# US 2019/0246359 A1 · Method for controlling small cell and apparatus therefor > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0246359 A1 - Document ID: US20190246359A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/261,742 - Filed: 2019-01-30 - Published: 2019-08-08 - Earliest claimed: 2018-02-05 - Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Jisun YOON - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190246359A1 ## CPC - H04W 52/244: {Interferences in heterogeneous networks, e.g. among macro and femto or pico cells or other sector / system interference [OSI]} - H04B 17/328: {Reference signal received power [RSRP]; Reference signal received quality [RSRQ]} - H04W 16/32: Hierarchical cell structures - H04W 24/02: Arrangements for optimising operational condition - H04W 24/08: Testing, {supervising or monitoring} using real traffic - H04W 24/10: Scheduling measurement reports {; Arrangements for measurement reports} - H04W 52/245: {taking into account received signal strength} - H04W 52/40: during macro-diversity or soft handoff - 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 A small cell control method includes: acquiring information on a plurality of cells; identifying at least one candidate of a small cell by determining whether one cell is overlaid on another cell based on the information on the plurality of cells; identifying at least one small cell to control transmitting power among the plurality cells; and controlling the identified at least one small cell. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A small cell control method performed by a first server, the small cell control method comprising: acquiring information on a plurality of cells; identifying at least one candidate of a small cell by determining whether one cell is overlaid on an other cell, among the plurality of cells, based on the information on the plurality of cells; identifying at least one small cell to control a transmitting power among the plurality of cells based on the at least one candidate of the small cell; and controlling the at least one small cell, wherein the information on the plurality of cells comprises information based on a received signal strength of an uplink reference signal. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The small cell control method of claim 1, wherein the identifying the at least one candidate of the small cell comprises: identifying the one cell overlaid on the other cell as the at least one candidate of the small cell, based on the determining that the one cell is overlaid on the other cell. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The small cell control method of claim 2, wherein user equipment apparatuses are disposed within a coverage area of the one cell, the identifying the at least one candidate of the small cell further comprises determining that the one cell is overlaid on the other cell based on a ratio of a number of the user equipment apparatuses having a signal quality value for the other cell equal to or greater than a threshold to a total number of the user equipment apparatuses, and the signal quality value of the user equipment apparatuses for the other cell, respectively, is acquired based on the information on the plurality of cells. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The small cell control method of claim 3, wherein the signal quality value of the user equipment apparatuses for the other cell, respectively, is at least one from among a signal to noise ratio (SNR) and a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of a user equipment apparatus within a coverage area of the one cell to the other cell. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The small cell control method of claim 1, wherein the identifying the at least one candidate of the small cell comprises identifying a plurality of candidates of the small cell, and the identifying the at least one small cell to control the transmitting power comprises: selecting a small cell among the plurality of candidates of the small cell, determining a power intensity of the selected small cell, obtaining a reference value for the selected small cell and the determined power intensity, and determining whether to control the selected small cell based on the reference value. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The small cell control method of claim 5, wherein the obtaining the reference value for the selected small cell and the determined power intensity comprises: obtaining the reference value based on a load-balancing mode determined according to whether a resource usage ratio of the plurality of cells managed by the first server exceeds a threshold. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The small cell control method of claim 6, wherein the obtaining the reference value comprises obtaining the reference value based on a throughput of a user equipment apparatus when the resource usage ratio exceeds the threshold, and the determining whether to control the selected small cell comprises identifying a small cell that maximizes the obtained reference value and the power intensity of the small cell to control the transmitting power of the small cell as the power intensity. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The small cell control method of claim 6, wherein the obtaining the reference value comprises obtaining the reference value based on a physical resource block (PRB) usage ratio of a user equipment apparatus when the resource usage ratio is equal to or less than the threshold, and the determining whether to control the selected small cell comprises identifying a small cell that minimizes the obtained reference value and the power intensity of the small cell to control the transmitting power of the small cell as the power intensity. ### Claim 9 A first server that manages at least one macrocell and at least one small cell, the first server comprising: a transceiver configured to acquire information on a plurality of cells; and a controller configured to identify at least one candidate of a small cell by determining whether one cell is overlaid on an other cell, among the plurality of cells, based on the information on the plurality of cells, and to identify at least one small cell based on the at least one candidate of the small cell to control a transmitting power among the plurality of cells, wherein the information on the plurality of cells comprises information based on a received signal strength of an uplink reference signal. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The first server of claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to, based on the determining that the one cell is overlaid on the other cell, identify the one cell as the at least one candidate of the small cell. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The first server of claim 10, wherein user equipment apparatuses are disposed within a coverage area of the one cell, the controller is further configured to determine that the one cell is overlaid on the other cell based on a ratio of a number of the user equipment apparatuses having a signal quality value for the other cell equal to or greater than a threshold to a total number of the user equipment apparatuses, and the signal quality value of the user equipment apparatuses for the other cell, respectively, is acquired based on the information on the plurality of cells. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The first server of claim 11, wherein the signal quality value of the user equipment apparatuses for the other cell, respectively, is at least one from among a signal to noise ratio (SNR) and a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of a user equipment apparatus within a coverage area of the one cell to the other cell. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The first server of claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to: identify a plurality of candidates of the small cell, select a small cell among the plurality of candidates of the small cell, determine a power intensity of the selected small cell, obtain a reference value for the selected small cell and the determined power intensity, and determine whether to control the selected small cell based on the reference value. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The first server of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to obtain the reference value based on a load-balancing mode determined according to whether a resource usage ratio of the plurality of cells managed by the first server exceeds a threshold. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The first server of claim 14, wherein the controller is further configured to obtain the reference value based on a throughput of a user equipment apparatus when the resource usage ratio exceeds the threshold, and identify a small cell that maximizes the obtained reference value and the power intensity of the small cell to control the transmitting power of the small cell as the power intensity. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The first server of claim 14, wherein the controller is further configured to obtain the reference value based on a physical resource block (PRB) usage ratio of a user equipment apparatus when the resource usage ratio is equal to or less than the threshold, and identify a small cell that minimizes the obtained reference value and the power intensity of the small cell to control the transmitting power of the small cell as the power intensity. ### Claim 17 A method of controlling a small cell in a macro base station controlling a small cell and a macrocell, the method comprising: acquiring first information on a plurality of cells; identifying at least one candidate of a small cell by determining whether one cell is overlaid on an other cell among the plurality of cells, based on the first information; identifying at least one small cell to control a transmitting power among the plurality of cells based on the at least one candidate of the small cell; and controlling the at least one small cell, wherein the first information comprises information based on a received signal strength of an uplink reference signal. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein the identifying the at least one candidate of the small cell comprises: identifying the one cell overlaid on the other cell as the at least one candidate of the small cell, based on the determining that the one cell is overlaid on the other cell. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, wherein user equipment apparatuses are disposed within a coverage area of the one cell, the identifying the at least one candidate of the small cell further comprises determining that the one cell is overlaid on the other cell based on a ratio of a number of the user equipment apparatuses having a signal quality value for the other cell equal to or greater than a threshold to a total number of the user equipment apparatuses, and the signal quality value of the user equipment apparatuses for the other cell, respectively, is acquired based on the first information. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein the identifying the at least one candidate of the small cell comprises identifying a plurality of candidates of the small cell, and the identifying the at least one small cell to control the transmitting power comprises: selecting a small cell among the plurality of candidates of the small cell, determining a power intensity of the selected small cell, obtaining a reference value for the selected small cell and the determined power intensity, and determining whether to control the selected small cell based on the reference value. ### Claim 21 A non-transitory computer recording medium storing instructions thereon, which instructions, when executed by a processor of a server, cause the processor to perform a method comprising: acquiring information on a plurality of cells comprising a macrocell and a small cell, the information comprising at least a received signal strength of an uplink reference signal; determining whether the small cell is overlaid on the macrocell based on the received information; identifying the small cell to control a transmitting power based on the determining that the small cell is overlaid on the macrocell; and controlling the small cell to be ON or OFF. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The non-transitory computer recording medium of claim 21, wherein the method further comprises: determining, at time intervals, whether the small cell remains overlaid on the macrocell; turning ON the small cell based on the determining that the small cell is not overlaid on the macrocell; and maintaining an OFF condition of the small cell based on the determining that the small cell remains overlaid on the macrocell.