Method and apparatus for band tuning in a communication device

• US 10,624,091 B2
• Filed: 08/17/2017
• Issued: 04/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Hoirup, Carsten
• Primary Examiner(s): Pan, Yuwen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Paul P
• Application Number:
  US15/679,685
• Publication Number:
  US 20170353956A1
• Time in Patent Office: 971 Days
• Field of Search: 455 631, 455 77, 455142, 4551931, 455419, 4554261, 455450, 455466, 455522, 343860, 343861, 370252, 370329, 370331
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0458 Arrangements for matching and coupling between power amplifier and antenna or between amplifying stages matching circuits in general H03H
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/18 Input circuits, e.g. for coupling to an antenna or a transmission line coupling networks between antennas or lines and receivers independent of the nature of the receiver H03H
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/24 Reselection being triggered by specific parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 TPC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/146 Uplink power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/243 taking into account interferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, adjusting a tuning state of a matching network of the communication device, selecting a power offset from among a group of power offsets where the selected power offset is associated with a sub-band of operation of the communication device, and adjusting a value associated with a measured receive power or a transmit power of the communication device based on the selected power offset to generate an offset power value. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a matching network; and

a controller coupled with the matching network, wherein the device is coupled to a communication network including a plurality of cells, the plurality of cells including a serving cell used by the device and a neighboring cell, and wherein the controller facilitates performance of operations comprising;

adjusting a tuning state of the matching network;

determining a group of power offsets, each of the group of power offsets associated with a frequency in a sub-band of a group of sub-bands of the neighboring cell;

selecting a power offset from among the group of power offsets;

measuring a received power of a signal at a neighboring cell frequency received by the device from the neighboring cell to determine a measured receive power value; and

determining an offset power value associated with the neighboring cell frequency by adjusting the measured receive power value according to the selected power offset,

wherein, by a procedure in which a tuning frequency is swept through the group of sub-bands of the neighboring cell, a distinct offset power value is determined for each of the group of sub-bands of the neighboring cell, resulting in a relative power function of frequency applicable to all of the sub-bands of the neighboring cell.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting, to a network element of the communication network, the offset power value to facilitate a resource decision for the device based on the offset power value.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the resource decision is a handover decision associated with the neighboring cell, and wherein the resource decision is based at least in part on whether the offset power value corresponds to a perceived neighbor signal strength above a handover threshold.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein in accordance with the resource decision, a handover delay is avoided.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the matching network is tuned to a reference frequency, and wherein the group of power offsets comprise data for power measurements for tuning states at frequencies relative to the reference frequency.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the reference frequency is within a radio band of a serving cell, and wherein the data is based on measured received power for different tuning states of the matching network for the reference frequency of the radio band and for sub-band frequencies of the radio band.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a memory, wherein the group of power offsets are stored in a look-up table in the memory.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the look-up table is categorized by one or more of radio bands, sub-bands, neighbor radio bands, neighbor sub-bands or use cases.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise determining a use case of the device, and wherein the adjusting of the tuning state is based on the use case of the device, a sub-band of operation of the device, or both.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the power offset is selected based on the use case.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the use case is a physical state of the device.

12. A method, comprising:

adjusting, by a device coupled to a communication network including a plurality of cells, a tuning state of a matching network of the device, the plurality of cells including a serving cell used by the device and a neighboring cell;

determining, by the device, a group of power offsets, each of the group of power offsets associated with a frequency in a sub-band of a group of sub-bands of the neighboring cell;

selecting, by the device, a power offset from among the group of power offsets, the group of power offsets comprising data for power measurements for tuning states at frequencies relative to a reference frequency of a radio band for the serving cell, wherein the power offset is selected according to at least one of a use case of the device and a sub-band of operation of the group of sub-bands of the neighboring cell for the device;

measuring, by the device, a received power of a signal at a neighboring cell frequency received by the device from the neighboring cell to determine a measured receive power value;

determining, by the device, an offset power value by adjusting the measured receive power value according to the selected power offset; and

transmitting, from the device to a network element of the communication network, the offset power value to facilitate a resource decision for the device based on the offset power value,

wherein, by a procedure in which a tuning frequency is swept through the group of sub-bands of the neighboring cell, a distinct offset power value is determined for each of the group of sub-bands of the neighboring cell, resulting in a relative power function of frequency applicable to all of the sub-bands of the neighboring cell.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the resource decision is a handover decision associated with the neighboring cell, and wherein the resource decision is based at least in part on whether the offset power value corresponds to a perceived neighbor signal strength above a handover threshold.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the data is based on measured received power for different tuning states of the matching network for the reference frequency of the radio band and for sub-band frequencies of the radio band.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the adjusting of the tuning state is based on the use case of the device, a sub-band of operation of the device, or both.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the group of power offsets are stored in a look-up table of a memory of the device, and wherein the look-up table is categorized by radio bands, sub-bands, neighbor radio bands and neighbor sub-bands.

17. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions that, responsive to being executed by a processor of a device coupled to a communication network including a serving cell and a neighboring cell, facilitate performance of operations comprising:

adjusting a tuning state of a matching network of the device;

determining a group of power offsets, each of the group of power offsets associated with a frequency in a sub-band of a group of sub-bands of the neighboring cell;

selecting a power offset from among the group of power offsets, the group of power offsets comprising data for power measurements for tuning states at frequencies relative to a reference frequency of a radio band for the serving cell;

measuring a received power of a signal at a neighboring cell frequency received by the device from the neighboring cell to determine a measured receive power value;

determining an offset power value associated with the neighboring cell frequency by adjusting the measured receive power value according to the selected power offset; and

transmitting, to a network element of the communication network, the offset power value to facilitate a resource decision for the device based on the offset power value,

wherein, by a procedure in which a tuning frequency is swept through the group of sub-bands of the neighboring cell, a distinct offset power value is determined for each of the group of sub-bands of the neighboring cell, resulting in a relative power function of frequency applicable to all of the sub-bands of the neighboring cell.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the resource decision is a handover decision associated with the neighboring cell, and wherein the resource decision is based at least in part on whether the offset power value corresponds to a perceived neighbor signal strength above a handover threshold.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise determining a use case of the device, wherein the power offset is selected based on the use case, and wherein the adjusting of the tuning state is based on the use case of the device, a sub-band of operation of the device, or both.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the resource decision is a handover decision associated with the neighboring cell.