Method for cell selection and user equipment

Abstract

A method for cell selection is provided. The method comprises the step of a user equipment (UE) determining whether a current cell is a power-saving cell, a high-throughput cell, or a power-saving and high-throughput cell based on a plurality of parameters configured by a network node. The UE may then determine whether to perform cell selection in response to the current cell being a power saving cell, a high throughput cell, or a power saving high throughput cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to mobile communications, and more particularly, to a cell selection technique related to a user equipment (UE) and a network in mobile communications. Background Art

[0002] GSM / GPRS / EDGE technology is also known as 2G cellular technology, WCDMA / CDMA-2000 / TD-SCDMA technology is also known as 3G cellular technology, and LTE / LTE-A / TD-LTE technology is also known as 4G cellular technology. These cellular technologies have been adopted for use by various telecommunication standards, providing a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at municipal, national, regional, and even global levels. An example of an emerging telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is a series of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 5G NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by increasing spectrum efficiency, reducing costs, and improving services.

[0003] In conventional communication technologies, a cell with multiple multi-input multi-output (MIMO) layers (e.g., 8 transmit antennas and 8 receive antennas (8T8R)) may be configured (i.e., a high throughput cell may be configured), and a cell with fewer MIMO layers (e.g., 2T2R) may be configured (i.e., a power saving cell may be configured). However, when the UE is in an outdoor area, the UE may not require large data traffic to save power. Alternatively, when the UE is in an indoor area, the UE may require a large amount of data traffic to achieve high throughput.

[0004] Therefore, how to perform cell selection more flexibly and efficiently so that the UE can find a suitable cell is a topic worth exploring. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to overcome the above problems, the present invention provides a method for cell selection and user equipment.

[0006] An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for cell selection. The method may include the following steps. The UE may determine whether the current cell is a power saving cell, a high throughput cell, or a power saving high throughput cell based on multiple parameters configured by a network node. Then, the UE may determine whether to perform cell selection in response to the current cell being a power saving cell, a high throughput cell, or a power saving high throughput cell.

[0007] In some embodiments, the parameters may include ss-PBCH-BlockPower, path loss, transmission (Tx) power, number of MIMO layers and bandwidth.

[0008] In some embodiments, the UE may determine that the current cell is a power saving cell in response to ss-PBCH-BlockPower, path loss, or Tx power being lower than a threshold.

[0009] In some embodiments, the UE may determine that the current cell is a high-throughput cell in response to the number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers being higher than a threshold and the bandwidth being a larger bandwidth.

[0010] In some embodiments, the UE may determine the traffic volume in response to the current cell being a power saving cell or a high throughput cell.

[0011] In some embodiments, the UE may perform cell selection in response to the current cell being a high-throughput cell with light traffic.

[0012] In some embodiments, the UE may perform cell selection in response to the current cell being a power saving cell and having heavy traffic.

[0013] In some embodiments, the UE may determine to camp on the current cell in response to the current cell being a high throughput cell with heavy traffic or in response to the current cell being a power saving cell with light traffic.

[0014] In some embodiments, the UE may determine to camp on the current cell in response to the current cell being a power saving high throughput cell.

[0015] In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the UE has a power saving neighbor cell or a high throughput neighbor cell before performing cell selection.

[0016] An embodiment of the present invention provides a UE for cell selection. The UE may include a processor. The processor may determine whether a current cell is a power saving cell, a high throughput cell, or a power saving high throughput cell based on multiple parameters configured by a network node. In addition, the processor may determine whether to perform cell selection in response to the current cell being a power saving cell, a high throughput cell, or a power saving high throughput cell.

[0017] Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description of specific embodiments of the method and UE for cell selection. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 FIG. 4 is a flowchart of cell detection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 is a flowchart of cell selection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method for cell selection according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following description is the best mode of implementing the present invention. The purpose of this description is to illustrate the general principles of the present invention, but it should not be understood as limiting. The scope of the present invention should be determined by reference to the attached claims.

[0024] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, the wireless communication system 100 may include a user equipment (UE) 110 and a network node 120. It should be noted that, in order to illustrate the concept of the present invention, Figure 1 A simplified block diagram is presented, in which only the elements relevant to the present invention are shown. However, the present invention should not be limited to Figure 1 The content shown.

[0025] In an embodiment, the network node 120 may be a base station, a gNodeB (gNB), a NodeB (NB), an eNodeB (eNB), an access point, or an access terminal, but the present invention should not be limited thereto. In the above embodiment, the client 110 may communicate with the network node 120 via the fourth generation (4G) communication technology or the fifth generation (5G) communication technology, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0026] like Figure 1 As shown, UE 110 may include at least a baseband signal processing device 111, a radio frequency (RF) signal processing device 112, a processor 113, a storage device 114, and functional modules and circuits 115. Network node 120 may include devices or elements similar to UE 110.

[0027] In the embodiments of the present invention, UE 110 may be a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wireless handset, or any computing device including a wireless communication interface.

[0028] The RF signal processing device 112 may be a transceiver. The RF signal processing device 112 may include multiple antennas to receive or transmit RF signals. The RF signal processing device 112 may receive RF signals via antennas, process the received RF signals, convert the received RF signals into baseband signals for processing by the baseband signal processing device 111, or receive baseband signals from the baseband signal processing device 111, and convert the received baseband signals into RF signals sent to the opposite communication device. The RF signal processing device 112 may include multiple hardware elements to perform radio frequency conversion. For example, the RF signal processing device 112 may include a power amplifier, a mixer, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) / digital-to-analog converter (DAC), etc.

[0029] The baseband signal processing device 111 may also process the baseband signal to obtain information or data sent by the opposite communication device. The baseband signal processing device 111 may also include multiple hardware elements to perform baseband signal processing.

[0030] The processor 113 may control the operation of the baseband signal processing device 111, the RF signal processing device 112, the storage device 114, and the functional modules and circuits 115. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the processor 113 may also be used to execute the program code of the software modules of the corresponding baseband signal processing device 111, the RF signal processing device 112, and the functional modules and circuits 115. The program code accompanied by specific data in the data structure may also be referenced as a processor logic unit or stack instance when executed. Therefore, the processor 113 may be viewed as being composed of a plurality of processor logic units, each of which is used to execute one or more specific functions or tasks of the corresponding software module.

[0031] The storage device 114 may store software and firmware program codes, system data, user data, etc. of the UE 110. The storage device 114 may be a volatile memory, such as a random access memory (RAM); a non-volatile memory, such as a flash memory or a read-only memory (ROM); a hard disk; or any combination thereof.

[0032] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the RF signal processing device 112 and the baseband signal processing device 111 may be collectively referred to as a radio module, which can communicate with a wireless network to provide wireless communication services compatible with a predetermined radio access technology (Radio Access Technology, RAT). It is worth noting that in some embodiments of the present invention, the client 110 may be further expanded to include more than one antenna and / or more than one radio module, and the present invention should not be limited to Figure 1 The content shown.

[0033] Functional modules and circuits 115 may include a determination module 1151 and a selection module 1152. Processor 113 may execute different modules or circuits in functional modules and circuits 115 to perform embodiments of the present invention. In embodiments of the present invention, determination module 1151 may determine the cell type of the current cell and determine whether to perform cell selection. Selection module 1152 may perform cell selection.

[0034] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the baseband signal processing device 111 and the RF signal processing device 112 may be configured in a modem (MD) of the UE 110, and the processor 113 may be configured in an application processor (AP) of the UE 110. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the functional module and circuit 115 may be configured in a modem or an AP of the UE 110.

[0035] According to an embodiment of the present invention, UE 110 may determine the cell type of the current cell (i.e., the current serving cell) in which UE 110 is camping based on a plurality of parameters configured by network node 120. Specifically, UE 110 may determine whether the current cell is a power saving cell, a high throughput cell, or a power saving and high throughput cell (i.e., the cell is a power saving cell and a high throughput cell) based on the parameters configured by network node 120.

[0036] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the parameters may include synchronization signal (synchronization signal, ss)-physical broadcast channel (physical broadcast channel, PBCH)-block power (BlockPower), reference signal received power (reference signal received power, RSRP), signal to interference plus noise ratio (signal to interference plus noise ratio, SINR), path loss, transmission (transmission, Tx) power, number of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) layers and bandwidth.

[0037] In one embodiment, UE 110 may determine whether the current cell is a power saving cell based on at least one of ss-PBCH-BlockPower, path loss, and Tx power. In one example, if ss-PBCH-BlockPower is low (e.g., ss-PBCH-BlockPower may be lower than a threshold, such as 0), path loss is low (e.g., path loss may be lower than a threshold), or Tx power is low (e.g., Tx power may be lower than a threshold, such as 5 dBm), UE 110 may determine that the current cell is a power saving cell.

[0038] In another embodiment, UE 110 may determine whether the current cell is a high-throughput cell based on the number of MIMO layers and the bandwidth. In one example, if the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to a threshold (e.g., the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to 4, i.e., the number of Tx (or receiving (Rx)) antennas is higher than or equal to 4) and the bandwidth is a larger bandwidth than that of a neighboring cell, UE 110 may determine that the current cell is a high-throughput cell.

[0039] When the current cell satisfies the conditions of both a power-saving cell and a high-throughput cell, the user equipment 110 may determine that the current cell is a power-saving high-throughput cell.

[0040] When UE 110 determines that the current cell is a power saving cell or a high throughput cell, UE 110 may determine whether to perform cell selection to find another serving cell. Specifically, when UE 110 determines that the current cell is a high throughput cell or a power saving cell, UE 110 may first determine whether the service traffic is light traffic or heavy traffic.

[0041] If the current cell is a high throughput cell and the traffic is light traffic (i.e., a power saving cell may be more suitable), the UE 110 may also determine whether the UE 110 has a power saving neighboring cell. For example, the UE 110 may determine whether there is a power saving neighboring cell where the UE 110 has camped. If the UE 110 has a power saving neighboring cell, the UE 110 may perform cell selection to the power saving neighboring cell to save power (e.g., switch to the power saving neighboring cell). If the UE 110 does not have a power saving neighboring cell, the UE 110 may perform cell selection based on conventional criteria.

[0042] If the current cell is a high-throughput cell and the traffic flow is heavy (ie, a high-throughput cell may be more suitable), UE 110 may camp on the current cell (ie, the high-throughput cell).

[0043] If the current cell is a power saving cell and the traffic flow is heavy traffic (i.e., a high throughput cell may be more suitable), UE 110 may also determine whether UE 110 has a high throughput neighboring cell. For example, UE 110 may determine whether there is a high throughput neighboring cell where UE 110 has camped. If UE 110 has a high throughput neighboring cell, UE 110 may perform cell selection to the high throughput neighboring cell to achieve high throughput. If UE 110 does not have a high throughput neighboring cell, UE 110 may perform cell selection based on conventional criteria.

[0044] If the current cell is a power saving cell and the traffic is light traffic (ie, the power saving cell may be more suitable), UE 110 may camp on the current cell (ie, the power saving cell).

[0045] When UE 110 determines that the current cell is a power saving high throughput cell, UE 110 may camp on the current cell.

[0046] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, UE 110 may use any suitable method to determine whether the service traffic is light traffic or heavy traffic.

[0047] According to one embodiment of the present invention, UE 110 may also determine a current environment scene corresponding to itself (e.g., a subway platform, a subway tunnel, an office, a shopping mall, etc.). In one embodiment, UE 110 may use a machine learning (or deep learning) algorithm to determine the current environment scene. UE 110 may also consider the current environment scene to determine whether to perform cell selection on a suitable cell.

[0048] Figure 22 is a flow chart of cell detection according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cell detection may be applied to UE 110. In step S210, UE 110 may determine whether ss-PBCH-BlockPower is low (e.g., ss-PBCH-BlockPower may be lower than a threshold), whether path loss is low (e.g., path loss may be lower than a threshold), or whether Tx power is low (e.g., Tx power may be lower than a threshold).

[0049] If ss-PBCH-BlockPower is low (e.g., ss-PBCH-BlockPower is lower than a threshold), path loss is low (e.g., path loss is lower than a threshold), or Tx power is low (e.g., Tx power is lower than a threshold), step S220 may be performed. In step S220, UE 110 may determine whether the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to a threshold and whether the bandwidth is a larger bandwidth.

[0050] If the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to the threshold (ie, high layer) and the bandwidth is a larger bandwidth, step S230 may be performed. In step S230, UE 110 may determine that the current cell is a power saving high throughput cell.

[0051] If the number of MIMO layers is less than the threshold and the bandwidth is not a large bandwidth, step S240 may be performed. In step 240, UE 110 may determine that the current cell is a power saving cell.

[0052] If ss-PBCH-BlockPower, path loss or Tx power is not low, step S250 is performed. In step S250, UE 110 may determine whether the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to a threshold and whether the bandwidth is a larger bandwidth.

[0053] If the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to the threshold (ie, high layer) and the bandwidth is a larger bandwidth, step S260 is performed. In step S260, UE 110 may determine that the current cell is a high-throughput cell.

[0054] If the number of MIMO layers is less than the threshold (ie, high layer) and the bandwidth is not a large bandwidth, step S270 is performed. In step 270, UE 110 may determine that the current cell is not a power saving cell or a high throughput cell.

[0055] Figure 3 is a flowchart of cell selection according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cell selection may be applied to UE 110. In step S310, when the current cell is a high-throughput cell, UE 110 may determine whether the service flow is light flow or heavy flow.

[0056] If the service traffic is heavy traffic, step S350 is executed. In step S350, UE 110 may camp in the current cell.

[0057] If the traffic flow is light traffic, step S320 is performed. In step S320, UE 110 may determine whether UE 110 has a power saving neighboring cell.

[0058] If the UE 110 has a power saving neighboring cell, step S330 is performed. In step S330, the UE 110 may perform cell selection on the power saving neighboring cell.

[0059] If UE 110 does not have a power saving neighboring cell, step S340 is performed. In step S340, UE 110 may perform cell selection based on conventional criteria.

[0060] In step S360, when the current cell is a power saving cell, the UE 110 may determine whether the service traffic is light traffic or heavy traffic.

[0061] If the service traffic is light traffic, step S350 is executed. In step S350, UE 110 may camp in the current cell.

[0062] If the traffic is heavy traffic, then step S370 is performed. In step S370, UE 110 may determine whether UE 110 has a high throughput neighboring cell. If the traffic is light traffic, then step S350 is performed. In step S350, UE 110 may camp in the current cell.

[0063] If UE 110 has a high-throughput neighboring cell, step S380 is performed. In step S380, UE 110 may perform cell selection on the high-throughput neighboring cell.

[0064] If UE 110 does not have a high throughput neighboring cell, step S390 is performed. In step S390, UE 110 may perform cell selection based on conventional criteria.

[0065] In addition, if the current cell is a power saving high throughput cell, step S350 is performed. In step S350, UE 110 may camp in the current cell.

[0066] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method for cell selection according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method can be applied to a wireless communication system 100. As shown in FIG. Figure 4As shown, in step S410, UE 110 may determine whether the current cell is a power saving cell, a high throughput cell or a power saving high throughput cell based on multiple parameters configured by the network node.

[0067] In step S420 , in response to the current cell being a power saving cell, a high throughput cell, or a power saving high throughput cell, the UE may determine whether to perform cell selection.

[0068] In some embodiments of the present invention, in the method, the parameters may include ss-PBCH-BlockPower, path loss, Tx power, number of MIMO layers and bandwidth.

[0069] In some embodiments of the present invention, in the method, in response to ss-PBCH-BlockPower, path loss or Tx power being lower than a threshold, UE 110 may also determine that the current cell is a power saving cell.

[0070] In some embodiments of the present invention, in the method, in response to the number of MIMO layers being higher than a threshold and the bandwidth being a larger bandwidth, the UE 110 may further determine that the current cell is a high-throughput cell.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present invention, in the method, in response to the current cell being a power saving cell or a high throughput cell, the UE 110 may determine the traffic flow. In one embodiment, in response to the current cell being a high throughput cell and the traffic flow being light, the UE 110 may perform cell selection. In another embodiment, in response to the current cell being a power saving cell and the traffic flow being heavy, the UE 110 may perform cell selection. In another embodiment, in response to the current cell being a high throughput cell and the traffic flow being heavy or in response to the current cell being a power saving cell and the traffic flow being light, the UE 110 may determine to camp on the current cell.

[0072] In some embodiments of the present invention, in the method, in response to the current cell being a power saving high throughput cell, the UE 110 may determine to camp on the current cell.

[0073] In some embodiments of the invention, in the method, UE 110 may determine whether it has a power saving neighbor cell or a high throughput neighbor cell before performing cell selection.

[0074] In the above method for cell selection, the UE will be able to perform cell selection more flexibly and efficiently to find a suitable cell.

[0075] In the present invention and claims, the use of order terms such as "first", "second", "third", etc. is for description. It does not itself mean any order or relationship.

[0076] The steps of the method described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed in the present invention may be directly embodied in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. Software modules (e.g., including executable instructions and associated data) and other data may reside in a data memory (e.g., RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of computer-readable storage medium known in the art). The sample storage medium may be coupled to a machine, such as a computer / processor (which may be referred to as a "processor" in the present invention for convenience), so that the processor can read information (e.g., code) therefrom and write information to the storage medium. The sample storage medium may be integrated into a processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a UE. Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside in a UE as discrete components. In addition, in some aspects, any suitable computer program product may include a computer-readable medium including code associated with one or more aspects of the present invention. In some aspects, a computer software product may include packaging materials.

[0077] It should be noted that, although not explicitly specified, one or more steps of the method described in the present invention may include steps for storing, displaying and / or outputting according to the needs of a specific application. In other words, any data, record, field and / or intermediate result discussed in the method can be stored, displayed and / or output to another device according to the needs of a specific application. Although the preamble content is directly directed to the embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the present invention can be designed without departing from the basic scope of the present invention. The various embodiments presented in the present invention or parts thereof can be combined to create further embodiments. The above description is the best envisioned mode for implementing the present invention. This description is made to illustrate the general principles of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting. The scope of the present invention should be determined with reference to the appended claims.

[0078] The above paragraphs describe multiple aspects. Obviously, the teachings of the present invention can be implemented in a variety of ways, and any specific configuration or function in the disclosed embodiments only represents a representative case. Those skilled in the art will understand that all aspects disclosed in the present invention can be applied independently or in combination.

[0079] Although the present invention has been described by way of examples and preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto. Personnel familiar with the present technology can still make various changes and modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be limited and protected by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A cell selection method, comprising: A processor of a user equipment (UE) determines whether a current cell is a power saving cell, a high throughput cell, or a power saving high throughput cell based on a plurality of parameters configured by a network node; as well as In response to the current cell being a power saving cell, a high throughput cell, or a power saving high throughput cell, the processor determines whether to perform cell selection.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The multiple parameters include ss-PBCH-BlockPower, path loss, transmission (Tx) power, the number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers, and bandwidth.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: In response to the ss-PBCH-BlockPower, the path loss, or the Tx power being lower than a threshold, the processor determines that the current cell is the power saving cell.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: In response to the number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers being higher than a threshold and the bandwidth being a larger bandwidth, the processor determines that the current cell is the high-throughput cell.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In response to the current cell being the power saving cell or the high throughput cell, the processor determines traffic flow.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: In response to the current cell being the high-throughput cell and the traffic volume being light, the processor performs the cell selection.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: In response to the current cell being the power saving cell and the traffic volume being heavy, the processor performs the cell selection.

8. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: In response to the current cell being the high-throughput cell and the traffic volume being heavy or in response to the current cell being the power-saving cell and the traffic volume being light, the processor determines to camp on the current cell.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In response to the current cell being the power saving high throughput cell, the processor determines to camp on the current cell.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Prior to performing the cell selection, the processor determines whether the UE has a power saving neighbor cell or a high throughput neighbor cell.

11. A user equipment (UE) for cell selection, comprising: The processor is configured to determine whether a current cell is a power saving cell, a high throughput cell, or a power saving high throughput cell based on a plurality of parameters configured by a network node, and determine whether to perform cell selection in response to the current cell being the power saving cell, the high throughput cell, or the power saving high throughput cell.

12. The UE according to claim 11, characterized in that: The multiple parameters include ss-PBCH-BlockPower, path loss, transmission (Tx) power, the number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers, and bandwidth.

13. The UE according to claim 12, characterized in that: In response to the ss-PBCH-BlockPower, the path loss, or the Tx power being lower than a threshold, the processor determines that the current cell is the power saving cell.

14. The UE according to claim 12, characterized in that: In response to the number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers being higher than a threshold and the bandwidth being a larger bandwidth, the processor determines that the current cell is the high-throughput cell.

15. The UE according to claim 11, characterized in that: In response to the current cell being the power saving cell or the high throughput cell, the processor determines traffic flow.

16. The UE according to claim 15, characterized in that: In response to the current cell being the high-throughput cell and the traffic volume being light, the processor performs the cell selection.

17. The UE according to claim 15, characterized in that: In response to the current cell being the power saving cell and the traffic volume being heavy, the processor performs the cell selection.

18. The UE according to claim 15, characterized in that: In response to the current cell being the high-throughput cell and the traffic volume being heavy or in response to the current cell being the power-saving cell and the traffic volume being light, the processor determines to camp on the current cell.

19. The UE according to claim 11, characterized in that: In response to the current cell being the power saving high throughput cell, the processor determines to camp on the current cell.

20. The UE according to claim 11, characterized in that Prior to performing the cell selection, the processor determines whether the UE has a power saving neighbor cell or a high throughput neighbor cell.

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