Coordinated multipoint network measurement set management

• US 10,567,989 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2012
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Dalsgaard, Lars, Hugl, Klaus
• Primary Examiner(s): Jain, Raj
• Application Number:
  US14/413,633
• Publication Number:
  US 20150208265A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,750 Days
• Field of Search: 370252
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/382 for resource allocation, admission control or handover
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/024 Co-operative use of antennas of several sites, e.g. in co-ordinated multipoint or co-operative multiple-input multiple-output [MIMO] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0035 Resource allocation in a cooperative multipoint environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/241 taking into account channel quality metrics, e.g. SIR, SNR, CIR, Eb/lo
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/12 Wireless traffic scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/54 based on quality criteria

Abstract

The exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to at least a method and apparatus to perform determining, at a user device, an initial signal power of a cell specific reference signal and a signal power for each reference signal of at least one reference signal in a network; identifying a change as compared to at least one of the initial signal power of the cell specific reference signal and the at least one reference signal; and based on the identifying, triggering another determining of a signal power of reference signals of the at least one reference signal in the network. Further, the exemplary embodiments relate to at least a method and apparatus to perform configuring, at a network device, at least one reference signal, sending, towards a user equipment of a network, information including an indication of the at least one reference signal, sending, towards the user equipment a request to perform signal power or signal quality measurements of the indicated at least one reference signal; and sending, towards the user equipment of a network, a threshold to be used by the user equipment of the network in the measurement procedure of signal power or signal quality of the indicated at least on reference signal.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code, where the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least;

measure, at the apparatus, a signal power of a cell specific reference signal for a cell having a plurality of transmission points in a network;

based on the measuring, identify a change in the signal power of the cell specific reference signal; and

based on the identified change in the signal power of the cell specific reference signal, trigger a measurement of a signal power of at least one other reference signal in the network,

wherein the signal power of the cell specific reference signal for the cell comprises a signal power of a cell specific reference signal from a serving base station of the apparatus.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, where the identifying the change in the signal power of the cell specific reference signal is using a threshold to trigger the measurement of the signal power of the at least one other reference signal in the network.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, where the threshold comprises more than one threshold level, where each of the more than one threshold level is triggering starting or stopping of one or more different measurement operations at the apparatus for the cell.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, where identifying the change in the signal power comprises at least one of identifying a relative change as compared to the signal power of the at least one of the strongest reference signal and an initial signal power of the cell specific reference signal or identifying a change as compared to signal power of at least one of a strongest reference signal of the at least one other reference signal.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, where the network is a coordinated multipoint network.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, where the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to send information regarding at least the signal power of the at least one other reference signal to a source base station of the coordinated multipoint network.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, where the plurality of transmission points are using a same physical cell identifier.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, where the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to, after the measuring the signal power of the cell specific reference, monitor the signal power of the cell specific reference signal but not monitor the at least one other reference signal.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, where the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to:

measure a signal power of the at least one other reference signal; and

after the measuring the signal power of the cell specific reference signal and the signal power of the at least one other reference signal, monitor the signal power of the cell specific reference signal and at least one strongest reference signal power of the at least one other reference signal.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, where the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine there is a decrease in a reference signal power of the at least one strongest reference signal power of the at least one other reference signal; and

based on the determining, again monitor other reference signals of the at least one reference signal.

11. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code, where the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least;

configure at least one reference signal;

send, towards a user equipment of a network, information comprising an indication of the at least one reference signal in a network;

send, towards the user equipment, a request to perform signal power or signal quality measurements of the indicated at least one reference signal; and

send, towards the user equipment, a threshold to be used by the user equipment in the signal power or signal quality measurements of the indicated at least one reference signal, wherein the threshold is used to identify a change in the signal power of the indicated at least one reference signal sufficient to cause the user equipment to trigger a measurement of a signal power of at least one other reference signal in the network,

wherein the signal power or signal quality measurements of the indicated at least one reference signal comprises a signal power or signal quality of a cell specific reference signal from a serving base station of the user equipment.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the threshold setting sets a relative level of comparison of signal power of an initial power or the at least one reference signal and the changed signal power of the at least one reference signal.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, where the network is a coordinated multipoint network.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, where the at least one reference signal comprises at least one channel state information reference signal of the coordinated multipoint network.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, where the at least one reference signal is associated with at least one transmission point of the coordinated multipoint network and where the at least one transmission point comprises at least one of a low power node and a high power node.

16. The apparatus according to claim 11, where the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to receive from the user equipment measurement information regarding the at least one reference signal and a cell specific reference signal.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, where the measurement information comprises an indication of a change as compared to an initial signal power of the cell specific reference signal and the at least one reference signal.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, where the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to:

based on the measurement information, re-configure at least one reference signal of the network; and

send to the user equipment information comprising a request to measure the re-configured at least one reference signal of the network.

19. A method comprising:

measuring, at a user device, a signal power of a cell specific reference signal for a cell having a plurality of transmission points in a network;

based on the measuring, identifying a change in the signal power of the cell specific reference signal; and

based on the identified change in the signal power of the cell specific reference signal, triggering a measurement of a signal power of at least one other reference signal in the network,

wherein the signal power of the cell specific reference signal for the cell comprises a signal power of a cell specific reference signal from a serving base station of the user equipment.

20. The method according to claim 19, where the identifying the change in the signal power of the cell specific reference signal is using a threshold to trigger the measurement of the signal power of the at least one other reference signal.