Wireless Coverage Area Identifier Assignment via Tracking Area Groups
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless communication systems, the assignment of limited wireless coverage area identifiers can lead to conflicts, causing incorrect handovers as nearby areas may share the same identifier, resulting in inefficient resource allocation and failed handovers.
Innovation Solution
Assigning unique wireless coverage area identifiers to geographically-defined tracking areas, ensuring that the same identifier is not used within adjacent areas, and using numerical sequences to provision identifiers across the region, thereby reducing ambiguity during handover processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If wireless coverage area identifiers are assigned from a limited space, then the identifier space is efficiently utilized, but identifier conflicts occur in geographically-adjacent areas leading to incorrect handovers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into tracking areas, which are groups of geographically proximate wireless coverage areas. By organizing coverage areas into tracking area groups and assigning identifiers at the tracking area level rather than individual coverage area level, the system efficiently utilizes the limited identifier space while preventing conflicts in geographically-adjacent areas through the hierarchical grouping structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical dimension to identifier assignment by organizing coverage areas into tracking areas and tracking area groups. This multi-level hierarchy adds spatial organization to the identifier assignment process, allowing the same identifier to be reused across non-adjacent tracking areas while ensuring uniqueness within and across adjacent tracking areas, thus resolving the conflict between limited identifier space and handover accuracy
2Loss of energy
If tracking areas are used to reduce signaling traffic load, then idle-mode handover signaling is reduced, but the RAN loses awareness of the WCD's primary wireless coverage area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces tracking areas as an intermediary layer between individual wireless coverage areas and the RAN. The tracking area serves as a mediator that aggregates multiple coverage areas, allowing the RAN to operate at the tracking area level rather than individual coverage area level. This intermediary structure reduces signaling traffic by eliminating the need for the RAN to track every individual coverage area change, while still maintaining sufficient information for effective paging through the tracking area hierarchy
Data Source
AI summary
Data identifying a plurality of wireless coverage areas in a region may be obtained. The data may identify geographic locations of the wireless coverage areas. Possibly based on the data, the wireless coverage areas may be arranged into a plurality of mutually exclusive tracking area groups. Each of the tracking area groups may include multiple wireless coverage areas and may be identified by respective unique tracking area identifiers. The tracking area groups may form a geographically-defined sequence across the region. A numerical sequence of wireless coverage area identifiers may be assigned to the wireless coverage areas in the region, one wireless coverage area identifier per wireless coverage area. The wireless coverage areas of the tracking area groups may be provisioned to use the assigned wireless coverage area identifiers.