Terminal Device Failure Indication via Assisting Cell
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless communications systems, especially those using Multiple Transmission Reception Point (mTRP) configurations, there is a challenge in efficiently handling radio link failures (RLFs) between a terminal device and its serving cell, particularly in terms of rapid link re-establishment and resource management.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves an apparatus and method where a terminal device detects a failure related to its serving cell and transmits a first indication to a network node associated with an assisting cell. This allows for bypassing conventional re-establishment procedures and enables faster link re-establishment by performing measurements and transmitting indications via the assisting cell.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional re-establishment procedure is performed after detecting radio link failure, then the terminal device can recover the connection, but the link establishment time is extended and system efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal device performs measurements on potential target cells in advance (before failure occurs) and stores measurement results. When radio link failure is detected, the device can immediately transmit the pre-collected measurement information to the assisting cell, bypassing the need to perform measurements and transmit data during the recovery process, thus significantly reducing link re-establishment time
2Reliability
If the terminal device transmits failure indication through the serving cell, then the network node can process the failure, but the transmission path is blocked due to serving cell failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an assisting cell as an intermediary transmission path. When the serving cell fails, the terminal device can still transmit the failure indication message (e.g., RRC message or MAC CE) through the assisting cell, which then forwards the message to the network node. This mediator approach ensures failure reporting remains functional even when the primary serving cell is unavailable
3Productivity
If the terminal device performs measurements and transmits indication via assisting cell, then faster link re-establishment is achieved, but device complexity and processing load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal device performs measurements on potential target cells and stores measurement results in advance, before failure occurs. This preliminary action means that when failure is detected, the device already has ready-to-use measurement data, eliminating the need to perform measurements during the critical recovery window and reducing real-time processing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the terminal device to skip the conventional multi-step re-establishment procedure by directly transmitting the failure indication and measurement information to the assisting cell. This skipping approach rushes through the critical failure recovery phase using pre-prepared data, achieving faster re-establishment without the full complexity of standard procedures
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions, the at least one memory and the instructions configured to, with the at least one processor, cause a terminal device to detect a failure, related to a serving cell and to transmit a first indication characterizing the failure to a network node associated with the assisting cell.