Wireless Device Selective Reference Signal Measurement

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Solution Overview

Problem

In wireless communication systems, especially in LTE environments, the reuse of Physical Cell Identities (PCIs) leads to issues where user equipment (UE) may fail to distinguish between macro and femto cells with the same PCI, resulting in blocked handovers and degraded signal quality due to unnecessary blacklisting of cell IDs, especially in scenarios with closed subscriber groups (CSG) and radio access network sharing.

Innovation Solution

A method where a wireless device receives an indication from a radio network node regarding the type and accessibility of neighboring cells, allowing it to selectively measure the strength of reference signals only when necessary, based on cell type and membership status, thereby reducing unnecessary measurements and processing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the wireless device measures the strength of reference signals from all neighboring cells with the same PCI, then the measurement accuracy is improved, but the power consumption and processing load increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemeasurement accuracyVSAvoidpower consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes unnecessary measurement operations from the system. By identifying that measurements on certain neighboring cells (particularly CSG cells with mismatched CSG IDs) are unnecessary, the device excludes these measurements from the measurement set, thereby reducing power consumption and processing load while maintaining measurement accuracy for relevant cells.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies partial action by performing measurements only on a subset of neighboring cells rather than all cells with the same PCI. The device determines a specific measurement set based on cell type and CSG membership status, conducting measurements only where necessary (on macro cells and non-CSG cells) while skipping unnecessary measurements (on CSG cells with mismatched IDs).

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Reliability

If the wireless device performs measurements on all neighboring cells to ensure accurate handover decisions, then the handover reliability is improved, but the handover speed and cell reselection efficiency decrease

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehandover reliabilityVSAvoidhandover speed
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes unnecessary measurement operations from the handover preparation process. By excluding CSG cells with mismatched CSG IDs from the measurement set, the device reduces the number of measurements required while maintaining handover reliability for relevant cells (macro cells and accessible CSG cells), thereby accelerating handover and cell reselection procedures.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary classification of neighboring cells before measurements are conducted. The device determines cell types and CSG membership status in advance, pre-establishing the measurement set to include only relevant cells. This preliminary action prevents unnecessary measurements and speeds up the overall handover process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If the wireless device measures all cells with the same PCI to avoid missing potential target cells, then the service continuity is improved, but the processing complexity and time consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice continuityVSAvoidtime consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary measurement operations from the cell evaluation process. By identifying that CSG cells with mismatched CSG IDs cannot be target cells for handover, the device excludes these from measurements, reducing time consumption while maintaining service continuity through measurements on all potentially accessible target cells (macro cells and non-CSG cells).

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Adaptability or versatility

If the wireless device maintains a comprehensive measurement set including all cells with the same PCI, then the adaptability to different scenarios is improved, but the device complexity and processing overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveadaptabilityVSAvoidprocessing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a dynamic measurement set that adapts to different scenarios. The device determines cell types and CSG membership status and dynamically adjusts the measurement set accordingly - including macro cells and non-CSG cells while excluding CSG cells with mismatched CSG IDs. This dynamic approach maintains adaptability to different network configurations while reducing processing complexity by eliminating unnecessary measurements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3105960B1Wireless device and method for managing measurement of reference signals
Publication Date: 2019.06.05 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)
  • EP3105960B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3105960B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3105960B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

A wireless device (120) and a method therein for managing a measurement of a strength of a reference signal as well as a radio network node (110) and a method therein for enabling the wireless device (120) to manage the measurement of the strength of the reference signal are disclosed. The wireless device (120) of a first cell (101) receives, from the radio network node (110), an indication relating to a property associated with an identity of a second cell (102) neighbouring to the first cell (101). The wireless device (120) receives the identity of the second cell (102). Moreover, the wireless device (120) measures the strength of the reference signal identified by the identity of the second cell (102), only when the property indicates that the wireless device (120) is to perform the measurement on the reference signal. Corresponding computer programs and computer program products are also disclosed.