Beam Management in RRC Inactive State for Wireless UEs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems face challenges in managing beams efficiently while a user equipment (UE) is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, leading to increased power consumption and signaling overhead.
Innovation Solution
The UE triggers the generation and transmission of beam information to the base station while in the RRC_INACTIVE state, indicating a new serving beam for receiving paging messages, thereby enabling efficient beam management without transitioning to the RRC_CONNECTED state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the UE transitions to RRC_CONNECTED state to transmit beam information, then beam management accuracy is improved, but power consumption and signaling overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The UE transmits beam information proactively while in RRC_INACTIVE state before any actual data transmission occurs. This preliminary action ensures the network has current beam information ready, eliminating the need to transition to RRC_CONNECTED state for beam information updates, thus reducing power consumption while maintaining beam management accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The UE performs partial beam management by transmitting only essential beam information (such as SSB index or beam ID) without establishing a full RRC connection. This partial action provides sufficient beam management capability for the network to perform targeted paging and data transmission, reducing the overhead and power consumption associated with complete connection establishment
2Reliability
If the UE transitions to RRC_CONNECTED state for data transmission, then data transmission reliability is improved, but network resource usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The UE transmits beam information in advance while in RRC_INACTIVE state, enabling the network to prepare appropriate reception beams and resources before actual data arrival. This preliminary action ensures reliable data transmission when it occurs while minimizing the duration and resource usage of RRC_CONNECTED state
Solution Approach 2:
The beam information acts as an intermediary that bridges the RRC_INACTIVE and RRC_CONNECTED states. By providing this intermediate information about the UE's current beam status, the network can efficiently transition to data transmission without requiring prolonged connection establishment, reducing overall network resource usage while maintaining reliability
3Use of energy by moving object
If the UE remains in RRC_INACTIVE state to conserve power, then power consumption is reduced, but beam management timeliness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The UE performs beam information transmission as a preliminary action while in RRC_INACTIVE state, ensuring beam management is up-to-date before any data transmission or paging occurs. This eliminates delays that would otherwise occur when transitioning to RRC_CONNECTED state, maintaining timeliness while conserving power
Solution Approach 2:
The UE autonomously determines when to transmit beam information based on changes in its serving beam or paging reception conditions, without requiring network scheduling or connection establishment. This self-service approach ensures timely beam management updates while maintaining the power-efficient RRC_INACTIVE state
Data Source
AI summary
Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to a user equipment (UE) that performs beam management while in a radio resource control inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state. In one or more implementations, while in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE triggers generation of beam information for a base station. This beam information indicates a new serving beam on which, for example, a paging message is to be received from the base station. The UE generates and transmits the beam information to the base station.