RU2458482C2 - Using broadcast signals to transmit restricted association information - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: information technology.

SUBSTANCE: described are methods of transmitting access point types and/or restricted association parameters using broadcast signals, such as beacons, pilot signals, etc. The type or restricted association information can be indicated by one or more intrinsic aspects of the signal, such as specified parameters. In addition, the type or information can be indicated by one or more extrinsic signal aspects, such as frequency, interval, periodicity, etc. Using this information, a mobile device can determine whether an access point implements restricted association. If so, the mobile device can request an access point or related group identifier before determining whether to establish connection therewith. The identifier can be verified against a list of accessible access points and/or groups to make the determination.

EFFECT: high efficiency of the handover process.

45 cl, 12 dwg

Description

Cross reference to related applications

This application claims the priority of provisional application US No. 60 / 988,631 "Device and method for facilitating the transfer of service in idle mode in systems with limited association", filed November 16, 2007, provisional application US No. 60 / 988,641 "Device and method for facilitating the transfer connection service in limited association systems, filed November 16, 2007, US Provisional Application No. 60 / 988,649, “Device and Method for Facilitating the Management and Advertising of Neighbor Lists in Limited Association Systems,” by this November 16, 2007, and provisional application US No. 61 / 025,093 "Systems and methods for signaling a limited association", filed January 31, 2008 Mentioned applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

In addition, this application is related to pending US patent applications "Use of restriction codes when trying to connect to a wireless access point", Gavin Horn et al. Attorney Number 072324U1; “Preference for Access Points in Wireless Communications,” Gavin Horn et al. Attorney Number 072324U2; “Access Point Classification Using Pilot Identifiers,” Gavin Horn et al. Attorney Number 072324U4; and “Sector Identification by Signing Sector Parameters”, Gavin Horn et al. Attorney Number 072324U5, which are filed simultaneously with this application, are assigned to the applicant of this application and are also incorporated herein by reference.

Technical field

The following description relates to wireless communications and, in particular, to the use of broadcast signals to transmit limited association data in a wireless communication network.

State of the art

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication, such as, for example, voice, data, etc. Typical wireless communication systems may be multiple access systems that are capable of communicating with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access systems may include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems and etc. In addition, the mentioned systems can meet such specifications as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 3GPP Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), etc.

In general, multiple access wireless communication systems can simultaneously support communication for multiple mobile devices. Each mobile device can communicate with one or more base stations by transmitting on the uplink and downlink. A forward communication line (or downlink) indicates a communication line from base stations to mobile devices, and a reverse communication line (or uplink) indicates a communication line from mobile devices to base stations. Additionally, communication between mobile devices and base stations can be established via Single Input and Single Output (SISO) systems, Multiple Inputs and Single Output (MISO) systems, Multiple Inputs and Multiple Outputs (MIMO) systems, and the like. In addition, mobile devices can communicate with other mobile devices (and / or base stations can communicate with other base stations) in the configuration of peer wireless network elements.

MIMO systems typically use multiple (N _T ) transmit antennas and multiple (N _R ) receive antennas for data transmission. These antennas can be connected to both base stations and mobile devices, and in one example, they provide bidirectional communication between devices over a wireless network. As mobile devices move throughout the service area, the cells used by the devices for communication can be selected from one or more access points (eg, macro cells, femtocells, etc.). This may occur, for example, when an available access point or its serving cell provides a better signal or service than the current access point. Mobile devices can measure parameters associated with one or more cells, such as signal quality, level of service, etc., and rank these cells based on one or more of these parameters. In one example, an available access point may relate to a home access point for a given mobile device, and it can provide the required performance in terms of cost of services, coverage, service options, and the like. Accordingly, the cells used for communication can be re-selected to switch to a more desired access point in a given range.

Disclosure of invention

This section provides a simplified summary of one or more embodiments, intended to provide a basic explanation of such embodiments. This section is not an exhaustive overview of all proposed embodiments, and it is intended to neither identify the key or critical elements of all embodiments, nor determine the scope of such embodiments. The sole purpose of this section is to present some concepts of one or more embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows.

According to one or more embodiments and their corresponding disclosure, various aspects are described herein in connection with facilitating the indication of limited association information by using broadcast signals in wireless communication networks. For example, a mobile device may receive limited association information through a broadcast signal from an access point and use this information to determine the feasibility of re-selecting a cell for this access point. An access point can generate broadcast signals containing one or more indicators / identifiers that can belong to the class of the access point (for example, femtocell, macrocell, etc.), the group with which this access point is associated (which can be based on the provider access point services, location of access point, etc.), limited association indicator, sector identifier, etc. Mobile devices can receive indicators / identifiers and use them to identify aspects of the access point when determining whether to re-select one or more cells associated with this access point, for example.

According to relevant aspects, a method is provided for determining cell information for reselection in a wireless communication network. This method includes determining a limited association indicator from a broadcast signal received from an access point. This method further includes the step of obtaining from the broadcast signal the group identifier associated with the access point based at least in part on the limited association indicator, and communicating with the access point based at least in part determining the group identifier present in the list of identifiers of available groups.

Another aspect relates to a wireless communications device. This wireless communication device may include at least one processor configured to receive a broadcast signal from an access point and determine a limited association indicator from this broadcast signal. Said processor is further configured to receive, from a broadcast signal, an identification of a group associated with an access point based, at least in part, on a limited association indicator. Moreover, the processor is further configured to communicate with the access point based, at least in part, on the identification definition present in the list of preferred access point groups. Said wireless communication device also comprises a memory coupled to said at least one processor.

Another aspect relates to a wireless communication device that facilitates communication with an access point in a wireless network. This wireless communication device may comprise means for determining a limited association indicator from a broadcast signal received from an access point, and means for determining from a broadcast signal an identification of a group associated with the access point based, at least in part, on a limited association indicator. The wireless communication device may further include means for communicating with the access point based at least in part on the identification of the group.

Another aspect relates to a computer program product, which may include a computer readable medium including code for causing at least one computer to determine a limited association indicator from a broadcast signal received from an access point. This computer-readable medium may also contain code for causing at least one computer to obtain from the broadcast signal a group identifier associated with an access point based at least in part on a limited association indicator. Moreover, the computer-readable medium may comprise code for causing at least one computer to establish a connection with the access point based at least in part on determining a group identifier present in the list of identifiers of available groups.

In addition, one additional aspect is related to the device. This device may include a limited association indicator identifier that determines a limited association indicator from a broadcast signal received from an access point, and an access point identifier identifier that obtains from an broadcast signal an identification of an access point group associated with an access point based on at least in part, an indicator of limited association. This device may further include a cell reselection unit that communicates with the access point based at least in part on an identification definition present in the list of preferred access point groups.

According to further aspects, a method is provided for defining access point information in broadcast signals transmitted over a wireless communication network. This method may include determining the type of access point and generating a broadcast signal that identifies the access point based, at least in part, on the type of access point. This method further includes the step of repeatedly transmitting the broadcast signal over a wireless network according to said type of access point.

Another aspect relates to a wireless communications device. This wireless communication device may include at least one processor configured to receive a type of wireless communication device and generate a broadcast signal that identifies the wireless communication device based at least in part on said type. This processor is further configured to repeatedly transmit a broadcast signal over a wireless network to identify said type. Said wireless communication device also comprises a memory coupled to said at least one processor.

Another aspect relates to a wireless communications apparatus that facilitates indicating limited association in wireless communications. This wireless communication device may comprise means for receiving a type of wireless communication device and means for generating a broadcast signal that identifies the wireless communication device based at least in part on said type. This wireless communication device may further include means for repeatedly transmitting a broadcast signal through a wireless network according to the type.

Another aspect relates to a computer program product, which may include a computer-readable medium including code for prompting at least one computer to determine the type of access point. This computer-readable medium may also contain code for causing at least one computer to generate a broadcast signal that identifies an access point based at least in part on the type of access point. Moreover, this computer-readable medium may comprise code for causing at least one computer to transmit a broadcast signal repeatedly over a wireless network according to said type of access point.

In addition, one additional aspect is related to the device. This device may include a limited association specifier that specifies a limited association indicator associated with a particular type of device. This device may further include a broadcast signal generator that generates a broadcast signal based at least in part on a limited association indicator, and a transmitter that repeatedly transmits this broadcast signal over a wireless network according to said limited association indicator.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and other related ends, one or more embodiments comprise features that are described in detail below and specifically highlighted in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail illustrative aspects of one or more embodiments. However, these aspects indicate only a few ways in which the principles of various embodiments can be applied, and the described embodiments include all such aspects and their equivalents.

Brief Description of the Drawings

1 is an illustration of a wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects described herein;

Figure 2 is an illustration of a wireless communication network that facilitates cell reselection;

Figure 3 is an illustration of a communication device for use in a wireless communication environment;

4 is an illustration of an example wireless communication system that uses broadcast signals to indicate limited association information;

5 is an illustration of an example methodology that facilitates performing cell reselection in wireless networks;

6 is an illustration of an example methodology that facilitates the evaluation of broadcast signals to determine limited association or access point type information;

7 is an illustration of an example methodology that facilitates the generation of broadcast signals to indicate limited association or access point type information;

Fig. 8 is an illustration of an example mobile device that facilitates analysis of broadcast signals to obtain access point information;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of an example system that generates broadcast signals containing access point information indicators; FIG.

10 is an illustration of an example wireless network environment that can be used in combination with various systems and methods described herein;

11 is an illustration of an example system that evaluates broadcast signals for determining access point information;

12 is an illustration of an example system that includes access point information in respective broadcast signals.

The implementation of the invention

Various embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate like elements. In the description below, for purposes of explanation, various specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. However, it should be understood that such embodiments may be implemented without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing one or more embodiments.

As used herein, the terms "component", "module", "system", etc. designed to describe a computer-related object — hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software or software. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to, a processor executed by a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, a thread of execution, a program, and / or a computer. As an illustration, a component can be either an application running on a computing device or the computing device itself. One or more components may be involved in the process and / or thread of execution, and the component may be localized on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can be executed from various computer-readable media containing various data structures. These components can communicate through local and / or remote processes, as, for example, in the case of a signal with one or more data packets (for example, data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and / or through a signal through network, such as the Internet).

Additionally, various embodiments are described herein in connection with a mobile device. A mobile device may also be called a system, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, terminal, wireless device, user agent, user device, or User Equipment (UE). The mobile device may be a cell phone, cordless telephone, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) telephone, Wireless Local Area Station (WLL) station, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), hand-held wireless device, computing device or other processing device connected to wireless modem. Additionally, various embodiments are described herein in connection with a base station. A base station can be used to communicate with mobile terminals, and it can also be referred to as an access point, Node B, Advanced Node B (eNode B or eNB), or some other terminology.

Moreover, the various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as a method, device, or product using standard programming and / or engineering methods. As used herein, the term “product” is intended to mean a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, medium, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disks, magnetic tapes, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact discs (CDs), Digital Versatile Disks ( DVD), etc.), smart cards and flash memory devices (for example, EPROM, cards, flash drives, keys, etc.). In addition, the various storage media may be one or more devices and / or other computer-readable media for storing information. The term “computer readable medium” may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing and / or transferring instructions and / or data.

The methods described herein can be used for various wireless communication systems, such as a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) system, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) system, a Multiple Access system with Orthogonal Frequency Division (OFDMA), Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), etc. The terms “system” and “network” are used interchangeably herein. A CDMA system can implement such radio technology as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), CDMA2000, etc. UTRA includes the Broadband CDMA (W-CDMA) standard and other varieties of CDMA. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system can implement such radio technology as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM®, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Communications System (UMTS) standard. 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a future release that uses E-UTRA, where OFDMA is used on the downlink and SC-FDMA is used on the uplink. The UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSM standards are described in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) documents. The CDMA2000 and UMB standards are described in the documents of the “Second Generation Partnership Project 3” (3GPP2).

1, a wireless communication system 100 is illustrated in accordance with various embodiments. System 100 comprises a base station 102, which may include multiple antenna groups. For example, one antenna group may include antennas 104 and 106, another group may include antennas 108 and 110, and a third group may include antennas 112 and 114. In this example, two antennas are shown for each antenna group. However, fewer or more antennas may be used for each group. The base station 102, optionally, may contain a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit, each of which, in turn, contains many components associated with the transmission and reception of the signal (for example, processors, modulators, multiplexers, demodulators, demultiplexers, antennas, etc. .), which should be obvious to specialists in this field of technology.

Base station 102 may communicate with one or more mobile devices, such as mobile device 116 and mobile device 126. However, it should be understood that base station 102 can communicate with any number of mobile devices similar to mobile devices 116 and 126 Mobile devices 116 and 126 may be, for example, cell phones, smartphones, laptops, handheld communication devices, handheld computing devices, satellite radio, global positioning systems, Personnel Digital Secretaries (PDAs) and / or other suitable devices for communication via the wireless communication network 100. As shown, the mobile device 116 is in communication with the antennas 112 and 114, where the antennas 112 and 114 transmit information to the mobile device 116 via the forward link 118 and receive information from the mobile device 116 via the return link 120. In Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, the forward link 118 may use a frequency band that is different from the frequency band used by the reverse link 120, for example. In addition, in Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, the forward link 118 and the reverse link 120 may use a common frequency.

Each group of antennas and / or the area in which they should provide communication is called a sector or hundredth of base station 102. For example, the group of antennas can be arranged to communicate with mobile devices in one sector of the area covered by base station 102. In communication via the forward link 118, the transmitting antennas of the base station 102 can use beamforming to increase the signal-to-noise ratio on the forward link 118 for the mobile device 116. In addition, since the base station 102 uses ation beam for transmission to mobile device 116, which may be located anywhere in the respective coverage, mobile devices in neighboring cells can be subject to less interference as compared to a case where the base station transmits via a single antenna to all its mobile devices. Moreover, mobile devices 116 and 126 can communicate directly with each other using peer-to-peer technology or ad-hoc networks.

In addition, the base station 102 may communicate with the network 122, which may be one or more networks including a wireless access network (eg, a 3G network) through a transport channel connection. Network 122 may store information regarding access parameters that are associated with mobile devices 116 and 126, as well as other parameters of the wireless access network to serve devices 116 and 126. Additionally, a femtocell 124 may be provided to facilitate communication with the mobile device 126 via the forward link 128 and the reverse link 130 (similarly, the forward link 118 and the reverse link 120, as described above). Femtocell 124 may provide access to one or more mobile devices 126 similarly to base station 102, but on a smaller scale. In one example, femtocell 124 may be configured at home, in the office, and / or in another environment with a small radius of coverage (for example, in a park, stadium, apartment complex, etc.). Femtocell 124 may be connected to network 122 via a transport channel, which, for example, may be based on a broadband Internet connection (T1 / T3, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable line, and the like). Similarly, network 122 may provide access information for mobile device 126.

According to one example, mobile devices 116 and 126 can navigate service areas and reselect cells among different base stations and / or femtocells. So, mobile devices 116 and 126 can provide continuous service seamlessly to users of mobile devices 116 and 126. In one example (not shown), mobile device 126 can communicate with base station 102 similarly to mobile device 116, and after that it can move to a specified the coverage area of the femtocell 124. Accordingly, the mobile device 126 may re-select one or more cells associated with the femtocell 124 to receive a higher quality wireless access service. In one example, the femtocell 124 may be a home access point for mobile device 126, which provides better options in terms of cost of services and / or other access parameters. In yet another example, the femtocell 124 may be associated with a business or some entity, and it may provide options or data that are specifically tailored for that particular business or entity. Thus, the mobile device 126 can re-select one or more cells associated with the femtocell 124 in idle mode and / or in connection mode to accept such special options. In addition, when the mobile device 126 moves toward the base station 102, it can re-select its associated cell for a number of reasons (for example, to reduce interference to the femtocell 124, to receive a more optimal signal, or to provide more bandwidth, etc. P.).

When moving around the coverage area, mobile devices 116 and / or 126 can continuously measure the parameters of available base stations (such as base station 102), femtocells (such as femtocell 124) and / or other access points to determine when cell reselection will be suitable for mobile device 116 and / or 126. The measurement may include, for example, evaluating signal quality, bandwidth, available services, wireless access provider associated with this access point, and the like. Based on one or more of these measurements, mobile devices 116 and / or 126 may rank access points for reselection. After ranking, mobile devices 116 and / or 126 may try to reselect a cell to the highest rank access point. In addition, mobile devices 116 and / or 126 may maintain a list of available access points and / or groups of available access points. Available access points may relate to, for example, limited association access points that are permitted to mobile devices 116 and / or 126, and / or which are preferred over other access points.

In one example, the femtocell 124 may be such a limited association access point. Restricted access points, for example, may be limited in some aspects, where each access point provides certain services to specific mobile devices (e.g., mobile devices 116 and / or 126), but not to other mobile devices or access terminals (not shown). For example, femtocell 124 may be limited so as not to provide registration, signaling, voice, data access, and / or additional services to other mobile devices or access terminals. Limited association access points can be deployed ad-hoc (self-organization). For example, some homeowner may install and configure a limited access point for a home.

In one example, mobile devices 116 and / or 126 may identify one and / or more available access points based at least in part on one or more indicators in the broadcast signal associated with these access points. Upon receiving one or more indicators, before attempting to reselect the cell, the mobile devices 116 and / or 126 can verify that these access points are on the list or that the corresponding group identifier is on the list. In yet another example, mobile devices 116 and / or 126 can verify the list access point association prior to measuring parameters for ranking.

In one example, base station 102 and / or femtocell 124 may transmit broadcast signals that may be received by one or more mobile devices 116 and / or 126. Broadcast signals may beacon signals used to identify the presence and / or signal strength in a sector for communication, pilot signals used to determine initial communication parameters for receiving subsequent signals, and the like. In addition, the broadcast signals may include a limited association indicator, an access point identifier, a group identifier associated with a group of access points (e.g., access points of a common service provider, access points of some company or community, etc.), sector identifier, type identifier and / or additional indicators. The restricted association indicator may indicate, for example, whether access to the base station 102 and / or the femtocell 124 is restricted to only certain mobile devices and / or groups thereof. For example, an access point may be associated with a company, and mobile devices belonging to this company or its employees may use this access point. In addition, the limited association indicator may indicate the level of limited association. An access point may limit all access and / or signaling access, registration access, service access, and the like. Upon receipt of a broadcast signal, one or more mobile devices 116 and / or 126 may detect a limited association indicator. Obviously, this indicator can be a logical value, a set of values, a text identifier, etc., so that the presence or absence of this indicator and / or its specific values can be detected.

When this indicator is present in the broadcast signal and / or a predetermined value is present indicating that the base station 102 and / or the femtocell 124 is implementing limited association, mobile devices 116 and / or 126 can further evaluate the access point and / or group identifier and compare this identifier with a list of available identifiers, for example. In one example, each access point, such as base station 102 and / or femtocell 124, may include an identifier in the composition of this broadcast signal. This identifier can be compared with a supported list of available access points and / or group identifiers to ensure that it is in the list. If the result is positive, a connection request can be made and / or a connection can be established with base station 102 and / or femtocell 124. In one example, this process may be part of cell reselection. It should be understood that if the indicator of limited association is absent from the broadcast signal or is false, then the identifier is not necessary to evaluate and its presence is also optional, since access to the base station 102 and / or femtocell 124 is not limited. Moreover, a sector identifier can be evaluated to determine if the access point implements a limited association. In addition, an indicator and / or identifier of an access point or group, for example, can be highlighted by one or more indirect aspects of the broadcast signal, such as transmission time, interval, size, frequency, frequency used, and the like. In this example, mobile devices 116 and / or 126 may evaluate one or more of these indirect aspects to determine indicators and / or identifiers.

2, a wireless communication system 200 is configured to support a number of mobile devices. System 200 supports communications for multiple cells, such as, for example, macro cells 202A - 202G, with each cell being served by a corresponding access point 204A - 204G. As described above, access points 204A - 204G associated with macro cells 202A - 202G may be base stations. As shown, mobile devices 206A - 206I are located in different places throughout the wireless communication system 200. Each mobile device 206A-206I may communicate with one or more access points 204A-204G over a forward link and / or reverse link. Access points 208A through 208C are also illustrated. As described above, the latter may be smaller access points, such as femtocells, providing location-related services. Mobile devices 206A - 206I may additionally communicate with these smaller access points 208A - 208C to receive services offered. In one example, the wireless communication system 200 may provide a service in a large geographic area (for example, macro cells 202A - 202G may cover several quarters, and femtocell access points 208A - 208C may be located in areas such as apartments, office buildings, etc.) . In one example, mobile devices 206A - 206I can connect to access points 204A - 204G and / or 208A - 208C via a radio channel and / or through a transport network.

In addition, mobile devices 206A-206I can move throughout the system 200 and can re-select cells associated with different types of access points 204A-204G and / or 208A-208C when they are in coverage areas of different macro cells 202A-202G or femtocells. In one example, one or more mobile devices 206A - 206I may be associated with a home femtocell associated with at least one of the femtocell access points 208A - 208C. For example, mobile device 206I may be associated with a femtocell access point 208B as a home femtocell. So, although the mobile device 206I is located in the macro cell 202B and, accordingly, in the coverage area of the access point 204B, it can communicate with the femtocell access point 208B instead of (or in addition to) the access point 204B. In one example, the femtocell access point 208B may provide additional services to the mobile device 206I, such as lower rates, per-minute usage, advanced services (eg, faster broadband access, multimedia services, and the like). So, when the mobile device 206I is in the range of the femtocell access point 208B, it can communicate with it because of the preference of the femtocell access point 208B when selecting a cell again.

For example, mobile device 206D may be associated with a femtocell access point 208C. When the mobile device 206D moves from the macro cell 202C to the macro cell 202D and is closer to the access points 204D and / or 208C, it can start the cell reselection process. This process may include, for example, measuring parameters of surrounding cells (eg, associated with access points 204C, 204D and 208C) to determine the desired connection. For example, said parameters may be related to signal quality, connection bandwidth, services offered, service provider associated with this access point, and the like. Mobile device 206D can further verify the presence of an access point identifier in the list of available access points. This list may further or alternatively identify groups of access points, where the identifier of the group of access points can be verified by the identifiers of the groups in the list. In the following example, the mobile device 206D can measure the parameters for access points 204C, 204D and 208C and rank the cells to determine whether it is worth switching from access point 204C to one of the other access points, if their rank is higher. As in the previous example, where the femtocell access point 208C refers to the home femtocell of the mobile device 206D, it may be preferred for reselection (for example, by evaluating the added parameter shift to increase its value and / or hysteresis to decrease the parameter values of other access points ) If one or more of the different types of access points 204D and / or 208C have a higher rank than the access point 204C, then the mobile device 206D can re-select one and / or more cells associated with these access points 204D or 208C, regardless of whether it is in idle mode or in connection mode.

In one example, one or more of different types of access points 204D and / or 208C may have limited association, and some mobile devices cannot connect to them, and / or access points 204D and / or 208C may restrict certain mobile devices to provide signaling, data access, registration, services, etc. This may be based, at least in part, on the service provider of the mobile device and the limited association access point, for example. In yet another example, a limited association access point may be associated with certain mobile devices, such as corporate access points that restrict access only to corporate mobile devices. Thus, if the mobile device 206D cannot re-select cells associated with one or more different types of access points 204D and / or 208C due to limited association, then it may attempt to re-select the cell for one or more of the other ranked access points until it finds an access point with which it can establish a connection. In cases where the mobile device 206D cannot establish a connection with the access point 204D and / or 208C due to limited association, it may receive a restriction code indicating the reason for the restriction.

In addition, mobile devices 206A through 206I may maintain a list of available access points and / or groups thereof. For example, this list may include only certain types of access points (such as femtocells), since other types of access points (such as macrocells) can be accessed by almost any mobile device. The list of available access points and / or groups can be populated, for example, with one or more access points in connection with mobile devices 206A - 206I, which can receive this information from a wireless network. When mobile devices 206A - 206I move around the coverage area of wireless system 200 and reselect the cells, they can first verify the presence of these cells in the list, if appropriate. In one example, if the mobile devices 206A-206I, based on the above measurements, determine one or more femtocell access points 208A - 208C as having the highest rank, they can verify that the corresponding femtocell access point is on the list. Otherwise, mobile devices may decide not to attempt to access the femtocell access point, and they may attempt to establish a connection with the next highest rank access point and / or attempt to find another access point on a different frequency.

As described above, access points 204A - 204G and / or 208A - 208C can transmit broadcast signals that can be used to indicate the presence of an access point and / or corresponding sector, specify initial communication parameters, and the like. In addition, these broadcast signals may indicate whether these access points 204A - 204G and / or 208A - 208C realize limited association, and / or they may indicate the corresponding identifier for the access point and / or the corresponding group of access points, as described above. In one example, these broadcast signals may further identify the corresponding sector, type of access point, and the like. Mobile devices 206A through 206I may use this information to determine if a high-ranking access point implements limited association. If it is determined that limited association is being implemented, then it is determined whether this access point is present in a supported list of available access points. If it is listed, the mobile device may request a connection and / or establish a connection with this access point. It should be understood that the external aspects of the broadcast signal can be used to indicate and determine the specified information of a limited association. Mentioned external aspects may include characteristics of the broadcast signal, such as type, duration, frequency, interval, length, frequency, etc.

5 is an illustration of a communication device 300 for use in a wireless communication environment. The communication device 300 may be a base station or part thereof, a mobile device or part thereof, or essentially any communication device that receives data transmitted in a wireless communication environment. The communication device 300 may include a broadcast signal estimator 302 that analyzes one or more broadcast signals to determine restricted association parameters associated with an access point (not shown) transmitting these signals, an access list controller 304 that maintains a list of available points accesses with which a connection can be established, as well as a connection requesting unit 306 that requests and / or establishes a connection with one or more access points. In one example, a connection request unit 306 may request and / or establish an initial connection. In addition, the connection request unit 306 may also request a connection during cell reselection.

According to one example, the broadcast signal estimator 302 may analyze one or more broadcast signals transmitted by one or more access points to determine an access point with which to establish a connection for an example wireless communication service. For example, the broadcast signal estimator 302 may determine one or more external and / or internal aspects of the signal, which may determine one or more indicators and / or identifiers associated with the restricted association of the corresponding access point. In one example, a restricted association indicator may be included in a broadcast signal (for example, as one or more of its parameters), so that the broadcast signal estimator 302 can determine whether the corresponding access point implements limited association based at least in part of this indicator. It should be understood that such an indication of limited association may be determined based at least in part on the type of signal, signal duration, signal frequency, signal interval, signal frequency, and the like.

If the broadcast signal estimator 302 determines that the access point implements limited association, the broadcast signal estimator 302 may further determine the identifier of the access point and / or the identifier associated with the group of access points present in the signal or identifiable by external aspects, such as described above. This identifier may be a text identifier, a primitive type identifier, a numbering identifier, and the like. Access list controller 304 may verify the presence of a specific access point identifier and / or group identifier in a supported list of available access points and / or groups. If the identifier is in the list, then the connection request unit 306 may request a connection to the access point. It should be understood that the access list controller 304 may additionally or alternatively maintain a list of access points and / or corresponding groups with which communication is prohibited. In this case, the access list controller 304 verifies that the access point identifier and / or group identifier is not included in this list. If the restricted association indicator is not present in the broadcast signal, as determined by the broadcast signal estimator 302, then the connection request unit 306 may request a connection to this access point because this access point does not implement limited association. Thus, the identifier of the access point and / or group can only be read if necessary in order to save the resources of the communication device 300.

The connection request unit 306 may, in addition, request a connection based at least in part on the broadcast signal during cell reselection, as described above. This may occur in idle mode and / or connection mode of the communication device 300. In addition, the sector identifier can be determined from the internal and / or external aspects of the broadcast signal by the broadcast signal estimator 302. For example, based on the sector identifier, the broadcast signal estimator may determine the type and / or aspect of the restricted association of the corresponding access point. Thus, in one example, it is not necessary to accept or analyze an indirect indicator of limited association. In one example, the access list controller 304 caches access point limited association information based on a sector identifier of a given access point, and does not need to receive an indirect indicator of limited association. Moreover, the sector identifier can be unique and / or lie in a certain range, so that the access list controller 304 can associate this identifier as a limited association access point. As described above, if it is determined that a given sector identifier refers to a restricted association access point, then the access point or group identifier may be determined from the broadcast signal, and the access list controller 304 may determine that access to this limited association access point is permitted . Moreover, a limited association indicator obtained from internal or external information by the broadcast signal estimator 302 may indicate limited association regarding signaling, data access, registration, services, and the like.

4 is an illustration of a wireless communication system 400 that facilitates displaying limited association information in broadcast signals. Wireless device 402, access point 404, and / or limited association access point 406 may be a base station, a femtocell, a mobile device, or part thereof. In one example, a wireless device 402 may transmit information to an access point 404 and / or limited association access point 406 via a reverse link or an uplink. Additionally, the wireless device 402 may receive information from an access point 404 or a restricted association access point 406 via a forward link or a downlink. Moreover, system 400 may be a MIMO system. In addition, in one example, components and functions shown and described with reference to wireless device 402 may be present at access point 404 and / or limited association access point 406. In the configuration shown, these components are excluded for ease of description.

The wireless device 402 includes a broadcast signal receiver 408 that can receive one or more broadcast signals transmitted from one or more access points, such as an access point 404 and a restricted association access point 406, a limited association indicator identifier 410 that can determine an indication of the limited association associated with the access point, based at least in part on the broadcast signal, an access point identifier determiner 412, which may radiate the identifier of the access point and / or group based on the broadcast signal, an access list controller 414 that can maintain a list of available access points and / or groups of access points, as well as a cell reselection unit 416 that can reselect one or more cells, associated with access points 404 and 406. In one example, the cell reselection unit 416 may further perform cell measurement, ranking and cell reselection as described above.

A restricted association access point 406 may include a broadcast signal generator 418 that can generate a signal that can be sent out so that mobile devices can receive it (for example, as a beacon or pilot signal), and a limited association specifier 420, which can integrate one or more indicators and / or identifiers of limited association in a broadcast signal. In one example, the restricted association qualifier 420 may specify indicators and / or identifiers of the restricted association as one or more parameters in the broadcast signal portion. In addition or alternatively, limited association specifier 420 may modify one or more parameters associated with broadcast transmission to indicate indicators and / or identifiers, such as frequencies used, one or more subcarriers, or a combination thereof, duration, interval, frequency, etc. .P. Moreover, a combination of the above examples may be used to convey information of a limited association.

According to one example, a broadcast signal generator 418 may generate a broadcast signal that identifies one or more aspects of a restricted association access point 406. In one example, the broadcast signal may be a beacon signal that allows devices to detect the presence of a restricted association access point 406. In yet another example, the broadcast signal may be a pilot signal that allows mobile devices to determine the clock and other parameters to facilitate subsequent communication with the restricted association access point 406. The broadcast signal may comprise, for example, identification information, such as a sector identifier. Limited association specifier 420 may include additional information in the broadcast signal. For example, an access point type identifier, a limited association identifier, an access point identifier, an identifier associated with a group of respective access points, and / or other information may be included in the broadcast signal as parameters. In yet another example, the foregoing may be indicated by applying one or more aspects of the broadcast signal (e.g., duration, frequency, frequency, subcarriers used, spacing, etc.). Accordingly, the limited association access point 406 may transmit this broadcast signal.

In addition, wireless device 402 can communicate with access point 404 to receive wireless services. Cell reselection unit 416 can continuously monitor surrounding cells to determine associated measurements, and can rank these cells for reselection as described above. In one example, a restricted association access point 406 may have a high rank. This may be due to the fact that this limited association access point 406 is the home access point for the wireless device 402, has the required signal strength, has certain preferred services, and the like. So, the broadcast signal receiver 408 can receive the broadcast signal transmitted by the restricted association access point 406 after the cell reselection unit decides to measure the parameters associated with it.

Upon receipt of a broadcast signal, a restricted association indicator identifier 410 may be used to determine a limited association indicator from this signal. In one example, the latter may be an external parameter and / or based on external parameters of the signal. In yet another example, a limited association indicator identifier 410 may determine an indication based at least in part on a sector identifier. For example, a sector identifier may be associated with a similar indication by means of a value lying in the range that is specified for access points with limited association. In addition, when establishing a connection or rejecting a connection with a limited association access point 406, the wireless device 402 may store a sector identifier and use it when requesting subsequent communication.

If the restricted association indicator identifier 410 determines that the limited association access point 406 is implementing limited association, then the access point identifier determiner 412 may be used to determine the identifier of the access point and / or identifier of the associated group from the broadcast signal. The specific identifier can be compared with a list of available access points and / or groups supported by the access list controller 414. If this identifier is included in this list, then cell reselection unit 416 may request a connection from a restricted association access point. Otherwise, the cell reselection unit 416 may advance to the next cell in the list, and the associated broadcast signals may be received by the broadcast signal receiver 408. In addition, it should be understood that a wireless device may first establish a connection with a restricted association access point 406 based at least in part on certain limited association information. As described, in one example, the limited association indicator may be a logical indicator. However, it should be understood that this indicator can also be a multi-valued variable that specifies a restriction with respect to signaling, data access, registration, services, etc. In addition, the identifier of the access point and / or group may be a text indicator, a primitive type indicator, a numbering indicator, a data structure, and the like.

5-7 illustrate cell reselection and broadcast methodologies for access point types and / or restricted association indicators. Despite the fact that, for the sake of simplicity, descriptions of the methodology are shown and described as sequences of actions, it should be understood that these methodologies are not limited to a given order of actions, because according to some options for implementation, some actions may occur in a different order and / or simultaneously with other actions, and the procedure may differ from that shown and described in this document. For example, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, alternatively, methodologies can be represented as a sequence of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, according to one or more embodiments, not all illustrated acts may be required.

5 is an illustration of a methodology 500 that facilitates cell reselection in wireless communications. At 502, surrounding cells are measured to determine one or more related parameters. As described above, these parameters may be associated with communication metrics, such as signal strength, bandwidth, etc., and / or one or more additional properties, such as access point identifier, group identifier, sector identifier, services offered, appropriate access service provider, etc. In addition, these parameters may be associated with a cell provided by a home access point that provides the best rates, additional services or speeds, and the like. These parameters can also be associated with shifts or hysteresis to increase the preference of the desired access points (such as, for example, a home access point) and / or reduce the preference of other access points. At 504, the surrounding cells may be ranked according to certain parameters. Said ranking may indicate the order of the desired cells from which wireless services will be received.

At 506, it can be determined whether the highest rank cell is currently in use. A similar definition can be used to provide connectivity to the optimal access point. If the highest rank cell is currently being used to receive wireless communications, then the method proceeds back to step 502 to measure the surrounding cells. In one example, this may be based on a timer so as not to load the network with cell measurements and not waste resources on it. If the cell with the highest rank is not currently in use, then at step 508, cell reselection may be performed to reselect the cell per cell with the highest rank. It should be understood that after completing cell reselection, the method may go back to step 502 to continue measuring surrounding cells. As described above, said access points may be base stations, femtocells, and the like.

6 is an illustration of a methodology 600 that establishes a connection with one or more access points in a wireless communication network. At block 602, a limited association indicator may be determined from the received broadcast signal. For example, this indicator may be determined based at least in part on one or more parameters specified in the broadcast signals and / or one or more external aspects of the signal, such as frequency, subcarriers used, span, frequency, length, etc. P. At 604, based on this indicator, an access point group identifier can be obtained from the broadcast signal. Thus, in cases where the indicator indicates at least some limited association, a group identifier can be determined to provide access to the access point. So, at 606, it can be determined whether the group identifier maintains a list of available group identifiers. This list may be maintained in order to reduce the waste of resources when requesting connections to access points for which access is likely to be denied based on the group identifier (for example, this identifier may be associated with an access point provider that grants access only to specific devices). At 608, a connection can be established with the corresponding access point for which the identifier is present in the supported list. As described above, this may be an initial communication and / or cell reselection.

7 is an illustration of a methodology 700 that transmits information regarding an access point and / or its type. At 702, an access point type is determined. For example, this may be due to one or more implementations of a limited association. These types may be associated with a restricted association or unlimited association, or they may be sequential numbering of types indicating different levels of restriction. At 704, a broadcast signal may be generated to identify the access point according to the type. This signal may include parameters related to the type of access point and / or parameters associated with the identification of the associated access point group. At 706, a broadcast signal may be transmitted over a wireless network to identify the access point and type. As described above, the broadcast signal may be transmitted so as to indicate the type of access point. For example, in one example, the interval, frequency, frequency, length, etc. a broadcast signal may indicate a type determined by one or more mobile devices. This facilitates efficient identification, so that the mobile device can perform additional polling in the case of indication of limited association, in contrast to the case of indication of unlimited type.

It should be understood that according to one or more of the above aspects, conclusions can be drawn regarding many aspects of cell reselection, such as measuring parameters, ranking cells according to parameters (and / or additional parameters), and even aspects of actual reselection (such as moment) perform re-selection, etc.). As used herein, the term “logical inference” or “logical inference” means the logical processing or inference process of the states of a system, environment, and / or user based on observations in the form of captured events and / or data. Inference can be used to identify a particular context or action, or can be used to generate a probability distribution for states, for example. The logical conclusion can be probabilistic, that is, it can be a calculation of the probability distribution of certain states based on some data and events. Inference can also relate to methods used to compose higher-level events from a series of events and / or data. The result of such a logical conclusion is the construction of new events or actions from a series of observed events and / or stored event data, regardless of whether these events are correlated in a small time interval, and whether these events or data come from one or more event sources and data. In one example, additional findings may be obtained by determining cell parameters during a measurement based, at least in part, upon receiving additional information from one or more mobile devices.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a mobile device 800 that facilitates identifying aspects associated with access points based at least in part on broadcast signals. Mobile device 800 includes a receiver 802 that receives a signal from, for example, one or more receiving antennas (not shown), performs typical operations on the received signal (e.g., filters, amplifies, downconverts, etc.) and digitizes the processed signal to get samples. Receiver 802 may include a demodulator 804 that can demodulate received symbols and provide them to a processor 806 for channel estimation. The processor 806 may be a processor dedicated to analyzing information that is received by the receiver 802 and / or to generate information for transmission by a transmitter 816, a processor controlling one or more components of the mobile device 800, and / or a processor analyzing the information that is received receiver 802, generating information for transmission by transmitter 816 and controlling one or more components of mobile device 800.

Mobile device 800 may further comprise a memory 808 that is coupled to a processor 806 and which stores transmitted data, received data, information related to available channels, data related to the analyzed signal and / or amount of interference, information related to the assigned channel , power, transmission speed, etc. and / or any other suitable information for channel estimation and communication through this channel. Memory 808 may further store protocols and / or algorithms associated with channel estimation and / or use (eg, based on performance, based on bandwidth, and the like).

Obviously, the described components of the data warehouse (e.g., memory 808) can be either volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or they can include both volatile and non-volatile memory. For example, non-volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Programmable ROM (EEPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory may include Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as an external cache. For example, RAM can be available in many forms, such as Synchronous RAM (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Advanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM ( SLDRAM) and Rambus RAM (DRRAM). The memory 808 of the described systems and methods may include, without any limitation, the listed and any other suitable types of memory.

In addition, processor 806 may be coupled to an access list controller 810 that maintains a list of available access points. As described above, this list may contain identifiers for access points with a limited association and / or for related groups. So, the access list controller 810 may provide advice when requesting access to a limited association access point. This can ensure that the mobile device 800 will not waste resources when requesting a connection with access points for which the association is limited with respect to the mobile device 800. In addition, the processor 806 and / or receiver 802 can be connected to the broadcast signal estimator 812 , which can analyze broadcast signals received from access points of various types to determine the limited association information associated with these access points.

For example, the broadcast signal estimator 812 may determine a limited association indicator based at least in part on one or more internal aspects (e.g., parameters) and / or external aspects (e.g., frequency, interval, frequency, etc.) of the broadcast signal. Using this information, the mobile device 800 can effectively determine whether it needs to request additional information, such as an identifier of a group of access points (which can also be indicated by a broadcast signal), for verification by the access list controller 810. Mobile device 800 further comprises a modulator 814 and a transmitter 816, which respectively modulate and transmit signals to a base station, another mobile device, and the like. Although according to this illustration, an access list controller 810, a broadcast signal estimator 812, a demodulator 804, and / or a modulator are not part of the processor 806, the listed items may be part of the processor 806 or multiple processors (not shown).

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a system 900 that facilitates the specification of limited association information in broadcast signals transmitted over wireless networks. System 900 comprises a base station 902 (e.g., an access point, a femtocell, etc.) with a receiver 910 that receives signals from one or more mobile devices 904 through multiple receiving antennas 906, and a transmitter 924 that transmits to one or more mobile devices 904 through the transmit antenna. A receiver 910 may receive information from receive antennas 906, and it is operatively coupled to a demodulator 912 that demodulates received information. Demodulated symbols may be analyzed by a processor 914, which may be similar to the processor described in conjunction with FIG. 8, and which is coupled to a memory 916 that stores information related to estimating signal strength (eg, pilot) and / or magnitude interference, transmitted data or data received from mobile devices (or other base stations (not shown)), and / or any other information related to the performance of various actions and functions described herein. The processor 914 is further coupled to a broadcast signal generator 918 that generates a broadcast signal to identify the base station 902 for one or more mobile devices 904, and a type indicator 920 that specifies the type of the base station by means of the broadcast signal.

According to one example, a broadcast signal generator 918 may generate a broadcast signal, such as a beacon signal and / or pilot, and a type indicator 920 that specifies parameters associated with the type of signal. These parameters may be associated with the specification of one or more limited association implementations associated with the base station. In addition and / or alternatively, type indicator 920 may specify parameters for transmitting broadcast signals based at least in part on the type. For example, these parameters may be associated with intervals for transmitting a broadcast signal, transmission frequency, frequency, subcarriers used, length, and the like. Transmitter 924 may broadcast the signal according to these parameters. In any case, the mobile device 904 can identify limited association information and / or type information associated with the base station 902. Additionally, although according to this illustration, a generator 918, a type indicator 920, a demodulator 912, and / or a modulator 914 are not part of the processor 914, the listed items may be part of a processor 914 or multiple processors (not shown).

10 is an illustration of an example wireless communication system 1000. For brevity, the illustrated wireless communication system 1000 has one base station 1010 and one mobile device 1050. However, it should be understood that the system 1000 may include more than one base station and / or more than one mobile device, with additional base stations and / or mobile devices may be similar or different from the base station 1010 and mobile device 1050 described below. In addition, it should be understood that the base station 1010 and / or mobile device 1050 may use isannye herein the system (Figures 1-4 and 8-9) and / or methods (5-7) to facilitate the implementation of the wireless communication.

At base station 1010, traffic data for a number of data streams is provided from a data source 1012 to a transmission data processor 1014. According to one example, each data stream may be transmitted through a corresponding antenna. In order to provide encoded data, the transmission data processor 1014 formats, encodes, and interleaves the data of the exchange stream for each data stream based on a specific encoding scheme selected for that data stream.

The encoded data for each data stream can be multiplexed with OFDM pilot data. In addition or alternatively, the pilot symbols may be FDM, TDM or CDM multiplexed. The pilot data is typically a known data pattern that is processed in a known manner and that can be used in mobile device 1050 to estimate channel performance. The multiplexed pilot signal and encoded data for each data stream can be modulated (e.g., character mapped) based on a specific modulation scheme (e.g., Binary Phase Manipulation (BPSK), Quadrature Phase Manipulation (QPSK), M-PSK, M-QAM etc.) selected for this data stream to provide modulation symbols. The data rate, coding, and modulation for each data stream may be determined by instructions executed or provided by processor 1030.

Further, modulated symbols for all data streams may be provided to a MIMO transmission processor 1020, which may further process the modulated symbols (eg, for OFDM). The MIMO transmission processor 1020 further transmits N _T modulation symbol streams to N _T transmitters 1022a-1022t. In various embodiments, the MIMO transmission processor 1020 applies beamforming weights to the symbols of the data streams and to the antenna with which this symbol is transmitted.

Each transmitter 1022 receives and processes a respective symbol stream to provide one or more analog signals, and further processes (e.g., amplifies, filters, and upconverts) the analog signals to provide a modulated signal suitable for transmission over the MIMO channel. Further, N _T modulated signals from transmitters 1022a ~ 1022t are transmitted from N _T antennas 1024a ~ 1024t, respectively.

At mobile device 1050, the transmitted modulated signals are received by N _R antennas 1052a ~ 1052r, and the received signal from each antenna 1052 is provided to a respective receiver 1054a ~ 1054r. Each receiver 1054 processes (eg, filters, amplifies, and downconverts) the corresponding received signal, digitizes the processed signal to provide samples, and further processes the samples to provide a corresponding stream of “received” symbols.

A receive data processor 1060 further receives and processes the N _R received symbol streams from the N _R receivers 1054 based on a particular processing method to provide N _T “detected” symbol streams. Further, the reception data processor 1060 demodulates, performs deinterleaving, and decodes each detected symbol stream to recover the exchange data for this data stream. The processing performed by the reception data processor 1060 complements the processing performed by the MIMO transmission processor 1020 and the transmission data processor 1014 in the base station 1010.

The processor 1070 may periodically determine which precoding matrix to use. In addition, processor 1070 may generate a reverse link message comprising a matrix index portion and a rank value portion.

The reverse link message may contain various types of information regarding the communication link and / or the received data stream. The reverse link message is further processed by a transmission data processor 1038, which also receives traffic data for a number of data streams from a data source 1036, is modulated by a modulator 1080, processed by transmitters 1054a-1054r, and transmitted back to base station 1010.

At base station 1010, modulated signals from a mobile device 1050 are received by antennas 1024, processed by receivers 1022, demodulated by a demodulator 1040, and processed by a reception data processor 1042 to retrieve a reverse link message transmitted by a mobile device 1050. In addition, a processor 1030 can process the extracted message to determine which precoding matrix to use to determine the beamforming weights.

Processors 1030 and 1070 can control (e.g., control, coordinate, monitor, etc.) the operation of base station 1010 and mobile device 1050, respectively. Appropriate processors 1030 and 1070 may be associated with a memory 1032 and a memory 1072 that store program codes and data. Processors 1030 and 1070 can also perform calculations to obtain frequency and impulse response estimates for the uplink and downlink, respectively.

It should be understood that the embodiments described herein may be implemented by hardware, software, hardware and software, middleware, microcode, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementation, processor units can be implemented in one or more specialized integrated circuits, digital signal processors, digital signal processing devices, programmable logic devices, programmable gate arrays, processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, and other electronic units arranged to perform the functions described here, or combinations thereof.

When embodiments are implemented by software, firmware, middleware or microcode, program code or code segments, the latter can be stored on a computer-readable medium, such as a storage component. A code segment can represent a procedure, function, subroutine, program, routine, subroutine, module, software package, class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be associated with another code segment or a hardware circuit by transmitting and / or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. can be transmitted, redirected or broadcast using any suitable means, including memory sharing, messaging, token forwarding, network transmission, etc.

In the case of a software implementation, the methods described herein may be implemented by modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Program codes can be stored in memory blocks, and they can be executed by processors. The memory unit can be implemented in the processor itself or outside the processor. In the latter case, it can be connected to the processor by various means known in the art.

11 is an illustration of a system 1100 that determines limited association information related to one or more access points in wireless networks. System 1100 may operate in a base station, femtocell, mobile device, and the like. As shown, system 1100 includes functional blocks that can represent functions implemented by a processor, software, or a combination thereof (eg, hardware and software). System 1100 includes a logical grouping 1102 of electrical components that work together. Logic group 1102 may include means for determining a limited association indicator from a broadcast signal received from access point 1104. As described above, this indicator can be determined from one or more internal aspects of the signal, such as one or more parameters, and / or from external aspects, such as signal frequency, interval, frequency, subcarriers used, and the like. Moreover, the logical grouping 1102 may include means for determining the identification of the group associated with the access point from the broadcast signal based at least in part on the restricted association indicator 1106. So, if the access point implements a limited association, then the corresponding identifier is accepted and verified in a supported list of identifiers, for example. Additionally, logical grouping 1102 may include means for communicating with an access point based, at least in part, on identifying group 1108. As described above, this communication may include initiating initial communication and / or performing cell reselection per point access. In addition, system 1100 may include a memory 1110 that stores instructions for performing functions associated with electrical components 1104, 1106, and 1108. Although shown as separate elements outside of memory 1110, these electrical components 1104, 1106, and 1108 may be integrated into memory 1110.

12 is an illustration of a system 1200 that specifies the type of access point and / or limited association information in broadcast signals of wireless networks. System 1200 may operate in a base station, femtocell, mobile device, and the like. As shown, system 1200 includes functional blocks that may represent functions implemented by a processor, software, or a combination thereof (eg, hardware and software). System 1200 includes a logical grouping 1202 of electrical components that facilitate the specification of type information in broadcast signals. Logical group 1202 may include means for receiving a type of wireless communication device 1204. This wireless communication device may be a system 1200. As described above, the type may be associated with indicators of limited association and / or numbering indicators for different levels of restriction. Moreover, logical groups 1202 may include means for generating a broadcast signal that identifies a wireless device based on at least the type 1206. This broadcast signal may be generated so that it includes parameters associated with this type. In addition, other aspects of the signal may be modified for such an indication. Thus, logical grouping 1202 may include means for repeatedly transmitting a broadcast signal over a wireless network according to the aforementioned type 1208. As described above, aspects of the transmitted signal, such as length, interval, frequency, frequency, and the like, can be used to determining the type and / or information of a limited association. In addition, system 1200 may include a memory 1210, which stores instructions for performing functions related to electrical components 1204, 1206, and 1208. Although shown as separate elements outside of memory 1210, these electrical components 1204, 1206, and 1208 may be integrated into memory 1210.

Examples of one or more embodiments have been described above. It goes without saying that it is not possible to describe all possible combinations of components or methodologies for the purpose of describing the aforementioned embodiments, however, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is possible to implement many additional combinations and permutations of various embodiments. Accordingly, the described embodiments are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Additionally, the meaning of the term “includes” as used in the description or claims is to be understood in an “inclusive” sense, similarly to the term “comprising”, used in the claims as a transition word. Additionally, although elements of the described aspects and / or embodiments may be presented or indicated in the claims in the singular, their use in the plural is also intended, unless explicitly stated otherwise. In addition, any aspect and / or embodiment or part thereof may be used with any other aspect and / or embodiment or part thereof, unless otherwise indicated.

The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or implemented by a general purpose processor, digital signal processor, dedicated chip, programmable gate array, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate, or transistor logic circuit discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a digital signal processor as a core, or any other such configuration. In addition, at least one processor may comprise one or more modules that perform one or more of the steps and / or actions described above.

Additionally, the steps and / or actions of the method or algorithm described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented directly in hardware, by a software module executed by a processor, or by a combination of the two. The program module may be stored in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs or any other known form of storage medium. An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated with a processor. In addition, in some aspects, the processor and the storage medium may be in a specialized chip. In addition, a specialized chip may be in a user terminal. Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may be located in the user terminal as separate components. In addition, in some aspects, the steps and / or actions of a method or algorithm may be stored as one or more combinations or sets of codes and / or instructions in a computer-readable medium that can be integrated into a computer program product.

In one or more aspects, the described functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on a computer-readable medium and transmitted from it in the form of one or more instructions or codes. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and transmission media including an environment that facilitates transferring a computer program from one place to another. A computer-readable medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, but not limited to, such computer-readable media may include ROMs, RAMs, EEPROMs, CD-ROMs or other optical disk stores, magnetic disk stores or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection is defined as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source through a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair cable, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or through wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave are included in the media definition. Disks and floppy disks as used herein include a compact disc (CD), a laser disc, an optical disc, a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a floppy disk and a blu-ray disc, with floppy disks typically reproducing data magnetically and disks reproducing data optically through lasers. Combinations of any of the above types are also included within the scope of the concept of computer-readable media.

Claims (45)

1. A method for determining cell information in a mobile station for reselection in a wireless communication network, comprising the steps of:
determining, by the mobile station, a limited association indicator from the broadcast signal received from the access point;
obtaining, by a mobile station, a group identifier associated with this access point from a broadcast signal based on at least partially the limited association indicator;
determining, by the mobile station, whether said group identifier is present in a supported list of identifiers of available groups; and
establish communication with said access point, if it is determined that said group identifier is present in the list of identifiers of available groups. 2. The method according to claim 1, in which, at the stage of establishing communication with the access point, cell reselection to said access point is performed in idle mode or connection mode. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of establishing a connection with the access point, a connection establishment request is transmitted to said access point. 4. The method according to claim 1, in which the definition of an indicator of limited association is based at least in part on
evaluating one or more external aspects of said broadcast signal. 5. The method according to claim 4, in which one or more external aspects include an interval in which successive broadcast signals are received from said access point. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein said broadcast signal is a beacon signal repeatedly transmitted by said access point in said interval. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the limited association indicator is included in said broadcast signal as one or more of its parameters. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the access point is a femtocell or a macrocell based on at least partially the limited association indicator. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein said access point is a femtocell, and the group identifier refers to a group of femtocells having a common service provider. 10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of obtaining the sector identifier of the access point from said broadcast signal in a subsequent attempt to establish a connection. 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of requesting subsequent communication based on at least partially said sector identifier. 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said group identifier is text based. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the restricted association indicator indicates that said access point is limited with respect to signaling, data access, registration, and / or service. 14. The method according to claim 1, in which the indicator of limited association contains a logical value, the method further comprising the steps of:
determining that said access point is a femtocell based on a value of an indicator of limited association;
determining whether a given femtocell belongs to a group of preferred access points of a mobile device based on said group identifier; and
re-selecting a cell for said femtocell, if it is determined that the femtocell belongs to the group of preferred access points. 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein said access point is a first access point, the method comprising the steps of:
receive a broadcast signal from at least a second access point;
determining the type of the first and second access points based on indicators of limited association from their respective broadcast signals, and
re-selecting the cell for said first access point, if it is determined that the first access point is a femtocell, and that the group identifier of the first access point is present in the list of identifiers of available groups. 16. A wireless communication device, configured to receive services from access points in a wireless communication network, comprising:
at least one processor configured to:
receive a broadcast signal from an access point;
determine a limited association indicator from said broadcast signal;
obtain from the broadcast signal a group identifier related to this access point based on at least partially mentioned limited association indicator and communicate with said access point if it is determined that the group identifier is in the list of preferred groups of access points; and memory coupled to said at least one processor. 17. The device according to clause 16, in which the indicator of limited association contains a logical value, while the device is configured to:
determine that said access point is a femtocell based on a value of an indicator of limited association;
determine whether a given femtocell belongs to a group of preferred access points of a mobile device based on said group identifier; and
perform cell reselection on said femtocell, if it is determined that the femtocell belongs to the group of preferred access points. 18. The device according to clause 16, wherein said access point is a first access point and the device is configured to:
receive a broadcast signal from at least a second access point;
determine the type of the first and second access points based on indicators of limited association from their respective broadcast signals and
perform cell reselection to said first access point if it is determined that the first access point is a femtocell and that the group identifier of the first access point is present in the list of identifiers of available groups. 19. A wireless communication device that provides communication with an access point in a wireless communication network and is configured to receive services from access points, comprising:
means for determining a limited association indicator from a broadcast signal received from an access point;
means for determining from the broadcast signal the group identifier of this access point based on at least partially the limited association indicator and
means for communicating with said access point, if the wireless device determines that said group identifier is in the list of preferred access points. 20. Machine-readable medium that contains:
code for prompting a mobile device to determine a limited association identifier from a broadcast signal received from an access point;
code for prompting the mobile device to obtain from the broadcast signal a group identifier related to this access point based on at least partially the limited association indicator;
code for prompting a mobile device to determine whether said group identifier is present in a supported list of identifiers of available groups; and
code to encourage the mobile device to communicate with said access point, if it is determined that said group identifier is present in the list of identifiers of available groups. 21. A device configured to receive services from access points in a wireless communication network, comprising:
a limited association indicator identification unit that determines a limited association indicator from a broadcast signal received from an access point;
an access point identifier identifier that obtains from a broadcast signal a group identifier related to said access point based on at least partially said limited association indicator, and determines whether said group identifier is present in a supported list of identifiers of available groups; and
a cell reselection unit that communicates with said access point, if it is determined that said group identifier is present in the group list of preferred access points. 22. The device according to item 21, in which the block re-selection of the cell establishes a connection with said access point by performing re-selection of the cell to the access point in idle mode or connection mode. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the cell reselection unit communicates with said access point by transmitting an access request to said access point. 24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the restricted association indicator identification unit determines a limited association indicator based on at least partially evaluating one or more external aspects of said broadcast signal. 25. The device according to paragraph 24, in which one or more external aspects include an interval in which successive broadcast signals are received from said access point. 26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein said broadcast signal is a beacon signal repeatedly transmitted by said access point in said interval. 27. The device according to item 21, in which the limited association indicator identification unit determines the limited association indicator from one or more parameters contained in the broadcast signal. 28. The device according to item 21, in which the limited association indicator identification unit obtains the sector identifier of the access point from said broadcast signal during a subsequent attempt to establish communication. 29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the cell reselection unit requests subsequent communication based on at least partially the sector identifier. 30. The device according to item 21, in which the indicator of limited association indicates that the access point is limited with respect to the provision of signaling, data access, registration and / or services. 31. A method for specifying access point information in broadcast signals transmitted by an access point over a wireless communication network, comprising the steps of:
determine the type of access point;
generating a broadcast signal that identifies said access point based on at least partially said type of access point, said broadcast signal including an access point group identifier and a restricted association indicator; and
repeatedly transmitting a broadcast signal over a wireless network according to the type of access point to be used by the mobile device to perform cell reselection in accordance with the list of preferred access points supported by the mobile device. 32. The method according to p, optionally containing phase in which the identifier of the group of access points include in the aforementioned broadcast signal. 33. The method according to p, in which the transmission of the broadcast signal is performed in an interval that indicates the type of access point. 34. The method according to p, in which the transmission of the broadcast signal is performed in the frequency range that indicates the type of access point. 35. The method according to p, in which the type of access point is specified in the broadcast signal. 36. The method according to p, in which the type of access point indicates whether this access point implements limited association regarding signaling, data access, registration and / or services for one or more mobile devices. 37. A wireless communication device, configured to provide services for a mobile device in a wireless communication network, comprising:
at least one processor configured to:
determine the type of wireless device;
generate a broadcast signal that identifies said wireless communication device based on at least partially the type, said broadcast signal including an access point group identifier and a restricted association indicator; and
repeatedly transmit this broadcast signal over a wireless network to identify the type to be used by the mobile device to perform cell reselection in accordance with the list of preferred access points supported by the mobile device; and
a memory coupled to said at least one processor. 38. A wireless communication device, configured to provide services for a mobile device in a wireless communication network, comprising:
means for determining the type of wireless communication device;
means for generating a broadcast signal that identifies said wireless communication device based on at least partially said type, said broadcast signal including an access point group identifier and a restricted association indicator; and
means for repeatedly transmitting this broadcast signal over a wireless network according to the type to be used by the mobile device to perform cell reselection in accordance with the list of preferred access points supported by the mobile device. 39. A machine-readable medium that contains:
code for prompting at least one computer to determine the type of access point;
code for causing at least one computer to generate a broadcast signal that identifies the access point based at least in part on the type of access point, said broadcast signal including an access point group identifier and a restricted association indicator; and
code for prompting at least one computer to repeatedly transmit this broadcast signal over a wireless network according to the type of access point to be used by the mobile device to perform cell reselection in accordance with the list of preferred access points supported by the mobile device. 40. A device configured to provide services for a mobile device in a wireless communication network, comprising:
a limited association specifier that specifies a limited association indicator relating to a particular type of device; and a broadcast signal generator that generates a broadcast signal based at least in part on the limited association indicator, said broadcast signal including an access point group identifier and a limited association indicator; and
a transmitter that repeatedly transmits a broadcast signal over a wireless network according to the limited association indicator to be used by the mobile device to perform cell reselection in accordance with the list of preferred access points supported by the mobile device. 41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein said broadcast signal generator includes an access point group identifier in said broadcast signal. 42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein said transmitter transmits a broadcast signal in an interval indicating a limited association indicator. 43. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein said transmitter transmits a broadcast signal in a frequency range indicating a limited association indicator. 44. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein said broadcast signal generator includes said limited association indicator in the broadcast signal. 45. The device of claim 40, wherein the limited association specifier indicates whether the device implements limited association with respect to providing signaling, data access, registration and / or service for one or more mobile devices.

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