Apparatus and method for management of radio resource control connections

• US 8,971,893 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2012
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.), AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Li, Yunpeng, Chen, Wenge, Jun, Jerry
• Primary Examiner(s): AJIBADE AKONAI, OLUMIDE
• Application Number:
  US13/689,304
• Publication Number:
  US 20140148169A1
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 455/435.1, 455/435.2, 455436-444, 455/422.1, 455/67.11, 455/67.14, 455/445, 455/453, 455/452.2, 455/525, 455/450, 455/417, 370328-338, 370/395.21
• US Class Current: 455/437
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0061 of neighbour cell information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 Access restriction performed under specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/06 based on traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/18 Management of setup rejection or failure

Abstract

A system that incorporates the subject disclosure may include, for example, accessing configuration information, monitoring for radio resource control connection requests being transmitted from the wireless communication device to a first server of a first cell of a network, determining whether failed radio resource control connection requests satisfy a cell barring threshold based on the monitoring and based on the configuration information, and responsive to a determination that the cell barring threshold has been satisfied, causing the wireless communication device to perform cell selection for a second cell of the network and to perform cell barring of the first cell. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage device comprising computer instructions, which, responsive to being executed by a processor of a wireless communication device, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving configuration information over a network, wherein the configuration information includes threshold parameters for a maximum number of connection requests and a maximum time period for transmitting the connection requests, and wherein the configuration information includes a cell barring time period for performing cell barring;

monitoring for radio resource control connection requests being transmitted from the wireless communication device to a first server of a first cell of the network;

determining a number of failed radio resource control connection requests based on the monitoring;

determining a time of a first failed radio resource control connection request of the failed radio resource control connection requests based on the monitoring;

determining whether the number of failed radio resource control connection requests and the time of the first failed radio resource control connection request satisfy a cell barring threshold based on the threshold parameters; and

responsive to a determination that the cell barring threshold has been satisfied, causing the wireless communication device to perform cell selection for a second cell of the network and to perform the cell barring of the first cell.

2. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

responsive to expiration of the cell barring time period, transmitting an additional radio resource control connection request from the wireless communication device to the first server of the first cell of the network.

3. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the configuration information over the network is from a third server of a third cell of the network, wherein the wireless communication device establishes a radio resource control connection with the third cell prior to transmitting the radio resource control connection requests to the first server of the first cell of the network.

4. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the monitoring is performed during a radio resource control idle state of the wireless communication device, wherein the processor is a based band processor of the wireless communication device, wherein the radio resource control connection requests are generated by an applications processor of the wireless communication device, wherein the cell selection is performed without switching radio access technologies, and wherein the network comprises an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network.

5. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the configuration information is not received according to network load balancing.

6. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the cell selection comprises:

scanning radio frequency channels in evolved universal terrestrial radio access frequency bands; and

detecting a strongest cell signal based on the scanning, wherein the strongest cell signal corresponds to the second cell from among a group of cells corresponding to the evolved universal terrestrial radio access frequency bands, and

wherein the operations further comprise;

responsive to the detecting of the strongest cell signal, transmitting an additional radio resource control connection request from the wireless communication device to a second server of the second cell.

7. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the cell selection comprises:

receiving cell parameters from cells detected by the wireless communication device;

storing the cell parameters; and

determining cell suitability based on receipt level values and quality values according to the cell parameters, wherein the second cell is selected based on the cell suitability.

8. A method comprising:

receiving, by a processor of a wireless communication device, configuration information over a network, the configuration information including threshold parameters and a cell barring time period for performing cell barring;

monitoring, by the processor, for radio resource control connection requests being transmitted from the wireless communication device to a first server of a first cell of the network;

determining, by the processor, a number of failed radio resource control connection requests based on the monitoring;

determining, by the processor, a time of a first failed radio resource control connection request of the failed radio resource control connection requests based on the monitoring;

determining, by the processor, whether the number of failed radio resource control connection requests and the time of the first failed radio resource control connection request satisfy a cell barring threshold based on the threshold parameters; and

responsive to a determination that the cell barring threshold has been satisfied, causing the wireless communication device to perform cell selection for a second cell of the network and to perform the cell barring of the first cell.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the processor is a baseband processor, and wherein the radio resource control connection requests are generated by an applications processor of the wireless communication device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the baseband processor and the applications processor utilize different operating systems, and wherein all communications between other communication devices and the applications processor are processed via the baseband processor.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the configuration information comprises network status data, and further comprising:

analyzing, by the processor, the network status data to determine a maximum number of the failed radio resource control connection requests and to determine a maximum time period for transmission of the failed radio resource control connection requests, wherein the determination that the cell barring threshold has been satisfied is based on the maximum number of failed radio resource control connection requests and the maximum time period for transmission of the failed radio resource control connection requests.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the network status data comprises historical information associated with network traffic for the first cell.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

responsive to expiration of the cell barring time period, transmitting an additional radio resource control connection request from the wireless communication device to the first server of the first cell of the network.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the receiving of the configuration information over the network is from a third server of a third cell of the network, wherein the wireless communication device establishes a radio resource control connection with the third cell prior to transmitting the radio resource control connection requests to the first server of the first cell of the network, and wherein the network comprises an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the cell selection comprises scanning radio frequency channels in evolved universal terrestrial radio access frequency bands;

and detecting a strongest cell signal based on the scanning, wherein the strongest cell signal corresponds to the second cell from among a group of cells corresponding to the evolved universal terrestrial radio access frequency bands, and further comprising;

responsive to the detecting of the strongest cell signal, transmitting an additional radio resource control connection request from the wireless communication device to a second server of the second cell.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the cell selection comprises:

receiving cell parameters from detected cells;

storing the cell parameters; and

determining cell suitability based on receipt level values and quality values according to the cell parameters, wherein the second cell is selected based on the cell suitability.

17. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

responsive to the cell selection, transmitting an additional radio resource control connection request from the wireless communication device to a second server of the second cell.

18. A computer-readable storage device comprising computer instructions, which, responsive to being executed by a baseband processor of a wireless communication device, cause the baseband processor to perform operations comprising:

accessing configuration information;

monitoring an applications processor of the wireless communication device to identify radio resource control connection requests being generated by the applications processor, the radio resource control connection requests being generated by the applications processor for transmission by the baseband processor to a first server of a first cell of a network;

determining whether failed radio resource control connection requests satisfy a cell barring threshold based on the monitoring and based on the configuration information; and

responsive to a determination that the cell barring threshold has been satisfied, causing the wireless communication device to perform cell selection for a second cell of the network and to perform cell barring of the first cell.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the baseband processor and the applications processor utilize different operating systems, wherein all communications between other communication devices and the applications processor are processed via the baseband processor, and wherein the operations further comprise:

responsive to the cell selection, transmitting an additional radio resource control connection request from the wireless communication device to a second server of the second cell.

20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the determination that the cell barring threshold has been satisfied is based on a maximum number of the failed radio resource control connection requests defined by the configuration information.