(12) United States Patent
`Bark et al.
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,445,917 B1
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`US006445917B1
`
`(54) MOBILE STATION MEASUREMENTS WITH
`EVENT-BASED REPORTING
`
`6,047,183 A * 4/2000 Kingdon et al. .......... .. 342/450
`6,061,337 A * 5/2000 Light et al. ............... .. 370/331
`6,088,588 A * 7/2000 Osborne . . . . . .
`. . . .. 455/425
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`(75) Inventors: Gunnar Bark, Linkoping; Joakim g;%:g;m\;a§g;f1j11fgkgglter Muller’ .. _ ..
`
`
`
`
`
`, , g1 : 6,289,009 B1 * 9/2001 Sato ......................... .. 370/342 29131912911; a 10 u]u ..
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`’
`(73) Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
`bl St kh 1
`SE
`(Pu )’
`0C 0 m (
`)
`
`6,330,459 B1 * 12/2001 Crichton et al. .......... .. 455/434
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`WO 98/43455
`10/1998
`
`W0
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`_
`(21) Appl' NO" 09/314’019
`(22) Filed:
`May 19’ 1999
`
`(51) Im. c1.7 ................................................ .. H04Q 7/34
`(52) US. Cl. ..................... .. 455/423; 455/436; 455/437;
`_
`455/439; 455/522; 370/331; 370/332
`(58) Field of Search ............................... .. 455/403, 423,
`455/424, 425, 436, 437, 439, 453, 442,
`522, 524, 525, 513, 512; 370/331> 332
`_
`References Clted
`us PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`(56)
`
`’
`
`’
`
`5,241,685 A * 8/1993 Bodin et a1~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ 455/453
`2 *
`gage“ ct
`~~~~~~~~ " 455/443
`eney’
`e a‘
`E1353); """""""""" "
`2 Z:
`5’754’945 A * 5/1998 Lin et aL
`:::"455/436
`5,930,710 A * 7/1999 Sawyer et al. ............ .. 455/436
`5,930,721 A * 7/1999 Fried et al. ............... .. 455/466
`5,995,836 A * 11/1999 Wijk et al. ................ .. 455/436
`
`Primary Examiner—William Trost
`Assistant Examiner—Congvan Tran
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—NiXon & Vanderhye PC
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`The present invention provides event_based OI. driven report_
`ing of mobile station measurements. A mobile station mea
`sures one or more radio_related parameters for one or more
`cells in a radio access network. The mobile station evaluates
`the measured radio-related parameter with respect to a
`predetermined condition or event and determines that the
`predetermined condition is satis?ed or that the event has
`occurred. Based on that evaluation, the mobile radio sends
`a report to the radio access network. Accordingly, the
`occurrence of an event and/or the satisfaction of a condition
`triggers the sending of the report to the network. That way,
`the network receives the information so that it can take
`timely and appropriate action without sending outdated or
`redundant measurement reports that do not convey relevant
`of new information
`
`74 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
`
`Event-Based Reporting of
`Mobile Station (MS)
`Measurements
`
`40
`
`Measure at MS one of more radio-related
`parameters for one or more cells
`
`142
`
`Evaluate at MS the measured parameter(s))
`
`i
`with respect to a predetermined event or condition L44
`i
`
`Send a report to the radio network
`based on the evaluation,
`e.g., the predetermined event occurs or
`the condition is satisfied
`
`i
`
`Take some action, it appropriate, in the radio
`network using the report, e.g., perform a handover
`operation
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`Sheet 1 0f 9
`
`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`UMTS 1-0
`
`16
`
`12
`
`PSTN/ISDN
`
`18
`\
`/
`
`\
`Mobile switching
`Core
`N M k Center (MSC) Node
`8 _°'
`(Circuit-switched
`servlce Services)
`Nodes
`
`14
`
`20
`\
`/
`
`\
`General Packet Radio
`Service (GPFiS) Node
`(Packet-switched
`Services)
`
`GSM Network
`
`Base Station
`System (BSS)
`
`|
`I
`|
`:
`|
`|
`l
`i
`
`UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network \
`(UTRAN)
`24
`F 26
`Radio Network
`Controller (RNC)
`
`(~26
`RNC
`
`IJ EICICID U EIDUD IJ EIEICID
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-2
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`Sheet 2 0f 9
`
`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`mm
`
`$2822.
`
`mm
`
`02m
`
`9.?
`
`mm
`
`mm
`
`62822.
`
`E5 6:50
`96
`
`
`
`mswwmooi 2mm
`
`mm
`
`62829;.
`
`:5 E80
`Em
`
`mswmmuem 23
`
`E5 6:50
`96
`
`
`
`mswmmooi 9mm
`
`2.?
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-3
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`Sheet 3 0f 9
`
`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`Event-Based Reporting of
`Mobile Station (MS)
`Measurements
`
`40
`
`Measure at MS one of more radio-related
`parameters for one or more cells
`
`Evaluate at MS the measured parameter(s))
`with respect to a predetermined event or condition
`
`Send a report to the radio network
`based on the evaluation,
`e.g., the predetermined event occurs or
`the condition is satisfied
`
`Take some action, it appropriate, in the radio
`network using the report, e.g., perform a handover
`operation
`
`42
`
`44
`
`46
`
`48
`
`Fig.2
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-4
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`Sheet 4 of 9
`
`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`Radio Network
`Control Node
`
`Measurement Control Message
`
`Measurement Report
`
`4
`
`I
`
`F|g.3
`
`MS
`
`)
`(
`
`event
`
`MS Measurements
`
`50
`
`Power On and perform random access
`
`52
`
`In idle state, perform measurement for radio-related
`parameters stored in MS memory
`
`When an event occurs, report measurements to Radio
`Network Control Node (RNCN)
`
`Receive Measurement Control Message from
`RNCN and modify measurement parameters or events
`
`60
`
`Other function
`or operation ?
`
`Yes
`
`62
`
`Fig.4
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-5
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`Sheet 5 0f 9
`
`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`RNCN Measurement Control
`
`70
`
`Determine those parameters and events for MS to monitor
`
`Generate measurement control message with (1)
`parameters like block error rate, bit error rate, SIR,
`time differences, transmit power, received power,
`path loss, interference, traffic volume, etc.; (2) events
`like those examples in Figs. 6-15; (3) optional parameters;
`and (4) other information
`
`72
`
`74
`
`Send Message to MS
`
`Receive measurement report from MS
`
`Make decision and /or perform an action based on
`measurement report, e.g., handover ( inter- and intra
`frequency ), power control, operation & maintenance,
`network optimization, channel type switching, etc.
`
`Fig.5
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-6
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`Sheet 6 0f 9
`
`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`+
`
`Measured
`Parameter
`Value
`
`Fig.6
`
`Measured
`
`Parameter
`
`Value
`
`Fig.7
`
`A
`
`Measured
`Parameter
`Value
`
`Fig.8
`
`A
`
`|
`|
`Reporting Reporting
`event 1
`event 2
`
`Time
`
`____ __
`
`Reporting
`range
`
`’
`
`)
`I “ma
`Reporting
`event1
`Reporting
`event 2
`
`Reporting
`event 1
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-7
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`Sheet 7 0f 9
`
`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`A
`
`Measured
`Parameter
`Value
`
`Fig.9
`
`A
`
`Measured
`Parameter
`Value
`
`Fig.10
`
`Measured
`Parameter
`Value
`
`Fig.11
`
`Time-to
`trigger
`
`Reporting “me
`event 1
`
`____ __
`-'
`~
`'
`~ _ _ _ _ _
`
`~~
`____ -
`
`Reporting
`event
`
`Reporting
`event
`
`Reporting
`event
`
`Time >
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-8
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`Sheet 8 0f 9
`
`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`A
`Measured
`Parameter
`Value
`
`Fig.12
`
`A
`MS output
`power
`
`Reporting
`event 1
`
`Reporting T'me
`event 2
`
`.
`
`Flg ,1 3
`
`|
`
`Reporting
`event
`
`|
`
`Reporting
`event
`
`Time
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-9
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`Sheet 9 0f 9
`
`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`|
`
`Reporting
`event
`
`.
`
`T'me
`
`A
`MS output
`power
`
`MS output
`power
`
`Fig.15
`
`Reporting
`event
`
`Time
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-10
`
`

`

`US 6,445,9l7 B1
`
`1
`MOBILE STATION MEASUREMENTS WITH
`EVENT-BASED REPORTING
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`The ?eld of the invention is Wireless communications.
`The present invention uses a mobile radio station as a
`measurement tool for a radio access netWork.
`
`BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE
`INVENTION
`In a typical cellular radio system, a geographical area is
`divided into cell areas served by base stations Which are
`connected to a radio netWork. Each user (mobile subscriber)
`in the cellular radio system is provided With a portable,
`pocket, hand-held, or car-mounted mobile station Which
`communicates voice and/or data With the mobile radio
`netWork. Each base station includes a plurality of channel
`units including a transmitter, a receiver, and a controller and
`may be equipped With an omnidirectional antenna for trans
`mitting equally in all directions or With directional antennas,
`each directional antenna serving a particular sector cell.
`Each mobile station also includes a transmitter, a receiver, a
`controller, and a user interface and is identi?ed by a speci?c
`mobile station identi?er.
`In a cellular radio communications system, a handover
`operation alloWs an established radio connection to continue
`When a mobile radio participating in that connection moves
`betWeen cells in the system. Handover is typically initiated
`When the signal strength or signal quality of the radio
`connection With an origination base station falls beloW a
`predetermined threshold value. Often, a loW signal strength
`or a poor signal quality indication means that the mobile
`station is near a border betWeen the tWo cells. If the mobile
`station moves closer to a destination cell or to a clearer line
`of unobstructed sight, handover of the radio connection to
`the destination cell usually results in improved radio trans
`mission and reception.
`In some cellular systems, a handover operation requires
`physically breaking the connection With the origination cell
`and then reestablishing the connection With the destination
`cell, i.e., a “break-before-make” sWitching operation. Such
`hard handover techniques are typically employed in Time
`Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Frequency Division
`Multiple Access (FDMA) type cellular systems. On the
`other hand, “soft” handover techniques may be employed in
`Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) type cellular sys
`tems. CDMA is an increasingly popular type of access for
`cellular communications because a higher spectrum ef?
`ciency is achieved compared to FDMA and TDMA tech
`niques Which means that more cellular users and/or services
`can be supported. In addition, a common frequency band
`alloWs simultaneous communication betWeen a mobile sta
`tion and plural base stations. Signals occupying the common
`frequency band are discriminated at the receiving station
`through spread spectrum CDMA Waveform properties based
`on the use of a high speed, pseudo-noise (PN) code. These
`high speed PN codes are used to modulate signals transmit
`from the base stations and the mobile stations. Transmitter
`stations using different PN codes (or a PN code offset in
`time) produce signals that can be separately demodulated at
`a receiving station. The high speed PN modulation also
`alloWs the receiving station to advantageously generate a
`received signal from a single transmitting station by com
`bining several distinct propagation paths of the transmitted
`signal.
`In CDMA, therefore, a mobile station need not sWitch
`frequency When handoff of a connection is made from one
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`2
`cell to another. As a result, a destination cell can support a
`connection to a mobile station at the same time the origi
`nation cell continues to service the connection. Since the
`mobile station is alWays communicating through at least one
`cell during handover, there is no disruption to the call.
`Hence, the term “soft handover.” In contrast to hard
`handover, soft handover is a “make-before-break” sWitching
`operation.
`Deciding Which cells to involve in handover often
`requires coordination betWeen the mobile station and the
`radio netWork. The mobile station monitors base station
`control or broadcast channels from adjacent cells to deter
`mine if these cells are suitable handover candidates. When
`suitable cell candidates are identi?ed, the mobile station
`noti?es the radio netWork of this fact Which then may initiate
`handover operations. Of course, other handover procedures
`may be employed.
`PoWer control is also important in radio communications
`systems, and particularly so in third generation, Wideband
`CDMA systems (WCDMA). Before transmitting over an
`“uplink” channel, a mobile station must set its transmission
`poWer level. Similarly, the radio access netWork must set
`base station transmit poWer on “doWnlink” channels, e.g., a
`paging channel, a forWard access channel, traf?c channels.
`While the actual poWer level set for mobile station and base
`station radio transmission and the interference levels that
`result therefrom are signi?cant concerns in all mobile radio
`communications systems, such interference is particularly
`problematic in CDMA systems Where large numbers of
`radio transmit and receive on the same frequency. If one
`station transmits at a poWer output that is too large, the
`interference it creates degrades the signal-to-interference
`ratio of signals received from other radio stations to the point
`that a receiving station cannot correctly demodulate trans
`missions from other radios. Another poWer related problem
`is the so-called “party effect.” If a mobile transmits at too
`high of a poWer level, the other mobiles increase their
`respective poWer levels so that they can “be heard” thereby
`compounding an already serious interference problem.
`In order to effectively manage handover, poWer control,
`and other important operations in a cellular radio commu
`nications netWork, the netWork should knoW the current
`status of the netWork. That status can be measured reason
`ably Well by detecting the current values of various radio
`related parameters at different locations in the netWork. In
`the handover eXample, the radio netWork should knoW
`Which particular cells are appropriate candidates for han
`dover for a particular mobile station connection. With
`respect to another example, i.e., controlling the interference
`levels in a particular cell, the radio netWork needs to knoW
`the transmit poWer levels of various radios in that cell, the
`received poWer levels, interference levels, etc. Other param
`eters may also be desirable for the netWork to monitor.
`While these parameters could be measured by suitably
`located sensors or other monitoring equipment, the cost and
`installation of such equipment to make it effective and
`WorthWhile Would be prohibitive. On the other hand, the
`mobile stations themselves could be used (secondarily) as
`measurement tools to provide the radio netWork With impor
`tant measurements re?ecting the stations radio environment.
`Those measurements could then be used to facilitate radio
`netWork operations like handover, poWer control, resource
`management, etc.
`The mobile radios could periodically provide measure
`ment reports to the radio netWork for a standard set of
`radio-related parameters. The draWback, hoWever, With peri
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-11
`
`

`

`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`3
`odic measurement reports is that if the period is too long, the
`reports may be outdated with the radio network responding
`too late or too slowly to changing conditions. On the other
`hand, if the reporting time period is reduced to improve the
`relevance of the information and appropriate responsiveness
`of the network to changing conditions, the amount of
`signaling from mobile stations increases signi?cantly. This
`is disadvantageous for several reasons. First, the radio
`bandwidth is limited, and this kind of administrative signal
`ing creates interference and reduces capacity for user com
`munications. Second, much of the information that is trans
`mitted in these frequent mobile station measurement reports
`will likely contain the same information as in recent reports.
`Third, frequent reporting also drains the mobile station’s
`battery.
`It is an object of the present invention to address the needs
`and overcome the problems identi?ed above.
`It is an object of the present invention to use mobile radio
`stations as ?exible, general measurement tools for radio
`network control and optimiZation operations.
`It is an object of the present invention to provide mobile
`station measurements in a timely, relevant fashion so that the
`radio network can promptly and effectively respond to
`changed conditions.
`It is a further object of the present invention to provide the
`network measurement information in an ef?cient manner so
`that unnecessary measurement signaling between mobile
`and base station is reduced or otherwise minimiZed.
`The present invention provides event-based or driven
`reporting of mobile station measurement. A mobile station
`measures a radio-related parameter for one or more cells in
`a radio access network. The mobile station evaluates the
`measured radio-related parameter with respect to a prede
`termined condition or event and determines that the prede
`termined condition is satis?ed or that the event has occurred.
`Based on that evaluation, the mobile radio sends a report to
`the radio access network. Accordingly, the occurrence of an
`event and/or the satisfaction of a condition triggers the
`sending of the report to the network. That way the network
`receives the information so that it can take timely and
`appropriate action without sending outdated or redundant
`measurement reports that do not convey relevant or new
`measurement information.
`The measurement report may identify the cell for which
`the mobile measurement was made, the speci?c triggering
`measurement event, the measured value of the radio-related
`parameter, and/or other information. The radio-related
`parameter may be qualitative and/or quantitative. Example
`parameters include signal strength, signal power, an inter
`ference level, signal-to-interference ratio, error rate, traf?c
`volume, etc. associated with the one or more cells. Hyster
`esis is an additional factor that may be employed in deter
`mining whether a predetermined condition or event has
`occurred. Atime to trigger interval may also be employed by
`the mobile radio in determining whether a predetermined
`condition is satis?ed or an to event has occurred. A radio
`related parameter can be evaluated with respect to two or
`more predetermined conditions or events with a report being
`sent if one or if both of the conditions are satis?ed.
`An example predetermined condition or event may cor
`respond to the measured radio-related parameter moving
`into or moving out of a predetermined parameter range.
`Another example is the measured radio-related parameter
`for a ?rst cell becoming better than the measured radio
`related parameter for a second cell. A positive or negative
`offset value may be added to the measured radio-related
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`4
`parameter as a further required condition associated with the
`occurrence of an event before the measurement report is
`sent. That offset may vary depending on the cell. The
`predetermined condition or event may include a change in
`the measured radio-related parameter exceeding a change
`threshold, detection of a problem on a radio link with one of
`the cells, a transmit power of the mobile station crossing a
`threshold value, the mobile station failing to increase or
`decrease its transmit power on demand, and the mobile
`station receiver becoming saturated.
`A control node in the mobile radio network instructs a
`mobile station to measure one or more radio-related param
`eters for one or more cells and to evaluate each measured
`radio-related parameter for each of the one or more cells
`with respect to a predetermined event and/or condition. The
`mobile station is instructed to send a report to the control
`node when such an event occurs. Then when the report is
`received from a mobile station, the controller determines
`whether to perform an operation based on the received
`report. Example operations include handover, power
`control, channel type switching, operation and maintenance,
`network balancing, network optimiZation, etc.
`The control node provides the mobile station measure
`ment instruction using a measurement control message that
`preferably includes one or more general type parameters.
`For example, the measurement control messages simply
`specify the one or more parameter measurements the mobile
`station is to make, identify the one or more events that can
`trigger a report, and what information the report should
`include. Because the mobile station measurements and the
`events are not coupled to a particular network operation or
`network evaluation, there is a great deal of ?exibility and
`adaptability for future network needs and operations. In this
`regard, subsequent measurement control messages may
`modify the radio-related parameter, the predetermined
`event, add additional parameters to be measured, or specify
`other predetermined events to be evaluated. In fact, the
`mobile station may be instructed not to send a report even
`though a predetermined condition is satis?ed.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages
`of the invention will be apparent from the following descrip
`tion of preferred embodiments as well as illustrated in the
`accompanying drawings in which reference characters refer
`to the same parts throughout the various views. The draw
`ings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being
`placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.
`FIG. 1A is diagram of example mobile communications
`system in which the present invention may be advanta
`geously employed;
`FIG. 1B is a simpli?ed function block diagram of a
`mobile station shown in FIG. 1A;
`FIG. 1C is a simpli?ed function block diagram of a radio
`network controller and a base station shown in FIG. 1A;
`FIG. 2 is a function block diagram outlining general
`procedures for event-based reporting of mobile station mea
`surements;
`FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating measurement related
`messages between a radio network control node and a
`mobile station;
`FIG. 4 is a ?owchart illustrating example mobile station
`measurement and reporting procedures;
`FIG. 5 is a ?owchart diagram illustrating example pro
`cedures of a radio network control node measurement con
`trol routine; and
`
`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-12
`
`

`

`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`5
`FIGS. 6—15 are graphs illustrating example events, and in
`some instances, other conditions or factors associated With
`an event trigger the sending of a mobile station measurement
`report.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`6
`channel (FACH) for providing various other types of control
`messages to mobile stations. In the reverse or uplink
`direction, a random access channel (RACH) is employed by
`mobile stations Whenever access is desired to perform
`location registration, call origination, page response, and
`other types of access operations. Traf?c channels (TCH)
`may be allocated to carry substantive call communications
`With a mobile station.
`As shoWn in FIG. 1A, some mobile stations may com
`municate With only one base station. HoWever, a mobile
`station may be communicating With plural base stations or
`plural base station sectors, e.g., soft handover. Even When
`idle, mobile stations monitor or scan the control channel
`broadcasts from neighboring base stations.
`The mobile station 30 shoWn in FIG. 1B includes a data
`processing and control unit 32 for controlling various opera
`tions required by the mobile station. The mobile’s data
`processing and control unit 32 provides control signals as
`Well as data to a radio transceiver 33 connected to an antenna
`35. Both the data processing and control unit 32 and
`transceiver 33 are poWered by battery 34. The amount of
`poWer supplied by the battery 34 to the data processing and
`control unit 32 and transceiver 33 is regulated by one or
`more control signals from the data processing and control
`unit 32. The radio netWork controller 26 and base station 28
`shoWn in FIG. 1C are radio netWork nodes that each include
`a corresponding data processing and control unit 36 and 37,
`respectively, for performing numerous radio and data pro
`cessing operations required to conduct communications
`betWeen the RNC 26 and the mobile stations 30. Part of the
`equipment controlled by the base station data processing and
`control unit 37 includes plural radio transceivers 38 con
`nected to one or more antennas 39.
`In the present invention, mobile stations may be
`employed to provide measurement reports so that the
`UTRAN receives real-time knoWledge of the netWork con
`ditions based on one or more parameters measured by the
`mobile stations. While it is preferable to have many mobile
`stations generate and send measurement reports to give the
`UTRAN signi?cant amounts of measurement data from
`different locations in the netWork, the invention can be
`implemented using just a feW mobile stations or even just
`one mobile station. The sending of a measurement report is
`event triggered. Consequently, real-time knoWledge of net
`Work conditions can be selectively conveyed at relevant
`moments so the UTRAN can effectively respond Without
`delay and Without excessive signaling overhead. An adap
`tive set of predetermined “events” and/or predetermined
`“conditions” may be de?ned that trigger measurement
`reports to be sent from the mobile station. Once the report
`is received, the UTRAN may then analyZe the reported
`information and perform, if necessary, responsive or other
`desirable operations like handover, poWer control, opera
`tions and maintenance, netWork optimiZation, and other
`procedures.
`FIG. 2 outlines in ?oWchart format example procedures
`for event-based reporting of mobile station measurements
`(block 40). The mobile station measures one or more radio
`related parameters for one or more cells (block 42). One
`non-limiting example parameter is the received signal
`strength of base station broadcast channel signals from
`current and neighboring cells. The mobile station evaluates
`each measured parameter With respect to a predetermined
`event or condition (block 44). Based on that evaluation, e. g.,
`the predetermined event occurs and/or the predetermined
`condition is satis?ed, the mobile station sends a report to the
`radio netWork (block 46). The contents of that report may
`
`10
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`15
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`25
`
`In the folloWing description, for purposes of explanation
`and not limitation, speci?c details are set forth, such as
`particular embodiments, procedures, techniques, etc., in
`order to provide a thorough understanding of the present
`invention. HoWever, it Will be apparent to one skilled in the
`art that the present invention may be practiced in other
`embodiments that depart from these speci?c details. While
`various example parameters, events, conditions, and net
`Work operations are described in conjunction With the fol
`loWing description, the present invention is not limited to a
`particular measurement, event, condition, or netWork opera
`tion. In other instances, detailed descriptions of Well-knoWn
`methods, interfaces, devices, and signaling techniques are
`omitted so as not to obscure the description of the present
`invention With unnecessary detail.
`The present invention is described in the non-limiting,
`example context of a universal mobile telecommunications
`(UMTS) 10 shoWn in FIG. 1A. Arepresentative, connection
`oriented, external core netWork, shoWn as a cloud 12 may be
`for example the Public SWitched Telephone Network
`(PSTN) and/or the Integrated Services Digital NetWork
`(ISDN). A representative, connectionless-oriented external
`core netWork shoWn as a cloud 14, may be for example the
`Internet. Both core netWorks are coupled to corresponding
`service nodes 16. The PSTN/ISDN connection-oriented net
`Work 12 is connected to a connection-oriented service node
`shoWn as a Mobile SWitching Center (MSC) node 18 that
`provides circuit-sWitched services. In an existing GSM
`35
`netWork, the MSC 18 is connected over an interface A to a
`Base Station Subsystem (BSS) 22 Which in turn is connected
`to radio base station 23 over interface A‘. The Internet
`connectionless-oriented netWork 14 is connected to a Gen
`eral Packet Radio Service (GPRS) node 20 tailored to
`provide packet-sWitched type services Which is sometimes
`referred to as the serving GPRS service node (SGSN). Each
`of the core netWork service nodes 18 and 20 connects to a
`UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access NetWork (UTRAN) 24 over
`a radio access netWork (RAN) interface referred to as the Iu
`interface. UTRAN 24 includes one or more radio netWork
`controllers 26. Each RNC 26 is connected to a plurality of
`base stations (BS) 28 and to any other RNCs in the URAN
`24.
`Preferably, radio access is based upon Wideband, Code
`Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) With individual radio
`channels allocated using CDMA spreading codes. Of course,
`other access methods may be employed. WCDMA provide
`Wide bandWidth for multimedia services and other high
`transmission demands as Well as robust features like diver
`sity handoff and RAKE receivers to ensure high quality.
`Each mobile station 30 is assigned its oWn scrambling code
`in order for a base station 28 to identify transmissions from
`that particular mobile station as Well as for the mobile station
`to identify transmissions from the base station intended for
`that mobile station from all of the other transmissions and
`noise present in the same area.
`Different types of control channels may exist betWeen one
`of the base stations 28 and mobile stations 30. For example,
`in the forWard or doWnlink direction, there are several types
`of broadcast channels including a general broadcast channel
`(BCH), a paging channel (PCH), and a forWard access
`
`45
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`65
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`HTC/ZTE Exhibit 1005-13
`
`

`

`US 6,445,917 B1
`
`7
`include more or less information as established by the radio
`network operator. For example, the report may simply
`contain the identi?cation of the cell and identi?cation of the
`event that occurred. Other information such as the value of
`the measured parameter, other parameters, and even optional
`information may also be provided in that report. In response
`to the received report, the radio netWork may take some
`action, if appropriate, using the report including performing
`the example operations noted above, handover, poWer
`control, channel type sWitching (e.g., sWitching from a
`dedicated to a common channel and vice versa), etc. (block
`48).
`Preferably, measured parameters and predetermined
`events and/or conditions are de?ned in general terms so that
`they are not tightly coupled to a particular operation,
`evaluation, or algorithm. This alloWs ?exibility and adapt
`ability for other event-triggered mobile station reports. On
`the other hand, the measurement and reporting parameters
`and events may be made speci?c for a particular application
`or need. Although event-triggered reporting is preferable,
`the mobile station may be instructed by the UTRAN to send
`periodical or other types of non-event-triggered reports if
`desired. Periodical reporting may be preferred for netWork
`supervision reasons if the real-time behavior or speci?c
`mobile station measurements is less important than the total
`overall system behavior. The present invention ?exibly
`alloWs for only a fraction of mobile stations to perform such
`netWork supervision using mobile measurements from
`selected cells during a selected time period.
`FIG. 3 illustrates an example signaling diagram useful in
`implementing one aspect of the invention. A radio netWork
`control node, e.g., the RNC, a base station, or other
`controller, generates and transmits a Measurement Control
`Message for a mobile station. In general, the measurement
`control message instructs the mobile station to measure one
`or more radio-related (or other) parameters that can be
`measured by the mobile station. The message also identi?es
`one or more predetermined events and/or conditions Which
`trigger the transmission of a measurement report sent from
`the mobile station back to the radio netWork control node.
`Examples of information that may be included in the mea
`surement control message include:
`measurement parameter: identi?es What the mobile sta
`tion should measure
`measurement event and/or condition: identi?es triggering
`event and/or condition
`measurement identity number: used by the UTRAN in
`subsequent modi?cation of mobile station measure
`ment and by the mobile station in the measurement
`report
`commands: used to set up a neW measurement, modify a
`previously speci?ed measurement parameter, modify a
`predetermined event or condition, stop measurement,
`clear all information stored in the mobile related to a
`measurement
`optional parameters: parameters that a netWork operator is
`interested in but Which may not be time sensitive
`Qualitative and/or quantitative parameters may be speci
`?ed and measured. Non-limiting example parameters
`include measured signal strength, signal poWer, bit error
`rate, signal-to-interference ratio, path