Cell reselection method and apparatus for preventing ping-pong in a mobile communications system

• US 7,480,519 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2006
• Issued: 01/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Van Lieshout, Gert Jan, Jeong, Kyeong-In, Lee, Kook-Heui
• Primary Examiner(s): WASHINGTON, ERIKA ALISE
• Application Number:
  US11/372,467
• Publication Number:
  US 20060258386A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,047 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 455/525
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/24 Reselection being triggered by specific parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/32 by location or mobility data, e.g. speed data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for enabling a UE to perform accurate and efficient cell reselection in a cellular mobile communications system. If reselection to the same cell is repeated, the UE releases itself from a high-speed UE state or excludes the number of reselections to the same cell from the number of cell changes counted for a duration set for deciding as to the high-speed UE state, according to a ping-pong duration threshold and a ping-pong occurrence number threshold. The UE uses a non-scaled down cell reselection time limit in a non-high-speed UE state, and a scaled-down cell reselection time limit in the high-speed UE state. Thus, the UE reselects to a non-serving cell having the highest ranking continuously for the cell reselection time limit.

Claims

1. A cell reselection method for preventing ping-pong in a mobile communications system, comprising the steps of:

acquiring first and second duration thresholds and first and second occurrence number thresholds for controlling a cell reselection procedure, the second duration threshold being shorter than the first duration threshold and the second occurrence number threshold being less than the first occurrence number threshold;

setting a user equipment (UE) to a high-speed state if the number of cell reselections of the UE to the same cell during the second duration threshold exceeds the second occurrence number threshold;

setting the UE to a non-high-speed state if the number of cell changes of the UE during the first duration threshold is equal to or less than the first occurrence number threshold;

setting the UE to the high-speed state if the number of cell reselections of the UE to the same cell during the second duration threshold is equal to or less than the second occurrence number threshold and if the number of cell changes of the UE during the first duration threshold exceeds the first occurrence number threshold;

selectively performing cell reselection according to a predetermined cell reselection time limit in the non-high-speed state in the UE; and

selectively performing cell reselection according to a scaled-down value of the predetermined cell reselection time limit in the high-speed state in the UE.

2. The cell reselection method of claim 1, wherein the step of cell reselection in the non-high-speed state comprises the step of:

reselecting to a neighbor cell sensed by the UE if the neighbor cell is kept higher in cell reselection ranking than a serving cell for the predetermined cell reselection time limit.

3. The cell reselection method of claim 1, wherein the step of cell reselection in the high-speed state comprises the step of:

reselecting to a neighbor cell sensed by the UE if the neighbor cell is kept higher in cell reselection ranking than the serving cell for the scaled-down cell reselection time limit.

4. The cell reselection method of claim 1, wherein the first and second duration thresholds and the first and second occurrence number thresholds are comprised in a system information block (SIB) transmitted from the serving cell.

5. The cell reselection method of claim 4, wherein the SIB further comprises the cell reselection time limit and a scaling factor for scaling down the cell reselection time limit.

6. A cell reselection method for preventing ping-pong in a mobile communications system, comprising the steps of:

acquiring first and second duration thresholds and first and second occurrence number thresholds for controlling a cell reselection procedure, the second duration threshold being shorter than the first duration threshold and the second occurrence number threshold being less than the first occurrence number threshold;

excluding, if the number of cell reselections of a user equipment (UE) to the same cell during the second duration threshold exceeds the second occurrence number threshold, the number of cell reselections during the second duration threshold or the number of cell reselections to the same cell during the second duration threshold from the number of cell changes during the first duration threshold;

setting the UE to a non-high-speed state if the number of cell changes during the first duration threshold is equal to or less than the first occurrence number threshold;

setting the UE to a high-speed state if the number of cell reselections to the same cell during the second duration threshold is equal to or less than the second occurrence number threshold and if the number of cell changes during the first duration threshold exceeds the first occurrence number threshold;

selectively performing cell reselection according to a predetermined cell reselection time limit in the non-high-speed state; and

selectively performing cell reselection according to a scaled-down value of the predetermined cell reselection time limit in the high-speed state.

7. The cell reselection method of claim 6, wherein the step of cell reselection in the non-high-speed state comprises the step of:

reselecting to a neighbor cell sensed by the UE if the neighbor cell is kept higher in cell reselection ranking than a serving cell for the predetermined cell reselection time limit.

8. The cell reselection method of claim 6, wherein the step of cell reselection in the high-speed state comprises the step of:

reselecting to a neighbor cell sensed by the UE if the neighbor cell is kept higher in cell reselection ranking than the serving cell for the scaled-down cell reselection time limit.

9. The cell reselection method of claim 6, wherein the first and second duration thresholds and the first and second occurrence number thresholds are comprised in a system information block (SIB) transmitted from the serving cell.

10. The cell reselection method of claim 9, wherein the SIB further comprises the cell reselection time limit and a scaling factor for scaling down the cell reselection time limit.

11. A user equipment (UE) apparatus for cell reselection to prevent ping-pong in a mobile communications system, comprising:

a parameter storage for acquiring and storing first and second duration thresholds and first and second occurrence number thresholds for controlling a cell reselection procedure, the second duration threshold being shorter than the first duration threshold and the second occurrence number threshold being less than the first occurrence number threshold;

first and second timers set to the first and second duration thresholds, respectively;

a UE state decider for;

excluding, if the number of cell reselections to the same cell exceeds the second occurrence number threshold until the second timer expires, the number of cell reselections during the second duration threshold or the number of cell reselections to the same cell during the second duration threshold from the number of cell changes during the first duration threshold;

setting the UE to a non-high-speed state if the number of cell changes is equal to or less than the first occurrence number threshold until the first timer expires; and

setting the UE to a high-speed state if the number of cell reselections to the same cell is equal to or less than the second occurrence number threshold until the second timer expires and if the number of cell changes exceeds the first occurrence number threshold until the first timer expires; and

a cell reselection controller for selectively performing cell reselection according to a predetermined cell reselection time limit in the non-high-speed state, and performing cell reselection according to a scaled-down value of the predetermined cell reselection time limit in the high-speed state.

12. The UE apparatus of claim 11, wherein the UE state decider is configured to:

set the UE to the high-speed state if the number of reselections to the same cell during the second duration threshold is equal to or less than the second occurrence number threshold and the number of cell changes during the first duration threshold exceeds the first occurrence number threshold.

13. The UE apparatus of claim 11, wherein if the UE is in the non-high-speed state, the cell reselection controller is configured to:

perform cell reselection to a neighbor cell if the neighbor cell is kept higher in cell reselection ranking than a serving cell for the predetermined cell reselection time limit.

14. The UE apparatus of claim 11, wherein if the UE is in the high-speed state, the cell reselection controller is configured to:

perform cell reselection to a neighbor cell if the neighbor cell is kept higher in cell reselection ranking than the serving cell for the scaled-down cell reselection time limit.

15. The UE apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:

a system information block (SIB) receiver for receiving an SIB from the serving cell, extracting the first and second duration thresholds and the first and second occurrence number thresholds from the SIB, and providing the first and second duration thresholds and the first and second occurrence number thresholds to the parameter storage.

16. The UE apparatus of claim 15, wherein the SIB further comprises the cell reselection time limit and a scaling factor for scaling down the cell reselection time limit.