Wireless communication methods and systems using multiple overlapping sectored cells
First Claim
1. A wireless communication system, comprising:
- at least one first sectored cell covering a first cell area, the at least one first sectored cell using a first group of channels to communicate in the first cell area; and
at least one second sectored cell covering a second cell area, the second cell area overlapping at least a portion of the first cell area and using a second group of channels to communicate in the second cell area, each channel of the second group of channels being different than any channel of the first group of channels that is used in the portion of the first cell area that overlaps with the second cell area.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Wireless communication systems and methods using multiple overlapping sectored cells. Two or more cells in which communication services are provided to a number of subscriber stations at least partially overlap in an overlapping region and are each divided into a number of sectors. A first cell uses a first group of channels to communicate with at least some subscriber stations that are located in the first cell, and a second cell uses a second group of channels to communicate with at least some subscriber stations that are located in the second cell. The sectored cells use different communication channels in respective overlapping sectors of the overlapping region. In this manner, one or more first cells may be deployed with one or more second cells either initially or in a modular fashion over time to flexibly accommodate various topological distributions of subscriber stations and varying capacity demands in a wireless communication system without posing significant interference problems. In one example, at least one cell (e.g., a “focal” cell) covers a smaller area than another cell (e.g., a larger “base” cell) with which it at least partially overlaps. One or more such focal cells also may be completely contained within a larger base cell to provide communication services in particular higher density and/or higher capacity demand regions of the base cell.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. A wireless communication system, comprising:
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at least one first sectored cell covering a first cell area, the at least one first sectored cell using a first group of channels to communicate in the first cell area; and
at least one second sectored cell covering a second cell area, the second cell area overlapping at least a portion of the first cell area and using a second group of channels to communicate in the second cell area, each channel of the second group of channels being different than any channel of the first group of channels that is used in the portion of the first cell area that overlaps with the second cell area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A wireless communication system, comprising:
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at least two base stations disposed in a coverage area that includes at least one first sectored cell and at least one second sectored cell which overlaps at least a portion of the at least one first sectored cell, each cell including a respective plurality of subscriber stations and including at least one base station of the at least two base stations disposed approximately at a center of the cell to exchange information over air with at least some of the respective plurality of subscriber stations, each cell spanning up to a 360 degree azimuth angle around the at least one base station, the wireless communication system being constructed and arranged such that;
the at least one first sectored cell uses a first group of channels to communicate;
the at least one second sectored cell uses a second group of channels to communicate, each channel of the second group of channels being different than any channel of the first group of channels that is used in the portion of the at least one first sectored cell that overlaps with the at least one second sectored cell; and
the at least one base station in each cell communicates with at least some of the respective plurality of subscriber stations using at least two different channels, wherein adjacent sectors in each cell use different channels. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A wireless communication method, comprising acts of:
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covering a first cell area with at least one first sectored cell;
using a first group of channels to communicate in the at least one first sectored cell;
covering a second cell area with at least one second sectored cell, the second cell area at least partially overlapping a portion of the first cell area; and
using a second group of channels to communicate in the at least one second sectored cell, each channel of the second group of channels being different than any channel of the first group of channels that is assigned in the portion of the first cell area that overlaps with the second cell area.
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51. In a wireless communication system including at least two base stations disposed in a coverage area that includes at least one first sectored cell and at least one second sectored cell which overlaps at least a portion of the at least one first sectored cell, each cell including a respective plurality of subscriber stations and including at least one base station of the at least two base stations disposed approximately at a center of the cell to exchange information over air with at least some of the respective plurality of subscriber stations, each cell spanning up to a 360 degree azimuth angle around the at least one base station, a wireless communication method comprising acts of:
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using a first group of channels to communicate in the at least one first sectored cell;
using a second group of channels to communicate in the at least one second sectored cell, each channel of the second group of channels being different than any channel of the first group of channels that is assigned in the portion of the at least one first sectored cell that overlaps with the at least one second sectored cell; and
communicating between the at least one base station in each cell and at least some of the respective plurality of subscriber stations using at least two different channels, wherein adjacent sectors in each cell use different channels.
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52. A wireless communication system, comprising:
at least two sectored cells that at least partially overlap each other in an overlapping region, the at least two sectored cells using different communication channels in respective overlapping sectors of the overlapping region.
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53. In a wireless communication system comprising at least two sectored cells that at least partially overlap each other in an overlapping region, a wireless communication method comprising an act of:
using different communication channels in respective overlapping sectors of the overlapping region.
Specification