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US 2014/0153545 A1Published application
Handover in a soft cell network
AssigneeTelefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ)
InventorsKonstantinos DIMOU, Stefano Sorrentino
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Devices and methods for making a determination whether or not to handover a user equipment (UE) from a serving cell to a target cell are disclosed. The decision is based on a comparison that includes both control plane and data plane link quality considerations. The disclosed devices and methods may be applied to handover determinations in heterogeneous networks that implement a soft cell configuration.
Claims43
A method for improving the quality of service in a communication network having a serving cell and a target cell, comprising:
- receiving at a first network node:
- a serving cell control plane value indicating a control plane link quality between a user equipment (UE) and the serving cell,
- a serving cell data plane value indicating a data plane link quality between the UE and the serving cell,
- a target cell control plane value indicating a control plane link quality between the UE and a target cell detected by the UE, and
- a target cell data plane value indicating a data plane link quality between the UE and the target cell;
- comparing said serving cell control plane value and said serving cell data plane value to said target cell control plane value and said target cell data plane value;
- and
- initiating a handoff of said UE based on said comparison,
- wherein said target cell control plane value and said target cell data plane value are based at least in part on transmissions from one or more target network nodes in said target cell.
6 more elements
A method for improving the quality of service in a communication network having a serving cell and a target cell, comprising:
- receiving at a first network node:
- a serving cell control plane downlink value indicating a downlink control plane link quality between a user equipment (UE) and the serving cell,
- a serving cell data plane uplink value indicating an uplink data plane link quality between the UE and the serving cell,
- a target cell control plane downlink value indicating a downlink control plane link quality between the UE and a target cell detected by the UE, and
- a target cell data plane uplink value indicating an uplink data plane link quality between the UE and the target cell;
- determining at said first network node a serving cell data plane uplink value indicating an uplink data plane link quality between the UE and the serving cell,
- comparing said serving cell control plane downlink value and said serving cell data plane uplink value to said target cell control plane downlink value and said target cell data plane uplink value;
- and
- initiating a handoff of said UE based on said comparison,
- wherein said serving cell data plane uplink value is received from a second network node in said serving cell, said target cell data plane uplink value is received from one or more target network nodes in said target cell, and said target cell control plane downlink value is based at least in part on transmissions from said one or more target network nodes in said target cell.
7 more elements
A network node operable in a communication network having a serving cell and a target cell, comprising:
- a receiver configured to receive:
- a serving cell control plane value indicating a control plane link quality between a user equipment (UE) and the serving cell,
- a serving cell data plane value indicating a data plane link quality between the UE and the serving cell,
- a target cell control plane value indicating a control plane link quality between the UE and a target cell detected by the UE, and
- a target cell data plane value indicating a data plane link quality between the UE and the target cell;
- and
- a processor configured to:
- compare said serving cell control plane value and said serving cell data plane value to said target cell control plane value and said target cell data plane value;
- and
- initiate a handoff of said UE based on said comparison,
- wherein said target cell control plane value and said target cell data plane value are based at least in part on transmissions from one or more target network nodes in said target cell and said network node is located within said serving cell.
8 more elements
A network node operable in a communication network having a serving cell and a target cell, comprising:
- a receiver configured to receive:
- a serving cell control plane downlink value indicating a downlink control plane link quality between a user equipment (UE) and the serving cell,
- a serving cell data plane uplink value indicating an uplink data plane link quality between the UE and the serving cell,
- a target cell control plane downlink value indicating a downlink control plane link quality between the UE and a target cell detected by the UE, and
- a target cell data plane uplink value indicating an uplink data plane link quality between the UE and the target cell;
- a processor configured to:
- compare said serving cell control plane downlink value and said serving cell data plane uplink value to said target cell control plane downlink value and said target cell data plane uplink value;
- and
- initiate a handoff of said UE based on said comparison,
- wherein said network node is located in said serving cell, said serving cell data plane uplink value is received from a second network node in said serving cell, said target cell data plane uplink value is received from one or more target network nodes in said target cell, and said target cell control plane downlink value is based at least in part on transmissions from said one or more target network nodes in said target cell.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.