Method of using a: mobile unit to determine whether to commence handover

Abstract

A method of using a mobile unit in a multi-cell communication system to determine whether to commence handover of the mobile unit from a serving base station located in a first cell of the communication system to a target base station located in a second cell of the communication system. The mobile unit determines the serving base station received signal code power (RSCP ser ), the first cell interference signal code power (ISCP ser ), the target base station received signal code power (RSCP tar ) and the second cell interference signal code power (ISCP tar ). If the ratio RSCP ser /ISCP ser is less than the ratio RSCP tar /ISCP tar , the mobile unit commences handover to the target base station. The multi-cell communication system may be a time division duplex (TDD) system. The mobile unit may send a message to a radio network controller (RNC) in communication with the serving and target base stations to initiate the handover.

1 . A method implemented in a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
 receiving a first signal and a second signal, wherein the first signal is associated with a first base station and the second signal is associated with a second base station;   generating channel quality indicator (CQI) based on the first signal and the second signal, wherein the CQI includes signal strength information and signal interference information; and   transmitting the CQI to initiate a handover from the first base station to the second base station.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the UE receives a physical channel that carriers the first signal and receives another physical channel that carriers the second signal. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising measuring the signal interference in at least one broadcast channel (BCH) timeslot. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the signaling is performed via a code division multiple access (CDMA) network. 
   
   
       5 . A user equipment (UE) comprising:
 a receiver configured to receive a first signal and a second signal, wherein the first signal is associated with a first base station and the second signal is associated with a second base station;   a processor configured to generate a channel quality indicator (CQI) based on the first signal and the second signal, wherein the CQI includes signal strength information and signal interference information; and   a transmitter configured to transmit the CQI to initiate a handover from the first base station to the second base station.   
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the UE receives a physical channel that carriers the first signal and receives another physical channel that carriers the second signal. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising measuring the signal interference in at least one broadcast channel (BCH) timeslot. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the signaling is performed via a code division multiple access (CDMA) network.