Wireless Device Network Scanning Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multimode wireless devices face excessive network scanning due to the need to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs) and frequency bands, leading to increased battery consumption, latency, and resource occupation.
Innovation Solution
A method for a wireless device to receive neighbor information indicating frequencies and RATs of neighboring cells, allowing it to determine and prioritize frequencies used by specific RATs, thereby reducing scanning by avoiding frequencies used by other RATs, thus optimizing network scanning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wireless device scans all supported frequency bands and RATs to ensure comprehensive network coverage, then network acquisition reliability is improved, but battery consumption increases and scanning time is excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by using neighbor information received from the current serving cell to pre-identify frequencies occupied by other RATs before the scanning process begins. This allows the device to proactively exclude these frequencies from the scanning list, rather than discovering them during exhaustive scanning. The neighbor information is processed in advance to create a filtered frequency list for scanning, reducing battery consumption while maintaining reliable network acquisition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes frequencies occupied by other RATs from the complete frequency list before scanning. By taking out these unnecessary frequencies based on neighbor information, the device performs scanning only on relevant frequencies for the target RAT. This extraction process eliminates wasted scanning operations on frequencies that are definitely occupied by other technologies, thereby reducing battery consumption without compromising network acquisition reliability.
2Reliability
If a wireless device scans all supported frequency bands and RATs to ensure comprehensive network coverage, then network acquisition reliability is improved, but scanning time becomes excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by processing neighbor information before scanning to pre-identify and exclude frequencies occupied by other RATs. This preliminary filtering creates a reduced frequency list that excludes unnecessary scanning targets, thereby significantly reducing scanning time while maintaining reliable network acquisition through focused scanning on relevant frequencies only.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts frequencies occupied by other RATs from the complete frequency list based on neighbor information, removing them from the scanning process. This extraction eliminates time-wasting scanning operations on frequencies that are definitely occupied by other technologies, reducing overall scanning time while preserving network acquisition reliability by concentrating scanning efforts on relevant frequencies.
3Loss of information
If a wireless device performs exhaustive network scanning across multiple RATs and frequency bands, then complete network information is obtained, but communication resources are occupied excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes frequencies occupied by other RATs from the scanning list using neighbor information. This extraction ensures that scanning resources are not wasted on frequencies that are definitely occupied by other technologies, improving resource utilization efficiency. The network information completeness is maintained by focusing scanning efforts on relevant frequencies where the target RAT is likely to be found.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary processing of neighbor information to identify and exclude frequencies occupied by other RATs before the scanning process begins. This preliminary action optimizes resource utilization by preventing unnecessary scanning operations, while still ensuring complete network information acquisition for the target RAT by concentrating resources on relevant frequency scanning.
4Measurement precision
If a wireless device scans all supported frequency bands and RATs to ensure comprehensive network coverage, then network selection accuracy is improved, but latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts frequencies occupied by other RATs from the scanning list based on neighbor information, removing them from the scanning process. This extraction reduces latency by eliminating unnecessary scanning operations on frequencies that are definitely occupied by other technologies, while maintaining network selection accuracy by focusing scanning on relevant frequencies where the target RAT is likely to be found.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary processing of neighbor information to pre-identify and exclude frequencies occupied by other RATs before scanning begins. This preliminary action reduces latency by preparing a filtered frequency list in advance, allowing the device to start scanning immediately on relevant frequencies without wasting time on frequencies occupied by other technologies, thereby maintaining accurate network selection with reduced delay.
Data Source
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AI summary
A wireless device receives neighbor information broadcasted by a current serving network. The neighbor information includes frequency information of neighbors and overlay RAT (radio access technology). According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the wireless device avoids various frequency blocks when scanning for a RAT when it is known from the neighbor information that those frequency blocks are used for a different RAT. Those frequency blocks can either be skipped altogether or scanned only after other frequency blocks are scanned. Therefore, the amount of network scanning can be reduced.