HANDOVER MANAGEMENT IN AIR-TO-GROUND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

• US 20160014657A1
• Filed: 07/11/2014
• Published: 01/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: JAYARAMAN, Srikant, LE, Hai Truong, KUPPUSWAMY, Kalyan, DEVAIRAKKAM, Rajakumar Ebenezar, SAMUEL, Ebenezer Pugalenthi, LlU, Ruoheng, KAMAVARAM, Sunil Kumar, MALLADI, Chanakya
• Granted Patent: US 9,826,448 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0009 for a plurality of users or terminals, e.g. group communication or moving wireless networks user group management H04W4/08; processing of subscriber group data H04W8/186
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0058 Transmission of hand-off measurement information, e.g. 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 36/00837 Determination of triggering parameters for hand-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0085 Hand-off measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point

Abstract

Managing handover procedures of two or more modems from a serving base station to a target base station includes receiving at least one message indicative of at least one measurement report of radio conditions from at least one modem of the two or more modems; determining, based on the at least one message, whether to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station; and upon determining to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, indicating to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station a measurement report configured to trigger a respective handover procedure from the serving base station to the target base station.

Claims

1. A method of managing handover procedures of two or more modems from a serving base station to a target base station, the method comprising:

receiving at least one message indicative of at least one measurement report of radio conditions from at least one modem of the two or more modems;

determining, based on the at least one message, whether to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station; and

upon determining to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, indicating to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station a measurement report configured to trigger a respective handover procedure from the serving base station to the target base station.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining, based on the at least one message, whether to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station comprises:

determining, based on the at least one message, that a number of modems within the two or more modems are in a handover condition; and

determining to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station when the number of modems exceeds a threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicating to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station the measurement report configured to trigger the respective handover procedure comprises:

when a first measurement report of a modem indicates that the modem is in a handover condition, indicating to the modem to send the first measurement report to the serving base station; and

when the first measurement report of the modem indicates that the modem is not in the handover condition, indicating to the modem to send a second measurement report to the serving base station, wherein the second measurement report is configured to trigger a handover procedure of the modem from the serving base station to the target base station.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, when the first measurement report of the modem indicates that the modem is not in the handover condition, the indicating to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station the measurement report configured to trigger the respective handover procedure further comprises:

sending the second measurement report to the modem.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the at least one message indicative of the at least one measurement report comprises at least one of:

receiving a first measurement report from a modem;

or

receiving an indication that the modem is in the handover condition.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a signal, from a first modem of the two or more modems, indicating that the first modem has received a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message from the serving base station in response to the first modem sending to the serving base station the measurement report;

determining, based on the signal, whether to start handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station; and

upon determining to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, indicating to each of the two or more modems to start to perform a respective handover procedure from the serving base station to the target base station.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the determining, based on the signal, whether to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station further comprises:

upon receiving the signal, starting a timer; and

determining to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station upon an expiry of the timer or upon receiving acknowledgement signals, from each modem within the two or modems, indicating that each modem has received a respective RRC reconfiguration message from the serving base station in response to sending a respective measurement report to the serving base station.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the handover procedures comprises:

a random access procedure; and

an RRC connection setup procedure.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the two or more modems are located in an aircraft, the method further comprising:

upon determining to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, notifying an antenna system of the aircraft to steer a beam from the serving base station to the target base station.

10. An apparatus for managing handover procedures of two or more modems from a serving base station to a target base station, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving at least one message indicative of at least one measurement report of radio conditions from at least one modem of the two or more modems;

means for determining, based on the at least one message, whether to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station; and

means for, upon determining to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, indicating to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station a measurement report configured to trigger a respective handover procedure from the serving base station to the target base station.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for determining, based on the at least one message, whether to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station comprises:

means for determining, based on the at least one message, that a number of modems within the two or more modems are in a handover condition; and

means for determining to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station when the number of modems exceeds a threshold.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for indicating to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station the measurement report configured to trigger the respective handover procedure comprises:

means for, when a first measurement report of a modem indicates that the modem is in a handover condition, indicating to the modem to send the first measurement report to the serving base station; and

means for, when the first measurement report of the modem indicates that the modem is not in the handover condition, indicating to the modem to send a second measurement report to the serving base station, wherein the second measurement report is configured to trigger a handover procedure of the modem from the serving base station to the target base station.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the means for indicating to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station the measurement report configured to trigger the respective handover procedure further comprises:

means for, when the first measurement report of the modem indicates that the modem is not in the handover condition, sending the second measurement report to the modem.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for receiving of the at least one message indicative of the at least one measurement report comprises at least one of:

means for receiving a first measurement report from a modem;

or

means for, receiving an indication that the modem is in the handover condition.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for receiving a signal, from a first modem of the two or more modems, indicating that the first modem has received a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message from the serving base station in response to the first modem sending to the serving base station the measurement report;

means for determining, based on the signal, whether to start handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station; and

means for, upon determining to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, indicating to each of the two or more modems to start to perform a respective handover procedure from the serving base station to the target base station.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the means for determining, based on the signal, whether to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station further comprises:

means for, upon receiving the signal, starting a timer; and

means for determining to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station upon an expiry of the timer or upon receiving acknowledgement signals, from each modem within the two or modems, indicating that each modem has received a respective RRC reconfiguration message from the serving base station in response to sending a respective measurement report to the serving base station.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the handover procedures comprises:

a random access procedure; and

an RRC connection setup procedure.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the two or more modems are located in an aircraft, the apparatus further comprising:

means for, upon determining to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, notifying an antenna system of the aircraft to steer a beam from the serving base station to the target base station.

19. An apparatus for managing handover procedures of two or more modems from a serving base station to a target base station, the apparatus comprising:

a handover management component configured to receive at least one message indicative of at least one measurement report of radio conditions from at least one modem of the two or more modems; and

a handover deciding component configured to determine, based on the at least one message, whether to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station;

wherein the handover deciding component is further configured to, upon determining to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, indicate to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station a measurement report configured to trigger a respective handover procedure from the serving base station to the target base station.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein to determine, based on the at least one message, whether to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, the handover deciding component is configured to:

determine, based on the at least one message, that a number of modems within the two or more modems are in a handover condition; and

determine to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station when the number of modems exceeds a threshold.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein to indicate to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station the measurement report configured to trigger the respective handover procedure, the handover deciding component is configured to:

when a first measurement report of a modem indicates that the modem is in a handover condition, indicate to the modem to send the first measurement report to the serving base station; and

when the first measurement report of the modem indicates that the modem is not in the handover condition, indicate to the modem to send a second measurement report to the serving base station, wherein the second measurement report is configured to trigger a handover procedure of the modem from the serving base station to the target base station.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein, when the first measurement report of the modem indicates that the modem is not in the handover condition, to indicate to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station the measurement report configured to trigger the respective handover procedure, the handover deciding component is further configured to:

send the second measurement report to the modem.

23. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein to receive the at least one message indicative of the at least one measurement report, the handover management component is configured to perform at least one of:

receiving a first measurement report from a modem;

or

receiving an indication that the modem is in the handover condition.

24. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:

a handover procedure initiation component configured to;

receive a signal, from a first modem of the two or more modems, indicating that the first modem has received a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message from the serving base station in response to the first modem sending to the serving base station the measurement report;

determine, based on the signal, whether to start handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station; and

upon determining to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, indicate to each of the two or more modems to start to perform a respective handover procedure from the serving base station to the target base station.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein to determine, based on the signal, whether to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, the handover procedure initiation component is further configured to:

upon receiving the signal, start a timer; and

determine to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station upon an expiry of the timer or upon receiving acknowledgement signals, from each modem within the two or modems, indicating that each modem has received a respective RRC reconfiguration message from the serving base station in response to sending a respective measurement report to the serving base station.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein each of the handover procedures comprises:

a random access procedure; and

an RRC connection setup procedure.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the two or more modems are located in an aircraft, wherein the handover procedure initiation component is further configured to:

upon determining to start the handover procedures of the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, notify an antenna system of the aircraft to steer a beam from the serving base station to the target base station.

28. A non-transitory computer-readable medium executable by a processor for managing handover procedures of two or more modems from a serving base station to a target base station, comprising:

code for receiving at least one message indicative of at least one measurement report of radio conditions from at least one modem of the two or more modems;

code for determining, based on the at least one message, whether to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station; and

code for, upon determining to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station, indicating to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station a measurement report configured to trigger a respective handover procedure from the serving base station to the target base station.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the code for determining, based on the at least one message, whether to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station comprises:

code for determining, based on the at least one message, that a number of modems within the two or more modems are in a handover condition; and

code for determining to handover the two or more modems from the serving base station to the target base station when the number of modems exceeds a threshold.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the code for indicating to each of the two or more modems to send to the serving base station the measurement report configured to trigger the respective handover procedure comprises:

code for, when a first measurement report of a modem indicates that the modem is in a handover condition, indicating to the modem to send the first measurement report to the serving base station; and

code for, when the first measurement report of the modem indicates that the modem is not in the handover condition, indicating to the modem to send a second measurement report to the serving base station, wherein the second measurement report is configured to trigger a handover procedure of the modem from the serving base station to the target base station.