Relay Station Mobility Anchor for Seamless LTE-Advanced Handover
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Solution Overview
Problem
In LTE-Advanced networks, when a relay station (RN) changes its associated base station due to varying radio quality, the data bearer termination point changes, leading to communication interruptions for RN-UEs as the signaling and data bearers are released, causing disruptions in service.
Innovation Solution
A mobile communication system and method that allows the RN to change its base station affiliation without interrupting communication by maintaining the data bearer path through a mobility anchor point, ensuring continuous service by associating the mobile-station data bearer with the relay-station data bearer and updating the bearer path when switching base stations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the relay station changes its associated base station to improve radio quality, then the communication speed and signal strength are improved, but the data bearer termination point changes causing communication interruption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mobility anchor point as an intermediary node that remains unchanged during relay station base station changes. This mediator maintains the data bearer termination point stable while allowing the relay station to switch between base stations, thus preventing communication interruptions and ensuring service continuity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the relay station changes base station affiliation to adapt to varying radio quality, then the adaptability is improved, but the signaling and data bearers are released causing service disruption
Solution Approach 1:
The mobility anchor point serves as a stable intermediary that decouples the relay station's base station changes from the data bearer termination. This allows the relay station to adapt to varying radio quality by switching base stations while the mobility anchor point maintains continuous data bearer connectivity, preventing service disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the bearer path into control plane (S1-MME interface) and user plane (S1-U interface) components. The mobility anchor point is positioned at the user plane termination, allowing independent management of control and data functions. This segmentation enables base station changes without affecting the established data bearers.
3Manufacturing precision
If the data bearer termination point is updated when the relay station changes base station, then the network configuration accuracy is improved, but the communication is interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The mobility anchor point acts as a stable intermediary that maintains the data bearer termination point unchanged during base station changes. This mediator allows the network configuration to be updated at the control plane level while the user plane data bearers remain intact, ensuring both configuration accuracy and communication continuity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The second data transfer unit (RN S/P-GW 8) terminates a relay-station data bearer provided between a relay station (RN 2) and the second data transfer unit, and transfers user data between a first data transfer unit (UE S/P-GW 6) and the relay station (RN 2) by associating a mobile-station data bearer provided between the mobile station (RN-UE 3) and the first data transfer unit (UE S/P-GW 6) with the relay-station data bearer. When a belonging destination of the relay station (RN 2) is changed from the first base station (DeNB 1-1) to the second base station (DeNB 1-2), a relay-station mobility management unit (RN MME 7) changes a path of the relay-station data bearer, which is terminated by the relay station (RN 2) and the second data transfer unit (RN S/P-GW 8), so as to pass through the second base station (DeNB 1-2). It is thereby possible, for example, to change base stations without interrupting communication of a mobile station (RN-UE 3) during operation of a relay node cell.