Beam Handover Synchronization in Non-Terrestrial Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
In non-terrestrial networks, the inconsistency in beam handover timing between satellite base stations and user equipment leads to misalignment, causing link failures due to the HARQ-ACK mechanism's inapplicability and transmission delays.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an electronic device with processing circuitry that sends and receives information on beam handover through beam-based non-terrestrial network communication, determining a temporal or spatial position for handover, and performing the handover accordingly, using absolute temporal or geographic location information to synchronize base station and user equipment beam changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If beam handover is performed based on conventional timing mechanisms, then beam switching can be executed, but link failure occurs due to misalignment between base station and user equipment beam handover timing
Solution Approach 1:
The base station determines and notifies the user equipment of the beam handover timing in advance through downlink control information. This preliminary action allows the user equipment to prepare and execute beam handover at the correct time, preventing timing misalignment and link failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses downlink control information to provide feedback from the base station to the user equipment regarding beam handover timing. This feedback mechanism ensures both parties synchronize their beam handover actions, maintaining link reliability during satellite movement.
2Reliability
If HARQ-ACK mechanism is used for beam handover confirmation, then acknowledgment can be obtained, but the mechanism becomes inapplicable due to transmission delays in non-terrestrial networks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the beam handover timing determination and notification function from the conventional HARQ-ACK mechanism. By separating this function and implementing it through direct downlink control information, the system avoids the inapplicability of HARQ-ACK in high-delay non-terrestrial network environments while still ensuring reliable handover confirmation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If satellite continuously adjusts service beam to track movement, then user coverage is maintained, but beam handover frequency increases causing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The base station performs preliminary determination of beam handover timing based on satellite movement predictions and notifies user equipment in advance. This approach maintains continuous user coverage through proactive beam adjustment while reducing the complexity of real-time beam handover management by pre-calculating handover points.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are an electronic apparatus for wireless communication, a wireless communication method and a computer-readable medium. The electronic apparatus for wireless communication comprises a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to perform control so as to send, by means of beam-based non-terrestrial network communication, information about beam switching of a base station to a user equipment, to determine a temporal or spatial position of beam switching, and to perform control so as to perform beam switching when the determined temporal or spatial position is reached.