Patent ID: 9648539
Date: 2017-05-09
CPC Classifications: H04W

Claim:
1. In a handover process, a method for selecting, by a user equipment (UE), a preferred base station (BS) from plural candidate BSs for the UE to switch to, the method comprising: obtaining a time-ordered sequence of received signal strength (RSS) values of a signal sent from an individual candidate BS and received at the UE, wherein the obtained RSS values are equally time-spaced; computing a plurality of finite differences for the individual candidate BS, wherein the plurality of finite differences consists of a first-order difference, a second-order difference, and one or more higher-order differences, computed according to the time-ordered sequence of RSS values obtained for the individual candidate BS; computing a preference level for the individual candidate BS, wherein the preference level is a total number of any finite difference or finite differences identified in the plurality of finite differences, and wherein the identified finite difference or identified finite differences have consecutive order numbers, include the first-order difference, and are either positive or non-negative; repeating the obtaining of the RSS-value sequence, the computing of the plurality of finite differences and the computing of the preference level for each of the candidate BSs; identifying one or more favorable candidate BSs from the candidate BSs such that the one or more favorable candidate BSs have a same preference level that is maximum among all of the preference levels computed for the candidate BSs; and selecting the preferred BS from the one or more favorable candidate BSs.