MOBILITY MANAGEMENT FOR RRC_INACTIVE USER EQUIPMENT

• US 20180234890A1
• Filed: 02/12/2018
• Published: 08/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: New Radio LLC (Ni, Wang & Massand, PLLC)
• Original Assignee: Yung-Lan Tseng
• Inventors: Shih, Mei-Ju, Tseng, Yung-Lan, Chou, Chie-Ming
• Granted Patent: US 10,897,708 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0005 Control or signalling for completing the hand-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0033 with transfer of context 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 74/0833 Random access procedures, e.g. with 4-step access

Abstract

A method for radio access net work (RAN) based notification area (RNA) update for an RRC_INACTIVE user equipment (UE) is disclosed. The method includes initiating, by the RRC_INACTIVE UE, an RNA update procedure, when the RRC_INACTIVE UE is moving from a first base station to a second base station; and receiving, by the RRC_INACTIVE UE, the updated RNA, from at least one of a core network (CN), the first base station and the second base station.

Claims

1. A method for radio access network (RAN) based notification area (RNA) update for an RRC_INACTIVE user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

initiating, by the RRC_INACTIVE UE, an RNA update procedure, when the RRC_INACTIVE UE is moving from a first base station to a second base station;

receiving, by the RRC_INACTIVE UE, the updated RNA, from at least one of a core net work (CN), the first base station and the second base station.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, when a cell ID or a RAN area ID from the second base station does not match any of a stored list of cell IDs or a stored list of RAN area IDs, the RRC_INACTIVE UE determines that the RRC_INACTIVE UE is moving from a first RNA to a second RNA.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing, by the RRC_INACTIVE UE, a random access channel procedure with the second base station;

wherein the RRC_INACTIVE UE sends at least one of an inactive-radio network temporary identifier (I-RNTI) and a cell ID of the first, base station to the second base station.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

sending, by the second base station, at least one of the I-RNTI and a cell ID of the second base station to the first base station;

storing, by the first base station, the cell ID of the second base station.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

sending, by the first base station, a UE-specific RNA request to the CN, wherein the UE-specific RNA request includes at least one of the RRC_INACTIVE UE'"'"'s UE ID, the cell ID of the second base station, and a security key.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

sending, by the first base station, an RNA response to the second base station;

sending, by the CN, a UE-specific RNA response to the second base station;

wherein, when the security key included in the RNA response from the first base station matches the security key included in the UE-specific RNA response from the CN, the second base station sends the updated RNA included in the UE-specific RNA response from the CN to the RRC_INACTIVE UE.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

sending, by the CN, a UE-specific RNA response to the first base station, the UE-specific response having the updated RNA;

sending, by the first base station, an RNA response to the second base station, the RNA response having the updated RNA;

sending, by the second base station, the updated RNA to the RRC_INACTIVE UE.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

sending, by the first base station, an RNA response to the second base station, the RNA response having the updated RNA;

sending, by the second base station, the updated RNA to the RRC_INACTIVE UE.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the updated RNA includes at least one of the following:

a list of cell IDs;

a list of cells;

a list of RAN area IDs;

a list of RAN areas;

a list of tracking area IDs.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the updated RNA is determined by at least one of the first base station, the second base station, and the CN, based on the tracking area of the RRC_INACTIVE UE.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing, by the RRC_INACTIVE UE, a random access channel procedure with the second base station;

wherein the RRC_INACTIVE UE sends at least one of an I-RNTI and a cell ID of a third base station to the second base station, the third base station storing the RRC_INACTIVE UE'"'"'s UE context.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

sending, by the second base station, at least erne of the I-RNTI and a cell ID of the second base station to the third base station.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

sending, by the third base station, a UE-specific RNA request to the CN, wherein the UE-specific RNA request includes at least one of the RRC_INACTIVE UE'"'"'s UE ID, the cell ID of the second base station, and a security key.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

sending, by the third base station, an RNA response to the second base station;

sending, by the CN, a UE-specific RNA response to the second base station;

wherein, when the security key included in the RNA response from the third base station matches the security key included in the UE-specific RNA response from, the CN, the second base station sends the updated RNA included in the UE-specific RNA response from the CN to the RRC_INACTIVE UE.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

sending, by the second base station, a UE Assistance Delete message having the I-RNTI to the first base station to delete the RRC_INACTIVE UE'"'"'s information stored in the first base station;

sending, by the first base station, a UE Assistance Delete Confirm message having the I-RNTI to the second base station when the RRC_INACTIVE UE'"'"'s information stored in the first base station is deleted from the first base station.

16. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, the UE comprising:

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon;

at least one processor coupled to the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, and configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to;

initiate a radio access network (RAN) based notification area (RNA) update procedure, when the UE in RRC_INACTIVE state is moving from a first base station to a second base station;

receive the updated RNA from at least one of a core network (CN), the first base station and the second base station.

17. The UE of claim 16, wherein, when a cell ID or a RAN area ID from the second base station does not match any of a stored list of cell IDs or a stored list of RAN area IDs, the RRC_INACTIVE UE determines that the RRC_INACTIVE UE is moving from a first RNA to a second RNA.

18. The UE of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:

perform a random access channel procedure with the second base station;

wherein the UE sends at least one of an inactive-radio network temporary identifier (I-RNTI) and a cell ID of the first base station to the second base station.

19. The UE of claim 18, wherein:

the second base station sends at least one of the I-RNTI and a cell ID of the second base station to the first base station,

the first base station sends a UE-specific RNA request to the CN, where the UE-specific RNA request includes at least, one of the UE'"'"'s UE ID, the cell ID of the second base station, and a security key.

20. The UE of claim 19, wherein:

the first base station sends an RNA response to the second base station;

the CN sends a UE-specific RNA response to the second base station;

when a security key included in the RNA response from the first base station matches the security key included in the UE-specific RNA response from the CN, the UE receives from the second base station the updated RNA included in the UE-specific RNA response from the CN.

21. The UE of claim 19, wherein:

the CN sends a UE-specific RNA response to the first base station, the UE-specific response having the updated RNA;

the first base station sends an RNA response to the second base station, the RNA response having the updated RNA;

the UE receives the updated RNA from the second base station.

22. The UE of claim 19, wherein:

the first base station sends an RNA response to the second base station, the RNA response having the updated RNA;

the UE receives the updated RNA from the second base station,

23. The UE of claim 16, wherein the updated RNA includes at least one of the following:

a list of cell IDs;

a list of cells;

a list of RAN area IDs;

a list of RAN areas;

a list of tracking area IDs.

24. The UE of claim 16, wherein the updated RNA is determined by at least one of the first base station, the second base station, and the CN, based on the tracking area of the UE.