Base Station Signaling Plane Separation for LTE Handover Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
In LTE networks, the separation of air interface signaling and user planes does not effectively address the access problem for user equipment (UE) in scenarios with overlapped macro and micro cell coverage, leading to service interruptions and increased handover failures.
Innovation Solution
A base station with a correspondence maintaining module and a service bearer processing module that manages the separation of air interface signaling and user planes by selecting a target data base station for the UE, controlling the service bearer procedure, and maintaining a candidate data base station list to optimize UE connectivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the UE is attached to a macro eNB with a large coverage scope, then service interruption and throughput reduction caused by frequent handovers can be avoided, but transmit power and air interface resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the base station functionality into two independent planes: signaling plane (controlled by macro eNB) and user plane (served by pico eNB). This allows the control functions to remain with the macro base station while data transmission occurs through the pico base station, resolving the contradiction between coverage reliability and power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The macro eNB acts as an intermediary that relays control signaling between the UE and the core network, while the pico eNB handles user data transmission. This intermediary arrangement allows the UE to benefit from macro coverage reliability while utilizing pico resources for data, reducing power consumption.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the UE is attached to a near pico eNB, then air interface resource consumption can be reduced, but the number of handovers and handover failure ratio increase causing service interruption
Solution Approach 1:
By separating signaling and user planes, the patent allows the UE to attach to the pico eNB for user plane data transmission (reducing power consumption) while the macro eNB maintains signaling plane connectivity (ensuring service continuity during handovers).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a dimensional separation between control plane and user plane operations. The UE can move freely in the user plane dimension (attaching to pico eNBs) while the control plane dimension remains anchored to the macro eNB, eliminating handover failures.
3Adaptability or versatility
If an air interface control plane is separated from a user plane with a signaling base station and data base station, then the foregoing access problem is not solved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes the signaling plane connection to the macro eNB before the UE attaches to the pico eNB for user plane data. This preliminary action ensures that control plane connectivity is already in place, enabling reliable access while benefiting from plane separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The macro eNB performs multiple functions: it serves as the signaling plane anchor for all UEs in its coverage area regardless of which pico eNB the UE attaches to for data. This multi-functionality ensures access reliability while maintaining plane separation flexibility.
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention provide a base station, a user equipment, and a communications method. The base station includes: a correspondence maintaining module, configured to maintain a correspondence between a service bearer of a UE accessing the base station and a first target data base station; and a service bearer processing module, configured to control the first target data base station and the UE to complete processing of a service bearer procedure of the UE, where the first target data base station is a base station that exchanges user plane data with the UE after completing the processing of the service bearer procedure of the UE. The technical solutions of the present invention implement separation of an air interface signaling plane and a user plane and solve an access problem of the UE.