SCANNING OF WIRELESS ENVIRONMENT IN A FEMTO-BASED HOME MACRO SECTOR

• US 20130281091A1
• Filed: 06/18/2013
• Published: 10/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brisebois, Arthur Richard, De Rosa, Giuseppe
• Granted Patent: US 9,125,117 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/435.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/32 Hierarchical cell structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 Access restriction performed under specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices

Abstract

Inter-carrier scanning is triggered in a mobile device based at least in part on location thereof. Femto access point (AP) that can serve the mobile device can determine location through cell or sector identifier that is extracted via scan(s) of macro wireless environment of the femto AP. Femto AP can rank extracted sector identifier(s) and establish home macro sector (HMS) identifier(s), and also can generate scanning requirements for idle-mode scan(s) by a mobile device that operates in a HMS and is authorized to access wireless coverage through the femto AP. Scanning requirement(s) can force periodic inter-carrier measurements of a HMS wireless environment, and establish HMS-specific radio link quality threshold(s). Wireless network can receive at least one of HMS identifier(s) and scanning requirement(s) and deliver same to mobile device(s) authorized to exploit wireless coverage through femto AP associated with the HMS ID(s) and the scanning requirement(s).

Claims

1. A femto access point device, comprising:

a memory to store instructions; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, that facilitates execution of the instructions to perform operations, comprising;

determining identifier data representing a sector related to a macro access point device within a macro wireless environment associated with the femto access point device, and

in response to the user equipment being determined to be coupled to the macro access point device, directing, to a user equipment, the identifier data to facilitate a detection of the femto access point device by the user equipment.

2. The femto access point device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

scanning a set of macro wireless radio frequencies of the macro wireless environment,

based on the scanning, determining a set of identifier data representing a set of sectors associated with a set of macro access point devices, wherein the set of identifier data comprises the identifier data, the set of sectors comprises the sector and the set of macro access point devices comprises the macro access point device.

3. The femto access point device of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise ranking the set of identifier data based on a defined ranking criterion, wherein the determining comprises selecting the identifier data from the set of identifier data based on the ranking.

4. The femto access point device of claim 3, wherein the defined ranking criterion comprises a signal strength criterion.

5. The femto access point device of claim 3, wherein the defined ranking criterion comprises a carrier frequency criterion.

6. The femto access point device of claim 2, wherein the scanning comprises scanning the set of macro wireless radio frequencies based on schedule data indicative of a defined scan schedule.

7. The femto access point device of claim 1, wherein the identifier data comprises index data that specifies a pilot signal sequence of a scrambling code associated with the sector.

8. The femto access point device of claim 1, wherein the directing comprises directing the identifier data to the user equipment in response to determining that user equipment data indicative of the user equipment is represented within an access control data structure that is employed to manage access to the femto access point device.

9. The femto access point device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to determining, based on the identifier data, that the user equipment is coupled to the macro access point device, instructing the user equipment to initiate an inter-carrier frequency scan.

10. The femto access point device of claim 8, wherein the instructing comprises instructing the user equipment to reinitiate the inter-carrier frequency scan based on a configured time period.

11. A method, comprising:

selecting, by a femto access point device comprising a processor, a macro access point device from a set of macro access points deployed within a macro wireless environment of the femto access point device; and

in response to the user equipment being determined to be coupled to the macro access point device, instructing, by the femto access point device, a user equipment to initiate an inter-carrier frequency scan to facilitate a detection of the femto access point device by the user equipment.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the selecting comprises selecting the macro access point device based on determining that a rank assigned to the macro access point device satisfies a defined ranking criterion.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the instructing comprises directing, to the user equipment, identifier data associated with the macro access point device.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the instructing comprises directing, to the user equipment, scanning data indicative of a scanning behavior requirement associated with an idle-mode of operation of the user equipment.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the instructing comprises, in response to the user equipment being determined to be coupled to the macro access point device, instructing the user equipment to modify a radio link quality criterion associated with signal quality of a signal received by the user equipment, wherein the radio link quality criterion is employed to trigger the inter-carrier frequency scan.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the selecting comprises selecting the macro access point device based on a scan for a set of specified system broadcast messages conveyed via a set of respective frequencies bands.

17. A computer readable storage device comprising instructions that, in response to execution cause a system comprising a processor to perform operations, comprising:

based on a scan of a radio environment of a femto access point device, determining first identifier data indicative of a first sector associated with a first macro access point device within the radio environment; and

in response to determining that the first identifier data does not match second identifier data represented in an access control data structure associated with the femto access point device, facilitating a transmission of the first identifier data to a user equipment that is authorized to access the femto access point device,

wherein the second identifier data is indicative of a second sector associated with a second macro access point device within the radio environment.

18. The computer readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the transmission of the first identifier data facilitates a detection of the femto access point device by the user equipment subsequent to the user equipment being determined to be coupled to the first macro access point device.

19. The computer readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise in response to determining that the first identifier data does not match the second identifier data, directing, to the user equipment, scan data indicative of a scanning behavior requirement associated with an idle-mode of operation of the user equipment.

20. The computer readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise storing the first identifier data in the access control data structure.