# US 2014/0194113 A1 · Radio Base Station, Radio Network Node and Methods Therein for Detecting a Faulty Antenna > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0194113 A1 - Document ID: US20140194113A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/233,577 - Filed: 2011-07-22 - Published: 2014-07-10 - Earliest claimed: 2011-07-22 - Assignees: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ) - Inventors: Tobias Ahlström; Petter Bergman - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140194113A1 ## CPC - H04W 24/08: Testing, {supervising or monitoring} using real traffic - H04B 17/17: Detection of non-compliance or faulty performance, e.g. response deviations (H04B17/18 takes precedence) - H04B 17/23: Indication means, e.g. displays, alarms, audible means - H04B 17/24: with feedback of measurements to the transmitter - H04B 17/26: using historical data, averaging values or statistics - H04B 17/309: Measuring or estimating channel quality parameters - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) - H04B: TRANSMISSION ## Abstract Embodiments herein relate to a method in a first radio base station (12) for enabling detection of a faulty antenna in a radio communications network. The radio communication network comprises the first radio base station (12) providing radio coverage in a first cell (14), and a second radio base station (13) providing radio coverage in a second cell (15). The first radio base station (12) receives, from at least one user equipment in the first cell (14), a first set of measurement reports over a first period of time. At least some measurement reports are indicating a cell relation between the first cell (14) and the second cell (15). The first radio base station (12) further forms reference statistics of the cell relation between the first cell (14) and the second cell (15) based on the first set of measurement reports. Furthermore, the first radio base station (12) receives, from at least one user equipment in the first cell (14), a second set of measurement reports over a second period of time. The first radio base station (12) then forms current statistics of the cell relation between the first cell (14) and the second cell (15) based on the second set of measurement reports. The first radio base station (12) then compares the current statistics with the reference statistics to enable the detection of a faulty antenna in the first radio base station (12) or the second radio base station (13). ## Claims ### Claim at position 1 1-44. (canceled) ### Claim 45 A method in a first radio base station for enabling detection of a faulty antenna in a radio communications network, which radio communication network comprises the first radio base station, providing radio coverage in a first cell, and a second radio base station providing radio coverage in a second cell, the method comprising: receiving, from at least one user equipment in the first cell, a first set of measurement reports over a first period of time, at least some of the measurement reports indicating a cell relation between the first cell and the second cell; forming reference statistics of the cell relation between the first cell and the second cell, based on the first set of measurement reports; receiving, from at least one user equipment in the first cell, a second set of measurement reports over a second period of time; forming current statistics of the cell relation between the first cell and the second cell based on the second set of measurement reports; and comparing the current statistics with the reference statistics to enable the detection of a faulty antenna in the first radio base station or the second radio base station. ### Claim 46 (depends on 45) The method of claim 45, further comprising transmitting a statistics message to an Operation and Maintenance node, the statistics message comprising the current statistics or the reference statistics or both. ### Claim 47 (depends on 45) The method of claim 45, further comprising detecting an antenna as a faulty antenna in the event that the current statistics deviate from the reference statistics. ### Claim 48 (depends on 47) The method of claim 47, further comprising transmitting a faulty antenna indication to the second radio base station or an Operation and Maintenance node, the faulty antenna indication comprising information indicating a faulty antenna and information associated with the current statistics. ### Claim 49 (depends on 48) The method of claim 48, wherein said receiving, forming and comparing statistics are performed for cell relations between the first cell and a number of second cells, and wherein the transmitting of the faulty antenna indication is triggered when a faulty antenna is detected for only one cell relation between the first cell and one of the second cells out of the number of second cells. ### Claim 50 (depends on 47) The method of claim 47, wherein said receiving, forming and comparing statistics are performed for cell relations between the first cell and a number of second cells, and wherein the detecting comprises detecting that the faulty antenna is in the first radio base station in the event that a faulty antenna is detected for cell relations between the first cell and a plurality of the second cells out of the number of second cells. ### Claim 51 (depends on 47) The method of claim 47, further comprising transmitting an alarm message to an Operation and Maintenance node, the alarm message indicating that the antenna in the first radio base station is a faulty antenna. ### Claim 52 (depends on 47) The method of claim 47, wherein said detecting that the antenna is a faulty antenna comprises detecting that the faulty antenna is in the second radio base station in the event that the current statistics indicate a radio coverage of the second cell that is different than a radio coverage of the second cell indicated by the reference statistics. ### Claim 53 (depends on 47) The method of claim 47, further comprising receiving an external faulty antenna indication from the second radio base station and taking the received external faulty antenna indication into account when detecting that the antenna is a faulty antenna. ### Claim 54 (depends on 45) The method of claim 45, wherein the forming of reference statistics comprises computing mean values and standard deviation of the first set of measurement reports or the forming of current statistics comprises computing mean values and standard deviation of the second set of measurement reports, or both. ### Claim 55 (depends on 45) The method of claim 45, wherein the reference statistics or current statistics or both indicate a common cell border size or an extended common cell border size, indicating a radio coverage area covered by both the first cell and the second cell. ### Claim 56 (depends on 45) The method of claim 45, wherein the measurement reports comprise Reference Signal Received Power, Reference Signal Received Quality, Radio Link Failure, or indication of handover. ### Claim 57 (depends on 45) The method of claim 45, wherein the comparing comprises pass-band filtering the received measurement reports. ### Claim 58 (depends on 45) The method of claim 45, wherein the received measurement reports indicate a handover of the at least one user equipment to the second cell, and wherein the method further comprises classifying the handover as a non-oscillating handover attempt so that only non-oscillating handover attempts impacts the reference and current statistics. ### Claim 59 A method in a radio network node for enabling detection of a faulty antenna in a radio communications network, which radio communications network comprises a first radio base station providing radio coverage in a first cell and a second radio base station providing radio coverage in a second cell, the method comprising: receiving at least one message relating to a cell relation between the first cell and the second cell; and detecting that an antenna at the first radio base station or at the second radio base station is a faulty antenna by analyzing the received at least one message. ### Claim 60 (depends on 59) The method of claim 59, wherein the received at least one message comprises a faulty antenna indication, which faulty antenna indication comprises information indicating a faulty antenna at the second radio base station or at the first radio base station. ### Claim 61 (depends on 59) The method of claim 59, further comprising, when the second radio base station is detected to comprise a faulty antenna, transmitting an alarm message to an Operation and Maintenance node, which alarm message indicates that the antenna in the second radio base station is a faulty antenna. ### Claim 62 (depends on 59) The method of claim 59, wherein the radio network node is represented by the second radio base station. ### Claim 63 (depends on 59) The method of claim 59, wherein the radio network node is represented by an Operation and Maintenance node. ### Claim 64 (depends on 63) The method of claim 63, wherein the received at least one message comprises an alarm message, which alarm message indicates that the antenna in the first radio base station or the second radio base station is a faulty antenna. ### Claim 65 (depends on 63) The method of claim 63, wherein the received at least one message comprises a statistics message, which statistics message comprises current statistics of a cell relation between the first cell and the second cell or reference statistics of the cell relation between the first cell and the second cell, or both, and which reference statistics, if any, are formed based on a first set of measurement reports received over a first period of time in the first cell, and which current statistics, if any, are formed based on a second set of measurement reports received over a second period of time in the second cell, and wherein at least some measurement reports are indicating a cell relation between the first cell and the second cell. ### Claim 66 (depends on 63) The method of claim 63, further comprising receiving a second message from the second radio base station, which second message indicates a cell relation between the first cell and the second cell based on measurement reports received from at the at least one user equipment in the second cell, and wherein said detecting whether a faulty antenna is comprised in the second radio base station or the first radio base station is based on the at least one message and the second message. ### Claim 67 A first radio base station for enabling detection of a faulty antenna in a radio communications network, which first radio base station is arranged to provide radio coverage in a first cell, the first radio base station comprising: at least one antenna providing the radio coverage in the first cell; a receiver configured to receive, from at least one user equipment in the first cell, a first set of measurement reports over a first period of time, at least some of the measurement reports indicating a cell relation between the first cell and a second cell having radio coverage provided by a second radio base station in the radio communications network, and to receive, from at least one user equipment in the first cell, a second set of measurement reports over a second period of time; a forming circuit configured to form reference statistics of the cell relation between the first cell and the second cell based on the first set of measurement reports, and to form current statistics of the cell relation between the first cell and the second cell based on the second set of measurement reports; and a comparing circuit configured to compare the current statistics with the reference statistics to enable the detection of a faulty antenna in the first radio base station or the second radio base station. ### Claim 68 (depends on 67) The first radio base station of claim 67, further comprising a transmitting circuit configured to transmit a statistics message to an Operation and Maintenance node, which statistics message comprises the current statistics or the reference statistics or both. ### Claim 69 (depends on 67) The first radio base station of claim 67, further comprising a detecting circuit configured to detect an antenna as a faulty antenna in the event that the current statistics deviate from the reference statistics. ### Claim 70 (depends on 69) The first radio base station of claim 69, further comprising a transmitting circuit configured to transmit a faulty antenna indication to the second radio base station or an Operation and Maintenance node, which faulty antenna indication comprises information indicating a faulty antenna and information associated with the current statistics. ### Claim 71 (depends on 70) The first radio base station of claim 70, wherein said receiver, forming circuit, and comparing circuit are arranged to perform said receiving, forming, and comparing statistics for cell relations between the first cell and a number of second cells, and wherein the transmitting circuit is configured to be triggered to transmit the faulty antenna indication in the event that a faulty antenna is detected for only one cell relation between the first cell and one of the second cells out of the number of second cells. ### Claim 72 (depends on 69) The first radio base station of claim 69, wherein said receiver, forming circuit, and comparing circuit are arranged to perform said receiving, forming, and comparing statistics for cell relations between the first cell and a number of second cells, and wherein the detecting circuit is further configured to detect that the faulty antenna is comprised at the first radio base station in the event that a faulty antenna is detected for cell relations between the first cell and a plurality of second cells out of the number of second cells. ### Claim 73 (depends on 69) The first radio base station of claim 69, further comprising a transmitting circuit configured to transmit an alarm message to an Operation and Maintenance node, which alarm message indicates that the antenna in the first radio base station is a faulty antenna. ### Claim 74 (depends on 69) The first radio base station of claim 69, wherein the detecting circuit is further configured to detect that the antenna, being the faulty antenna, is comprised at the second radio base station in the event that the current statistics indicate a radio coverage of the second cell that is different than a radio coverage of the second cell indicated by the reference statistics. ### Claim 75 (depends on 69) The first radio base station of claim 69, further comprising a receiving circuit configured to receive an external faulty antenna indication from the second radio base station indicating a faulty antenna at the first radio base station, and the detecting circuit is configured to take the received external faulty antenna indication into account when detecting that the antenna is a faulty antenna. ### Claim 76 (depends on 67) The first radio base station of claim 67, wherein the forming circuit is configured to form reference statistics by computing mean values and standard deviation of the first set of measurement reports or to form current statistics by computing mean values and standard deviation of the second set of measurement reports, or both. ### Claim 77 (depends on 67) The first radio base station of claim 67, wherein the reference statistics or current statistics or both indicate a common cell border size or an extended common cell border size, indicating a radio coverage area covered by both the first cell and the second cell. ### Claim 78 (depends on 67) The first radio base station of claim 67, wherein the measurement reports comprise Reference Signal Received Power, Reference Signal Received Quality, Radio Link Failure, or indication of handover. ### Claim 79 (depends on 67) The first radio base station of claim 67, wherein the comparing circuit is configured to pass-band filter the received measurement reports. ### Claim 80 (depends on 67) The first radio base station of claim 67, wherein the received measurement reports indicate handover of the at least one user equipment to the second cell, and wherein the first radio base station further comprises a classifying circuit configured to classify the handovers as non-oscillating handover attempts so that only non-oscillating handover attempts impacts the reference and current statistics. ### Claim 81 A radio network node for enabling detection of a faulty antenna in a radio communications network in which a first radio base station provides radio coverage in a first cell, and a second radio base station provides radio coverage in a second cell, wherein the radio network node comprises: a receiving circuit configured to receive at least one message relating to a cell relation between the first cell and the second cell; and a detecting circuit configured to detect that an antenna comprised at the first radio base station or at the second radio base station is a faulty antenna by analyzing the received at least one message. ### Claim 82 (depends on 81) The radio network node of claim 81, wherein the received at least one message comprises a faulty antenna indication, which faulty antenna indication comprises information indicating a faulty antenna at the second radio base station or at the first radio base station. ### Claim 83 (depends on 81) The radio network node of claim 81, further comprising a transmitting circuit that is configured to, when the second radio base station is detected to comprise a faulty antenna, transmit an alarm message to an Operation and Maintenance node, which alarm message indicates that the antenna in the second radio base station is a faulty antenna. ### Claim 84 (depends on 81) The radio network node of claim 81, wherein the radio network node is the second radio base station. ### Claim 85 (depends on 81) The radio network node of claim 81, wherein the radio network node is an Operation and Maintenance node. ### Claim 86 (depends on 85) The radio network node of claim 85, wherein the received at least one message comprises an alarm message, which alarm message indicates that the antenna in the first radio base station or the second radio base station is a faulty antenna. ### Claim 87 (depends on 85) The radio network node of claim 85, wherein the received message comprises a statistics message, which statistics message comprises current statistics of a cell relation between the first cell and the second cell or reference statistics of a cell relation between the first cell and the second cell, or both, and which reference statistics, if any, are formed based on a first set of measurement reports received over a first period of time, and which current statistics, if any, are formed based on a second set of measurement reports received over a second period of time, wherein at least some measurement reports are indicating a cell relation between the first cell and the second cell based on signal strengths measured at the at least one user equipment. ### Claim 88 (depends on 85) The radio network node of claim 85, wherein the receiving circuit is further configured to receive a second message from the second radio base station, which second message is indicating a cell relation between the first cell and the second cell based on signal strengths measured at the at least one user equipment, and the detecting circuit is further configured to detect whether a faulty antenna is comprised in the second radio base station or the first radio base station based on the at least one message and the second message.