Patent ID: 9526044
Filing Date: 2016-12-20
CPC Classification: H04W

Claim Text:
1. A method of configuring dual connectivity to a user equipment (UE) by a macro cell in a heterogeneous cell deployment in which a macro cell and a small cell coexist, the method comprising: determining to configure a dual connectivity with the macro cell and the small cell for a UE connected to the macro cell, based on a measurement result for the small cell; transmitting, to the small cell, a dual connectivity request message for requesting a connection with the UE, wherein the dual connectivity request message comprises information of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) radio access bearer (E-RAB) parameter; receiving a dual connectivity response message indicating that the small cell has determined to connect to the UE and allocate a resource to the UE, from the small cell; and transmitting, to the UE, an RRC configuration message for requesting an addition of a connection with the small cell while maintaining a connection with the macro cell, wherein the dual connectivity request message includes information indicating a first resource that the small cell should avoid when scheduling the UE and information indicating a second resource that the small cell can allocate when scheduling the UE, wherein the first resource and the second resource are defined in units of a physical resource block (PRB), and wherein the first resource is determined by considering another UE having a dual connectivity to the macro cell and the small cell.