Wireless network roaming timer method and apparatus

• US 20050070275A1
• Filed: 09/30/2003
• Published: 03/31/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Gupta, Nitin, Jeyaseelan, Jaya L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,844,266 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/432.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/304 due to measured or perceived resources with higher communication quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/02 Processing of mobility data, e.g. registration information at HLR [Home Location Register] or VLR [Visitor Location Register]; Transfer of mobility data, e.g. between HLR, VLR or external networks

Abstract

A mobile station in a wireless network includes a roaming timer. The roaming timer is set based on various criteria, and when the roaming timer expires, an attempt to roam is performed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

comparing a metric against a threshold; and

setting a timer to delay a roaming attempt by a wireless network client.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the metric comprises a received signal strength indicator.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the metric comprises a current data rate.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the metric comprises a number of packet retries.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising comparing a plurality of metrics against a plurality of thresholds, and setting the timer in response.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the metric comprises a received signal strength indicator, and the threshold is dependent on the current data rate.

7. A method comprising setting a timer to one of a plurality of values to delay a roaming attempt by a mobile station in a wireless network, wherein the mobile station attempts to roam after the timer expires.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein setting a timer comprises comparing at least one metric to at least one threshold, and setting the timer in response.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the value to which the timer is set is influenced by a perceived quality of a current association.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein when the perceived quality of the current association is relatively low, the timer is set to a value that is relatively low.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein when the perceived quality of the current association is relatively high, the timer is set to a value that is relatively high.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein setting a timer comprises setting a hardware timer.

13. The method of claim 7 wherein setting a timer comprises setting a software timer.

14. A method comprising:

comparing a first metric to a first threshold and conditionally setting a timer to a first value;

comparing a second metric to a second threshold and conditionally setting the timer to a second value; and

attempting to roam when the timer expires.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the first metric comprises a data rate.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the first threshold corresponds to the lowest possible data rate.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the second metric comprises a received signal strength indicator.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the second threshold is dependent on the current data rate.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the second value is larger than the first value.

20. The method of claim 14 further comprising comparing a percentage of missed beacons to a threshold, and conditionally attempting to roam in response.

21. An apparatus including a medium adapted to hold machine-accessible instructions that when accessed result in a machine performing:

comparing a first metric to a first threshold and conditionally setting a timer to a first value;

comparing a second metric to a second threshold and conditionally setting the timer to a second value; and

attempting to roam when the timer expires.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the first metric comprises a data rate.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the first threshold corresponds to the lowest possible data rate.

24. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the second metric comprises a received signal strength indicator.

25. An apparatus comprising:

a radio interface to interact with a wireless network; and

a processor coupled to the radio interface, wherein the processor is adapted to set a timer based on a perceived quality of a current association, and further adapted to attempt roaming when the timer expires.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the timer is at least partially implemented in hardware.

27. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the timer is at least partially implemented in software.

28. An electronic system comprising:

an omni-directional antenna;

a radio interface coupled to the omni-directional antenna to interact with a wireless network; and

a processor coupled to the radio interface, wherein the processor is adapted to set a timer based on a perceived quality of a current association, and further configured to attempt roaming when the timer expires.

29. The electronic system of claim 28 wherein the timer is at least partially implemented in hardware.

30. The electronic system of claim 28 wherein the timer is at least partially implemented in software.