Method for facilitating network identification, access node, method for network identification and user equipment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11071046-B2
Application number	US-201916377135-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 5, 2019
Priority date	Dec 8, 2014
Publication date	Jul 20, 2021
Grant date	Jul 20, 2021

Abstract

A method for facilitating network identification is provided. The method at an access node of a first network, comprises: detecting a physical-layer-related identity of each of one or more neighboring access nodes; decoding, for each of the one or more neighboring access nodes, a network identity of the neighboring access node; for each of the one or more neighboring access nodes: determining whether the neighboring access node belongs to the first network or a different network; and determining an identity group in which the detected physical-layer-related identity of the neighboring access node is included; and selecting, as a physical-layer-related identity of the access node, a physical-layer-related identity from an identity group other than any identity group in which a physical-layer-related identity of a neighboring access node belonging to a different network is included.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for network identification, at a User Equipment (UE) served by a first access node of a first network, comprising:
detecting a physical-layer-related identity of a second access node;
determining an identity group in which the detected physical-layer-related identity is included, wherein the determining is based on knowledge to all access nodes and UEs that available physical-layer-related identities are divided into a number of identity groups, wherein information indicating one or more identity groups associated with the first network is transmitted to the UE from the first access node; and
identifying whether the second access node belongs to the first network based on the determined identity group,
wherein the first access node and its neighboring access nodes of the first network are associated with one or more identity groups that are different from any identity group associated with any neighboring access node of any other network.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said identifying is performed by: determining whether the determined identity group is identical to any of the one or more identity groups.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first access node and its neighboring access nodes of the first network are associated with two or more identity groups, and the method further comprises:
receiving, from the first access node, information indicating the two or more identity groups.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein for each access node, its physical-layer-related identity is at least associated with a sync signal sequence used by that access node.

5. A User Equipment (UE), served by a first access node of a first network, comprising:
a processor and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that executed by the processor to cause the UE to:
detect a physical-layer-related identity of a second access node;
determine an identity group in which the detected physical-layer-related identity is included, wherein the determining is based on knowledge to all access nodes and UEs that available physical-layer-related identities are divided into a number of identity groups, wherein information indicating one or more identity groups associated with the first network is transmitted to the UE from the first access node; and
identify whether the second access node belongs to the first network based on the determined identity group,

wherein the first access node and its neighboring access nodes of the first network are associated with one or more identity groups that are different from any identity group associated with any neighboring access node of any other network.

6. The UE of claim 5 , wherein the UE is further to identify whether the second access node belongs to the first network by determining whether the determined identity group is identical to any of the one or more identity groups.

7. The UE of claim 5 , wherein the first access node and its neighboring access nodes of the first network are associated with two or more identity groups, and the UE is further to:
receive, from the first access node, information indicating the two or more identity groups.

8. The UE of claim 5 , wherein, for each access node, its physical-layer-related identity is at least associated with a sync signal sequence used by that access node.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, executed by a processor, to cause a user equipment (UE) that is served by a first access node of a first network, to perform:
detecting a physical-layer-related identity of a second access node;
determining an identity group in which the detected physical-layer-related identity is included, wherein the determining is based on knowledge to all access nodes and UEs that available physical-layer-related identities are divided into a number of identity groups, wherein information indicating one or more identity groups associated with the first network is transmitted to the UE from the first access node; and
identifying whether the second access node belongs to the first network based on the determined identity group,
wherein the first access node and its neighboring access nodes of the first network are associated with one or more identity groups that are different from any identity group associated with any neighboring access node of any other network.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein said identifying is performed by:
determining whether the determined identity group is identical to any of the one or more identity groups.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the first access node and its neighboring access nodes of the first network are associated with two or more identity groups, and the UE further performs:
receiving, from the first access node, information indicating the two or more identity groups.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein for each access node, its physical-layer-related identity is at least associated with a sync signal sequence used by that access node.

Assignees

• Ericsson Telefon Ab L M

Inventors

• Li Gen
• Irnich Tim

Classifications

• H04W88/08

  Access point devices · CPC title

• H04W48/16 Primary

  Discovering, processing access restriction or access information · CPC title

• H04W56/0015

  one node acting as a reference for the others · CPC title

• H04W48/10

  using broadcasted information · CPC title