Wireless femtocell setup methods and apparatus
First Claim
1. A method of operating a cell within a wireless network, said cell comprising a network connection with a core of said network, said method comprising:
- scanning said network resources to identify at least a portion of unoccupied network resources;
requesting at least a portion of said unoccupied network resources from said core of said network; and
occupying said at least a portion of unoccupied network resources after being granted said unoccupied resources by said core.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus that enable a wireless femtocell to operate in its designated frequency so as to minimize interference between the wireless femtocell and neighboring base stations (and other femtocells or nomadic cells). In one exemplary embodiment, the femtocell cell comprises a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) femtocell which has the ability to scan the air interface in a manner similar to that associated with a UE in order to identify unallocated resources within the wireless network, and subsequently request access for the unallocated resources. Business methods useful in combination with the aforementioned methods and apparatus are also disclosed.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of operating a cell within a wireless network, said cell comprising a network connection with a core of said network, said method comprising:
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scanning said network resources to identify at least a portion of unoccupied network resources; requesting at least a portion of said unoccupied network resources from said core of said network; and occupying said at least a portion of unoccupied network resources after being granted said unoccupied resources by said core. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A femtocell capable of operating within a wireless network, said femtocell comprising:
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a processing device coupled to a memory; a wireless subsystem; a network interface subsystem in communication with a core portion of said wireless network; and a plurality of executable instructions resident within said memory that, when executed by said processing device, perform the method comprising; initiating a scan via said wireless subsystem to determine wireless network resources; identifying at least a portion of unoccupied wireless network resources from said core portion via said network interface subsystem; receiving a grant message from said core portion granting access to said unoccupied resources; and signaling said wireless subsystem to occupy at least a portion of said un-occupied wireless network resources. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A femtocell capable of operating within a wireless network, the femtocell comprising:
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a processing device in data communication with a memory; a wireless subsystem; a network interface subsystem capable of communication with a core portion of the wireless network; and a plurality of executable instructions resident within the memory that, when executed by the processing device; initiate a scan via the wireless subsystem to determine wireless network resources; identify at least a portion of unoccupied wireless network resources from the core portion via the network interface subsystem; receive a grant message granting access to the unoccupied resources; and signal the wireless subsystem to occupy at least a portion of the un-occupied wireless network resources. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of operating a network entity, the network entity being capable of directly or indirectly controlling one or more base stations and one or more femtocells within a wireless network, the method comprising:
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allocating one or more network resources from a plurality of network resources to the one or more base stations; receiving a request from at least one of the one or more femtocells, the request seeking authorization to utilize at least a subset of the plurality of network resources that have not been allocated, the subset determined at least in part by a scan executed by the at least one of the one or more femtocells; and granting the request, the grant including a selected portion of the subset. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of operating a UMTS femtocell within a wireless network, the UMTS femtocell comprising a wired network connection capable of communication with a core of the network, the method comprising:
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scanning the network resources to identify at least a portion of unoccupied network resources; requesting at least a portion of the unoccupied network resources from the core of the network; and occupying the at least a portion of unoccupied network resources after being granted the unoccupied resources by the core.
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30. A UMTS femtocell capable of operating within a wireless network, the UMTS femtocell comprising:
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a processing device in data communication with a memory; a wireless subsystem comprising a cellular air interface; a wired network interface subsystem configured for communication with a core portion of the wireless network; and a plurality of executable instructions resident within the memory that, when executed by the processing device; initiate a scan via the wireless subsystem to determine wireless network resources; obtain identification at least a portion of unoccupied wireless network resources from the core portion via the network interface subsystem; receive a grant message granting access to the unoccupied resources; and signal the wireless subsystem to occupy at least a portion of the un-occupied wireless network resources.
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Specification