Multi-Panel UE Timing Advance Acquisition for Handover Interruption Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
In Layer 1/Layer 2 triggered Mobility (LTM) for multi-panel User Equipment (UEs), existing technologies face challenges in reducing interruption time during cell change procedures due to the lack of information about panel usage for Timing Advance (TA) acquisition, leading to potential interruptions during handovers.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves configuring terminal devices to report Layer 1 measurements with indications of interruption-free TA acquisition or panel indications, allowing distributed network devices to trigger early synchronization only when no interruptions are expected, thereby minimizing latency and avoiding panel switching delays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If early TA acquisition is performed before cell switch command is received, then interruption time during handover is reduced, but panel switching delays may occur due to lack of information about panel usage
Solution Approach 1:
The UE performs TA acquisition for candidate cells in advance before receiving the cell switch command. The network device configures the UE to acquire TA for one or more candidate cells during the LTM procedure, so that when handover is triggered, the TA is already available and the UE can switch panels without delay, thus reducing interruption time while managing panel switching complexity through pre-planning
Solution Approach 2:
The UE reports L1 measurements to the network device with an indication of whether interruption-free TA acquisition is possible or provides panel indication information. This feedback mechanism allows the network to understand the UE's panel usage status and configure appropriate TA acquisition strategies, enabling the UE to perform early TA acquisition without causing panel switching delays by providing visibility into panel availability
2Reliability
If L1 measurements are reported with panel indication information, then interruption-free TA acquisition can be enabled, but measurement and reporting complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement reporting is segmented into different types: L1 measurements with interruption-free TA acquisition indication, and L1 measurements with panel indication. This segmentation allows the system to selectively apply the appropriate reporting type based on the scenario, reducing the overall complexity while maintaining the ability to achieve interruption-free handover when conditions permit
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary indication mechanism is introduced where the UE provides a simplified indication (interruption-free TA acquisition indication or panel indication) along with L1 measurements. This intermediary information acts as a mediator between the complex internal panel management of the UE and the network's handover decision-making, enabling the network to configure appropriate TA acquisition without requiring full visibility into UE internal operations
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatuses and computer readable storage media of interruption time reduction. The method comprises receiving, at a terminal device and from a centralized network device, a configuration at least indicating that a L1 measurement for cell change is to be reported by the terminal device with an indication of interruption free TA acquisition for a cell associated with the cell change, or per a panel indication of the terminal device; and transmitting, to a distributed network device, a report of the L 1 measurement based on the configuration.