CN107071803A - Time synchronized and positional information are obtained using femtocell - Google Patents

Abstract

A kind of time synchronized and the method for positional information of obtaining includes：The activation transmitted by wired connection from access point base station to service provider is asked, and wherein service provider provides radio communication in grand region, and wherein access point base station provides radio communication in local zone；First step is performed to obtain time synchronized；Second step is performed to obtain the position of access point base station；And acquired position is transmitted to service provider.

Description

Obtaining Time Synchronization and Location Information Using Femtocells

This case is a divisional application of an invention patent application with an application date of May 25, 2009, an application number of 200910141740.6, and an invention title of "Using Femtocells to Obtain Time Synchronization and Location Information".

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of cellular networks, and more particularly to the automatic provisioning of femtocell base stations.

Background technique

In recent years, the use of mobile devices, especially cellular telephones, has exploded. This surge has centered on the reception of cellular telephones, especially the increase in cellular telephone service in homes or primary residences. Additionally, a typical user of a mobile device will use or subscribe to a data service at home. Accordingly, femtocells, more commonly referred to as access point base stations, have begun to be used in homes. A femtocell provides cellular service to mobile devices using a user's data service. Thus, these femtocells provide high-quality service where mobile devices are frequently used and often use data plan services (eg, DSL, fiber optic, cable, WiMAX, etc.), which may not require the proximity of a cellular phone service provider. macro cell. However, femtocells typically require manual setup, eg, by a technician, in order to work efficiently. Therefore, improvements in the installation of femtocells would be desirable.

Contents of the invention

Various embodiments of systems and methods for acquiring time synchronization and location information using femtocells are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of obtaining time synchronization and location information includes: transmitting an auto-configuration request from an access point base station to a service provider; the access point base station receiving identity information from the service provider, the identity information being unique to uniquely identify the access point base station in the service provider's network and for use in requests between the service provider and the access point base station; to transmit the activation request from the access point base station to the service provider, where the service provider Wireless communication is provided in a macro area, where an access point base station provides wireless communication in a local area; the access point base station receives a location determination request from a service provider; a first step is performed to obtain time synchronization; a second step is performed to obtain access the location of the access point base station; and transmitting the obtained location to the service provider, wherein the access point base station passes through the broadband network, or when the broadband network is not available, the access point base station passes through the service provider's macro base station or another access point Entry point base station, which sends messages or requests to service providers.

In another embodiment, an apparatus for obtaining time synchronization and location information in a femtocell includes: means for transmitting an auto-configuration request from the femtocell to a service provider; means for a provider to receive identity information that uniquely identifies a femtocell in a service provider's network and for use in requests between the service provider and the femtocell; means for an activation request of a cell to a service provider, wherein the service provider provides wireless communication in a macro area, and wherein the femto cell provides wireless communication in a local area; means for receiving a location determination request from the service provider; means for performing a first step to obtain time synchronization; means for performing a second step to obtain a location of a femtocell; and means for communicating the obtained location to a service provider, wherein the femtocell The cell sends messages or requests to the service provider through the broadband network, or when a broadband network is not available, the femtocell through the service provider's macro base station or another access point base station.

The present invention also provides a method for obtaining time synchronization and location information, comprising: receiving an automatic configuration request from the access point base station to the service provider; sending identity information from the service provider to the access point base station, the identity Information that uniquely identifies an Access Point base station in the service provider's network and is intended for use in requests between the service provider and the Access point base station; receives activation requests from the Access point base station to the service provider, where the service The provider provides wireless communication in the macro area, the access point base station provides wireless communication in the local area; and sends a location determination request from the service provider to the access point base station; receives the location of the access point base station, where the access point The base station performs a first step to obtain time synchronization and a second step to obtain said received position, wherein the access point base station passes through the broadband network, or when the broadband network is not available, the access point base station passes through the service provider's Acer Station or another access point base station, sends a message or request to the service provider.

Description of drawings

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when considering the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an exemplary system including an access point base station, according to one embodiment;

Figure 2 is an exemplary generalized block diagram of an access point base station, according to one embodiment;

Figure 3 is an exemplary block diagram of an access point base station, according to one embodiment;

Figure 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method of automatically configuring an access point base station, according to one embodiment;

Figure 5 is a graph illustrating handover regions of a macro base station and an access point base station, according to one embodiment;

6 is a diagram illustrating service areas of a macro base station and two access point base stations according to one embodiment;

Figure 7 is a flowchart of an exemplary method of obtaining time synchronization and location information, according to one embodiment; and

Figure 8 is a flowchart of an exemplary method of obtaining time synchronization and location information, according to one embodiment.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and their detailed description are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all forms falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Modifications, Equivalents, and Alternatives.

detailed description

the term:

storage medium - any of various types of storage devices or storage devices. The term "storage medium" is intended to include: installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk, or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory, such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; or non-volatile Volatile memory, such as magnetic media such as hard drives, or optical storage. The storage medium may also include other types of memory or combinations thereof. Also, the storage medium may be located in a first computer executing the program, or in a different second computer connected to the first computer via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer may provide the first computer with program instructions for execution. The term "storage medium" may include two or more storage media that may be located in different locations, such as in different computers connected by a network.

Programmable Hardware Unit - Includes a variety of hardware devices that contain multiple programmable functional blocks connected via a programmable interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (Field Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). Programmable function blocks range from fine-grained (combinational logic or look-up tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware units may also be referred to as "reconfigurable logic".

Program - The term "Program" is intended to have its full scope in its ordinary meaning. The term "program" includes: 1) a software program that can be stored in a memory and can be executed by a processor, or 2) a hardware configuration program that can be used to configure a programmable hardware unit.

Software Program - The term "software program" is intended to have its full scope in its ordinary sense and includes any type of program instructions, code, scripts and/or data, or combination thereof, that may be stored on a storage medium and executed by a processor. Exemplary software programs include: programs written in text-based programming languages such as C, C++, Pascal, Fortran, Cobol, Java, assembly language; graphical programs (programs written in a graphical programming language); assembly language programs; compiled Programs in machine language; scripts; and other types of executable software. A software program may consist of two or more software programs that interoperate in some manner.

Hardware configuration program - a program such as a netlist or bit file that can be used to program or configure a programmable hardware unit.

Computer System - any of many types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network equipment, Internet appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), television systems, grid computing system, or other device or combination of devices. In general, the term "computer system" may be broadly defined to encompass any device or combination of devices having at least one processor that executes instructions from a storage medium.

Figures 1 and 2 – Exemplary block diagrams of communication systems

1 illustrates an exemplary system including access point base stations, such as femtocells. The term "access point base station" is intended to include typical definitions of femtocells, femtocells, personal access points (PAPs), and personal 2G-4G (or nG) base stations as known to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, an access point base station may include the functionality of a mobile station transmitter/receiver (transceiver), as well as additional functionality as described in detail below. Various embodiments of methods for automatically configuring (ie, setting up) an access point base station (eg, by providing appropriate operating parameters) are given below.

As shown, FIG. 1 illustrates a home that may include one or more mobile devices 110 , access point base stations 120 , and broadband devices 130 . As shown in FIG. 2 , access point base station 120 may include base station circuitry 200 that may be coupled to mobile station transceiver circuitry 250 . Base station circuitry 200 and/or mobile station transceiver circuitry 250 may include or be coupled to a processor and memory to carry out their functions. In one embodiment, the base station circuitry and mobile station transceiver circuitry may each have separate processors and memory; however, these components may also share processors and memory.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , base station circuitry 200 and mobile station transceiver circuitry 250 may be contained within the same housing of access point base station 120 . The enclosure can be plastic or metal (eg, aluminum or other metal) and can be of box design. In one embodiment, the chassis may include one or more lights or light emitting diodes (LEDs) that indicate the activity or operation of various components of the access point base station 120 (e.g., base station circuitry 200 and/or mobile station transceiver circuitry) 250 operations, etc.).

The enclosure may include a power supply for providing power to the components of the access point base station 120 . The housing may also include one or more ports for coupling to other devices or communication devices. For example, in one embodiment, the enclosure may include a universal serial port for attaching devices (e.g., printers, personal music players, personal digital assistants, cellular phones, external hard drives, test equipment, media controllers, etc.) Bus (USB) port or other type of port such as FireWire, etc. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more ports may include Ethernet ports (eg, for coupling to a router or communication device 130, etc.), fiber optic ports, wired ports, and the like.

Access point base station 120 is operable to receive wireless communications (e.g., radio frequency (RF) communications) from one or more mobile devices 110 and provide a mobile carrier or cellular service provider corresponding to the provider of mobile devices 110. signal or communication. More specifically, access point base station 120 is operable to provide communications for mobile device 110 using broadband communication device 130 over IP wide area network 150 (eg, the Internet, via a user's Internet Service Provider (ISP)). Accordingly, broadband device 130 may communicate with cellular service provider 160 over the Internet.

In addition, IP WAN 150 can be private or dedicated to users using a variety of technologies, such as leased lines, frame relay, digital subscriber line (DSL), or dial-up services. IP communications may be encrypted or IP tunneling may be used if IP wide area network 150 supports it. Cellular service provider 160 may also be coupled to a macro base station 170, sometimes referred to as a cellular telephone tower or macro cell site, which, when out of range of access point base station 120 and/or when access point base station 120 is disabled or inoperative, Macro base station 170 is operable to provide service to mobile devices 110 . Thus, access point base station 120 can provide two-way communication for mobile devices over an IP network, such as the Internet. In other words, a user at home may use their cellular telephone in communication with an access point base station, where the user's voice communications may be sent to or received from the cellular service provider over the IP network.

Mobile station transceiver circuitry 250 is operable to communicate with mobile device 110 and cellular tower 170 using wireless cellular communications, such as RF. It should be noted, however, that in some embodiments, the mobile station transceiver circuitry 250 may not communicate directly with the mobile device 110; Signal. The mobile station transceiver circuit 250 can be used for loopback testing, reporting of environmental factors, and providing redundant information in the event of IP network failure to improve cellular reception in the home. Thus, in some embodiments, the mobile station transceiver circuitry 250 may be used to monitor environmental factors of the access point base station 120, e.g., neighboring macrocells, neighboring femtocells, radio frequency traffic in the home, etc., This information may be communicated to a service provider for configuration of the access point base station 120, eg, via a macrocell or IP network, as desired. This information may be critical during access point base station 120 initial (eg, automatic) setup. Accordingly, during installation of the access point base station 120, the macro base station 170 and/or the service provider 160 may communicate with the access point base station 120 via the wide area network 150, eg, to automatically perform setup operations. Mobile station transceiver circuitry 250 may also allow testing of access point base station 120 to be initiated (eg, loopback testing), for example, in response to a signal from macro base station 170 .

Mobile device (also referred to as an access terminal) 110 may comprise any type of device usable in a cellular network, such as RF communications. Mobile device 110 may include a cellular telephone (including a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA) with mobile communication capabilities, a laptop or computer system with a mobile communication component, and/or any mobile device operable to communicate with a cellular network. equipment. Mobile devices may use various protocols such as CDMA 2000 (1xRTT and EV-DO), UMB, UMTS, LTE, WiMax or others. Accordingly, an access point base station can support any protocol used by mobile device 110, or at least a subset thereof, eg, without modifying standards or protocols to support existing mobile devices.

Broadband device 130 may include a router and/or a cable/DSL modem for connecting to ISP 150 . In one embodiment, broadband device 130 may include a wireless router (or one or more wireless hubs), which may provide wireless communication for communication device 120 (eg, using 802.11x communication technology). In addition, broadband device 130 may be connected to wide area network 150 by wired (eg, cable, DSL, fiber optic, power line) or wireless (eg, WiMAX or other wireless communication method) means as desired. In one embodiment, the broadband device 130 may additionally be remotely coupled to the access point base station through a wireless communication method such as WiMAX. Additionally, in one embodiment, the access point base station 120 may include a broadband device 130 (eg, in a user-integrated solution).

Thus, access point base station 120 may provide access to a cellular network via wide area network 150 (eg, the Internet) using broadband equipment 130 (wired or wirelessly), and may include mobile station transceiver 250 .

Figure 3 is an exemplary block diagram of an access point base station

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an access point base station 120 . As shown, the access point base station 120 may include a port 310 (or access method) for reaching the wide area network 150 , possibly provided by the broadband communication device 130 . As noted above, port 310 may provide wired or wireless communication with broadband communication device 130 . In some embodiments, port 310 may be implemented as an interface or interconnection network coupled to broadband communication device 130 , base station circuitry 200 , and/or mobile station transceiver circuitry 250 . Mobile station baseband 324 and base station baseband 334 may be coupled to port 310 . Each baseband component may in turn be connected to analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters (322 and 332, respectively), which may be connected to respective transceivers, such as mobile station R/F 320 and base station R/F 330. Various of these components can be coupled for loopback testing, for example, mobile station R/F 320 and base station R/F 330, two digital/analog converters 322 and 332, and/or two baseband components 324 and 334, etc. possible connections. Note that this block diagram is exemplary only and that various blocks may be replaced, modified, or connected differently as desired. Note also that there may be additional components in the access point base station 120 that are not shown in FIG. 3 .

Figure 4 Automatic configuration of access point base station

4 illustrates an exemplary method of automatically configuring an access point base station. The method shown in FIG. 4 may be used in conjunction with any computer system or device, etc. other than those shown in the above figures. In various embodiments, some method steps shown may be performed concurrently, performed in a different order than shown, or omitted. Further method steps can also be performed as desired. As shown, the method can operate as follows. In the following description, references to “access point base station” refer to access point base station 120 .

In 402, an access point base station may be installed, eg, by a user at home. However, installation may be performed by service provider technicians or other entities as desired. Installation of the access point base station may include providing power to the access point base station and coupling the access point base station to the broadband communication device using wired or wireless means. In some embodiments, the user may only be required to provide power to the access point base station and couple the access point base station to the broadband device. In further embodiments, further connection settings may be required such as setting wireless or network settings of the access point base station. Additionally, in some embodiments, the access point base station can be installed in a new location by moving the access point base station from the old location. In this example, one or more of the steps described below may not be performed if such information has already been received from a previous installation, such as the identity information obtained in 406 .

The access point base station may be installed in or near the macro area of the macrocell base station in which the service provider provides wireless communications. Thus, the access point base station can provide wireless communications to the service provider in a local area, which can be in or overlap the macro area provided by the macro base station. Fig. 5 shows a graph corresponding to this situation. As shown, the access point base station coverage area (corresponding to the access point base station described herein) is within the macro base station coverage area. The indicated areas illustrate where a handoff between an access point base station and a macro base station may occur, eg, based on a signal strength ratio. A further description of the switching steps is given below.

6 also illustrates a macro base station 602 in a macro area 600 that provides service to access terminals such as, for example, access terminal 650 within the macro area. As shown, two access point base stations 610 and 615 may provide service in local areas 612 and 617 . More specifically, an access point base station (ap bs) 610 can serve access terminals 652 . As additionally indicated, there may be macro-access point reverse and forward link interference for access terminal 654 between macro base station 602 and access point base station 615, and between access point base stations 610 and 615. Inter-access point reverse and forward link interference for access terminal 656 . These disturbances can be mitigated or dealt with according to various power, switching, and hysteresis parameters described in more detail below.

At 404, the access point base station can send a message or request from the wireless service provider to automatically configure the access point base station. This message (and possibly other messages described below) can be defined as a new set of classes in the SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture), and XML (Extensible Markup Language) models, and can Managed by network management protocols such as OAM (Operation, Administration and Maintenance). In some embodiments, the access point base station may transmit the message over an IP network provided, for example, by a broadband communication device. In one embodiment, if the broadband communication device is not currently providing network connectivity, the access point base station may send the message over the service provider's wireless network, for example using a nearby macrocell base station or possibly another access point base station .

In 406, the access point base station can receive identity information from the service provider. The identity information can uniquely identify the access point base station in the service provider's network and can be used in requests between the service provider and the access point base station.

In 408, the access point base station may send the first information to the service provider, eg, in one or more messages, which may include an activation request message (ARM). The first information may be mainly provided via an IP network provided eg by a broadband communication device. However, similar to the above description, for example, when the IP network is unavailable, the first information may be provided via the service provider's macro base station. The first information may include identity information and/or a number of parameters describing various aspects of the access point base station. For example, the plurality of parameters may indicate location information, environmental information, capability information, and/or other information related to an access point base station.

More specifically, the first information may include the location of the base station of the access point, eg according to latitude and longitude. The location information may be determined by the service provider and/or the access point base station, eg, using standard network assisted location procedures. In some embodiments, the access point base station may determine its location by communicating with a neighboring macro base station (or a plurality of neighboring base stations), for example, by determining offset information and positions of the neighboring base stations. In one embodiment, a GPS receiver may be used to provide location information (eg, GPS coupled to or included in an access point base station).

As indicated above, the first information may also include capability information such as supported RAT (Radio Access Technology) technologies, maximum number of users and data rate, cell coverage characteristics (eg to allow maximum power allocation), etc. The capability information may include propagation characteristics of the environment in which the access point base station is located; however, this information may also or instead be provided in an environment information parameter. One or more partial information in the first information may be determined using a mobile station transceiver of the access point base station, eg, environmental characteristics, location information, offset information, and the like.

In some embodiments, the first information may include a list of preferred terminals. The preferred terminal list may be used to determine whether an access terminal may use an access point base station or to assign priority to an access terminal for use of an access point base station. In some embodiments, a user may provide input (eg, to a user interface of an access point base station) for specifying an access terminal for a preferred terminal list. In one embodiment, a user may or additionally use, for example, their access terminal as an input device to enter a password to use (or be preferentially used to) an access point base station. In some embodiments, an owner or manager of an access point base station may define a priority among access terminals within a list (e.g., using hierarchical ranking, explicit ordering, or other methods) to define access point How the base station allocates resources to these access terminals on the list. However, it should be noted that the access point base station may not provide a preferred terminal list during configuration of the access point base station. For example, the preferred terminal list may be updated or provided by the access point base station at any time after configuration as desired.

Similarly, the first information may include an access policy or a desired access policy. For example, an input for a desired access policy for an access point base station may be provided. In some embodiments, an access policy may have one or more of the following options: open (e.g., all access terminals can access the access point base station), restricted (e.g., all access terminals are allowed unlimited access, while other access terminals have limited access or no access), and/or private (e.g., only access terminals on the access terminal list are allowed to use the access terminal entry point base station). Similar to above, this information may or may not be provided during configuration, and may be provided or changed at any later point in time as desired. However, in some embodiments, the user may not be able to control the access policy of the access point base station; in one embodiment, the service provider may ultimately assign the policy. Therefore, various types of information can be provided to the service provider in the first information.

At 410, the access point base station may receive second information (eg, over an IP network) from a service provider, the second information including information and/or one or more operating parameters. In 410, the access point base station can receive the second information (including the operating parameters) and store the operating parameters in a suitable memory location in the base station so that the parameters can be accessed and used by software executing on the base station. Thus, the receipt and storage of operating parameters can automatically configure or configure the access point base station without requiring any direct or manual user input (unlike connecting the base station to a power source or broadband connection).

The second information may be determined by the service provider based on first information provided by the access point base station, eg, measurement information, location information and/or other information. The operational parameters may include handover parameters for handling handover of access terminals between the access point base station and the macrocell base station. In one embodiment, the second information may include the allocation of frequencies or channels of the access point base station, the network SID and/or NID, and/or the identification of the access point base station, among others. The second information may include PN offset (for CDMA200 protocol) and/or cell scrambling code (for UMTS). The PN offset and/or cell scrambling code can be based on the location of the access point base station and can be used to manage interference from the access point base station to surrounding networks.

The second information may include a neighbor list, which may include a list of neighboring macro base stations and/or other access point base stations. As indicated above, the second information may include a PN offset (eg, long and/or short PN offset) or a scrambling code for UMTS. These can aid in interference management for access point base stations. In some embodiments, the neighbor list may be updated each time the neighbor list changes and/or at various periodic intervals. The second information may include a maximum (transmit) power parameter, which may be used to control interference from the access point base station to surrounding networks (eg, macro base stations or other access point base stations that may be indicated in the neighbor list). The maximum power parameter may be determined based on the desired coverage area of the access point base station and the desired quality of service (eg, for the user's home). Power parameters may also be determined based on household propagation models, signal measurements of neighboring base stations (macro base stations or other base stations) of the access point base station, and/or other factors. Additional parameters may include overhead channel power allocation (eg, PICH for 1xRTT), etc.

The second information may further include an admission policy model, which as indicated above may allow open, restricted, or private access to access point base station resources. Additionally, the second information may include a preferred terminal list, which may also be used to manage service priorities for access terminals as indicated above. For example, in private mode, the access point base station can restrict access to only those access terminals on the list, and for a semi-open policy, the listed access terminals can be given service priority. Can be based on the owner's service agreement, the location of the access point base station, subscriptions of other customers near the location of the access point base station, admission policies provided by the access point base station (e.g., provided by the user), and/or preferred terminals lists, neighbor lists, and/or other information to determine admission policies and/or preferred terminal lists.

The second information may further include handover offsets or parameters related to handover, which may indicate a drop threshold from the macro base station to the access point base station and/or a drop threshold from the access point base station to the macro base station. For example, the second information may provide handover (HO) threshold and hysteresis information, eg, to facilitate handover regardless of access point base stations within the macro coverage area.

Handover (HO) thresholds may include handover parameters such as macro to AP (or femtocell) drop threshold "M2FTdrop" and AP to macro drop threshold "F2MTdrop". The M2FTdrop parameter may specify a signal strength ratio used to determine when to perform a handover from a macro base station to an access point base station when the access point terminal is moving from a macro area (service provided by the macro base station) to a local area. Conversely, the F2MTdrop parameter may specify the signal strength ratio used to determine when to perform a handover from an access point base station to a macro base station when the access terminal is moving from a local area (served by the access point base station) to a macro area. .

The hysteresis information may include one or more parameters indicating which of the macro base station or the access point base station has most recently provided service to the access terminal. In one embodiment, positive (eg, in dB) values of the M2FTdrop parameter provide hysteresis during macro-femtocell HO, while negative values of the M2FTdrop parameter provide hysteresis during femtocell-macro HO. This hysteresis can avoid frequency switching (ping-pong phenomenon) between macro service and femtocell service.

In one embodiment, the parameter may be related to an optimal handover completion time, or a threshold related to handover completion time. Handover parameters can facilitate seamless handovers to/from other base stations, help reduce interference to remaining users and/or surrounding networks, and/or improve system capacity and overall quality of service by reducing the number of active code channels . These operating parameters/information (and possibly other parameters) may be semi-static and until the next message is sent from the service provider and/or until there are other changes in the access point base station's location, environment, and/or user settings, etc. The changes are valid so far. Further description regarding handover between an access point base station and a neighboring base station is provided further below in the flowchart.

The second information may further include additional parameters such as access point base station time resynchronization (which may be sent by the network when the link between the access point base station and a neighboring network is lost), channel assignment (CAM message, which may be used for assisted access Interference Mitigation Management of Access Point Base Stations). In some embodiments, the second information (and more specifically, the operating parameters) may be determined using a coverage area propagation model. Such a determination among many of information and operating parameters may be performed or determined, for example, by one or more servers of the service provider.

A coverage area propagation model may include a range of typical home/office layouts with parameters such as: type - detached/attached/unit; room size and number and floors; construction type - concrete, wood, cardboard, etc. These typical layouts can be included in the installation software. The different steps and parameters (area, type of construction, etc.) may be entered by the user, for example, when installing the femtocell, or located in a database, or detected in a database and then in a message (such as the ARM message described here) sent to the service provider. When this message is received, the information can be mapped to a propagation model maintained by the service provider to obtain, for example, the AP maximum transmit power. Variations between typical and actual dwelling layouts and actual locations of ATs within the dwelling can be covered by the range of the M2FTdrop and F2MTdrop parameters.

In 412, the access point base station can operate based on the second information (eg, one or more operational parameters of the second information). Operating according to parameters may provide reduced interference caused by the operation of an access point base station, e.g., in neighboring macrocells or femtocells, and may allow for efficient handoffs between the access point base station and other base stations in the area (below provide further description). Thus, the access point base stations can be configured or configured automatically without requiring a user to manually configure the access point base stations, which typically requires a higher level of expertise than the average user.

In 414, the access point base station may (eg, automatically) receive updated operating parameters from the service provider in response to the change in the network. Changes may include adding or removing access point base stations, an increase or decrease in load in the network (for example, causing the service provider to change various parameters to achieve load balancing in the area), changes in environmental conditions, certain types of packets in the network detection of (package) or messages, loss or reduction of various base station power, and/or any other change that may affect the access point base station.

In some embodiments, changes may initially be determined by the access point base station and reported to the service provider prior to receiving updated operational parameters. However, in some embodiments, the service provider may provide updated parameters without first receiving a message from the access point base station. For example, as noted above, a new access point base station may have been added to the area, and in response to the configuration of the new access point base station, the operating parameters of the access point base station may need to be changed, e.g., as determined by the service provider. . Accordingly, the access point base station can operate based on updated operating parameters that can reduce interference caused by the access point base station in a changing network. Updated parameters may also allow for more efficient handovers in changing networks.

Furthermore, during operation, all overhead messages (such as PCH, etc.) can be re-broadcasted in the coverage area to provide reliable delivery of pages during idle HO. Furthermore, each time a new user and/or new resource is added to an existing user (e.g., defined with a channel assignment message), the assignment can be indicated (either via the OAM interface or sent over the air) to the access point base station to Help reduce distractions.

It is noted that various method steps such as 404, 406, 408, 410 and/or 412 described above may be performed automatically. The term "automatic" is used to mean that the action is not performed by a user. For example, in the above description, the user may simply command the access point base station to start the configuration steps to set up the access point base station, and the method steps described above may be performed without any further user input for specifying the steps. In one embodiment, the access point base station can automatically begin setup once it is installed or coupled to a wide area network (eg, the Internet). Thus, in this embodiment, the user may not provide any input during configuration of the access point base station. It should be noted, however, that embodiments may exist that require or request user input during automated processing, such as confirmation of a step or request for certain user parameters.

Figure 7 to 8 The method of using the access point base station to obtain time synchronization and location information

7 illustrates an exemplary method of acquiring time synchronization and location information using an access point base station. In one embodiment, the method shown in Figure 7 may be used in a system implementing CDMA2000 and/or UMTS protocols. The method of FIG. 7 may be used in conjunction with the method shown in FIG. 4 and with any computer system or device shown in the above figures or any other suitable device. In some embodiments, some of the illustrated method steps may be performed in parallel (or substantially in parallel), in an order different from that shown, or omitted. For example, in some embodiments, the system may use the CDMA 2000 protocol instead of the UMTS protocol, so 710 and 716 may be omitted as indicated by the dashed lines. Similarly, additional method steps can also be performed as desired. "Parallel" as used herein may refer to performing at least two steps simultaneously. More specifically, when steps are performed in parallel, at least a portion of the performance of each step may overlap. In the following description, references to “access point base station” refer to access point base station 120 .

In 702, the access point base station can send an activation request to the service provider (eg, as shown in 404). As mentioned above, the access point base station may send the request to the service provider over the wired broadband connection. Alternatively, the access point base station may send the request to the service provider through a wireless connection. In some embodiments, the access point base station may also send various parameters indicating its various capabilities. In one embodiment, the access point base station may additionally send the access point base station identifier.

In 704, the access point base station can receive a location determination request in which the service provider requests the location of the access point base station. In some embodiments, the access point base station may also receive various network parameters such as, for example, service identifier (SID), network identifier (NID), frequency assignment, and the like. These parameters may also indicate various capabilities of the network, such as, for example, support for IxRTT, EV-DO, Highly Detectable Navigation (HDP) capabilities, and the like. In one embodiment, the access point base station may receive a list of neighboring macro base stations if the location of the access point base station is roughly known within the macro environment.

At 706, 708, and 710, the access point base station can determine whether IxRTT, EV-DO, and UMTS are supported. Based on different capabilities of the access point base station and the network, the access point base station may perform a first step to obtain time synchronization and a second step to obtain the location of the access point base station. As explained in more detail below, in some embodiments, the first step may include using the CDMA Synchronization Channel (SYNC), Highly Probable Navigation (HDP), Primary Synchronization Channel (PSCH) and Secondary Synchronization Channel (SSCH) Wait. The second step may include using a PDE (Position Determination Entity) request, HDP, GPS, etc. In some embodiments, the access point base station may perform the first step and the second step in parallel (or substantially in parallel). For example, an access point base station may perform a GPS search while also using HDP. In certain embodiments, various steps (eg, use of HDP) may be included in both the first and second steps.

In 712, if 1xRTT is supported, the access point base station may use a CDMA paging indicator channel PICH and a synchronization channel SYNC to obtain time synchronization, and use a location determination entity (PDE) to obtain location information. In one embodiment, the access point base station may search for the strongest neighboring macro base station. Then, the access point can adjust its receive frequency (Rx) to the transmit frequency (Tx) of the neighboring macro base station and decode the paging indication channel PICH and synchronization channel SYNC to obtain accurate timing information. In various embodiments, the access point base station may also send a position determination entity (PDE) request to a neighboring macro base station to obtain the location of the access point base station using the IS-801 protocol. In some embodiments, information obtained from this IS801 session using PDE may be used to aid in other steps in obtaining more precise location information. For example, initially the PDE may only know that the location of the access point base station is within a radius of the cell tower the access point base station is receiving (eg about 5 km, depending on the radius of the cell tower). As a result, more accurate steps for obtaining position information can be performed, such as, for example, AFLT (less than 5 km, based on the number of visible neighboring BSs) or GPS (approximately less than 100 m, based on the number of satellites found) as described in 718 below ).

At 714, if EV-DO is supported, the access point base station can obtain time synchronization and location information using a highly detectable navigation (HDP) protocol. In one embodiment, the access point base station may search for the strongest neighboring macro base station. The access point base station can then adjust its time and determine its location according to the steps of the HDP. In some embodiments, the information provided by HDP is similar to the information provided by AFLT in CDMA 1x systems. In various embodiments, this location information may be used to aid in the GPS search at 718 described below.

At 716, the access point base station can acquire a primary synchronization channel (PSCH) and a secondary synchronization channel (SSCH) to acquire time synchronization if UMTS is supported. In some embodiments, the access point base station may utilize the primary synchronization channel PSCH and the secondary synchronization channel SSCH to perform slot and frame boundary synchronization. In various embodiments, time information determined from the acquired time synchronization may be used in 718 to determine which satellites to search.

At 718, the access point base station can obtain location information using a GPS search. For example, in some embodiments, an access point base station may employ Assisted GPS (AGPS) search, where an initial location is obtained using another procedure (eg, PDE request or HDP) and used by GPS to determine a more specific s position.

In 720, the access point base station can determine whether the location information and timing accuracy are sufficient. If the location information and timing accuracy are insufficient, e.g., no service is available or the connection to the service provider is lost, the access point base station may obtain time synchronization and/or location information (e.g., the method of FIG. 7 may return to 706, 708, 710 and 718). On the other hand, the access point base station can send the location information to the service provider if the location information and timing accuracy are sufficient. In one embodiment, the location information may include the latitude and longitude of the access point base station. In other embodiments, the location information may include triangulation information. In some embodiments, the location information may include a location relative to another access point base station or a neighboring macro base station.

In 722, the access point base station can receive a base station identifier and a PN offset assignment or scrambling code assignment from a service provider. In various embodiments, base station identifiers and/or PN offsets/scrambling codes may be assigned based at least on the transmitted location of the access point base stations in order to control/mitigate intra-cell interference and simplify acquisition/synchronization steps while reducing terminal complexity. In some embodiments, the access point base station may receive other information from the service provider that also depends on the transmitted location, such as, for example, various secondary information described above in 410 - power parameters, admission policies, Acceptable terminals, handover parameters, etc. of the access point base station can be used.

At 724, the access point base station can begin transmission using the received information provided at 722. In various embodiments, the access point base station may periodically adjust its timing and check its location in response to a periodic timer.

8 illustrates an exemplary method of acquiring time synchronization and location information using an access point base station. In one embodiment, the method shown in FIG. 8 may be used in a system implementing the CDMA 2000 protocol. This method may be used in conjunction with the method shown in FIG. 4 using any computer system or device shown in the figures above or any other suitable device. In various embodiments, some of the illustrated method steps may be performed in parallel (substantially in parallel), in an order different from that shown, or omitted. Additional method steps can also be performed as desired.

In 802, the access point base station sends an activation request to the service provider, as in 702 above.

In 804, the access point base station receives a location determination request, as in 704 above. In some embodiments, the access point base station may also receive various network parameters and a list of neighboring macro base stations.

At 806 and 808, the access point base station can determine whether IxRTT and EV-DO are supported. As mentioned above, depending on the supported protocols, the access point base station may perform a first step to obtain time synchronization and a second step to obtain the location of the access point base station. In some embodiments, the first step may include using a CDMA SYNC channel, HDP, or the like. The second step may include using PDE requests, ALFT, GPS, etc.

At 810, the access point base station can acquire time synchronization using a CDMA SYNC channel if 1xRTT is supported. In one embodiment, the access point base station may search for the strongest neighboring macro base station. The access point base station can then adjust its receive frequency (Rx) to the transmit frequency (Tx) of the neighboring macro base station and decode the synchronization channel SYNC to acquire time synchronization.

In 812, the access point base station receives a PDE request from a neighboring macro base station of the service provider. In one embodiment, the PDE request may be compatible with the IS-801 protocol.

In 814, the access point base station can send advanced forward link triangulation (ALFT) results to the macro base station so that it can obtain an initial position fix of the access point base station to reduce the GPS search window.

At 816, the access point base station can receive various corresponding GPS timing parameters such as, for example, search window size, ephemeris, and the like.

At 818, the access point base station can obtain location information using a GPS search. As shown in FIG. 8, in some embodiments, the access point base station may use the GPS timing parameters received in 816 to further assist in the GPS search.

In 820, the access point base station determines whether the GPS search has obtained an accurate fix. If an accurate fix is not obtained, the access point base station may continue the GPS search in 818 and perform 806 through 816 again to receive new GPS timing parameters. On the other hand, if an accurate fix has been obtained, the access point base station can determine its location and provide this location information to the service provider.

At 822, if EV-DO is supported, the access point base station can use HDP to obtain time synchronization and location information and provide the location information to the service provider.

In 824, the access point base station can receive the base station's identifier and PN offset assignment. As in 722, the service provider can assign a base station identifier and a PN offset based at least on the location of the access point base station. In various embodiments, the access point base station may receive additional information such as described in 410 .

At 826, the access point base station can begin transmission as in 724 using the received information.

Note that while FIGS. 7-8 describe specific steps for obtaining time synchronization and location information, other steps may be used as desired. For example, in some embodiments, the access point base station may employ other steps utilizing triangulation and/or global positioning systems.

While embodiments have been described above in sufficient detail, numerous changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully understood. It is intended that the claims be interpreted to embrace all such changes and modifications.

Cross References to Related Documents

This application claims priority to U.S Provisional Application Serial No. 60/081,368, filed September 21, 2008, entitled "Femto Position and Time Acquisition," the inventors of which are Stanislaw Czaja and Paul Chun-Hsiung Wei, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference Incorporated herein as if fully and completely set forth herein.

Claims (14)

1. A method for obtaining time synchronization and location information, comprising: Transmitting an auto-configuration request from the access point base station to the service provider; the access point base station receives identity information from the service provider that uniquely identifies the access point base station in the service provider's network for use in requests between the service provider and the access point base station; transmitting an activation request from an access point base station to a service provider, wherein the service provider provides wireless communication in a macro area, and wherein the access point base station provides wireless communication in a local area; The access point base station receives a location determination request from a service provider; Determine the protocol standard supported by the access point base station; When the access point base station supports the first protocol standard, perform the first step to obtain time synchronization, and obtain the position of the access point base station through the global positioning system; When the access point base station supports the second protocol standard, perform a second step to obtain time synchronization and the location of the access point base station, and determine the location of the access point base station through a global positioning system; and transmit the obtained location of the access point base station to the service provider, Wherein, when the broadband network is available, the access point base station sends a message or request to the service provider through the broadband network; when the broadband network is unavailable, the access point base station sends a message or request to the The service provider sends a message or request, Wherein, the first step and the second step are carried out simultaneously. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the access point base station is a femtocell, and some of the first step and the second step are performed in parallel. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first step comprises the following steps or a combination thereof: Use the synchronization channel to obtain synchronization information; Obtain synchronous information using highly detectable navigation; Obtain synchronization information using the main synchronization channel; and Use the secondary sync channel to get sync information. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second step comprises the following steps or a combination thereof: Positioning using the Global Positioning System; Positioning using highly observable navigation; and A position determination is requested with a location determining entity. 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Information is received from the service provider, wherein the received information is determined based at least on the acquired location. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the received information comprises the following information or a combination thereof: base station identifier; one or more power parameters; and Pseudorandom offset or scrambling code. 7. An apparatus for acquiring time synchronization and location information in a femtocell, comprising: means for communicating an auto-configuration request from a femtocell to a service provider; means for receiving identity information from a service provider that uniquely identifies the femtocell in the service provider's network and for use in requests between the service provider and the femtocell; means for transmitting an activation request from a femtocell to a service provider, wherein the service provider provides wireless communication in a macro area, and wherein the femtocell provides wireless communication in a local area; means for receiving a location determination request from a service provider; A module for determining protocol standards supported by the femtocell; means for performing a first step to acquire time synchronization and obtain a position of the femtocell via a global positioning system when the femtocell supports a first protocol standard; means for performing a second step of obtaining time synchronization and a location of the femtocell when the femtocell supports a second protocol standard, and determining the location of the femtocell by a global positioning system; and means for communicating the obtained location of the femtocell to a service provider, Wherein, when the broadband network is available, the femto cell sends a message or request to the service provider through the broadband network; when the broadband network is unavailable, the femto cell sends a message or request to the The service provider sends a message or request, Wherein, the first step and the second step are carried out simultaneously. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a module for performing the first step and the second step in parallel. 9. The device according to claim 7, wherein the first step comprises the following steps or a combination thereof: Use the synchronization channel to obtain synchronization information; Obtain synchronous information using highly detectable navigation; Obtain synchronization information using the main synchronization channel; and Use the secondary sync channel to get sync information. 10. The device according to claim 7, wherein the second step comprises the following steps or a combination thereof: Positioning using the Global Positioning System; Positioning using highly observable navigation; and A position determination is requested with a location determining entity. 11. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising means for receiving information from the service provider, wherein the received information is determined based at least on the acquired location. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the received information includes an assigned pseudorandom number offset and an assigned scrambling code. 13. A method of obtaining time synchronization and location information, comprising: receiving an auto-configuration request from the access point base station to the service provider; Send identity information from the service provider to the access point base station that uniquely identifies the access point base station in the service provider's network and for use in requests between the service provider and the access point base station ; receiving an activation request from an access point base station to a service provider, where the service provider provides wireless communication in the macro area and the access point base station provides wireless communication in the local area; and Send a location determination request from the service provider to the access point base station; Determine the protocol standard supported by the access point base station; receiving the location of the access point base station, wherein when the access point base station supports the first protocol standard, the access point base station performs the first step to obtain time synchronization and obtains the location of the access point base station through the global positioning system, when the access point base station When supporting the second protocol standard, the access point base station performs the second step to obtain time synchronization and the location of the access point base station, and determines the location of the access point base station through the global positioning system, Wherein, when the broadband network is available, the access point base station sends a message or request to the service provider through the broadband network; when the broadband network is unavailable, the access point base station sends a message or request to the The service provider sends a message or request, Wherein, the first step and the second step are carried out simultaneously. 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the service provider sending at least the following information or a combination thereof to the access point base station: A pseudorandom number offset or scrambling code is assigned based on said received position.