Measurement of cells arranged in groups of different priorities

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-8929882-B2
Application number	US-201213442629-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 9, 2012
Priority date	Apr 9, 2012
Publication date	Jan 6, 2015
Grant date	Jan 6, 2015

Abstract

Techniques for making measurements of cells in a wireless network are disclosed. In an aspect, cells to be measured are arranged into groups with different priorities. Groups with higher priority include stronger cells, which are measured more frequently and/or with more filtering to improve measurement accuracy. In one design, a user entity determines a plurality of groups of cells to make measurements. Each group includes at least one cell, and the plurality of groups have different priorities. The user entity determines a measurement interval for each of the plurality of groups of cells, with higher priority groups having shorter measurement intervals. The user entity schedules each cell in each group for measurement at least once (e.g., once) within the measurement interval for that group. The user entity makes measurements for the plurality of groups of cells based on the measurement interval for each group.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:
determining a plurality of groups of cells to make measurements by a user entity, each group including at least one cell, and the plurality of groups of cells having different priorities;
determining a measurement interval for each of the plurality of groups of cells, with higher priority groups of cells having shorter measurement intervals;
making measurements for the plurality of groups of cells based on the measurement interval for each group of cells; and
updating which cells are in which group based on the measurements.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of groups of cells have different measurement intervals, with a highest priority group of cells having a shortest measurement interval and a lowest priority group of cells having a longest measurement interval.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurement interval for each group of cells is configurable and selected from a plurality of possible measurement intervals for the group of cells.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a total number of cells to make measurements; and
determining a number of groups of cells based on the total number of cells to make measurements, or available measurement time, or both.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the determining the measurement interval for each of the plurality of groups of cells comprises determining the measurement interval for each group of cells based on the total number of cells to make measurements, or the available measurement time, or the number of groups of cells, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
determining the number of cells in each of the plurality of groups of cells based on the total number of cells to make measurements, or the available measurement time, or the measurement interval for each group of cells, or a combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the plurality of groups of cells comprises determining the plurality of groups of cells based on a plurality of sets of cells, each set including at least one cell and associated with conditions for cells entering and leaving the set.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of groups of cells corresponds to one of the plurality of sets of cells.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of sets of cells include a first set of cells with received signal strength satisfying at least one condition.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of sets of cells include a second set of cells with received signal strength not satisfying the at least one condition for inclusion in the first set of cells.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of sets of cells include a third set of cells detected by the user entity but not yet measured by the user entity.

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein each set includes a variable number of cells, and wherein total number of cells in the plurality of sets is limited to a predetermined maximum number of cells.

13. The method of claim 7 , wherein a number of cells in each set is less than or equal to a number of cells in a next lower prior set.

14. The method of claim 7 , wherein the determining the plurality of groups of cells comprises
sorting each of the plurality of sets of cells, with the at least one cell in each sorted set being arranged from highest priority to lowest priority,
forming a list of cells with the plurality of sorted sets of cells, with the plurality of sorted sets of cells being arranged from highest priority to lowest priority in the list, and
forming the plurality of groups of cells based on the list of cells.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the plurality of groups of cells comprises:
sorting a plurality of cells from highest priority to lowest priority, and
forming the plurality of groups of cells based on the sorted plurality of cells, one group at a time starting with a highest priority group.

16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
scheduling each cell in each group of cells for measurement at least once within the measurement interval for the group of cells.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
scheduling the plurality of groups of cells for measurement in subframes with at least a predetermined amount of reference signal and not in subframes with less than the predetermined amount of reference signal.

18. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
scheduling a group of cells with highest priority among the plurality of groups of cells for measurement in each discontinuous reception cycle when the user entity operates in a discontinuous reception mode; and
scheduling each remaining group of cells among the plurality of groups of cells for measurement less frequently than in each discontinuous reception cycle when the user entity operates in the discontinuous reception mode.

19. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
means for determining a plurality of groups of cells to make measurements by a user entity, each group including at least one cell, and the plurality of groups of cells having different priorities;
means for determining a measurement interval for each of the plurality of groups of cells, with higher priority groups of cells having shorter measurement intervals;
means for making measurements for the plurality of groups of cells based on the measurement interval for each group of cells; and
means for updating which cells are in which group based on the measurements.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of groups of cells have different measurement intervals, with a highest priority group of cells having a shortest measurement interval and a lowest priority group of cells having a longest measurement interval.

21. The apparatus of claim 19 , further comprising:
means for determining a total number of cells to make measurement; and
means for determining a number of groups of cells based on the total number of cells to make measurements, or available measurement time, or both.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 , further comprising:
means for determining the number of cells in each of the plurality of groups of cells based on the total number of cells to make measurements, or the available measurement time, or the measurement interval for each group of cells, or a combination thereof.

23. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the means for determining the plurality of groups of cells comprises means for determining the plurality of groups of cells based on a plurality of sets of cells, each set including at least one cell and associated with conditions for cells entering and leaving the set.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the means for determining the plurality of groups of cells comprises
means for sorting each of the plurality of sets of cells, with the at least one cell in each sorted set being arranged from highest priority to lowest priority,
means for forming a list of cells with the plurality of sorted sets of cells, with the plurality of sorted sets of cells being arranged from highest priority to lowest priority in the list, and means for forming the plurality of groups of cells based on the list of cells.

25. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the means for determining the plurality of groups of cells comprises:
means for sorting a plurality of c

Assignees

• Srinivasan Shivratna Giri
• Bhattacharjee Supratik
• Banister Brian Clarke
• Bhawnani Udayan Murli
• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Srinivasan Shivratna Giri
• Bhattacharjee Supratik
• Banister Brian Clarke
• Bhawnani Udayan Murli

Classifications

• H04W36/0083

  Determination of parameters used for hand-off, e.g. generation or modification of neighbour cell lists · CPC title

• H04W36/0088 Primary

  Scheduling hand-off measurements · CPC title

• H04W36/0085

  Hand-off measurements · CPC title