102′ may operate in a licensed and/or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell 102′ may employ NR and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102′, employing NR in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage to and/or increase capacity of the access network.
A base station 102, whether a small cell 102′ or a large cell (e.g., macro base station), may include an eNB, gNodeB (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations, such as gNB 180 may operate in a traditional sub 6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, and/or near mmW frequencies in communication with the UE 104. When the gNB 180 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, the gNB 180 may be referred to as an mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in the band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW/near mmW radio frequency band (e.g., 3 GHz-300 GHz) has extremely high path loss and a short range. The mmW base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range.
The base station 180 may transmit a beamformed signal to the UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182′. The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signal from the base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182″. The UE 104 may also transmit a beamformed signal to the base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. The base station 180 may receive the beamformed signal from the UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 180/UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of the base station 180/UE 104. The transmit and receive directions for the base station 180 may or may not be the same. The transmit and receive directions for the UE 104 may or may not be the same.
The EPC 160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a Serving Gateway 166, a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) Gateway 168, a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC) 170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. The MME 162 may be in communication with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is the control node that processes the signaling between the UEs 104 and the EPC 160. Generally, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferred through the Serving Gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN Gateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to the IP Services 176. The IP Services 176 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS Streaming Service, and/or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functions for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmission, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS Bearer Services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to the base stations 102 belonging to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a particular service, and may be responsible for session management (start/stop) and for collecting eMBMS related charging information.
The core network 190 may include a Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a Session Management Function (SMF) 194, and a User Plane Function (UPF) 195. The AMF 192 may be in communication with a Unified Data Management (UDM) 196. The AMF 192 is the control node that processes the signaling between the UEs 104 and the core network 190. Generally, the AMF 192 provides QoS flow and session management. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferred through the UPF 195. The UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The UPF 195 is connected to the IP Services 197. The IP Services 197 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS Streaming Service, and/or other IP services.
The base station may also be referred to as a gNB, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a transmit reception point (TRP), or some other suitable terminology. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC 160 or core network 190 for a UE 104. Examples of UEs 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor/actuator, a display, or any other similar functioning device. Some of the UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meter, gas pump, toaster, vehicles, heart monitor, etc.). The UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.
A UE 104 may communicate with a base station 102 (which may be referred to as a source base station) as part of an active connection on a selected serving cell. In some implementations, however, a UE may experience degraded signal quality or reduced signal power due to signaling interference or mobility within the wireless communication system. Based on the variation in signal quality or signal power, the UE may be handed over from the source base station 102 to a different base station 102 (referred to as a target base station) within the wireless communication system. Prior to handover the UE may transmit a UE capability which may include band information, such as a list of bands and band combinations that the UE may be capable of supporting during various handover procedures, for example, during enhanced make before break (eMBB) handover.
In some cases during capability signaling, the UE may transmit a capability message. After transmitting the capability indication to the source base station, the UE may receive a radio resource control (RRC) connection configuration or reconfiguration request from the source base station. In some cases, the RRC connection configuration may indicate a measurement configuration to the UE. The UE may initiate periodic measurement of the active communication on the serving cell, and may transmit an RRC measurement report based on the RRC configuration or reconfiguration request and measurement configuration.
Based on the identified UE capability and measurement reporting, the source base station may determine a source base station configuration for the UE to apply during handover execution and may transmit a handover command to initiate a handover procedure to a target base station. In response, the target base station may transmit a target base station configuration to the source base station, which may include a target base station configuration to be used during handover of the UE and/or optionally a target base station configuration to be used after successful handover of the UE. After receiving the target base station configuration, the source base station may transmit an RRC reconfiguration request to the UE which may include the target and source base station configurations for the UE to apply during handover execution. In some examples, the UE may maintain connections with both the source and target base stations using the received configurations. The UE may transmit a message to the target base station indicating the successful completion of the handover procedure. In some cases, the UE may end or release a connection with source base station after establishing a connection with the target base station. After successful handover to the target base station, the UE may release the source connection based on a timer or based on an RRC message received from the target base station for releasing the source base station connection. After releasing the connection with the source base station, the UE may change its configuration to the full target base station configuration.
Referring again to
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The transmit (TX) processor 316 and the receive (RX) processor 370 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/or frequency domain, and then combined together using an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 374 may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signal and/or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.
At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 350, they may be combined by the RX processor 356 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor 356 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 310. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by the channel estimator 358. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted by the base station 310 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the controller/processor 359, which implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.
The controller/processor 359 can be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 359 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller/processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.
Similar to the functionality described in connection with the DL transmission by the base station 310, the controller/processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.
Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 358 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used by the TX processor 368 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antenna 352 via separate transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.
The UL transmission is processed at the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 370.
The controller/processor 375 can be associated with a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 375 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 350. IP packets from the controller/processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller/processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.
At least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller/processor 359 may be configured to perform aspects in connection with UE capability component 198 of
At least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller/processor 375 may be configured to perform aspects in connection with the handover component 191 or 199 of
As a UE moves relative to a base station, the UE may be better served by a different base station. Thus, a handover may be performed from a source base station that currently serves the UE to the other base station, e.g., a target base station. Aspects presented herein improve or enhance handover procedures in wireless communication systems. Aspects presented herein may improve the reliability of handover procedures, reduce a failure rate of handover procedures, reduce instances of ping pongs within handover procedures, and/or improve latency for handover procedures. Aspects may help to bring the handover interruption latency close to a 0 ms goal. A reduction in interruption latency may be beneficial for real time gaming applications and other ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) applications.
In order to meet the aforementioned handover performance requirements, a dual active stack based make-before-break (MBB) or enhanced MBB (eMBB) handover can be utilized. In case of enhanced MBB handover, when the source base station sends handover command including eMBB handover indication (RRC Connection Reconfiguration Message with Mobility Control Info) to the UE, then the UE will continue to maintain an active connection with the source base station using a protocol stack associated with the source base station. The UE may configure another protocol stack with the target base station configuration and perform handover to the target base station. During handover execution period, the UE may use different RF chains for having simultaneous data downlink and uplink communication with both source and target base stations.
At phase 2, the UE and the source base station may begin a configuration phase of the handover. The UE may identify a target base station, e.g., based at least in part on a measurement of the source base station and/or the target base station, e.g., an offset between a signal power or signal quality. The UE may provide a measurement report to the source base station identifying the target base station. The source base station may establish a backhaul interface, e.g., an X2 interface 410, Nx interface, etc., with the target base station 408 (e.g., with an L2 layer of the target base station). The backhaul interface may be used to exchange configuration information, timing information, and/or uplink or downlink data associated with the handover of the UE from the source base station to the target base station. The UE 402 may generate or configure a second protocol stack, e.g., a target protocol stack associated with the target base station. By using the source protocol stack and the target protocol stack during the handover, the UE can continue active communication with the source base station using the source protocol stack while the handover is configured with the target base station using the target protocol stack, thereby reducing a delay or latency associated with the handover.
The target protocol stack of the UE may perform synchronization and/or handover preparation with regard to the target base station. For example, the target protocol stack may synchronize based on synchronization signals sent by the target base station. The target protocol stack may be associated with a different communication chain than the communication chain(s) associated with the source protocol stack. Additionally, or alternatively, the source protocol stack and the target protocol stack may be associated with one or more shared communication chains. The example in
As illustrated at phase 3, the UE, the source base station, and the target BS may enter the handover phase. The target base station 408 may have a connection with the S-GW 406. The target base station may configure the connection with the S-GW based on a handover request from the source base station. The target base station's connection with the S-GW may be later used for a data path for the UE.
The target protocol stack at the UE and the target base station may establish a connection (e.g., an uplink bearer and/or a downlink bearer). The target protocol stack at the UE may initiate the connection with the target base station 408 before the connection with the source base station 404 is released, thereby reducing interruption associated with the handover.
The UE may use a form of carrier aggregation to simultaneously connect with the source base station 404 and the target base station 408. For example, a UE supporting 5 component carriers may redirect one or more component carriers from the source base station to the target base station while using one or more remaining component carriers to connect with the source base station. The UE may use MIMO to simultaneously connect with the source base station and the target base station. For example, a UE that supports multiple transmit antennas in a given band may use one of the transmit antennas for the source base station and another of the transmit antennas for the target base station during the handover. An intra-frequency handover may involve a source base station and a target base station that are associated with a same frequency. An inter-frequency handover may refer to a handover in which the source base station and the target base station are associated with different frequencies.
During phase 3, the source base station may continue to provide downlink data as the connection with the target base station is being set up. For example, the source base station may schedule downlink data until the source base station receives an indication from the target base station, until a timer expires, or until a buffer (e.g., a radio link control buffer) of the source base station is cleared (e.g., is emptied). Then, the connection with the source base station may be ended. Additionally, or alternatively, the source base station may provide downlink data to the target base station for transmission to the UE via the connection with the target protocol stack. In this way, interruption of traffic associated with the handover may be reduced, for reduced latency and improved reliability of data transfer during handover. The source base station and the target base station may provide redundant downlink data to the UE, in order to reduce a likelihood of unsuccessful decoding of the data.
In phase 4, the UE, the source base station, and the target base station may enter a completion phase of the handover. The target base station 408 may have a connection with the S-GW 406. For example, S-GW 406 may switch a data path of the UE from the source base station to the target base station (e.g., based on a notification from the target base station that RRC reconfiguration complete message from UE is successfully received). In phase 4, the source base station has released the connection with the source protocol stack of the UE, and the uplink/downlink bearer between the target base station and the UE may be used as a primary data path to the UE.
The UE may send a measurement report to the source base station. The source base station may then implement an X2 handover signaling. The handover procedure may be a dual active protocol stack-based eMBB handover, such as described in connection with
In some cases, simultaneous transmission at UE may support various RF band combinations, or have a RF transmission chain capability. Additionally, the simultaneous transmission may be based on whether transmissions are intra frequency (e.g., intra-frequency handover associated with the same frequency band on different cells), or inter-frequency (e.g., inter-frequency handover associated with different frequency bands on different cells). In some cases, the UE may signal an indication of its capability (e.g., a UE capability message or indicator) to support simultaneous transmission and reception of data from both the source base station and the target base station during the eMBB handover procedure. Such UE capability signaling may in some aspects allow for dual connectivity between both base stations during a handover procedure, and may reduce the amount of time the UE is not connected to a base station during handover. In some examples, the handover may be referred to as a dual active protocol stack (DAPS) handover. This exchange of UE capability information for such a handover may improve user experience and reduce undesirable loss of data which may occur during handover processes.
These transmissions may be based on additional parameters, such as whether the transmissions occur intra-band (e.g., via contiguous component carriers within the same operating frequency band), inter-band (e.g., component carriers associated with different operating frequency bands), or whether they are in phase (sync) or out of phase (async) with an associated relay path. In addition, UE may be configured with a number of RF chains for transmission and reception of signals during a handover procedure. For example, a UE may be configured with one or more of dual Rx/dual transmission (Tx), dual reception (Rx)/single Tx, and single Rx/single Tx RF chains. In certain scenarios (e.g., single Tx, Dual Tx Intra freq async, Dual Tx inter freq-intra band async etc.), if the UE does not support simultaneous transmission to both source and target eNB, the network may provide a TDM pattern for the UE. In some cases, the UE may use the TDM transmission pattern to communicate with the target and source base station in respective time periods, instead of conducting simultaneous transmission with the source and target base stations.
In some handover procedures, the UE may maintain a single PDCP capable of handling dual security keys, dual ROHC for downlink data reception, single ROHC for single uplink data transmission, common re-ordering, duplicate detection and discard function, in sequence delivery to upper layers, PDCP sequence number (SN) allocation, PDCP re-transmission during handover, and so on. The UE may operate according to a stack-based configuration, e.g., as described in connection with
The handover signaling may include an exchange of information about a subframe pattern with the target base station. Thus, information about an uplink TDM/TDD based transmission sharing subframe pattern may be exchanged between the source base station and the target base station as part of a handover preparation phase, e.g., via an X2 interface. The source base station may then transmit a RRC connection reconfiguration message to the UE. The RRC connection reconfiguration message may include information about the subframe pattern. Thus, information about the uplink TDM/TDD pattern may be communicated to the UE or may be preconfigured to the UE, e.g., when a UE enters a cell through a handover procedure, at the time of RRC connection setup, etc. In some aspects, packet data may be exchanged between the UE and the source base station, as well as between the source base station and a S-GW. The UE may connect to the target base station through a handover RACH procedure. The UE can then transmit an RRC connection reconfiguration complete message to the target base station. Packet data can then be exchanged between the UE and the target base station. The UE can maintain connections to both the source and target base stations and may transmit to both base stations over a period of time during the handover procedure, e.g., using a TDM pattern. For example, the UE may operate during a handover execution phase using a single uplink transmission mode based on a network configured uplink TDM/TDD pattern. In some aspects, the UE can maintain connections to the source and target base stations from the time the UE receives the RRC connection reconfiguration message until the UE releases the connection with the source base station. Once the UE releases the connection with the source base station, the UE may communicate with the target base station without communicating with the source base station. Thus, the uplink TDM/TDD pattern may be released upon a successful release of the source base station using an RRC release indication or based on another timer.
Various types of UEs may perform a handover in which communication is maintained with a source base station during a handover procedure to a target base station, such as described in connection with
In some cases, handover processes such as those occurring between wireless devices depicted in
In some cases, a UE may indicate at least one capability to the source base station via communication link with the source base station, and the capability may be used in determining and/or performing the handover for the UE.
LTE Dual Connectivity (DC) may support inter-band synchronous DC and inter-band asynchronous DC operation. Intra-band Inter Frequency synchronous and asynchronous operation is supported. Intra band, intra frequency DC is not supported. Inter-band contiguous (all CCs in a given band are contiguous) synchronous DC may support all combinations (i.e. any one band component carriers (CC) can belong to either MCG or SCG) of MCG/SCG among bands and the CCs in one band may belong to a single group so that SCG and MCG cells are not within the same band. Inter-band and intra-band non-contiguous asynchronous operation may include signaling the combinations of MCG/SCG that are supported, in which each CC in a band belongs to one group.
Aspects presented herein enable UE capability signaling that help to enable eMBB handover for any of intra-frequency handover in which a source and target CC share frequency, inter frequency-intra band, inter frequency-inter band for both synchronous and asynchronous handover and/or handovers in which the source and target are for different TAG.
In some cases, the capabilities of the UE 602 may be shared or split between the source and target base stations during the handover procedure. The target and source base stations may further in some cases coordinate sharing or splitting of UE capabilities using the techniques described herein. For a UE capable of dual active protocol stack based handover, in order to support simultaneous transmission and reception of data during handover, UE capability may be shared between both source and target base stations to maintain connectivity with each of the source and target base stations. The following discusses signaling enhancements about how to split UE capability between source and target base stations during a handover execution period and how source and target eNBs coordinate UE capability sharing.
At 603, the UE 602 may transmit, and the source base station 604 may receive, a UE capability, which may be for example, a UE capability information. In some cases, the source base station 604 may transmit a capability inquiry to the UE 602, and the UE 602 may reply with, for example, capability signaling that includes a capability supported by UE 602. If a UE does not indicate a particular capability, the base station may assume that the UE does not support the capability.
The UE capability information may include UE capability signaling for intra-frequency versus inter-frequency handover. Intra-frequency may correspond to frequencies having the same EARFCN or same set of EARFCNs, frequencies having a same bandwidth or set of bandwidths, and/or frequencies having a same numerology (e.g., for NR based communication).
Intra-frequency may indicate that the UE does not need to reconfigure its RF in order to begin receiving communication from the target base station 606.
From UE implementation perspective, an inter-frequency handover may be more complicated than an intra-frequency handover. Thus, the UE may indicate to a serving base station (that will function as a source base station in a handover) whether the UE supports inter-frequency intra-band handover. For example, the UE may indicate whether the UE is capable for at least one of an inter-frequency handover, an intra-band and inter-frequency handover, and/or an inter-band handover. The UE may also indicate a capability for an intra-frequency handover.
As another example, the UE may indicate to the base station a number of supported CCs for an intra-band handover. For example, the UE may indicate a total number of CCs that are supported for intra-band handover using a CA bandwidth class. The bandwidth class may indicate, e.g., a maximum number of CCs supported by the UE and/or a maximum bandwidth supported by the UE. As an example, for bandwidth class C, the UE may support 2 CCs and less than 40 MHz. The CC may be overlapped or not overlapped.
As another example, the UE may indicate whether the UE supports synchronous handover or asynchronous handover. For example, the UE may indicate support for at least one of synchronous handover for synchronous source cell and target cell and/or asynchronous handover for an asynchronous source cell and target cell. For example, the UE may indicate support for asynchronous handover per band combination and per band of band combination. The UE may similarly indicate support for synchronous handover per band combination and per band of band combination.
As another example, the UE capability may indicate whether or not a TDM pattern is needed for communication with the source base station and the target base station during the handover procedure. For example, a structure similar to sounding reference signal (SRS) switching can be employed to indicate for which bands of uplink communication (e.g., for the source/target) the UE is capable of switching to another band with uplink communication (e.g., for the other of the source/target). The UE may indicate a switching time to switch between the band for the source and the band for the target. For intra-frequency handovers, uplink CCs of the source and target base stations may overlap and may lead to multi-cluster PUSCH is an RB allocation in the uplink is non-contiguous between the source base station and the target base station. Thus, support for intra-frequency handovers may indicate a need for a TDM pattern for uplink communication during the handover.
With regard to TAGs, if the band combination comprised of more than one band entry (i.e., inter-band or intra-band non-contiguous band combination), a capability field may indicate that the same or different timing advances on different band entries are supported. If the band combination comprised of one band entry (i.e., intra-band contiguous band combination), the field indicates that the same or different timing advances across component carriers of the band entry are supported. Such an indication may limit an indication of support for different TAGs within a band for inter-band CA. However, a UE may indication a capability for inter-band CA with shared bands (e.g., with a TAG for the source base station and a TAG for the target base station being different). For example, the UE may indicate support for multiple TAGs within the same band that is shared between two nodes or between two base stations for inter-band handover. In an example, Band 1, Band 2, and Band 3 may be supported by the UE with Band 1 and Band 2 belonging to different TAGs. In this example, the UE may signal a capability to support TAG1 and TAG2 in the same Band 3 (e.g., when Band 3 is shared between two nodes or between the source base station and the target base station).
As an example, a first option for signaling the UE capabilities to the source base station (or for signaling the UE's capabilities from the source base station to the target base station) may allow for intra-band and inter-band handover. In some aspects, the option may not enable mixed band inter-band handover and may not solve the challenges with multiple TAGs for intra-band handover. An example signaling structure may include for a band combination:
Signaling may be provided for each band combination supported by the UE. In the cell grouping, a value 0 indicates that the carriers of the corresponding band entry are mapped to a first cell group, while value 1 indicates that the carriers of the corresponding band entry are mapped to a second cell group.
The other band combination capabilities may be used to downgrade or limit the UE capabilities when determining a target base cell/target base station for handover. Band of BC capabilities indicates that particular capabilities are indicated for each of the N bands of the band combination. Limitations of capabilities on certain bands of the band combination may be used as a limit when determining a target base cell/target base station for handover.
A second option for signaling the UE capabilities to the source base station (or for signaling the UE's capabilities from the source base station to the target base station) may allow for band sharing, e.g., intra-band and inter-band handover. The cell grouping may be extended from 0/1 to 0/1/2. In the cell grouping, a value 0 indicates that the carriers of the corresponding band entry are mapped to a first cell group, while value 1 indicates that the carriers of the corresponding band entry are mapped to a second cell group, a value of 2 indicates that the band may belong to both cells for handover. For example, band sharing may be feasible for some but not all of the cell groups. An example signaling structure may include for a band combination (BC):
The difference in the second option is the indication of the support for inter-frequency handover for downlink (e.g., if the band may be shared) and intra-frequency handover for uplink (e.g., if the band may be shared). A cell grouping of “2” indicates that the band can be shared between a source and a target cell.
In another option, Band of BC parameters may be added to signal that a given band combination (e.g., regardless of cell grouping) can be shared. An example signaling structure may include for a band combination:
In another example, support may be indicated for multiple timing advance groups
(TAGs), e.g., for intra-band and/or inter-band handover. An example signaling structure may include for a band combination:
For example, a multiple TAG field may indicate whether the UE supports multiple timing advances for each band combination indicated as being supported. If the band combination is comprised of more than one band entry (i.e., inter-band or intra-band non-contiguous band combination), the field may indicate that the same or different timing advances on different band entries are supported. If the band combination is comprised of one band entry (i.e., intra-band contiguous band combination), the field may indicate that the same or different timing advances across component carriers of the band entry are supported.
In another option, the UE capabilities may be signaled using aspects from any combination of the examples provided herein. An example signaling structure may include for a band combination:
In this example, a switching time may be indicated, e.g., the time for the UE to switch from one band or CC for the source/target base station to a different band/CC for the other of the source/target base station. The switching time may indicate a need for a TDM pattern for communication with the source and target base stations, e.g., to enable the UE to switch from one band to the other in order to communicate with both base stations during the handover procedure. If a band sharing capability is indicated, the cell grouping indications may be ignored.
The support for inter-frequency handover for downlink may be based on the band may be shared, and intra-frequency handover for uplink may be based on the band may be shared). The capability for band sharing in this option is indicated for Band of BC, e.g., rather than relying on the bitmap of 0/1/2 for cell grouping in the previous example. The cell grouping for this example may indicate cell grouping using 0/1. However, the indication may be ignored if the bands are shared.
At 605, UE 602 may communicate with source base station 604 over the established communication link, and source base station may configure UE measurement configuration through RRC Connection Reconfiguration procedure. The UE 602 and the source base station 604 may communicate bi-directionally via the communication link and utilize one or more frequency carriers for control and data transmission. In some implementations, the UE 602 may initiate periodic measurement of the active communication on the serving cell, as well as identified signaling corresponding to one or more alternative base stations (e.g., base station 606) providing communication coverage for one or more neighboring cells. In some cases, the UE 602 may measure reference signals from the source base station 604 and the target base station 606, along with other neighboring base stations on the supported one or more band combinations. In such cases, the source base station 604 may use information from the measured reference signals to identify the target base station 606, and may further use the information to determine whether the UE may be handed over to the target base station 606.
At 607, the UE 602 may transmit, and the source base station 604 may receive, an RRC measurement report based on the RRC reconfiguration request and measurement configuration. At some time, the UE 602 may experience degraded signal quality or power due to interference within a serving cell, or mobility at the UE 602 may increase signaling attenuation over a communication link particularly when operating at a boundary of a serving cell. The variation in signal quality or signal power may correspond to a measurement event and prompt the UE 602 to transmit measurement reporting to the source base station 604.
At 609, the source base station 604 may determine a new source base station configuration for the UE 602 based on the identified UE capability. The source base station configuration may in some cases be based on the current source base station configuration for the UE 602. The source base station 604 may determine the new source base station configuration based on which one or more band combinations are supported by the UE 602, and how one or more bands or band combinations may be allocated/split between the source base station 604 and the target base station 606. In some cases, the dual connectivity is maintained between each of the source base station 604 and the target base station 606 and the UE 602 during handover execution, and is maintained after handover execution until the communication with the source base station 604 is released. A handover that includes dual connectivity that is maintained between the source base station and the target base station during the handover may be referred to as a dual active protocol stack (DAPS) handover, for example.
At 611, based on the measurement report, the source base station 604 may identify one or more neighboring base stations and may transmit a handover request to a target base station 606. The handover request may include the received UE capability message, and the new source base station configuration for UE 602, dual active stack handover, asynchronous parameters, TDM pattern(s), power splitting, or the like.
At 613, the target base station 606 may receive the handover request and may determine a first target base station configuration for the UE 602 to apply during handover execution. In addition, in cases where the source base station 604 is released from communicating with the UE 602 after handover, the target base station 606 may determine a second target base station configuration for the UE 602 to apply after release of a connection with source base station 604. In some cases, the first and second target base station configurations may be based on the source base station configuration and the indicated UE capability (e.g., support for intra-frequency handover, inter-frequency intra-band handover, or intra-band handover, a number of supported CCs, whether asynchronous handover is supported for each band combination, whether a TDM pattern is needed or requested, support for multiple TAGs in a band, etc.).
At 615, the target base station 606 may transmit to the source base station 604 a response to the handover request (e.g., a handover request acknowledgement (ACK) or some other HARQ feedback response). In addition, the target base station 606 may transmit the first target base station configuration for the UE 602 to apply during handover execution. In some cases, a second target base station configuration may be transmitted that contains configuration information to be used in examples where the source base station 604 is released from communications at the UE 602. The target base station configuration may further include other information, such as a TDM pattern. The TDM pattern may indicate respective time periods in which the source and target base stations respectively transmits with the UE 602 for dual connectivity.
At 617, the source base station 604 may transmit an RRC reconfiguration request to the UE 602 to initiate handover of the UE 602 from the source base station 604 to the target base station 606. In some cases, the RRC reconfiguration request may include mobility control information. Such information may include the target base station configuration to apply during handover execution, the source base station configuration during handover execution to apply during handover execution. In addition, the RRC reconfiguration request may include the target base station configuration for cases where the source base station 604 is released from communication with the UE 602 after handover execution. The RRC reconfiguration request may also include other information, such as TDM pattern(s), asynchronous operation information, power splitting parameters, and so on.
At 619, the UE 602 may maintain a connection with the source base station 604, and may similarly maintain a connection with the target base station 606 (e.g., using the received configurations), after receiving the resource configuration request at 617. In addition, active data transfer (e.g., uplink and downlink data transfer from the UE 602 and the source base station 604 and target base station 606) may take place using a source cell stack associated with the source base station 604. In some examples, the UE 602 may maintain the source base station connection using the source base station configuration received in the resource configuration request and DL/UL data transfer is active using the source cell stack.
At 621, the UE 602 may transmit to the target base station 606, a message which indicates the completion of the handover procedure. In some cases, the message may be a RRC connection reconfiguration complete message.
At 623, the UE 602 may in some cases end or release a connection with source base station 604. In some examples, the UE 602 may receive an RRC message from the target base station 606 containing information to release the connection with the source base station 604. In some cases, the RRC message may include the target base station configuration based on a UE capability (e.g., full UE capability). In addition, the RRC message may contain information to release established TDM applied during dual connectivity. In some examples, the UE 602 may receive a MAC control element (CE) from the target base station 606 indicating to release the connection with the source base station 604. After releasing the connection with the source base station 604, the UE may change its configuration to the full target base station configuration, and may release use the TDM pattern applied during dual connectivity. In some examples the release of the connection at the source base station 604 after handover may be timer-based (e.g., timer based source base station release).
At 1002, the UE transmits, to a source base station, a capability of the UE, as described in connection with, for example,
At 1004, the UE receives a handover message from a source base station serving the UE to handover from the source base station to a target base station, as described in connection with, for example,
At 1006, the UE establishes a connection with the target base station, as described in connection with, for example,
At 1008, the UE maintains a connection with the source base station over a period of time during the handover, as described in connection with, for example,
At 1010, the UE communicates with the source base station and the target base station during handover execution using at least one of a target base station configuration or a source base station configuration, as described in connection with, for example,
The apparatus includes the reception component 1104 configured to receive communications from a source base station 1151 and/or a target base station 1152.
The apparatus includes the transmission component 1106 configured to transmit communications to the source base station 1151 and/or the target base station 1152.
The apparatus includes the capability component 1110 configured to transmit, to the source base station 1151, a capability of the UE, e.g., as described in connection with 1002 of
The apparatus includes the handover message component 1120 configured to receive a handover message from the source base station 1151 to the target base station 1152, e.g., as described in connection with 1002 of
The apparatus includes the connection establishing component 1130 configured to establish a connection with the target base station 1152, e.g., as described in connection with 1002 of
The apparatus includes the connection component 1140 configured to maintain a connection with the source base station 1151 over a period of time during the handover, e.g., as described in connection with 1002 of
The apparatus includes the communication component 1150 configured to communicate with the source base station 1151 and the target base station 1152 during handover execution using at least one of the target base station configuration or the source base station configuration, e.g., as described in connection with 1002 of
The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowcharts of
The processing system 1214 may be coupled to a transceiver 1210. The transceiver 1210 is coupled to one or more antennas 1220. The transceiver 1210 provides a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1210 receives a signal from the one or more antennas 1220, extracts information from the received signal, and provides the extracted information to the processing system 1214, specifically the reception component 1104. In addition, the transceiver 1210 receives information from the processing system 1214, specifically the transmission component 1106, and based on the received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas 1220. The processing system 1214 includes a processor 1204 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1206. The processor 1204 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory 1206. The software, when executed by the processor 1204, causes the processing system 1214 to perform the various functions described supra for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 1206 may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor 1204 when executing software. The processing system 1214 further includes at least one of the components 1104, 1106, 1110, 1120, 1130, 1140, 1150. The components may be software components running in the processor 1204, resident/stored in the computer readable medium/memory 1206, one or more hardware components coupled to the processor 1204, or some combination thereof. The processing system 1214 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include the memory 360 and/or at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller/processor 359. Alternatively, the processing system 1214 may be the entire UE (e.g., see the UE 350 of
In one configuration, the apparatus 1102/1102′ for wireless communication includes means for transmitting, to a source base station, a capability of the UE. The apparatus may include means for receiving a handover message from a source base station serving the UE to handover from the source base station to a target base station. In some examples, the handover message may include at least one of a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE. The apparatus may include means for establishing a connection with the target base station. The apparatus may include means for maintaining a connection with the source base station over a period of time during the handover. The apparatus may include means for communicating with the source base station and the target base station during handover execution using at least one of the target base station configuration or the source base station configuration. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus 1102 and/or the processing system 1214 of the apparatus 1102′ configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described supra, the processing system 1214 may include the TX Processor 368, the RX Processor 356, and the controller/processor 359. As such, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX Processor 368, the RX Processor 356, and the controller/processor 359 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.
At 1302, the source base station receives, from a UE, a capability of the UE, as described in connection with, for example
At 1304, the source base station transmits a handover message to the UE to handover from the source base station to a target base station as described in connection with, for example,
At 1306, the source base station maintains a connection with the UE over a period of time during the handover, as described in connection with, for example,
At 1308, the source base station communicates with the UE during the handover execution using at least the source base station configuration as described in connection with, for example,
The apparatus includes the reception component 1404 configured to receive communications from a UE 1450 and/or a target base station 1452.
The apparatus includes the transmission component 1406 configured to transmit communications to the UE 1450 and/or the target base station 1452.
The apparatus includes the capability component 1410 configured to receive, from the UE 1450, a capability of the UE, e.g., as described in connection with 1302 of
The apparatus includes the handover message component 1420 configured to transmit a handover message to the UE 1450 to handover from the source base station to the target base station 1452. In some examples, the handover message may include at least one of a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE, e.g., as described in connection with 1304 of
The apparatus may include the connection component 1430 configured to maintain a connection with the UE 1450 over a period of time during the handover, e.g., as described in connection with 1306 of
The apparatus may include the communication component 1440 configured to communicate with the UE 1450 during the handover execution using at least the source base station configuration, e.g., as described in connection with 1308 of
The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowcharts of
The processing system 1514 may be coupled to a transceiver 1510. The transceiver 1510 is coupled to one or more antennas 1520. The transceiver 1510 provides a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1510 receives a signal from the one or more antennas 1520, extracts information from the received signal, and provides the extracted information to the processing system 1514, specifically the reception component 1404. In addition, the transceiver 1510 receives information from the processing system 1514, specifically the transmission component 1406, and based on the received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas 1520. The processing system 1514 includes a processor 1504 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1506. The processor 1504 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory 1506. The software, when executed by the processor 1504, causes the processing system 1514 to perform the various functions described supra for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 1506 may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor 1504 when executing software. The processing system 1514 further includes at least one of the components 1404, 1406, 1410, 1420, 1430, 1440. The components may be software components running in the processor 1504, resident/stored in the computer readable medium/memory 1506, one or more hardware components coupled to the processor 1504, or some combination thereof. The processing system 1514 may be a component of the base station 310 and may include the memory 376 and/or at least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller/processor 375. Alternatively, the processing system 1514 may be the entire base station (e.g., see the base station 310 of
In one configuration, the apparatus 1402/1402′ for wireless communication includes means for receiving, from a UE, a capability of the UE. The apparatus may include means for transmitting a handover message to the UE to handover from the source base station to a target base station, wherein the handover message comprises at least one of a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE. The apparatus may include means for maintaining a connection with the UE over a period of time during the handover. The apparatus may include means for communicating with the UE during the handover execution using at least the source base station configuration. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus 1402 and/or the processing system 1514 of the apparatus 1402′ configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described supra, the processing system 1514 may include the TX Processor 316, the RX Processor 370, and the controller/processor 375. As such, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX Processor 316, the RX Processor 370, and the controller/processor 375 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.
At 1602, the target base station receives, from a source base station, a capability of a UE, as described in connection with, for example
At 1604, the target base station transmits, to the source base station, a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE, as described in connection with, for example
At 1606, the target base station communicates with the UE during the handover execution using at least the target base station configuration, as described in connection with, for example,
The apparatus includes the reception component 1704 configured to receive communications from a UE 1750 and/or a source base station 1752.
The apparatus includes the transmission component 1706 configured to transmit communications to the UE 1750 and/or the source base station 1752.
The apparatus includes the capability component 1710 configured to receive, from the source base station 1752, a capability of the UE 1750, e.g., as described in connection with 1602 of
The apparatus includes the target base station configuration component 1720 configured to transmit, to the source base station 1752, a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE, e.g., as described in connection with 1604 of
The apparatus includes the communication component 1730 configured to communicate with the UE 1750 during the handover execution using at least the target base station configuration, e.g., as described in connection with 1606 of
The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowcharts of
The processing system 1814 may be coupled to a transceiver 1810. The transceiver 1810 is coupled to one or more antennas 1820. The transceiver 1810 provides a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1810 receives a signal from the one or more antennas 1820, extracts information from the received signal, and provides the extracted information to the processing system 1814, specifically the reception component 1704. In addition, the transceiver 1810 receives information from the processing system 1814, specifically the transmission component 1706, and based on the received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas 1820. The processing system 1814 includes a processor 1804 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1806. The processor 1804 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory 1806. The software, when executed by the processor 1804, causes the processing system 1814 to perform the various functions described supra for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 1806 may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor 1804 when executing software. The processing system 1814 further includes at least one of the components 1704, 1706, 1710, 1720, 1730. The components may be software components running in the processor 1804, resident/stored in the computer readable medium/memory 1806, one or more hardware components coupled to the processor 1804, or some combination thereof. The processing system 1814 may be a component of the base station 310 and may include the memory 376 and/or at least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller/processor 375. Alternatively, the processing system 1814 may be the entire base station (e.g., see the base station 310 of
In one configuration, the apparatus 1702/1702′ for wireless communication includes means for receiving, from a source base station, a capability of a UE. The apparatus may include means for transmitting, to the source base station, a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE. The apparatus may include means for communicating with the UE during the handover execution using at least the target base station configuration. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus 1702 and/or the processing system 1814 of the apparatus 1702′ configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described supra, the processing system 1814 may include the TX Processor 316, the RX Processor 370, and the controller/processor 375. As such, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX Processor 316, the RX Processor 370, and the controller/processor 375 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.
It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of example approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may be rearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.
The following examples are illustrative only and aspects of the following examples may be combined with aspects of other embodiments or teachings described herein, without limitation.
Example 1 is a method of wireless communications by a UE, comprising: transmitting, to a source base station, a capability of the UE associated with a bandwidth class or a band combination, the capability being associated with a handover in which the UE maintains connections with the source base station and a target base station; receiving a handover message from a source base station serving the UE to handover from the source base station to a target base station, wherein the handover message comprises at least one of a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE; establishing a connection with the target base station; maintaining a connection with the source base station over a period of time during the handover; and communicating with the source base station and the target base station during handover execution using at least one of the target base station configuration or the source base station configuration.
In Example 2, the method of Example 1 further includes that the capability of the UE that is transmitted to the source base station comprises a UE capability for at least one of an inter-frequency handover, an intra-band and inter-frequency handover, and an inter-band handover, and wherein the capability is associated with the band combination. In Example 3, the method of any of Example 1 or Example 2 further includes that the capability of the UE that is transmitted to the source base station comprises a UE capability for an intra-frequency handover in which the UE maintains connections with the source base station and a target base station, and wherein the capability is associated with the bandwidth class. In Example 4, the method of any of Example 1 to Example 3 further includes that the capability of the UE that is transmitted to the source base station comprises a number of supported CCs for an intra-band handover. In Example 5, the method of any of Example 1 to Example 4 further includes that the capability is indicated based on a CA bandwidth class. In Example 6, the method of any of Example 1 to Example 5 further includes that the capability comprises at least one of a maximum number of CCs that are supported by the UE for the intra-band handover or a maximum bandwidth supported by the UE for the intra-band handover. In Example 7, the method of any of Example 1 to Example 6 further includes that the number of CCs includes overlapped CCs for intra-frequency handover. In Example 8, the method of any of Example 1 to Example 7 further includes that supported UL component carriers are indicated by a first bandwidth class, and supported DL component carriers are indicated by a second bandwidth class. In Example 9, the method of any of Example 1 to Example 8 further includes that the capability of the UE that is transmitted to the source base station comprises at least one of support for synchronous handover for a synchronous source cell and target cell or asynchronous handover for an asynchronous source cell and target cell, wherein the capability is indicated per band combination. In Example 10, the method of any of Example 1 to Example 9 further includes that the capability of the UE that is transmitted to the source base station comprises an indication of whether the UE supports at least one of the asynchronous handover per band combination and per band of band combination. In Example 11, the method of any of Example 1 to Example 10 further includes that the capability of the UE that is transmitted to the source base station comprises an indication of whether the UE supports at least one of the synchronous handover per band combination and per band of band combination. In Example 12, the method of any of Example 1 to Example 11 further includes that the capability of the UE that is transmitted to the source base station comprises a need for a TDM pattern. In Example 13, the method of any of Example 1 to Example 12 further includes the capability that is transmitted to the source base station comprises support for multiple TAGs within a band that is shared by the source base station and the target base station.
Example 14 is a system or apparatus including means for implementing a method or realizing an apparatus as in any of Examples 1 to 13. Example 15 is a device including one or more processors and one or more memories in electronic communication with the one or more processors storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause a system or an apparatus to implement a method as in any of Examples 1 to 13. Example 16 is a computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to implement a method as in any of Examples 1 to 13.
Example 17 is a method for wireless communications by a source base station, comprising: receiving, from a UE, a capability of the UE associated with a bandwidth class or a band combination, the capability being associated with a handover in which the UE maintains connections with the source base station and a target base station; transmitting a handover message to the UE to handover from the source base station to a target base station, wherein the handover message comprises at least one of a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE; maintaining a connection with the UE over a period of time during the handover; and communicating with the UE during the handover execution using at least the source base station configuration.
In Example 18, the method of Example 17 further includes that the capability that is received from the UE comprises a UE capability for at least one of an inter-frequency handover, an intra-band and inter-frequency handover, and an inter-band handover, and wherein the capability is associated with the band combination. In Example 19, the method of any of Example 17 or Example 18 further includes that the capability that is received from the UE comprises a UE capability for an intra-frequency handover in which the UE maintains connections with the source base station and a target base station, and wherein the capability is associated with the bandwidth class. In Example 20, the method of any of Example 17 to Example 19 further includes that the capability that is received from the UE comprises a number of supported CCs for an intra-band handover. In Example 21, the method of any of Example 17 to Example 20 further includes that the capability is indicated based on a CA bandwidth class. In Example 22, the method of any of Example 17 to Example 21 further includes that the capability comprises at least one of a maximum number of CCs that are supported by the UE for the intra-band handover or a maximum bandwidth supported by the UE for the intra-band handover. In Example 23, the method of any of Example 17 to Example 22 further includes that the number of CCs includes overlapped CCs for intra-frequency handover. In Example 24, the method of any of Example 17 to Example 23 further includes that supported uplink CCs are indicated by a first bandwidth class, and supported downlink CCs are indicated by a second bandwidth class. In Example 25, the method of any of Example 17 to Example 24 further includes that the capability that is received from the UE comprises at least one of support for synchronous handover for a synchronous source cell and target cell or asynchronous handover for an asynchronous source cell and target cell, wherein the capability is indicated per band combination. In Example 26, the method of any of Example 17 to Example 25 further includes that the capability that is received from the UE comprises an indication of whether the UE supports at least one of the asynchronous handover per band combination and per band of band combination. In Example 27, the method of any of Example 17 to Example 26 further includes that the capability of the UE that is transmitted to the source base station comprises an indication of whether the UE supports at least one of the synchronous handover per band combination and per band of band combination. In Example 28, the method of any of Example 17 to Example 27 further includes that the capability of the UE that is received from the UE comprises a need for a TDM pattern. In Example 29, the method of any of Example 17 to Example 28 further includes that the capability that is received from the UE comprises support for multiple TAGs within a band that is shared by the source base station and the target base station. Example 30 is a system or apparatus including means for implementing a method or realizing an apparatus as in any of Examples 17 to 29. Example 31 is a device including one or more processors and one or more memories in electronic communication with the one or more processors storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause a system or an apparatus to implement a method as in any of Examples 17 to 29. Example 32 is a computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to implement a method as in any of Examples 17 to 29.
Example 33 is a method for wireless communications by a target base station, comprising: receiving, from a source base station, a capability of a UE associated with a bandwidth class or a band combination, the capability being associated with a handover in which the UE maintains connections with the source base station and a target base station; transmitting, to the source base station, a target base station configuration to apply during handover execution or a source base station configuration to apply during handover execution based on the capability of the UE; and communicating with the UE during the handover execution using at least the target base station configuration.
In Example 34, the method of Example 33 further includes that the capability that is received from the source base station comprises a UE capability for at least one of an inter-frequency handover, an intra-band and inter-frequency handover, and an inter-band handover, and wherein the capability is associated with the band combination. In Example 35, the method of Example 33 or Example 34 further includes that the capability that is received from the source base station comprises a UE capability for an intra-frequency handover in which the UE maintains connections with the source base station and a target base station, and wherein the capability is associated with the bandwidth class. In Example 36, the method of any of Example 33 to Example 35 further includes that the capability that is received from the source base station comprises a number of supported CCs for an intra-band handover. In Example 37, the method of any of Example 33 to Example 36 further includes that the capability is indicated based on a CA bandwidth class. In Example 38, the method of any of Example 33 to Example 37 further includes that the capability comprises at least one of a maximum number of CCs that are supported by the UE for the intra-band handover or a maximum bandwidth supported by the UE for the intra-band handover. In Example 39, the method of any of Example 33 to Example 38 further includes that the number of CCs includes overlapped CCs for intra-frequency handover. In Example 40, the method of any of Example 33 to Example 39 further includes that supported UL component carriers are indicated by a first bandwidth class, and supported DL component carriers are indicated by a second bandwidth class. In Example 41, the method of any of Example 33 to Example 40 further includes that the capability that is received from the source base station comprises at least one of support for synchronous handover for a synchronous source cell and target cell or asynchronous handover for an asynchronous source cell and target cell, wherein the capability is indicated per band combination. In Example 42, the method of any of Example 33 to Example 41 further includes that the capability that is received from the source base station comprises an indication of whether the UE supports at least one of the asynchronous handover per band combination and per band of band combination. In Example 43, the method of any of Example 33 to Example 42 further includes that the capability that is received from the source base station comprises an indication of whether the UE supports at least one of the synchronous handover per band combination and per band of band combination. In Example 44, the method of any of Example 33 to Example 43 further includes that the capability that is received from the source base station comprises a need for a TDM pattern. In Example 45, the method of any of Example 33 to Example 44 further includes that the capability that is received from the source base station comprises support for multiple TAGs within a band that is shared by the source base station and the target base station. Example 46 is a system or apparatus including means for implementing a method or realizing an apparatus as in any of Examples 33 to 45.
Example 47 is a device including one or more processors and one or more memories in electronic communication with the one or more processors storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause a system or an apparatus to implement a method as in any of Examples 33 to 45.
Example 48 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to implement a method as in any of Examples 33 to 45.
It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of example approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may be rearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.
The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” and the like may not be a substitute for the word “means.” As such, no claim element is to be construed as a means plus function unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/878,195, entitled “UE Capability Exchange for Handover” and filed on Jul. 24, 2019, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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