Enhanced on-demand request procedures for obtaining various system information

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12082096-B2
Application number	US-202017637962-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 7, 2020
Priority date	Sep 16, 2019
Publication date	Sep 3, 2024
Grant date	Sep 3, 2024

Abstract

Embodiments include methods for a network node, of a radio access network (RAN), that provides a cell serving one or more user equipment (UEs). Such methods include determining a restriction to requests for on-demand delivery of system information blocks (SIBs) by at least one UE operating in the cell; and transmitting, to the at least one UE, one or more parameters associated with the restriction. Exemplary parameters include prohibit timer values and maximum number of SIBs or SIB segments that a UE can request. Other embodiments include complementary methods whereby a UE can transmit, to the network node, a request for on-demand delivery of one or more particular SIBs in accordance with the received parameters associated with the restriction. Other embodiments include network nodes and UEs configured to perform such methods.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for a network node, of a radio access network, RAN, that provides a cell serving one or more user equipment (UEs), the method comprising:
determining a restriction to requests for on-demand delivery of system information blocks (SIBs) by at least one UE operating in the cell, wherein:
SIBs available for on-demand delivery includes global navigation satellite system (GNSS) positioning assistance information, and
determining the restriction is based on a duration between updates of real-time kinematic information comprising the GNSS positioning assistance information; and

transmitting, to the at least one UE, one or more parameters associated with the restriction.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters include any of the following:
a prohibit timer value that indicates a duration, after a UE requests on-demand delivery of one or more SIBs, until the UE can request on-demand delivery of one or more further SIBs; and
a maximum number of SIBs or SIB segments that a UE can request for on-demand delivery.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the restriction comprises enabling or disabling requests for on-demand delivery of SIBs individually for each UE of the at least one UE.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the restriction is for requests for on-demand delivery of SIBs during UE operation in RRC_CONNECTED state; and
the one or more parameters are transmitted in respective RRCReconfiguration messages to the at least one UE.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein transmitting the one or more parameters in an RRCReconfiguration message to a particular UE indicates that requests for on- demand delivery of SIBs are enabled for the particular UE.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a utilization condition for resources associated with the cell, wherein:
the restriction is determined based on the utilization condition; and
the utilization condition is for one of the following: signaling radio bearer (SRB) resources; or random-access channel (RACH) resources.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the method further comprises obtaining respective quality of service (QOS) requirements for the at least one UE; and
the restriction for the at least one UE comprises respective restrictions based on the respective QoS requirements.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein determining the restriction comprises:
comparing the respective QoS requirements to a threshold;
determining that requests for on-demand delivery of SIBs are enabled for UEs whose QoS requirement is greater than or equal to the threshold; and
determining that requests for on-demand delivery of SIBs are disabled for UEs whose QOS requirement is less than the threshold.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, from a particular UE, a request for on-demand delivery of one or more particular SIBs in accordance with the parameters associated with the restriction; and
transmitting the requested one or more particular SIBs to the UE via broadcast or dedicated signaling.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the one or more particular SIBs include global navigation satellite system (GNSS) positioning assistance information.

11. A method for a user equipment (UE) operating in a cell provided by a network node in a radio access network (RAN), the method comprising:
receiving, from the network node, one or more parameters associated with a restriction to requests, by at least the UE, for on-demand delivery of system information blocks (SIBs) by the network node; and transmitting, to the network node, a request for on-demand delivery of one or more particular SIBs in accordance with the parameters associated with the restriction, wherein: the one or more particular SIBs include global navigation satellite system (GNSS) positioning assistance information; and the restriction is based on a duration between updates of real-time kinematic information comprising the GNSS positioning assistance information.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the one or more parameters include any of the following:
a prohibit timer value that indicates a duration, after a UE requests on-demand delivery of one or more SIBs, until the UE can request on-demand delivery of one or more further SIBs; and
a maximum number of SIBs or SIB segments that a UE can request for on-demand delivery.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein:
the method further comprises starting a timer, based on the received prohibit timer value, in relation to a previous request for on-demand delivery for one or more previous SIBs; and
transmitting the request in accordance with the parameters comprises determining that the prohibit timer has expired before transmitting the request.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the one or more particular SIBs requested for on-demand delivery comprise a plurality of SIBs or SIB segments less than or equal to the maximum number.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein:
the restriction is for requests for on-demand delivery of SIBs during UE operation in RRC_CONNECTED state; and
the one or more parameters are received in an RRCReconfiguration message.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein:
transmitting the request is based on an indication that requests for on-demand delivery of SIBs are enabled for the UE; and
the indication is based on receiving the one or more parameters in the RRCReconfiguration message.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein:
the request for on-demand delivery of the one or more particular SIBs is transmitted in response to initiating a GNSS positioning procedure.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein:
the UE is operating in RRC_CONNECTED state with a quality-of-service (QOS) requirement; and
the restriction is based on the UE's QOS requirement.

19. The method of claim 11 , further comprising receiving the requested one or more particular SIBs from the network node via broadcast or dedicated signaling.

20. A network node configured to provide a cell serving one or more user equipment (UEs) in a radio access network (RAN), the network node comprising:
radio interface circuitry configured to communicate with the UEs via the cell; and
processing circuitry operably coupled to the radio interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the radio interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to the method of claim 1 .

21. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer- executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a network node configured to provide a cell serving one or more user equipment (UEs) in a radio access network (RAN), configure the network node to perform operations corresponding to the method of claim 1 .

22. A user equipment (UE) configured to operate in a cell provided by a network node in a radio access network (RAN), the UE comprising:
radio interface circuitry configured to communicate with the network node via the cell; and
processing circuitry operably coupled to the radio interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the radio interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to the method of claim 11 .

23. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a user equipment (UE) configured to operate in a cell provided by a network node in a radio access network (RAN), configure the UE to p

Assignees

• Ericsson Telefon Ab L M

Inventors

• Shreevastav Ritesh
• Orsino Antonino
• Bergqvist Jens
• Bergström Mattias
• Modarres Razavi Sara

Classifications

• H04W74/0833

  Random access procedures, e.g. with 4-step access · CPC title

• H04W48/06

  based on traffic conditions · CPC title

• G01S19/10

  providing dedicated supplementary positioning signals · CPC title

• H04W76/20

  Manipulation of established connections · CPC title

• H04W28/0268

  using specific QoS parameters for wireless networks, e.g. QoS class identifier [QCI] or guaranteed bit rate [GBR] (negotiating SLA or negotiating QoS H04W28/24) · CPC title