Mobility Control Using Extended Cell Offset for Small Cells

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing mobility control methods in heterogeneous networks face challenges in extending the coverage of small cells due to a large difference in transmit power between small cell and macro cell base stations, which limits the effectiveness of cell reselection and measurement reporting.

Innovation Solution

A mobility control method that configures a measurement parameter including an extended-cell individual offset (E-CIO) and/or a range extension (RE) for user equipment, allowing it to determine reporting events for neighboring small cells with a greater range, facilitating extended coverage and efficient reselection or handover.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Area of stationary object

If a small cell is deployed with lower transmit power to reduce interference and enable service offload, then system capacity and coverage extension are improved, but the range of existing CIO parameters becomes insufficient for effective cell reselection and measurement reporting

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesmall cell coverage areaVSAvoidparameter range adaptability
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces two new parameters (E-CIO and RE) that are scaled versions of the existing CIO parameter, effectively expanding the parameter range available for controlling cell reselection and measurement reporting. This allows the network to adapt to larger power differences between macro and small cells while maintaining the same control mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If the difference in transmit power between small cell and macro cell base stations is increased to enable service offload, then small cell utilization is improved, but the effectiveness of cell reselection and measurement reporting deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice offload efficiencyVSAvoidcell reselection reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

By introducing E-CIO and RE parameters with extended ranges, the patent enables reliable cell reselection and measurement reporting even when transmit power differences between macro and small cells are large, thus maintaining service offload effectiveness while ensuring reliable mobility control.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Area of stationary object

If existing CIO parameter range is used for small cell mobility control, then device complexity is kept simple, but coverage extension capability is limited

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesmall cell coverage rangeVSAvoidmeasurement parameter complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent maintains compatibility with existing CIO parameters while introducing new E-CIO and RE parameters, allowing the system to use extended parameters when needed for coverage extension while falling back to existing parameters for simpler scenarios, thus achieving multi-functionality without forcing complexity in all cases.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP2869636B1Mobility control method and device
Publication Date: 2020.03.18 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP2869636B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2869636B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2869636B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

Embodiments of the present invention provide a mobility control method and apparatus. The method includes: receiving a first message sent by a network-side device, where the first message includes first information used to indicate a measurement parameter, where the measurement parameter includes an extended-cell individual offset value and/or a range extension value, where the extended-cell individual offset value is used for measurement reporting, a range of the extended-cell individual offset value is greater than a range of a cell individual offset value, and the range extension value can be used for a cell reselection and measurement reporting; determining the measurement parameter according to the first information; and performing mobility control for the target cell according to measured quality of a target cell and the measurement parameter. The network-side device configures the measurement parameter including the extended-cell individual offset value and/or the range extension value, and a user equipment performs measurement reporting according to the extended-cell individual offset value having a range greater than that of the cell individual offset value, or a user equipment performs measurement reporting according to the cell individual offset value and the range extension value. Therefore, a requirement for extending a small cell can be met.