Candidate Cell Timing Advance for Faster Reliable Cell Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
The introduction of new radio communication technologies has increased the number of user equipments served by a base station and the amount of data and control information transmitted, leading to challenges in efficiently utilizing limited radio resources and overcoming delay or latency, particularly in applications that critically depend on performance.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for performing a cell change procedure in a wireless communication system, involving a user equipment (UE) that receives configuration messages for candidate cells, obtains timing advances through random access, reports success notifications, and performs cell switching based on these procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the UE performs random access procedure with multiple candidate cells to obtain timing advances, then the reliability of cell switching is improved, but the time consumption and procedure complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The UE performs random access procedures with candidate cells in advance, before the actual cell switching occurs. By obtaining timing advances for candidate cells beforehand and reporting success notifications to the source cell, the UE prepares potential target cells for immediate switching, thus improving reliability while minimizing the time loss during actual cell switching.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic cell switching by maintaining multiple candidate cells with pre-obtained timing advances. The network can dynamically select the most suitable target cell based on current conditions, and the UE can quickly switch between candidate cells. This dynamic approach improves reliability by having multiple options ready, while the pre-prepared timing advances reduce the time penalty of having multiple candidates.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the network configures multiple candidate cells for the UE, then the adaptability of mobility management is improved, but the device complexity and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mobility management process by separating candidate cell configuration from actual cell switching. The network configures multiple candidate cells independently, each with its own timing advance obtained through separate random access procedures. The UE manages these segmented candidate cells and reports success notifications individually, allowing the network to adaptively select the best target cell while keeping UE processing organized and manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The source cell acts as an intermediary between the network and the UE during cell switching. It receives success notifications from the UE about random access procedures with candidate cells, processes this information, and then sends cell switching commands to the UE. This intermediary role simplifies UE complexity by centralizing the coordination logic in the source cell, while still enabling flexible multi-cell mobility management.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method of performing operations for a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system. In particular, the method includes receiving, from a source cell, a configuration message for at least one candidate cell; obtaining at least one timing advance (TA) for the at least one candidate cell based on a random access procedure with the at least one candidate cell; reporting, to the source cell, information containing a success notification of the random access procedure with the at least one candidate cell; receiving, from the source cell, a cell switching command related to a target cell among the at least one candidate cell; and performing a cell switching to the target cell.