Method and apparatus for migrating from licensed spectrum to unlicensed spectrum
First Claim
1. A method for migrating a user equipment operating in a licensed spectrum to an unlicensed spectrum, the method comprising:
- determining that a neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum is available;
determining a type of the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum;
determining that a signal quality of the available neighbor cell is below a type-specific predetermined threshold based on the type of the available neighbor cell;
determining that a carrier-licensed spectrum quality of the licensed spectrum is below a preselected value;
upon determining that the carrier-licensed spectrum quality of the licensed spectrum is below the preselected value, decrementing the type-specific predetermined threshold by a predetermined value and comparing the signal quality of the available neighbor cell to the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold until the signal quality of the available neighbor cell is equal to or above the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold; and
upon determining that the signal quality of the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum is equal to or above the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold, migrating to the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The systems, devices, and methods discussed herein are directed to migrating user equipment (UE) communication from an initially assigned channel in a licensed spectrum to an unlicensed spectrum available in a neighboring cell. As the UE is powered on, data connectivity between the UE and a carrier cell is checked, and if connected, an available neighbor cell in an unlicensed spectrum may be searched. If an available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum is found, the carrier cell may hand off UE communication to the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum based on a type of the available neighbor cell and available quality for communication in the unlicensed spectrum.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for migrating a user equipment operating in a licensed spectrum to an unlicensed spectrum, the method comprising:
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determining that a neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum is available; determining a type of the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum; determining that a signal quality of the available neighbor cell is below a type-specific predetermined threshold based on the type of the available neighbor cell; determining that a carrier-licensed spectrum quality of the licensed spectrum is below a preselected value; upon determining that the carrier-licensed spectrum quality of the licensed spectrum is below the preselected value, decrementing the type-specific predetermined threshold by a predetermined value and comparing the signal quality of the available neighbor cell to the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold until the signal quality of the available neighbor cell is equal to or above the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold; and upon determining that the signal quality of the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum is equal to or above the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold, migrating to the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system comprising:
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one or more processors; and a computer storage medium coupled to the one or more processors, the computer storage medium storing computer-readable instructions by the one or more processors, that when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising; determining that a neighbor cell in an unlicensed spectrum is available; determining a type of the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum; determining that a signal quality of the available neighbor cell is below a type-specific predetermined threshold based on the type of the available neighbor cell; determining that a carrier-licensed spectrum quality is below a preselected value; upon determining that the carrier-licensed spectrum quality is below the preselected value, decrementing the type-specific predetermined threshold by a predetermined value and comparing the signal quality of the available neighbor cell to the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold until the signal quality of the available neighbor cell is equal to or above the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold; and upon determining that the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum is equal to or above the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold, migrating to the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A non-transitory computer storage medium configured to store computer-readable instructions by a computer, that when executed, cause the computer to perform operations comprising:
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determining that a neighbor cell in an unlicensed spectrum is available including scanning for available neighbor cells in the unlicensed spectrum, and if a neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum is detected in response to the scanning, determining that the detected neighbor cell is the available neighbor cell, and if no available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum is detected in response to the scanning, waiting for a predetermined time period and repeating from the scanning step for a predetermined number of times; determining a type of the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum; determining that a signal quality of the available neighbor cell is below a type-specific predetermined threshold based on the type of the available neighbor cell; determining that a carrier-licensed spectrum quality is below a preselected value; upon determining that the carrier-licensed spectrum quality is below a preselected value, decrementing the type-specific predetermined threshold by a predetermined value and comparing the signal quality of the available neighbor cell to the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold until the signal quality of the available neighbor cell is equal to or above the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold; and upon determining that the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum is equal to or above the decremented type-specific predetermined threshold, migrating to the available neighbor cell in the unlicensed spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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Specification