Automatic provisioning of handoff parameters for femtocell
First Claim
1. A method for obtaining optimal parameters to perform efficient handoffs between a macro base station and a femtocell access point, the method comprising:
- performing at least one measurement of signals received by the femtocell access point from at least one access terminal, wherein the femtocell access point provides wireless communication in a local area;
obtaining the femtocell access point'"'"'s geographical location;
obtaining the femtocell access point'"'"'s propagation characteristics based on the selected femtocell access point'"'"'s coverage area and environmental information;
transmitting the at least one measurement, the geographical location, and the propagation characteristics together with the femtocell access point'"'"'s capabilities to a service provider in first information; and
receiving second information from the service provider, wherein the second information obtained from the femtocell access point'"'"'s measurements and derived propagation model contains a plurality of handoff parameters comprising;
a maximum transmit power for the femtocell access point;
an ID code, or time offset and transmit frequency assignment, for the femtocell access point;
a macro base station to femtocell access point handover power threshold; and
after detecting that the threshold is exceeded, a femtocell access point to macro base station handover threshold;
wherein, when the macro base station to femtocell access point handover threshold is exceeded, the femtocell access point sends a handoff request message to a cellular infrastructure over the infrastructure'"'"'s fixed internet interface requesting to discontinue transmission from the macro base station to the at least one access terminal; and
wherein when the femtocell access point to the macro base station handover threshold is lower than the macro base station to femtocell access point handover threshold, the femtocell access point discontinues transmission to the at least one access terminal and sends a transmission termination message to the cellular infrastructure over the infrastructure'"'"'s fixed internet interface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Automatic provisioning of an access point base station or femtocell. The method may include the femtocell transmitting first information (e.g., location information, signal measurement information, capability information, etc.) to a service provider (e.g., over an IP network). The femtocell may receive second information from the service provider, where the second information includes one or more operational parameters. The operational parameters may include hand-off parameters, admission policy parameters, PN or scrambling codes, power parameters, and/or other parameters. The femtocell may operate according to the received parameters to provide access for a plurality of access terminals in a local area.
72 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for obtaining optimal parameters to perform efficient handoffs between a macro base station and a femtocell access point, the method comprising:
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performing at least one measurement of signals received by the femtocell access point from at least one access terminal, wherein the femtocell access point provides wireless communication in a local area; obtaining the femtocell access point'"'"'s geographical location; obtaining the femtocell access point'"'"'s propagation characteristics based on the selected femtocell access point'"'"'s coverage area and environmental information; transmitting the at least one measurement, the geographical location, and the propagation characteristics together with the femtocell access point'"'"'s capabilities to a service provider in first information; and receiving second information from the service provider, wherein the second information obtained from the femtocell access point'"'"'s measurements and derived propagation model contains a plurality of handoff parameters comprising; a maximum transmit power for the femtocell access point; an ID code, or time offset and transmit frequency assignment, for the femtocell access point; a macro base station to femtocell access point handover power threshold; and after detecting that the threshold is exceeded, a femtocell access point to macro base station handover threshold; wherein, when the macro base station to femtocell access point handover threshold is exceeded, the femtocell access point sends a handoff request message to a cellular infrastructure over the infrastructure'"'"'s fixed internet interface requesting to discontinue transmission from the macro base station to the at least one access terminal; and
wherein when the femtocell access point to the macro base station handover threshold is lower than the macro base station to femtocell access point handover threshold, the femtocell access point discontinues transmission to the at least one access terminal and sends a transmission termination message to the cellular infrastructure over the infrastructure'"'"'s fixed internet interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A femtocell, comprising:
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an interface for providing communication with at least one access terminal in a local area and communication with a service provider over a wired network in a macro area intersected partially with the local area; a processor coupled to the interface; and a memory medium coupled to the processor, wherein the memory medium comprises program instructions executable to; perform at least one measurement of signals received from the at least one access terminal; obtain a geographical location, a desired coverage area, and propagation characteristics for the femtocell; connect to the service provider using a wired internet interface; transmit first information to the service provider, wherein the first information comprises the geographical location, the desired coverage area, the propagation characteristics, capability information, and the at least one measurement; receive second information from the service provider, wherein the second information comprises a plurality of handoff parameters, the plurality of handoff parameters comprising a femtocell maximum transmit and an ID code or transmission time offset, a macro to femtocell drop threshold and a femtocell to macro drop threshold; and wherein the plurality of handoff parameters are determined based on the geographical location, the desired coverage area, and the propagation characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer-accessible memory medium storing program instructions for obtaining optimal parameters to perform handovers between a macro base station and a femtocell access point, wherein the program instructions are executable to:
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perform at least one measurement of signals received by the femtocell access point from at least one access terminal, wherein the femtocell access point provides wireless communication in a local area; obtain a geographical location and desired coverage area propagation characteristics for the femtocell access point; connect to a service provider through a wired connection, wherein the service provider provides wireless communication in a macro area intersected partially with the local area; transmit first information to the service provider, wherein the first information comprises of; the geographical information and capability of the femtocell access point; the desired coverage area propagation characteristics; and the at least one measurement; receive second information from the service provider, wherein the second information comprises a plurality of handoff parameters, the plurality of handoff parameters comprises of; an ID code and time offset for the femtocell access point; a maximum transmit power for the femtocell access point; a macro to femtocell handoff drop threshold; and
a femtocell to macro handoff drop threshold,wherein the plurality of handoff parameters are used as a trigger for a request to add the at least one access terminal to service provided by the femtocell access point, or to request to remove the at least one access terminal from service provided by the femtocell access point. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for providing obtain optimum parameters to perform efficient handoffs between a macro base station and a femtocell access point, the method comprising:
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connecting to the femtocell access point to a cellular infrastructure through a wired internet connection, wherein the femtocell access point provides wireless communication in a local area, and wherein a service provider provides wireless communication in a macro area intersected partially with the local area; receiving first information from the femtocell access point, wherein the first information comprises; a location information and capability of the femtocell access point; a desired coverage area and coverage area propagation characteristics for the femtocell access point; and at least one measurement of macro base station signals received by at least one access terminal; providing second information from the service provider to the femtocell access point, wherein the second information comprises a plurality of handoff parameters, the plurality of handoff parameters comprising; an ID code and a time offset for the femtocell access point; a maximum transmit power for the femtocell access point; a macro to femtocell handoff drop threshold; and a femtocell to macro handoff drop threshold; and wherein the plurality of handoff parameters are used as a trigger for a request to add the at least one access terminal to service provided by the femtocell access point, or to request to remove the at least one access terminal from service provided by the femtocell access point.
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18. A communication system for providing wireless communication with one or more access terminals, comprising:
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a service provider; a macro base station for providing wireless communication for the one or more access terminals in a macro area; and an femtocell access point providing wireless communication for the one or more access terminals in a local area intersected partially with the macro area, and wherein the femtocell access point is configured to; perform at least one measurement of signals received by the femtocell access point from at least one access terminal; connect to the service provider; transmit first information to the service provider, wherein the first information comprises; location and capability of the femtocell access point; desired coverage area and coverage area propagation characteristics for the femtocell access point; and the at least one measurement; receive second information from the service provider, wherein the second information comprises a plurality of handoff parameters, the plurality of handoff parameters comprising; an ID and time offset assignment for the femtocell access point, a maximum transmit power for the femtocell access point; a macro to femtocell handoff drop threshold; and a femtocell to macro handoff drop threshold; wherein the plurality of handoff parameters are used as a trigger for a request to add the at least one access terminal to service provided by the femtocell access point, or to request that the at least one access point be removed from service provided by the femtocell access point.
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Specification