Handover Command Identifier for Wireless Beam Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
In high-frequency wireless communication systems, the smaller radio coverage area and limited diffraction of radio waves lead to frequent sudden losses of network coverage for moving terminal devices, making handover procedures time-consuming and unreliable due to large and error-prone handover commands.
Innovation Solution
Transmitting configuration information for candidate target beams and network devices before handover, allowing the handover command to only include an identifier, reducing its size and improving reliability by ensuring reliable configuration information transmission when the connection is strong, and using Mobile Reference Signal (MRS) transmissions to derive the target configuration after handover.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the handover command includes all configuration information for the target beam and network device, then the terminal device can successfully connect to the target, but the handover command size becomes large and transmission becomes time-consuming and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The network device transmits configuration information for candidate target beams and network devices to the terminal device before handover is triggered. This preliminary transmission allows the terminal device to have configuration information ready in advance, so that when handover is needed, only a small handover command with an identifier is required, significantly reducing transmission time and improving reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal device stores configuration information for multiple candidate target beams and network devices in advance. When handover is triggered, the terminal device can quickly select and use the appropriate pre-stored configuration information based on the handover command identifier, avoiding the need to transmit large amounts of configuration data during the critical handover moment.
2Reliability
If the handover command includes all configuration information, then complete connection details are provided, but the command is vulnerable to transmission errors and harder to protect with error correction
Solution Approach 1:
The configuration information is extracted from the handover command and transmitted separately in advance. The handover command itself is reduced to contain only an identifier that points to the pre-transmitted configuration information. This separation makes the handover command much smaller, more robust against errors, and easier to protect with forward error correction encoding.
Solution Approach 2:
An identifier acts as an intermediary between the handover command and the detailed configuration information. Instead of embedding all configuration details in the handover command, the identifier serves as a reference that links to the pre-transmitted configuration data, simplifying the handover command structure while maintaining complete connection information.
3Reliability
If configuration information is transmitted before handover when connection is strong, then transmission reliability is improved, but the system must manage and store multiple candidate configurations
Solution Approach 1:
Configuration information for candidate target beams and network devices is transmitted and stored in advance when the connection is strong and reliable. This timing ensures high transmission reliability for the configuration data. The terminal device maintains these configurations in a cache or buffer, ready for quick retrieval when handover is needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods respectively implemented in a network device and a terminal device for facilitating handover of the terminal device served by the network device to a target beam and/or network device. The method in the network device comprises transmitting information on configurations for a set of candidate target beams and/or network devices to the terminal device before the handover of the terminal device is triggered. The method further comprises transmitting a handover command to the terminal device to trigger the handover of the terminal device. The handover command contains an identifier for identifying, from the transmitted information on the configurations for the candidate target beams and/or network devices, the information on the configuration for the target beam and/or network device. The disclosure also provides a network device and a terminal device that perform the above methods respectively.