System and method for timing and frequency synchronization by a Femto access point

• US 9,271,248 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2011
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Soliman, Samir Salib, Awoniyi, Olufunmilola O., Chakraborty, Kaushik
• Primary Examiner(s): CASCA, FRED A
• Application Number:
  US13/037,598
• Publication Number:
  US 20120052855A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,820 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/422.1, 455/436, 455/411, 455/41.2, 455/67.13, 455/1, 455/432.1, 455/437, 455/458, 455/522, 455/63.1, 455/67.11, 455/103, 455/404.2, 455/408, 455/444, 455/450, 455/456.6, 370/328, 370/252, 370/329, 370/331, 370/254, 370/310, 370/338, 370/401
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0025 synchronizing potentially movable access points
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/10 between terminal device and access point, i.e. wireless air interface

Abstract

Techniques are provided for frequency and timing synchronization of a femto access point (FAP). In one example, the FAP may be configured to establish an out-of-band (OOB) link with at least user equipment (UE), and receive aiding parameters from the at least one UE via the OOB link. The FAP may be configured to extract frequency and timing information from at least one uplink packet of the at least one UE based at least in part on the aiding parameters. Extracting the frequency and timing information may involve sniffing the at least one uplink packet to a macro base station (e.g., eNB).

Claims

1. A method for frequency and timing synchronization by a femto access point (FAP), comprising:

establishing, by a processor of the FAP, an out-of-band (OOB) link between the FAP and at least one user equipment (UE), wherein the at least one UE is being serviced by a network entity macro base station other than the FAP;

receiving aiding parameters from the at least one UE via the OOB link; and

in response to the at least one UE being in a CELL_DCH state or a CELL_FACH state, sniffing, by the FAP, at least one uplink packet directed from the at least one UE to the network entity macro base station at least by extracting frequency and timing information from the at least one uplink packet of the at least one UE based at least in part on the aiding parameters.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the aiding parameters comprises receiving information regarding at least one of UE state(s), UE technology type(s), and channel detection parameter(s) from the at least one UE.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the channel detection parameter(s) comprise scrambling code(s).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the aiding parameters comprises requesting the aiding parameters from the at least one UE via the OOB link.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the macro base station comprises one of a Node B and an evolved Node B (eNB).

6. The method of claim 5, wherein sniffing further comprises:

in response to the network entity macro base station comprising an eNB, monitoring information in at least one of a physical random access channel (PRACH), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the at least one UE and the eNB.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the aiding parameters comprise information regarding:

signatures, spreading codes and scrambling codes for the at least one UE which the at least one UE received as broadcasted system information from the network entity macro base station

determining the timing and frequency information based at least in part on the obtained information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, the extracting is in response to the FAP being in an active set of the at least one UE.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, the extracting is in response to the FAP not being in an active set of the at least one UE.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the OOB link comprises a Bluetooth link.

11. An apparatus for frequency and timing synchronization of a femto access point (FAP), comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

establish, by the FAP, an out-of-band (OOB) link between the FAP and at least one user equipment (UE), wherein the at least one UE is being serviced by a network entity macro base station other than the FAP;

receive aiding parameters from the at least one UE via the OOB link; and

in response to the at least one UE being in a CELL_DCH state or a CELL_FACH state, sniff, by the FAP, at least one uplink packet directed from the at least one UE to the network entity macro base station at least by extracting frequency and timing information from the at least one uplink packet of the at least one UE based at least in part on the aiding parameters; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor for storing data.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor receives the aiding parameters by receiving information regarding at least one of UE state(s), UE technology type(s), and channel detection parameter(s) from the at least one UE.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor requests the aiding parameters from the at least one UE via the OOB link.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the aiding parameters comprise information regarding:

signatures, spreading codes and scrambling codes for the at least one UE which the at least one UE received as broadcasted system information from the network entity macro base station.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor sniffs by:

in response to the network entity macro base station comprising an evolved Node B (eNB), monitoring information in at least one of a physical random access channel (PRACH), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the at least one UE and the eNB.

16. An apparatus, comprising:

means for establishing an out-of-band (OOB) link between the apparatus and at least one user equipment (UE), wherein the at least one UE is being serviced by a network entity serving macro base station other than the apparatus;

means for receiving aiding parameters from the at least one UE via the OOB link; and

means for, in response to the at least one UE being in a CELL_DCH state or a CELL_FACH state, sniffing, by the FAP, at least one uplink packet directed from the at least one UE to the network entity macro base station at least by extracting frequency and timing information from the at least one uplink packet of the at least one UE based at least in part on the aiding parameters.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising means for receiving information regarding at least one of UE state(s), UE technology type(s), and channel detection parameter(s) from the at least one UE.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising means for requesting the aiding parameters from the at least one UE via the OOB link.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the aiding parameters comprise information regarding:

signatures, spreading codes and scrambling codes for the at least one UE which the at least one UE received as broadcasted system information from the network entity macro base station, in response to the at least one UE being in a CELL_FACH state; and

means for determining the timing and frequency information based at least in part on the obtained information.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor further sniffs by:

means for monitoring information in at least one of a physical random access channel (PRACH), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the at least one UE and the network entity macro base station, in response to the network entity macro base station comprising an eNB.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored therein that when executed cause a computing device to:

establish, by a processor of a femto access point (FAP), an out-of-band (OOB) link between the computing device and at least one user equipment (UE), wherein the at least one UE is being serviced by a network entity macro base station other than the computing device;

receive aiding parameters from the at least one UE via the OOB link; and

in response to the at least one UE being in a CELL_DCH state or a CELL_FACH state, sniff, by the FAP, at least one uplink packet directed from the at least one UE to the network entity macro base station at least by extracting frequency and timing information from the at least one uplink packet of the at least one UE based at least in part on the aiding parameters.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the computing device to receive information regarding at least one of UE state(s), UE technology type(s), and channel detection parameter(s) from the at least one UE.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the computing device to request the aiding parameters from the at least one UE via the OOB link.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the aiding parameters comprise information regarding:

signatures, spreading codes and scrambling codes for the at least one UE which the at least one UE received as broadcasted system information from the network entity macro base station.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the computing device to:

monitor information in at least one of a physical random access channel (PRACH), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the at least one UE and the network entity macro base station, in response to the network entity macro base station comprising an eNB.

26. A method for femto access point (FAP) synchronization by a user equipment (UE), comprising:

determining whether an out-of-band (OOB) link is established, by a processor of a FAP, between the UE and the FAP, wherein the UE is being serviced by a network entity macro base station other than the FAP; and

in response to determining that the OOB link is established, providing aiding parameters to the FAP via the OOB link, wherein, in response to the UE being in a CELL_DCH state or a CELL_FACH state, frequency and timing information from at least one uplink packet directed from the UE to the network entity macro base station is extracted, by sniffing of the at least one uplink packet by the FAP, based at least in part on the aiding parameters.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein providing the aiding parameters comprises sending information regarding at least one of UE state(s), UE technology type(s), and channel detection parameter(s) to the FAP.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the channel detection parameter(s) comprise scrambling codes.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the network entity macro base station comprises one of a Node B and an evolved Node B (eNB).

30. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

receiving broadcasted system information from the network entity macro base station, in response to the UE being in a CELL_FACH state; and

sending the broadcasted system information to the FAP.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein sending comprises sending the broadcasted system to the FAP via the OOB link.

32. The method of claim 26, wherein the aiding parameters comprise information regarding:

spreading codes, scrambling codes, and timing offsets to the FAP over an OOB link.

33. The method of claim 26, further comprising initiating establishment of the OOB link, in response to determining that the OOB link is not already established.

34. The method of claim 26, wherein providing comprises initiating the transfer of the aiding parameters to the FAP via the OOB link.

35. The method of claim 26, further comprising, in response to determining that the OOB link is not established, paging the FAP to establish the OOB link.

36. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

receiving at least one of broadcasted system information and dedicated system information from the network entity macro base station, in response to the UE being in a LTE connected state; and

sending the at least one the broadcasted system information and the dedicated signaling information to the FAP over an OOB link.

37. An apparatus for femto access point (FAP) synchronization by a user equipment (UE), comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

determine whether an out-of-band (OOB) link is established between the UE and a FAP, wherein the UE is being serviced by a network entity macro base station other than the FAP; and

provide aiding parameters to the FAP via the OOB link, in response to determining that the OOB link is established, wherein, in response to the UE being in a CELL_DCH state or a CELL_FACH state, frequency and timing information from at least one uplink packet directed from the UE to the network entity macro base station is extracted, by sniffing of the at least one uplink packet by the FAP, based at least in part on the aiding parameters; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor for storing data.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor provides the aiding parameters by sending information regarding at least one of UE state(s), UE technology type(s), and channel detection parameter(s) to the FAP.

39. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor:

receives broadcasted system information from the network entity macro base station, in response to the UE being in a CELL_FACH state; and

sends the broadcasted system information to the FAP.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the at least one processor sends the broadcasted system to the FAP via the OOB link.

41. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the aiding parameters comprise information regarding:

spreading codes, scrambling codes, and timing offsets to the FAP over an OOB link.

42. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor initiates establishment of the OOB link, in response to determining that the OOB link is not already established.

43. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor initiates the transfer of the aiding parameters to the FAP via the OOB link.

44. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor pages the FAP to establish the OOB link, in response to determining that the OOB link is not established.

45. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor:

receives at least one of broadcasted system information and dedicated system information from the network entity macro base station, in response to the UE being in a LTE connected state; and

sends the at least one the broadcasted system information and the dedicated signaling information to the FAP over an OOB link.

46. User equipment (UE), comprising:

means for determining whether an out-of-band (OOB) link is established between the UE and a FAP, wherein the UE is being serviced by a network entity macro base station other than the FAP; and

means for providing aiding parameters to the FAP via the OOB link, in response to determining that the OOB link is established, wherein, in response to the UE being in a CELL_DCH state or a CELL_FACH state, frequency and timing information from at least one uplink packet directed from the UE to the network entity macro base station is extracted, by sniffing of the at least one uplink packet by the FAP, based at least in part on the aiding parameters.

47. The UE of claim 46, further comprising means for sending information regarding at least one of UE state(s), UE technology type(s), and channel detection parameter(s) to the FAP.

48. The UE of claim 46, further comprising:

means for receiving broadcasted system information from the network entity macro base station, in response to the UE being in a CELL_FACH state; and

means for sending the broadcasted system information to the FAP.

49. The UE of claim 48, further comprising means for sending the broadcasted system to the FAP via the OOB link.

50. The UE of claim 46, wherein the aiding parameters comprise information regarding:

spreading codes, scrambling codes, and timing offsets to the FAP over an OOB link.

51. The UE of claim 46, further comprising means for initiating establishment of the OOB link, in response to determining that the OOB link is not already established.

52. The UE of claim 46, further comprising means for initiating the transfer of the aiding parameters to the FAP via the OOB link.

53. The UE of claim 46, further comprising means for paging the FAP to establish the OOB link, in response to determining that the OOB link is not established.

54. The UE of claim 46, further comprising:

means for receiving at least one of broadcasted system information and dedicated system information from the network entity macro base station, in response to the UE being in a LTE connected state; and

means for sending the at least one the broadcasted system information and the dedicated signaling information to the FAP over an OOB link.

55. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored therein that when executed cause user equipment (UE) to:

determine whether an out-of-band (OOB) link is established between the UE and a FAP, wherein the UE is being serviced by a network entity macro base station other than the FAP; and

in response to determining that the OOB link is established, provide aiding parameters to the FAP via the OOB link, wherein, in response to the UE being in a CELL_DCH state or a CELL_FACH state, frequency and timing information from at least one uplink packet directed from the UE to the network entity macro base station is extracted, by sniffing of the at least one uplink packet by the FAP, based at least in part on the aiding parameters.

56. The computer readable medium of claim 55, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the computing device to send information regarding at least one of UE state(s), UE technology type(s), and channel detection parameter(s) to the FAP.

57. The computer readable medium of claim 55, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the computing device to:

receive broadcasted system information from the network entity macro base station, in response to the UE being in a CELL_FACH state; and

send the broadcasted system information to the FAP.

58. The computer readable medium of claim 57, further comprising means for sending the broadcasted system to the FAP via the OOB link.

59. The computer readable medium of claim 55, wherein the aiding parameters comprise information regarding:

spreading codes, scrambling codes, and timing offsets to the FAP over an OOB link.

60. The computer readable medium of claim 55, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the computing device to initiate establishment of the OOB link, in response to determining that the OOB link is not already established.

61. The computer readable medium of claim 55, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the computing device to initiate the transfer of the aiding parameters to the FAP via the OOB link.

62. The computer readable medium of claim 55, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the computing device to page the FAP to establish the OOB link, in response to determining that the OOB link is not established.

63. The computer readable medium of claim 55, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the computing device to:

receive at least one of broadcasted system information and dedicated system information from the network entity macro base station, in response to the UE being in a LTE connected state; and

send the at least one the broadcasted system information and the dedicated signaling information to the FAP over an OOB link.

64. A method for frequency and timing synchronization by a femto access point (FAP) and a user equipment (UE), comprising:

establishing, by a processor of the FAP, an out-of-band (OOB) link with the UE, wherein the UE is being serviced by a network entity macro base station other than the FAP;

determining, by the UE, whether the out-of-band (OOB) link is established with the FAP;

in response to determining that the OOB link is established, providing aiding parameters to the FAP via the OOB link;

receiving the aiding parameters from the UE via the OOB link; and

in response to the at least one UE being in a CELL_DCH state or a CELL_FACH state, sniffing, by the FAP, at least one uplink packet directed from the at least one UE to the network entity macro base station at least by extracting frequency and timing information from at least one uplink packet of the UE based at least in part on the aiding parameters.