PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9775132-B2
Application Number: US-201614996839-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Optimizing operation of constrained user equipment

Abstract:
A base station and associated method transmits a page to a user equipment (UE) for a call establishment procedure, determines whether an acknowledgement is received in response to the page and when no acknowledgement has been received, determines a number of pages that have been transmitted to the UE for the call establishment procedure, transmits a further page to the UE for the call establishment procedure when the number of pages is less than a page threshold and performs a page failure procedure when the number of pages exceeds the page threshold. In another method the base station transmits a radio resource control (RRC) connection release message to the UE, maintains a context for the UE when an acknowledgement for the RRC connection release message is not received, transmits a first page and transmits a second page when a further acknowledgement for the first page is not received.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method, comprising:
 at a network component of a network configured to establish a connection with a user equipment:
 transmitting a page to the user equipment for a call establishment procedure; 
 determining whether an acknowledgement is received from the user equipment in response to the page; and 
 when the acknowledgement has been received from the user equipment in response to the page,
 performing the call establishment procedure; 
 determining whether the call establishment procedure failed; 
 determining a number of times the call establishment procedure has failed when it is determined the call establishment procedure has failed; and 
 further performing the call establishment procedure without determining a page failure when the number of times is less than a call establishment threshold. 
 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting another page to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure when the number of times exceeds the call establishment threshold. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining whether a timer for the call establishment procedure has expired; and 
 transmitting another page to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure when the timer for the call establishment procedure has expired. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 completing the call establishment procedure to initiate a voice call with the user equipment, 
 determining that the voice call has failed; and 
 transmitting another page to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure. 
 
     
     
       5. A base station, comprising:
 a transceiver; 
 a non-transitory memory having a program stored thereon; and 
 a processor executing the program, wherein the execution of the program causes the processor to perform operations comprising:
 transmitting a page to the user equipment for a call establishment procedure; 
 determining whether an acknowledgement is received from the user equipment in response to the page; and 
 when the acknowledgement has been received from the user equipment in response to the page,
 performing the call establishment procedure; 
 determining whether the call establishment procedure failed; 
 determining a number of times the call establishment procedure has failed when it is determined the call establishment procedure has failed; and 
 further performing the call establishment procedure without determining a page failure when the number of times is less than a call establishment threshold. 
 
 
 
     
     
       6. The base station of  claim 5 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 transmitting another page to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure when the number of times exceeds the call establishment threshold. 
 
     
     
       7. The base station of  claim 5 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 determining whether a timer for the call establishment procedure has expired; and 
 transmitting another page to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure when the timer for the call establishment procedure has expired. 
 
     
     
       8. The base station of  claim 5 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 completing the call establishment procedure to initiate a voice call with the user equipment; 
 determining that the voice call has failed; and 
 transmitting another page to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure. 
 
     
     
       9. A method, comprising:
 at a network component of a network configured to establish a connection with a user equipment:
 transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) connection release message to the user equipment; 
 maintaining a context for the user equipment when an acknowledgement for the RRC connection release message is not received; 
 transmitting a first page; and 
 transmitting a second page when a further acknowledgement for the first page is not received. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first page includes a paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI) as if the user equipment is in an RRC idle mode. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the second page includes a cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) as if the user equipment is in an RRC connected mode. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 determining whether an acknowledgement is received in response to the second page; and 
 determining whether a number of first and second page transmissions exceeds a threshold attempt value when the acknowledgment to the second page is not received. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 when the number of first and second page transmissions does not exceeds the threshold attempt value; 
 maintain the context for the user equipment. 
 
     
     
       14. A base station, comprising:
 a transceiver; 
 a non-transitory memory having a program stored thereon; and 
 a processor executing the program, wherein the execution of the program causes the processor to perform operations comprising:
 transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) connection release message to a user equipment; 
 maintaining a context for the user equipment when an acknowledgement for the RRC connection release message is not received; 
 transmitting a first page; and 
 transmitting a second page when a further acknowledgement for the first page is not received. 
 
 
     
     
       15. The base station of  claim 14 , wherein the first page includes a paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI) as if the user equipment is in an RRC idle mode. 
     
     
       16. The base station of  claim 14 , wherein the second page includes a cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) as if the user equipment is in an RRC connected mode. 
     
     
       17. The base station of  claim 14 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 determining whether an acknowledgement is received in response to the second page; and 
 determining whether a number of first and second page transmissions exceeds a threshold attempt value when the acknowledgment to the second page is not received. 
 
     
     
       18. The base station of  claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 when the number of first and second page transmissions does not exceeds the threshold attempt value; 
 maintain the context for the user equipment. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 when no acknowledgement has been received in response to the page,
 determining a number of pages that have been transmitted to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure; 
 transmitting a further page to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure when the number of pages is less than a page threshold; and 
 performing a page failure procedure when the number of pages exceeds the page threshold. 
 
 
     
     
       20. The base station of  claim 5 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 when no acknowledgement has been received in response to the page,
 determining a number of pages that have been transmitted to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure; 
 transmitting a further page to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure when the number of pages is less than a page threshold; and 
 performing a page failure procedure when the number of pages exceeds the page threshold.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 62/107,794 entitled “Optimizing Operation of Constrained User Equipment,” filed on Jan. 26, 2015, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     As designs for wireless mobile devices (e.g., user equipment (UE)) evolve, there is a trend toward smaller devices and more streamlined housings. Some examples of these smaller devices or more streamlined designs include wearable devices such as watches that are worn on the wrist or glasses that are worn in the manner of traditional eyewear. Another example is pendants that may be attached to a strap and hung around a user&#39;s neck or wrist. A final example is a clip-on that may be clipped onto an article of clothing such as pockets or clipped onto an accessory such as a bag or purse. 
     These smaller and streamlined designs generally result in less available space for components of the wireless mobile devices. For example, the batteries of such devices need to be smaller and therefore have a correspondingly smaller capacity. In another example, the designs generally require that all antennas be internal antennas so as not to change the form of the mobile device. This may result in shorter antennas because of the lack of availability of space within the housing of the mobile device. These constraints on the design of the wireless devices may result in a loss of performance for certain wireless functionalities. 
     However, users expect these devices to operate and have similar performance characteristics as the standard wireless mobile devices to which the users are accustomed. Thus, if these smaller mobile devices have a loss of performance, the user experience will be degraded and users are less likely to adopt these new types of devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to an exemplary embodiment, a method is described that is performed by a network component of a network configured to establish a connection with a user equipment. The method includes transmitting a page to the user equipment for a call establishment procedure, determining whether an acknowledgement is received from the user equipment in response to the page. When no acknowledgement has been received in response to the page, determining a number of pages that have been transmitted to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure, transmitting a further page to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure when the number of pages is less than a page threshold and performing a page failure procedure when the number of pages exceeds the page threshold. 
     According to a further exemplary embodiment, a base station is described. The base station has a transceiver, a non-transitory memory having a program stored thereon and a processor executing the program, wherein the execution of the program causes the processor to perform operations. The operations include transmitting a page to the user equipment for a call establishment procedure, determining whether an acknowledgement is received from the user equipment in response to the page. When no acknowledgement has been received in response to the page, determining a number of pages that have been transmitted to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure, transmitting a further page to the user equipment for the call establishment procedure when the number of pages is less than a page threshold and performing a page failure procedure when the number of pages exceeds the page threshold. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment, a method is described that is performed by a network component of a network configured to establish a connection with a user equipment. The method includes transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) connection release message to the user equipment, maintaining a context for the user equipment when an acknowledgement for the RRC connection release message is not received, transmitting a first page and transmitting a second page when a further acknowledgement for the first page is not received. 
     According to a further exemplary embodiment, a base station is described. The base station has a transceiver, a non-transitory memory having a program stored thereon and a processor executing the program, wherein the execution of the program causes the processor to perform operations. The operations include transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) connection release message to a user equipment, maintaining a context for the user equipment when an acknowledgement for the RRC connection release message is not received, transmitting a first page and transmitting a second page when a further acknowledgement for the first page is not received. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows an exemplary network arrangement according to various embodiments described herein. 
         FIG. 2A  shows an exemplary user equipment method for data transmissions during a voice call according to various embodiments described herein. 
         FIG. 2B  shows an exemplary network method for data transmissions during a voice call according to various embodiments described herein. 
         FIG. 3  shows an exemplary network method for establishing a call for a user equipment according to various embodiments described herein. 
         FIG. 4  shows an exemplary network method for transmitting a page to a user equipment according to various embodiments described herein. 
         FIG. 5  shows an exemplary user equipment method for performing a handover according to various embodiments described herein. 
         FIG. 6  shows an exemplary user equipment for improved system information reading procedure during cell selection and reselection according to various embodiments described herein. 
         FIG. 7  shows an evolved Node B of the LTE network of  FIG. 1  according to various embodiments described herein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments are related to an apparatus, systems and methods for optimizing an operation of a user equipment (UE) that has known constraints. The constraints may be associated with a higher likelihood for select failures to occur. For example, the UE may be limited in power supply and/or antenna configuration. The exemplary embodiments provide various mechanisms to address several drawbacks associated with these constraints. In a first mechanism, the exemplary embodiments may control a manner in which data transmissions are performed during a voice communication on both a UE side and a network side. In a second mechanism, the exemplary embodiments may utilize a forgiving call establishment procedure on a network side. In a third mechanism, the exemplary embodiments may utilize an adaptive paging procedure on a network side. In a fourth mechanism, the exemplary embodiments may utilize a proactive handover procedure on a UE side. 
       FIG. 1  shows an exemplary network arrangement  100 . The exemplary network arrangement  100  includes UEs  110 - 114 . Those skilled in the art will understand that the UEs  110 - 114  may be any type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network, e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, smartphones, phablets, embedded devices, wearables, etc. It should also be understood that an actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs being used by any number of users and being associated with any number of these users where the user may be associated with one or more of the UEs. That is, the example of three (3) UEs  110 - 114  is only provided for illustrative purposes. 
     The exemplary embodiments may further relate to when the UEs  110 - 114  are wearables (e.g., watches, pendants, glasses, clip-ons, etc.). As a wearable, the UEs  110 - 114  may include components that enable the UE to be worn in a hands-free manner. Due to the hands-free nature, the UEs  110 - 114  may have a relatively small volume or occupy a small space compared to other mobile devices. Those skilled in the art will understand that the volume of the UEs  110 - 114  may pose structural challenges to incorporate select features. In a first example, the UEs  110 - 114  may be configured to incorporate a limited power supply that holds less power than other available limited power supplies due to these other larger power supplies being incapable of being incorporated into the housing of the UEs  110 - 114 . In a second example, the UEs  110 - 114  may incorporate an antenna or multiple antennas that operate on limited frequencies. As such, other features such as certain frequency related cycles may be forced to be lengthened. Due to these known drawbacks of providing a housing of the UEs  110 - 114  in a small volume, the exemplary embodiments are configured to address select ones of these drawbacks. 
     It should be noted that the use of wearables is only exemplary. Those skilled in the art will understand that the exemplary embodiments may be applied to any UE that experiences any of the constraints to which the mechanisms described herein are configured to address. For example, the UE may be a mobile phone designed with a minimal volume such that the antenna constraint may still be present despite not being a wearable. Thus, the wearable used herein for the UEs  110 - 114  may represent any electronic device that may experience power and/or antenna constraints or any other constraint that may degrade connection performance. 
     Each of the UEs  110 - 114  may be configured to communicate directly with one or more networks. In this example, the networks with which the UEs  110 - 114  may communicate are a legacy radio access network (RAN)  120 , a LTE RAN (LTE-RAN)  122 , and a wireless local area network (WLAN)  124 . In this example, each of the networks  120 - 124  is a wireless network with which the UEs  110 - 114  may communicate wirelessly. However, it should be understood that the UEs  110 - 114  may also communicate with other types of networks and may also communicate using a wired connection. With regards to the exemplary embodiments, the UEs  110 - 114  may establish a connection with the LTE-RAN  122  to, among other functionalities, perform Voice over LTE (VoLTE) calls with other UEs. For example, the UEs  110 - 114  may have a LTE chipset and communicate with the LTE-RAN  122 . In another example, the UEs  110 - 114  may have a GSM chipset and communicate with the legacy RAN  120  that is a GSM network. Again, the use of three (3) networks is only exemplary and there may be any other number of networks with which the UEs  110 - 114  may communicate. 
     The legacy RAN  120  and the LTE-RAN  122  are portions of cellular networks that may be deployed by cellular providers (e.g., Verizon, AT&amp;T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.). These networks  120  and  122  may include, for example, base client stations (Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, etc.) that are configured to send and receive traffic from UEs that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set. Examples of the legacy RAN  120  particularly using the GSM configuration may include those networks that are generally labeled as 2G and/or 3G networks and may include circuit switched voice calls and packet switched data operations. Those skilled in the art will understand that the cellular providers may also deploy other types of networks, including further evolutions of the cellular standards, within their cellular networks. The WLAN  124  may include any type of wireless local area network (WiFi, Hot Spot, IEEE 802.11x networks, etc.). Those skilled in the art will understand that there may be thousands, hundreds of thousands or more of different WLANs deployed in the United States alone. For example, the WLAN  124  may be the user&#39;s home network, the user&#39;s work network, a public network (e.g., at a city park, coffee shop, etc.). Generally, the WLAN  124  will include one or more access points that allow the UEs  110 - 114  to communicate with the WLAN  124 . However, as noted above, the exemplary embodiments relate to the UEs  110 - 114  utilizing the LTE-RAN  122  to perform VoLTE calls. 
     In addition to the networks  120 - 124 , the network arrangement  100  also includes a cellular core network  130  and the Internet  140 . The cellular core network  130 , the legacy RAN  120 , and the LTE-RAN  122  may be considered a cellular network that is associated with a particular cellular provider (e.g., Verizon, AT&amp;T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.). The cellular core network  130  may be considered to be the interconnected set of components that manages the operation and traffic of the cellular network. The interconnected components of the cellular core network  130  may include any number of components such as servers, switches, routers, etc. The cellular core network  130  also manages the traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet  140 . 
     The network arrangement  100  also includes an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)  150 . The IMS  150  may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UEs  110 - 114  using the IP protocol. The IMS  150  may include a variety of components to accomplish this task. For example, a typical IMS  150  includes a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) that stores subscription information for a user of the UEs  110 - 114 . This subscription information is used to provide the correct multimedia services to the user such as a VoLTE call. The IMS  150  may communicate with the cellular core network  130  and the Internet  140  to provide the multimedia services to the UEs  110 - 114 . The IMS  150  is shown in close proximity to the cellular core network  130  because the cellular provider typically implements the functionality of the IMS  150 . However, it is not necessary for this to be the case such as when the IMS  150  is provided by another party. 
     Thus, the network arrangement  100  allows the UEs  110 - 114  to perform functionalities generally associated with computers and cellular networks. For example, the UEs  110 - 114  may perform the VoLTE calls to other parties, may browse the Internet  140  for information, may stream multimedia data to the UEs  110 - 114 , etc. 
     The network arrangement  100  may also include a network services backbone  160  that is in communication either directly or indirectly with the Internet  140  and the cellular core network  130 . The network services backbone  160  may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite of services that may be used to extend the functionalities of the UEs  110 - 114  in communication with the various networks. The network services backbone  160  may interact with the UEs  110 - 114  and/or the networks  120 ,  122 ,  124 ,  130 ,  140  to provide these extended functionalities. 
     The network services backbone  160  may be provided by any entity or a set of entities. In one example, the network services backbone  160  is provided by the supplier of one or more of the UEs  110 - 114 . In another example, the network services backbone  160  is provided by the cellular network provider. In still a further example, the network services backbone  160  is provided by a third party unrelated to the cellular network provider or the supplier of the UEs  110 - 114 . 
     The exemplary embodiments relate to the UEs  110 - 114  establishing a connection to a first network such as the LTE-RAN  122 . Specifically, the UEs  110 - 114  may associate with an access point of the LTE-RAN  122  such as an evolved Node B (eNB). The LTE-RAN  122  may include a plurality of eNBs  122 A,  122 B,  122 C, each having a respective operating area such that when the UE is disposed within a respective operating area, the UE may associate with the respective eNB. It should be noted that the use of the LTE-RAN  122  and the eNBs  122 A-C is only exemplary. As will be become more evident below, those skilled in the art will understand that the exemplary embodiments may be used with any type of network and its corresponding access points. 
     For exemplary purposes, the eNBs  122 A,  122 B,  122 C may be considered to be neighboring in which the operating area of a first one of the eNBs  122 A-C may overlap with the operating area of a second one of the eNBs  122 A-C. It should be noted that the use of three eNBs  122 A-C is only exemplary. Those skilled in the art will understand that the LTE-RAN  122  may include any number of eNBs. It should also be noted that the use of neighboring eNBs  122 A-C is only exemplary. Those skilled in the art will understand that the eNBs  122 A-C may be located in various locations throughout the LTE-RAN  122 . 
     Initially, the UEs  110 - 114  may establish a connection to the LTE-RAN  122 . Those skilled in the art will understand that any association procedure may be performed for the UEs  110 - 114  to connect to the LTE-RAN  122 . For example, as discussed above, the LTE-RAN  122  may be associated with a particular cellular provider where the UE  110 - 114  and/or the user thereof has a contract and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card). Upon detecting the presence of the LTE-RAN  122 , the UEs  110 - 114  may transmit the corresponding credential information and perform a handshake procedure to associate with the LTE-RAN  122 . More specifically, the UEs  110 - 114  may associate with a specific access point (e.g., the eNBs  122 A-C of the LTE-RAN  122 ). As will be described in further detail below, the eNBs  122 A-C may exchange signals with the UEs  110 - 114  when various functionalities are to be performed such as establishing a call involving transmission of pages. 
     The UEs  110 - 114  may execute a plurality of applications that perform predetermined functionalities to address drawbacks such as those discussed above in view of being a wearable and/or having a reduced volume to accommodate its different components. The UEs  110 - 114  may represent any electronic device that is configured to perform wireless functionalities such as a portable device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, a phablet, a laptop, a wearable, etc.) or a client stationary device (e.g., a desktop terminal). The UEs  110 - 114  may include various components such as a processor, a memory arrangement, a transceiver, etc. 
     In a first mechanism, the UEs  110 - 114  according to the exemplary embodiments may address drawbacks based on hardware or software constraints of the UEs  110 - 114 . Examples of constraints of the UEs  110 - 114  may include an antenna constraint (e.g., a length of the antenna may be shortened and cause a constraint associated with a capacity to transmit information such as voice and/or data, a power supply constraint (e.g., a smaller physical power supply may result in less available power compared to mobile units having a larger physical power supply), etc. However, those skilled in the art will understand that there may be various types of constraints that the UEs  110 - 114  are subject to and the exemplary embodiments may be used to address any of these constraints. 
     Where time sensitive information such as voice transmissions are involved, an interruption in this voice service may cause a poor user experience. Such an interruption may be caused by the device attempting to perform simultaneous voice and data transmissions. The above described constraints may impact performance when both voice and data transmissions are performed. The exemplary embodiments provide a manner of controlling the UE transmissions to account for the constraints in the design of the UEs  110 - 114 . 
       FIG. 2A  shows an exemplary UE method  200  for data transmissions during a voice call. The UE method  200  relates to a UE-side operation. Specifically, the method  200  may relate to a manner in which the data transmissions are performed by its own operation and in conjunction with the eNB to which it is associated. As will be described in further detail below, the method  200  may include a buffering feature such that voice transmissions are not interrupted and data transmissions are buffered until the data can be transmitted without interfering with the voice transmissions. 
     In  202 , the UE establishes a connection with the LTE-RAN  122 . For example, the UE  110  may connect to the LTE-RAN by associating with the eNB  122 A using any known association and handshake procedure. In  204 , the UE  110  may perform a Voice over LTE (VoLTE) call. Those skilled in the art will understand the mechanism used to perform such a functionality using Internet Protocol (IP) features for voice transmissions to be made. Furthermore, the VoLTE call is performed in real time between a user of the UE  110  and a user of a further UE or any other device capable of receiving a voice call. The voice transmissions are time sensitive because the callers expect the voice call to be a natural conversation without any time delays. The method  200  further relates to when the VoLTE call is being performed and when data transmissions are also to be performed. 
     In  206 , a determination is made whether the VoLTE call is still being performed. At this stage, the VoLTE call has just been initiated. Thus, the UE  110  may continue the method  200  to  208  since the VoLTE call is still being performed. With the VoLTE call being performed, the UE  110  continues to perform all voice transmissions associated with the VoLTE call. In  208 , the UE  110  determines whether there is any uplink data that is not associated with the VoLTE call. That is, the UE  110  determines whether any data transmissions are to be transmitted from the UE  110  to the eNB  122 A. The UE  110  may determine this on its own using any of its application layers that schedule the data transmission. If there is uplink data, the UE  110  continues the method  200  to  210 . 
     In  210 , the UE  110  buffers the uplink data in a memory arrangement or other storage component. The UE  110  may perform an initial configuration upon the VoLTE call being initiated. Specifically, the UE  110  may block any non-VoLTE information on both the UE-side and the eNB-side. Due to this blockage, the UE  110  may buffer the uplink data at the application layer and flush uplink data at any lower layer, such as a Media Access Control (MAC) layer. In a particular scenario, when uplink data is being transmitted at the time the VoLTE call is initiated, this uplink data may also be buffered immediately such that the VoLTE call is not interrupted. 
     In a further feature, the exemplary embodiments may enable smaller data transmissions to be transmitted during the VoLTE call where the size of the smaller data transmissions is selected to ensure that the VoLTE call is not interrupted. Examples of smaller data transmissions include SMS messages, email summaries, etc. The size may be a predetermined value or may be dynamic based upon the capabilities of the UE at the time the VoLTE call is being performed. To further ensure a likelihood that the VoLTE call is not interrupted, the smaller data transmissions may be transmitted during silence periods. Those skilled in the art will understand that the VoLTE call utilizes silence periods where silence packet generation occurs at predetermined intervals such as every 160 ms. Therefore, the smaller data transmissions may be transmitted from the UE  110  to the eNB  122 A during these silence periods as the VoLTE call has a small probability of being interrupted. Accordingly, in  212 , the UE  110  determines whether any data transmission that has been buffered qualifies as a smaller data transmission such as a short message service (SMS) transmission, email summary, etc. based upon a threshold size. If none of the data transmissions in the buffer is smaller than the threshold size, the UE  110  returns the method to  204  where the VoLTE call is continued. However, if at least one of the data transmissions is less than the threshold size, the UE  110  continues the method  200  to  214 . In  214 , the UE  110  transmits the smaller data transmissions during the silence periods. During times when there are more than one smaller data transmission, the UE  110  may schedule these based upon any configuration such as with a first in, first out policy, a priority policy, an importance policy, etc. In this respect, the method  200  may include additional processes to address multiple smaller data transmissions that are to be performed during the VoLTE call. The UE  110  may also transmit control data during the silence periods. For example, the control data may include network measurements as determined by the UE  110 , MAC data including channel estimation, etc. It should be noted that the method  200  may include different processes such as when a determination is made that no uplink data is present but still proceed with  210 - 214  such that the control data may still be transmitted during the silence periods. 
     Returning to  208 , if there is no uplink data, the UE  110  may also determine whether there is any downlink data. Thus, in  216 , the UE  110  makes this determination of whether there is any downlink data. That is, the UE  110  determines whether any data transmissions are to be received from the eNB  122 A. The UE  110  may determine this based upon signal exchanges with the eNB  122 A such as via the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). If there is no downlink data, the UE  110  may return the method  200  to  204  where the VoLTE call is continued. However, if the UE  110  determines that there is downlink data for the UE  110 , the method  200  continues to  218 . The downlink data may also be received during a silence period. Thus, in  218 , the UE  110  determines whether there is a silence period and may also determine whether the silence period is being utilized for the smaller data transmissions in the uplink as performed in  214 . If the silence period is available for receiving smaller data transmissions in the downlink, in  220 , the smaller data transmission is received. 
     It should be noted that the receiving of the smaller data transmissions in the downlink has an assumption that the eNB  122 A is also configured for this feature. Accordingly, the eNB  122 A should be aware that the UE  110  is utilizing this feature on its end. As will be described in further detail below, the eNB  122 A may be configured to make this determination and update its operation when the UE  110  performs the VoLTE call. 
     Returning to  206 , when the VoLTE call is ended, the UE  110  may continue the method  200  to  222 . During various iterations of the previous processes of the method  200 , data transmissions that are larger than the threshold size may have been buffered. Thus, in  222 , the UE  110  determines whether there are any uplink data transmissions in the buffer. If there are no uplink data transmissions in the buffer, the method  200  may end. For example, the uplink data transmissions may have all been smaller than the threshold size and all transmitted during the VoLTE call in the silence periods. In another example, there may have been no uplink data transmissions to be buffered in the first place. However, if there is at least one uplink data transmission in the buffer, the UE  110  may continue the method  200  to  224  where the uplink data transmissions are transmitted from the UE  110  to the eNB  122 A. It should be noted that the smaller data transmissions may not have all been transmitted during the VoLTE call. Therefore, the buffer may also include the unsent smaller data transmissions, which may be transmitted in  224 . 
       FIG. 2B  shows an exemplary network method  250  for data transmissions during a voice call. The network method  250  relates to a network-side operation at the eNB to which the UE is associated. The method  250  may relate to a manner in which the data transmissions are performed by the eNB in conjunction with the UE. The method  250  may also include a buffering feature. 
     In  252 , the LTE-RAN  122  establishes a connection with the UE. For example, the eNB  122 A may connect to the UE  110  through an association and handshake procedure. The association procedure and/or setup procedure (e.g., for an application) may include different types of channel or connection parameters. For example, in a Random Access Channel (RACH), the eNB  122 A may receive information identifying the UE  110 , which may include a type of mobile unit (e.g., a wearable). Thus, in  254 , the eNB  122 A may determine the type of mobile unit that the UE  110  is. Specifically, the eNB  122 A may determine that the UE  110  is a constrained mobile unit. In  256 , the eNB  122 A determines whether the UE  110  is constrained such as with the antenna and/or power. If the UE  110  is not constrained, the eNB  122 A may treat the UE  110  in any conventional manner. 
     If the eNB  122 A determines that the UE  110  is a constrained device, the eNB  122 A continues the method  250  to  258 . Initially, the determination that the UE  110  is a constrained device may entail further configuration features. Specifically, the eNB  122 A may be aware that the UE  110  may utilize the above-described buffering feature, particularly when time sensitive information is also being transmitted such as during a VoLTE call. Accordingly, when the UE  110  utilizes the LTE-RAN  122  for these applications, the eNB  122 A may be configured to operate with the buffering functionality. 
     In  258 , the eNB  122 A determines whether the UE  110  is performing a VoLTE call. The eNB  122 A may make this determination in a variety of manners. For example, the UE  110  may request a reliable connection (RC) to perform the VoLTE call. Those skilled in the art will understand that when the connection between the UE  110  and the eNB  122 A is established, a default bearer may be assigned by the eNB  122 A for the UE  110 . However, a more reliable way of exchanging information is via a dedicated bearer. The dedicated bearer may be provided during a VoLTE call as a pre-configuration of the LTE-RAN  122  (e.g., via an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS  150 )). The dedicated bearer may be part of the request of the RC. The use of the RC may also be indicative of the buffer feature that is about to be used by the UE  110 . 
     When the eNB  122 A determines that the UE  110  is performing the VoLTE call, in  260 , the eNB  122 A determines whether there are any downlink data transmissions bound from the eNB  122 A for the UE  110 . If there are no downlink data transmissions, the eNB  122 A returns the method  250  to  258  to determine whether the VoLTE call is still being performed. However, if the eNB  122 A determines that there is at least one downlink data transmission for the UE  110 , the eNB  122 A continues the method  250  to  262 . In  262 , the eNB  122 A buffers the downlink data transmission in a database or other storage component. In a substantially similar manner as described above with reference to the UE operation during method  200 , the eNB  122 A may also incorporate a size parameter to determine whether smaller downlink data transmissions are allowed during the VoLTE call. Thus, in  264 , the eNB  122 A determines whether any of the downlink data transmissions are less than the threshold size discussed above. If no downlink data transmission is in the buffer, the eNB  122 A returns the method  250  to  258 . However, if there is at least one smaller downlink data transmission, the eNB  122 A continues the method  250  to  266  where these are transmitted during silence periods. As the silence periods are periodic and the signal exchanges with the UE  110  may indicate availability, the eNB  122 A may transmit the smaller downlink data transmissions accordingly. 
     Returning to  260 , if there is no downlink data, the eNB  122 A may also determine whether there is any uplink data. Thus, in  272 , the enB  122 A makes this determination of whether there is any uplink data that is to be received from the UE  110 . The eNB  122 A may determine this based upon signal exchanges with the UE  110 . If there is no uplink data, the eNB  122 A may return the method  250  to  258  where the VoLTE call is continued. However, if the eNB  122 A determines that there is uplink data for the eNB  122 A, the method  250  continues to  274 . The uplink data may be received during a silence period. Thus, in  274 , the eNB  122 A determines whether there is a silence period and may also determine whether the silence period is being utilized for the smaller data transmissions in the downlink as performed in  266 . If the silence period is available for receiving smaller data transmissions in the uplink, in  276 , the smaller data transmission is received. 
     Returning to  258 , when the VoLTE call is determined to have ended, the eNB  122 A continues the method  250  to  268 . For example, the eNB  122 A may determine that the dedicated bearer is no longer being used and the context for the VoLTE call is no longer required. In  268 , the eNB  122 A determines whether there is any downlink data transmission in the buffer. If there is at least one downlink data transmission, the eNB  122 A continues the method  250  to  270  where the buffered uplink data transmissions are sent to the UE  110 . 
     It should be noted that the method  200  of  FIG. 2A  includes downlink data transmissions from the eNB  122 A to the UE  110  as well as uplink data transmissions from the UE  110  to the eNB  122 A. In contrast, the method  250  of  FIG. 2B  includes only the uplink data transmissions from the eNB  122 A to the UE  110 . However, the eNB  122 A may be assumed to not be constrained in either an antenna or power respect. Thus, the uplink data transmissions from the UE  110  to the eNB  122 A may be assumed to be received as downlink data transmissions by the eNB  122 A whenever the UE  110  makes these transmissions. 
     In a second mechanism, the eNBs  122 A-C according to the exemplary embodiments may address a drawback related to the constraints that cause limitations on the UEs  110 - 114 . Under substantially similar reasons for the constraints as described above, this may result in degraded paging performance as well as call establishment performance even when the page is actually received by the UE. Because there is an expectation that the paging procedure and/or the call establishment procedure may fail, the eNBs  122 A-C according to the exemplary embodiments provide further features to improve upon these procedures with UEs  110 - 114  having these constraints. 
       FIG. 3  shows an exemplary network method  300  for establishing a call for a UE. The network method  300  relates to a network operation. Specifically, the method  300  may relate to a manner in which the eNB is configured to page and establish a call connection with the UE when the UE is determined to have a constraint. As will be described in further detail below, the method  300  may include a forgiving procedure performed by the eNB in paging the UE as well as establishing the call for the UE. It should be noted that when the network is performing the method  300 , the UE may operate in a known manner and not be required to be altered in any way. 
     In  302 , the LTE-RAN  122  establishes a connection with the UE. For example, the eNB  122 A may connect to the UE  110  through an association and handshake procedure. In  304 , the eNB  122 A may determine the type of mobile unit that the UE  110  is. As described above, the RACH may be used as a basis in this determination. In  306 , the eNB  122 A determines whether the UE  110  is constrained such as with the antenna or power. If the UE  110  is determined to be constrained, the eNB  122 A continues the method  300  to  308 . 
     In step  308 , the eNB  122 A may determine whether a number of pages associated with a specific call establishment procedure is greater than a threshold attempt value. That is the eNB  122 A may have a voice call to connect to the UE  110 . Thus, the eNB  122 A may be attempt to connect the call via performing a call establishment procedure with the UE  110 . The eNB  122 A initiates this call establishment procedure with a page. In this example, it may be considered that at this stage, no pages have been transmitted such that the number of pages is lower than the threshold attempt value. The threshold attempt value may be a predetermined value or a dynamic value based upon the capabilities of the UE  110  and/or the current network parameters. For example, the eNB  122 A may utilize a default paging attempt threshold value but may increase this value when it is determined the UE  110  is a constrained device. 
     When the number of pages is less than the threshold attempt value, the eNB  122 A continues the method  300  to  312 . In  312 , the eNB  122 A transmits the page for the specific call establishment procedure. In  314 , the eNB  122 A determines whether an acknowledgement (ACK) has been received in response to the page being transmitted. If the ACK has not been received, the eNB  122 A returns the method  300  to  308  to make another determination of whether the number of pages exceeds the threshold attempt value. If the iterations of these processes result in the number of pages being transmitted with no ACK being received and eventually exceeding the threshold attempt value, the eNB  122 A continues the method  300  to  310 . In  310 , the eNB  122 A determines that the UE  110  cannot be paged and proceeds according to a known page failure procedure. 
     Returning to  314 , when the eNB  122 A determines that the ACK has been received from the UE  110  in response to the page being transmitted, the eNB  122 A continues the method  300  to  316 . It should be noted that the ACK may have been transmitted by the UE  110  at a lower layer as a simple response that the page has been received with no consideration of higher level functionalities. However, in view of the ACK being received by the eNB  122 A from the UE  110 , the eNB  122 A may perform the forgiving call establishment procedure according to the exemplary embodiments with the knowledge that the UE  110  may be reached. The eNB  122 A may further be configured to adjust timers based upon the determination that the UE  110  is constrained and the ACK has been determined. For example, the LTE-RAN  122  may utilize RACH and RRC establishment timers that provide a duration of time in which the respective procedures may be performed prior to determining subsequent actions (e.g., failure procedure). In the exemplary embodiment, the eNB  122 A may extend these timers to last longer than when the UE is not constrained. 
     Based upon the determination that the UE  110  is reachable (e.g., because the UE  110  provided an ACK to the eNB  122 A), in  316 , the eNB  122 A performs the call establishment procedure. For a variety of reasons, although the page has been received and an ACK transmitted by the UE  110 , the call establishment procedure may still result in a failure. Thus, the eNB  122 A may continue the method  300  to  320 . In  320 , the eNB  122 A determines whether a number of call establishment procedure attempts is greater than a further threshold attempt value. If the number of call establishment procedure attempts is less than the further threshold attempt value, the eNB  122 A returns the method to  316  to continue the attempts at performing the call establish procedure. That is, the failure of the call establishment procedure does not result in an automatic result of a page failure. Again, the eNB  122 A has received the ACK and proceeds with the knowledge that the UE  110  is reachable. The call establishment procedure may include the RACH and RRC procedures and their respective timers. Thus, the eNB  122 A may further incorporate the timers into this process to determine how the method  300  is to proceed. For example, when the number of establishment procedures exceeds the threshold value or when the timer has expired, then the eNB  122 A may continue the method  300  from  320  to  312 . The eNB  122 A may further consider both of these factors where one factor may supercede the other. For example, when the number of establishment procedures does not exceed the threshold value but the timer has expired or vice versa, the eNB  122 A may continue the method  300  from  320  to  312 . 
     However, if the eNB  122 A determines that the number of call establishment procedure attempts is greater than the further threshold attempt value, the eNB  122 A returns the method  300  to  312 . Again, rather than considering multiple failures of the call establishment procedure as resulting in an automatic page failure, the eNB  122 A attempts to transmit a page once again. In this manner, the eNB  122 A is more forgiving in attempting to transmit a page as well as establishing a call based upon this page, particularly when an ACK is received for the page. 
     Furthermore, the eNB  122 A may perform the method  300  for a time period subsequent to the call being established. Returning to  318 , the eNB  122 A may determine that the call has indeed been established. Thus, in  322 , the call is performed. In  324 , the eNB  122 A may determine whether there is a failure for the call, particularly at the IMS  150 . If there is no failure, the eNB  122 A continues the method  300  to  326  to determine whether the call has ended. However, if there is a failure of the call at the IMS layer, the eNB  122 A may again not consider this a complete call establishment failure. Instead, the eNB  122 A returns the method  300  to  312  to again transmit a page and perform the call establishment procedure to resume the already ongoing call. Furthermore, the eNB  122 A may further incorporate the adjusted timers such as the RRC establishment and/or IMS timer used in current IMS call flows to determine when the IMS failure is to be considered as a complete call establishment failure. For example, when there is a failure at the IMS layer but the RRC timer has not yet expired, the eNB  122 A may return the method  300  to  312 . It should be noted that the number of pages may be reset upon the call establishment procedure succeeding such that when the eNB  122 A returns the method  300  to  312  from  324 , the lack of an acknowledgement and the return to  308  may not result in a page failure after a single attempt. 
     In a third mechanism, the eNBs  122 A-C according to the exemplary embodiments may address a drawback related to mobile units when radio frequency (RF) conditions may prevent a radio resource control (RRC) connection release message from the LTE-RAN  122  from being received by the UE. This results in the UE and the LTE-RAN  122  being out of sync and prevents the LTE-RAN  122  from being able to properly page the UE for any downlink data and/or voice calls during this period. One approach to address this issue of missed RRC connection release messages entails using a timer where inactivity for the duration of the timer results in the UE declaring a radio link failure (RLF) to effectively place the UE and the LTE-RAN back into sync. However, the timer may be too long to prevent missed calls. For example, the timer may be set to 37 seconds. Thus, if the UE cannot be paged for these 37 seconds, the UE may miss calls or data transmissions. To address this issue, the eNBs  122 A-C of the exemplary embodiments provide a dynamic manner of increasing a likelihood that any page that is transmitted during this particular timer period may still be received by the UE. 
       FIG. 4  shows an exemplary network method  400  for transmitting a page to a UE. The network method  400  relates to a network operation. Specifically, the method  400  relates to a manner in which the eNB is configured to adaptively transmit a page to the UE. As will be described in further detail below, the method  400  may include a first transmission mode and a second transmission mode for a page to be transmitted where the eNB may select the transmission mode dynamically. For example, the transmission mode may use a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) in which the first mode is a paging RNTI (P-RNTI) and the second mode is a cell RNTI (C-RNTI). It should be noted that the method  400  may relate to any mobile unit that connects to the LTE-RAN  122 . However, the method  400  may be used more particularly for the constrained UEs  110 - 114  as certain failures have a higher expectation to occur for constrained devices than non-constrained mobile devices. 
     In  402 , the LTE-RAN  122  establishes a connection with the UE. For example, the eNB  122 A may connect to the UE  110  through an association and handshake procedure. In  404 , the eNB  122 A may establish a RRC connection with the UE  110 . For example, the UE  110  may perform an active procedure that requires the RRC connected mode with the eNB  122 A. Upon receiving a request from the eNB  122 A, the RRC connected mode may be granted for the UE  110  to perform the active procedure. When the active procedure has ended and/or the RRC connected mode is no longer required, the eNB  122 A may release the RRC connection for the UE  110 . Thus, in  406 , a RRC connection release message is transmitted from the eNB  122 A to the UE  110 . 
     In  408 , the eNB  122 A determines whether an ACK has been received in response to the RRC connection release message. When RF conditions do not prevent the RRC connection release from being received, the eNB  122 A may receive the ACK and continue the method  400  to  410 . In  410 , the eNB  122 A may set the status of the UE to RRC idle because the RRC connection release was successful and the UE and the LTE-RAN  122  are in sync. Thus, in a subsequent paging procedure, in  412 , the eNB  122  may transmit the page based upon the UE being in RRC idle mode. 
     Returning to  408 , when the eNB  122 A does not receive the ACK in response to the RRC connection release message, the eNB  122 A may continue the method  400  to  414 . Initially, it should be noted that the method  400  may include further processes where further attempts at transmitting the RRC connection release message may be performed prior to continuing to  414 . 
     In  414 , the eNB  122 A determines whether the period of time from transmitting the RRC release message to a current time has exceeded a timer where the timer is a time period of inactivity when the UE declares a RLF. If the time has exceeded the timer, the eNB  122 A continues the method  400  to  416  where the RLF has been declared. When the RLF has been declared, the eNB  122 A may assume that the UE is operating in RRC idle mode despite not having received an ACK to the RRC connection release message. Subsequently, the eNB  122 A may continue the method  400  to  410  and  412 . 
     However, if the eNB  122 A determines that the time has not exceeded the timer and the UE has not yet declared the RLF, the eNB  122 A continues the method  400  to  418 . In  418 , the eNB  122 A maintains the context with its C-RNTI for the UE as was used during the RRC connected mode. The context may be kept for a predetermined amount of time such as a time less than the timer. 
     When there is any downlink data transmission bound for the UE, the eNB  122 A may attempt to page the UE. However, it is again noted that the eNB  122 A and the UE must be in sync for the page to be properly received. With no ACK, the eNB  122 A may be unsure as to whether the UE received the RRC connection release message transmitted in  406 . For example, the UE may have never received the RRC connection release message and may be operating in the RRC connected mode. Accordingly, the ACK may never have been transmitted and could not have been received by the eNB  122 A in this scenario. In another example, the UE may have received the RRC connection release message and may be operating in the RRC idle mode. However, the UE may not have been able to successfully transmit the ACK. Accordingly, the ACK was never received by the eNB  122 A in this scenario. In view of these scenarios, the eNB  122 A may be unsure as to the current state of the UE and a selection of one mode may be incorrect. 
     Thus, in  420 , the eNB  122 A may initially transmit the page using the P-RNTI with the assumption that the UE received the RRC connection release message and is operating in the RRC idle mode. In  422 , the eNB  122 A may determine whether an ACK is received in response to this page using the P-RNTI. If the page was received, the UE and the eNB  122 A were in sync and the UE was operating in the RRC idle mode. Thus, the eNB  122 A may continue the remaining downlink transmission procedure accordingly. 
     However, if the eNB  122 A does not receive an ACK in response to the page transmitted with the P-RNTI, the eNB  122 A continues the method  400  to  424 . In  424 , the eNB  122 A transmits the page with the C-RNTI that was maintained despite the RRC connection release message having been already transmitted. In  426 , the eNB  122 A determines whether an ACK is received in response to the page with the C-RNTI. If the page was received, the UE and the eNB  122 A were in sync and the UE was operating in the RRC connected mode. Thus, the eNB  122 A may continue the remaining downlink transmission procedure accordingly. 
     If the ACK is still not received even though both transmission modes have been used, the eNB  122 A may determine in  428  whether the number of transmissions exceeds a threshold attempt value. If further attempts may be made, the eNB  122 A returns the method  400  to  418 . However, if the number of transmissions exceeds the threshold attempt value, the eNB  122 A may return to  414 . It should be noted that the threshold attempt value may be selected to coincide with the timer. Thus, when every attempt has been exhausted, the eNB  122 A may finally return to determine whether the time has exceeded the timer. 
     It should be noted that the manner in which the different transmission modes using the P-RNTI and the C-RNTI may be performed in a variety of manners. The method  400  provides one exemplary embodiment in which the P-RNTI and the C-RNTI are used in an alternating fashion. However, this is only exemplary. In other attempts, the P-RNTI may be used for a predetermined number of attempts prior to the C-RNTI being used also for the predetermined number of attempts. This may also be used in conjunction with the alternating manner. 
     In a fourth mechanism, the UEs  110 - 114  according to the exemplary embodiments may address a drawback related to mobile units when a handover may provide a more optimal connection to the LTE-RAN  122 . Due to the constraints of the UEs  110 - 114 , there may be a higher likelihood that a connection having limited uplink performance may not be sufficient. Thus, a handover to another eNB may be preferable. Specifically, on an antenna constrained mobile unit where uplink performance may be challenging, there may be an expectation that the mobile unit encounters situations where it fails to successfully send a measurement report or a handover procedure fails due to an extended transmission/reception timeline (such as due to the constraint). This may particularly be the case during a VoLTE call where a Connected Discontinuous Reception (C-DRX) cycle may be extended. One manner of addressing these scenarios is the eventual declaration of a RLF. However, the timer used for this declaration may be set at a high value such that the user experience may be impacted. The UEs  110 - 114  of the exemplary embodiments provide a proactive manner of performing a handover when issues with uplink performance are determined. 
       FIG. 5  shows an exemplary UE method  500  for performing a handover. The UE method  500  relates to a UE operation. Specifically, the method  500  relates to a manner in which the UE is configured to transmit information that triggers a handover procedure to be performed to preempt a conventional mechanism to perform the handover. As will be described in further detail below, the UE may declare a RLF upon network parameters meeting certain criteria to trigger the LTE-RAN  122  to perform a handover procedure. 
     In  502 , the UE establishes a connection with the LTE-RAN. In  504 , the UE associates with a first eNB. For example, the UE  110  may connect to the LTE-RAN  122  through an association and handshake procedure with the eNB  122 A. In  506 , the UE  110  determines whether there are any uplink issues (e.g., the uplink has limited performance characteristics) with the current connection to the LTE-RAN  122  via the eNB  122 A. For example, the limited uplink performance characteristics may be determined based upon an uplink block error rate (BLER) estimate, an uplink frequency band being used, a RF quality of neighboring cells, uplink frequency band of neighboring cells, etc. If the uplink is not experiencing limited performance characteristics, the UE  110  may continue the method to  508  where the connection and association with the eNB  122 A is maintained. 
     If the UE  110  determines that the uplink is experiencing limited performance characteristics, the UE  110  continues the method  500  to  510 . In  510 , the UE  110  determines neighboring eNBs. As described above in the network arrangement  100 , the LTE-RAN  122  may include a plurality of eNBs  122 A-C that may be neighboring. Thus, the UE  110  may determine the presence of any of these neighboring eNBs. In  512 , the UE  110  determines whether there are any neighboring eNBs that are available for a handover based upon a current position or capability of the UE/eNB. If no eNB is available, the UE  110  returns the method to  508  and maintains the connection with the eNB  122 A. 
     If the UE  110  determines that there is at least one neighboring, available eNB, the UE  110  continues the method  500  to  514 . In  514 , the UE  110  determines a quality of a connection to one of these neighboring eNBs. For example, the UE  110  may determine a quality of a connection with the eNB  122 B. The quality of the connection may be based upon a variety of known factors. For example, the quality of the connection may be determined on a quantitative basis using known measurements such as RSSI, RSRQ, BLER, SNR, etc. In  516 , the UE  110  determines whether the connection to the eNB  122 B is better than its current connection to the eNB  122 A (e.g., which eNB offers the greater quantitative connection quality). If the connection to the current eNB  122 A remains better than the potential connection to the eNB  122 B, the UE  110  returns the method  500  to  508  and maintains the connection to the eNB  122 A. 
     However, if the UE  110  determines that a potential connection to the eNB  122 B will be an improvement over the connection to the eNB  122 A, the UE  110  continues the method  500  to  518 . Without waiting for any timer to expire, in  518 , the UE  110  may declare a RLF even when a RLF is not actually present. The UE  110  may also perform a RACH with the eNB  122 B for any RRC re-establishment procedure (assuming the LTE-RAN  122  can retrieve the context and is applicable for the neighboring cell). It should be noted that the LTE-RAN  122  may include a configuration where the context for the UE  110  is communicating in proximity to speed up any potential handover procedure or re-establishment for the UE  110 . 
     In  520 , the UE  110  may perform handover negotiations with the eNB  122 A to select the eNB  122 B that has been determined have a better connection for the UE  110 . Subsequently, the UE  110  may associate with the eNB  122 B. The UE  110  may perform these steps in a variety of manners. For example, the RACH may be performed by reading a System Information Block 2 (SIB2) of the neighboring eNBs to receive the RACH configuration. Thus, the UE  110  may preemptively read the SIB2 configuration of the strongest cells and/or the serving cell (e.g., the eNB  122 A) may broadcast the information to the neighboring cells. 
       FIG. 6  shows an exemplary embodiment of the UE  110  in  FIG. 1 . UEs  112  and  114  may have similar components and functionalities. The UE  110  may represent any electronic device that is configured to perform wireless functionalities. For example, as described above, the UE  110  may be a portable device such as a phone, a smartphone, a tablet, a phablet, a laptop, a wearable, etc. In another example, the UE  110  may be a stationary device such as a desktop terminal. The UE  110  may be a VoLTE-capable SRLTE device for communicating with a mobile switching center. The UE  110  may include an antenna  605  connected to a transceiver  620 . The UE  110  may further include a baseband processor  630  and an applications processor  610 . The UE  110  may further include a display  640 , an I/O device  650 , a memory arrangement  660  that are accessible by the baseband processor  630  or the applications processor  610 . Those skilled in the art will understand that the UE  110  may also include additional components  670 , for example, a Bluetooth/WiFi transceiver, further input devices (e.g., a keypad, a touchscreen, etc.), a battery, etc. 
     The transceiver  620 , the baseband processor  630  and the application processor  610  may be used to perform operations such as, but not limited to, performing VoLTE calls, exchanging information with one or more base stations, etc. For example, the UE  110  may be utilized to perform the methods of  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 5 . It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments are described as being performed by the transceiver  620 , the baseband processor  630  and the application processor  610 . However, any of these components may perform the described functionalities without the other component. In addition, other components may also perform some or all of the functionalities described herein. The application processor  610 , the transceiver  620  and the baseband processor  630  may be, for example, general purpose processors, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), another type of integrated circuit and these processors may execute software programs or firmware. 
       FIG. 7  shows an exemplary embodiment of the eNB  122 A configured to establish a connection with the UEs  110 ,  112 ,  114  according to various embodiments described herein. The eNB  122 A may be any access point or base station of the LTE-RAN NW  122  that enables the UEs  110 ,  112 ,  114  to establish a connection to the LTE-RAN NW  122 . Further, the eNB  122 A could be any access point or base station for the legacy RAN NW  120  and/or the WLAN  124 . The eNB  122 B and the eNB  122 C may have similar components and functionalities. The eNB  122 A may include an antenna  705  connected to a transceiver  710 . The eNB  122 A may further include a baseband processor  720  and a memory arrangement  730 . 
     The baseband processor  720  may provide a radio communication with the UEs  110 ,  112 ,  114  via the transceiver  710 , which may be coupled to an antenna. The transceiver  710  may be substantially similar to the transceiver  620  of the UE  110  such as operating on a predetermined frequency or channel of the LTE-RAN NW  122 . It should be noted that the transceiver  710  may include a separate transmitter and receiver or a combined unit that performs the functionalities of the transmitter and receiver. The baseband processor  720  may be configured to operate according to a wireless communications standard based upon the LTE-RAN NW  122  (e.g., a 3GPP LTE). The eNB  122 A may be utilized to perform, for example, the methods of  FIG. 2B ,  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 . 
     The exemplary embodiments provide a system and method of improving operation of a user equipment that has known constraints compared to other mobile devices that do not have such constraints. In a first mechanism, data transmissions are controlled by being buffered when time-sensitive transmissions such as voice are being transmitted. In a second mechanism, a network component may perform additional procedures prior to determining a failure when the network component is aware of a reachability to the UE. In a third mechanism, a paging procedure may be adaptively used prior to a RLF being declared to increase a likelihood that the page is received during this time period. In a fourth mechanism, the UE may actively determine when a handover procedure is beneficial and trigger a serving cell to perform it. 
     Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardware platform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. In a further example, the exemplary embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present invention, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20160115
Publication Date: 20170926
Grant Date: 20170926
Priority Date: 20150126
Inventors: KHAY-IBBAT SAMY
TABET TARIK
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04W76/027", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W68/02", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/18", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/18", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W68/02", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W68/02", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 56433030