# US 11,310,729 B2 · Cell search method and communications apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,310,729 B2 - Document ID: US11310729B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/040,544 - Filed: 2019-04-12 - Published: 2021-03-11 - Granted: 2022-04-19 - Earliest claimed: 2018-04-12 - Assignees: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Qi Wang; Ping Fang; Yong Cheng; Pengfei Xia; Wei Huang - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11310729B2 ## CPC - H04W 8/005: {Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals} - H04W 48/16: Discovering, processing access restriction or access information - H04B 17/26: using historical data, averaging values or statistics - H04B 17/27: for locating or positioning the transmitter - H04W 4/02: Services making use of location information - H04W 4/14: Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD] - H04W 52/0241: {where no transmission is received, e.g. out of range of the transmitter} - H04W 76/12: Setup of transport tunnels - H04W 52/0254: {detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device} - H04W 52/0258: {controlling an operation mode according to history or models of usage information, e.g. activity schedule or time of day} - H04W 64/003: {locating network equipment} - Y02D 30/70: in wireless communication networks - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) - H04B: TRANSMISSION - Y02D: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE ## Abstract A cell search method and a communications apparatus are provided. The method includes the following: before searching for a cell, a terminal device may determine, with reference to historical access information of another terminal device, whether there is a cell at the location, and adjust, based on a determining result, a value of a search parameter used to search for a cell. For example, if there is a cell, the terminal device may adjust the search parameter to accelerate a search. If there is no cell, the terminal device may perform no search, or adjust the search parameter to reduce an unnecessary cell search performed by the terminal device, so that power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A cell search method, comprising: obtaining, by a first terminal, first information before searching for a cell at a first location, wherein the first information comprises historical access information that is obtained from one or more second terminals near the first terminal in a short-distance communication manner and that corresponds to each second terminal at the first location, wherein historical access information corresponding to the first location indicates whether there is a cell at the first location; determining, by the first terminal, a value of a search parameter of the first terminal at the first location based on second information, wherein the second information comprises the first information; and searching, by the first terminal, for a cell at the first location based on the value of the search parameter. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the second information further comprises historical access information that is stored by the first terminal and that corresponds to the first terminal at the first location. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the historical access information corresponding to the first location comprises first indication information, and the first indication information indicates that a cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location, or the first indication information is used to indicate that no cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the historical access information corresponding to the first location comprises second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that a cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location, and indicate one or more cells found at the first location. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the historical access information corresponding to the first location comprises third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that a cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location, and indicate one or more cells successfully accessed at the first location. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the historical access information corresponding to the first location comprises fourth indication information, the fourth indication information indicates that a cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location, and indicate one or more cells successfully accessed/found at the first location and related information of the one or more successfully accessed/found cells, and the related information of the cell comprises a carrier frequency of the cell. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, the computer program comprises a program instruction, and when the program instruction is executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to perform the method according to claim 1. ### Claim 8 A communications apparatus, comprising a processor and a transceiver, wherein the transceiver is configured to obtain first information before searching for a cell at a first location, wherein the first information comprises historical access information that is obtained from one or more second terminals near the communications apparatus in a short-distance communication manner and that corresponds to each second terminal at the first location, wherein historical access information corresponding to the first location indicates whether there is a cell at the first location; the processor is configured to determine a value of a search parameter of the communications apparatus at the first location based on second information, wherein the second information comprises the first information; and the transceiver searches for a cell at the first location based on the value of the search parameter. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the second information further comprises historical access information that is stored by the communications apparatus and that corresponds to the communications apparatus at the first location. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the historical access information corresponding to the first location comprises first indication information, and the first indication information indicates that a cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location, or the first indication information is used to indicate that no cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the historical access information corresponding to the first location comprises second indication information, and the second indication information indicates that a cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location, and indicate one or more cells found at the first location. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the historical access information corresponding to the first location comprises third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that a cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location, and indicate one or more cells successfully accessed at the first location. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the historical access information corresponding to the first location comprises fourth indication information, the fourth indication information indicates that a cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location, and indicate one or more cells successfully accessed/found at the first location and related information of the one or more successfully accessed/found cells, and the related information of the cell comprises a carrier frequency of the cell. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the search parameter comprises at least one of a search carrier frequency parameter, a location change threshold parameter, a parameter of a maximum quantity of search times, or a search period parameter, and the transceiver is configured to search for a cell based on a value of the search carrier frequency parameter; when a quantity of times of searching for a cell by the transceiver at a location is equal to a value of the parameter of the maximum quantity of search times, the processor is configured to determine that there is no cell at the location; and when the communications apparatus is displaced and a displacement amount is greater than or equal to a value of the location change threshold parameter, the transceiver is configured to re-search for a cell at a location of the communications apparatus after the displacement and re-collects statistics about a quantity of cell search times, wherein when the transceiver searches for a cell at a location, a time interval between a moment at which a previous search ends and a moment at which a current search starts is a value of the search period parameter. ### Claim 15 (depends on 8) The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein determining the value of a search parameter of the communications apparatus at the first location based on the second information by the processor comprises: adjusting, based on the second information, a value/values of one or more of search parameters used to search for a cell at the first location, to obtain the value of the search parameter of the communications apparatus at the first location. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein determining the value of the search parameter of the communications apparatus at the first location based on the second information by the processor comprises: when the second information indicates that there is a cell at the first location, the processor determines that the value of the search parameter at the first location is a first search parameter value; and, wherein determining that the value of the search parameter at the first location is a first search parameter value by the processor comprises: decreasing the value of the search period parameter in the search parameter, and/or increasing the value of the parameter of the maximum quantity of search times in the search parameter. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein access reference information corresponding to the first location comprises the fourth indication information, the fourth indication information indicates that a cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location, and indicate the one or more cells successfully accessed/found at the first location and the related information of the one or more successfully accessed/found cells, and the related information of the cell comprises the carrier frequency of the cell; adjusting, based on the second information, the value/values of one or more of the search parameters comprises: when the second information indicates that there is a cell at the first location, determining that the value of the search parameter at the first location is the first search parameter value; and determining that the value of the search parameter at the first location is the first search parameter value by the processor comprises: adjusting the value of the search carrier frequency parameter comprised in the search parameter to a value/values of the carrier frequency/carrier frequencies of the one or more cells that are successfully accessed/found at the first location and that are indicated in the fourth indication information. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein access reference information corresponding to the first location comprises the fourth indication information, the fourth indication information is used to indicate that a cell is successfully accessed/found at the first location, and indicate the one or more cells successfully accessed/found at the first location and the related information of the one or more successfully accessed/found cells, and the related information of the cell comprises the carrier frequency of the cell; and adjusting, based on the second information, the value/values of one or more of the search parameters comprises: decreasing the value of the location change threshold in the search parameter when the second information indicates that a value of a carrier frequency of a first cell successfully accessed/found at the first location is greater than or equal to a first preset value; or increasing the value of the location change threshold in the search parameter when the second information indicates that a value of a carrier frequency of a first cell successfully accessed/found at the first location is less than a second preset value. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein determining the value of a search parameter of the communications apparatus at the first location based on second information by the processor comprises: when the second information indicates that there is no cell at the first location, increasing the value of the search period parameter in the plurality of search parameters, and/or decreasing the value of the parameter of the maximum quantity of search times in the plurality of search parameters, to determine that the value of the search parameter of the communications apparatus at the first location is a second search parameter value. ### Claim 20 (depends on 8) The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the transceiver is further configured to: broadcast and/or store a search result under the control of the processor after searching for a cell based on the value of the search parameter, wherein the search result is used to indicate information about the cell successfully accessed/found at the first location, or the search result is used to indicate that no cell is found at the first location.