Title of Invention	METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR USING THE SYNCHRONIZATION CHANNEL TO OBTAIN MEASUREMENTS IN A CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
Abstract	A method and apparatus of an OFDM system that utilizes the synchronization channel, SCH, by the user equipment, UE, to obtain time synchronization information and to perform cell search. In order to perform the SCH detection, only a correlation between the known SCH signal and the received sequence is needed (201), hence the FFT is not involved in the synchronization step. Typically the SCH and pilot symbols are transmitted with a constant power which is the same for all base stations. Hence, based on the serving cell, SC, SCH and pilot symbols, the power relation between these signals is estimated (202, 203, 204) and the ratio applied when performing time synchronization to other cells (i.e. correlation the received sequence with the SCH from that particular NC) to estimate the pilot signal strength for the NB cell.

Title of Invention

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR USING THE SYNCHRONIZATION CHANNEL TO OBTAIN MEASUREMENTS IN A CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

Abstract

A method and apparatus of an OFDM system that utilizes the synchronization channel, SCH, by the user equipment, UE, to obtain time synchronization information and to perform cell search. In order to perform the SCH detection, only a correlation between the known SCH signal and the received sequence is needed (201), hence the FFT is not involved in the synchronization step. Typically the SCH and pilot symbols are transmitted with a constant power which is the same for all base stations. Hence, based on the serving cell, SC, SCH and pilot symbols, the power relation between these signals is estimated (202, 203, 204) and the ratio applied when performing time synchronization to other cells (i.e. correlation the received sequence with the SCH from that particular NC) to estimate the pilot signal strength for the NB cell.

Full Text	BACKGROUND The present invention relates to cellular communication networks. More particularly, and not by way of limitation, the present invention is directed to a system and method for making intra- and inter-frequency measurements by a user equipment (UE) in a cellular communication network. In the evolution of mobile cellular communication standards such as Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), new modulation techniques such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) are anticipated to be implemented. In order to smoothly transfer the existing cellular communication systems to the new high capacity high data rate system in the existing radio spectrum, a new system able to operate on a flexible bandwidth (BW) is required. One such flexible cellular system is known as long term evolution of 3GPP (3G LTE), which can be viewed as an evolution of the 3G WCDMA standard. 3G LTE will likely use Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and will be able to operate on bandwidths spanning from 1.25 MHz to 20 MHz. It is anticipated that a 3G LTE system will allow frequency reuse. In frequency reuse, all cells can use the same carrier frequency. Although WCDMA systems also allow for frequency reuse, in Multiple Access OFDM (OFDMA), the intra- and inter-frequency hand over (HO) measurements present challenges because a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is needed both for data detection and intra- and inter-frequency measurements. In WCDMA, a path searcher, which is required for obtaining the radio paths, could also be used for signal strength measurements, hence the RAKE detector could be used exclusively for data detection, while in OFDMA, the FFT is used for both tasks. There foregoing challenges are handled differently by conventional methods. The first conventional method is to create gaps for intra- and inter-frequency measurements. When a User Equipment (UE) is close to a cell border, the UE requests an interruption in the reception in order to allocate the FFT to the neighboring (NB) cell. Disadvantageously, this results in a lower throughput due to the need to interrupt the data reception. The second conventional method requires synchronization of base stations. In this case, all cells have the same timing and when performing the FFT, all cells (serving cells (SC) and NB cells) pilot signals can be detected and signal strength estimated. Disadvantageously, this second method requires that the cells be synchronized. The third conventional method is to use two FFTs. One FFT is used for SC detection and one FFT is used for neighboring (NB) cell measurements. The disadvantage with this third conventional method is the need for two FFTs, resulting in an increased chip area cost in the UE. Hence there is a need for a method and apparatus for efficient handling of intra- and inter-frequency measurements in an OFDMA system. SUMMARY The present invention comprises a method and apparatus that utilizes the synchronization channel (SCH), which is a known time signal that is periodically transmitted with certain correlation properties. The SCH is used by the UE to obtain time synchronization information and to perform cell search. In order to perform the SCH detection, only a correlation between the known SCH signal and the received sequence is needed, hence the FFT is not involved in the synchronization step. Typically the pilot OFDM symbols, as well as the SCH, are transmitted with a constant power which is the same for all base stations. Hence, based on the SC SCH and pilot symbols, the power relation between these signals is estimated and the ratio applied when performing time synchronization to other cells (i.e. correlation the received sequence with the SCH from that particular NB cell) to estimate the pilot signal strength for the NB cell. According to the latest 3GPP Specification, SCH is transmitted every 5 milliseconds. Hence, using this technique, the FFT is not required for estimating the signal strengths for the NB cells, thereby overcoming the above cited disadvantages associated with the conventional methods. Another advantage of the present invention is that the base station transceiver (also known as node B) does not need to transmit all pilot signals in all resource blocks, which it may do even in almost empty cells, in order to perform HO measurements. Hence, the present invention is adapted to reduce pilot overhead allowing increased capacity in a cellular telecommunications system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS In the following section, the invention will be described with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the figures, in which: FIG. 1 is a time frequency structure for a DL OFDM system; FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the method of the present invention; and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an apparatus adapted to implement the method of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Figure 1 provides a time frequency structure for a downlink (DL) portion of an OFDM system. A superframe 101, typically 10 ms in duration and having a certain bandwidth, consists of a number of subframes 102. As seen therein, the synchronization channel (SCH) 103 is transmitted at regular intervals, typically corresponding to one OFDM symbol per 5 ms. The SCH is used by a UE, such as a mobile terminal, cellular telephone and the like, to obtain time and frequency synchronization information from a cell and hence is used in the cell search procedure. An exemplary SCH consists of (a) two different signals, a primary signal being the same for all cells and used for time synchronization and a secondary signal that is different for different cells and is used for detecting the cell ID, or (b) one signal constructed in such a way that the timing can be found by autocorrelation of the signal while the cell ID is found by cross-correlation with known cell ID sequences. The present invention is applicable to either of the foregoing SCH constructions. For the UE to detect the cells, the SCH signals 103 are typically transmitted at high power equally from all cells. Also as noted in Figure 1, some sub-carriers 104 in each OFDM symbol are known pilot signals. These pilot signals are used for estimating the radio channel in the frequency domain and used for equalizing the channel. In a cellular system, the pilot signals 105 are often also used as indicators of the signal strength, for example by summing the power of a well defined number of pilot signals. The signal strength is estimated for both of (1) the serving cell (SC), which is the cell that the UE is connected or camping on, and (2) the detected neighboring (NB) cells, which are the cells the UE has detected in the cell search. The estimated signal strength is used by the UE to find suitable HO candidates during mobility. In order to have sufficient signal strength measurements, the pilot signals 105 are transmitted with high and equal power. The SCH power is defined as the magnitude of the correlation result summed over the length of the cyclic prefix around the correlation peak. Mathematically, this is written as: where Di is the squared magnitude of the correlation result at time i,i0 index giving the largest Di (correlation peak), τcp is the length of the cyclic prefix (in samples). The pilot power is the sum of the squared magnitude of the channel estimates for well defined number of pilots in an OFDM symbol or resource block (group of OFDM symbols), i.e. where Pi =\|hi\|2 and hi is the channel estimate for pilot i. Typically, the number of pilots included is the number of pilots 105 transmitted over the entire bandwidth in one OFDM symbol 106 or the sum over all pilots in one resource block 107, as seen in Figure 1. One resource block is the smallest amount of data that can be allocated to one user. It is a block of 12 sub-carriers in frequency and 7 OFDM symbols, i.e., in .5 ms in time. The ratio between the SCH power and the pilot power is a constant, i.e. Ppilot I PSCH= γ embodiment of the present invention, the ratio Ppilot I PSCH= γ can be obtained by the UE from a look-up table. If γ is obtained from a look-up table, the values thereof can be based on operator requirements and/or the number of transmitted pilots, which in turn depends on known system parameters such as the current bandwidth and number of transmit antennas. In another embodiment of the present invention,γ is estimated from the SC, while for NB cells, the pilot power is estimated according to: A flow chart illustrating the steps 200 of the present invention is provided in Figure 2. When these steps are performed, the UE is connected (active mode) or camping (idle mode) on SC. In step 201, the UE correlates the SCH for SC with the received signal to find the timing and power of the SC SCH in step 202. Next, in step 203, the UE performs an FFT of the received signal to obtain the pilot and data symbols and computes the signal strength based on the SC pilot symbols. In step 204, the ratio γ is obtained either via look- up table or as computed by the UE. In step 205, and on a regular basis (typically 10-20 times/second), the UE correlates the received signal to the SC SCH and also to all NB cells SCH in the detected set. Then, in step 206, the power for SC and NB cells are computed. In step 207 the pilot power is computed according to equation (3) above. In step 208, the UE compares the pilot power for NB cells to the pilot power for the SC and, in step 209, detects whether a HO is needed. If so, the HO procedure begins in step 210, if not, the process returns to step 205. Figure 3 is a block diagram 300 of an apparatus that is adapted to implement the novel method described above. As seen therein, the signal is received in the antenna 301 and down converted to a baseband signal in the front end receiver (Fe RX) 302. The signal is sent to both the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) unit 303 and the cell search (CS) unit 304. The CS unit 304 finds new cells, by correlating the received signal to the SCH signal, as well as timing of SC and NB cells. The timing information is used by the FFT unit 303 to determine the samples on which to perform the FFT. The pilot is extracted and sent to the channel estimation (CH est) unit 305, estimating the channel (represented by a vector H). Also the SC pilot power is computed in the CH est unit 305 and fed together with the SCH power estimate of the SC to the y estimation unit 306. y is obtained (either via a look-up table or estimated) and applied to the SCH power estimate for NB cells in a control unit (CU) 307 and the pilot power for NB cells is computed. The pilot power is fed to the Layer 3 processing (L3 proc) unit 308 that compares the power for SC and NB cells and decides whether a HO is required. As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the innovative concepts described in the present application can be modified and varied over a wide range of applications. Accordingly, the scope of patented subject matter should not be limited to any of the specific exemplary teachings discussed above, but is instead defined by the following claims. WE CLAIM: 1. A method for performing measurements by a user equipment (UE) connected to a serving cell (SC) in an OFDMA system that is transmitting a known synchronization channel (SCH) at regular intervals and pilot symbols on a fraction of sub-carriers, the method comprising: determining, by the UE, a synchronization time and an SCH signal strength for the SC at the UE by correlating a received signal with the known SCH; performing, by the UE, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on the received signal to obtain pilot symbols in the frequency domain and using the obtained pilot symbols to estimate a pilot signal strength; determining, by the UE, the synchronization time and the SCH signal strength on at least one neighboring (NB) cell by correlating the received signal with the known SCH and to an SCH for the at least one NB cell; and determining, by the UE, a pilot signal strength for the at least one NB cell based on the SCH signal strength for the at least one NB cell and a ratio γ which is a constant ratio between the pilot signal strength and the SCH signal strength of the SC. 2. The method for claim 1, for use in performing intra-frequency measurements. 3. The method for claim 1, for use in performing inter-frequency measurements. 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the UE, the ratio y between the SC pilot signal and SCH signal strength. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the ratio γ between the pilot signal and SCH signal strength, is obtained from a look-up table. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the SCH signal strength is a magnitude of a result of the SC correlating summed over a length of a cyclic prefix. 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the result of the SC correlating is summed over a length of the cyclic prefix around a correlation peak. 8. A method of using a synchronization channel (SCH) in a mobile communications system, for performing measurements, comprising the steps of: connecting or camping a user equipment (UE) on a serving cell (SC) of a mobile telecommunications network; correlating, by the UE, the SC SCH with a received signal to obtain timing and power oftheSCSCH; performing, by the UE on the SC, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of the received signal to obtain pilot and data symbols; computing, by the UE, a signal strength based on the SC pilot symbols; obtaining a ratio γ which is a constant ratio between the pilot signal strength and the power of the SC SCH or correlating, by the UE, on a regular basis, the received signal to the SC SCH and also to all neighboring (NB) cells SCH in a detected set; computing, by the UE, the SCH power NB cells; computing, by the UE, the pilot power of the NB cells (Ppilot, NBi ) which is a multiplication of a ratio and the SCH power of the NB cells (PSCH NBI) according to: ; comparing, by the UE, the pilot power for NB cells to the pilot power for the SC; and based on the comparison, determining if a hand over (HO) is needed. 9. The method of claim 8, for use in performing intra-frequency measurements. 10. The method of claim 8, for use in performing inter-frequency measurements. 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the ratiois computed by the UE. 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the ratiois obtained by the UE from a look-up table. 13. An apparatus adapted to perform measurements when connected to a serving cell (SC) in an OFDMA system that is transmitting a known synchronization channel (SCH) at regular intervals and known pilot symbols on a fraction of sub-carriers, the apparatus comprising: means for determining a synchronization time and an SCH signal strength for the SC at a user equipment (UE) by correlating a received signal with the known SCH; means for performing a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on the received signal to obtain pilot symbols in the frequency domain; means for using the obtained pilot symbols to estimate a pilot signal strength; means for determining a ratio y between the pilot signal and SCH signal strength; means for determining the synchronization time and SCH signal strength on at least one neighboring (NB) cell by correlating the received signal with the known SCH and to an SCH for the at least one NB cell; and means for determining the pilot signal strength for the at least one NB cell based on the SCH signal strength for the at least one NB cell and the ratio y which is a constant ratio between the pilot signal strength and the SCH signal strength of the SC. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is operable to perform intra- frequency measurements. 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is operable to perform inter- frequency measurements. 16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is operable to obtain the ratio γ from a look-up table. 17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the SCH signal strength is a magnitude of a result of the SC correlating summed over a length of a cyclic prefix. 18. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the result of the SC correlating is summed over a length of the cyclic prefix around a correlation peak. 19. An apparatus adapted to perform measurements when connected to a serving cell (SC) in an OFDMA system that is transmitting a known synchronization channel (SCH) at regular intervals and known pilot symbols on a fraction of sub-carriers, the apparatus comprising: an antenna; a front end receiver coupled to the antennas to down convert a baseband signal; a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) unit and cell search (CS) unit coupled to the front end receiver, the CS unit to find new cells by correlating a received signal to an SCH signal, as well as timing of SC and NB cells; the FFT unit to receive the timing of the SC and NB cells to determine where to perform the FFT; a channel (CH) estimation unit; the FFT unit to extract a pilot signal and sent it to the CH estimation unit; the CH estimation unit to estimate the channel based on the extracted pilot signal; the CH estimation unit further to compute the SC pilot power based on the estimated channel; a y estimation unit coupled to the CH estimation unit to obtain a ratio y which is a constant ratio between a strength of the pilot signal and a strength of the SCH of the SC; the CH estimation unit to feed an SC pilot power and an SCH power estimate of the SC to the γ estimation unit; a control unit coupled to the γ estimation unit; the y estimation unit adapted to obtain the ratio γ and apply it to an SCH power estimate for neighboring (NB) cells in the control unit; a Layer 3 (L3) processing unit; the control unit to compute a pilot power for NB cells based on the obtained and applied ratio γ and feed the computed pilot power to the L3 processing unit; and the L3 processing unit to compare the pilot power for the SC and the pilot power for the NB cells and determine whether a handover is required. 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the apparatus is operable to perform intra- frequency measurements. 21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the apparatus is operable to perform inter- frequency measurements. 22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the apparatus is operable to obtain the ratio γ by the γ estimation unit from a look-up table. A method and apparatus that utilizes the synchronization channel (SCH) by the user equipment (UE) to obtain time synchronization information and to perform cell search. In order to perform the SCH detection, only a correlation between the known SCH signal and the received sequence is needed, hence the FFT is not involved in the synchronization step. Typically the SCH and pilot symbols are transmitted with a constant power which is the same for all base stations. Hence, based on the serving cell (SC) SCH and pilot symbols, the power relation between these signals is estimated and the ratio applied when performing time synchronization to other cells (i.e. correlation the received sequence with the SCH from that particular NC) to estimate the pilot signal strength for the NB cell.

Full Text

BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to cellular communication networks. More particularly, and
not by way of limitation, the present invention is directed to a system and method for
making intra- and inter-frequency measurements by a user equipment (UE) in a cellular
communication network.
In the evolution of mobile cellular communication standards such as Global System for
Mobile Communication (GSM) and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA),
new modulation techniques such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
are anticipated to be implemented. In order to smoothly transfer the existing cellular
communication systems to the new high capacity high data rate system in the existing radio
spectrum, a new system able to operate on a flexible bandwidth (BW) is required. One
such flexible cellular system is known as long term evolution of 3GPP (3G LTE), which can
be viewed as an evolution of the 3G WCDMA standard. 3G LTE will likely use Orthogonal
Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and will be able to operate on bandwidths
spanning from 1.25 MHz to 20 MHz.
It is anticipated that a 3G LTE system will allow frequency reuse. In frequency reuse, all
cells can use the same carrier frequency. Although WCDMA systems also allow for
frequency reuse, in Multiple Access OFDM (OFDMA), the intra- and inter-frequency hand
over (HO) measurements present challenges because a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is
needed both for data detection and intra- and inter-frequency measurements. In WCDMA,
a path searcher, which is required for obtaining the radio paths, could also be used for
signal strength measurements, hence the RAKE detector could be used exclusively for
data detection, while in OFDMA, the FFT is used for both tasks.
There foregoing challenges are handled differently by conventional methods. The first
conventional method is to create gaps for intra- and inter-frequency measurements. When

a User Equipment (UE) is close to a cell border, the UE requests an interruption in the
reception in order to allocate the FFT to the neighboring (NB) cell. Disadvantageously, this
results in a lower throughput due to the need to interrupt the data reception. The second
conventional method requires synchronization of base stations. In this case, all cells have
the same timing and when performing the FFT, all cells (serving cells (SC) and NB cells)
pilot signals can be detected and signal strength estimated. Disadvantageously, this
second method requires that the cells be synchronized. The third conventional method is
to use two FFTs. One FFT is used for SC detection and one FFT is used for neighboring
(NB) cell measurements. The disadvantage with this third conventional method is the need
for two FFTs, resulting in an increased chip area cost in the UE. Hence there is a need for
a method and apparatus for efficient handling of intra- and inter-frequency measurements
in an OFDMA system.
SUMMARY
The present invention comprises a method and apparatus that utilizes the synchronization
channel (SCH), which is a known time signal that is periodically transmitted with certain
correlation properties. The SCH is used by the UE to obtain time synchronization
information and to perform cell search. In order to perform the SCH detection, only a
correlation between the known SCH signal and the received sequence is needed, hence
the FFT is not involved in the synchronization step. Typically the pilot OFDM symbols, as
well as the SCH, are transmitted with a constant power which is the same for all base
stations. Hence, based on the SC SCH and pilot symbols, the power relation between
these signals is estimated and the ratio applied when performing time synchronization to
other cells (i.e. correlation the received sequence with the SCH from that particular NB cell)
to estimate the pilot signal strength for the NB cell. According to the latest 3GPP
Specification, SCH is transmitted every 5 milliseconds. Hence, using this technique, the
FFT is not required for estimating the signal strengths for the NB cells, thereby overcoming
the above cited disadvantages associated with the conventional methods. Another
advantage of the present invention is that the base station transceiver (also known as node
B) does not need to transmit all pilot signals in all resource blocks, which it may do even in
almost empty cells, in order to perform HO measurements. Hence, the present invention is

adapted to reduce pilot overhead allowing increased capacity in a cellular
telecommunications system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following section, the invention will be described with reference to exemplary
embodiments illustrated in the figures, in which:
FIG. 1 is a time frequency structure for a DL OFDM system;
FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the method of the present invention; and
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an apparatus adapted to implement the method of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Figure 1 provides a time frequency structure for a downlink (DL) portion of an OFDM
system. A superframe 101, typically 10 ms in duration and having a certain bandwidth,
consists of a number of subframes 102. As seen therein, the synchronization channel
(SCH) 103 is transmitted at regular intervals, typically corresponding to one OFDM symbol
per 5 ms. The SCH is used by a UE, such as a mobile terminal, cellular telephone and the
like, to obtain time and frequency synchronization information from a cell and hence is used
in the cell search procedure. An exemplary SCH consists of (a) two different signals, a
primary signal being the same for all cells and used for time synchronization and a
secondary signal that is different for different cells and is used for detecting the cell ID, or
(b) one signal constructed in such a way that the timing can be found by autocorrelation of
the signal while the cell ID is found by cross-correlation with known cell ID sequences. The
present invention is applicable to either of the foregoing SCH constructions. For the UE to
detect the cells, the SCH signals 103 are typically transmitted at high power equally from all
cells. Also as noted in Figure 1, some sub-carriers 104 in each OFDM symbol are known
pilot signals. These pilot signals are used for estimating the radio channel in the frequency
domain and used for equalizing the channel. In a cellular system, the pilot signals 105 are
often also used as indicators of the signal strength, for example by summing the power of a

well defined number of pilot signals. The signal strength is estimated for both of (1) the
serving cell (SC), which is the cell that the UE is connected or camping on, and (2) the
detected neighboring (NB) cells, which are the cells the UE has detected in the cell search.
The estimated signal strength is used by the UE to find suitable HO candidates during
mobility. In order to have sufficient signal strength measurements, the pilot signals 105 are
transmitted with high and equal power.
The SCH power is defined as the magnitude of the correlation result summed over the
length of the cyclic prefix around the correlation peak. Mathematically, this is written as:

where Di is the squared magnitude of the correlation result at time i,i0 index
giving the largest Di (correlation peak), τcp is the length of the cyclic prefix (in samples).
The pilot power is the sum of the squared magnitude of the channel estimates for well
defined number of pilots in an OFDM symbol or resource block (group of OFDM symbols),
i.e.
where Pi =|hi|2 and hi is the channel estimate for pilot i. Typically, the number of pilots
included is the number of pilots 105 transmitted over the entire bandwidth in one OFDM
symbol 106 or the sum over all pilots in one resource block 107, as seen in Figure 1. One
resource block is the smallest amount of data that can be allocated to one user. It is a
block of 12 sub-carriers in frequency and 7 OFDM symbols, i.e., in .5 ms in time.
The ratio between the SCH power and the pilot power is a constant, i.e.
Ppilot I PSCH= γ embodiment of the present invention, the ratio
Ppilot I PSCH= γ can be obtained by the UE from a look-up table. If γ is obtained
from a look-up table, the values thereof can be based on operator requirements and/or the

number of transmitted pilots, which in turn depends on known system parameters such as
the current bandwidth and number of transmit antennas. In another embodiment of the
present invention,γ is estimated from the SC, while for NB cells, the pilot power is
estimated according to:

A flow chart illustrating the steps 200 of the present invention is provided in Figure 2.
When these steps are performed, the UE is connected (active mode) or camping (idle
mode) on SC. In step 201, the UE correlates the SCH for SC with the received signal to
find the timing and power of the SC SCH in step 202. Next, in step 203, the UE performs an
FFT of the received signal to obtain the pilot and data symbols and computes the signal
strength based on the SC pilot symbols. In step 204, the ratio γ is obtained either via look-
up table or as computed by the UE. In step 205, and on a regular basis (typically 10-20
times/second), the UE correlates the received signal to the SC SCH and also to all NB cells
SCH in the detected set. Then, in step 206, the power for SC and NB cells are computed.
In step 207 the pilot power is computed according to equation (3) above. In step 208, the
UE compares the pilot power for NB cells to the pilot power for the SC and, in step 209,
detects whether a HO is needed. If so, the HO procedure begins in step 210, if not, the
process returns to step 205.
Figure 3 is a block diagram 300 of an apparatus that is adapted to implement the novel
method described above. As seen therein, the signal is received in the antenna 301 and
down converted to a baseband signal in the front end receiver (Fe RX) 302. The signal is
sent to both the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) unit 303 and the cell search (CS) unit 304.
The CS unit 304 finds new cells, by correlating the received signal to the SCH signal, as
well as timing of SC and NB cells. The timing information is used by the FFT unit 303 to
determine the samples on which to perform the FFT. The pilot is extracted and sent to the
channel estimation (CH est) unit 305, estimating the channel (represented by a vector H).
Also the SC pilot power is computed in the CH est unit 305 and fed together with the SCH
power estimate of the SC to the y estimation unit 306. y is obtained (either via a look-up

table or estimated) and applied to the SCH power estimate for NB cells in a control unit
(CU) 307 and the pilot power for NB cells is computed. The pilot power is fed to the Layer 3
processing (L3 proc) unit 308 that compares the power for SC and NB cells and decides
whether a HO is required.
As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the innovative concepts described in the
present application can be modified and varied over a wide range of applications.
Accordingly, the scope of patented subject matter should not be limited to any of the
specific exemplary teachings discussed above, but is instead defined by the following
claims.

WE CLAIM:
1. A method for performing measurements by a user equipment (UE) connected to a
serving cell (SC) in an OFDMA system that is transmitting a known synchronization
channel (SCH) at regular intervals and pilot symbols on a fraction of sub-carriers, the
method comprising:
determining, by the UE, a synchronization time and an SCH signal strength for the
SC at the UE by correlating a received signal with the known SCH;
performing, by the UE, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on the received signal to
obtain pilot symbols in the frequency domain and using the obtained pilot symbols to
estimate a pilot signal strength;
determining, by the UE, the synchronization time and the SCH signal strength on at
least one neighboring (NB) cell by correlating the received signal with the known SCH and
to an SCH for the at least one NB cell; and
determining, by the UE, a pilot signal strength for the at least one NB cell based on
the SCH signal strength for the at least one NB cell and a ratio γ which is a constant ratio
between the pilot signal strength and the SCH signal strength of the SC.
2. The method for claim 1, for use in performing intra-frequency measurements.
3. The method for claim 1, for use in performing inter-frequency measurements.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the UE, the ratio y
between the SC pilot signal and SCH signal strength.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the ratio γ between the pilot signal and SCH
signal strength, is obtained from a look-up table.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the SCH signal strength is a magnitude of a
result of the SC correlating summed over a length of a cyclic prefix.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the result of the SC correlating is summed
over a length of the cyclic prefix around a correlation peak.
8. A method of using a synchronization channel (SCH) in a mobile
communications system, for performing measurements, comprising the steps of:
connecting or camping a user equipment (UE) on a serving cell (SC) of a mobile
telecommunications network;
correlating, by the UE, the SC SCH with a received signal to obtain timing and power
oftheSCSCH;
performing, by the UE on the SC, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of the received
signal to obtain pilot and data symbols;
computing, by the UE, a signal strength based on the SC pilot symbols;
obtaining a ratio γ which is a constant ratio between the pilot signal strength and
the power of the SC SCH or
correlating, by the UE, on a regular basis, the received signal to the SC SCH and
also to all neighboring (NB) cells SCH in a detected set;
computing, by the UE, the SCH power NB cells;
computing, by the UE, the pilot power of the NB cells (Ppilot, NBi ) which is a
multiplication of a ratio and the SCH power of the NB cells (PSCH NBI) according
to: ;
comparing, by the UE, the pilot power for NB cells to the pilot power for the SC; and

based on the comparison, determining if a hand over (HO) is needed.
9. The method of claim 8, for use in performing intra-frequency measurements.
10. The method of claim 8, for use in performing inter-frequency measurements.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the ratiois
computed by the UE.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the ratiois
obtained by the UE from a look-up table.
13. An apparatus adapted to perform measurements when connected to a serving
cell (SC) in an OFDMA system that is transmitting a known synchronization channel (SCH)
at regular intervals and known pilot symbols on a fraction of sub-carriers, the apparatus
comprising:
means for determining a synchronization time and an SCH signal strength for the SC
at a user equipment (UE) by correlating a received signal with the known SCH;
means for performing a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on the received signal to
obtain pilot symbols in the frequency domain;
means for using the obtained pilot symbols to estimate a pilot signal strength;
means for determining a ratio y between the pilot signal and SCH signal strength;
means for determining the synchronization time and SCH signal strength on at least
one neighboring (NB) cell by correlating the received signal with the known SCH and to an
SCH for the at least one NB cell; and

means for determining the pilot signal strength for the at least one NB cell based on
the SCH signal strength for the at least one NB cell and the ratio y which is a constant ratio
between the pilot signal strength and the SCH signal strength of the SC.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is operable to perform intra-
frequency measurements.
15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is operable to perform inter-
frequency measurements.
16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is operable to obtain the
ratio γ from a look-up table.
17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the SCH signal strength is a magnitude of
a result of the SC correlating summed over a length of a cyclic prefix.
18. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the result of the SC correlating is summed
over a length of the cyclic prefix around a correlation peak.
19. An apparatus adapted to perform measurements when connected to a serving
cell (SC) in an OFDMA system that is transmitting a known synchronization channel (SCH)
at regular intervals and known pilot symbols on a fraction of sub-carriers, the apparatus
comprising:
an antenna;
a front end receiver coupled to the antennas to down convert a baseband signal;

a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) unit and cell search (CS) unit coupled to the front
end receiver, the CS unit to find new cells by correlating a received signal to an SCH
signal, as well as timing of SC and NB cells;
the FFT unit to receive the timing of the SC and NB cells to determine where to
perform the FFT;
a channel (CH) estimation unit;
the FFT unit to extract a pilot signal and sent it to the CH estimation unit;
the CH estimation unit to estimate the channel based on the extracted pilot signal;
the CH estimation unit further to compute the SC pilot power based on the estimated
channel;
a y estimation unit coupled to the CH estimation unit to obtain a ratio y which is a
constant ratio between a strength of the pilot signal and a strength of the SCH of the SC;
the CH estimation unit to feed an SC pilot power and an SCH power estimate of the
SC to the γ estimation unit;
a control unit coupled to the γ estimation unit;
the y estimation unit adapted to obtain the ratio γ and apply it to an SCH power
estimate for neighboring (NB) cells in the control unit;
a Layer 3 (L3) processing unit;
the control unit to compute a pilot power for NB cells based on the obtained and
applied ratio γ and feed the computed pilot power to the L3 processing unit; and
the L3 processing unit to compare the pilot power for the SC and the pilot power for
the NB cells and determine whether a handover is required.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the apparatus is operable to perform intra-
frequency measurements.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the apparatus is operable to perform inter-
frequency measurements.
22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the apparatus is operable to obtain the
ratio γ by the γ estimation unit from a look-up table.

A method and apparatus that utilizes the synchronization channel (SCH) by the user
equipment (UE) to obtain time synchronization information and to perform cell search. In
order to perform the SCH detection, only a correlation between the known SCH signal and
the received sequence is needed, hence the FFT is not involved in the synchronization
step. Typically the SCH and pilot symbols are transmitted with a constant power which is
the same for all base stations. Hence, based on the serving cell (SC) SCH and pilot symbols,
the power relation between these signals is estimated and the ratio applied when performing
time synchronization to other cells (i.e. correlation the received sequence with the
SCH from that particular NC) to estimate the pilot signal strength for the NB cell.

Documents:

http://ipindiaonline.gov.in/patentsearch/GrantedSearch/viewdoc.aspx?id=dbLo3chTiUEcixMAMGC7Jg==&loc=wDBSZCsAt7zoiVrqcFJsRw==

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Patent Number

269244

Indian Patent Application Number

232/KOLNP/2009

PG Journal Number

42/2015

Publication Date

16-Oct-2015

Grant Date

12-Oct-2015

Date of Filing

19-Jan-2009

Name of Patentee

TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

Applicant Address

S-164 83 STOCKHOLM

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	LINDOFF, BENGT	MORKULLEVAGEN 45, SE-237 36 BJARRED
2	WALLEN, ANDERS	NORREGATAN 45B, SE-241 33 ESLOV

PCT International Classification Number

H04Q 7/38

PCT International Application Number

PCT/EP2007/005154

PCT International Filing date

2007-06-12

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1	11/566,508	2006-12-04	U.S.A.
2	60/805,653	2006-06-23	U.S.A.