Electronic device for selecting cell, and method therefor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12335795-B2
Application number	US-202217710211-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 31, 2022
Priority date	Oct 16, 2019
Publication date	Jun 17, 2025
Grant date	Jun 17, 2025

Abstract

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes an antenna, a communication module connected to the antenna, and a processor connected to the communication module, wherein the processor can confirm a frequency band supportable by the electronic device, receive, from a base station, system information including information about a peripheral cell, determine whether the peripheral cell is either an unlicensed cell or a non-terrestrial cell on the basis of the confirmed frequency band and/or the received system information, determine the priority of a frequency, which is the reference for cell selection, on the basis of at least one from among the confirmed frequency band, the received system information, and the type of determined cell, and select a cell according to the determined priority of the frequency.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
an antenna;
a communication module connected to the antenna; and
a processor connected to the communication module,
wherein the processor is configured to:
identify a frequency band the electronic device supports,
receive, from a base station, system information including information on a neighbor cell and cell type information indicating at least one of an unlicensed cell, a non-terrestrial cell and a public land mobile network (PLMN) type associated with the neighbor cell,
determine a cell type of the neighbor cell based on the received cell type,
search for a highest-ranked cell on a carrier frequency based on predefined criteria, including at least one of signal strength, quality of service (QoS) and network preference,
determine whether the highest-ranked cell belongs to a selected PLMN or a PLMN indicated as equivalent to a registered PLMN of the electronic device,
prohibit selection of the highest-ranked cell as a suitable cell for a predetermined time period when determining that the highest-ranked cell does not belong to the selected PLMN or the PLMN indicated as equivalent to the registered PLMN,
lower a priority of a frequency when the neighbor cell is determined as one of the unlicensed cells or the non-terrestrial cells based on the cell type information,
determine the priority of the frequency based on at least one of the frequency band or the system information,
select a cell based on the determined priority of the frequency,
receive system information including information related to a random access response (RAR) window from the selected cell, when the selected cell is the unlicensed cell, and
perform RAR monitoring during an extended RAR window when the selected cell is the unlicensed cell, wherein a duration of the extended RAR window exceeds that of a licensed cell by a predefined margin or is determined based on system configuration parameters.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether to select the neighbor cell based on the determined priority of the frequency and a signal quality of the neighbor cell.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the priority of the frequency by using frequency-related information stored in the electronic device.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive, from the base station, information on the frequency band.

5. A method for selecting a cell by an electronic device, the method comprising:
identifying a frequency band the electronic device supports;
receiving, from a base station, system information including information on a neighbor cell and cell type information indicating at least one of an unlicensed cell, a non-terrestrial cell and a public land mobile network (PLMN) type associated with the neighbor cell;
determining a cell type of the neighbor cell based on the received cell type,
searching for a highest-ranked cell on a carrier frequency based on predefined criteria, including at least one of signal strength, quality of service (QOS) and network preference,
determining whether the highest-ranked cell belongs to a selected PLMN or a PLMN indicated as equivalent to a registered PLMN of the electronic device,
prohibiting selection of the highest-ranked cell as a suitable cell for a predetermined time period when determining that the highest-ranked cell does not belong to the selected PLMN or the PLMN indicated as equivalent to the registered PLMN,
lowering a priority of a frequency when the neighbor cell is determined as one of the unlicensed cell or the non-terrestrial cell based on the cell type information,
determining the priority of the frequency based on at least one of the frequency band or the system information,
selecting a cell based on the determined priority of the frequency,
receiving system information including information related to a random access response (RAR) window from the selected cell, when the selected cell is the unlicensed cell, and
performing RAR monitoring during an extended RAR window when the selected cell is the unlicensed cell, wherein a duration of the extended RAR window exceeds that of a licensed cell by a predefined margin or is determined based on system configuration parameters.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the determining of the priority of the frequency comprises determining whether to select the neighbor cell based on the determined priority of the frequency and a signal quality of the neighbor cell.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the determining of the priority of the frequency comprises determining the priority of the frequency by using frequency-related information stored in the electronic device.

8. The method of claim 5 , further comprising receiving, from the base station, information on the frequency band.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Park Suyoung
• Kim Soenghun

Classifications

• H04W74/0836

  with 2-step access · CPC title

• H04W74/0833

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

• H04W36/0061

  of neighbour cell information · CPC title

• H04W24/08

  Testing, {supervising or monitoring} using real traffic · CPC title

• H04W36/08

  Reselecting an access point · CPC title