Timing Advance Group Timer Control for Uplink Alignment

The patent divides the timing advance management into multiple independent timing advance groups (TAGs), where each TAG can be independently configured and managed. This segmentation allows different serving cells to have their own timing advance parameters, resolving the contradiction by enabling precise timing control for each cell while maintaining manageable complexity through structured group organization.

The patent applies local quality by allowing different timing advance characteristics for different TAGs based on their specific requirements. Each TAG can have customized timing advance values and expiration behaviors suited to its particular cell size and propagation characteristics, rather than applying a uniform timing advance configuration across all cells.

The patent segments the timing advance timer management by introducing separate timers for each TAG (e.g., timeAlignmentTimer1, timeAlignmentTimer2). This allows independent expiration and renewal of timing advance for different TAGs, enabling efficient data transmission in TAGs with valid timing advance while avoiding unnecessary re-synchronization in other TAGs, thus improving productivity without excessive signaling overhead.

The patent implements dynamic TAG-specific timer management where each TAG's timing advance timer can be independently started, stopped, or renewed based on uplink transmission activity in that specific TAG. This dynamic approach optimizes transmission efficiency by maintaining timing advance validity in active TAGs while reducing control overhead through selective timer management rather than blanket updates across all cells.

The patent segments timing advance updates into TAG-specific operations, allowing each TAG to be updated independently based on its own timing requirements. This enables shorter-latency updates for TAGs with smaller propagation delays while maintaining overall timing consistency through coordinated management of multiple TAGs, resolving the contradiction between consistency and latency.

The patent applies preliminary action by maintaining timing advance validity in each TAG through independent timer management. When uplink transmission is scheduled in a specific TAG, the system checks whether that TAG's timing advance is still valid before transmission, rather than waiting for a global timing advance update. This preliminary validation approach reduces latency by allowing immediate transmission in TAGs with valid timing advance.