# US 9,439,115 B2 · Method for cell reselection and cell handover in a wireless communication system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,439,115 B2 - Document ID: US9439115B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/122,135 - Filed: 2012-05-22 - Published: 2014-05-29 - Granted: 2016-09-06 - Earliest claimed: 2011-05-26 - Assignees: Telefonica, S.A. - Applicants: Luis Cucala Garcia - Inventors: Luis Cucala Garcia - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9439115B2 ## CPC - H04W 36/04: Reselecting a cell layer in multi-layered cells - H04W 36/00835: {Determination of neighbour cell lists} - H04W 36/0085: {Hand-off measurements} - H04W 36/302: {due to low signal strength} - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract The method comprises: a user equipment measuring its proximity to one or more cells, or radio access nodes, by detecting the signal emission power thereof, and recognizing some cells as distinctive cells which radio section can be switched off when no user equipment is camping in it; determining that at least one of said cells is candidate for cell reselection or handover as a function of said signal emission power, and, if the cell is a distinctive cell, directly determining it as a candidate cell even if its signal emission power is not detected; and performing the cell reselection or handover between the user equipment and the candidate cell. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for cell reselection and cell handover in a wireless communication system, comprising: a user equipment measuring its proximity to at least one cell, or radio access node, by at least detecting the signal emission power thereof; determining that said at least one cell is a candidate for cell reselection or handover as a function of said signal emission power; and performing said cell reselection or handover between said user equipment and said candidate cell; wherein the method comprises said user equipment recognizing some cells as distinctive cells which radio section can be switched off when no user equipment is camping in it, and determining them as candidate cells for cell reselection or handover even if their signal emission power is not detected. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further providing at said user equipment, for each of said distinctive cells, a low fictitious value for said signal emission power in case the distinctive cell signal emission power is not detected. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, comprising updating said low fictitious value to a high fictitious value, for said signal emission power of each of said distinctive cells, upon establishing a radio link between said user equipment and said distinctive cell. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein said radio link is a short range radio link. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein said updating of said low fictitious value to said high fictitious value is carried out before the radio section of the distinctive cell is switched on. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, comprising, for each of said distinctive cells, detecting the signal emission power thereof and updating said low fictitious value to the detected value. ### Claim 7 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, comprising, once said signal emission power of each of said distinctive cells is at said high fictitious value, triggering the needed procedures for performing said cell reselection or handover between the user equipment (UE) and the corresponding candidate distinctive cell. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method as per claim 1, wherein it is a applied to a wireless communication system supporting a closed subscriber group service, said cells belonging to a Closed Subscriber Group, or CSG, the method comprising said user equipment storing a whitelist of said cells in the form of CSG-related information including, for each cell, at least a CSG identity and also a power parameter indicating if they are distinctive cells or not. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, comprising including in said whitelist, said measured and/or low and/or high fictitious values regarding said signal emission power, associated to their corresponding cell, in the form of reference signal receive power, or RSRP, parameter values. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, comprising including in said whitelist, for said distinctive cells, their physical layer cell identity in order to speed up the synchronization process once they are detected. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method as per claim 10, wherein said synchronization procedures include decoding the reference signals and the primary synchronization and secondary synchronization channels, or P-SCH and S-SCH. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, comprising deducing the pattern of said reference signals, of said P-SCH and of said S-SCH before detecting the distinctive cell signal emission, by using said physical layer cell identity. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein said cells are femtocells. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein said user equipment is a wireless portable processing device. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein said determining of candidate cells for reselection is performed by said user equipment. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein said determining of candidate cells for handover is performed by a network of said wireless communication system, the user equipment communicating said measured and/or low and/or high fictitious values regarding said signal emission power, associated to their corresponding cell, to said network. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein said network is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, or E-UTRAN.