Method of controlling home cell selection for a wireless communication system and related device

Method and related device for controlling selection of special cells in wireless communication system

The present invention relates to a method and communication device used in a wireless communication system, in particular to a method and communication device used in a wireless communication system, so as to save the power consumption of a specific cell selection operation of a roaming client terminal.

The System Architecture Evolution (SAE) system, which is regulated by the 3rd Generation Mobile Telecommunications Alliance (3GPP), is a new core network architecture of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), which is the Internet The mass market of Internet Protocol (IP) provides cost-effective deployment and operation. Network evolution mainly includes meeting the wireless interface requirements of a long term evolution (LTE) system, simplifying the network structure, and all-IP network, which means that all services use packet switching for transmission, wireless circuit switching, and support for different Continuity of operations and services between access networks, such as 2G/3G, long-term evolution systems, and non-3GPP access systems.

System architecture evolution The system includes a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Serving Gateway (S-GW), and a Public Data Network Channel (PDN Gateway, P-GW). The mobile management system is a control plane entity used to manage network service additions, client authentication, and coordinate the establishment of related wireless loads in the evolutionary wireless access network.

System architecture The function of the evolution system includes the non-access layer function performed by the client in the idle mode. The client and the evolved packet core network are performed through an evolved universal mobile communication system (Evolved UMTS, E-UTRAN) The non-access layer signaling process, and the third layer signaling process between the client and the evolved packet core network through the non-3GPP access network. Among them, the evolved universal mobile communication system includes a plurality of evolved base stations.

In the non-access layer, home cells are deployed to use a single base station in a home area, a building area, or a small cell group (such as a campus area). Access qualifications for special cells are only limited to subscribers. A Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) cell can be regarded as a special cell, which is a part of the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). In addition, when the cell identification of a closed user group cell is stored in a white list of a user terminal, the user terminal can access the closed user group cell. In other words, the whitelist is used to provide cell identification of multiple accessible closed user group cells, so that the client can reside in the closed user group cells on the whitelist. Generally speaking, the whitelist is determined by the mass land mobile network.

A roaming client refers to a client moving from a mobile network in a mass location to a mobile network in other mass locations. The public place mobile network where the client leaves is called a local network, and the public place mobile network where the client temporarily resides is called a visitor network. When a client with a whitelist roams to a visited network, the visited network cannot know whether the client stores the whitelist, so the visited network cannot process the whitelist. When the client resides in a macro cell of the visited network, the client will try to search for closed user group cells in the whitelist. However, closed user group cells that visit the Internet are usually not in the whitelist on the client side. In this case, the client continues to periodically search for closed user group cells, but will not find any accessible closed user group cells, so unnecessary cell search procedures will cause excess power consumption on the client side.

The present invention provides a method and a related communication device, which are used to save power consumption of a specific cell selection operation of a roaming user terminal of a wireless communication system.

The present invention discloses a method for saving power consumption in the selection operation of specific cells, which is used in a client of a wireless communication system, and the client includes a whitelist for providing a plurality of accessible specific cells. Contains: When the client roams to a visited network, clear the whitelist.

The present invention also discloses a communication device used in a wireless communication system to save power consumption of a specific cell selection operation of a client. The client includes a whitelist for providing a plurality of accessible features.Genuscells. The communication device includes a processor, a communication interface unit, a control unit, and a computer readable recording medium. The processor is used to process a stored data; the communication interface unit is used to exchange wireless signals with a remote communication device of the wireless communication system; the control unit is coupled to the processor and the communication interface unit and uses According to the processing result of the processor, the communication interface unit and the communication device are controlled; the computer can read the recording medium and is coupled to the processor to store the stored data. The stored data includes a program for clearing the whitelist when the client roams to a visited network.

The present invention also discloses a method for saving power consumption of specific cell selection operations, which is used in a client of a wireless communication system. The client includes a white list for providing a plurality of accessible specific cells and corresponding ones. In the network of the plurality of accessible special cells, the method includes: when the client roams to a visited network and resides in a macro cell of the visited network, searching in the Special cells in the whitelist; detect the presence of the visited network in the whitelist; and when the visited network is not detected from the whitelist, stop searching for the whitelist Plural specific cells.

The present invention also discloses a communication device used in a wireless communication system to save power consumption of a specific cell selection operation of a client. The client includes a whitelist for providing a plurality of accessible features.Genuscells. The communication device includes a processor, a communication interface unit, a control unit, and a computer readable recording medium. The processor is used to process a stored data; the communication interface unit is used to exchange wireless signals with a remote communication device of the wireless communication system; the control unit is coupled to the processor and the communication interface unit and uses According to the processing result of the processor, the communication interface unit and the communication device are controlled; the computer can read the recording medium and is coupled to the processor to store the stored data. Among them, the stored data includes a white list for providing a plurality of accessible special cells and a network corresponding to the plurality of accessible special cells; a first program is used as the client When roaming to a visited network and resides in a macro cell of the visited network, detect the presence of the visited network in the whitelist; and a second program for when the visitor When the visiting network is not detected from the white list, stop searching for the plurality of specific cells in the white list.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 10. The architecture of the wireless communication system 10 is based on a System Architecture Evolution (SAE), a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), or a hybrid system of the System Architecture Evolution (SAE) system and the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. The wireless communication system 10 includes a user terminal 100 and public land mobile networks (Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN) 110 and 120. The PLMNs 110 and 120 include Home Location Registers (HLRs) 112 and 122. Location Registers (Visitor Location Registers, VLRs) 114 and 124, and Base Station Systems (BSSs) 116 and 126. The user terminal 100 can support a system architecture evolution system and a universal mobile communication system, and can be applied to the wireless communication system 10. Among them, the local location register 112 records that the client 100 is a special client. When the user terminal 100 resides in one of the macro cells of the PLMN 110, the PLMN 110 can process a white list of the client 100, which provides a plurality of closed subscriber group (CSG) cells that can be accessed, which is a home cell known to those with ordinary knowledge in the field. The user terminal 100 searches for appropriate CSG cells based on the white list for the CSG service.

When the client 100 roams from the PLMN 110 to the PLMN 120, the PLMN 110 is regarded as a local network, and the PLMN 120 is regarded as a visited network. The visitor location register 124 recognizes the user terminal 100 as a visitor, and therefore provides a wireless interface through the base station system 126 to perform the user terminal's mobile management, verification, authorization and billing procedures. During the roaming process, the PLMN 120 cannot know whether the user terminal 100 has stored a whitelist.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless communication device 20 may be the client 100 in FIG. 1, which includes a processor 200, a computer-readable recording medium 210, a communication interface unit 220, and a control unit 230. The computer-readable recording medium 210 can be any data storage device for storing a stored data 212, which includes a program and a white list, and is read and processed by the processor 200. The computer readable recording medium 210 may be read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tape ( magnetic tapes), floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and carrier signals (such as Internet data transmission). The control unit 230 is used for controlling the state and related operations of the communication interface unit 220 and the communication device 20 according to the processing result of the processor 200. The communication interface unit 220 is preferably a wireless receiver for wireless communication with a base station. The base station may be one of the base station systems 126 in FIG. 1.

The white list of the communication device 20 can provide a plurality of CSG cells and related networks, and the CSG cells can be accessed by the communication device 20 and provided by a local network. Through whitelist, when the communication device 20 in the local network to one of the macro cell, the communication apparatus 20 may search for CSG white list of fine cells to use the CSG service. When the communication device 20 roams from the local network to a visited network, the communication device 20 stops searching for CSG cells according to the concept of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a whitelist clearing process to prevent the communication device 20 from searching for CSG cells.

Please refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of a whitelist clearing process 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The whitelist clearing process 30 is used for one of a wireless communication system to visit the network to save the power consumption of the CSG cell selection operation of a client (such as client 100), and it can be compiled into a computer readable record. The program in the stored data 212 of the medium 210. The whitelist removal process 30 includes the following steps:

Step 300: Start.

Step 302: When the client roams to a visited network, clear the white list.

Step 304: End.

According to the whitelist clearing process 30, when the client roams to the visited network, the visited network can clear the whitelist. Preferably, visiting the network uses a whitelist update process to clear the whitelist. The whitelist update process may be at least one of an additional process, a tracking area update process, a location area update process, and a routing area update process initiated by the client.

When the client roams to the visited network, through the whitelist clearing process 30, the client will not search for CSG cells, and when the client resides in a macro cell, the CSG cells listed in the whitelist will be cleared. Therefore, CSG cell selection will not be performed. Therefore, the user terminal can avoid the power consumption when searching for CSG cells.

The embodiment of the whitelist clearing process 30 can be applied to the client 100 in FIG. 1. When the client 100 roams from the PLMN 110 to the PLMN 120, the client sends an ATTACH REQUEST message to the PLMN 120 to initiate the attach process. The PLMN 120 places a blank white list in an ATTACH ACCEPT message, and sends the additional acceptance message to reply to the additional request message. After the client receives and reads the additional acceptance message, all CSG cells in the whitelist are removed. Therefore, after the user terminal 100 roams to the PLMN 120, it will not continue to search for CSG cells.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a visited network detection process to prevent the communication device 20 from searching for CSG cells.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a schematic diagram of a visited network detection process 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The visited network detection process 40 is used in a client to save power consumption of the CSG cell selection operation of the client, and can be compiled into a program stored in the storage data 212 of the computer-readable recording medium 210. The visiting network detection process 40 includes the following steps:

Step 400: Start.

Step 402: When the client resides in a macro cell of a visited network, detect the existence of the visited network in the white list.

Step 404: When the visited network is not detected from the white list, stop searching for CSG cells in the white list.

Step 406: End.

According to the visited network detection process 40, when roaming to the visited network and resides in its macro cell, first detect the presence of the visited network in the whitelist to determine whether the visited network is white The list of accessible networks in the list. When the client does not detect the visited network from the whitelist, it stops searching for the CSG cells in the whitelist.

The embodiment of the visited network detection process 40 can be applied to the client 100 in FIG. 1. In order to provide CSG services, the PLMN 110 provides the client 100 with a whitelist, which includes a list of multiple accessible CSG cells and their related networks. For example, the whitelist includes identifications of accessible CSG cells and network identifications corresponding to these CSG cells. When the user terminal 100 roams from the PLMN 110 to the PLMN 120, the user terminal 100 determines whether the PLMN 120 is in the white list. When the user terminal 100 cannot find the PLMN 120 in the white list, it means that all the CSG cells in the white list are not in the range of the PLMN 120. In this case, the client 100 stops the CSG cell search to save power consumption. Among them, the client 100 can determine whether to stop the CSG cell search based on the system information broadcast by the PLMN 120, and the system data will include the network identification of the PLMN 120.

According to the visited network detection process 40, steps 404 and 402 can be simplified as: the client detects the presence of the visited network; when the visited network exists (enters), the client stops searching for CSG cells.

The following is another embodiment of the visited network detection process 40 applied to the client 100. Similarly, the PLMN 110 provides a whitelist of the client 100 to provide CSG services. The whitelist includes the identification of accessible CSG cells and the identification of related networks. When the client 100 roams from the PLMN 110 to the PLMN 120, the client 100 detects whether the PLMN 120 is a visiting network. When the client 100 determines that the PLMN 120 is a visiting network, it stops the CSG cell search to save power consumption. Similarly, the client 100 can determine whether to stop the CSG cell search based on the network identification in the system data broadcast by the PLMN 120.

To sum up, the embodiment of the present invention solves the problem of waste of power when searching for CSG cells on the roaming client by clearing the white list or detecting the existence of the visited network.

The foregoing descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

<p>10. . . Wireless communication system</p><p>100. . . user terminal</p><p>110, 120. . . Mobile Internet in Mass Places</p><p>112, 122. . . Home location register</p><p>114, 124. . . Visiting location register</p><p>116, 126. . . Base station system</p><p>20. . . Communication device</p><p>200. . . processor</p><p>210. . . Computer readable recording media</p><p>220. . . Communication interface unit</p><p>230. . . control unit</p><p>212. . . Save data</p><p>30, 40. . . process</p><p>300, 302, 304, 400, 402, 404, 406. . . step</p>

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a whitelist clearing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a visiting network detection process according to an embodiment of the present invention.