Distributed implementation of self-organizing tracking areas

• US 10,165,504 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2014
• Issued: 12/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Viering, Ingo, Chandramouli, Devaki, Du, Lei, Liu, Yang
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehra, Inder P
• Application Number:
  US15/325,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20170171801A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,624 Days
• Field of Search: 455434, 4554323, 4554352, 4554353, 455455, 455515, 455458, 455403, 455410, 455411, 340 763, 23547202
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/02 Processing of mobility data, e.g. registration information at HLR [Home Location Register] or VLR [Visitor Location Register]; Transfer of mobility data, e.g. between HLR, VLR or external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

An example technique may include determining, by a first base station in a wireless network, a user device has transitioned from an active state to an idle state, determining, by the first base station, a list of base stations and a list of cells corresponding to the list of base stations representing a tracking area for the user device based on a signal received from at least one second base station, the signal received from the at least one second base station including an indication of an amount of activity on at least one boundary between the at least one second base station and a plurality of third base stations, and controlling sending, from the first base station to the user device, a signal including at least one of the list of base stations and the list of cells as a tracking area for the user device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, by a first base station in a wireless network, a user device has transitioned from an active state to an idle state;

determining, by the first base station, a list of base stations and a list of cells corresponding to the list of base stations representing a tracking area for the user device based on a signal received from at least one second base station, the signal received from the at least one second base station including an indication of an amount of activity on at least one boundary between the at least one second base station and a plurality of third base stations;

controlling sending, from the first base station to the user device, a signal including at least one of the list of base stations and the list of cells as a tracking area for the user device;

controlling receiving, at the first base station from a mobility management entity, a paging signal for the user device; and

controlling sending, by the first base station to at least one base station in the list of base stations, the paging signal for the user device, wherein the at least one base station is a non-neighboring base station to the first base station.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

controlling sending, from the first base station to a mobility management entity, a signal including at least one of the list of base stations and the list of cells as a tracking area for the user device.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining, by the first base station, a list corresponding boundary activity and base station location; and

determining the list of base stations representing the tracking area for the user device based on the list corresponding boundary activity and base station location.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining, at the first base station, at least one mobility parameter for the user device; and

determining the list of base stations representing the tracking area for the user device is further based on the mobility parameters for the user device.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

controlling receiving, at the first base station from a first neighboring base station of the at least one second base station, a signal including an indication of an amount of activity at the at least one second base station and a plurality of third base stations wherein the indication includes a base station boundary list that indicates activity associated with a boundary between two of the plurality of third base stations exceeds a threshold amount of activity in a period of time;

determining if the first base station includes a boundary to one of the at least one second base station with an amount of activity that exceeds the threshold amount of activity in a period of time; and

upon determining the first base station includes a boundary to one of the at least one second base station with an amount of activity that exceeds the threshold amount of activity in a period of time;

adding an identification of the boundary to the base station boundary list; and

controlling sending, by the first base station to each of the at least one second base station, the base station boundary list.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

controlling receiving, at the first base station from another base station, a paging signal for another user device; and

at least one of;

controlling sending, by the first base station to the another user device, the paging signal for the another user device, and

controlling sending, by the first base station to yet another base station, the paging signal for the another user device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the paging signal for the user device is sent over a modified X1 application protocol.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling sending the paging signal includes:

passing the paging signal through each of the list of base stations until all base stations in the list of base stations receive the paging signal.

9. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

determine a user device in a wireless network has transitioned from an active state to an idle state;

determine a list of base stations and a list of cells corresponding to the list of base stations representing a tracking area for the user device based on a signal received from at least one base station, the signal received from the at least one base station including an indication of an amount of activity on at least one boundary between at the at least one second base station and a plurality of other base stations;

control sending, to the user device, a signal including at least one of the list of base stations and the list of cells as a tracking area for the user device;

control receiving, by a first base station from a mobility management entity, a paging signal for the user device; and

control sending, to each base station in the list of base stations, the paging signal, wherein at least one of the base stations in the list of base stations is a non-neighboring base station to the first base station.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

control sending, to a mobility management entity, a signal including at least one of the list of base stations and the list of cells as a tracking area for the user device.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

maintain a list corresponding boundary activity and base station location; and

determine the list of base stations representing the tracking area for the user device based on the list corresponding boundary activity and base station location.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

determine mobility parameters for the user device; and

determine at least one of the list of base stations and the list of cells representing the tracking area for the user device is further based on the mobility parameters for the user device.

13. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

control receiving, from a first neighboring base station of the at least one base station, a signal including an indication of an amount of boundary activity at the at least one base station and a plurality of base stations wherein the indication includes a base station boundary list that indicates activity associated with a boundary between two of the plurality of base stations exceeds a threshold amount of activity in a period of time;

determining if the apparatus includes a boundary to one of the at least one base station with an amount of activity that exceeds the threshold amount of activity in a period of time; and

upon determining the apparatus includes a boundary to one of the at least one second base station with an amount of activity that exceeds the threshold amount of activity in a period of time;

add an identification of the boundary to the base station boundary list; and

control sending, to each of the at least one second base station, the base station boundary list.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

control receiving, from another base station, a paging signal for another user device; and

at least one of;

control sending, to the another user device, the paging signal for the another user device, and

controlling sending, to yet another base station, the paging signal for the another user device.

15. A method comprising:

controlling receiving, at a first base station in a wireless network from a second base station of a plurality of base stations in the wireless network, a signal including a base station boundary list having an indication of an amount of activity associated with a boundary between at least two of the plurality of base stations;

determining if the first base station includes a boundary to one of the plurality of base stations with an amount of activity that exceeds a threshold amount of activity in a period of time; and

upon determining the first base station includes a boundary to one of the plurality of base stations with an amount of activity that exceeds a threshold amount of activity in a period of time;

adding an identification of the boundary to the base station boundary list; and

controlling sending, by the first base station to at least one of the plurality of stations, the base station boundary list, wherein the at least one of the base stations of the plurality of base stations is a non-neighboring base station to the first base station.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining, by the first base station, the user device has transitioned from an active state to an idle state;

determining, by the first base station, at least one of a list of base stations and a list of cells representing a tracking area for the user device based on the base station boundary list;

controlling sending, from the first base station to the user device, a signal including at least one of the list of base stations and the list of cells as a tracking area for the user device.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising one of:

controlling sending, from the first base station to a mobility management entity, a signal indicating a release of the user device and including an identification of the first base station as an anchor base station for the user device; and

controlling sending, from the first base station to the mobility management entity, a signal including at least one of the list of base stations and the list of cells as a tracking area for the user device.

18. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

control receiving of at least one of a list of base stations and a list of cells associated with an idle user device;

store at least one of the list of base stations and the list of cells as representative of a tracking area for the idle user device;

control receiving of an event configured to trigger a paging of the idle user device; and

control sending of a paging signal to each of the base stations in at least one of the list of base stations and the list of cells, the paging signal being received by each of the base stations.

19. A method of determining an updated tracking area based on an amount of user device activity across a cell boundary, the method comprising:

controlling receiving, at a first base station in a wireless network from a second base station of a plurality of base stations in the wireless network, a signal including a cell activity boundary list including at least an indication of an amount of user device activity associated with one or more user devices transitioning across a first cell boundary between a first cell and a second cell;

determining, by the first base station, that the amount of user device activity across the first cell boundary is greater than a threshold;

determining, based on the determining that the amount of user device activity across the first cell boundary is greater than the threshold, an updated tracking area that includes both the first cell and the second cell in order to reduce tracking area updates; and

sending, by the first base station, the updated tracking area to a first idle state user device.