Mobile radio handover initiation determination
DCFirst Claim
1. A handover determination system for a mobile radio network including a plurality of cells, each cell having associated with it a base station for supporting communications with a mobile unit, the system comprising:
- means for monitoring a quality of a signal respectively transmitted between each of a plurality of candidate base stations and the mobile unit;
means for producing an indication of the rise or fall in the said quality as a function of time; and
control means for initiating a handover from a serving base station, supporting communications with the mobile unit, to another base station, the initiation being based on the rise/fall as a function of time in the said quality of the signals associated with the plurality of candidate base stations being monitored;
said mobile unit including the means for monitoring and the means for producing, the mobile unit further comprising signalling means for addressing the serving base station with an indication of the need for a handover to be initiated; and
said signalling means being arranged to address the serving base station with an indication of the level of priority of a handover and/or with an indication of the possibility of a handover contingent upon the proceeding results of monitoring the quality of the transmitted signal.
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Abstract
An intelligent mobile radio unit is served by one of a network of macrocells and microcells. The unit is arranged to monitor, for example, the signal strength or bit error ratio of signals transmitted from each of a set of candidate base stations of cells surrounding the serving base based on the assessment of a running average of the rise/fall in signal quality, the unit is arranged to determine from a look-up table of stored templates of conditions for handover whether a handover between base stations and bewtween macro- and microcells is
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A handover determination system for a mobile radio network including a plurality of cells, each cell having associated with it a base station for supporting communications with a mobile unit, the system comprising:
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means for monitoring a quality of a signal respectively transmitted between each of a plurality of candidate base stations and the mobile unit; means for producing an indication of the rise or fall in the said quality as a function of time; and control means for initiating a handover from a serving base station, supporting communications with the mobile unit, to another base station, the initiation being based on the rise/fall as a function of time in the said quality of the signals associated with the plurality of candidate base stations being monitored; said mobile unit including the means for monitoring and the means for producing, the mobile unit further comprising signalling means for addressing the serving base station with an indication of the need for a handover to be initiated; and said signalling means being arranged to address the serving base station with an indication of the level of priority of a handover and/or with an indication of the possibility of a handover contingent upon the proceeding results of monitoring the quality of the transmitted signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A handover determination system for a mobile radio network including a plurality of cells, each cell having associated with it a base station for supporting communications with a mobile unit, the system comprising:
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means for monitoring a quality of a signal respectively transmitted between each of a plurality of candidate base stations and the mobile unit; means for producing an indication of the rise or fall in the said quality as a function of time; and control means for initiating a handover from a serving base station, supporting communications with the mobile unit, to another base station, the initiation being based on the rise/fall as a function of time in the said quality of the signals associated with the plurality of candidate base stations being monitored; said mobile unit including the means for monitoring and the means for producing, the mobile unit further comprising signalling means for addressing the serving base station with an indication of the need for a handover to be initiated; and means storing a set of templates of changes in signal quality and/or rates thereof as a function of time, the control means being arranged to initiate a handover based at least partially on the recognition of a substantial match between the incoming signal quality as a function of time and a template.
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8. A handover determination method for a mobile radio network including a plurality of cells, each cell having associated with it a base station for supporting communications with a mobile unit, the method comprising:
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monitoring a quality of a signal as a function of time respectively transmitted between each of a plurality of candidate base stations and the mobile unit; producing an indication of the rise or fall as a function of time in the said quality; and initiating a handover from a serving base station, supporting communication with the mobile unit, to another base station, the initiation being based on the rise/fall as a function of time in the said quality of the signal associated with the plurality of candidate base stations being monitored. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A handover determination method for a mobile radio network including a plurality of cells, each cell having associated with it a base station for supporting communications with a mobile unit, the method comprising:
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monitoring a quality of a signal as a function of time respectively transmitted between each of a plurality of candidate base stations and the mobile unit; producing an indication of the rise or fall as a function of time in the said quality; and initiating a handover from a serving base station, supporting communication with the mobile unit, to another base station, the initiation being based on the rise/fall as a function of time in the said quality of the signal associated with the plurality of candidate base stations being monitored; said monitoring of the said quality and producing the said indication being conducted by the mobile unit, the method further including addressing the serving base station from the mobile unit with an indication of the need for a handover to be initiated; and wherein said mobile unit addresses the base station with an indication of the level of priority of a handover and/or with an indication of the possibility of a handover contingent upon proceeding results of monitoring the quality of the transmitted signal.
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15. A handover determination method for a mobile radio network including a plurality of cells, each cell having associated with it a base station for supporting communications with a mobile unit, the method comprising:
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monitoring a quality of a signal as a function of time respectively transmitted between each of a plurality of candidate base stations and the mobile unit; producing an indication of the rise or fall as a function of time in the said quality; and initiating a handover from a serving base station, supporting communication with the mobile unit, to another base station, the initiation being based on the rise/fall as a function of time in the said quality of the signal associated with the plurality of candidate base stations being monitored; said monitoring of the said quality and producing the said indication being conducted by the mobile unit, the method further including addressing the serving base station from the mobile unit with an indication of the need for a handover to be initiated; and recognising a set of unique template conditions for joining, leaving and/or staying within a microcell based on interpretation of the rise/fall as a function of time in signal quality, the initiation of a handover being at least partially determined on the basis of a substantial match between an incoming signal quality as a function of time and a template.
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16. A mobile unit for a mobile radio system, the mobile unit comprising:
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means for receiving a plurality of signals each respectively transmitted by one of a set of candidate base stations; means for monitoring the quality of the signal; means for producing an indication of the rise or fall in the said quality as a function of time; and signalling means for transmitting to a serving base station, supporting communication with the mobile unit, a signal indicating the need for a handover to a candidate base station on the basis of the rise/fall as a function of time in the said quality of the signals associated with the plurality of candidate base stations being monitored. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. A mobile unit for a mobile radio system, the mobile unit comprising:
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means for receiving a plurality of signals each respectively transmitted by one of a set of candidate base stations; means for monitoring the quality of the signal; means for producing an indication of the rise or fall in the said quality as a function of time; and signalling means for transmitting to a serving base station, supporting communication with the mobile unit, a signal indicating the need for a handover to a candidate base station on the basis of the rise/fall as a function of time in the said quality of the signals associated with the plurality of candidate base stations being monitored; and wherein said signalling means are arranged to address the base station with an indication of the level of priority of a handover and/or with an indication of the level of priority of a handover contingent upon proceeding results of monitoring the quality of the transmitted signal.
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20. A mobile unit for a mobile radio system, the mobile unit comprising:
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means for receiving a plurality of signals each respectively transmitted by one of a set of candidate base stations; means for monitoring the quality of the signal; means for producing an indication of the rise or fall in the said quality as a function of time; and signalling means for transmitting to a serving base station, supporting communication with the mobile unit, a signal indicating the need for a handover to a candidate base station on the basis of the rise/fall as a function of time in the said quality of the signals associated with the plurality of candidate base stations being monitored; and means storing a set of templates of changes in signal quality and/or rates thereof as a function of time, the signalling means being at least partially responsive to a substantial match of a template with an incoming signal as a function of time for transmitting to the serving base station the indication of the need for a handover.
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Specification