METHOD AND NODE FOR REDUCING HANDOVER SIGNALING

• US 20150304911A1
• Filed: 11/20/2012
• Published: 10/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Wang, Min, Wanstedt, Stefan
• Granted Patent: US 10,285,098 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00 Hand-off or reselection arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0088 Scheduling hand-off measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/32 by location or mobility data, e.g. speed data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/324 by mobility data, e.g. speed data

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for supporting handover in a first radio network node of a wireless network. The first radio network node serves wireless devices of a serving cell. The method comprises grouping a plurality of wireless devices in the serving cell into a group, and selecting one of the plurality of wireless devices as a coordinating wireless device for the group. The method also comprises requesting a measurement report from the coordinating wireless device for the group, wherein the measurement report is to support a joint handover decision for the plurality of wireless devices of the group.

Claims

1. A method for supporting handover in a first radio network node of a wireless network, wherein the first radio network node serves wireless devices of a serving cell, the method comprising:

grouping a plurality of wireless devices in the serving cell into a group,

selecting one of the plurality of wireless devices as the coordinating wireless device for the group, and

requesting a measurement report from the coordinating wireless device, wherein the measurement report is to support a joint handover decision for the plurality of wireless devices of the group.

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

receiving a measurement report from the coordinating wireless device,

determining a target cell based on the received measurement report, and

sending one handover request for the plurality of wireless devices to a second radio network node serving the target cell, the handover request comprising identities of the plurality of wireless devices.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a response to the handover request from the second radio network node, the response comprising a dedicated preamble for each of the plurality of wireless devices, and

transmitting a handover command to each of the plurality of wireless devices, the handover command comprising the dedicated preamble for the respective wireless device.

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

receiving at least one of positioning measurements and radio channel quality measurements from the plurality of wireless devices in the serving cell,

and wherein the grouping of the plurality of wireless devices in the serving cell is based on the at least one of the positioning measurements and the radio channel quality measurements.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein selecting one of the plurality of wireless devices as the coordinating wireless device for the group comprises:

determining a radio channel quality level for each of the plurality of wireless devices based on the received radio channel quality measurements, and

selecting the wireless device having the highest determined radio channel quality level as the coordinating wireless device.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein grouping the plurality of wireless devices further comprises:

determining a radio channel quality level for each of the plurality of wireless devices based on the received radio channel quality measurements, and

grouping the plurality of wireless devices into the group based on the determined radio channel quality levels, and maximum and minimum radio channel quality levels defined for the group.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein grouping the plurality of wireless devices further comprises:

determining a distance to the first radio network node for each of the plurality of wireless devices based on the received positioning measurements,

grouping the plurality of wireless devices into the group based on the determined distances to the first radio network node, and maximum and a minimum distances defined for the group.

8. The method according to claim 4, wherein the coordinating wireless device is selected based on the positioning measurements, and wherein the grouping of the plurality of wireless devices comprises requesting the coordinating wireless device to form the group using device to device functionality.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the grouping of the plurality of wireless devices is performed based also on a speed and/or a direction of movement of the plurality of wireless devices.

10. A first radio network node of a wireless network configured to serve wireless devices of a serving cell and to support handover of the wireless devices, the first radio network node comprising:

a processing circuit configured to group a plurality of wireless devices in the serving cell into a group, and to select one of the plurality of wireless devices as the coordinating wireless device for the group, and wherein the processing circuit is further configured to request a measurement report from the coordinating wireless device, wherein the measurement report is to support a joint handover decision for the plurality of wireless devices of the group.

11. The first radio network node according to claim 10, further comprising a receiver and a communication unit, wherein the receiver is configured to receive a measurement report from the coordinating wireless device, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to determine a target cell based on the received measurement report, and wherein the communication unit is configured to send one handover request for the plurality of wireless devices to a second radio network node serving the target cell, the handover request comprising identities of the plurality of wireless devices.

12. The first radio network node according to claim 11, further comprising a transmitter, wherein the communication unit is further configured to receive a response to the handover request from the second radio network node, the response comprising a dedicated preamble for each of the plurality of wireless devices, and wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit a handover command to each of the plurality of wireless devices, the handover command comprising the dedicated preamble for the respective wireless device.

13. The first radio network node according to claim 10, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive at least one of positioning measurements and radio channel quality measurements from the plurality of wireless devices in the serving cell, and wherein the processing circuit is configured to group the plurality of wireless devices in the serving cell based on the at least one of the positioning measurements and the radio channel quality measurements.

14. The first radio network node according to claim 13, wherein the processing circuit is configured to select one of the plurality of wireless devices as the coordinating wireless device for the group by:

determining a radio channel quality level for each of the plurality of wireless device based on the received radio channel quality measurements, and

selecting the wireless device having the highest determined radio channel quality level as the coordinating wireless device.

15. The first radio network node according to claim 13, wherein the processing circuit is configured to group the plurality of wireless devices by:

determining a radio channel quality level for each of the plurality of wireless devices based on the received radio channel quality measurements, and

grouping the plurality of wireless devices into the group based on the determined radio channel quality levels, and maximum and minimum radio channel quality levels defined for the group.

16. The first radio network node according to claim 13, wherein the processing circuit is configured to group the plurality of wireless devices by:

determining a distance to the first radio network node for each of the plurality of wireless device based on the received positioning measurements, and

grouping the plurality of wireless devices into the group based on the determined distances to the first radio network node, and maximum and minimum distances defined for the group.

17. The first radio network node according to claim 13, wherein the processing circuit is configured to select one of the plurality of wireless devices as the coordinating wireless device based on the positioning measurements, and to group the plurality of wireless devices by requesting the coordinating wireless device to form the group using device to device functionality.

18. The first radio network node according to claim 10, wherein the processing circuit is configured to group the plurality of wireless devices based also on a speed and/or a direction of movement of the plurality of wireless devices.