System and method of measuring heterogeneous network mobile communication apparatus and recording medium thereof

• US 20080144580A1
• Filed: 08/29/2007
• Published: 06/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Institute For Information Industry
• Original Assignee: Institute For Information Industry
• Inventors: Su, Chih-Wei, Wei, Wen-Hsin
• Granted Patent: US 8,059,604 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/332
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0245 according to signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A signal measurement method for a mobile communication apparatus supporting multiple transmission interfaces to perform communication transmission in a heterogeneous network environment, system and a recording medium thereof. Changes in the signal strength of an active network transmission interface are employed to adjust signal measurement periods of other non-active network transmission interfaces, thereby reducing the signal measurement frequency of these non-active network transmission interfaces. Moreover, as for the situation that a specific transmission interface periodically reports the signal measurement result to a remote network server, the signal measurement time during the report can also be reduced. By solving the power consumption problem caused by frequently activating the signal measurement of the mobile communication apparatus, the efficacies of saving power and improving the standby time and talk time can be achieved.

Claims

1. A method of measuring a heterogeneous network mobile communication apparatus, for a mobile communication apparatus supporting multiple transmission interfaces for communication transmission, comprising:

using a first transmission interface, for continuously and periodically measuring a signal by a predetermined first period;

using a signal obtained from the first transmission interface to calculate a signal strength, and determining whether the signal strength is changed or not; and

selectively performing the following steps, according to the determination result of the signal strength;

if the change of the signal strength is lower than a threshold, resetting the period on a non-active second network transmission, whose signal coverage is larger than the first transmission interface, from a predetermined second period to a longer third period;

or

if the change of the signal strength is larger than the threshold, periodically measuring the signal according to the predetermined first period of the first transmission interface and periodically measuring the signal according to the predetermined second period of the second transmission interface respectively.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the threshold is determined by the hardware configuration and the circuit design of the mobile communication apparatus.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises periodically measuring the signal according to the predetermined first period of the first transmission interface and the predetermined second period of the second transmission interface respectively, if the signal strength is lower than a predetermined strength threshold value.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises selectively performing the following steps, if the second transmission interface determines that the third period exists:

keeping a previous signal measurement result, if the third period is not achieved; and

re-measuring the signal and updating the signal measurement result, if the third period is achieved.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the method further comprises reporting the signal measurement result of the first transmission interface or the second transmission interface to a network server in the corresponding communication transmission network.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the method further comprises of measuring the signal strength and report the signal measurement result to the network server according the predetermined second period.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first transmission interface refers to IP-based wireless network, and the second transmission interface refers to cellular network in an UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) network.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first transmission interface and the second transmission interface are respectively selected from the transmission interface group of a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), and a wireless personal area network (WPAN).

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal strength is obtained by calculating a RSSI (Receive Signal Strength Indication) value in GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) system and WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) system, or a position measurement information in WCDMA system.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal coverage refers to the maximum signal covering region provided by a signal access point in the communication transmission network.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the relationship between the second period and the third period is expressed as:

the third period=N*the second period, wherein 1<

N<

=∞

;

wherein N is any positive number and is adjustable according to the duration when the signal strength is lower than a setting threshold.

20. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal strength is obtained by calculating a RSSI (Receive Signal Strength Indication) value in GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) system and WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) system, or a position measurement information in WCDMA system.

12. A recording medium of the heterogeneous network mobile communication apparatus measurement, wherein computer-readable computer program codes are recorded for performing the following steps on a mobile communication apparatus supporting multiple transmission interfaces for communication transmission, comprising:

using a first transmission interface, for continuously and periodically measuring a signal by a predetermined first period;

using at signal obtained from the first transmission interface to calculate a signal strength, and determining whether the signal strength is changed or not; and

selectively performing the following steps, according to the determination result of the signal strength;

if the change of the signal strength is lower than a threshold, resetting the period on a non-active second network transmission, whose signal coverage is larger than the first transmission interface, from a predetermined second period to a longer third period;

or

if the change of the signal strength is larger than the threshold, periodically measuring the signal according to the predetermined first period of the first transmission interface and periodically measuring the signal according to the predetermined second period of the second transmission interface respectively.

13. The recording medium as claimed in claim 12, wherein the threshold is determined by the hardware configuration and the circuit design of the mobile communication apparatus.

14. The recording medium as claimed in claim 12, wherein if the signal strength is lower than a predetermined strength threshold value, the signal is periodically measured according to the predetermined first period of the first transmission interface and the predetermined second period of the second transmission interface respectively.

15. The recording medium as claimed in claim 12, wherein if the second transmission interface determines that the third period exists, the following steps are selectively performed:

keeping a previous signal measurement result, if the third period is not achieved; and

re-measuring the signal and updating the signal measurement result, if the third period is achieved.

16. The recording medium as claimed in claim 15, further comprising reporting the signal measurement result of the first transmission interface or the second transmission interface to a network server in the corresponding communication transmission network.

17. The recording medium as claimed in claim 16, the method further comprises of measuring the signal strength and report the signal measurement result to the network server according the predetermined second period.

18. The recording medium as claimed in claim 12, wherein the first transmission interface refers to IP-based wireless network, and the second transmission interface refers to cellular network.

19. The recording medium as claimed in claim 12, wherein the first transmission interface and the second transmission interface are respectively selected from the transmission interface group of a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), and a wireless personal area network (WPAN).

21. The recording medium as claimed in claim 12, wherein the signal coverage refers to the maximum signal covering region provided by a signal access point in the communication transmission network.

22. The recording medium as claimed in claim 12, wherein the relationship between the second period and the third period is expressed as:

the third period=N*the second period, wherein 1<

N<

=∞

;

wherein N is any positive number and is adjustable according to the duration when the signal strength is lower than a setting threshold.

23. A system of measuring a heterogeneous network mobile communication apparatus, for a mobile communication apparatus supporting multiple transmission interfaces for communication transmission, wherein the mobile communication apparatus uses a first transmission interface for continuously and periodically measuring a signal by a predetermined first period, comprising:

a signal strength counting unit for using a signal obtained from the first transmission interface to calculate a signal strength, and determining whether the signal strength is changed or not; and

a signal measurement period adjusting unit for selectively performing the signal measurement period adjusting, according to the determination result of the signal strength;

wherein if the change of the signal strength is lower than a threshold, resetting the period on a non-active second network transmission, whose signal coverage is larger than the first transmission interface, from a predetermined second period to a longer third period;

wherein if the change of the signal strength is larger than the threshold, periodically measuring the signal according to the predetermined first period of the first transmission interface and periodically measuring the signal according to the predetermined second period of the second transmission interface respectively.

24. The system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the threshold is determined by the hardware configuration and the circuit design of the mobile communication apparatus.

25. The system as claimed in claim 23, wherein further comprises periodically measuring the signal according to the predetermined first period of the first transmission interface and the predetermined second period of the second transmission interface respectively, if the signal strength is lower than a predetermined strength threshold value.

26. The system as claimed in claim 23, wherein further comprises selectively performing the following procedures, if the second transmission interface determines that the third period exists:

keeping a previous signal measurement result, if the third period is not achieved; and

re-measuring the signal and updating the signal measurement result, if the third period is achieved.

27. The system as claimed in claim 26, wherein further comprises reporting the signal measurement result of the first transmission interface or the second transmission interface to a network server in the corresponding communication transmission network.

28. The system as claimed in claim 27, further comprises of measuring the signal strength and report the signal measurement result to the network server according the predetermined second period.

29. The system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the first transmission interface refers to IP-based wireless network, and the second transmission interface refers to cellular network.

30. The system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the first transmission interface and the second transmission interface are respectively selected from the transmission interface group of a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), and a wireless personal area network (WPAN).

31. The system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the signal strength is obtained by calculating a RSSI (Receive Signal Strength Indication) value in GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) system and WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) system, or a position measurement information in WCDMA system.

32. The system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the signal coverage refers to the maximum signal covering region provided by a signal access point in the communication transmission network.

33. The system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the relationship between the second period and the third period is expressed as:

the third period=N*the second period, wherein 1<

N<

=∞

;

wherein N is any positive number and is adjustable according to the duration when the signal strength is lower than a setting threshold.