Terminal handover method, controller, terminal, base station, and system

• US 10,638,390 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2018
• Issued: 04/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Huang, Yada
• Primary Examiner(s): Mew, Kevin D
• Application Number:
  US16/024,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20180310214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 669 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0083 Determination of parameters used for hand-off, e.g. generation or modification of neighbour cell lists
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/02 Buffering or recovering information during reselection ; Modification of the traffic flow during hand-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/026 Multicasting of data during hand-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/18 for allowing seamless reselection, e.g. soft reselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/302 due to low signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/38 by fixed network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/12 Access point controller devices

Abstract

In a terminal handover method, a controller sends a radio identifier and a control channel resource of a terminal that are configured by the controller to the terminal. When the terminal is located in a coverage area of a first base station, the controller sends the radio identifier and the control channel resource of the terminal to the first base station. The controller determines that the terminal is located in a coverage area of a second base station, and sends the radio identifier and the control channel resource of the terminal to the second base station. The terminal receives the control signalling sent from the first base station and the second base station separately by using the control channel resource.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining, by a controller, that a terminal, which has been located in a coverage area of a first base station, moves into a coverage area of a second base station;

sending, by the controller, to the second base station, a radio identifier of the terminal, and a control channel resource that is configured by the controller for the terminal, and that is used by the terminal to receive control signaling from the first base station, wherein the radio identifier and the control channel resource is received by the terminal from the first base station when the terminal initially accesses the first base station, and wherein the first base station receives the radio identifier and the control channel resource from the controller; and

wherein the terminal can use the control channel resource to separately receive control signaling from the second base station and control signaling from the first base station.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining, by the controller, that the terminal moves into the coverage area of the second base station comprises:

receiving, by the controller, from a base station that is the first base station or the second base station, a measurement report that the terminal or the base station generates after determining that a radio signal measurement quantity meets a pre-set condition for a channel between the terminal and the base station, according to a measurement result of a channel measurement performed on the channel; and

wherein the measurement report is generated by the terminal, the channel measurement is performed by the terminal, and the base station sends the measurement report to the controller after receiving the measurement report from the terminal.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining, by the controller, that the terminal moves into the coverage area of the second base station comprises:

receiving, by the controller, from a base station that is the first base station or the second base station, a measurement result of a channel measurement performed by the base station on a position tracking signal sent by the terminal, wherein the channel measurement is performed of a channel between the terminal and the base station; and

determining, by the controller, that a radio signal measurement quantity meets a pre-set condition for the channel, according to the measurement result.

4. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

receiving, by the controller, data transmission status information sent by a gateway, wherein the data transmission status information comprises a status of data transmission between the gateway and the first base station; and

when the controller determines that the status of data transmission between the gateway and the first base station does not meet a pre-set transmission condition, sending, by the controller, a teardown instruction to the gateway or the first base station to tear down a transmission path between the gateway and the first base station.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a distributed controller that is deployed in the first base station and the second base station;

and

wherein, when the terminal is located in the coverage area of the first base station, a control function of the controller is implemented by the first base station, and when the terminal is located in the coverage area of the second base station, a control function of the controller is implemented by the second base station.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the controller is deployed in the first base station.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining, by the controller, that the terminal moves into the coverage area of the second base station comprises:

receiving, by the controller, from a base station that is the first base station or the second base station, a measurement report that the terminal or the base station generates after determining that a radio signal measurement quantity meets a pre-set condition for a channel between the terminal and the base station, according to a measurement result of a channel measurement performed on the channel; and

wherein the measurement report is generated by the base station, the base station obtains the measurement result by performing the channel measurement on a position tracking signal sent by the terminal, or by receiving the measurement result from the terminal after the terminal performs the channel measurement.

7. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a second base station, from a controller, a radio identifier of a terminal and a control channel resource that is configured by the controller for the terminal to use to receive control signaling from a first base station, wherein the controller sends the radio identifier and the control channel resource to the second base station after the controller has determined that the terminal, which has been in a coverage area of the first base station, moves into a coverage area of the second base station, wherein the radio identifier and the control channel resource is received by the terminal from the first base station when the terminal initially accesses the first base station, and wherein the first base station receives the radio identifier and the control channel resource from the controller;

sending, by the second base station, control signaling to the terminal by using the control channel resource received from the controller; and

transmitting, by the second base station, data on a shared channel between the second base station and the terminal.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the second base station, a measurement report sent by the terminal, and forwarding the measurement report to the controller, wherein the measurement report sent by the terminal is sent by the terminal when the terminal performs channel measurement according to measurement configuration information provided by the controller and determines that a radio signal measurement quantity between the second base station and the terminal meets a pre-set first channel condition;

or

receiving, by the second base station, a measurement result sent by the terminal, and sending a measurement report to the controller when the second base station determines, according to the measurement result, that a radio signal measurement quantity between the second base station and the terminal meets a pre-set second channel condition, wherein the measurement result sent by the terminal is generated after the terminal performs channel measurement according to measurement configuration information provided by the controller.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first base station implements a control function of the controller.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first base station implements a control function of the controller when the terminal is located in the coverage area of the first base station;

and

wherein the method further comprises receiving, by the second base station, a control function move instruction from the first base station when the terminal moves into the coverage area of the second base station, wherein the control function move instruction comprises configuration context of the terminal.

19. The method according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

generating, by the second base station, a measurement result after performing channel measurement on a position tracking signal sent by the terminal, and sending the measurement result generated by the second base station to the controller.

20. The method according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

performing, by the second base station, channel measurement on a position tracking signal sent by the terminal, and sending, by the second base station, a measurement report to the controller when the second base station determines that a radio channel measurement quantity between the second base station and the terminal meets a pre-set channel condition.

11. A controller, comprising:

a transceiver circuit;

a non-transitory memory storing a program; and

a processor, wherein the program comprises instructions that cause the processor to determine that a terminal, which has been located in a coverage area of a first base station, moves into a coverage area of a second base station;

wherein the transceiver circuit is configured to

send to the second base station, a radio identifier of the terminal and a control channel resource that is configured by the controller for the terminal, and that is used by the terminal to receive control signaling from the first base station, and

when the terminal initially accesses the first base station, send the radio identifier and the control channel resource to the first base station, wherein the first base station sends the radio identifier and the control channel resource to the terminal; and

wherein the terminal can use the control channel resource to separately receive control signaling from the second base station and control signaling from the first base station.

12. The controller according to claim 11, wherein the transceiver circuit is further configured to receive, from a base station that is the first base station or the second base station, a measurement report that the terminal or the base station generates after determining that a radio signal measurement quantity meets a pre-set condition for a channel between the terminal and the base station, according to a measurement result of a channel measurement performed on the channel;

wherein, when the measurement report is generated by the terminal, the channel measurement is performed by the terminal, and the base station sends the measurement report to the controller after receiving the measurement report from the terminal;

wherein, when the measurement report is generated by the base station, the base station obtains the measurement result by performing the channel measurement on a position tracking signal sent by the terminal, or by receiving the measurement result from the terminal after the terminal performs the channel measurement; and

wherein the program comprises further instructions that cause the processor to determine that the terminal moves into the coverage area of the second base station, according to the measurement report.

13. The controller according to claim 11, wherein the transceiver circuit is further configured to receive, from a base station that is the first base station or the second base station, a measurement result of a channel measurement performed by the base station on a position tracking signal sent by the terminal, wherein the channel measurement is performed of a channel between the terminal and the base station;

and

wherein the program comprises further instructions that cause the processor to determine that the terminal moves into the coverage area of the second base station by determining that a radio signal measurement quantity meets a pre-set condition for the channel, according to the measurement result.

14. The controller according to claim 11, wherein the transceiver circuit is further configured to receive data transmission status information sent by a gateway, wherein the data transmission status information comprises a status of data transmission between the gateway and the first base station;

wherein the program comprises further instructions that cause the processor to determine when the status of data transmission between the gateway and the first base station does not meet a pre-set transmission condition; and

wherein, when it is determined that the status of data transmission between the gateway and the first base station does not meet the pre-set transmission condition, the transceiver circuit is further configured to send a teardown instruction to the gateway or the first base station to tear down a transmission path between the gateway and the first base station.

15. The controller according to claim 11, wherein a control function of the controller is implemented by the first base station.

16. The controller according to claim 11, wherein, when the terminal is located in the coverage area of the first base station, a control function of the controller is implemented by the first base station, and when the terminal is located in the coverage area of the second base station, a control function of the controller is implemented by the second base station.

17. A base station, comprising:

a first interface circuit; and

a second interface circuit;

wherein the first interface circuit is configured to;

receive, from a controller, a radio identifier of a terminal and a control channel resource configured by the controller for the terminal to use to receive control signaling from another base station, wherein the controller sends the radio identifier and the control channel resource to the base station after the controller has determined that the terminal, which has been in a coverage area of the other base station, moves into a coverage area of the base station, wherein the radio identifier and the control channel resource is received by the terminal from the other base station when the terminal initially accesses the other base station, and wherein the other base station receives the radio identifier and the control channel resource from the controller; and

send control signaling to the terminal by using the control channel resource; and

wherein the second interface circuit is configured to transmit data on a shared channel between the base station and the terminal.