Inter-SN Conditional Cell Change Measurement Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
In inter-Secondary Node (SN) conditional reconfiguration for cellular communications networks, there is a challenge in accurately configuring measurement settings for Conditional Primary Secondary Cell (CPC) changes, leading to potential unnecessary measurements and energy wastage due to unclear associations between measurement IDs and configurations.
Innovation Solution
The method involves sending messages between Source Secondary Node (S-SN) and Master Node (MN) to request and confirm target candidate cells, with specific measurement configurations, ensuring that only necessary measurements are performed by the User Equipment (UE) based on accepted candidate cells and frequencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If measurement configuration is provided for all target candidate cells in inter-SN conditional reconfiguration, then the UE can perform measurements on all candidates, but this leads to unnecessary measurements and energy wastage when some candidates are not actually accepted by the target SN
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the source SN provide information about target candidate cells to the MN before the actual conditional reconfiguration is executed. The MN then uses this information to request SN addition from the target candidate SNs in advance, obtaining acceptance information. This preliminary exchange allows the network to configure the UE with measurement settings only for cells that have been pre-validated as acceptable candidates, avoiding unnecessary measurements and reducing UE energy consumption while maintaining configuration reliability.
2Productivity
If the source SN provides measurement configuration for conditional reconfiguration without knowing which target candidate cells will be accepted, then the configuration can be provided quickly, but this causes configuration mismatch between UE and network
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by establishing a signaling loop where the source SN provides target candidate cell information to the MN, the MN requests SN addition from target candidate SNs, and the target candidate SNs respond with acceptance information. This feedback mechanism ensures that the measurement configuration provided to the UE is based on confirmed acceptable candidates, eliminating configuration mismatch between UE and network while maintaining efficient configuration speed through the streamlined signaling process.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the network configures UE to perform measurements on multiple target candidate cells, then the UE has more options for CPC execution, but this increases the complexity of measurement configuration and association management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the extraction principle by separating the measurement configuration process into two distinct phases: first, the network phase where the MN manages the overall configuration and extracts only the acceptable target candidate cells based on SN addition responses; second, the execution phase where the UE performs measurements only on the extracted subset of acceptable candidates. This extraction approach maintains CPC execution flexibility by preserving multiple candidates while reducing measurement configuration complexity by eliminating unnecessary candidates from the UE's measurement list.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are disclosed herein that relate to inter-Secondary Node (SN) conditional cell change and measurement configuration. In one embodiment, a method for configuring measurements related to inter-SN conditional reconfiguration comprises, at a Source Secondary Node (S-SN), sending, to a Master Node (MN), a first message comprising an indication that the first message is for conditional reconfiguration and information about one or more target candidate cells of a target candidate SN. The method further comprises, at the MN, receiving the first message from the S-SN and sending a second message to the target candidate SN, the second message being a request for SN addition and comprising an indication that the second message is for conditional reconfiguration and information about the one or more target candidate cells of the target candidate SN.