Intelligent paging-channel scanning based on location relative to zone of last registration
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- (a) at a mobile station that is operating in a radio access network, determining a location of the mobile station in relation to a zone of last registration, wherein the mobile station last registered with the radio access network in the zone of last registration;
(b) the mobile station using the location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration as a basis for determining a scan period to wait between scans of a paging channel for a page from the radio access network; and
(c) the mobile station periodically scanning the paging channel according to the determined scan period;
wherein the radio access network is configured to;
(a) initially page the mobile station in the zone of last registration, (b) then if unsuccessful, page the mobile station in both the zone of last registration and a first expanded paging area, and (c) then if again unsuccessful, page the mobile station in the zone of last registration, the first expanded paging area, and a second expanded paging area;
wherein determining the location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration comprises determining whether the mobile station is located in either;
(a) the zone of last registration, (b) the first expanded paging area, or (c) the second expanded paging area; and
wherein using the location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration as a basis for determining the scan period comprises;
if the mobile station is located in the zone of last registration, then determining the scan period to be a duration of three paging-channel slot cycles;
if the mobile station is located in the first expanded paging area, then determining the scan period to be a duration of two paging-channel slot cycles; and
if the mobile station is located in the second expanded paging area, then determining the scan period to be a duration of one paging-channel slot cycle.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Exemplary methods and systems are disclosed herein that may, among other benefits, help a mobile station to conserve power by intelligently determining how often to scan for incoming pages. An exemplary method may be carried out by a mobile station that has most-recently registered with a radio access network in a zone of last registration, and involves the mobile station (a) determining a location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration, (b) using the location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration as a basis for determining a scan period to wait between scans of the paging channel; and (c) periodically scanning the paging channel according to the determined scan period. Furthermore, an exemplary method may be carried out in order to conserve battery power when a mobile station determines that its battery power is low.
-
Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A method comprising:
-
(a) at a mobile station that is operating in a radio access network, determining a location of the mobile station in relation to a zone of last registration, wherein the mobile station last registered with the radio access network in the zone of last registration; (b) the mobile station using the location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration as a basis for determining a scan period to wait between scans of a paging channel for a page from the radio access network; and (c) the mobile station periodically scanning the paging channel according to the determined scan period; wherein the radio access network is configured to;
(a) initially page the mobile station in the zone of last registration, (b) then if unsuccessful, page the mobile station in both the zone of last registration and a first expanded paging area, and (c) then if again unsuccessful, page the mobile station in the zone of last registration, the first expanded paging area, and a second expanded paging area;wherein determining the location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration comprises determining whether the mobile station is located in either;
(a) the zone of last registration, (b) the first expanded paging area, or (c) the second expanded paging area; andwherein using the location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration as a basis for determining the scan period comprises; if the mobile station is located in the zone of last registration, then determining the scan period to be a duration of three paging-channel slot cycles; if the mobile station is located in the first expanded paging area, then determining the scan period to be a duration of two paging-channel slot cycles; and if the mobile station is located in the second expanded paging area, then determining the scan period to be a duration of one paging-channel slot cycle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method comprising:
-
a mobile station determining a battery-power level of the mobile station, wherein the mobile station has most-recently registered with a radio access network in a zone of last registration; the mobile station determining whether the determined battery-power level is below a threshold level; if the determined battery-power level is above the threshold level, then the mobile station selecting a first scanning process; if the determined battery-power level is below the threshold level, then the mobile station selecting a second scanning process, wherein the second scanning process varies a period between scans of a paging channel based at least in part on a location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration; and scanning the paging channel according to the selected scanning process; wherein the mobile station is assigned a slot in each paging-channel slot cycle in which the mobile station can scan the paging channel for a page from the radio access network, wherein the radio access network is configured to;
(a) initially page the mobile station in the zone of last registration, (b) then if unsuccessful, page the mobile station in a first expanded paging area, and (c) then if again unsuccessful, page the mobile station in a second expanded paging area andwherein the second scanning process comprises; the mobile station determining whether the mobile station is located in either;
(a) the zone of last registration, (b) the first expanded paging area, or (c) the second expanded paging areaif the mobile station is located in the zone of last registration, then the mobile station scanning the paging channel in the mobile station'"'"'s assigned slot in every third paging-channel slot cycle; if the mobile station is located in the first expanded paging area, then the mobile station scanning the paging channel in the mobile station'"'"'s assigned slot in every second paging-channel slot cycle; and if the mobile station is located in the second expanded paging area, then the mobile station scanning the paging channel in the mobile station'"'"'s assigned slot in every paging-channel slot cycle. - View Dependent Claims (12)
-
-
13. A mobile-station system comprising:
-
a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium; and program instructions stored on the non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to; (a) determine a location of the mobile station in relation to a zone of last registration, wherein the mobile station last registered with the radio access network in the zone of last registration; (b) use the location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration as a basis to determine a scan period to wait between scans of a paging channel for a page from the radio access network; and (c) cause the mobile station to periodically scan the paging channel according to the determined scan period; wherein the radio access network is configured to;
(a) initially page the mobile station in the zone of last registration, (b) then if unsuccessful, page the mobile station in both the zone of last registration and a first expanded paging area, and (c) then if again unsuccessful, page the mobile station in the zone of last registration, the first expanded paging area, and a second expanded paging area;wherein the program instructions stored on the non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to determine the location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration comprise program instructions stored on the non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to determine whether the mobile station is located in either;
(a) the zone of last registration, (b) the first expanded paging area, or (c) the second expanded paging area; andwherein the program instructions stored on the non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to use the location of the mobile station in relation to the zone of last registration as a basis to determine the scan period comprise program instructions stored on the non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to; if the mobile station is located in the zone of last registration, then determine the scan period to be a duration of three paging-channel slot cycles; if the mobile station is located in the first expanded paging area, then determine the scan period to be a duration of two paging-channel slot cycles; and if the mobile station is located in the second expanded paging area, then determine the scan period to be a duration of one paging-channel slot cycle. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
Specification