ENHANCED IDLE HANDOFF TO SUPPORT FEMTO CELLS
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- measuring a signal quality of a pilot received from a base station;
identifying whether the base station from which the pilot is received is a femto cell base station or a macro cell base station;
initiating a linger timer when the signal quality of the pilot exceeds an entry threshold and the base station is identified as a femto cell base station; and
performing idle handoff to the base station upon expiration of the linger timer as a function of at least one subsequent measurement of signal quality of the pilot received from the base station.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate performing idle handoff in a wireless communication environment. Signal quality of a pilot received from a base station can be measured, and a type (e.g., femto, macro, . . . ) of the base station from which the pilot is received can be identified. According to an example, when the type of the base station is identified as being a femto cell base station, the base station can be recognized as being either preferred or non-preferred. Further, a linger timer can be initiated when the signal quality of the pilot exceeds an entry threshold and the base station is identified as a femto cell base station. Moreover, idle handoff to the base station can be performed upon expiration of the linger timer as a function of at least one subsequent measurement of signal quality of the pilot received from the base station.
195 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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measuring a signal quality of a pilot received from a base station; identifying whether the base station from which the pilot is received is a femto cell base station or a macro cell base station; initiating a linger timer when the signal quality of the pilot exceeds an entry threshold and the base station is identified as a femto cell base station; and performing idle handoff to the base station upon expiration of the linger timer as a function of at least one subsequent measurement of signal quality of the pilot received from the base station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:
at least one processor configured to; monitor a signal quality of a pilot received from a base station; identifying a type of the base station from which the pilot is received; recognize whether the base station is preferred or non-preferred when the type of the base station is identified as a femto cell base station; start a linger timer when the signal quality of the pilot is above an entry threshold and the type of the base station is identified as a femto cell base station; and effectuate idle handoff to the base station upon expiration of the linger timer as a function of at least one subsequent measurement of signal quality of the pilot received from the base station and whether the base station is recognized as preferred or non-preferred. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An apparatus, comprising:
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means for measuring a signal quality of a pilot obtained from a base station; means for recognizing a type of the base station from which the pilot is obtained; means for starting a linger timer when the signal quality of the pilot is above an entry threshold and the base station is recognized as a femto cell base station; and means for effectuating idle handoff to the base station upon expiration of the linger timer based upon one or more subsequent measurements of signal quality of the pilot obtained from the base station. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A computer program product, comprising:
a computer-readable medium comprising; code for causing at least one computer to measure a signal quality of a pilot received from a base station; code for causing at least one computer to identify whether the base station from which the pilot is received is a femto cell base station or a macro cell base station; code for causing at least one computer to initiate a linger timer when the signal quality of the pilot exceeds an entry threshold and the base station is identified as a femto cell base station; and code for causing at least one computer to perform idle handoff to the base station upon expiration of the linger timer as a function of at least one subsequent measurement of signal quality of the pilot received from the base station. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. An apparatus, comprising:
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a pilot strength measurement component that evaluates signal quality of each pilot received from one or more base stations; a type identification component that detects whether each received pilot corresponds to a femto cell base station or a macro cell base station; a timer component that initiates a linger timer for a particular pilot recognized as corresponding to a femto cell base station with a signal quality detected by pilot strength measurement component above an entry threshold; and a handover selection component that evaluates whether to perform an idle handover to the femto cell base station at a time of expiration of the linger timer. - View Dependent Claims (42)
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Specification