Conditional Cell Mobility for Reliable 5G NR Handover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cell mobility procedures in 5G NR networks are prone to failures due to reactive handover processes, which can result in delayed or unsuccessful transitions, especially in scenarios requiring ultra-low latency and high reliability.
Innovation Solution
Implementing conditional cell mobility procedures where user equipment (UE) receives and evaluates cell configurations with execution conditions, allowing it to execute handovers only when specific criteria are met, thereby reducing handover failures and improving mobility robustness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If reactive handover procedures are used in existing cell mobility processes, then the system follows conventional operation, but handover failures increase and reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements conditional handover by pre-configuring multiple candidate target cells and their associated execution conditions before handover is needed. The UE receives and stores cell configuration parameters for multiple candidate cells in advance, evaluating conditions proactively rather than reactively. When a condition is met, the handover executes immediately using pre-prepared configuration, eliminating the need for reactive handover procedures and reducing handover failures.
2Reliability
If conditional cell mobility procedures are implemented with multiple candidate target cells, then handover reliability improves, but signaling overhead and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The source base station performs preliminary actions by identifying and pre-configuring multiple candidate target cells along with their execution conditions before the UE needs to handover. This advance preparation eliminates the need for time-consuming signaling exchanges during the actual handover event, as all configuration parameters are already available at the UE.
Solution Approach 2:
The UE is empowered to autonomously evaluate execution conditions and select the appropriate target cell based on pre-configured parameters without requiring continuous network assistance. The UE independently monitors conditions for multiple candidate cells and executes handover when conditions are met, reducing signaling overhead and processing delays compared to network-controlled handover procedures.
3Reliability
If the UE evaluates execution conditions for multiple candidate target cells, then mobility robustness improves, but processing load and complexity at the UE increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mobility management task by dividing candidate target cells into distinct configurations, each with its own execution conditions. The UE evaluates conditions for each segmented candidate cell independently rather than managing a monolithic handover process. This segmentation simplifies UE processing by allowing independent evaluation of discrete condition sets while maintaining robustness through multiple candidates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the approach from network-controlled handover parameters to UE-evaluated condition parameters. Instead of the network managing complex handover decisions, the UE evaluates simpler execution conditions (such as signal quality thresholds) for multiple candidate cells. This parameter transformation reduces UE processing complexity while maintaining mobility robustness through the multi-candidate approach.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a user equipment, UE, comprising the following. A receiver receives, from a source base station, plural cell configurations. Each cell configuration comprises cell configuration parameters for performing a conditional cell mobility procedure with a respective candidate target cell and comprises an execution condition as to when to execute the conditional cell mobility procedure. The plural cell configurations comprise a first subset of cell configurations to be evaluated by the UE when in connection with the source base station. The plural cell configurations comprise a second subset of cell configurations to be evaluated by the UE when in connection with a first candidate target cell of the plurality of candidate target cells, the first candidate target cell being different from a source cell of the source base station. A circuitry of the UE evaluates the execution conditions of only the first subset of cell configurations.