SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC CELL SEARCHING

• US 20110136530A1
• Filed: 12/07/2009
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Deshpande, Yogen N.
• Granted Patent: US 8,554,163 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/515
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0088 Scheduling hand-off measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0277 according to available power supply, e.g. switching off when a low battery condition is detected
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Systems and methods for signal detection are dynamic cell searching are disclosed. In one embodiment, the period according to which a channel is monitored is dynamically adjusted according to a condition of an electronic device. In another embodiment, between a first and second monitoring of a channel of a first cell, the amount of time searching for an second cell is dynamically adjusted according to a charging condition of an electronic device.

Claims

1. A method of determining channel conditions at an electronic device, the method comprising:

periodically, according to a first period, determining a channel condition of at least one channel;

determining a condition of the electronic device;

selecting a second period different from the first period based at least in part on the determined condition of the electronic device; and

periodically, according to the second period, determining the channel condition of the at least one channel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the channel condition comprises at least one of a received signal power or a signal-to-noise ratio.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one channel comprises a channel of a serving cell and a channel of a neighboring cell.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising initiating service with the neighboring cell based at least in part on the determined channel conditions.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition of the electronic device is indicative of a speed of the electronic device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition of the electronic device is indicative of whether the electronic device is receiving power from an external power supply.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition is indicative of a battery charge level of the electronic device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second period is shorter than the first period.

9. An electronic device comprising:

a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate over at least one channel; and

a processor configured to

periodically, according to a first period, determine a channel condition of at least one of the channels,

determine a condition of the electronic device,

select a second period different from the first period based at least in part on the determined condition of the electronic device, and

periodically, according to the second period, determine the channel condition of the at least one of the channels.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the at least one of the channels comprises a channel of a serving cell and a channel of a neighboring cell.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to initiate service with the neighboring cell via the transceiver based at least in part on the determined channel conditions.

12. The electronic device of claim 9, further comprising a velocity sensor configured to determine a velocity of the electronic device, wherein the condition is indicative of the velocity of the electronic device.

13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the velocity sensor comprises at least one of a global positioning system (GPS), an accelerometer, or an adaptive pilot filtering module.

14. The electronic device of claim 9, further comprising a jack configured to connect the electronic device to an external power supply, wherein the condition of the electronic device is indicative of whether the electronic device is receiving power from the external power supply.

15. The electronic device of claim 9, further comprising a power interface for wirelessly receiving power via electromagnetic waves from an external power supply, wherein the charging condition of the electronic device is indicative of whether the electronic device is receiving power from the external power supply.

16. The electronic device of claim 9, further comprising a battery, wherein the condition of the electronic device is indicative of a battery charge level of the electronic device.

17. An electronic device comprising:

means for periodically, according to a first period, determining a channel condition of at least one channel;

means for determining a condition of the electronic device;

means for selecting a second period different from the first period based at least in part on the determined condition of the electronic device; and

means for periodically, according to the second period, determining the channel condition of the at least one channel.

18. A computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes a computer to perform a method of determining channel conditions at an electronic device, the method comprising:

periodically, according to a first period, determining a channel condition of at least one channel;

determining a condition of the electronic device;

selecting a second period different from the first period based at least in part on the determined condition of the electronic device; and

periodically, according to the second period, determining the channel condition of the at least one channel.

19. A method of searching for a cell, the method comprising:

determining a charging condition of an electronic device;

selecting a search time duration based at least in part on the charging condition; and

periodically, according to a predetermined period, searching for a cell for the search time duration within each period.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising periodically, according to the predetermined period, monitoring a channel of a serving cell.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the serving cell is associated with a less preferred network and the cell is associated with a more preferred network.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the charging condition of the electronic device is indicative of whether the electronic device is receiving power from an external power supply.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein selecting a search time duration comprises selecting a first time duration if the electronic device is receiving the power from the external power supply and a second time duration if the electronic device is not receiving the power from the external power supply, wherein the first time duration is greater than the second time duration.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein searching for a cell for the search time duration comprises searching for the cell for a first sub-time duration and a nonconsecutive second sub-time duration.

25. An electronic device comprising:

a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a cell; and

a processor configured to

determine a charging condition of the electronic device,

select a search time duration based at least in part on the charging condition, and

periodically, according to a predetermined period, search for the cell for the search time duration within each period.

26. The electronic device of claim 25, wherein the processor is further configured to periodically, according to the predetermined period, monitor a channel of a serving cell.

27. The electronic device of claim 26, wherein the serving cell is associated with a less preferred network and the cell is associated with a more preferred network.

28. The electronic device of claim 27, further comprising a smart card configured to store an indication of the more preferred network.

29. The electronic device of claim 25, further comprising a jack configured to connect the electronic device to an external power supply, wherein the charging condition of the electronic device is indicative of whether the electronic device is receiving power from the external power supply.

30. The electronic device of claim 29, wherein the processor is configured to select a first time duration if the electronic device is receiving the power from the external power supply and a second time duration if the electronic device is not receiving the power from the external power supply, wherein the first time duration is greater than the second time duration.

31. An electronic device comprising:

means for determining a charging condition of the electronic device;

means for selecting a search time duration based at least in part on the charging condition; and

means for periodically, according to a predetermined period, searching for a cell for the search time duration within each period.

32. The electronic device of claim 31, wherein the means for determining a charging condition comprises at least one of a processor, a battery, or a power interface;

wherein the means for selecting comprises at least one of a processor or a memory; and

wherein the means for periodically searching comprises at least one of a processor, a transceiver, or an antenna.

33. A computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes a computer to perform a method of searching for a cell, the method comprising:

determining a charging condition of an electronic device;

selecting a search time duration based at least in part on the charging condition; and

periodically, according to a predetermined period, searching for a cell for the search time duration within each period.