JP2011501604A - Home cell measurement method in mobile communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

  The present invention includes a network including a plurality of base stations that define a communication cell, and first and second user terminals that perform communication with the network. The plurality of base stations are not second user terminals. In a mobile communication system comprising at least one base station defining a home cell associated with a first user terminal, wherein the home cell overlaps a range of communication cells available by both the first and second user terminals A home cell measurement method is provided.

Description

  The present invention relates to a radio communication system, and more particularly, to a home cell measurement method and apparatus that can be controlled to measure and report the quality of a radio link. Such measurements are generally the main factor when determining whether a handover procedure is performed.

  Currently, an E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access) system is defined. Some details of E-UTRA are already available, for example, in Release 3 of the standard 3GPP TS 36.300 “Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2” It has been agreed.

  The E-UTRA scheme is a wireless communication including a plurality of user terminals (typically mobile phone handsets, PDAs, etc.) as in other existing wireless communication systems. (Referred to as “eNodeB” or “eNB”, here referred to as “eNB”). The base station defines each cell that can be used for communication over a limited geographic area to allow channel reuse. A measurement report of this system is described in application number GB0700555.6 (attorney reference number J49460GB) filed January 11, 2007 by the present applicant, which is incorporated herein by reference. This network transmits a measurement control message to a user equipment (UE) by designating which cell is to be measured. Performing measurement by the UE uses up the UE battery and requires a transmission / reception gap.

  It has been proposed to use a home or private network cell that forms part of a wireless communication system or inter-working with a wireless communication system. The home or private cell is generated by the home NodeB or home eNodeB. Details of such home eNodeB have not been completed at all, but indoor home environments such as single home use, multi-storey home use, small and large office use, exhibition use, or small scale It is expected to be installed in an office environment (for example, “Home NodeB / eNodeB deployment scenarios and requirements” in 3GPP document R4-070339). Thus, it produces low power and small cells (ie, picocells or femtocells) that are available only over the smallest area.

  The area covered by such a home cell generally overlaps the area of another cell (in contrast, the “macrocell”). However, this region is only accessible by a limited subset of UEs. For example, when a home cell is installed in the home, only the UE associated with the home residence can use the home cell, and when the home cell exists in the company premises, only the UE owned by the company can be used. You can access home cells.

  For authorized users, the use of home cells improves reception in indoor areas where users are often present. The use of the home cell also has an advantage for other network users because it unloads traffic from the macro cell of the network. Therefore, it is preferable that the UE uses a home cell. Further, it is preferable that the mechanism is preferentially registered in a home cell that can be used by an idle UE, and the active UE is handed over to the home cell.

  At the same time, it is desirable for the home eNB or NodeB to be compatible with other network devices as much as possible. There is a possibility to provide home cells on a set of channels or channels (eg, frequencies) that are not available by the network.

  Since the home cell may be relatively small, the UE comes into contact with a considerable number of home cells that are not authorized to use. Measuring the signal strength available from such a cell and reporting the measurement to the network as a pointless task consumes network capacity and reduces the availability of the UE for other purposes. There is a problem of generating unnecessary signaling overhead.

  Accordingly, in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a home cell measurement method and apparatus for controlling measurement and reporting of radio link quality. Such a measurement is generally an important factor in determining whether a handover procedure is performed.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, a network including a plurality of base stations defining a communication cell and first and second user terminals that perform communication with the network are configured. And the plurality of base stations includes at least one base station defining a home cell associated with the first user terminal rather than the second user terminal, the home cell being used by both the first and second user terminals A home cell measurement method in a mobile communication system that overlaps with a range of possible communication cells, comprising: obtaining position data indicating a position of a first user terminal in a network; and using the obtained position data Determining whether or not the first user terminal is close to the home cell, and when the first user terminal is close to the home cell, Transmitting a cell measurement control message from the network to the first user terminal via a base station that designates measurement of a mobile cell; performing precise position measurement at the first user terminal; and at the first user terminal Determining whether to approach the home cell based on the precise position measurement, and measuring the home cell at the first user terminal when the first user terminal is in proximity to the home cell. It is characterized by.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a network including a plurality of base stations defining a communication cell and first and second user terminals that perform communication with the network are configured. Including at least one home base station defining a plurality of home cells associated with the first user terminal and not the user terminal of the first user terminal, the home cell being a range of communication cells that can be used by both the first and second user terminals A home cell measurement method in a mobile communication system that overlaps with each other, the method comprising: acquiring position data indicating a position of a first user terminal; and using the acquired position data, the first user terminal becomes a home cell. A step of determining whether or not the first user terminal is in proximity to the home cell; Transmitting a measurement control message from the network to the first user terminal, and measuring a home cell at the first user terminal according to the received measurement control message, the session involving the first user terminal Is transmitted or set to the base station, and position information relating to the position of the home cell in the area of the communication cell generated by the base station is transmitted to the base station.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a network including a plurality of base stations that define a communication cell and first and second user terminals that communicate with the network are configured. Including at least one base station defining a home cell associated with the first user terminal rather than the second user terminal, the home cell being in a range of communication cells available by both the first and second user terminals In an overlapping mobile communication system, a home cell measurement method for moving a user terminal from a communication cell operated by a source base station to a home cell operated by a target home base station, via the source base station Transmitting security information from the user terminal to the target home base station, and the target home base Confirming whether the user terminal is authorized to connect to the cell using the security information, and if the user terminal is authorized to connect to the cell, the target home base station Accepting the connection settings.

  Furthermore, according to another aspect of the present invention, the network includes a plurality of base stations that define a communication cell, and first and second user terminals that communicate with the network. Including at least one base station defining a home cell associated with the first user terminal rather than the second user terminal, the home cell being in a range of communication cells available by both the first and second user terminals A home cell measurement method for limiting a cell measurement report of a home cell from a first user terminal to a network in an overlapping mobile communication system, signaling a measurement control message from the first user terminal; Performing a plurality of cell measurements at the first user terminal, and for the cell measurement, the first user terminal Ascertaining whether the user has authority to access the cell, characterized by comprising the step of determining whether to report the cell measurement based on the check step.

  In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention, a network including a plurality of base stations defining a communication cell, and first and second user terminals that perform communication with the network, the plurality of base stations Includes at least one base station that defines a home cell associated with the first user terminal rather than the second user terminal, the home cell being a range of communication cells that can be used by both the first and second user terminals A method of operating a communication network for home cell measurement in a mobile communication system that overlaps, comprising the step of signaling a measurement control message from the network to a user terminal, the measurement control message being a first user The terminal performs cell measurement on multiple cells, and the first user terminal assigns to the cell based on the cell measurement. A field for instructing to enter the first user terminal in a restricted report mode for determining whether to report a cell measurement based on the confirmation after confirming whether or not the user has the right to access It is characterized by including.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for measuring a home cell in a cellular network, the step of transmitting a signal to a user terminal to indicate measurement and reporting of a home cell channel, and reception of the signal. Sometimes providing a first user terminal for measuring and reporting a home cell channel, and for receiving a signal, measuring a precise position and measuring and reporting a home cell when proximity is detected Providing a second user terminal capable of position measurement.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for measuring a home cell in a cellular network, the step of transmitting a control message instructing to measure and report a home cell channel to a user terminal; Providing a user terminal capable of measuring and reporting a home cell channel upon reception, wherein the network detects when the user terminal is in proximity to the home cell and limits the measurement of the home cell based on the detection As described above, the mobile terminal is arranged to transmit position information related to the position of the home cell that the user terminal is authorized to use to each base station in which the user terminal is registered.

  Furthermore, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for operating a cellular network for home cell measurement, wherein the security information is related to a user terminal transmitted from the cellular network to the home cell from the network being handed over. And a step of permitting confirmation of the user cell and the home cell being handed over directly from the network cell.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a home cell measurement method in a cellular network, which is authorized to use a home cell for measurement of a given channel corresponding to the home cell. Transmitting a signal to the user terminal to determine whether or not to determine whether to report the measurement or not, comprising using the determination.

  The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 is a diagram illustrating main components of a wireless communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating main components of a UE according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the main components of eNB by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating overlap of a cell and a home / private cell. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating signaling between an eNB base station, a mobility management entity, and a UE that form part of the network of FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is a flow diagram illustrating signaling steps between an eNB and a UE in the process of FIG. 5A. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed in an eNB. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed at a UE. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating signaling steps between an eNB that forms part of the network of FIG. 1 and an idle mode UE according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating signaling between an eNB base station, a mobility management entity, and an active mode UE that form part of the network of FIG. 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating signaling steps between an eNB and a UE that form part of the network of FIG. 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed in an eNB according to the third embodiment of the present invention; 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed in a UE according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Various specific definitions in the following description are provided only to assist in a general understanding of the present invention, and it is normal for those skilled in the art that the present invention can be realized without such definitions. It is obvious to those who have knowledge.

<First Embodiment>
The first embodiment is to be described in the context of a wireless communication system that includes the proposed E-UTRAN. FIG. 1 shows the main components of a wireless communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the radio communication system, a plurality of UEs 1a to 1j communicate with respective eNBs 3a to 3d through radio links 5a to 5j. In the first embodiment according to the present invention, the UEs 1a to 1j (hereinafter referred to as “1”) are mobile phones. Each of the eNBs 3 a to 3 d (hereinafter referred to as “3”) is directly connected to the core network 7. Also, the eNB 3 tracks the location of the UE 1 so as to be connected to each other or to fix its location in a tracking area (TA) for an incoming call path, for example. Connected to at least one mobility management entity (MME) 8.

  In the first embodiment according to the present invention, the UE 1 uses other Radio Access Technologies (RAT) (for example, standard UTRAN (Universal Terrestial Radio Access Network) and GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) network). Can communicate. In this way, when implementing E-UTRAN, the UE can operate in a region including base stations of other networks without an eNB.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining overlap between a cell and a home / private cell. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the network includes a plurality of cells 100a and 100b provided by the eNB 3. These cells (macro cells) are generally shown as adjacent. In practice, however, these communication areas can overlap so that the cover is not interrupted by shadowing and line-of-sight obstructions. The first and second home / private cells 102a and 102b are respectively in different buildings 90a and 90b corresponding to the first and second small businesses by their home eNBs (not shown). Provided. These home cells are provided on a dedicated frequency for home / private cells. In another aspect, the home eNB is similar to eNB3 but transmits at a lower power level.

  Each eNB 3 communicates with UE 1 in one or more cells to be broadcast. As UE1 moves in the active communication mode, communication is handed over between cells. In a first embodiment according to the invention, E-UTRAN considers radio link quality factors and data traffic management factors to determine when a handover procedure occurs and in which cell the communication is handed over . All UE1 can communicate with any one of eNB3.

  The first group of UEs 1a-1c is owned by the staff of the first company, and the second group of UEs 1d-1f is owned by the staff of the second company. Although only home cells 102a, 102b are shown, the first company is available by the first group of UEs 1a-1c and may further include home cells (not shown) in other regions.

  In order to measure the radio link quality factor, UE (1) performs various measurements. In the case of partial measurement, for example, since the measurement is performed in different frequency ranges (inter-frequency measurement), or because the measurement is for different radio access technologies (inter-RAT measurement), UE1 simultaneously transmits data. It is impossible to transmit or expect data. In order to be able to perform such measurements, many transmission / reception gaps are introduced into the existing radio link, and UE1 is free to perform measurements without data transmission or monitoring. When UE1 is connected to E-UTRAN, the gap configuration is selected by UE1 from the candidate gap configuration set provided by E-UTRAN.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing main components of UE 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. For clarity of explanation of the first embodiment of the present invention, other components such as antennas, microphones, batteries, speakers, displays, and keypads not relevant to the present invention are not shown in FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the UE 1 includes a control unit 21, a transmission / reception unit 23, and a memory 25. The control unit 21 includes a measurement controller 27 that controls radio link quality measurement, and a transmission / reception unit controller 29 that controls the operation of the transmission / reception unit 23. The transmission / reception unit 23 includes a control information transmitter / receiver 31 that handles communication of control data with the eNB 3 and reception of control data from the eNB 3, and a data transmitter / receiver 33 that handles communication of user data with the eNB 3 and reception of user data from the eNB 3. Including. Also, in the UEs 1a to 1c and 1d to 1f for communicating with the respective home / private cells 102a and 102b, a position measurement device 39, for example, a satellite navigation position measurement device is provided.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating main components of the eNB according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the eNB 3 includes a control unit 41, a transmission / reception unit 43, and a memory 45. The control unit 41 includes a measurement controller 47 that controls radio link quality measurement performed by the eNB 3, a transmission / reception unit controller 49 that controls the operation of the transmission / reception unit 43, and a scheduler 51. These are provided in the memory 45 by one or more computers operating with data and programs. The transmission / reception unit 43 includes a control information transmitter / receiver 53 that handles communication of control data with the UE 1 and a data transmitter / receiver 55 that handles communication of user data with the UE 1. Other components such as antennas and power supplies are omitted for clarity.

  Hereinafter, a process performed in the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 6A. FIG. 5A is a flow diagram illustrating signaling between an eNB base station, a mobility management entity, and a UE that form part of the network of FIG. 1 in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In step S1, as part of the context transmission during connection setup, the MME 8 may change the home cell location in various ways (eg, regular / public / macrocell or geographical coordinates that overlap the target area (TA) or home cell). Information regarding the eNB 3 is provided.

  In step S2, the eNB 3 detects that the UE 1 is close to the home cell position based on the home cell position information transmitted.

  In step S3, the network initiates a measurement control message when it wishes to set up, change or cancel the measurement of a specific neighboring cell performed by the UE. In more detail, the network indicates a new configuration that can be applied to the measurement of the frequency that the UE uses for the home / private cell. The measurement control message shown in Table 1 is transmitted as a shared message.

  The measurement control message of <Table 1> should be interpreted by UE1 as an instruction to start measurement for the home cell. In the first embodiment according to the present invention, the measurement control message instructs the UE to limit the geographical area where the home cell is measured, and includes an additional element (shown in italics in Table 1). .

  FIG. 5B is a flowchart illustrating signaling steps between an eNB base station and a UE in the process of FIG. 5A, and FIG. 6B is a flowchart illustrating a process performed by the UE.

  Referring to FIGS. 5B and 6B, UE 1 receives an inter-frequency measurement control message in the allowed region in step S4. In step S5, UE1 starts detecting whether it is close to an accessible home / private cell. In step S6, UE1 confirms the configuration included in the measurement control message. As a result of the detection in step S5, UE1 performs inter-frequency measurement when it is close to an accessible home / private cell. On the other hand, if it is not close to an accessible home / private cell, UE1 does not perform inter-frequency measurement in step S7. That is, when the UE 1 is in the vicinity of an accessible home / private cell, the “measurement completion response message” shown in Table 2 is returned so as to confirm the successful setup, change or release of the measurement. The measurement completion response message shown in Table 2 below is transmitted on the shared channel.

  In the first embodiment of the present invention, the UE memory 25 includes data defining a geographical area corresponding to the location of each home cell 102a accessible by the UE 1a. This data can correspond to, for example, the corner of the building 90a where the home cell 102a is located.

  When the UE receives the message of <Table 1> in step S4, the UE 1a starts position measurement using the GPS 39. The position measurement results are periodically provided by the GPS 39. This periodicity is based on factors such as how close the last reading is to the home cell, whether or not the last second reading indicates movement to the home cell, the movement ratio to the home cell, etc. It is judged and changed.

  The location measurement result compares the home cell location data stored in the memory 25, and if the reported location is within the home cell region defined in the memory in step S6, UE1 performs channel measurement for the home cell frequency. Start and report measurements to the communicated eNB 3a.

  Therefore, in operation, the UE 1a that can communicate with the home cell 102a is notified by the eNB 3b existing in the vicinity of the home cell 102a when the UE 1a exists in the macro cell 100b. As shown in FIG. 2, when the UE 102a has the GPS 39, it performs the role of detecting whether it is close to the UE 102a as described above, and only when the UE 102a has the GPS 39, starts performing and reporting on the measurement of the cell.

  Therefore, the UE 1a measures the home cell 102b that cannot communicate without measuring resources and bandwidth by measuring the home cell 102b that cannot communicate. Moreover, there is no need to interrupt transmission / reception with a measurement gap in order to measure an inaccessible home cell. In other words, the UE saves battery life by not using GPS for precise location measurements until notified by the network that is in the proper location of the home cell 102a authorized for use.

  Thus, the combination of precise position determination (by UE) and triggering rough position determination (by network) combines economics with home cell measurements with battery and other resources saving at UE 1a.

  This arrangement is also interoperable with other UEs that lack the precision location mechanism 39. In the case of the UE 1b approved to use the home cell 102a, the home cell measurement can be started upon reception of the measurement control message of <Table 1>. Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the operation performed in response to the measurement control message is different depending on the UE based on its location measurement capacity.

  While it is preferred to use both approximate location (by network) and precise location (by UE) in the combinations mentioned above, the aspects of the embodiments described above can be used by UEs without precise location. For example, there is an advantage that home cell location information is provided to the target eNB during context transmission that occurs at the time of connection setup, or that the connection to that eNB (generally through the MME rather than from the previous eNB) is performed. . The reason is that only each eNB needs to have information required to serve a mobile station in that area. Location and authority information for all home cells can be held and updated in a batch or locally for each user and can be provided to the eNB as needed. In this case, the positions where position determination occurs are less relevant. For example, the eNB instructs the UE to start location measurement, and after obtaining a location report from the UE indicating proximity to the home cell, sends a measurement control message to the UE to measure the home cell frequency To do.

<Second Embodiment>
In the second embodiment of the present invention, when attempting to move, it is proposed that the UE determines whether the home cell has been granted access authority. In order to minimize the signaling load on the network, between UE 1a and the home eNB (even if other base stations 3 provide a limited supply such as transparent transmission of information) A validation is performed directly. The operation of the present invention will be described later in the idle mode and connected mode of the UE.

Idle mode FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating signaling steps between an eNB base station forming part of the network of FIG. 1 and a UE in idle mode according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, the home / private eNB confirms the UE when the connection is set as follows, for example.

  When the connection setup is started in the home / private cell, the UE 1a provides the security information to the home eNB 9a in the connection request in step S21 based on the information exchanged at the initial / approval.

  In step S22, the home eNB 9a uses the security information to confirm whether or not the UE 1a is authorized to access the home / private cell.

  If the UE is approved, in step S24, the eNB accepts the connection setup and returns a signal to instruct the UE to connect. On the other hand, if the confirmation stage fails, the home eNB 9a rejects the connection setting, returns a signal by the UE, and discards the provided non-access layer (NAS) information.

When the connection mode UE1 is connected to the eNB 3a and attempts to perform handover to the home eNB 9a, the process is shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating signaling between an eNB base station, a mobility management entity, and an active mode UE that form part of the network of FIG. 1, according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In step S31, the UE provides the security information included in the measurement report constituting the connection request that triggers the handover to the home / private cell to the currently connected eNB 3 (source eNB).

  In step S32, the network receives from the UE 1a a handover request at the time of handover preparation and transparently transmits the security information required to confirm the UE from the source eNB 3a to the target home eNB 9a (directly through other nodes). (Indirectly or indirectly). The information is present in the message that the intermediate node operates, but it is preferable that the intermediate node is included in the 'container' and the intermediate node transmits this container to the next node. Thus, the use of this container achieves transparency and does not impact intermediate nodes that do not need to act on the message.

  In step S33, the home eNB 9a confirms whether or not the UE is authorized to access the home / private cell using the security data by signaling with the UE.

  If the UE is approved in step S33, in step S34, the home eNB 9a accepts the connection settings and thereby returns a signal to the source eNB 3a. On the other hand, if the confirmation fails, the target home eNB 9a rejects the handover connection setting and returns a signal to the source eNB 3a. Thereafter, the handover is completed.

<Third Embodiment>
In a third embodiment according to the present invention, UE1 provides a mechanism to limit the measurement report to report only measurements of the home cell 102 that has been granted access. Therefore, resources are not wasted when UE 1a is in the vicinity of a home cell (eg, 102b) that is not approved for use. Although this embodiment can be used together with the first and second embodiments, it can be used separately, and even when UE1 performs unnecessary cell measurement, the measurement result is reported. By doing so, network capacity is not wasted.

The GSM cellular communication system employs periodic reports of cell measurements by the UE, but in order to reduce the measurement signaling load, in E-UTRA systems, the measurement report is based on the occurrence of certain events detected by the UE. Event-driven so that only measurements are reported. The following is a list of such event driven messages.
Event 1a—Primary Common Pilot Channel (CPICH) associated with the cell enters the report range. Event 1b—The primary CPICH is out of the report range.
Event 1c—Inactive primary CPICH is better than active primary CPICH.
Event 1d—optimal cell change Event 1e—primary CPICH is better than absolute threshold.
Event 1f-1st order CPICH gets worse than absolute threshold.

  Even when the UE 1 performs measurement only when it is close to the accessible home / private cell in the case of the third embodiment of the present invention, a large number of access not-accessible near the accessible home / private cell (for example, 102a). Measurement reports can often be triggered by other possible home / private cells (eg, 102b). Most of these reports are useless. The network does not attempt to recognize that the UE moves from an inaccessible cell to another cell.

  Therefore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, a new measurement event including a reference item in which the UE confirms the accessibility of the cell is defined. The UE stores data indicating which home cells can be accessed. Each home cell transmits a tracking area ID (TA-ID) as is known. By confirming the transmitted TA-ID against the data stored for the accessible home cell, the UE confirms whether this measurement is related to the accessible home cell. Can do.

  New measurement events are defined as “optimal cell on frequency is accessible” and “optimal cell on frequency is not accessible”.

  A method according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9, 10A, and 10B. FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating signaling steps between an eNB and a UE that form part of the network of FIG. 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10A is a flowchart illustrating a process performed in the eNB according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10B is a flowchart illustrating a process performed in the UE according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the network performs step S2 as described in connection with the first embodiment. When detecting that the UE 1a is close to the home cell, in step S41, the network determines whether or not the UE is to confirm the accessibility of the home cell.

  In step S41, the network initiates a measurement control message when it wishes to set up, change or cancel the neighbor cell measurement performed by the UE. The measurement control message according to the third embodiment of the present invention is as shown in Table 3. The UE is transmitted from the currently registered eNB.

  In more detail, the measurement control message represents a new configuration that can be applied to the measurement of the frequency used by the UE for the home / private cell and indicates the proximity of the cell before the UE reports the relevant event. Includes an indication that can be confirmed.

  In step S43, the UE receives the measurement control message. In step S44, the UE confirms the configuration included in the measurement control message. When the UE accepts the message, the UE returns a measurement completion message. This response message has the same format as shown in Table 2 above. The illustrated message is transmitted over a shared channel and does not require specific use of the associated control channel.

  If the message does not include a requirement to confirm the cell, the UE reports the currently defined measurement message to the (E-) UTRA network and performs the operation as a conventional UE.

  If the message does not include the requirement to confirm the accessibility of the cell prior to reporting the related event, the UE changes its operation to use the additional event.

  For most events, the changed behavior is the same as illustrated with an example.

  Report Event 1A: The primary CPICH enters the report range. Before reporting a cell on the associated frequency, the UE checks if the cell is accessible. If not accessible, no event is reported. That is, the event is as follows.

Report event 1A ^* : The primary CPICH of an accessible cell enters the report range.
Report event 1B: Primary CPICH is out of report range. Also, the UE should report 1B only for accessible cells. Normally (but not universal), this communicates with the cell for event 1A previously reported. So, alternately, it can be clearly stated that the UE reports only to the cell that previously triggered event 1A ^* . However, the first option can be a bit more flexible.
Report event 1B ^* : The primary CPICH of the accessible cell is out of the report range.
Report event 1D: Change of optimal cell. For this event, two advantages exist as mentioned.
Event ID ^* : The accessible cell is the optimum cell on the frequency.
Event ID ^** : An inaccessible cell becomes an optimal cell on the frequency.

  The first of these can trigger a handover, but the second event is not. Accordingly, in the third embodiment of the present invention, the UE monitors multiple cells by performing measurements. In step S44, if one of the measured cells triggers one of the events defined for the (E-) UTRA network, in step S45, the UE in each case In step S6, it is determined whether the communication is accessible. When it is determined that the communication is not accessible as a result of the determination in step S6, the UE avoids an event report corresponding to cell measurement in step S46 in many cases. When it is determined that the communication is accessible as a result of the determination in step S6, the communication is reported to the eNB in step S47. In this case, the UE performs the report only if the cell measurement is one of the modified criteria.

In the above example shown in this case, not only when the UE 1 needs to check accessibility, but also a partly specific rule is required. For example, in the case of event ID ^** , UE1 may be accessible considering an inaccessible cell, even though it may not be necessary to report the optimal inaccessible cell identity. The optimal cell change must be reported from a cell to an inaccessible cell, or the next change of the optimal cell must be reported from an inaccessible home cell to another cell.

  Various changes, changes and substitutions will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the term user terminal (UE) can encompass any type of mobile station including mobile phones, wireless phones, and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), or fixed stations. The term base station can include terrestrial, aeronautical, or satellite cellular repeaters.

  For desirable purposes, embodiments of the present invention have been described in that context, using terminology associated with the UTRA scheme (ie, HSPA scheme). It will be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented in other types of wireless (eg, radio) communication schemes. Generally, a wireless communication system includes a wireless access network including a plurality of base stations that communicate with mobile stations using wireless links.

  Although the separation frequency for the home cell is preferred, aspects of the present invention may operate regardless of the frequency or channel assigned to the home cell.

  Instead of GPS, the UE can be equipped with a precision positioning system such as a system based on cell triangulation from signals broadcast by the eNB, or other suitable positioning system.

  The measurement control message may include multiple 'measurement instructions', ie one measurement setup, another release and / or a third change.

  Similarly, the measurement configuration may include several measurement types, such as intra frequency measurement, UE internal measurement.

  Even if the third embodiment described above employs a report-based event, a similar principle can be applied to periodic measurement reports like GSM.

  Even if the third embodiment described above uses the tracking area for accessibility confirmation, the signal characteristics of the home cell or other broadcast signals can be used. The list of inaccessible home cells can be stored by the UE instead of the list of accessible home cells.

  The present invention can be realized by changing a software routine realized by existing hardware. Thus, the present invention is extended to computer programs, in particular on-carrier or on-carrier computer programs, for practical application. This program may be object code, such as source code, object code, intermediate code to source code, and partially compiled form, or other form suitable for use in implementing the process according to the present invention. .

  A carrier is an entity or device capable of performing a program. For example, the carrier may include a storage medium such as a ROM, eg CD-ROM or semiconductor ROM, or a magnetic recording medium, eg a floppy disk or hard disk, or an optical recording medium. it can. Further, the carrier is an electricalizable carrier such as an electrical or optical signal that can be moved to the UE or network component by radio or other means or through an electrical or optical cable.

  The carrier is an integrated circuit with a built-in program, which is suitable for executing an associated process or for use in the performance of the associated process.

  Therefore, it goes without saying to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be extended not only to the above-described embodiments but also to modifications, changes and alternatives based on the above-described aspects.

  While the invention has been illustrated and described with reference to specific embodiments, various changes in form and detail can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Certainly it will be apparent to those with ordinary knowledge in the art.

21 Control Unit 23 Transmission / Reception Unit 25 Memory

Claims (27)

A network including a plurality of base stations defining a communication cell; and first and second user terminals that communicate with the network, wherein the plurality of base stations are not the second user terminals but the first user terminals. A mobile communication system comprising at least one base station defining a home cell associated with one user terminal, wherein the home cell overlaps a range of communication cells available by both the first and second user terminals A home cell measurement method in
Obtaining location data indicating a location of the first user terminal in the network;
Determining whether the first user terminal is in proximity to the home cell using the acquired location data;
When the first user terminal is close to the home cell, transmitting a cell measurement control message from the network to the first user terminal via a base station that specifies the measurement of the home cell;
Performing a precise position measurement at the first user terminal;
Determining whether to approach the home cell based on the precise position measurement at the first user terminal;
Measuring the home cell at the first user terminal when the first user terminal is close to the home cell;
A method comprising the steps of:   The method of claim 1, wherein the location data includes the first user terminal in contact with a cell that overlaps the home cell.   The method of claim 1, wherein the location data includes the first user terminal registered in a tracking area that overlaps the home cell.   The method of claim 1, wherein the location data includes the first user terminal residing in a geographical area that overlaps the home cell.   The method of claim 1, wherein the precise position measurement comprises a satellite navigation measurement.   The method of claim 1, wherein the home cell operates at a frequency not used by other network cells.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the control message is a message specifying a frequency to be measured, and includes an indication indicating whether or not to measure a home cell frequency by a user terminal. A network including a plurality of base stations defining a communication cell; and first and second user terminals that communicate with the network, wherein the plurality of base stations are not the second user terminals but the first user terminals. Including at least one home base station defining a plurality of home cells associated with one user terminal, the home cell overlapping a range of communication cells available by both the first and second user terminals A home cell measurement method in a mobile communication system, comprising:
Obtaining position data indicating the position of the first user terminal;
Determining whether the first user terminal is in proximity to the home cell using the acquired location data;
When the first user terminal is close to the home cell, transmitting a measurement control message from the network to the first user terminal via a base station associated with the home cell;
Measuring the home cell at the first user terminal according to the received measurement control message,
A session involving the first user terminal is transmitted or set to a base station, and position information relating to the position of the home cell within the area of the communication cell generated by the base station is transmitted to the base station. how to.   The method of claim 8, wherein the home cell operates at a frequency not used by other network cells. A network including a plurality of base stations defining a communication cell; and first and second user terminals that communicate with the network, wherein the plurality of base stations are not the second user terminals but the first user terminals. A mobile communication system comprising at least one base station defining a home cell associated with one user terminal, wherein the home cell overlaps a range of communication cells available by both the first and second user terminals A home cell measurement method for moving a user terminal from the communication cell operated by a source base station to the home cell operated by a target home base station, comprising:
Transmitting security information from the user terminal to the target home base station via the source base station;
Confirming by the target home base station whether the user terminal has been authorized to connect to the cell using the security information;
Accepting a connection setting of the user terminal by the target home base station when the user terminal is authorized to connect to the cell;
A method comprising the steps of:   The method of claim 10, wherein the transmission comprises a transparent transmission of the security information.   The method of claim 10, wherein the home cell operates at a frequency not used by other network cells. A network including a plurality of base stations defining a communication cell; and first and second user terminals that communicate with the network, wherein the plurality of base stations are not the second user terminals but the first user terminals. A mobile communication system comprising at least one base station defining a home cell associated with one user terminal, wherein the home cell overlaps a range of communication cells available by both the first and second user terminals A home cell measurement method for restricting a cell measurement report of the home cell from the first user terminal to the network,
Signaling a measurement control message from the first user terminal;
Performing a plurality of cell measurements at the first user terminal;
Confirming whether the first user terminal is authorized to access the cell for the cell measurement;
Determining whether to report the cell measurement based on the confirmation step;
A method comprising the steps of:   The method of claim 13, wherein the home cell operates at a frequency that is not used by other network cells. A network including a plurality of base stations defining a communication cell; and first and second user terminals that communicate with the network, wherein the plurality of base stations are not the second user terminals but the first user terminals. A mobile communication system comprising at least one base station defining a home cell associated with one user terminal, wherein the home cell overlaps a range of communication cells available by both the first and second user terminals A method for operating a communication network for home cell measurement comprising:
Signaling a measurement control message from the network to a user terminal,
The measurement control message performs cell measurement for a plurality of cells in the first user terminal, and whether or not the first user terminal is authorized to access the cell based on the cell measurement. And determining whether to report the cell measurement based on the confirmation, and including a field for instructing the first user terminal to enter a limited report mode. how to.   The method of claim 15, wherein determining whether to report the cell measurement further comprises determining whether to report the measurement depending on whether it represents a change event. Method.   The method according to claim 16, wherein the change event includes a cell that the first user terminal is authorized to access, and the cell becomes an optimal cell.   The method of claim 16, wherein the change event includes a cell that the user terminal is not authorized to access, and the cell becomes an optimal cell.   The method of claim 15, wherein the home cell operates at a frequency not used by other network cells. A method for measuring a home cell in a cellular network,
Sending a signal to the user terminal to indicate home cell channel measurement and reporting;
Providing a first user terminal for measuring and reporting the home cell channel upon receipt of the signal;
Providing a second user terminal capable of measuring the precise position when receiving the signal and measuring and reporting the home cell when proximity is detected and capable of measuring the precise position;
A method comprising the steps of:   21. The method of claim 20, wherein the home cell operates at a frequency that is not used by other network cells. A measurement method of a home cell in a cellular network,
Sending a control message to the user terminal instructing to measure and report the home cell channel;
Providing a user terminal capable of measuring and reporting the home cell channel upon receipt of the control message; and
The network detects when the user terminal is in proximity to the home cell, and the location of the home cell that the user terminal is authorized to use to limit home cell measurements based on the detection Wherein the user terminal is arranged to transmit to each registered base station.   The method of claim 22, wherein the home cell operates on a frequency that is not used by other network cells. A method of operating a cellular network for home cell measurements,
Using the security information related to the user terminal transmitted from the network being handed over from the cellular network to the home cell, allowing the confirmation of the home cell and the user terminal being handed over directly from the network cell; A method comprising the steps of:   25. The method of claim 24, wherein the home cell operates at a frequency that is not used by other network cells. A home cell measurement method in a cellular network,
Whether to send a signal to the user terminal to report whether the measurement is given for the measurement of a given channel corresponding to the home cell and to determine whether the user is authorized to use the home cell and report the measurement Using the determination when determining whether or not.   27. The method of claim 26, wherein the home cell operates at a frequency that is not used by other network cells.

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