Method of controlling cell selection for a wireless communication system and related device

• US 8,666,410 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2008
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Original Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Inventors: Wu, Chih-Hsiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Gonzalez, Amancio
• Application Number:
  US12/234,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20100075670A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,989 Days
• Field of Search: 455/518, 455/519, 455/525, 455/434, 455/435.2, 370/340
• US Class Current: 455/435.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 11/0093 Neighbour cell search
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0061 of neighbour cell information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 Access restriction performed under specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point

Abstract

A method of controlling CSG, known as closed subscriber group, cell selection for a wireless communication system is provided. The wireless communication system includes a network and a user equipment including a whitelist capable of providing a list of accessible CSG cells. The method includes updating the whitelist when the user equipment subscribes to a CSG cell that is not included in the whitelist or does not subscribe to a CSG cell in the whitelist.

Claims

1. A method of controlling closed subscriber group, hereinafter called CSG, cell selection for a user equipment, hereinafter called UE, used in a wireless communication system comprising a network, the UE comprising a whitelist capable of providing a list of accessible CSG cells, the method comprising:

updating the whitelist when the UE subscribes to a CSG cell that is not included in the whitelist or does not subscribe to a CSG cell in the whitelist, wherein updating the whitelist comprises;

receiving a first message from the network; and

adding the CSG cell not included in the whitelist to the whitelist according to the first message when the UE subscribes to the CSG cell not included in the whitelist, or removing the CSG cell from the whitelist according to the first message when the UE does not subscribe to the CSG cell in the whitelist.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the CSG cell is manually added to the whitelist or manually removed from the whitelist.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message is an ATTACH ACCEPT message comprising an up-to-date whitelist comprising the CSG cell that is not included in the whitelist, and the ATTACH ACCEPT message is received through an attach procedure initiated by the UE in response to a re-attach request sent from the network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message is a short message service (SMS) message, CM SERVICE REJECT message, a SERVICE REJECT message, a ATTACH REJECT message, a TRACKING AREA UPDATE REJECT message, a ROUTING AREA UPDATE REJECT message or a LOCATION UPDATING REJECT message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message is an ATTACH ACCEPT message comprising an up-to-date whitelist excluding the CSG cell to be removed, and the ATTACH ACCEPT message is received through an attach procedure initiated by the UE in response to a re-attach request sent from the network.

6. A method of controlling CSG (Closed Subscriber Group) cell selection for a user equipment of a wireless communication system, the user equipment (UE) comprising a whitelist capable of providing a list of accessible CSG cells, the method comprising:

performing CSG cell searching when a new CSG cell is added to the whitelist, such that the UE is able to reselect the new CSG cell even though none of cell reselection criteria for the new CSG cell measurement is met or none of measurement criteria for the new CSG cell measurement is met.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising stopping the CSG cell searching when the CSG cell searching is done once and the CSG cell cannot be found.

8. A method of controlling CSG (closed subscriber group) cell selection for a user equipment, hereinafter called UE, used in a wireless communication system with a network, the UE comprising a whitelist capable of providing a list of accessible CSG cells, the method comprising:

receiving a paging message from the network when the UE camps on a CSG cell in the whitelist and does not subscribe to the CSG cell;

initiating a service request procedure when the paging message is received;

through the service request procedure, receiving a SERVICE REJECT message comprising a reject cause value from the network; and

searching a cell other than the CSG cell when the reject cause value of the SERVICE REJECT message is received.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the CSG cell belongs to a first defined area, and the UE searching the cell other than the CSG cell when the reject cause value of the SERVICE REJECT message is received comprises:

searching the cell in a second defined area.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

initiating an area update procedure when the cell in the second defined area is searched and found;

through the area update procedure, receiving a first message from the network, the first message comprises an up-to-date whitelist excluding the CSG cell in the whitelist; and

removing the CSG cell from the whitelist according to the up-to-date whitelist.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first defined area is a tracking area, a routing area or a location area, the second defined area is a tracking area, a routing area or a location area, the area update procedure is a tracking area update procedure, a location area update procedure or a routing area update procedure, and the first message is a TRACKING AREA UPDATE ACCEPT message, a LOCATION UPDATING ACCEPT message, or a ROUTING AREA UPDATE ACCEPT message.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the second defined area is a location area of a GSM/EDEG radio access network or a UMTS radio access network in a same public land mobile network as the first defined area, the area update procedure is a location area update procedure or a routing area update procedure, and the first message is a LOCATION UPDATE ACCEPT message or a ROUTING AREA UPDATE ACCEPT message.

13. A method of controlling closed subscriber group, CSG, cell selection for a network of a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

sending a paging message to a user equipment, UE, of the wireless communication system, the UE comprising a whitelist capable of providing a list of accessible CSG cells, wherein the UE camps on a CSG cell in the whitelist and does not subscribe to this CSG cell; and

sending a SERVICE REJECT message including a reject cause value to the UE when UE initiates a SERVICE REQUEST procedure in response to the paging message, such that the UE has to search a cell other than the currently camped CSG cell when the reject cause value of the SERVICE REJECT message is received by the UE.