Early Time Advance Acquisition for Faster Wireless Cell Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless communication networks face inefficiencies in cell switching due to the need for random-access procedures during mobility, particularly in acquiring Time Advance (TA) for uplink transmission, which can delay the switching process.
Innovation Solution
The method involves acquiring Time Advance (TA) of a target cell in advance through early random-access procedures, allowing for layer 1/layer 2 triggered mobility (LTM) without the need for random-access procedures, using configured random-access resources for efficient and speedy cell switching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If random-access procedures are performed during cell switching, then Time Advance (TA) can be acquired for uplink transmission, but the cell switching process is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing random-access procedures and acquiring Time Advance (TA) information before the actual cell switching occurs. The terminal device performs early random-access to the target cell, obtains TA values in advance, and stores them for subsequent use. This allows the cell switching to proceed without waiting for TA acquisition during the switching process, thereby reducing switching delay while ensuring reliable uplink transmission timing.
2Speed
If early random-access procedures are performed to acquire TA in advance, then cell switching speed is improved, but random-access resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs random-access procedures in advance of actual cell switching to acquire TA information. By doing the random-access early, the patent prepares TA values before they are needed, enabling faster switching without consuming additional resources during the critical switching moment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs random-access procedures that may be more extensive than strictly necessary for immediate transmission, acquiring TA information in advance. This partial over-provisioning of random-access activity ensures TA availability for future switching operations, trading some resource consumption now for improved switching performance later.
3Productivity
If TA is acquired in advance through early random-access, then layer 1/layer 2 triggered mobility can be performed without random-access procedures, but the configuration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes TA configuration in advance through early random-access procedures. The network device provides TA configuration information to the terminal device before mobility switching occurs, and the terminal device maintains this configuration for rapid switching. This preliminary setup enables efficient layer 1/layer 2 triggered mobility without requiring random-access procedures during the actual switching event.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure is directed generally to wireless communication network and particularly to layer-1/layer-2 triggered mobility or cell switching in cellular wireless networks. Specifically, various implementations are disclosed to facilitate an acquisition of Time Advance (TA) of a target or candidate cell in advance of an actual cell switching in order to effectuate more efficient and speedier cell switching. The actual cell switching may be triggered in layer 1 or layer 2 of the wireless network. With the TA acquired in advance, a cell switching based on layer 1/layer 2 triggered mobility (LTM) may be performed free of random-access procedures. The various implementations below further provide detailed example flows for effectuating a configuration for early TA acquisition, example flows for the acquisition of the TA, and examples for the LTM switching based on the acquired TA.