IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,924,704
Granted Patent B2
US 11,924,704 · App. 17/294,875 · Granted Mar 5, 2024

Conditional mobility selection

Inventors: Icaro L. J. Da Silva (Solna, SE); Johan Rune (Lidingö, SE); Cecilia Eklöf (Täby, SE); Oscar Ohlsson (Bromma, SE)
Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
H04W36/30H04W36/0016H04W36/00837H04W36/0085
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,924,704
App. No.
17/294,875
Granted
Mar 5, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

Embodiments include conditional mobility methods performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network. Such methods include receiving, from a network node via a serving cell, a conditional mobility configuration related to a plurality of mobility procedures, of different types, towards one or more candidate target entities. The conditional mobility configuration includes one or more triggering conditions for the plurality of mobility procedures. Such methods include monitoring for the triggering conditions based on measurements of radio signals associated with the candidate target entities and/or the serving cell. Such methods include, based on detecting a particular triggering condition, performing a particular mobility procedure towards a particular candidate target entity, wherein the particular candidate target entity and/or the particular mobility procedure is selected based on a selection rule. Other embodiments include complementary methods performed by a network node, and UEs and network nodes configured to perform such methods.

Claims (85)

1. A conditional mobility method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving, from a network node via a serving cell, a conditional mobility configuration related to a plurality of mobility procedures towards one or more candidate target entities, wherein the plurality of mobility procedures includes conditional handover and conditional resume, and wherein the conditional mobility configuration includes one or more triggering conditions for the plurality of mobility procedures;

monitoring for the one or more triggering conditions based on measurements of radio signals associated with at least one of the following: the candidate target entities and the serving cell; and

based on detecting a particular triggering condition:

performing a particular one of the mobility procedures towards a particular one of the candidate target entities; and

selecting at least one of the particular candidate target entity and the particular mobility procedure based on a selection rule.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the candidate target entities include any of the following:

one or more cells, other than the serving cell;

one or more frequencies;

one or more beams; and

one or more reference signals associated with respective beams.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the candidate target entities include a plurality of candidate target cells; and

the particular triggering condition is that a signal strength of the serving cell is a predetermined amount below a signal strength of a particular candidate target cell.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conditional mobility configuration includes:

one or more first configurations, for conditional handover, corresponding to respective one or more first candidate target entities; and

one or more second configurations, for conditional resume, corresponding to respective one or more second candidate target entities.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein:

each first configuration includes an RRCReconfiguration message prepared by a target node associated with the corresponding first candidate target entity; and

each second configuration includes an identifier of a UE context.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein selecting the particular mobility procedure based on the selection rule comprises:

selecting conditional handover when the particular candidate target entity is one of the first candidate target entities; and

selecting conditional resume when the particular candidate target entity is one of the second candidate target entities.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein one of the following applies:

the first candidate target entities include one or more first cells served by the network node and the second candidate target entities include one or more second cells served by other network nodes; or

the first candidate target entities include one or more first cells associated with a first measurement object and the second candidate target entities include one or more second cells associated with a second measurement object.

8. The method of claim 4 , wherein:

each first configuration includes one or more first triggering conditions;

each second configuration includes one or more second triggering conditions; and

selecting the particular mobility procedure based on the selection rule comprises:

selecting conditional handover when the particular triggering condition is one of the first triggering conditions; and

selecting conditional resume when the particular triggering condition is one of the second triggering conditions.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein:

the first candidate target entities and the second candidate target entities include a common candidate target entity; and

the first and second triggering conditions associated with the common candidate target entity are different.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the particular triggering condition is that the serving cell signal strength is a predetermined amount below a first threshold;

the candidate target entities include a plurality of frequencies arranged in order of priority and a plurality of candidate target cells; and

selecting the particular candidate target entity based on the selection rule comprises:

determining signal strengths of the candidate target cells for a highest-priority frequency;

selecting the candidate target cell with the highest signal strength when any of the determined signal strengths for the candidate target cells is above a second threshold; and

when none of the determined signal strengths for the candidate target cells are above the threshold, repeating the determining and selecting operations for a next highest-priority frequency.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the conditional mobility configuration comprises one or more validity timers;

monitoring for the triggering conditions further comprises initiating the validity timers; and

selecting the particular mobility procedure is further based on whether a validity timer associated with the particular mobility procedure and with the particular candidate target entity has expired.

12. A user equipment (UE) configured for conditional mobility between cells in a wireless network, the UE comprising:

radio interface circuitry configured to communicate with one or more network nodes via one or more cells in the wireless network; and

processing circuitry operably coupled with the radio interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the radio interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to the method of claim 1 .

13. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a user equipment (UE), configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to the method of claim 1 .

14. A method, performed by a network node in a wireless network, for configuring conditional mobility of a user equipment (UE) in the wireless network, the method comprising:

determining, for the UE, a conditional mobility configuration related to a plurality of mobility procedures towards one or more candidate target entities, wherein the plurality of mobility procedures includes conditional handover and conditional resume, and wherein the conditional mobility configuration includes one or more triggering conditions for the plurality of mobility procedures; and

sending the conditional mobility configuration to the UE via a serving cell.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the candidate target entities include any of the following:

one or more cells, other than the serving cell;

one or more frequencies;

one or more beams; and

one or more reference signals associated with respective beams.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein:

the candidate target entities include a candidate target cell; and

one of the triggering conditions is that a signal strength of the serving cell is a predetermined amount below a signal strength of the candidate target cell.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the conditional mobility configuration includes:

one or more first configurations, for conditional handover, corresponding to respective one or more first candidate target entities; and

one or more second configurations, for conditional resume, corresponding to respective one or more second candidate target entities.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein:

each first configuration includes an RRCReconfiguration message prepared by a target node associated with the corresponding first candidate target entity; and

each second configuration includes an identifier of a UE context.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein one of the following applies:

the first candidate target entities include one or more first cells served by the network node and the second candidate target entities include one or more second cells served by other network nodes; or

the first candidate target entities include one or more first cells associated with a first measurement object and the second candidate target entities include one or more second cells associated with a second measurement object.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein:

each first configuration includes one or more first triggering conditions; and

each second configuration includes one or more second triggering conditions.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein:

the first candidate target entities and the second candidate target entities include a common candidate target entity; and

the first and second triggering conditions associated with the common candidate target entity are different.

22. The method of claim 14 , wherein:

one of the triggering conditions is that a signal strength of the serving cell is a predetermined amount below a first threshold; and

the candidate target entities include:

a plurality of frequencies arranged in order of priority, and

a plurality of candidate target cells.

23. A network node, of a wireless network, arranged to configure conditional mobility of one or more user equipment (UEs) between cells of the wireless network, the network node comprising:

communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with the one or more UEs; and

processing circuitry operably coupled with the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to the method of claim 14 .

24. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a network node in a wireless network, configure the network node to perform operations corresponding to the method of claim 14 .

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 18, 2021
From: DA SILVA, ICARO L. J.; EKLÖF, CECILIA; OHLSSON, OSCAR; RUNE, JOHAN
To: TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)
Reel/Frame 056276/0108 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62781049 · Dec 18, 2018
Related Publication 20220007254A1 · Jan 6, 2022