Wireless private branch exchange(wpbx) and communicating between mobile units and base stations
First Claim
1. In a wireless communication system comprising at least two Base Stations, at least one Switch in communication with the Base Stations, a method of communicating between mobile units and the Base Stations comprising:
- dividing a short-range communication protocol into a low-level protocol for performing tasks that require accurate time synchronization and a high-level protocol which does not require accurate time synchronization; and
for each connection of a mobile unit with a Base Station, running an instance of the low-level protocol at the Base Station connected with the mobile unit and running an instance of the high-level protocol at the Switch.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods to create a cellular-like communication system, such as a Wireless Private Branch Exchange (WPBX) (123, 124). which includes mobile devices (121, 123) such as a standard cordless phone (handsets), particularly, mobile devices utilizing the Bluetooth short-range wireless communication protocol. The methods provide seamless and reliable handoff of sessions between Base Stations while the mobile device is moving between picocells, by implementing a high-level of synchronization between the Base Stations and the Switch (129). Base Stations of picocells having small coverage areas communicate with the handsets. The communication protocol is divided into a low-level protocol (280, 281) performed by the Base Stations and a high-level protocol (283, 284) performed by the Switch connected to all the Base Stations. The methods support mobile computing or telephony devices and communication protocols, which are not specified to handle handoffs of sessions while moving between Base Stations coverage areas in a data, voice or telephony wireless network.
-
Citations
71 Claims
-
1. In a wireless communication system comprising at least two Base Stations, at least one Switch in communication with the Base Stations, a method of communicating between mobile units and the Base Stations comprising:
-
dividing a short-range communication protocol into a low-level protocol for performing tasks that require accurate time synchronization and a high-level protocol which does not require accurate time synchronization; and
for each connection of a mobile unit with a Base Station, running an instance of the low-level protocol at the Base Station connected with the mobile unit and running an instance of the high-level protocol at the Switch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. In a wireless communication system comprising a Base Station connected with a mobile unit, a method of synchronizing at least one neighboring Base Station to the Base Station connected with the mobile unit comprising:
-
from the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, sending call parameters and rough synchronization information to the at least one neighboring Base Station; and
at the at least one neighboring Base Station, monitoring transmissions of at least one of;
the Base Station connected with the mobile unit;
the mobile unit; and
a beacon signal from a beacon transmitter which is within range of the at least one neighboring Base Station and the Base Station connected with the mobile unit. - View Dependent Claims (14)
-
-
15. In a wireless communication system comprising a plurality of Base Stations and at least one Switch in communication with the Base Stations, a method of synchronizing at least one neighboring Base Station to a Base Station connected with a mobile unit comprising:
-
from the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, periodically transmitting during a selected time interval with higher transmission power than during normal transmission; and
receiving the transmission with higher transmission power at the least one neighboring Base Station. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. In a wireless communication system comprising a Base Station connected with a mobile unit, a method of detecting the presence of a specific mobile unit in a coverage area of at least one neighboring Base Station, comprising:
-
the Base Station connected with the mobile unit provides, to the at least one neighboring Base Station, information about the connection with the mobile unit, including rough TOD and a device address for the mobile unit;
at the at least one neighboring Base Station, receiving information and generating a list of frequencies in which the mobile unit is likely to transmit; and
at the at least one neighboring Base Station, checking for a signal transmitted by the mobile unit. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
-
-
36. A method for detecting a mobile unit by a Base Station, wherein frequency-hopping is used to communicate between Base Stations and mobile units, comprising:
-
at a Base Station that is connected to a mobile unit, periodically yielding a hop; and
during the hop which has been yielded by the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, communicating with the mobile unit from at least one neighboring Base Station. - View Dependent Claims (37)
-
-
38. In a wireless communication system comprising a Base Station connected with a mobile unit, a method of detecting a handset by at least one Base Station which is waiting for the mobile unit to enter its coverage area, comprising:
-
from the at least one Base Station waiting for the mobile unit to enter its coverage area and the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, sending a PING command to the mobile unit; and
at the Base Station waiting for the mobile unit to enter its coverage area, receiving an ECHO reply from the mobile unit. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
-
-
48. In a wireless communication system comprising at least two Base Stations, at least one Switch in communication with the Base Stations, and at least one mobile unit, a method of handing off the mobile unit from a Base Station communicating with the mobile unit and a neighboring Base Station, comprising:
-
smoothing a plurality of signals received from a handset by a plurality of Base Stations;
comparing the signals with one another; and
selecting a Base Station for handoff based on signal quality. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
-
-
58. In a wireless communication system comprising at least two Base Stations and at least one Switch in communication with the Base Stations, a method of performing handoff of a session from a Base Station connected with a mobile unit to a neighboring Base Station, wherein an instance of a low-level communications protocol is running at the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, comprising:
-
at the Switch, determining when to perform handoff to a selected one of the neighboring Base Stations;
at the selected one of the neighboring Base Stations, creating a copy of the low-level communications protocol, including at least a synchronized time of day (TOD) parameter;
from the Switch, sending a command to stop communication with the mobile unit at a specified TOD to the Base Station connected with the mobile unit and sending a command to start communication with the mobile unit at the specified TOD to the selected one of the neighboring Base Stations; and
updating session status tables in the Switch and in the Base Stations. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
-
-
66. In a wireless communication system comprising a Base Station connected with a mobile unit, a method of detecting and synchronizing with the mobile unit prior to receiving a handoff of a session with the mobile unit, comprising:
-
from the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, sending rough synchronization information to at least one neighboring Base Station;
at the neighboring Base Station, performing a wide-range search for “
target”
signals having the correct timing for a mobile unit, based on the rough synchronization information provided by the Base Station which is connected with the mobile unit;
narrowing the search for an actual signal from the mobile unit;
acquiring the target signal; and
synchronizing the neighboring Base Station to the Base Station connected with the mobile unit. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
-
Specification