JP6793707B2 - Wireless communication system that distributes system information - Google Patents

Description

In general, the present invention relates to the field of wireless communication. More specifically, the present invention relates to the field of delivering system information from a cell to a terminal.

The wireless access communication network (system) of the cell phone is called, for example, a radio base station, and GSM (registered trademark), WCDMA (registered trademark) (UMTS) consisting of node B, and LTE consisting of improved node B or eNB are Typically, it is also known to include multiple base stations. Base stations, also formally known as UEs (user devices), include at least transmitter and receiver devices that support wireless communication with standardized (possibly mobile) terminals. The range that can be covered by the transmitter / receiver at the base station is limited. The area that can be serviced by the base station's transmitter / receiver is referred to as its "cover area" or "cell". As used herein, the term "cell" refers to both the base station itself and its associated coverage area. In general, cells relate to specific sectors that radiate from the base station location (eg, 120 degrees), and multiple sectors (cells) may cover the entire area around the base station location, or of interest. High specific sectors (eg, highway sections covering narrow sectors) may be covered.

Cells (base stations) in a cellular network are connected to the rest of the network via one or more relay lines, usually, for example, fiber optics, copper or radio. The base station has, for example, processing capabilities such as wireless transmission / reception between a base station and a terminal, and a network including a base station and another base station (cell), and protocol designation.

In a cellular network, different cells may have different sizes, for example shown as macrocells, microcells, picocells, or femtocells in descending order of cell size. Cells can show partial overlap with nearby cells, and smaller cells (eg pico cells) can overlap with completely larger cells (eg macro cells). The plurality of cells may form a cellular network provided adjacent to a continuous range in such a very large area.

In a cellular wireless network, it is common to distinguish terminals by "standby mode" or "execution mode". In run mode, terminals can exchange data via the cell in which the terminal is located (eg, receive / send e-mail and make a phone call). It requires resources within the network (eg, frequency and / or signal and / or time zone), and also requires terminals and networks to power for the purpose. Since the terminal in the standby mode cannot exchange data, it does not require the above resources and consumes less power. The terminal in standby mode periodically listens to the signal communicated by the cell and selects the signal strongly received by the terminal, for example, the cell that becomes the "best cell". The terminal in standby mode also monitors the computer paging channel sent by the cell selected for the paging message addressing the terminal. The cell in which such a (standby mode) terminal is selected is called camp-on. For example, due to the mobility of the terminal, if another cell is identified as the best cell, the terminal can reselect the "best cell" and the newly selected cell of Campon as another cell. It should be noted that this does not notify the cell and / or network about the cell selected for camp-on if the terminal in standby mode does not successfully reselect another cell as the best cell. .. When reselecting a terminal into a cell that has been found to be in another location area (LA or RA-routing area), the terminal can determine from the cell's system information the terminal is in contact over the network. Start (including exchanging signaling or network control messages between the terminal and the cell), select a new cell to perform the LA or RA update procedure, and then perform the monitoring operation as described above. resume. Therefore, the LA / RA network normally set by the network operator is notified from the terminals arranged on the LA / RA including the plurality of cells in the standby state. As a result, the network is unaware that the standby mode terminal has camped on the cell, it only knows that the LA / RA standby mode terminal has been placed (or will be).

In a cellular network for wireless communication, each cell, radio base station, node B, or improved node B provides so-called "system information" for reception by terminals within the cell's coverage area during data communication operation. Data communication is common. In FIG. 1, where this is schematically shown, cell 1 is a terminal indicating that system information is data-communicating system information 9 within a coverage area within the cell (exemplified as a lightly shaded area in FIG. 1). It may be received in 2, or cell 1 may be connected to network 3.

The system information transmitted by a cell may relate to a wide variety of information related to the operation of the cell or network. It gives some examples of system information and possible uses of that information depending on the terminal. According to those skilled in the art, the terminal itself receives and sets the system information, the system information includes a plurality of other system information as well as one or more of these examples. It will be understood that it is good.

In one example, system information is, for example, a public land mobile network (PLMN), a cell to which it belongs, and perhaps a terminal capable of receiving system information to determine if it can be used in all of its cells. May include a display of the network. In another example, the system information may include an indication of the state of the cell, eg, whether the cell is in operation, or whether any restrictions, such as access classes, apply. Such information allows the terminal to determine if the cell is currently available. Further, the system information may include a cell (cell ID) identification display that allows the terminal to determine the identification of a group of cells in the network. In yet another embodiment, the system information is, for example, frequency or frequency band or code or cell operating time zone, information about the channel settings provided by the cell, accurate settings for receiving the various channels of the cell. Or, for example, the frequency, channel, and code may include a display of the cell's configuration, such as RACH (random access channel) parameters that allow the terminal to make an initial connection to that cell. .. In addition, system information may include, for example, transmitting identity and / or frequency and / or information on adjacent cells, such as a list of adjacent cells, including identification code, transmission frequency, code, operating time, for example. May include. The network is, for example, GSM® (GERAN-GPRS / EDGE radio access network), UMTS (UTRAN-UMTS terrestrial radio access network, WCDMA®-wideband code split multi-connection), or LTE (E-). When supporting multiple radio access technologies (RATs) such as UTRAN-improved UTRAN, use of OFDM-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, adjacent cell information may be provided separately for each RAT, for example. This allows and facilitates the terminal to (quickly) search for adjacent cells, for example to reselect potential cells or evaluate adjacent cells for handover purposes. In yet another example, system information applies, for example, to reselected cells and / or execution start points and / or measurements on adjacent cells and / or frequencies in other cells and / or in networks or cells. It may include a display about the criteria for RATs that are allowed information to the network terminal about the criteria to be done.

This is because, for example, the cell generally communicates the system information on the data communication channel so that all the terminals in the cell's coverage area can receive the system information of the cell. Normally, the cell periodically transmits the system information in order and repeats the transmission of the system information in a fairly continuous manner, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, in a carousel-like structure. As shown in FIG. 2, cycle 4 is shown as system information blocks M, S1, S2, S3 and S4 and includes system information organized in different categories. While blocks S1-S4 attempt to illustrate an additional system information block (SIB) with additional information that may only be needed for some terminals, most or no block M contains essential system information. We try to illustrate the master information block (MIB) needed for all terminals in the network. Cycle 4 may then be repeated continuously, as shown in Sequence 5 of the transmitted system information. Several times, some blocks of system information are replaced by other blocks, as shown in array 6 that the last occurrence of blocks S3 and S4 shown in sequence 6 can be replaced by new blocks of system information S5 and S6. May be replaced with. Nevertheless, as shown in FIG. 2, in both arrays 5 and 6, system information is transmitted continuously.

There is an exchange between the use of a large portion of a cell's resources (eg, high bitrate and / or wide frequency bandwidth) and the use of a smaller portion of the cell's resources for data communication of system information. Using most of the resources, short cycle times can be achieved, allowing the terminal to receive all of the system information with a small delay, but it requires a significant amount of resources in the cell. In contrast, using a smaller portion of the resource, the terminal must accept a longer latency when receiving all or a specific portion of system information, resulting in longer cycle times. ..

Great consideration of current state-of-the-art technology is given to the realization of flexible and efficient methods for delivering system information. Nevertheless, in practice, data communication of this information requires some of the cell's resources and is also part of the cell's transmit power and energy consumption. It should be noted that this consumption is substantially continuous, even for a small percentage of the cell's peak power (eg, less than 10%). In particular, the distribution of system information during a short traffic load period may be configured to greatly exceed the percentage. Therefore, there seems to be room for improvement in the conventional network structure regarding the distribution of system information in a more resource-efficient manner.

Recently, new, more energy efficient, network structures have been developed. One aspect of the new structure is the use of relatively small cells. High bitrate data connections are much better to have more small (eg, microcells, picocells, femtocells) (at least partially overlapping) than to have a small number of larger cells (eg macrocells). It can be supplied efficiently. As a further aspect of the new structure, the power consumption of the cell should be as realistic as possible on a scale that assumes shrinkage (for example, prepare by the number of executing terminals, the bit rate provided to the terminals, and so on. Distance by connection to the terminal, etc.). One approach to achieving this vision involves, for example, putting a terminal in a cell in power save mode that does not actually run, with the cell switched off almost completely. Another, complementary approach involves reducing or refraining from sending common data signaling in traditional networks. These data signaling transmissions actually cause overload, especially for cells operating under full load.

FIG. 3, which schematically shows a new structure, assumes that different types of cells are distinguished. The first type of cell in this specification is referred to as a "SA-cell" and, as shown in FIG. 3 as cell 7, primarily supports wireless exchange of data with a running terminal 2. Optimized for. The energy efficiency improvements described above focus on SA-cells. The second type of cell in this specification is referred to as "LA-cell" and as cell 8 as shown in FIG. 3, other in the cellular network, mainly including those found in conventional networks. Optimize the functionality of. Therefore, it is assumed that the overload in the system is reduced due to the LA-cell.

The LA-cell typically covers a large area, for example, and is comparable to that of a conventional macro cell. LA-cells, often together, are provided near within a continuous range of application within the desired area to be covered, as in conventional networks. The LA-cell, like many conventional cells, may perform data communication of system information. That is, the standby terminal may camp on the LA-cell and also initiate a transmit signal connection with, for example, the LA-cell in order to perform an LA / RA update or leave the network. You may.

The SA-cell covers, for example, a smaller area and is typically comparable to that of a conventional microcell, picocell or femtocell. The SA-cells may together support a particular bit rate within the desired adjacent contiguous area. So far the SA-cell sends a signal only when it is needed. That is, it may normally be considered to be in an off or power save or standby mode state. The standby terminal is not camping on the SA-cell. Such a network is called the "Beyond Cellular Green Generation" (BCG2) network, but the term is subject to change in the future. Therefore, in the specification of this application, a network having such a structure will be referred to as an "energy-efficient cellular radio network".

Within an energy efficient cellular radio network, the terminal may handle two types of cells, one or more LA-cells and one or more SA-cells, and one or more related LAs. -Cell system information and one or more related SA-cell system information may be required. Two problems may occur thereafter.

One problem is that if the standby terminal is running, that is, if the standby terminal establishes a data connection, then a suitable SA-cell would otherwise support the establishment of the data connection. It stems from the fact that you have to make a choice and attribute it to the process as "setting up a data connection". Some solutions to establish a data connection may require the terminal to obtain relevant system information from one or more candidate SA-cells, such as cell ID, frame time, cell bandwidth, etc. unknown. If the appropriate SA-cell for data connection is selected, the terminal may add the system information required for that SA-cell. If the selected SA-cell is currently off or in energy saving mode, which is part of the BCG2 concept, the SA-cell needs to be up and running. It may take some time to select and operate the appropriate SA-cell. As a result, it may take some time for the SA-cell to operate sufficiently by providing the terminal with the necessary system information. Also, the concept of high energy efficiency cellular wireless networks assuming dynamic cells was previously acquired for a particular SA-cell (for example, the SA-cell system information acquired and stored during the previous data connection setup). , Using the stored SA-cell system information has a high risk that the previously acquired SA-cell system information is no longer valid. Therefore, it is necessary to provide the terminal with relevant and up-to-date SA-cell system information in order to enable the rapid establishment of a data connection with an appropriate SA-cell.

Another problem arises from the fact that when a running terminal resumes standby mode after terminating all data connections, the terminal needs to camp on again on the LA-cell. For this purpose, the terminal may need to obtain relevant system information from one or more candidate LA-cells, such as cell ID, frame time, cell bandwidth, channel paging, etc. In the meantime, the terminal performs cell search and / or cell reselection procedures. In the context of energy efficient cellular wireless networks, the LA-cell structure, which does not have to be dynamic, and the SA-cell structure have previously acquired LA-cell system information (eg, previously established and acquired data connections). Using LA-cell system information) carries the risk that previously acquired and stored LA-cell system information is no longer valid. This is because, for example, the LA-cell system information has been changed to an example where the average time, or LA-cell system information is no longer relevant, for example, in another LA-cell that does not have previously acquired and stored information. It may be because you moved to the cover area. In order to obtain the relevant and up-to-date LA-cell system information, the terminal can perform the cell search procedure again in the same manner as the cell search procedure at power-on. In this way, it may take some time before the terminal can find the LA-cell suitable for camp-on again and monitor the paging channel of the LA-cell. As a result, when the terminal resumes standby mode after run mode, it is quickly identical to or separate from the appropriate LA-cell (one of the LA-cells that previously established a data connection and camped on). It is also necessary to provide the terminal with the relevant up-to-date LA-cell system information in order to recamp on.

As shown above, what is needed in the art is a method and system for delivering conventional network system information in a more energy efficient manner. In addition, what is needed in the art, for example, methods and systems for delivering LA-cell system information and SA-cell system information within energy efficient cellular wireless networks such as BCG2 networks. It is possible to solve the problems described above. And preferably, it imposes communication resource efficiency, energy efficiency, and hardware and computer resource limiting requirements on the terminal.

According to one aspect of the invention, wireless access consisting of at least an SA-cell configured to establish a data connection with a terminal in run mode and an LA-cell configured to camp on in standby mode. A method for a terminal to acquire at least LA-cell system information and SA-cell system information in a communication network system is disclosed. The method is that when the terminal is in run mode and the SA-cell communication interface is enabled, the terminal will have the first part of the SA-cell system information and the first part of the LA-cell system information. , Includes a method of receiving from a SA-cell via a SA-cell communication interface.

The solution is that the SA-cell transmits SA-cell system information that is probably relevant to the terminal within the coverage area of the SA-cell, as well as the LA-cell system information that is considered at least part of the LA-cell. It is based on the idea that it may be used to. In another embodiment, the SA-cell may be configured to use one or more dedicated channels, with an executing terminal for transmitting at least some of the system information to individual terminals. , SA-cells may be configured for data communication / use of common channels to transmit all system information about the terminal.

The method of the embodiment may further include a terminal that constitutes one or more settings based on at least partially received SA-cell system information and / or LA-cell system information. Additional or alternative, the terminal may store at least a portion of the received SA-cell system information and / or LA-cell system information for future use. In a further embodiment, a standby terminal that intends to remain in standby mode applies only what it receives, whereas SA-cell system information is stored for later use. Perhaps it only stores LA-cell system information for configuring settings. The terminal attempts to receive only when it is about to enter run mode, and probably stores SA-cell system information that configures settings for a particular SA-cell of the connected and / or connected terminal.

The expressions "information transmitted by a cell to a terminal", "information to a terminal" and their variants as used herein are described as, for example, system information intended for the terminal in order to be a useful terminal. doing. For example, some system information may be intended primarily for terminals in standby mode, primarily for terminals in run mode, or regardless of that mode. In this regard, it does not matter whether the system information transmitted by the cell is actually received and / or actually used by the terminal. For example, the cell transmits the system information in order to receive the system information via a data communication channel that is valid for all terminals within the cell's coverage area. However, in reality, only some of these terminals are interested in the system information being transmitted, while others are not. Also, perhaps, but not all, only some terminals that are interested in the system information being sent actually receive it, others (eg transmission errors, terminals performing other tasks). Missed (for reasons such as being), and others simply, perhaps intentionally, ignore the transmission, for example, because they have previously obtained the transmitted system information.

In the context of embodiments of the present invention, the expressions "LA-cell" and "SA-cell" are used to distinguish between two different types of cells.

The first type of cell refers to a cell in which an LA-cell (large area cell) can cover a larger area at a smaller bit rate as compared to a second type of cell. The LA-cell is primarily intended to carry a signal message from the terminal to the terminal, eg, at least to be able to call the terminal. In addition, terminals in standby mode may be used to "camp on" to at least one of these LA-cells. While the LA-cell is primarily not intended to be used for terminal-to-terminal transmission, it also excludes other signals, paging, or transmission of user data via the LA-cell. Not done. It may be used with at least one LA-cell fully operational or, in other words, the LA-cell being "always on" within the intended coverage of the radio access network.

The second type of cell refers to a cell that can cover a smaller area at a higher bit rate compared to SA-cell (small area cell), LA-cell. The SA-cell is primarily intended for the transmission of user data from terminal to terminal with which a data connection has been established (ie, the SA-cell primarily handles connections with running terminals). .. However, it also does not exclude the transmission of some other information and / or some signals over the SA-cell. It may be used for the fact that at least one SA-cell can provide coverage within the intended coverage of the radio access network. The SA-cell only works fully when it is in the required range. In other words, it is in an "always off" state.

According to various embodiments of the invention, SA-cells may occur in any combination of frequency band and / or radio access technology (RAT). With different sized SA-cells (eg, with or without hierarchical structure, eg macro, micro, pico and femto SA-cells), larger SA-cells may be provided on high mobile terminals. It's good, and it's not something to exclude.

As used herein, the expression "data connection between a terminal and an SA-cell" means a wireless communication path for exchanging user data between a terminal and an SA-cell. The communication path for user data including the section between the terminal and the SA-cell is usually set according to the parameter settings.
For example, it depends on the type of user data that needs to be exchanged (eg, sent / received email, voice or video call, etc.). Parameter settings commonly referred to in the art as "QoS parameters" or "QoS profiles" include, for example, maximum bit rate, guaranteed (minimum) bit rate, bit error rate, delay / latency, etc. Parameters may be included.

In contrast, the exchange of signal messages between a terminal and an LA-cell does not include user data and is exchanged within the communication system, for example, between the terminal and various entities. Signal messages may be exchanged without establishing a data connection or via a "signal connection" with a modest bit rate and with sufficient quality signal information arriving with little loss. In the signal connection at the time of use, the independent parameter in "data connection" occupies most, and may be associated with this.

Further, the terms "user data" and "user terminal" do not necessarily require human intervention, and in embodiments of the present invention, for example, email checking, machine-to-machine, without human intervention on a smartphone. It is understood that it may be applied for (M2M) communication and / or machine-to-machine communication (MTC). The term "user data" is used simply to distinguish between real data exchanged over a data connection and exchange via a signal.

As described herein, the terminal may be in either "execution mode" or "standby mode". The expression "terminal in standby mode" as used herein refers to a terminal that camps on the LA-cell and is a terminal from the LA-cell, even if the terminal does not exchange or cannot exchange user data. It refers to a terminal that enables monitoring of paging. In other words, the expression "terminal in standby mode" is used to describe a terminal that does not support wireless exchange of user data between the terminal and the SA-cell. In contrast, the expression "terminal in execution mode" refers to a terminal that is capable of exchanging user data or exchanging user data via at least one SA-cell. In other words, the running terminal can support or support the wireless exchange of user data between the terminal and the SA-cell. These concepts of standby mode and run mode may be comparable to standardized traditional network-like concepts, but they do not always exactly match the standardized definition.

In one embodiment, in the method, when the terminal is in run mode and the terminal's SA-cell radio interface is enabled, the terminal is at least a SA-cell system via the SA-cell radio interface. It further comprises receiving a portion of the information relating to a second portion and / or a portion of the SA-cell system information relating to one or more SA-cells in the wireless communication network. Such an embodiment conveniently provides the terminal with system information about adjacent SA-cells. In one embodiment, the terminal may supply information about the SA-cell to which the data connection is made to the terminal with respect to the system information via the other SA-cells rather than the SA-cell itself to which the terminal has established the data connection. it can. That is, in this embodiment, in particular, the terminal can acquire system information about other SA-cells without having a data connection with those cells, and one or more of those SA-cells can acquire the system information. It is an energy efficient network because it is even in a non-executive state. With respect to embodiments, each of the other SA-cells may independently provide the terminal with system information, or the terminal receives system information from another SA-cell via its SA-cell wireless interface. You may.

The method of the embodiment further comprises that when the terminal is in standby mode and the terminal's LA-cell radio interface is enabled, the terminal receives at least a second portion of the LA-cell system information. Including that. Since the SA-cell supports a standby terminal, it is likely to transmit SA-cell system information as well as LA-cell system information about at least a portion of the LA-cell associated with the terminal in the SA-cell coverage area. Although may be used, transmission by LA-cell may still be required. In a further embodiment, the method further comprises, when the terminal is in standby mode and the terminal's LA-cell radio interface is enabled, the terminal is at least one of the second parts of the SA-cell system information. The unit includes receiving from the LA-cell via the LA-cell radio interface.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises at least one or more other LAs in the wireless communication network when the terminal is in run mode and the terminal's SA-cell wireless interface is enabled. -Includes receiving some of the LA-cell system information about the cell from the SA-cell via the SA-cell radio interface. As described above, the terminal in the execution mode may acquire not only the system information related to the previously camped LA-cell but also the system information related to other LA-cells.

In an embodiment, the method further disables the SA-cell radio interface when the LA-cell radio interface is enabled and disables the LA-cell radio interface when the SA-cell radio interface is enabled. Includes making.

According to another aspect of the invention, SA-cells used in the manner described herein are disclosed. The SA-cell obtains at least the first portion of the system information of the LA-cell from the LA-cell and / or from the network management unit in the wireless communication network, and at least the system information of the LA-cell . It is configured to transmit a portion of the first portion and at least a portion of the first portion of the SA-cell system information . In an embodiment, the SA-cell acquires system information about the other SA-cell or other LA-cell that can be obtained directly from the other cell and / or from the network management unit of the wireless access communication network. It may be configured to transmit.

In the embodiment, a part of the first part of the system information of the LA-cell and / or a part of the first part of the system information of the SA-cell is the first period close to the second period and the LA-. During the period when the cell system information and a part of the SA-cell system information are not transmitted, they may be transmitted repeatedly. Further, in the embodiment, the second period may be at least as long as the first period.

In the embodiment, at least a part of the first part of the system information of the LA-cell and / or at least a part of the first part of the system information of the SA-cell is a terminal, an LA-cell, and even a wireless communication network. It may be transmitted to the SA-cell that has received the trigger from the node or the network management unit. In a further embodiment, at least a portion of the LA-cell system information first portion and / or at least a portion of the SA-cell system information first portion of the trigger after the expiration of a predetermined delay period. It may be transmitted according to reception.

Also, for the above solution, the SA-cell is likely to have more LA-cells, similar to the transmission of system information about at least one LA-cell and at least about the SA-cell itself. You can expect to send system information about. It is also possible for an SA-cell to transmit, for example, some other SA-cell system information about everything adjacent to that SA-cell. In such cases, it may be expected that much of the system information will be the same for multiple SA-cells, or at least for fractions of SA-cell groups. This situation, in which the SA-cell may be configured to transmit system information to a terminal in such a way that some of the same system information does not overlap between different cells, is a very efficient method of transmission. Of course, the information still needs to be transmitted in such a way that the terminal can identify system information about the cell, but one of ordinary skill in the art guarantees that various methods can be easily conceived and of the present invention. Supports everything within range.

According to another aspect of the invention, examples of using LA-cells are disclosed herein. The LA-cell is configured to provide at least a portion of the system information of the LA-cell to one of the plurality of SA-cells in the wireless communication network for transmission to the terminal. ing.

According to another aspect of the invention, terminals, parts of computer programs (perhaps distributed) for performing various functions, data transmission for parts of such software, and telecommunications systems are disclosed. Has been done. As described herein, the telecommunications system may include two or more terminals, LA-cells, and SA-cells.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail. It is understood that these embodiments are not construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention.

It is a schematic diagram of the system information distribution in the conventional network. It is the schematic of the continuous transmission of system information by a prior art. It is a schematic diagram of SA-cell and LA-cell in an energy-efficient cellular wireless access communication network. It is a schematic diagram of intermittent periodic transmission of system information according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the triggered transmission of system information according to various embodiments of the present invention. According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is a schematic diagram of an energy efficient communication system. According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is a schematic view of the LA-cell and the coverage area of a plurality of SA-cells in the communication network. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a SA-cell wireless communication interface and an LA-cell wireless communication interface of a terminal effectively enabled in place of time multiplexing mode according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is a schematic view of SA-cell and LA-cell that provide SA-cell system information and LA-cell system information to a terminal. According to one embodiment of the present invention, there are four steps of obtaining system information about one or more SA-cells and how to get system information about one or more LA-cells. It is a flow chart consisting of. According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is a schematic diagram of an LA-cell that provides both LA cell system information and SA-cell system information to a terminal. According to another embodiment of the present invention, it is a schematic diagram of an LA-cell that provides a terminal with both LA-cell system information and SA-cell system information. According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is a schematic diagram of an SA-cell that provides both SA-cell system information and LA-cell system information to a terminal. as well as, According to another embodiment of the present invention, it is a schematic diagram of an SA-cell that provides both SA-cell system information and LA-cell system information to a terminal.

Examples # 1-4 provide various methods and systems for delivering the following system information. Example 1 will be described with reference to a conventional network as shown in FIG. 1, while Example # 2-4 is specifically adapted for divided distribution of system information within an energy efficient network. It is described as being done. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate the system information by SA-cells and LA-cells in an energy efficient network as provided in Example # 1 regarding the distribution of system information by cells in a conventional network. You will understand the technologies that are applicable to the delivery of.

Example # 1: Distribution of system information according to various embodiments of the present invention Example # 1 attempts to focus primarily on the possibility of improving the efficiency of system information distribution (including energy efficiency) by cells. There is. As mentioned above, Example # 1 can be described with reference to a conventional network as shown in FIG. 1, but some cells can be applied to deliver system information, eg. It can be applied not only to conventional cells such as transmission base station, node B or improved node B, but also to SA-cells and / or LA-cells in efficient networks.

Example # 1 provides five different ways to improve the energy efficiency of split distribution of system information by cell. The first method is to transmit the system information at each divided time and still transmit any system information at each divided time, rather than transmitting continuously as usual as in the prior art. (Or do not send enough system information). The second method is based on transmitting system information when triggered by a particular event. The third method is based on transmitting system information with reduced power from the loss of the transmission path, the outer edge of the cell's coverage area, rather than transmitting at normal full power, which reliably reaches far away. .. The fourth method is based on transmitting only reduced and fragmented system information rather than using it for the usual periodic transmission of the system information portion. The fifth method is to use a normal transmission channel to send system information to all terminals that may be within the cell's coverage area, but to system only to specific terminals via a dedicated channel. It is based on sending information. These five different methods will be described in more detail.

1. 1. Periodic transmission of system information (only for each divided time) The first way to achieve more efficient energy distribution of system information is cyclically, i.e. only during the divided time. It relates to a cell that transmits system information, such as cell 1 shown in FIG. For example, the cell may be configured to transmit a system information signal during 100 milliseconds (MS), which corresponds to 1/10, following 900 milliseconds not transmitting any system information. To that end, the cell may include at least a transmitter and / or controller to prepare the signal for transmission. The cell may further include a memory for storing a computer program related to the controller, or a transmitter having a configuration in which the CPU processes data and processes the program in the same manner as the program operates on the program.

The duration of transmission of a system information signal may correspond to a full cycle of system information in a cell or a specific portion of system information. FIG. 4 shows the duration t1 and the duration t2 adjacent to the non-transmitted t1 of the system information 10b in the full cycle of the system information 10a of the cell including the transmission blocks M, S1, S2, S3, and S4. , It is schematically shown that the signal 10 is transmitted. The cell then transmits the repeat signal 10, thus repeating the system information block M corresponding to 10a during the period of the duration t1 and the duration t2 adjacent to the untransmitted t1 of the system information 10b. Transmission of S1-S4 is indicated by signal 11. As shown in signal 12, when blocks S5 and S6 are present in place of the system information blocks S3 and S4, some part of the system information may be replaced by other parts.

The duration of transmission of the system information signal may be short, for example, to correspond to only a portion (or system information portion) of the system information cycle. As signal 13 in FIG. 4 shows, the transmission of full cycle system information or part of the system information may be distributed over multiple periods of transmission and non-transmission of the system information signal to the terminal. The time increase may require the acquisition of all system information (or part of the system information) as compared to the case of substantially continuous transmission of system information.

The duration of transmission of a system information signal may be longer than the entire cycle of system information or a portion of system information. For example, this may be a period corresponding to twice the cycle of the system information or part of the system information. In another example, this is a single cell, full cycle system information, or a duration corresponding to a portion of the system information, plus, for example, the information to be repeatedly transmitted in the system information or a portion of the system information. For cases where cells are considered more important than other information, or allow extensions that are estimated to be more urgent, therefore it is desirable to send them more reliably. It is a detection that fails to receive the system information element or is detected by the terminal or it is suspicious, that is, within the same period that the terminal received the wrong system information element and transmitted the system information, the terminal has an additional period. This is the case when the system information is transmitted by a method capable of reconfirming the system information element repeatedly.

This method of changing the cycle efficiency (ie, the ratio between "on" and "on" and "off" times for transmitting system information or a partial signal of system information) is the transmission time of system information. Is found to reduce the emission power of the transmitted signal at approximately the same division time, as opposed to the traditional approach of virtually 100%. In one embodiment, the maximum cycle efficiency of the periodic system information, or a partial signal of the system information, is the same, for example, when emitted by the cell, for example 1/2 or 1/8, continuously emitted. This can lead to 2x and 8x power savings, respectively, compared to the signal. In another cycle efficiency, for example, a terminal may be applied to transmit another part of system information, depending on the urgent need (estimated or expected) for the information.

The following example may be this description. In current systems, when the terminal is powered on, the terminal initiates a cell search procedure to find the appropriate cell to camp on. As part of such a procedure, the terminal identifies one or more candidate cells, and then, for example, the network (public land communication network) is the cell ID and / or the operating state of the cell (eg, the cell operating state) with respect to the cell. It may be necessary to determine for specific candidate cells, such as whether terminal access is currently prohibited and / or potential overloading. The continuous or very frequent transmission of system information, as is common in prior art systems, may be tailored to the needs of such terminals. However, such transmission is not energy efficient if, within a particular period, the terminal has not yet been powered on and / or has a terminal that does not perform a cell search procedure on the particular cell. According to one embodiment of the invention, energy efficiency is improved, for example, by transmitting the intended system information portion for a terminal that performs the cell search procedure only once per second, only at divided times. .. A terminal that wants to receive some of the particular system information may have to wait for a while before it can actually receive it. In this example, in the worst case, the wait time would be 1 second, but on average, the wait time would be 1/2 second. This is because, due to latency considerations, this transmission limit is limited to time rather than during continuous transmission of parts of the system information that does not exceed the latency limit or withstands unexpected latency. is there. Upper limit transmission may, for example, make a different choice for some of the other system information if some wait time for some of the particular system information is tolerated than for some of the other system information. You may. The upper limit transmission of some of the system information, including the handover parameters of a cell, is that, for example, a terminal performing a handover to a new cell rarely immediately needs information about the handover parameters of that cell. The cell's RACH (random access channel) parameter is motivating to require the RACH parameter before the terminal that initiates contact with the selected cell via its RACH can be handed over. You may make a higher choice.

In embodiments, the continuous transmission of some of the system information, or the upper limit period in between, may change over time. For example, during peak hours of 0.25 seconds (s) when people switch their mobile phones to power saving in the morning, the system information of the terminal that is normally used to perform power-on procedures. It may be selected for some upper bound transmissions. High values, such as 1 second, may be selected if most terminals can be expected to power on during the day. During the night, higher values may continue to be selected, for example 5 seconds. At this time, even a high value exceeding what the terminal can normally withstand can be regarded as acceptable from the viewpoint of achieving energy saving.

In particular, when a periodic transmission of the system information portion is performed, for example, every second, it synchronizes with those transmissions of some of the specific system information so that the transmissions with neighboring cells do not overlap. Is preferable. For example, assuming the transmission of part of the system information, cells A are 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 ,. .. .. , The system information is transmitted in equal seconds, and the neighboring cell B is 1.1, 2.1, 3.1 ,. .. .. , The system information is transmitted in equal seconds, and the neighboring cell C has 1.4, 2.4, 3.4 ,. .. .. , The system information may be transmitted in equal seconds, which is considered to take less than 100 milliseconds. By doing so, the terminal can search for multiple candidate cells (such as cells A, B, and C) at almost the same time by dividing each candidate cell without requiring an average or maximum waiting time. Becomes possible to execute. For example, in the above-mentioned plurality of figures, although the transmission time of a part of the system information is not "slightly shifted and arranged", a part of the system information of a maximum of 10 cells that can be received in a time frame of about 1 second is In the worst case, it may take about 10 seconds (ie, 10 times the worst case delay of 1 second) or 5 seconds on average (ie, 10 times the average delay of 0.5 seconds). There is. Specifically, cells set up within the same public mobile network or in a cooperating public mobile network can be expected to benefit from that approach.

2. 2. When a terminal that transmits system information triggered by several events, multiple events, or a combination of events powers up and acquires system information for a particular cell or network, the cell is usually a terminal. Not aware of the need for. In other cases, the network and / or cell may recognize and / or predict, or anticipate the need for a terminal and / or recognize the need for a terminal for a particular piece of system information. You may. Therefore, in various embodiments, the trigger for transmitting a portion of the system information may include an implicit or explicit trigger.

Implicit trigger to send some system information
For example, if a terminal establishes a data connection through a cell (a normal cell in which the terminal is camped on), a network, and a specific cell involved in the data connection, the terminal is one of additional system information. You may expect that you may need a department. For example, the terminal is a reference for making measurements with other cells, and (for example, the terminal is called an "event" in the context of a mobile station, and that event predetermines the signal level of the service cell. To report (lower below the threshold and / or the signal level of the adjacent cell exceeds the signal level of the service cell by a predetermined tolerance, which is either positive or negative of a predetermined tolerance). In some cases, the parameters specified by the criteria of are required. In that case, the cell may transmit some of this system information, for example, after setting up a brief data connection through the cell. Doing so would result in significant energy savings compared to the normal case of repeatedly transmitting some of this system information.

In a further embodiment, the cell is required for a short time when the first trigger is received (eg, the data connection is set up through the cell) and some of the relevant system information (ie, probably required by the terminal). A delay between the transmission of (part of the system information) may be applied, for example 10 seconds. Within the delay period, other terminals that establish data connections through the same cell (each of which may be interpreted as a trigger) also mitigate the cell by transmitting the same information multiple times in this way. It is possible to receive a part of the same system information.

Preferably, the delay value should not exceed a predetermined threshold, which generally corresponds to a maximum latency considered to be acceptable to the terminal, such as 15 seconds. Thus, when multiple terminals establish data connection settings within a delay period, it is sufficient to notify these terminals of a single transmission of the system information portion.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate some of the system information (eg, setting up one or more additional data connections) for other triggers when expected within a delay time, such as during peak hours. As long as you will recognize that it is beneficial. However, if the trigger (eg, data connection settings) is slow, eg, less than or equal to the delay time per data connection setting, the delay is preferably set to a small value, or zero.

Delayed transmission of the triggered system information portion may be combined with the option of low power transmission, as described in more detail below. Second, the reduced power settings must match at the farthest distance in terms of path loss, terminals in the terminal group that have completed the data connection settings within a certain delay period.

In another example, a cell is composed of multiple RACH channels and is a general RACH channel (ie, all cells in a network composed of a given RACH channel, or at least multiple cells in an area). A cell is configured for each of one or a plurality of RACH channels. A terminal that has not (yet) received the RACH channel configuration for a particular cell may then direct its initial request via the cell's general RACH channel. The request may be processed by the cell or may be discarded depending on the system configuration and cell load. A cell that receives a RACH request specific to a RACH channel may consider such an event as a trigger for transmitting the system information portion related to the setting of the RACH channel, or from the terminal that sent the request. It may be transmitted to a RACH channel configured per cell, as in the subsequent request of. Not only does this apply to the particular terminal that sent the request, but other terminals in the cell that have not (yet) issued such a request will be sent as a result of the RACH request for this particular terminal. A part of the RACH configuration system information of the cell may be received.

It should be noted that in this case, there may be no significant benefit from applying the delay as described above, and there may be no significant benefit from applying the power saving option. A substantially full power, RACH-configured delay-free transmission can then be monitored by multiple terminals on the cell's system information channel in a single transmission. Applying the power saving option may depend on the estimated or expected number of terminals in its coverage area, for example, to apply the power saving option during off-peak hours instead of applying the power saving option during peak hours. ..

Explicit Trigger for Sending Part of System Information According to one embodiment of the invention, a terminal that finds itself some need for some particular system information is directed towards the cell and the system. You may issue a request for the information part. Such requirements may be designed for special purposes if they are not found in the traditional network. Such requirements may be implemented, for example, to resemble RACH requirements. In a further embodiment, the request for a system information portion allows the terminal to conveniently specify which part of the system information, or in some cases, which part of the plurality of system information the terminal requests. Let's go. In response to receiving such an explicit request, which is received by the requesting terminal, and possibly by other terminals, and the additional terminal monitors the cell's system information channel, the cell receives the requested system information portion. It may be configured to transmit.

In embodiments, the cell may also interpret the explicit request as an implicit additional request and send additional system information parts not specified in the explicit request. This may be an example if, for example, the cell empirically expects such additional parts of system information that are normally and / or subsequently required. Such an embodiment is particularly advantageous if the explicit request for system information parts does not allow for multiple system information parts to be requested.

Note that in this case, applying the delay as described above may not be beneficial, and applying the power saving option may not be beneficial. Substantially full power of the requested part or part of the system information being transmitted, without delay, is then provided by the cell's system information channel for a single transmission and monitoring of multiple terminals. You may. When the power saving option is applied, for example, the cell can be set to apply the power saving option during off-peak hours and the power saving option during peak hours can not be applied, and the terminal in the service area is estimated or predicted. It may depend on the number.

FIG. 5 provides an exemplary diagram, implicitly or explicitly, showing the concept of transmitting system information in response to a trigger. The cell may be configured such that the signal 20 shown in FIG. 5 transmits, for example, a repeating signal, and like these blocks shown in FIG. 4, a system comprising M, S1, and S2. The information block may continue for t2 hours when system information has not yet been transmitted. FIG. 5 shows the repeated transmission of the signal 20 with the signal 21. In addition, as mentioned above, the cell may receive the trigger as an implicit or explicit trigger to send the system information block S3, and depending on the trigger (at least). The received block S3 may be transmitted by the requested terminal. This is done with "tr (S3) -1" as the first trigger and "tr (S3) -2" as the second trigger that two different triggers with the signal 22 have occurred for the system information S3. , FIG. 5 is schematically shown. The cell may also be configured to apply a predetermined delay time TD after receiving the trigger before transmitting the requested information. This is applied after the first trigger occurs and the signal 23 with the delay period TD is shown in FIG. 5 as "tr (S3) -1". As shown in FIG. 5, after that, during the delay time TD, the three other triggers of the system information block S3 are received by the cell, but the cell already transmits the system information block S3 when the delay period TD expires. The cell does not need to execute these triggers, as it plans to do. FIG. 5 shows that S3 is transmitted when the delay period TD expires. Then another trigger for the system information block S3 may be received, as indicated by the fifth trigger "tr (S3) -5". The cell is configured to apply a predetermined delay time TD prior to transmitting the requested block S3 (second transmission of the requested block S3, not shown in FIG. 5). May be good.

3. 3. Transmission of system information at low power The transmission power of signaling transmitted from a cell is usually the farthest terminal in terms of path loss, even at the edge of the cell, making the communicated information the most reliable. It is selected to ensure reception. According to one embodiment of the invention, in order to save energy, the cells are such that the system information portion is intentionally less separated than at the end of the farthest cell in terms of path loss. When estimating the terminal (s), the cell may choose to transmit some system information, or system information portion (s), for example, with low power. The power used to send the system information portion from the cell to a particular terminal is usually of a dedicated channel for communication with the terminal via a dedicated channel, for example, from the power settings used by the cell. You may estimate the type of channel in the cell that controls the transmit power from sufficient reception by the terminal. Increasing the transmission probability of system information on the cell's common channel in order to send some of the system information to the terminal over the common channel is a higher power setting for sending to the terminal over the dedicated channel. You may choose to apply. That is, in most cases, it can be received and acquired in a single transmission that does not require the retransmission of those (plural) system information, or a portion thereof.

If a dedicated channel has not been established between the cell and the terminal, the cell may estimate the transmission power suitable for transmitting system information from the RACH request received from the terminal via the common channel. Such a RACH request may include a power instruction of the terminal that transmitted the RACH request. The cell measuring the power for which the RACH request is received can then determine the path loss due to the RACH request obtained from the difference between the transmitted power of the terminal and the received power of the cell. The cell notes this information and the fact that path loss in the uplink and downlink directions is usually the same as estimating the appropriate transmit power to transmit system information to the terminal over a common channel. It may be configured to be used.

Yet another method of estimating the appropriate transmission power for transmitting system information from the cell to the terminal may be based on the power at which the terminal receives some signal from the cell. Such measurements may be determined by the terminal, for example by cell reselection and / or handover in context. In the context of handover, such information is typically provided to the network, which is thus associated with the cell where it is expected to send system information to the terminal, perhaps via another cell. You may provide some of the information you do. Otherwise, the terminal may provide the measurement information directly to the cell.

When a cell simultaneously transmits system information, or part of it, to those multiple terminals, the application of power reduction is determined by the farthest distance between these multiple terminals in terms of terminal path loss. You may.

4. System information or part of system information divided and transmitted (for example, signal only)
When the terminal is performing a handover from one cell to a new cell, for example, the terminal needs to be notified about the adjacency list of the new cell. Normally, each cell sends a list of its neighbors. However, sending a full adjacency list to a terminal where the old cell and the new cell perform a handover may share some adjacent cells because it contains duplicate information. According to one embodiment of the invention, instead of transmitting a full adjacent cell list, the cell (either the new cell or the old cell) transmits the only difference between the two lists, or a signal. May be enough. A signal such as transmitted by a new cell contains information indicating that, for example, the old cell ID11, ID12, ..., Etc. need to be deleted or the new cell ID21, ID22, ... Etc. need to be added. May be included. The signal lists of multiple terminals may be combined in a single transmission. This, for example, refers to a cell ID that is not included in the terminal's adjacent cell list, the terminal ignores the delete instruction, and refers to a cell ID that already exists in the terminal's adjacent cell list, and issues an additional instruction. It may be done if it is handed over to a new cell originating from another old cell by ignoring it.

The new cell targets the cell to monitor the old cell for which these handovers have taken, to select the system information transmission strategy that the cell considers or is presumed to be the most resource efficient. It may be configured to monitor the speed of the handover.

Quite often, this approach can also be applied to many other parameters delivered through the system, such as handover parameter settings that have the same value in many cells in the network. For example, if the handover is configured from an old cell to a new cell and at least some specific parameters have the same value in both cells (eg, the handover settings), then the new cell will have these specific parameters. May be withheld from sending to that system information. In other words, the difference (signal) between the old cell and the new cell in these particular parameters (parameter values) is zero. In other cases, for example, if another old cell is handed over to the new cell and some specific parameters in the new cell (eg, the handover settings) are different from the old cell, then the new one. Cells, at least to terminals where the parameters associated with these new cells may be obtained and applied (eg, depending on the value of the new parameter, replacing the old parameter value or adding a new parameter). It may be transmitted within the system information.

5. Transmission of system information over a dedicated channel A fifth way to improve energy efficiency in delivering system information is to use a normal transmission channel to bring the system information, or part of it, into the cell coverage area. Rather than sending system information to all existing terminals, it includes sending only to specific terminals via a dedicated channel.

This solution may not be applicable or may not be practical for some or all system information elements of all system information. For example, it does not apply to some of the specific system information required to request or have a dedicated channel configured. Also, usually, it does not have to be practical for a part of the system information used for the cell search or the system information element. And instead of using a communication or common channel, the additional (energy) overhead of setting up a dedicated channel (both terminal and network) just for the purpose of receiving some of the system information The burden may be greater than the load achieved by using a dedicated channel

However, in communication or distribution of this system information via a common channel, when the terminal is not available before the transmission of the system information, a plurality of terminals receive the system information or a part of the system information. If so, it may be efficient. For example, notifying 10 terminals at the same time as transmitting a single system information is more efficient than notifying a single terminal. However, for such transmissions, usually high transmit power is used to be confident that the intended terminal can be reached in terms of path loss and farthest. The energy efficiency of such transmissions is questionable if a small number of terminals are acquiring the information received and transmitted. When a single terminal is retrieving the information received and transmitted, that information is provided in an energy inefficient manner. If there is no receiving terminal and the transmitted information is acquired, energy is wasted.

Also, small cell size trends, such as macrocells to microcells, picocells, or femtocells, are less likely to allow multiple terminals to communicate or benefit from some of the same system information transmitted over a common channel. It becomes easy to become.

Therefore, according to one embodiment of the invention, the cell may be configured to transmit at least some system information portions from the cell to a particular terminal via a dedicated channel. Dedicated channels are usually power controlled, so the transmission of a fixed amount of data to a single terminal over a dedicated channel appears to be more energy efficient. Dedicated channels are also usually cell-to-terminal so that erroneous reception of some system information or system information elements can be quickly corrected by retransmission requested by the terminal. It operates in both the downward direction to and the upward direction from the terminal to the cell. In addition, using a very well-matched dedicated channel for the terminal that triggers the cell can, for example, transmit their system information, or part of it, with an explicit trigger, as described above. In response to a request from the terminal, including the use of the "difference only" or "signal" option, it is actually necessary to transmit part of the system information or only the system information elements.

In various implementations, all combinations of the above five power saving options can be applied equally appropriately and as those that can be more easily combined by others. For example, using a dedicated channel for the transmission of system information to a terminal (option # 5 above) may very well be combined with the transmission of signals only (option # 4 above) and /. Alternatively, it may be combined with the transmission of an implicit and / or explicit trigger signal (option # 2 above). Also, those used for implicit and / or explicit triggers (option # 2 above) may be used in combination with very well intermittent transmissions (option # 1 above), and in particular, It may be used in combination with a selected portion of system information with a very low repetition rate (ie, t2, which is much greater than t1). In contrast, using intermittent transmission (option # 1 above) and using a dedicated channel to transmit system information to the terminal (option # 5 above) may not be very applicable and saves power. In combination with (option # 3 above), it may already be implied in the use of dedicated channels.

Change or replay (demonstration) of system information
A special case of system information delivery includes a particular system information portion of a cell update (ie, change). The modified system information portion should receive the "older" system information and be delivered to at least those terminals remaining within the cell's coverage area. This may be done most efficiently in the communication of the system information portion that has been modified at least once.

Changes to system information may be most efficiently performed, as in conventional systems, preferably via communication or common channels, with power settings for the farthest terminal. Notification of system information may be provided via a paging channel, such as UMTS, or subsequently a MIB that needs to be continuously monitored adjacently.

The same mechanism of system information change may be applied in place of the current normal mechanism of system information lifetime at each terminal. According to one embodiment of the invention, the cell may be configured to maintain a refresh timer instead of operating the terminal for an effective time. When the cell refresh timer expires, the cell is configured to announce a refresh, for example, as well as a change in system information, and can communicate the full settings of system information at least once within the current coverage area. It is possible that all terminals can be updated, or a part of the existing system information is confirmed and additionally supplemented, and a part of the system information is still missing and stored.

Example # 2-4: Description of a general system
Example # 2-4 is described in communication system 30 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, according to one embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the communication system 30 of the cellular wireless access communication system includes at least LA-32 cells, SA-33 cells and 34. The user terminal 35 is shown in FIG. For clarity, only the most relevant elements of the communication system are shown in FIG. Other elements (not shown in FIG. 6) may be present or may be within the scope of the present invention. Such "other elements" are, for example, additional SA cells, additional LA-cells, additional terminals, additional elements of the communication system, and relays connecting each cell and / or each other in the communication system. Like the line, it may include another network node, such as a management unit.

The following is a general description of each of LA-cell 32, SA-33, 34, and terminal 35. A detailed functional description of each of these elements is provided in the discussion of another solution following the general description.

The LA-cell 32 is configured to camp on the terminal 35 on the LA-cell 32 and to call the terminal 35, at least by a conventional method known in the art. Is. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the LA-cell 32, which is also configured to receive a service request message from the terminal 35 indicating a data connection, is illustrated with the terminal 35 in FIG. It needs to be established with one of the SA-cells to support no wireless communication data volume (ie, wireless exchange of user data). LA-cell 32 is not intended primarily to be used for wireless communication of user data from terminal 35 to terminal 35, but is paging, or is communicated via LA-cell 32, full, or It does not interfere with other signal transmissions, such as some user data traffic, for data connections (calls) within some duration, for example, for low bitrate (such as voice calls) traffic. ..

Compared to SA-cells 33 and 34, LA-cell 32 is typically configured to cover a large geographic area with a smaller bit rate. The geographical area where the standby terminal selects camp-on for the LA-cell is called the LA-cell coverage area. In a cell of appropriate size, terminals within that area can usually successfully receive system information and signal messages (eg, paging messages) from the LA-cell. This is, of course, expected to apply in the opposite direction, i.e., the terminal camps on the LA-cell and sends a signal message (eg, a service request message) to the LA-cell where it camps on. When doing so, the LA-cell can usually receive the message normally. In the intended coverage area of the wireless communication network, at least one fully operational or "normally on" LA-cell may be assumed in (FIG. 6, LA-cell 32), and the terminal and signal message. It may be assumed that it is possible to support the exchange of. In the simplest embodiment, this may mean that the LA-cell 32 is always at full capacity (“on”). In other embodiments, the LA-cell 32 is not necessarily in the "on" state, and power saving options suitable for the LA-cell may be applied to the LA-cell 32.

The terminal 35 is not only a terminal actually operated by a person who is a user, such as a mobile phone in which a user makes a voice call or browses the Internet, but also a smartphone or a data-centered terminal (for example, a laptop or tablet). It may operate (eg, send / receive e-mail) without the intervention of, and may be, for example, an MTC (machine-type communication) device such as a smart electric meter, a car navigation device, or a surveillance camera device.

The terminal 35 may be in execution mode or standby mode. As used herein, terminal 35 is said to be in standby mode because it does not provide support for wireless exchange of user data or traffic between terminal 35 and SA-cell 33 or 34. ing. As used herein, the terminal 35 is said to be in execution mode if it is possible to exchange data with at least one of the SA-cells 33, 34. It should be noted that while these concepts of standby mode and execution mode may be consistent with those used herein in terms of the meaning of standardized conventional network terms, they are not necessarily such standardizations. It should be noted that it does not exactly match the definition given.

In addition, the terminal 35 supports several forms of power saving options (ie, in a power save mode or an operating mode that consumes less power in the power saving mode than the terminal operating mode). May be good. While the distinction between standby mode and run mode is based on the presence of support for wireless data exchange of user data with the SA-cell, the distinction between power saving mode and operating mode is consumed by the terminal. The terminal may be, for example, a terminal that is in operating mode but is still in a standby state (or a terminal in operating mode may be in execution mode) because it is based on the amount of power that is used. Similarly, a terminal in power saving mode can be either in a running or standby state, depending on whether the terminal supports wireless exchange of user data with at least one of the SA-cells. However, the most common is after a terminal in power saving mode that is "starting" (ie exiting power saving mode and entering operating mode) is "running" (and running). So you will be in a situation where you want to perform a specific action to facilitate the establishment of a data connection with at least one SA-cell. Since the handling of the embodiment of the present invention relates to a terminal accompanied by the distribution of system information, the following description mainly describes the distribution performed between the standby mode and the execution mode of the terminal.

The standby mode terminal 35 may be envisioned to "camp on" at least on the LA-cell 32, which can also be implemented in conventional ways. For example, the LA-cell communicates using the information contained in the received signal to select or reselect the pilot signal, or beacon signal receivable by the terminal 35, and then the LA-cell to camp on. You may. In FIG. 6, the signal transmitted by the LA-cell 32 and the signal received by the terminal 35 are shown as solid arrows from the LA-cell 32 to the terminal 35. In an embodiment, the terminal 35 may be able to notify the network of a change in location / routing area to facilitate a paging function (not shown in FIG. 6) of LA-cell 32.

SA-cells 33 and 34 are primarily intended to carry user data traffic from terminal 35 to terminal 35 over a dedicated channel, eg, over a data connection established for that purpose. .. However, it also does not preclude that some other information and / or some signals are made via one or more SA-cells.

In contrast to LA-cell 32, each of SA-cells 33 and 34 is typically configured to cover a smaller area at a higher bit rate. In a normal scenario deployment, areas that can probably be covered by adjacent SA-cells may show significant overlap. In the intended coverage area of the wireless communication network, it may be assumed that at least one of the SA-cells 33, 34 can provide coverage. The SA-cell is fully operational or, in other words, in the "normally off" state only when it is in a required situation. The SA-cell is intended to support at least one form of power saving, such as power saving mode or standby mode. For that result, in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 6, the SA-cell is in power saving mode while the SA-cell 34 is in run mode (shown in FIG. 6 as a black triangle) in the SA-cell. Is illustrated as SA-cell 33 (shown in FIG. 6 as a white triangle). As shown in FIG. 6, the signal effectively transmitted by the power saving mode SA-cell 33 and the signal received by the terminal 35 are indicated by the dashed arrows, while the execution mode SA-cell 34. The signal transmitted by and the signal received by the terminal 35 are shown as solid arrows.

Each of the terminals 35, LA-cell 32, and SA-cells 33, 34 may include at least one or more communication interfaces for transmission / reception information, and memory units for stored data (perhaps reception beyond the communication interface). Alternatively, the processor, communication interface, processor, and memory unit that processes data and program execution may be configured to appropriately perform the functions of these units described herein.

Due to the energy efficient network conditions that are different from conventional cellular systems, terminals must communicate with both LA-cells and SA-cells, at least according to various embodiments of the invention. In three different configurations, it is envisioned that the signal received from the terminal 35 will be transmitted to any cell of such cell type for the terminal 35.

The first configuration for the terminal 35 is an LA-cell radio interface for communicating with the LA-cell 32 (not shown in FIG. 6, perhaps another LA-cell) and SA-cells 33, 34 (FIG. 6). It assumes a terminal in execution mode to support two radio interfaces at the same time, such as a SA-cell radio interface (not shown in), perhaps for communicating with another SA-cell), "Configuration (i). Is mentioned below. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, this configuration involves a slightly more complex configuration than a terminal via only a single wireless interface. In at least some solutions, such terminals require only LA-cell radio receivers, and terminals can receive information from LA-cells via the LA-cell radio interface, but terminals Not only does it need to have a function, it also does not need to send information to the LA-cell. In other solutions (eg, relating to the exchange of signal information with an LA-cell), such a terminal also requires an LA-cell radio transmitter, so that the terminal transmits information to the LA-cell. Will be able to. Since the exchange of signal information with the LA-cell requires only a low bit rate, maintaining the LA-cell radio interface may reduce additional complexity, cost and energy consumption. The terminal 35 in configuration (i) may be in execution mode and may receive signals and / or data exchanges from LA-cell 32 at any time.

A second configuration for the terminal 35 is such as an LA-cell radio interface for (s) LA-cells and an SA-cell radio interface for (s) SA-cells, ie. It is referred to below as the "configuration (ii)", which assumes an execution mode terminal that supports two wireless interfaces by quickly changing the operation mode so that it operates in the time division mode. In other words, such a terminal will enable the LA-cell radio interface at one point and the SA-cell radio interface at another moment. The terminal 35 of the configuration (ii) is in the execution mode, and when actually exchanging data with the SA-cell 34, it is assumed that the SA-cell wireless interface is enabled most of the time. To. It is more preferable to assume that the data exchange with the SA-cell 34 is interrupted for a short time by dividing the time into 1 second or less, for example, 100 ms, so that the interrupt to the terminal user does not worsen. .. The terminal in configuration (ii) may be in run mode, reconfiguring the radio interface from the SA-cell radio interface to the LA-cell radio interface, and then at any time, but to the SA-cell radio interface. Signals may be received from the LA-cell and / or data exchanged with the LA-cell for a relatively short period of time (eg, 100 milliseconds) before the configuration is re-stored. In this way, similar simultaneous mode operation may be achieved. In an embodiment, the operation of the terminal reconfigures the wireless interface in LA-cells and SA-cells and sends user data to the terminal (and / or sends system information to the terminal and possibly other terminals as well. ) Means that the terminal constitutes a wireless interface with the data received from the LA-cell, the SA-cell does not send user data to a particular terminal (and / or this particular terminal, and in some cases other terminals). It may be synchronized with one of the other SA-cell ranges during the period (sending system information to). In such an embodiment, it is possible to prevent the SA-cell from wastefully transmitting user data to the terminal and, in addition, wasting SA-cell resources. Also, the generation of terminals that make up the LA-cell radio interface (and the SA-cell radio interface cannot be used) does not have to be very frequent and the LA-cell radio interface is valid. The total time of the terminals may include only a relatively very small amount of time divided.

A valid third configuration for the terminal 35 is described in configuration (ii), where two radio interfaces (one for LA-cell and one for SA-cell) alternately support. Assuming a terminal for execution in such an operation mode without rapid change (continuous), it is referred to below as "configuration (iii)". For example, similar simultaneous mode operation described in configuration (ii) is not considered necessary and / or, for example, a wireless interface reconfiguration considers one second or more to be "quick". If you need more time, that means is not used because it does not support rapid configuration. It is assumed that the terminal in the form of configuration (iii) is configured for the SA-cell while its wireless interface exchanges user data with the SA-cell. Thereby, the exchange of user data can be performed at the maximum possible speed without the need for short interruptions such as for configuration (ii). As a result, according to the configuration (iii), even when the data connection of the executing terminal is established, it may not be possible to confirm whether or not the data connection is within the same LA-cell coverage area. Even if the terminal in the executing state remains in the coverage area of the same LA-cell, it is not necessary to pay attention to the change of the system information of the LA-cell. Therefore, the terminal may execute the cell search procedure after finishing the data exchange via the SA-cell and reconfiguring the wireless interface to the LA-cell, or it is necessary to acquire the LA-cell system information. There may be. Various approaches known to those of skill in the art to repair or to ensure that calls such as incoming calls and ringing messages are not missed before the cell discovery procedure and the acquisition of sufficient system information are complete. , At least may be continued to alleviate this problem.

According to configurations (i), (ii) and (iii), the LA-cell radio interface and the SA-cell radio interface have radio frequencies divided into front and back, or physically the same radio interface (eg, LA-). The cell and SA-cell may be two physically separate wireless interfaces that share (if they operate in the same frequency band but on different carriers). In the latter case, the "SA-cell wireless interface" and the "LA-cell wireless interface" differ only in the physical "software" configuration of the wireless interface. A single physical radio interface for configurations (ii) and (iii) is enabled as an LA-cell radio interface (while the SA-cell radio interface is disabled) or (LA-cell radio). Either enabled as a SA-cell radio interface (while the interface is disabled) is capable enough.

As used herein, the term "enabled" with respect to cell type (SA-cell, LA-cell) is a cell in the context of an enabled or disabled SA-cell or LA-cell radio interface. To describe an interface that can receive signals from the type, and to exchange data with the cell type (which may include any type of data such as user data, signal data, network control messages, etc.) While used to support, the term "invalid" is used to describe that the interface cannot receive signals from the cell type and cannot support exchange with the cell type. Has been done. Those skilled in the art will recognize that there are various ways in which an interface can be "disabled". For example, in one extreme embodiment, the disabled radio interface can be completely turned off without power being supplied by the electrical components of that interface. However, in another extreme embodiment, the wireless interface may be considered "invalid" when it is simply not in use, even though the interface itself is physically fully operational. There is no time required to re-enable the interface, during which time it will be minimized, or when it needs to be re-enabled, there will be a minimum delay to prepare for the operation of the disabled interface. The latter embodiment would be advantageous. Whether these extreme embodiments are known to those of skill in the art or within the scope of the present invention, it is considered what radio interfaces will be disabled in various other embodiments. right.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the coverage area of the LA-cell and the plurality of SA-cells in the communication network according to one embodiment of the present invention. The LA-cell 42, which is the LA-cell 32 shown in FIG. 6, may have a relatively large coverage area, as shown by the dashed circle 43, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, each of the plurality of SA-cells, which are SA-cells 33 and 34, is shown as a triangle such as a triangle 44, for example. The SA-cell 44 may have another relatively small coverage area, indicated by a dark circle, such as a circle 45. Further, FIG. 7 shows a terminal 46 in the standby mode and a terminal 47 in the execution mode (terminals in the execution mode shown by a thick frame). Each of the terminals 46 and 47 may be the terminal shown in 35 in FIG. 6 or may be within one or more coverage areas 45. The terminal 46 in the cover area 43 of the LA-cell 42 is said to be camp-on to the LA-cell 42. The SA-cell 44 having a coverage area 45 attempts to illustrate the SA-cell in dark gray in execution mode, while attempting to plot the SA-cell in white in power saving mode, and one or more terminals. The data connection with 47 may be in progress. Of course, in other embodiments, the coverage areas 43 and 45 are not within the circle and do not need to cover the omnidirectional compartments around the base station (cell).

A normal example of the operation of the terminal 35 in the energy efficient network according to the embodiment of the present invention, which is shown again in FIG. 6, may be as follows. When the terminal 35 does not need to exchange user data using the network (that is, the standby terminal), the standby terminal often camps on a cell in the conventional network. Camp on to LA-cell 32 in the same way. When the terminal 35 needs to exchange user data with the network (ie, needs to enter execution mode), it has an appropriate SA-cell in the network, such as the SA-cell 34 illustrated in FIG. Establish a data connection with. For maximum energy efficiency, suitable SA-cells may be decommissioned in advance (ie, switched off or entered into an energy-saving state) or started to support data connections (ie,). It may need to be started). Once the data connection is established, the terminal 35 may exchange user data (possibly also with a signal) with / SA-cell 34 via, for example, a dedicated channel. If the SA-cell has no traffic (after sending the remaining connections to the SA-cell) or has a small amount of remaining traffic, the SA-cell has the highest energy efficiency gain. 34 may be discontinued (ie, switched off or enter an energy saving state). The terminal 35 that camps on to the LA-cell and resumes standby mode may be the same LA-cell (ie, LA-cell 32) that camps on before establishing the data connection, or If the terminal moves within the coverage area of another LA-cell, it may be another LA-cell.

Example # 2: LA-cell that delivers LA-cell system information, SA-cell that delivers SA-cell system information in an energy efficient network As described in FIGS. 6 and 7 and above, terminals. The execution state 35 is configured by exchanging user data with the SA-cell 34 via a data connection established between the terminal 35 and the SA-cell 34, for example, for the purpose of passing through a dedicated channel. It is initially assumed to be a terminal of. The problem with at least SA-cell 34 and terminal 35 that has acquired SA-cell system information, including system information about SA-cell 32, is another SA-cell and another in network 30 that may be related to terminal 35. Probably similar to the system information about the LA-cell, it is addressed in Example # 2.

In the embodiment of this embodiment, the LA-cell 32 transmits the system information of the LA-cell, the SA-cell 34 transmits the SA-cell system information, and the terminal 35 in the configuration (ii) FIG. 8 schematically shows that the SA-cell radio interface and the LA-cell radio interface are based on the idea of alternately enabling in split multiplexing mode. As schematically shown in FIG. 9, with the SA-cell 34 transmitting its system information via the communication channel 51 illustrated by the gray triangle, and / or dedicated channels 52, 53 illustrated with double-ended arrows. Through the LA-cell 32, which transmits its system information to the individual terminals 35 via the communication channel 54 illustrated by the dotted triangle, the LA-cell and the SA-cell transmit their respective system information. You may send it. When the terminal 35 is in standby mode, the terminal 35 transmits LA-cell system information by the LA-cell 32 in which the terminal is camped-on via an enabled LA-cell radio interface, such as a standby terminal. Is configured to receive. After that, the SA-cell radio interface may be disabled. The terminal 35 is in run mode, and most of the time, data is exchanged with and from the SA-cell 34 via an actually established data connection, and the SA-cell wireless interface of the terminal 35 is enabled. The LA-cell radio interface is disabled. At that point, the terminal 35 may exchange user data with the SA-cell 34, just as it can receive other signals containing system information from the SA-cell 34 and the terminal 35. A signal containing system information may be received from another SA-cell in the network 30. In the remaining, smaller, time portion, when the LA-cell radio interface of execution terminal 35 is enabled, the SA-cell radio interface is disabled. At that point, the terminal 35 contains system information from the LA-cell 32 and from other LA-cells in the network 30, perhaps as well as supporting signal connections via the LA-cell 32. A signal may be received. In this way, the terminal that exchanges data with the SA-cell via the SA-cell wireless interface in execution mode is configured to temporarily suspend or suspend the exchange of user data with the SA-cell. Alternatively, if an LA-cell or terminal is expected to transmit LA-cell for transmitting system information, such terminal may provide LA-cell system information transmitted by one or more LA-cells. You may receive it. Such terminals are configured to receive SA-cell system information from one or more SA-cells when the SA-cell radio interface is enabled.

According to the configuration (i) described above, the operation of two simultaneous wireless interfaces configured with the terminal 35, so to speak, the "parallel" operation, is a variety of approaches outlined in Example # 1 and below. Can be used. The first embodiment can be applied to the distribution of system information received by the terminal 35 via the corresponding wireless interface, another independent wireless interface, by each of the LA-cell and SA-cell. ..

According to one embodiment of the invention, FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram of four method steps for acquiring system information regarding system information of one or more SA-cells and one or more LA-cells. Has been done. The method steps described in connection with FIG. 6 will allow those skilled in the art to understand, within the scope of the present invention, in what order and in what order the system is configured to perform what method steps. Let's do it.

This method begins with step 61, when the terminal 35 is in execution mode and the SA-cell radio interface of the terminal 35 is enabled. Next, the terminal 35 receives at least a part of the system information of the SA-cell 34 regarding the SA-cell 34 from the SA-cell 34 via the SA-cell wireless interface of the terminal (of course, the terminal 35 receives the system information of the SA-cell 34. Data may be exchanged with SA-cell 34). The terminal 35 may receive SA-cell system information from other SA-cells associated with the terminal 35. In step 62, one or more LA time zones for reception, and in step 63, for LA-cell 32, LA-cell system information is received via the enabled LA-cell radio interface. Meanwhile, the terminal 35 activates its LA-cell radio interface. The terminal 35 according to configuration (ii) and the wireless interface that quickly alternates (almost simultaneously) the two are LA- at a fractional time, such as 100 milliseconds (or less). It is preferable to transmit the system information for the cell 32. LA to repeatedly transmit LA-cell system information within a predetermined time, or at least at a predetermined moment when the transmission of the system information is started, for example, at a predetermined cycle of 100 milliseconds. -Cells preferably transmit LA-cell system information. The pattern of transmitting LA-cell system information can be by the LA-cell 32 itself, or of any other network unit, such as a network management or OAM (operation, management and maintenance) unit, and / or a tuning unit. It may be set by either. When the terminal 35 is provided with an instruction when the transmission of the LA-cell system information occurs, the executing terminal is, for example, just before the start and reception of the transmission of the LA-cell system information is expected. Other LA-cells such as those that can reconfigure the wireless interface to the cell and optionally measure its signal strength to assess if it is still within the coverage area of LA-cell 32. It also performs related operations. When that is done, the terminal 35 may be reconfigured to undo the wireless interface of the SA-cell (or may continue to exchange user data, for example, via the SA-cell 34).

The terminal 35 in option step 64 may be configured in one or more settings based on the received SA-cell system information and / or the received LA-cell system information, at least in part. The terminal 35 in the embodiment may be configured to store at least a portion of the system information portion of both the (s) SA-cells and the (s) LA-cells for future use. In this regard, the SA-cell system information transmitted by the SA-cell 34 is not limited to being considered exclusively as the SA-cell 34, which may also be in the network, eg, shown in FIG. It may be noted that it may be considered as one or more other running or waiting SA-cells, such as the SA-cell 33 adjacent to the SA-cell. The terminal 35, which receives and stores SA-cell system information about another SA-cell from the SA-cell 34 that just provides the service, is, for example, in the case of a handover to another adjacent SA-cell. It is considered to have advantages. Next, the system information, or the part most relevant to the new SA-cell, can already be obtained by the terminal before performing the handover instead of the terminal after the handover. Acquiring system information about another "avant-garde" cell, rather than facilitating the handover to complete it faster than the usual approach, performs most of the system information, the handover. Get only after doing. The ability to perform a rapid handover is typically due to a small cell size, such as an SA-cell, and a specific cell with a relatively short dwell time, such as a highly mobile terminal, eg, an SA-cell. In some cases, especially with a premiere. Acquisition of system information about another SA-cell, such as "avant-garde", rather than just such a service-providing SA-cell, is particularly energy efficient, and the handover target SA-cell is still waiting. The state (eg, SA-cell 33 illustrated in FIG. 6) is network-dominant, requiring it to be re-executed before it reaches full operation. During the re-execution of the SA-cell, the terminal 35 constitutes the SA-cell itself for handover so that the stored system information of that particular SA-cell may be conveniently used. It may not be possible to fully transmit the SA-cell system information yet. Similarly, the system information transmitted by LA-cell 32 is not limited to being considered exclusively as LA-cell 32, although the above advantages apply to a smaller range of LA-cells, eg May be considered as one or more other LA-cells in the network (not shown in FIG. 9), such as adjacent LA-cells. A similar advantage of storing system information applies to running terminals that maintain LA-cell system information updates to the data and return to standby mode when the user data exchange is complete. It is in. For example, when the terminal 35 goes into the standby state again, the terminal seems to apply the stored LA-cell system information to configure its settings. In all cases, it is preferable to have a terminal that can quickly check whether the stored system information about a particular cell (SA-cell or LA-cell) is still valid. This may be achieved in the conventional way, for example by numbering system information versions. Rather, the system information communicated by such version numbering is frequently communicated. That is, for system information provided via a dedicated channel, suggest a terminal that sends the cell a display of the version number of the stored system information, and the cell is either still valid or up-to-date with this version. It checks for and responds to the version number of, and provides the latest (ie, valid) part of these system information parts after the version number indicated by the terminal has changed. The network 30 may be configured and the terminal may acquire the system information of the SA-cell and the LA-cell, there are various methods, "very simple configuration", "more flexible configuration" and " The most flexible configuration is described in detail below.

Very Simple Configuration In a very simple configuration, for example, an SA-cell such as SA-cell 34 is configured to send user data to each of the running terminals 35, eg, a LA-cell. LA-cells 32 that are configured to transmit system information, or LA-cells that transmit LA-cell system information for each 100 ms and user data for another 900 ms, for example. Like cell 32, the SA-cell provides service only during a period that does not overlap with a predetermined LA-cell period determined in advance. In other words, for a predetermined period of time for the transmission of the LA-cell system information, the terminal receives the system information of the LA-cell, not for receiving the user data via the SA-cell. Reserved to allow acquisition, so the throughput of the SA-cell for user data is reduced by 90% in this example compared to the situation of the time the SA-cell can send 100% of the user data. Can be achieved. The period during which the SA-cell may transmit user data is now described in this embodiment as the "first period", while the LA-cell is for transmitting its LA-cell system information. A predetermined period of time, if configured, is marked as a "second period". The first and second periods are configured so that they do not overlap, but do not have to be adjacent periods (ie, there may be gaps between these periods).
They may be applied as any additional tolerance to allow the completion of the radio interface, for example for terminal reconfiguration, and to allow any inaccurate timing between both cell types.

Since there may be more SA-cells than a single LA-cell that partially overlaps the coverage area of the SA-cell, the SA-cell in its first period is the first of each of the associated LA-cells. It will be required to consider the period of two. To avoid further degradation of the time division, the SA-cell can utilize the first period (further reduction in throughput can be achieved) and LA as long as they can overlap, eg, they occur at about the same time. -Cells are preferably synchronized with each other in the second period. Using the above example, the second period every 100 ms would be used at approximately the same time by all LA-cells associated with the SA-cell.

In this very simple configuration, there are two options for how the SA-cell can transmit its system information. In the first choice, the SA-cell is in the second period (ie, the period during which no user data is transmitted), probably not included in the first period, during the gap between the first and second periods. It may be configured to transmit system information of the SA-cell. In this alternative, the SA-cell system information may be transmitted at a relatively high data rate, and during these periods the SA-cell thus does not require any transmission resource for user data. Therefore, a large amount of SA-cell system information may be transmitted in a relatively short time. In the second option, the SA-cell transmits SA-cell system information at any time, including transmission of SA-cell system information during the first period, during the second period, and / or during the gap. It may be configured to do so. In a further embodiment of the second option, during the second period, and perhaps between gaps, the SA-cell system information transmission rate is, for example, such as a rate comparable to that of the first option. , May be set to a relatively high rate. For both options, the SA-cell is not limited to the period during which user data can be received from the terminal. That is, the SA-cell may be configured to receive at any time during which the terminal can choose whether or not to send user data to the SA-cell. When the system is configured to operate in TDD (Simultaneous Send / Receive) mode, the time zone assigned for downlink transmission from cell to terminal (perhaps a predetermined) and from terminal to cell Note that it is common for there to be another time zone assigned for uplink transmission. And, of course, the above configurations must conform to the TDD time zones assigned for downlink and uplink transmission, respectively.

The LA-cell may be configured to transmit LA-cell system information to the terminal in the running state only during the second period (ie, neither the first period nor the gap period). In the alternative, LA-cells are transmitted outside the second period, eg, in a standby terminal, and / or in another format (eg, lower bitrate, easier coding, etc.) (partially). It may be configured to transmit system information of any LA-cell according to a standby terminal that is not intended to relate to the same system information. For example, to support the exchange of some user data via a dedicated signal connection and / or LA-cell, data exchange via LA-cell is always possible (in the case of TDD, of course, as described above). It may be executed) taking into account the assigned time zone.

In one embodiment in a network where multiple LA-cells may transmit their system information, different LA-cells occur at substantially the same time, eg, at any time within a period of 100 milliseconds. It may be configured to synchronize the transmission of those system information. The advantage of such means is that there must be no distinction between the terminal and / or the LA-cell that may be associated with the terminal, and for 100 ms, the SA-cell is of single user data. Only a free transmission schedule is required. The disadvantage of such means is that the terminal can probably receive and obtain system information only from a single LA-cell for any period of 100 milliseconds. In another embodiment, the different LA-cells may be configured to, for example, synchronize the transmission of their system information that occurs substantially in a continuous period of 100 milliseconds. In such an embodiment, the terminal has the advantage of being able to receive and acquire system information from a plurality of (eg, two) LA-cells in a continuous response time zone of 100 milliseconds. The disadvantage of such means is that the SA-cell throughput of user data can be further reduced and achieved, perhaps due to the need to schedule a free transmission period of SA-cells per terminal (or at least one pair of LA-cells). That is.

Execution-state terminals that do not require any LA-cell system information may be configured to hold a wireless interface to the SA-cell, may transmit user data at any time, and during the first period. User data may be received and SA-cell system information may be received during the second period (and perhaps the gap period). An running terminal that wants to receive LA-cell system information may be configured to continue transmitting and / or receiving user data during the first period. Then, towards the end of the first period, the terminal will reconfigure the radio interface to the LA-cell (a time gap may facilitate this) and receive the LA-cell system information. Towards the end of the second period, the radio interface to the SA-cell is reconfigured with less delay (time gaps may facilitate this again). The terminal may then resume transmitting and / or receiving user data via the SA-cell during the next first period.

As shown above, in this configuration, particularly in the first choice of SA-cell system information and LA-cell system information, the transmission of system information by SA-cell and LA-cell is an additional SA. -The transmission of cell system information is adjusted to occur substantially simultaneously during the second period, which can occur between the gaps between the first and second periods.

More Flexible Configuration In this configuration, there is no predetermined repeating sequence of the first period and the second period.

The SA-cell is a predetermined, designated, indicated, and / or predetermined terminal to which a particular terminal may suspend or pause the transmission of user data continuously or downlink to transmit user data. Alternatively, the user data for suspending the transmission of user data in the SA-cell, which has been previously instructed to the SA-cell by a specific terminal, may be transmitted. Thus, the terminal may receive system information from, for example, one or more LA-cells and one or more LA-cells if the SA-cell needs a free period of transmission of user data. It is possible to make measurements of the above signal levels and / or have full control for the purpose of contacting one or more LA-cells (eg, with the exchange of signal information). This also allows for the correction of unique terminals and unique opportunities during the free period of transmission of SA-cell user data. For example, the terminal of the slow reconfiguring means of the radio interface is another terminal of the rapid reconfiguring means of the radio interface, or the full system information within a period of, for example, 100 ms, rather than the illustrated 100 ms. By aiming to receive and obtain a part of the specific system information, you may order a shorter expected transmission time of the SA-cell to send a part of the specific system information. Transmission of SA-cells longer than the required terminal may be ordered at any time.

In a more flexible configuration, when the SA-cell interrupts the transmission of user data to a particular terminal on the downlink, the SA-cell may continue to transmit user data to another terminal for which interruption is not specified. ..

For the transmission of SA-cell system information by the SA-cell, all options relating to the configurations described above are open without strong preference. For example, the SA-cell may be configured to transmit its SA-cell system information almost continuously and at an appropriate bit rate, as in the conventional case. In another example, the SA-cell may be configured to transmit SA-cell system information in short bursts and at higher bit rates.

The SA-cell may be configured to receive user data at any time. That is, the terminal may choose whether or not to send user data to the SA-cell (in the case of TDD, of course, taking into account the time zone assigned as in the above method). Good.

It is known that the LA-cell is, for example, by a monitoring terminal of the LA-cell, preferably in a short burst, with a predetermined schedule (eg, periodically), such as transmitting the system information of the LA-cell. Or demodulated by the LA-cell monitoring terminal,
It may be composed of pre-determined LA-cells or network nodes, such as some network management or synchronization units. To accommodate the above LA-cell alternatives for a "very simple configuration", this LA-cell is similar to transmitting system information for any LA-cell outside of the second period. It is in the options in the configuration.

For example, to support dedicated signal connections and / or to support the exchange of arbitrary user data via the LA-cell, the exchange of data via the LA-cell (in the case of TDD, of course, It may be run at any time (taking into account the assigned time zone, as described above).

An running terminal that does not require any LA-cell system information may maintain its wireless interface configured in the SA-cell, may transmit user data at any time, or may be in the SA-cell. System information may be received at any time (at least when SA-cell system information is transmitted). An executing state terminal that requires LA-cell system information is an SA with a data-connected terminal when the SA-cell needs to (interrupt) pause in its downlink transmission of user data to a particular terminal. -It may be configured to provide instructions to the cell first. Finally, the terminal may, for example, follow a periodic schedule, with a single break at a specified start and end time, a single break with a specified start time and a duration break, or multiple breaks. , Etc. may be provided. Transmission of user data down the SA-cell, where the paused period does not occur at all, may occur once, or may occur repeatedly (perhaps at different periods). May be compared to the second period described in "Very Simple Configurations" in this more flexible configuration, with differences in the duration of the defined terminals and the unique terminals. After providing instructions to the SA-cell, the terminal may continue to send and / or receive user data until the start of the interruption. At the start or later, the terminal may reconfigure the wireless interface to the LA-cell. The time to do so, which is known to the terminal, shall be taken into account when designating the start of interruption of user data to the SA-cell on the downlink. A terminal that has the LA-cell radio interface enabled reconfigures the radio interface back to the SA-cell, rather than receiving LA-cell system information, or at least the relevant portion of that information, towards the end of the interruption at the latest. You may. Similar to the time to reconfigure the terminal's wireless interface in the LA-cell, the time to reconfigure the terminal's wireless interface in the SA-cell shall be known to the terminal and shall be known to the terminal in the downlink SA-cell. It shall be taken into consideration when specifying the end of interruption of user data. The terminal may resume transmitting and / or receiving user data after the end of the interruption.

As shown above, this configuration does not require coordination of the transmission of system information by the SA-cell and LA-cell. However, the terminal needs to monitor the LA-cell system information and cannot monitor the SA-cell system information during those times (the "second period"), repeating, stable, all. SA-cell system information will be missed. This can occur if the SA-cell system information transmitted in a short burst matches the transmission of LA-cell system information. The terminal may also miss some of the system information of a particular SA-cell, even if it repeatedly and stably transmits the SA-cell system information substantially continuously. In order to avoid such a situation, preferably, the SA-cell and the LA-cell are respectively such that the repetition rate of the SA-cell system information transmission is different from the repetition rate of the LA-cell system information. Will synchronize the transmission of system information. In such synchronization, some of the SA-cell system information may be stably overlooked by the terminal repeating the same part of the SA-cell system information, but shifted along the SA-cell system information. Will do. This is, for example, less than or less than the repetition time of the LA-cell system information, which corresponds to the transmission duration (ie, the second duration) of the (possibly short) LA-cell system information for the terminal in the running state. It will be achieved by selecting the repetition time of the SA-cell system information, which is either long or long. An alternative solution is to skip such a second period and configure the SA-cell to receive and acquire SA-cell system information or terminals explicitly requesting its wireless interface. As a terminal to maintain, for example, to provide some specified SA-cell system information to the SA-cell via a dedicated channel used for exchanging user data, for example, again exchanging user data. It may be particularly advantageous when applying options # 2 and # 5 of Example # 1 via a dedicated channel used for.

In this configuration, the SA-cells may have at least a partial coverage area that overlaps the coverage area of the plurality of LA-cells, so that in this configuration, adjacent LA-cells occur at about the same time, so that they may overlap each other. It is not necessary to synchronize those LA-cell system information transmissions. The terminal indicates to suspend the transmission of SA-cell user data on the downlink and / / corresponds to the period during which the LA-cell system information of the LA-cell (that is, the specific LA-cell that intends to monitor the terminal) is transmitted. Or you may give an order. However, in this embodiment, the transmission of synchronized LA-cell system information may still be performed. Such means may be advantageous for the terminal, as it is not necessary to specify a different interruption period for another LA-cell.

Most flexible configuration
This configuration, according to the "more flexible" configuration described above, is a larger configuration, with interruptions at the start and end of SA-cell user data on the downlink (ie, suspending transmission of user data on the downlink and (Resume) is specified by the terminal in the executing state for each moment.

In one embodiment, the terminal may transmit an instruction to suspend the transmission of SA-cell user data on the downlink without specifying a time or with the application of an instruction specifying a specific time in the future. Good. The SA-cell that receives the instruction, which is relevant to the current moment, i.e., applied immediately or reasonably as soon as possible, may be configured to interpret the instruction at no time. For example, after receiving an instruction to suspend immediately, the SA-cell may, for example, complete the current transmission block or frame of user data and stop further transmission to that terminal. It may be configured. After receiving the immediate resume command, the SA-cell may be configured to immediately resume transmission to the terminal.

In another embodiment, the terminal may transmit an instruction to suspend transmission of downlink SA-cell user data at any specified time. The SA-cell that has received the pause command at the specified time may be configured to interpret the SA-cell transmission to the terminal as an instruction that must stop at the specified time at the latest. The instruction to resume the specified time indicates that the SA-cell can resume transmission to the terminal from the specified time at the earliest.

It is soon possible to resume the momentary, momentary downlink SA-cell transmission time, based on the provision to the terminal with more flexibility to specify a pause and resume SA-cell transmission. The terminal executes the LA-cell operation and does not wait for the end of the LA-cell system information transmission period. One of ordinary skill in the art will immediately understand how to apply the above description of the more flexible configuration to allow the start and end of outbound SA-cell user data transmission, moment by moment. The explanation is not repeated here because the results are concise because they are specified on the basis.

Example # 3: Distribution of LA-Cell LA-Cell System Information and SA-Cell System Information in an Energy Efficient Network In connection with the above, the terminal 35, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, Initially, it is assumed that a terminal in a standby state is camping on the LA-cell 32 without exchanging user data via the SA-cells 33 and 34. The terminal 35 is in an executing state for the purpose of exchanging user data using the SA-cell 34, for example, using a dedicated channel, via a data connection established between the terminal 35 and the SA-cell 34. May become. According to the embodiment of Example # 3, at least SA-cell system information about SA-cell 34 and LA-cell, similar to system information about other SA-cells and other LA-cells in network 30. The problem of the address of the terminal 35 to acquire the SA-cell system information composed of the system information including the LA-cell system information about 32 may be related to the terminal 35.

In an embodiment of this embodiment, the LA-cell, eg, LA-cell 32, as well as SA-cell system information of at least any part of the SA-cell, perhaps with respect to a terminal within the coverage area of the LA-cell, LA. -Based on the idea that it may be used to transmit cell system information. Example # 3 may be divided into two main embodiments shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, respectively. In the first embodiment, the LA-cell 32 uses a communication / common channel to transmit all system information of the terminal. In a second embodiment, the LA-cell 32 uses one or more dedicated signal channels to transmit at least arbitrary system information to individual terminals. These embodiments will be described in more detail below.

Use of Communication / Common Channel FIG. 11 schematically illustrates an LA-cell that provides a terminal with both LA-cell system information and SA-cell system information, according to an embodiment of the present invention. .. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the LA-cell 32 indicates that the LA-cell 32 transmits the system information as well as the system information of one or more SA-cells associated with the terminal 35 via the communication channel 71. .. The standby terminal then only needs to enable the LA-cell radio interface, at least while the LA-cell system information communication channel continues to monitor. This enables a standby terminal to obtain all system information about LA-cells and possibly all related SA-cells within the coverage area of LA-cells. The terminal in the standby state may store the acquired system information or may continue to update the data. When establishing a data connection with a particular SA-cell, the standby terminal may also use the stored system information about the particular SA-cell. Such operations on the terminal are supported by any of the terminal configurations (i), (ii) and (iii) described above.

As shown in FIG. 11, each running state terminal exchanging user data using SA-cell 34 via dedicated data channels 72, 73, and 74 further communicates by LA-cell 32. It may be configured to monitor the system information provided. The terminal 35 may be configured to monitor the LA-cell and SA-cell system information communicated by the LA-cell 32, either periodically or when it receives a trigger update. ..

For the embodiment of Example # 3 shown in FIG. 11, the configuration of two terminals is assumed.

The use of the terminal of configuration (i) described above means that the terminal in the running state is likely to exchange user data through the SA-cell 34 to the extent necessary for continuous and / or user data exchange. -It is configured to use a cell radio interface. The terminal uses, for example, periodically or triggers to monitor the system information communication of the LA-cell by the LA-cell 32 using the communication channel 71 containing the system information of the LA-cell and the SA-cell. Upon receiving the update, it is preliminarily configured to enable the LA-cell radio interface in a relatively short period of time. One advantage of such a configuration is that the user data exchange via the SA-cell may continue uninterrupted. However, the terminal needs to support two wireless interfaces at the same time, at least for a short period of time, which brings a higher degree of complexity to the hardware.

The use of terminals in configuration (ii) may be configured such that the terminals in the running state alternate between the two wireless interfaces. For the larger portion of time, the terminal has enabled the SA-cell wireless interface to support user data exchange via the SA-cell 34. The LA-cell radio interface is then disabled. For the lesser portion of time, the terminal has only the LA-cell radio interface enabled to monitor the LA-cell system information communication channel 71, which contains the LA-cell and SA-cell system information. There is. The SA-cell radio interface is then disabled.

In the communication channel 71 transmitted by the LA-cell 32, the SA-cell system information may be grouped into SA-cells or groups of SA-cells. For higher energy efficiency of system information delivery, LA-cells 32 are in the required range, for example, if these SA-cells are in the running state or are about to be activated. Only may be configured to transmit SA-cell system information. However, in order to speed up the establishment of data connections through SA-cells that are not yet in the running state, LA-cell 32 provides system information for all SA-cells, including, for example, an indication of the running state of the SA-cell. It may be configured to transmit. In this way, both the standby mode terminal and the execution mode terminal acquire, store, and update system information about each of the LA-cell and SA-cell by simply monitoring the communication channel of the LA-cell. Can be updated. Since system information can be made available to the terminal even before it is needed, this approach is a procedure for establishing a data connection through a running SA-cell, whether it is performed or not. It is possible to speed up the procedure for establishing a data connection via the SA-cell to be handed over from one SA-cell to another SA-cell.

Further, in order to extend the system information available to the terminal, the cell settings for distributing the system information about the LA-cell 32 are, for example, outside the cell, but in the coverage area of the LA-cell 32. The system information about the nearby LA-cell and / or the SA-cell may be further extended.

Further improvements to the embodiment shown in FIG. 11 have changed the relevant parts of the system information to enable a terminal in the running state with the greatest attention paid to the exchange of user data via the SA-cell 34. In some cases, providing a trigger signal or message to a terminal in the running state. Such trigger signals or signal messages may be transmitted by the network, for example, via a dedicated connection to the terminal, or may be communicated by one or more SA-cells within the network. Triggers may optionally be indicated in a cell or cells as being related to a change. The terminal that receives such a trigger signal or message may thus be notified of the change to any system information and may be associated with the terminal for acquiring the changed system information.

In embodiments, the running terminal acquires, updates, or collates system information, for example, for mobility, for handover from an old SA-cell to a new SA-cell, and from a new SA-cell. If necessary, any event may be interpreted as a trigger when the terminal executes. Providing a trigger to a terminal in the running state is periodic, such as periodically monitoring the LA-cell communication channel due to changes that may be particularly beneficial in the terminal of configuration (ii). There is a change from execution to the terminal in the execution state.

Although not the most energy efficient compared to other embodiments, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the terminal acquires system information for all SA-cells within the LA-cell coverage area and later obtains this information. Provides the advantage of being able to be stored for use in. Therefore, in the case of an executing terminal that establishes a data connection or performs a handover from one SA-cell to another SA-cell, when the connection establishment or the handover to the SA-cell is completed, The terminal is usually able to apply the settings related to the SA-cell more quickly than in a situation where it only gets most of the system information about the SA-cell. This embodiment means that, before the terminal sets up a data connection, the standby terminal has SA-cell system information in advance, even if the standby terminal does not have an adjacent running SA-cell. It also enables delivery of.

The use of dedicated channels, or also in the embodiments described above, can use a dedicated signal approach to communicate system information about the SA-cell and to avoid consumption of communication resources in the LA-cell 32. While providing SA-cell system information and / or LA-cell system information, transmission of the change to the running terminal 35b via the dedicated signal channel 82, it is the standby terminal via the communication channel 81. Similar to the system information for one or more SA-cells with respect to 35a, it is schematically shown in FIG. 12 that the LA-cell 32 transmits that system information.

In the options of this embodiment, the data connection settings of the LA-cell 32 may be configured to be provided via the dedicated signal connection 82, including the dedicated signal connection via the LA-cell 32. At best, all relevant system information about the SA-cell is selected to support the connection.

Triggered by an event, eg, for mobility, for handover of a new SA-cell from an old SA-cell, or when the terminal runs, or for example, for SA-cell and / or LA-cell system parameters. When the network, such as resetting, makes changes to some system information, the dedicated signal channel 82 via the LA-cell 32 transmits the changed system information to the running terminal 35b. May be used as such.

For such an execution terminal, a configuration of two terminals is assumed.

Using the terminal in configuration (i) described above, the running terminal will probably exchange user data via the SA-cell 34 to the extent necessary for continuous and / or user data exchange. The SA-cell wireless interface may be used. The terminal 35b relates to LA-cell system information about LA-cell 32, or SA-cell 34, for example, to support a dedicated signal connection 82 via LA-cell upon receiving a trigger to do so, periodically. It is configured to occasionally enable its LA-cell radio interface in a relatively short amount of time in order to receive any changes (updates) that may be arbitrary SA-cell system information. The advantage of such means is that the exchange of user data via the SA-cell 34 can continue uninterrupted. However, the terminal 35b needs to support two wireless interfaces at the same time, at least in a short amount of time, which results in higher hardware complexity.

When the terminal is used in the above configuration (ii), the terminal in the executing state may be configured alternately between the two wireless interfaces. In order to receive any change (update) that may be LA-cell system information about LA-cell 32 or SA-cell system information about any SA-cell 34 with respect to the smaller portion of time, the terminal While only having an activated LA-cell radio interface may be available, for a larger portion of time, the terminal may only have an SA-cell radio interface capable of supporting user data exchange via SA-cell 34. You may have it.

Because the dedicated signal connection is used, the embodiments illustrated in FIG. 12 are expected to be more energy efficient than those in FIG. Further, the present embodiment may have advantages other than those related to the energy efficiency of system information distribution. For example, thinking that a mobile terminal may be handed over to another SA-cell frequently, as each handover procedure could fail, perhaps losing all contact between the network and the terminal. There is. In a handover scenario where errors are likely to occur frequently, having a stable and consistent signal connection via LA-cell 32 is very attractive, and through the signal connection of the failed handover, It may be repaired quickly. Then, as described above, it may make sense to provide the necessary SA-cell system information portion to the terminal via the signal connection of the LA-cell. All the additional savings associated with a dedicated connection are applied as a power control application to connect to a dedicated signal and provide system information to the terminal, perhaps only with respect to the associated SA-cell. Typical, but not necessarily, low energy efficiency is always greater in terms of path loss between the terminal and the LA-cell than between the terminal and the SA-cell, and subsequent LA-cell signal connections. You may win by the stability and reliability of.

Example # 4: SA-cell distribution of LA-cell system information and SA-cell system information in an energy efficient network
Similar to FIGS. 6, 7 and # 3 in this solution described above, in this specification, the terminal 35 first exchanges user data via the SA-cell 33, 34. Instead, it is assumed that the terminal is in a standby state and is camping on the LA-cell 32. The terminal 35 is also in the running state, for example, because it serves the purpose of exchanging user data with the SA-cell 34 over the data connection established between the terminal 35 and the SA-cell 34 using a dedicated channel. May become. In Example # 4, the problem with the address of the LA-cell 32 and the terminal 35 that acquires the system information of the SA-cell, including at least the system information about the SA-cell 34 and the LA-cell 32, is probably the network 30. It may be relevant for the terminal 35 as well as system information about another SA-cell and another LA-cell in.

In an embodiment of this embodiment, the SA-cell, eg, SA-cell 34, has LA-cell system information associated with some LA-cells, at least for terminals within the coverage area of the SA-cell. Similar to, based on the idea that it may be used to transmit SA-cell system information. Example # 4 may be separated into the two main embodiments shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, respectively. In the first embodiment, the SA-cell 34 uses a communication / common channel to transmit all system information to the terminal. In a second embodiment, the SA-cell 34 uses a dedicated channel with the running terminal to transmit at least a portion of the system information to the individual terminals. These embodiments will be described in more detail below.

Use of Communication / Common Channel According to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of an SA-cell that provides a terminal with both SA-cell system information and LA-cell system information. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, SA-cell 34 is for one or more LA-cells associated with terminal 35b in the running state via communication channel 91 (indicated by a gray triangle in FIG. 13). Send system information as well as system information. Optionally, the SA-cell 34 may include system information about adjacent SA-cells within the communication channel 91. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the SA-cell 34 is connected to the terminal 35b in the execution state and the data connections 92 and 9 respectively.
3 and 94 (eg, via a dedicated channel) have been established.

If there is a change in the LA-cell system information of the LA-cell, the LA-cell may be associated with the coverage area of the LA-cell, as indicated by arrow 95 in FIG. It is configured to notify the cell of changes. Such notifications may be provided via a similar access network interface, such as the X2 interface in LTE. Upon receiving such a notification, the SA-cell 34 then communicates the modified LA-cell system information notification via the modified system information and communication channel 91. In the case of SA-cell 34, which also communicates the system information of another (eg, adjacent) SA-cell, it is similarly applied to the modified system information of the adjacent SA-cell, i.e., another SA-. The cell is the associated (adjacent) SA-cell (not shown in FIG. 13) and the SA-cell 34 is then modified for another SA-cell via the modified system information and communication channel 91. It is configured to notify the communication of SA-cell system information.

The executing terminal 35b, which receives the notification of the changed system information, acquires the changed system information for another SA-cell via the communication channel 91 of the LA-cell and / or the SA-cell 34 that provides the service. To do.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 13 is very attractive from an energy efficiency standpoint because the distance between the SA-cell and the terminal is usually very short compared to the distance between the LA-cell and the terminal. Is. However, in order to support the standby terminal 35a, at least some LA-cell system information, such as LA-cell network, LA-cell ID, various parameters related to LA-cell communication channel, LA-cell The list of adjacent cells and the like needs to be transmitted by the LA-cell 32 itself, as shown in the communication channel 96. This gain of such energy efficiency is primarily applied to some of the LA-cell system information that is relevant only for the terminal in the running state, such as the handover parameters.

In embodiments, some of the LA-cell system information associated with the standby terminal is also in the running state terminal 35b for very quick cell search and / or cell reselection after completing the data connection. May be transmitted by SA-cell 34, which provides the advantage of this information that it is available to. However, in this embodiment, a slight reduction in energy efficiency gain can result in duplicate transmission of this LA-cell system information.

It communicates at least any LA-cell system information of one or more LA-cells that share some coverage area, without the need for a terminal to use that LA-cell radio interface. It may have the additional advantage of providing information about the relevant LA-cells to the terminal in the running state. For example, when the SA-cell 34 will communicate arbitrary system information about a single LA-cell, and the running terminal receiving this system information will complete the data connection. You may conclude that you will almost certainly find a place to recamp on to a particular LA-cell.

In another example, for example, a SA-cell that has been handed over to a terminal in the running state, and any system for two LA-cells (ie, the LA-cell has already been associated with a "new" LA-cell). The SA-cell 34, which communicates information, is approximately to make a choice between two single primary candidates to recamp on when the next terminal will complete the data connection. You can certainly conclude that you will find it yourself. In the terminal of configuration (i) or (ii) described above, transmission of LA-cell system information for two LA-cells may trigger the terminal to perform measurements in these particular LA-cells. The SA-34 cell provides more detailed information about the most relevant adjacent LA-cells, so any information in the adjacent cell list of the terminal LA-cells can be ignored. it can. The LA-cell (perhaps more than one) that provides all of those system information may not be the most energy efficient from a narrow perspective of delivering the LA-cell system information, but nevertheless it does. In the terminal of configuration (ii), it may be beneficial to the terminal, as it can usually significantly reduce the time associated with the LA-cell radio interface, which usually has a low data rate and needs to be enabled. In the terminal of the above-described configuration (iii), the terminal only needs to acquire the system information of the LA-cell distributed by the SA-cell that has terminated its data connection. The number of LA-cells delivered by the SA-cell given the system information is, for example, one, two or three LA-cells and thus cell search and / or cell reselection for the terminal. Speeding up the procedure, it is likely to be more restricted as it has already acquired the system information associated with these LA-cells.

Use of dedicated channel
Instead of the embodiments described above, a dedicated signal approach can be used to avoid the consumption of communication resources in the SA-cell 34 of the communication system information about the LA-cells. This is because the SA-cell 34 transmits the LA-cell system information or changes to that information and, optionally, the system information and / or those changes via dedicated signal channels 102-104. In 13, the system information of another (eg, adjacent) SA-cell and the SA-cell regarding their changes is transferred to the running terminal 35b, similarly to channels 92-94 additionally indicated by the dashed arrow. Since the user data is transmitted via the dedicated channel, it is shown schematically in FIG. 14 by a solid arrow via the dedicated signal channels 102-104 established with these terminals. The rest of the procedure is similar to that described for the embodiment shown in FIG. That is, the communication channel 101 (shown as a gray triangle in FIG. 14), like the communication channel 91 described above, communicates the SA-cell system information about the running terminal 35b with the SA-cell 34. Used by. If there is a change in the LA-cell system information of the LA-cell, the LA-cell may be associated within the coverage area of the LA-cell, as indicated by arrow 105 in FIG. 14, similar to notification 95 above. It is configured to notify changes to all SA-cells with. For example, in LA-cell 32 that transmits at least arbitrary LA-cell system information such as LA-cell network, LA cell ID, various parameters related to LA-cell communication channel, LA-cell adjacent cell list, etc. The communication channel 106 for the purpose is the same as the communication channel 96 described above because it supports the terminal 35a in the standby state.

In the case of a running terminal that does not require LA-cell system information before the connection is terminated and resumed in standby mode, LA-cell handover is expected, for example, for the running terminal. If not, SA- refrain from sending changes to LA-cell system information and / or refrain from providing move instructions within the coverage area of another LA-cell until the end of the connection. More efficient because of the cell. Then, for example, as part of the data connection release procedure, it is only if the SA-cell provides the terminal with the latest LA-cell system information via communication on dedicated signal channels 102-104. Good. While the terminal is still in a running state and does not actually require such LA-cell system information, this method probably involves a large number of LA-cell system information changes and / or modified LA-cell coverage areas. Sending instructions may be avoided. Since the dedicated signal channels 102-104 are expected to support high bit rates, this transfer of LA-cell system information is delayed sufficiently compared to the status of each change immediately transmitted to the terminal 35b. It can be completed without any problems.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 14 considers the use of dedicated channels, which are more energy efficient than communication channels, and is most energy efficient, considering that SA-cells have only a small size. As a result of the expected improvement, a single terminal receiving communications or common channels is unlikely to benefit from the transmitted system information. As shown in FIG. 13, the additional advantages as described above with respect to the embodiment of the use of communication / common channels also apply to this embodiment.

The above-described embodiments of Examples # 3 and 4 may also be combined. For example, the embodiment of embodiment # 4 can be used to deliver appropriate SA-cell and LA-cell system information for a terminal in the running state, while the embodiment of embodiment # 3 is a terminal in the standby state. Can be used to deliver the appropriate SA-cell and LA-cell system information for. That is, the LA-cell may be configured to transmit appropriate SA-cell and LA-cell system information for the terminal in standby mode, and the SA-cell may be configured for the terminal in run mode. It may be configured to transmit the appropriate SA-cell and LA-cell system information.

Further, as already described above, embodiments described in connection with Example # 1 include SA-cells and / or SA-cells that deliver LA-cell system information, as in Example # 2-4. It may be applied advantageously to LA-cells.

Various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented as program products for use with computer systems. The program of the program product defines the functionality of the embodiment (including the methods described herein), preferably stored in a variety of storage media suitable for non-temporary, direct computer input. Can be done. Examples of storage media suitable for direct computer input are: (i) Read in a computer by a non-writable storage medium (eg, a CD-ROM drive, a CD-ROM chip, or any type of non-volatile semiconductor memory). Information is permanently stored on a possible CD-ROM disk (such as a CD-ROM disk), and (ii) a writable storage medium (eg, a flexible disk or disk drive or hard disk drive, or any type of random access semiconductor). It is not limited to those in which changeable information is stored in (memory, flash memory, etc.). The computer program may be executed on the processor described herein.

Claims (14)

Accepts that a small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34) configured to provide at least a data connection to a terminal (35) in run mode and a terminal (35) in standby mode to camp. In a wireless communication network system (30) comprising a large area cell (LA-cell) (32) configured as described above, the terminal (35) is at least a large area cell (LA-cell). It is a method for receiving the system information of (32) and the system information of the small area cell (SA-cell) (33, 34).
When the terminal (35) is in the execution mode and the SA-cell wireless communication interface of the terminal (35) is enabled, the terminal (35) is in the small area cell (SA-cell). From (33,34) via the SA-cell wireless communication interface, at least the first portion of the system information of the small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34) and at least the large area cell. (LA-cell) Receiving the first part of the system information in (32),
A method for receiving system information characterized by. When the terminal (35) is in the execution mode and the SA-cell wireless communication interface of the terminal (35) is enabled, at least the small area cell (SA-cell) via the SA-cell wireless communication interface. Receives a second portion of the system information of said small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34) with respect to (33,34), or at least one or more other small areas on the wireless communication network. The method of claim 1, wherein the system information of the small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34) with respect to the cell (SA-cell) (33,34) is received. When the terminal (35) is in standby mode and the LA-cell wireless communication interface of the terminal (35) is enabled, at least the second system information of the large area cell (LA-cell) (32). The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the portion is received. When the terminal (35) is in standby mode and the LA-cell wireless communication interface of the terminal (35) is enabled, the LA-cell wireless communication interface from the large area cell (LA-cell) (32) 3. The method of claim 3, wherein at least a second portion of the system information of the small area cell (SA-cell) (33, 34) is received via. When the terminal (35) is in the execution mode and the SA-cell radio communication interface of the terminal (35) is enabled, the SA-cell radio is transmitted from the small area cell (SA-cell) (33, 34). At least one of the system information of the large area cell (LA-cell) (32) with respect to at least one or more other large area cell (LA-cell) (32) on the wireless communication network via the communication interface. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the portion is received. Claims 1 to 5 that invalidate the SA-cell wireless communication interface when the LA-cell wireless communication interface is enabled and invalidate the LA-cell wireless communication interface when the SA-cell wireless communication interface is enabled. The method according to any one item. A terminal (35) comprising means for performing the method according to any one of claims 1-6. A computer program comprising a software code portion configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-6 when executed by a processor. Accepts that a small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34) configured to provide at least a data connection to a terminal (35) in run mode and a terminal (35) in standby mode to camp. A small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34) in a wireless communication network system (30) comprising a large area cell (LA-cell) (32) configured as such.
At least the first part of the system information of the large area cell (LA-cell) (32) is received from the large area cell (LA-cell) (32) or the management unit of the wireless communication network.
At least the first part of the system information of the large area cell (LA-cell) (32) and at least the first part of the system information of the small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34) are transmitted. To do
A small area cell (SA-cell) (33, 34) characterized by being configured. At least a part of the first part of the system information of the large area cell (LA-cell) (32) and at least the first part of the system information of the small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34). No part of the system information of the large area cell (LA-cell) (32) or the small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34) is transmitted to at least a part of the first part. The small area cell (SA-cell) (33, 34) according to claim 9, wherein the small area cell (SA-cell) (33, 34) is characterized in that it is repeatedly transmitted in a second transmission period adjacent to the transmission period. The small area cell (SA-cell) (33, 34) according to claim 10, wherein the length of the second transmission period is at least the same as that of the first transmission period. The small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34) is of the terminal (35), the large area cell (LA-cell) (32), another node of the wireless communication network, or the wireless communication network. Upon receiving the trigger from the management unit, at least a part of the first part of the system information of the large area cell (LA-cell) (32) and / or at least the small area cell (SA). -Cell) The small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34) according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the first portion of the system information of (33,34) is transmitted. .. After receiving the trigger and after a predetermined delay period has elapsed, at least a portion of the first portion of the system information of the large area cell (LA-cell) (32) and / or at least said. small area cells (SA - cells) (33, 34) a small area cell (SA - cell) according to claim 12, wherein transmitting the first parts of the system information (33, 34) .. Accepts that a small area cell (SA-cell) (33,34) configured to provide at least a data connection to a terminal (35) in run mode and a terminal (35) in standby mode to camp. A large area cell (LA-cell) (32) in a wireless communication network system (30) comprising a large area cell (LA-cell) (32) configured as such.
A plurality of small area cells (SA-cells) (33) that include at least the first portion of the system information of the large area cell (LA-cell) (32) in a wireless communication network for transmission to a terminal. , 34) to supply to any one of
Large area cell (LA-cell) (32), characterized in that it is configured.