U.S. patent application number 17/115771 was filed with the patent office on 2021-03-25 for methods and apparatus for enhanced information reporting.
The applicant listed for this patent is QUALCOMM Incorporated. Invention is credited to Mungal Singh DHANDA, Praveen KONA, Umesh PHUYAL, Alberto RICO ALVARINO, Subrahmanya Manikanta VEERAMALLU, Srihari VODNALA.
Application Number | 20210092617 17/115771 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005261028 |
Filed Date | 2021-03-25 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20210092617 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
VEERAMALLU; Subrahmanya Manikanta ;
et al. |
March 25, 2021 |
METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ENHANCED INFORMATION REPORTING
Abstract
Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to
communication systems, and more particularly, to enhanced reporting
by user equipment (UE). An example method generally includes
receiving an information request from a network node and in
response, sending a message to the network node, wherein the
message comprises information that allows the network node to
determine a starting coverage enhancement (CE) level of the UE.
Inventors: |
VEERAMALLU; Subrahmanya
Manikanta; (Hyderabad, IN) ; PHUYAL; Umesh;
(San Diego, CA) ; RICO ALVARINO; Alberto; (San
Diego, CA) ; KONA; Praveen; (Hyderabad, IN) ;
DHANDA; Mungal Singh; (Slough, GB) ; VODNALA;
Srihari; (Adilabad, IN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
QUALCOMM Incorporated |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005261028 |
Appl. No.: |
17/115771 |
Filed: |
December 8, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
16016334 |
Jun 22, 2018 |
10863364 |
|
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17115771 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 8/22 20130101; H04W
24/10 20130101; H04W 16/26 20130101; H04L 67/12 20130101; H04W
76/18 20180201; H04W 84/18 20130101; H04W 74/0833 20130101; H04W
24/08 20130101; H04W 4/70 20180201 |
International
Class: |
H04W 16/26 20060101
H04W016/26; H04W 4/70 20060101 H04W004/70; H04W 76/18 20060101
H04W076/18; H04W 74/08 20060101 H04W074/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 21, 2017 |
IN |
201741026042 |
Claims
1. A method for enhanced reporting in wireless communication by a
user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving an
information request, relating to a random access procedure or a
connection establishment procedure associated with the random
access procedure, from a network node; and in response to the
received information request, sending a message to the network
node, wherein the message comprises information that allows the
network node to determine a starting coverage enhancement (CE)
level of the random access procedure.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application for patent is a continuation application of
U.S. application Ser. No. 16/016,334, filed Jun. 22, 2018, issued
as U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/863,364 on Dec. 8, 2020, which claims
priority to India provisional application number 201741026042,
filed Jul. 21, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference in
its entirety.
FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to communication
systems, and more particularly, to enhanced information reporting
by user equipment.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to
provide various telecommunication services such as telephony,
video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless
communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies
capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing
available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power).
Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division
multiple access (CDMA) systems, wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) systems,
time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division
multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division
multiple access (OFDMA) systems, wide band single-carrier frequency
division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division
synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.
[0004] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in
various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol
that enables different wireless devices to communicate on a
municipal, national, regional, and even global level. For example,
5G NR (new radio) communications technology is envisaged to expand
and support diverse usage scenarios and applications with respect
to current mobile network generations. In an aspect, 5G
communications technology includes massive machine type
communications (MTC) for a very large number of connected devices,
and typically transmitting a relatively low volume of
non-delay-sensitive information. However, as the demand for mobile
broadband access continues to increase, there exists a need for
further improvements in 5G communications technology and beyond.
Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other
multi-access technologies and the telecommunication standards that
employ these technologies.
[0005] Self-organization is the process where a structure or
pattern appears in a system without a central authority or external
element imposing it through planning. The vision of self-organizing
networks (SON), which is in line with the views of 3GPP (3rd
Generation Partnership Project), is that future radio access
networks need to be easier to plan, configure, manage, optimize,
and heal compared to how it used to be. SON has been codified by
the 3GPP specifications in a series of standards. Newly added base
stations should be self-configured in line with a `plug-and-play`
paradigm, while all operational base stations will regularly
self-optimize parameters and algorithms behavior in response to
observed network performance and radio conditions. Furthermore,
self-healing mechanism can be triggered to temporarily compensate
for a detected equipment outage, while awaiting a more permanent
solution.
[0006] Next generation wireless technologies (e.g., 5G and beyond)
will also rely on SON procedures to improve access to the network
for a massive number of MTC devices. In particular, an increased
complexity of random access procedures will necessitate adapted
reporting methods. Therefore, there is a desire for a method and an
apparatus for an enhanced random access channel and/or connection
establishment failure (RACH/CEF) reporting procedure.
SUMMARY
[0007] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more
aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects.
This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated
aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical
elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all
aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or
more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed
description that is presented later.
[0008] According to an example, a method of enhanced reporting by a
user equipment (UE) is provided. The UE may be operating in a
machine-type communication (MTC) mode. MTC mode refers to a mode of
operation wherein the UE engages in machine-type communication,
such as for example, enhanced MTC (eMTC) communications, Narrowband
Internet of Things (NB-IoT) communications, 5G New Radio (NR) IoT
(LP-IoT (low power Internet of Things), massive IoT, etc.). The
method generally includes: receiving an information request,
relating to a random access procedure or a connection establishment
procedure associated with the random access procedure, from a
network node; and in response to the received information request,
sending a message to the network node, wherein the message
comprises information that allows the network node to determine a
starting coverage enhancement (CE) level of the random access
procedure.
[0009] According to an example, an apparatus for enhanced reporting
by a UE is provided. The apparatus generally includes at least one
processor configured to: receive an information request, relating
to a random access procedure or a connection establishment
procedure associated with the random access procedure, from a
network node, and in response to the received information request,
send a message to the network node, wherein the message comprises
information that allows the network node to determine a starting
coverage enhancement (CE) level of the random access procedure; and
a memory coupled to the at least one processor.
[0010] According to an example, an apparatus for enhanced reporting
by a UE is provided. The apparatus generally includes: means for
receiving an information request, relating to a random access
procedure or a connection establishment procedure associated with
the random access procedure, from a network node; and means for, in
response to the received information request, sending a message to
the network node, wherein the message comprises information that
allows the network node to determine a starting coverage
enhancement (CE) level of the random access procedure.
[0011] According to an example, a computer-readable medium for
enhanced reporting by a UE is provided. The computer-readable
medium generally includes code, which when executed by at least one
processor, causes the UE to: receive an information request,
relating to a random access procedure or a connection establishment
procedure associated with the random access procedure, from a
network node; and in response to the received information request,
send a message to the network node, wherein the message comprises
information that allows the network node to determine a starting
coverage enhancement (CE) level of the random access procedure.
[0012] According to an example, a method of enhanced reporting by a
network node is provided. The method generally includes: sending an
information request, relating to a random access procedure or a
connection establishment procedure associated with the random
access procedure, to a user equipment (UE); and receiving a message
from the UE in response to the information request, wherein the
message comprises information that allows the network node to
determine a starting coverage enhancement (CE) level of the random
access procedure.
[0013] According to an example, an apparatus for enhanced reporting
by a network node is provided. The apparatus generally includes at
least one processor configured to: send an information request,
relating to a random access procedure or a connection establishment
procedure associated with the random access procedure, to a user
equipment (UE), and receive a message from the UE in response to
the information request, wherein the message comprises information
that allows the network node to determine a starting coverage
enhancement (CE) level of the random access procedure; and a memory
coupled to the at least one processor.
[0014] According to an example, an apparatus for enhanced reporting
by a network node is provided. The apparatus generally includes:
means for sending an information request, relating to a random
access procedure or a connection establishment procedure associated
with the random access procedure, to a user equipment (UE); and
means for receiving a message from the UE in response to the
information request, wherein the message comprises information that
allows the network node to determine a starting coverage
enhancement (CE) level of the random access procedure.
[0015] According to an example, a computer-readable medium for
enhanced reporting by a network node is provided. The
computer-readable medium generally includes code, which when
executed by at least one processor, causes the network node to:
send an information request, relating to a random access procedure
or a connection establishment procedure associated with the random
access procedure, to a user equipment (UE); and receive a message
from the UE in response to the information request, wherein the
message comprises information that allows the network node to
determine a starting coverage enhancement (CE) level of the random
access procedure.
[0016] Numerous other aspects are provided including methods,
apparatus, systems, computer program products, computer-readable
medium, and processing systems, for example, for performing
techniques disclosed herein.
[0017] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the
one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully
described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following
description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain
illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features
are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which
the principles of various aspects may be employed, and this
description is intended to include all such aspects and their
equivalents.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The disclosed aspects will hereinafter be described in
conjunction with the appended drawings, provided to illustrate and
not to limit the disclosed aspects, wherein like designations
denote like elements.
[0019] FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an
example of a wireless communication network, in accordance with
certain aspects of the present disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram conceptually illustrating an
example of a base station in communication with a user equipment
(UE) in a wireless communications network, in accordance with
certain aspects of the present disclosure.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a call flow diagram illustrating the steps of a
random access procedure in LTE, in accordance with certain aspects
of the present disclosure.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for
RACH reporting by a UE, in accordance with certain aspects of the
present disclosure.
[0023] FIG. 5 is a call flow diagram illustrating the steps of an
access procedure and a connection establishment procedure
associated with the access procedure for a UE, in accordance with
certain aspects of the present disclosure.
[0024] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for
enhanced information reporting by a UE, in accordance with certain
aspects of the present disclosure.
[0025] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations
performed by a base station for enhance information reporting by a
UE, in accordance with certain aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0026] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals
have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements
that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements
disclosed in one aspect may be beneficially utilized on other
aspects without specific recitation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] Various aspects are now described with reference to the
drawings. In the following description, for purposes of
explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to
provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. It may be
evident, however, that such aspect(s) may be practiced without
these specific details.
[0028] Aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for
enhanced random access channel/connection establishment failure
(RACH/CEF) reporting for, for example, Narrow-Band
Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT) devices and Bandwidth reduced Low
complexity/Coverage Enhancement (BL/CE) devices, which may be
deployed in Self Organizing/Optimizing Networks.
[0029] The techniques described herein may be used for various
wireless communication networks such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA,
SC-FDMA and other networks. The terms "network" and "system" are
often used interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio
technology such as universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA),
cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes wideband CDMA (WCDMA), time division
synchronous CDMA (TD-SCDMA), and other variants of CDMA. cdma2000
covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may
implement a radio technology such as global system for mobile
communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may implement a radio
technology such as evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), ultra mobile broadband
(UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20,
Flash-OFDM.RTM., etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of universal mobile
telecommunication system (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and
LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), in both frequency division duplex (FDD) and
time division duplex (TDD), are newer releases of UMTS that use
E-UTRA, which employs OFDMA on the downlink and SC-FDMA on the
uplink. NR (e.g., 5G radio access) is an example of an emerging
telecommunication standard. NR is a set of enhancements to the LTE
mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE,
LTE-A, NR, and GSM are described in documents from an organization
named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB
are described in documents from an organization named "3rd
Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The techniques described
herein may be used for the wireless networks and radio technologies
mentioned above as well as other wireless networks and radio
technologies. For clarity, certain aspects of the techniques are
described below for LTE/LTE-Advanced, and LTE/LTE-Advanced
terminology is used in much of the description below. LTE and LTE-A
are referred to generally as LTE.
[0030] A wireless communication network may include a number of
network nodes that can support communication for a number of
wireless devices. Wireless devices may include user equipments
(UEs). Some examples of UEs may include cellular phones, smart
phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless modems,
handheld devices, tablets, laptop computers, netbooks, smartbooks,
ultrabooks, wearables (e.g., smart watch, smart bracelet, smart
glasses, virtual reality goggles, smart ring, smart jewelry, smart
clothing), displays (e.g., heads-up displays), healthcare/medical
devices, vehicular devices, navigation devices, entertainment
devices (e.g., music players, game consoles), etc. Some UEs may be
considered machine-type communication (MTC) UEs, which may include
remote devices, such as drones, robots/robotic devices, sensors,
meters (water meters, electricity meters, meters for other types of
measurements, etc.), location tags, etc., that may communicate with
a network node such as a base station, another remote device, or
some other entity. Machine type communications (MTC) may refer to
communication involving at least one remote device on at least one
end of the communication and may include forms of data
communication which involve one or more entities that do not
necessarily need human interaction. MTC devices, as well as other
devices, may include Internet of Things (IoT) (e.g., eMTC, NB-IoT)
devices, and techniques disclosed herein may be applied to IoT
devices (e.g., eMTC devices, NB-IoT devices, etc.), as well as
other devices.
[0031] Some next generation, New Radio (NR), or 5G and beyond
networks may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously
supporting communication for multiple communication devices, such
as UEs. In LTE or LTE-A network, a set of one or more BSs may
define an evolved Node B (eNB). In other examples (e.g., in a next
generation or 5G network), a wireless multiple access communication
system may include a number of distributed units (e.g., edge units
(EUs), edge nodes (ENs), radio heads (RHs), smart radio heads
(SRHs), transmission reception points (TRPs), etc.) in
communication with a number of central units (e.g., CU, central
nodes (CNs), access node controllers (ANCs), etc.), where a set of
one or more distributed units (DUs), in communication with a CU,
may define an access node (e.g., AN, a new radio base station (NR
BS), a NR NB, a gNB (next generation Node B), a 5G BS, an access
point (AP), etc.). A BS or DU may communicate with a set of UEs on
downlink channels (e.g., for transmissions from a BS or to a UE)
and uplink channels (e.g., for transmissions from a UE to a BS or
DU). A network node generally refers to an element in a network,
such as a base station, an eNB, a gNB, an access point, an access
node, a femto cell, a pico cell, a home eNB (HeNB), a mobility
management entity (MME), CUs, CNs, access management function
(AMF), session management function (SMF), etc., whether physical or
virtual. Depending on the context, a channel may refer to the
channel on which signaling/data/information is transmitted or
received, or to the signaling/data/information that is transmitted
or received on the channel.
[0032] It is noted that while aspects may be described herein using
terminology commonly associated with 4G wireless technologies,
aspects of the present disclosure can be applied in other
generation-based communication systems, such as 5G and later.
Example Wireless Communications Network
[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication network
100, in which aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced.
For example, techniques presented herein may be used to perform
enhanced reporting operations for UEs in coverage enhancement. In
aspects, one or more of the UEs 120 (e.g., IoT devices) in the
network 100 may have capabilities that are different compared to
other UEs 120 in the network 100. In one example, some of the UEs
120 may have the capability to support narrowband operations (for
eMTC, NB-IoT, etc.).
[0034] In aspects, a network node (e.g., base station 110) may
determine different sets of resources that are available for
narrowband communications with one or more different sets of UEs
120 (e.g., IoT devices). Each set of UEs 120 may include UEs of a
particular type (or capability) (e.g., such as whether the UEs
support multiple PRB operations for NB IoT). The base station (BS)
110 may allocate the different sets of resources to the UEs 120 in
the different sets based, at least in part, on the type of UEs 120.
Once allocated, the base station 110 may transmit an indication of
the allocation to the UEs 120.
[0035] The network 100 may be an LTE network or some other wireless
network, such as NR network. Wireless network 100 may include a
number of base stations 110 and other network nodes. A base station
(BS) is a network node that communicates with user equipments (UEs)
and may also be referred to as a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a
NR BS, a 5G BS, a gNB, an access point, a femto cell, etc. Each BS
may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic
area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to a coverage area of a
base station and/or a base station subsystem serving this coverage
area, depending on the context in which the term is used.
[0036] An eNB or gNB, for example, may provide communication
coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or other
types of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic
area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow
unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A pico cell
may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow
unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A femto cell
may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may
allow restricted access by UEs having association with the femto
cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). An eNB for a
macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a pico
cell may be referred to as a pico eNB. An eNB for a femto cell may
be referred to as a femto eNB or a home eNB (HeNB). In the example
shown in FIG. 1, a base station 110a may be a macro eNB for a macro
cell 102a, a base station 110b may be a pico eNB for a pico cell
102b, and a base station 110c may be a femto eNB for a femto cell
102c. A base station may support one or multiple (e.g., three)
cells. The terms "eNB", "gNB", "base station", "network node", and
"cell" may be used interchangeably herein.
[0037] Wireless network 100 may also include relay stations. A
relay station is an entity that can receive a transmission of data
from an upstream station (e.g., a base station or a UE) and send a
transmission of the data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a
base station). A relay station may also be a UE that can relay
transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a
relay station 110d may communicate with macro base station 110a and
a UE 120d in order to facilitate communication between base station
110a and UE 120d. A relay station may also be referred to as a
relay base station, a relay gNB, a relay eNB, a relay, etc.
[0038] Wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that
includes base stations of different types, e.g., macro eNBs, pico
eNBs, femto eNBs, relay eNBs, etc. These different types of eNBs
may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas,
and different impact on interference in wireless network 100. For
example, macro eNBs may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5
to 40 Watts) whereas pico eNBs, femto eNBs, and relay eNBs may have
lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 Watts).
[0039] A network controller 130 may couple to a set of base
stations and may provide coordination and control for these base
stations. Network controller 130 may communicate with the base
stations via a backhaul. The base stations may also communicate
with one another, e.g., directly or indirectly via a wireless or
wireline backhaul.
[0040] UEs 120 (e.g., 120a, 120b, 120c) may be dispersed throughout
wireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. In
FIG. 1, a solid line with double arrows indicates desired
transmissions between a UE and a serving base station, which is an
base station designated to serve the UE on the downlink and/or
uplink. A dashed line with double arrows indicates potentially
interfering transmissions between a UE and a base station.
[0041] One or more UEs 120 in the wireless communication network
100 (e.g., an LTE network) may also be a narrowband bandwidth UE.
These UEs may co-exist with legacy and/or advanced UEs (e.g.,
capable of operating on a wider bandwidth) in the LTE network and
may have one or more capabilities that are limited when compared to
the other UEs in the wireless network. For example, in LTE Rel-12,
when compared to legacy and/or advanced UEs in the LTE network, the
narrowband UEs may operate with one or more of the following: a
reduction in maximum bandwidth (relative to legacy UEs), a single
receive radio frequency (RF) chain, reduction of peak rate (e.g., a
maximum of 1000 bits for a transport block size (TBS) may be
supported), reduction of transmit power, rank 1 transmission, half
duplex operation, etc. In some cases, if half duplex operation is
supported, the narrowband UEs may have a relaxed switching timing
from transmit to receive (or from receive to transmit) operations.
For example, in one case, compared to a switching timing of 20
microseconds (us) for legacy and/or advanced UEs, the narrowband
UEs may have a relaxed switching timing of 1 millisecond (ms).
[0042] In some cases, the narrowband UEs (e.g., in LTE Rel-12) may
also be able to monitor downlink (DL) control channels in the same
away as legacy and/or advanced UEs in the LTE network monitor DL
control channels. Release 12 narrowband UEs may still monitor
downlink (DL) control channels in the same way as regular UEs, for
example, monitoring for wideband control channels in the first few
symbols (e.g., physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) as well
as narrowband control channels occupying a relatively narrowband,
but spanning a length of a subframe (e.g., enhanced PDCCH
(ePDCCH)).
[0043] Narrowband UEs may be limited to a particular narrowband
assignment, for example, of 1.4 MHz or six resource blocks (RBs)
for eMTC, or of 200 kHz or one RB for NB-IoT, partitioned out of
the available system bandwidth) while co-existing within a wider
system bandwidth (e.g., at 1.4/3/5/10/15/20 MHz). Additionally,
narrowband UEs may also be able to support one or more coverage
modes of operation. Certain standards (e.g., LTE Release 13) have
support for various additional enhancements. For example, the
narrowband UE may be able to support coverage enhancements up to 15
dB.
[0044] As used herein, devices with limited communication
resources, e.g. smaller bandwidth relative to non-bandwidth limited
devices, may be referred to generally as narrowband UEs. Similarly,
devices, e.g., legacy devices and/or advanced devices (e.g., in LTE
or 5G), that are non-bandwidth limited may be referred to generally
as wideband UEs. Generally, wideband UEs are capable of operating
on a larger amount of bandwidth than narrowband UEs.
[0045] In some cases, a UE (e.g., a narrowband UE or a wideband UE)
may perform a cell search and acquisition procedure before
communicating in the network. In one case, with reference to the
LTE network illustrated in FIG. 1 as an example, the cell search
and acquisition procedure may be performed when the UE is not
connected to a LTE cell and wants to access the LTE network. In
these cases, the UE may have just powered on, restored a connection
after temporarily losing connection to the LTE cell, etc.
[0046] In other cases, the cell search and acquisition procedure
may be performed when the UE is already connected to a LTE cell.
For example, the UE may have detected a new LTE cell and may
prepare a handover to the new cell. As another example, the UE may
be operating in one or more low power states (e.g., may support
discontinuous reception (DRX)) and, upon exiting the one or more
low power states, may have to perform the cell search and
acquisition procedure (even though the UE is still in connected
mode).
[0047] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a design of base station 110
and UE 120, which may be one of the base stations and one of the
UEs in FIG. 1. Base station 110 may be equipped with T antennas
234a through 234t, and UE 120 may be equipped with R antennas 252a
through 252r, where in general T.gtoreq.1 and R.gtoreq.1.
[0048] At base station 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive
data from a data source 212 for one or more UEs, select one or more
modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based on CQIs
received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data
for each UE based on the MCS(s) selected for the UE, and provide
data symbols for all UEs. Transmit processor 220 may also process
system information (e.g., for SRPI, etc.) and control information
(e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, etc.) and
provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Processor 220 may
also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., the
CRS) and synchronization signals (e.g., the PSS and SSS). A
transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230
may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data
symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or the
reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol
streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a through 232t. Each modulator
232 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM,
etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may
further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and
upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. T
downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be
transmitted via T antennas 234a through 234t, respectively.
[0049] At UE 120, antennas 252a through 252r may receive the
downlink signals from base station 110 and/or other base stations
and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254a
through 254r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition
(e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) its received
signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 254 may further
process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received
symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all R
demodulators 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the
received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A
receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the
detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120 to a data sink
260, and provide decoded control information and system information
to a controller/processor 280. A channel processor may determine
RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.
[0050] On the uplink, at UE 120, a transmit processor 264 may
receive and process data from a data source 262 and control
information (e.g., for reports comprising RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI,
etc.) from controller/processor 280. Processor 264 may also
generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The
symbols from transmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO
processor 266 if applicable, further processed by modulators 254a
through 254r (e.g., for SC-FDM, OFDM, etc.), and transmitted to
base station 110. At base station 110, the uplink signals from UE
120 and other UEs may be received by antennas 234, processed by
demodulators 232, detected by a MIMO detector 236 if applicable,
and further processed by a receive processor 238 to obtain decoded
data and control information sent by UE 120. Processor 238 may
provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 and the decoded control
information to controller/processor 240. Base station 110 may
include communication unit 244 and communicate to network
controller 130 via communication unit 244. Network controller 130
may include communication unit 294, controller/processor 290, and
memory 292.
[0051] Controllers/processors 240 and 280 may direct the operation
at base station 110 and UE 120, respectively, to perform techniques
presented herein for paging and/or random access procedures for
narrowband IoT with multiple PRBs. For example, processor 240
and/or other processors and modules at base station 110, and
processor 280 and/or other processors and modules at UE 120, may
perform or direct operations of base station 110 and UE 120,
respectively. For example, controller/processor 280 and/or other
controllers/processors and modules at UE 120 may perform or direct
UE operations 300 in FIG. 3, operations 400 in FIG. 4, UE
operations 500 in FIG. 5, and operations 600 in FIG. 6. Similarly,
controller/processor 240 and/or other controllers/processors and
modules at BS 110 may perform or direct BS operations 300 in FIG.
3, BS operations 500 in FIG. 5, and operations 700 in FIG. 7.
Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for base
station 110 and UE 120, respectively. A scheduler 246 may schedule
UEs for data transmission on the downlink and/or uplink.
Random Access
[0052] In cellular systems, a terminal may request a connection
setup, commonly referred to as random access. In LTE, for example,
random access is used for several purposes, including (but not
limited to): [0053] for initial access when establishing a radio
link; [0054] to re-establish a radio link radio-link failure; and
[0055] for handover when uplink synchronization needs to be
established to the new cell.
[0056] Acquisition of uplink timing is often an important objective
for all the cases above. When establishing an initial radio link,
the random access procedure also serves the purpose of assigning a
unique identity, the C-RNTI (Cell--Radio Network Temporary
Identifier), to the terminal. Either a contention-based or
contention-free random access procedure can be used.
Contention-based random access uses a four-step procedure, and
contention-free random access procedure uses a three-step
procedure.
[0057] FIG. 3 illustrates the four steps of a contention-based
random access procedure 300. In a first step 302, UE 120 transmits
a random access preamble (msg1) on the Physical Random Access
Channel (PRACH), allowing BS 110 to estimate the transmission
timing of the UE. In a second step 304, the network transmits a
random access response (msg2) including a timing advance command to
adjust the terminal transmit timing, based on the timing estimate
obtained in the first step. In addition to establishing uplink
synchronization, the second link also assigns uplink resources to
the terminal to be used in a third step 306 of the random access
procedure. At 306, UE 120 transmits msg3 including mobile-terminal
identity information using the uplink shared channel (UL-SCH)
similar to normal scheduled data. The exact content of this
signaling may depend on the state of the terminal, particular
whether it is previously known to the network or not. Msg3 may
include a RRC connection request. With the RRC connection request,
the random access procedure initiates an associated connection
establishment procedure. The fourth step 308 includes the
transmission of a contention resolution message (msg4) from BS 110
to UE 120 on the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH). This step
resolves any contention due to multiple terminals trying to access
the network using the same random access resource and concludes the
contention-based random access procedure. For a contention-free
random access procedure, the UE should already be in RRC connected
mode. As a first step of the contention-free random access
procedure, a random access preamble is assigned to the UE by a
network node. The preamble is dedicated to the UE for random access
and not used by other UEs, and contention is avoided. In a second
step, the UE transmits the assigned random access preamble to the
network node. In a third step, the network node transmits the
random access response to the UE, concluding the contention-free
random access procedure.
Self-Organising Network
[0058] An important feature of Self-Organizing Networks (SON) in
LTE systems is RACH reporting. RACH performance historically has
relied on drive testing to quantify, as a failed procedure is not
recorded by the network, and the network is not aware of the number
of preambles/contention for a successful case as well. With RACH
reporting the UE can be requested to report how many preambles it
used to access the network and if it encountered any contention. In
a basic implementation, this information can simply be recorded
statistically for an operator to look at. In a full SON
implementation, the requested preamble power can be adjusted up or
down, depending on whether UEs are reporting too many preambles or
too few. More RACH signatures can be assigned if contention is
widely reported.
[0059] FIG. 4 illustrates the steps of an information reporting
procedure 400 performed by a legacy-LTE UE. The procedure itself
starts with the UE reporting its support (not shown). The network
can then request from the UE to report information (e.g., about a
RACH procedure, connection establishment failure, etc.) through a
UE information request 402. As used herein, the term UE information
request refers to a communication sent to the UE to request
information, such as for example, information regarding the result
of a procedure such as random access procedure, connection
establishment procedure, etc. This information request is indicated
by the network in an information request element sent to the UE.
The UE information request is a message referred to as a
UEInformationRequest message. This message is used by the base
station to request or retrieve information from the UE. The request
for the UE to report information about a RACH procedure may be
indicated by setting the parameter rach-ReportReq to .TRUE. in the
UEInformationRequest message. In response to the UE information
request, the UE reports the result in a UE information response
message 404. As used herein, the term UE information response
refers to a communication that provides information that is
responsive to an information request. This UE information response
message 404 may include, for example, information that indicates
how many preambles were sent during the last successful random
access procedure, whether a contention failure occurred during the
procedure (indicated by .TRUE.), etc. As an example, the UE
information response is a message referred to as a
UEInformationResponse message, and this message is used by the UE
to transfer the information requested by the base station. The
requested information about the RACH procedure is provided in an
rach-Report information element. These reports may be referred to
as SON reports. Similar SON reports can be requested by the network
regarding other events and/or procedures, such as radio link
failure (RLF) report, minimization of drive test (MDT) report, and
connection establishment failure (CEF) report. A CEF report
contains connection establishment failure information and is
requested by the network, e.g., by indicating the request in
UEInformationRequest message sent to the UE. The request for the
CEF report containing CEF information is indicated by setting the
parameter connEstFailReportReq to .TRUE. in the
UEInformationRequest message. UE sends the CEF report in the
connEstFailReport information element in the UEInformationResponse
message.
[0060] For MTC devices, such as BL/CE UEs or NB-IoT UEs, or other
devices enabled for enhanced coverage, the RACH procedure follows
an overall protocol that may be similar to the one followed by
legacy LTE devices, with a few important differences. The first
difference is that some of the messages exchanged between the UE
and the base station may be transmitted in repetition, in order to
compensate for the often poor signal environment, e.g., low SNR
(signal to noise ratio), at which these UEs operate. The second
difference is the introduction of coverage enhancement levels (CE
levels), which define different PRACH configurations and message
repetition patterns. For example, a UE may determine its current CE
level, from a number of possible choices (e.g., CE level 0 to CE
level 3), based on the current measured RSRP (Reference Signal
Received Power) and thresholds provided by the base station.
[0061] CE operation may be categorized into four CE levels (e.g.,
CE levels 0, 1, 2, 3) according to standard. CE levels 0 and 1 may
correspond to CE Mode A, and CE levels 2 and 3 may correspond to CE
Mode B. CE Mode A is designed for moderate coverage conditions, and
CE Mode B is designed for more extreme coverage conditions and may
be applicable for CINR<-6 dB to -18 dB. For example, if the most
recent PRACH CE level for a UE is 0 or 1, contents of the random
access response grant are interpreted according to CE Mode A, and
if the most recent PRACH CE level for a UE is 2 or 3, contents of
the random access response grant are interpreted according to CE
Mode B. For example, CE levels may be related to PRACH resources
(e.g., which ones to select), repetition/hopping parameters, etc.
As CE levels increase, for example, amount of repetitions (e.g., of
DL/UL transmissions), amount of transmission attempts, or
transmission power, etc., may increase to provide enhanced
coverage. The higher the CE level, the higher the number of random
access preamble (msg1) repetitions, to allow for a better decoding
ability by the base station. CE levels may be chosen during, e.g.,
initial access or handover (HO).
[0062] FIG. 5 illustrates the steps of an example procedure 500
involving random access procedure and an associated connection
establishment procedure for an IoT or MTC device such as a BL/CE UE
or a NB-IoT UE. The UE may be UE 120 and the base station may be BS
110 illustrated in FIG. 2. A connection establishment procedure
(e.g., RRC connection establishment procedure) may be used to
transition the UE from idle mode (e.g., RRC idle mode) to connected
mode (e.g., RRC connected mode). UE may need to transition to RRC
connected mode before transferring application data, for example.
In step A, the base station transmits parameters used for basic
PRACH configuration via SIB2 (System Information Block 2). The UE
determines what kind of PRACH resource (time, frequency, preamble
ID, etc.) to use based on the information received via SIB2, and it
determines the appropriate CE level based on the measured RSRP. In
step B, random access preambles (Msg1) are transmitted with
repetition by the UE. The maximum number of preambles/Msg1 to be
sent at a CE level may be given by a parameter, such as
maxNumPreambleAttemptCE, defined for each CE level. The number of
repetitions of each preamble/Msg1 may be given by a parameter such
as numRepetitionPerPreambleAttempt. If the UE fails after
maxNumPreambleAttemptCE attempts at a given CE level, it moves to
the next CE level and tries again. In step C, the base station may
indicate resources for a random access response (RAR) through
MPDCCH, the MPDCCH transmitted with repetition. In step D, the base
station transmits the RAR (Msg2), with repetition. In step E, UE
transmits Msg3, with repetition. Msg 3 may correspond to a
connection request, such as RRC (radio resource control) connection
request, which begins the connection establishment procedure.
Uplink resource allocation for the RRC connection request may be
signaled within the RAR. A timer (such as T300 timer) is started
based on certain conditions, such as transmission of the RRC
connection request and is stopped upon reception of a RRC
connection setup message or a RRC connection reject message, cell
re-selection, or abortion of connection establishment by upper
layers. The timer's value may be broadcast as system information,
such as within SIB 2. If the timer expires before UE receives a RRC
connection setup message, RRC connection establishment is
considered to be a failure, and connection establishment failure
information is stored by the UE, and this information may be
reported in a CEF report requested by network. Upon receiving an
RRC connection setup message, UE may stop the timer and transition
to RRC connected mode. The UE may then proceed to complete the RRC
connection establishment procedure by sending an RRC Connection
Setup Complete message. In step F, base station may transmit MPDCCH
for Msg4 (contention resolution), with repetition. In Step G, base
station transmits Msg 4, with repetition. Base station may transmit
a connection setup message (e.g., RRC connection setup message)
with Msg4. In step H, UE acknowledges receipt of transmission by
HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) Ack (acknowledgement). In
step I, UE requests uplink resources for RRC connection complete
message via scheduling request (SR). In step J, base station may
transmit MPDCCH for the RRC connection complete message. In step K,
UE transmits the connection setup complete message (e.g., RRC
connection setup complete message), completing the connection
establishment procedure.
[0063] An appropriate RACH report for a BL/CE UE or a NB-IoT UE
should be able to convey the correct number of Msg1 used to reach
the base station, along with the number of repetitions. The base
station will be able to deduce a start CE level and, accordingly,
the number of Msg1 repetitions used by a UE for most of the cases
when the maximum number of preamble attempts per CE level (e.g.,
maxNumPreambleAttemptCE parameter) is the same for different CE
levels. However, in a few cases highlighted in Table 1 below, an
ambiguity may arise and the base station is unable to deduce the
correct start CE level and the total number of Msg1 repetitions
used by the UE during the last successful RACH process. Table 1
shows, for each total number of preambles reported, the possible
combinations of preambles per CE level and the corresponding start
CE level. For example, for total number of preambles=9, 10, 16, 17,
18, 22, 23, 24, or 25, two combinations of number of preambles per
CE level et corresponding start CE level, are possible.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Total Start Start Number of Possible Combo 1
CE Possible Combo 2 CE Preambles (CE3, CE2, CE1, CE0) Level (CE3,
CE2, CE1, CE0) Level 1 (1, 0, 0, 0) CE3 2 (2, 0, 0, 0) CE3 3 (3, 0,
0, 0) CE3 4 (4, 0, 0, 0) CE3 5 (5, 0, 0, 0) CE3 6 (6, 0, 0, 0) CE3
7 (7, 0, 0, 0) CE3 8 (8, 0, 0, 0) CE3 11 (3, 8, 0, 0) CE2 12 (4, 8,
0, 0) CE2 13 (5, 8, 0, 0) CE2 14 (6, 8, 0, 0) CE2 15 (7, 8, 0, 0)
CE2 19 (4, 8, 7, 0) CE1 20 (5, 8, 7, 0) CE1 21 (6, 8, 7, 0) CE1 26
(5, 8, 7, 6) CE0 27 (6, 8, 7, 6) CE0 28 (7, 8, 7, 6) CE0 29 (8, 8,
7, 6) CE0 30 (9, 8, 7, 6) CE0 31 (10, 8, 7, 6) CE0
[0064] The ambiguous cases highlighted (by bold and underlined
font) above can occur in two situations: [0065] when the UE uses
more than maxNumPreambleAttemptCE repetitions in the last
configured CE level (Situation 1); or [0066] when the
maxNumPreambleAttemptCE parameter increases with increased CE
level, for at least two CE levels (Situation 2).
[0067] In an example of Situation 1, the same
maxNumPreambleAttemptCE parameter may be chosen, as shown below:
[0068] maxNumPreambleAttemptCE 0=n4 [0069] maxNumPreambleAttemptCE
1=n4 [0070] maxNumPreambleAttemptCE 2=n4 [0071]
maxNumPreambleAttemptCE 3=n4 If the UE succeeds its RACH attempt at
CE level 3 after using more than n4 preamble repetitions (as
allowed if the T300 timer has not expired), then the base station
will be unable to deduce the correct start CE level.
[0072] In an example of Situation 2, a worst case scenario could be
when the maxNumPreambleAttemptCE parameter increases for each CE
level and the UE succeeds its RACH attempt at the last configured
CE level (CE level 3), as shown below: [0073]
maxNumPreambleAttemptCE 0=n6 [0074] maxNumPreambleAttemptCE 1=n7
[0075] maxNumPreambleAttemptCE 2=n8 [0076] maxNumPreambleAttemptCE
3=n10 Here again the base station could be unable to deduce the
correct start CE level. For instance, looking at the row
corresponding to a Total number of Preambles equal to 22, in Table
1, that total number could be obtained starting at CE level 1 and
going through 7, 8, and 7 preambles respectively at levels CE1,
CE2, and CE3. Alternatively, the same total number of 22 preambles
could be obtained starting at CE level 0 and going through 6, 7, 8,
1 preambles respectively at levels CE0, CE1, CE2, and CE3.
[0077] A disambiguation parameter may, for example, be used to
distinguish between these possible combinations. As used herein,
the term "disambiguation parameter" refers to a parameter that may
be used to help distinguish between different possibilities.
Further, as used herein, the term "disambiguation Information
Element" refers to an information element or other parameter that
includes a disambiguation parameter. A starting CE level parameter
(e.g., a "startCELevel" Information Element) may be used, for
example, as disambiguation parameter in the RACH report. With the
inclusion of this information, for example, the base station will
be able to successfully (e.g., unambiguously) deduce or determine
how many CE levels a UE traversed and the total number of Msg1
repetitions used during that UE's last successful RACH process. As
another example, the base station will be able to successfully
deduce or determine how many CE levels a UE traversed during the
last connection establishment failure. For example, for the
situation in the Table 1 row corresponding to a Total Number of
Preambles equal to 22, if the UE's starting CE level is CE 1, the
UE can set the starting CE level parameter to indicate CE 1, and if
the UE's starting CE level is CE 0, the UE can set the starting CE
level parameter to indicate CE 0. The starting CE level may be
indicated in the form of a number, a bit map, a set of Boolean
values, flags, etc. The inclusion of this type of parameter, such
as startCELevel IE (information element), has the added advantage
that the base station is able to determine the downlink RSRP
measured by the UE during its last successful RACH process as,
generally, the starting CE level determination is based on
configured RSRP thresholds.
[0078] A legacy base station would not be able to determine
downlink RSRP conditions during a successful RACH/attach process,
as no measurement event can be configured before establishing
Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs). A RACH report from a BL/CE or
NB-IOT UE, as disclosed herein, would therefore be similar to a
measurement report that would be obtained before SRB
establishment.
[0079] Techniques disclosed herein, such as combining a
conventional report with information (such as start CE level or
other parameters) that enable a base station to correctly determine
the starting CE level of a UE for a procedure (e.g., access
procedure such as random access, connection establishment procedure
such as RRC connection establishment, etc.), allow enhanced network
operation and planning. In an aspect, such enhanced reporting
provides information about the coverage enhancement levels the UE
went through in order to complete the procedure successfully,
therefore enabling a more complete assessment of the dynamic
downlink channel conditions during the last successful UE
procedure. For example, using such feedback from UEs, the base
station can fine-tune its RSRP thresholds and PRACH configurations
for each of the CE levels. This, in turn, would help achieve better
BL/CE/NB-IoT network operation.
[0080] In addition, BL/CE/NB-IoT UEs are generally used in less
mobile/stationary applications like parking/water/gas/electricity
metering, city street lighting, industrial monitoring and control,
telematics, insurance, asset & vehicle tracking, etc. If a
device ID is tagged or otherwise associated with a geographic
location, the report will be able to convey RSRP conditions at a
particular location during a last successful random access or
connection establishment procedure at different times of the
day/week/month/year.
[0081] If there is no provision for geo-tagging of the device, the
report may be configured to include location information, e.g., by
sending an "includelocationInfo" command, similar to the one used
for Connection Establishment Fail (CEF) reports, Radio Link Failure
(RLF) reports, and other measurement reports. As a response, the
RACH report sent by the UE may include location information (e.g.,
a locationInfo IE) if available.
[0082] In a further aspect, if a contention resolution failure is
detected during the last successful RACH procedure, the UE can also
indicate the CE level at which contention failure occurred, for
example, using a parameter indicating "contentionDetected at CE
Level x" (e.g., using a new IE contentionDetectedAtCE::=ENUMERATED
{CE0, CE1, CE2, CE3}).
[0083] The disclosed techniques, such as those associated with
"startCELevel" and "contentionDetected at CELevel x", can be
extended to the last failed RACH or connection establishment
procedure, by the inclusion of this type of information in an
information element, such as connEstFailReport as an example.
[0084] Additionally, as an alternate solution to solve the
ambiguous cases previously described, when the UE, for example,
uses more than maxNumPreambleAttemptCE in the last configured CE
level, the starting CE level can be deduced by including in the
RACH report the number of preambles sent in the last configured CE
level (e.g., the CE level at which the random access procedure was
successful or at which connection establishment failed).
[0085] Similarly, if the maxNumPreambleAttemptCE parameter
increases with increasing CE levels, at least for two CE levels,
then the starting CE level can be deduced by the base station using
the number of preambles sent in the last configured CE level.
[0086] In both example cases, if the number of preambles sent in
the last successful/configured CE level is included in the RACH
report, then the base station can deduce the start CE level, that
is, the number of preambles sent in the last/successful CE level
can be used as disambiguation parameter to deduce the parameter
"startCELevel." For example, since base station already has
information from UE about the total number of random access
preambles sent during the random access procedure, as well as
information about the maximum number of random access preambles to
be attempted for each CE level, the base station may determine the
UE's starting level as follows: subtract the number of preambles
sent in the last configured CE level from the total number of
preambles sent during the access procedure, resulting in the number
X. If X is 0, then the starting CE level is the last configured CE
level. If X>0, then subtract the maximum number of preamble
attempts for the immediate prior CE level from X, resulting in a
number Y. If Y>0, then subtract the maximum number of preamble
attempts for the next prior CE level from Y; otherwise, the
immediate prior CE level is the starting CE level. This process is
repeated until the starting CE level is determined.
[0087] FIG. 6 illustrates the steps of an enhanced reporting
procedure 600 performed by a device, such as a BL/CE, eMTC, or
NB-IoT UE, or a UE that is otherwise in coverage enhancement mode.
For example, the device may be UE 120, and the network node may be
base station 110. The procedure starts at 602 with the UE receiving
an information request from a network node, e.g., to report
information about a procedure. The information request may be in
the form of a UE information request message. The information
request may be in connection with, for example, an access procedure
(e.g., random access procedure) or a connection establishment
procedure (e.g., RRC connection establishment procedure). The
connection establishment procedure may be associated with the
access procedure because, for example, the access procedure
initiates the connection establishment procedure. For example, the
information request may comprise a request for a RACH report or a
connection establishment failure (CEF) report (e.g., if the
connection establishment procedure failed). The connection
establishment failure may comprise or may be indicated by the
expiration of a timer. The network node may be a port of a SON. The
UE sends, at 604, a message to the network node in response to the
received information request. The message may comprise information
that allows the network node to determine (e.g., unambiguously) a
start CE level of the access procedure. The message may be a report
(such as a RACH report or a CEF report), and it may be in the form
of a UE information response message. The message may include, for
example: --the starting CE level of the access procedure; --total
number of random access preambles sent by the UE in a CE level at
which the access procedure was successfully completed; --how many
total preambles were sent at each CE level during the access
procedure (e.g., the last successful access procedure); --an
indication of whether contention was detected during the access
procedure; --whether a contention failure occurred during the
procedure (indicated by a .TRUE. flag); --a parameter that allows
the network node to deduce one or more additional parameters (e.g.,
a parameter that allows the network node to deduce the starting CE
level of the access procedure, such as the number of preambles sent
in the last configured CE level as described above), etc. For
example, the starting CE level of a random access procedure
comprises the CE level of the UE at which the UE transmitted at
least one random access preamble to start the random access
procedure. The random access procedure may include the UE sending
random access preambles according to a scheme associated with a CE
level of the UE based on measured Reference Signal Received Power
(RSRP) and thresholds provided by the network node. The reporting
may further comprise sending location information (e.g.,
geographical location, type of structure or environment in which UE
is located, location relative to the network, other UEs, or a
landmark, etc.) of the UE and/or sending information indicating one
or more CE levels at which contention resolution failed during the
access procedure.
[0088] FIG. 7 illustrates the steps of an enhanced RACH reporting
procedure 700 performed by a network node, such as a base station
in communication with a device, such as a BL/CE, eMTC, or NB-IoT
UE, or an UE that is otherwise in CE mode. For example, the device
may be UE 120, and the network node may be base station 110. The
network node may be part of a SON. The procedure starts at 702 with
an information request sent from the network to the UE, e.g., to
report on a procedure. The information request may be in the form
of a UE information request message. The information request may be
in connection with, for example, an access procedure (e.g., random
access procedure) or a connection establishment procedure (e.g.,
RRC connection establishment procedure). The connection
establishment procedure may be associated with the access procedure
because, for example, the access procedure initiates the connection
establishment procedure. For example, the information request may
comprise a request for a RACH report or a connection establishment
failure (CEF) report (e.g., if the connection establishment
procedure failed). The connection establishment failure may
comprise or may be indicated by the expiration of a timer. At 704,
the network node receives a message from the UE in response to the
information request. The message may comprise information that
allows the network node to determine (e.g., unambiguously) a start
CE level of the access procedure. The message may be a report (such
as a RACH report or a CEF report), and it may be in the form of a
UE information response message. The message may include, for
example: for example:--the starting CE level of the access
procedure; --total number of random access preambles sent by the UE
in a CE level at which the random access procedure was successfully
completed; --how many preambles were sent at each CE level during
the access procedure (e.g., the last successful access procedure);
--an indication of whether contention was detected during the
access procedure; --whether a contention failure occurred during
the procedure (indicated by a .TRUE. flag); --or a parameter that
allows the network node to deduce one or more additional parameters
(e.g., a parameter that allows the network node to deduce the
starting CE level of the access procedure, such as the number of
preambles sent in the last configured CE level as described above),
etc. The network node may determine (e.g., unambiguously) the
starting CE level of the random access procedure based, at least in
part, on the response message from the UE. For example, the
starting CE level of a random access procedure comprises the CE
level of the UE at which the UE transmitted at least one random
access preamble to start the random access procedure. The random
access procedure may include the UE sending random access preambles
according to a scheme associated with a CE level of the UE based on
measured Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and thresholds
provided by the network node. The network node may use the
information in the message to deduce at an additional parameter.
The procedure may further comprise receiving location information
sending location information (e.g., geographical location, type of
structure or environment in which UE is located, location relative
to the network, other UEs, or a landmark, etc.) of the UE and/or
receiving an information element indicating one or more CE levels
at which contention resolution failed during the access
procedure.
[0089] As used herein, the terms "determining" or "identifying"
encompass a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" or
"identifying" may include calculating, deducing, choosing,
computing, processing, deciding, deriving, investigating, looking
up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database or another data
structure), ascertaining and the like. Also, "determining" or
"identifying" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information),
accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also,
"determining" or "identifying" may include resolving, selecting,
choosing, establishing and the like.
[0090] Moreover, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive
"or" rather than an exclusive "or." That is, unless specified
otherwise, or clear from the context, the phrase, for example, "X
employs A or B" is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive
permutations. That is, for example the phrase "X employs A or B" is
satisfied by any of the following instances: X employs A; X employs
B; or X employs both A and B. As used herein, reference to an
element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one"
unless specifically so stated, but rather "one or more." For
example, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and
the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or
more" unless specified otherwise or clear from the context to be
directed to a singular form. Unless specifically stated otherwise,
the term "some" refers to one or more. A phrase referring to "at
least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those
items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of:
a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and
a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same
element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b,
b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c). As
used herein, including in the claims, the term "and/or," when used
in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed
items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more
of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition
is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the
composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in
combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A,
B, and C in combination.
[0091] The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules,
components, and circuits described in connection with the
embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a
general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an
application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field
programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,
discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or
any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described
herein. One or more aforementioned devices or processors may
execute software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean
instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,
programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software
applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,
executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc.,
whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode,
hardware description language, or otherwise. A general-purpose
processor may be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the
processor may be any conventional processor, controller,
microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be
implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a
combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of
microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a
DSP core, or any other such configuration. Additionally, at least
one processor may comprise one or more modules operable to perform
one or more of the steps and/or actions described above. An
exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor, such that
the processor can read information from, and write information to,
the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be
integral to the processor. Further, in some aspects, the processor
and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. Additionally, the
ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the
processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components
in a user terminal.
[0092] In one or more aspects, the functions, methods, or
algorithms described may be implemented in hardware, software, or
any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the software
modules may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or
code on a computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into
a computer program product. Computer-readable media includes both
computer storage media and communication media including any medium
that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to
another. A storage medium may be any available media that can be
accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such
computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, flash memory, phase
change memory, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, DVD, registers, hard disk,
removable disk, other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage,
or other semiconductor or magnetic storage devices, or any other
medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in
the form of instructions or data structures and that can be
accessed by a computer. Also, substantially any connection may be
termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is
transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a
coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber
line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and
microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,
DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and
microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc,
as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical
disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray.RTM.
disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs
usually reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the
above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable
media.
[0093] In some cases, rather than actually communicating a frame, a
device may have an interface to communicate a frame for
transmission or reception. For example, a processor may output a
frame, via a bus interface, to an RF front end for transmission.
Similarly, rather than actually receiving a frame, a device may
have an interface to obtain a frame received from another device.
For example, a processor may obtain (or receive) a frame, via a bus
interface, from an RF front end for transmission.
[0094] The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or
actions for achieving the described method. The method steps and/or
actions may be interchanged with one another without departing from
the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of
steps or actions is specified, the order and/or use of specific
steps and/or actions may be modified without departing from the
scope of the claims.
[0095] The various operations of methods described above may be
performed by any suitable means capable of performing the
corresponding functions. The means may include various hardware
and/or software component(s) and/or module(s), including, but not
limited to a circuit, an application specific integrated circuit
(ASIC), or processor. Generally, where there are operations
illustrated in Figures, those operations may be performed by any
suitable corresponding counterpart means-plus-function
components.
[0096] For example, means for determining, means for identifying,
means for deducing, means for adding, means for including, means
for using, means for selecting, means for allowing, means for
transmitting, means for receiving, means for sending, means for
initiating, means for comparing, means for prioritizing, means for
assigning, means for allocating, means for rejecting, means for
restricting, means for increasing, and/or means for decreasing may
include one or more processors/controllers, transmitters,
receivers, antennas, and/or other modules, components, or elements
of user equipment 120 and/or base station 110 illustrated in FIG.
2.
[0097] While the foregoing disclosure discusses illustrative
aspects and/or embodiments, it should be noted that various changes
and modifications could be made herein without departing from the
scope of the described aspects and/or embodiments as defined by the
appended claims. Furthermore, although elements of the described
aspects and/or embodiments may be described or claimed in the
singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the
singular is explicitly stated. Additionally, all or a portion of
any aspect and/or embodiment may be utilized with all or a portion
of any other aspect and/or embodiment, unless stated otherwise.
* * * * *