Handover Control via Carrier-Aggregation Policy Exchange

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Solution Overview

Problem

Base stations and UEs are unaware of neighboring base stations' carrier-aggregation policies, leading to inefficient handover and cell reselection decisions based solely on signal strength, resulting in suboptimal service.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a method where a base station receives and utilizes neighboring base stations' carrier-aggregation policies to control handover and cell reselection, allowing for informed decisions on carrier aggregation capabilities and bandwidth optimization.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If handover decisions are made based solely on signal strength, then handover simplicity is maintained, but service quality becomes suboptimal due to lack of carrier-aggregation policy awareness

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveservice qualityVSAvoidhandover control complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by having the source base station obtain carrier aggregation policy information from the target base station before making handover decisions. This allows the source base station to evaluate whether the target cell supports carrier aggregation and determine appropriate carrier aggregation configurations in advance, ensuring service quality is optimized during handover without adding complex real-time decision-making requirements

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses the X2 interface between base stations as an intermediary mechanism to transmit carrier aggregation policy information. This intermediary allows base stations to share policy data without requiring UEs to directly access or process complex policy information, maintaining relative simplicity while enabling informed handover decisions that improve service quality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If carrier aggregation is implemented without awareness of neighboring base station policies, then implementation simplicity is maintained, but bandwidth optimization is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebandwidth utilizationVSAvoidcarrier-aggregation policy information

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The source base station performs preliminary actions by obtaining carrier aggregation policy information from the target base station before handover execution. This enables the source base station to identify suitable target cells that support carrier aggregation and pre-determine aggregation configurations, thereby maximizing bandwidth utilization without losing critical policy information during the handover process

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements feedback by having the target base station provide carrier aggregation policy information back to the source base station through the X2 interface. This feedback loop ensures the source base station has accurate information about target cell capabilities, enabling optimized carrier aggregation decisions that maximize bandwidth utilization while preventing information loss

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Object-affected harmful factors

If handover signaling is simplified without policy information, then signaling overhead is reduced, but interference minimization capability is weakened

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveinterferenceVSAvoidcarrier-aggregation policy information

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The source base station performs preliminary evaluation by obtaining carrier aggregation policy information before handover decisions. This enables identification of target cells with compatible carrier aggregation policies, allowing for interference-aware handover selection and configuration without adding significant signaling overhead during the actual handover execution

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The X2 interface serves as an intermediary that efficiently transports carrier aggregation policy information between base stations. This intermediary mechanism enables interference minimization through informed decision-making while keeping signaling overhead manageable by consolidating policy information exchange in a standardized interface

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS9479989B1Controlling handover based on carrier-aggregation policies

Publication Date: 2016.10.25 SPRINT SPECTRUM LLC

AI summary

A base station or a UE may use another base station's carrier-aggregation policy for a cell provided by the other base station as a basis to control handover of the UE from being served by the base station to being served by the other base station. As one example, a first base station may use a second base station's carrier-aggregation policy for at least one of multiple co-located cells provided by the second base station as a basis to control handover of the UE from being served by the first base station to being served by the second base station. As another example, a UE may use a second base station's carrier-aggregation policy for one of multiple co-located cells provided by the second base station as a basis to control cell reselection.