Prioritization between handoff and new call requests in a cellular communications system
First Claim
1. A method for ensuring that handoff call requests take priority over new call requests to engage voice channels assigned to at least one geographical target cell in a cellular mobile radiotelephone communications system, comprising:
- determining whether any voice channels are available for assignment to call requests for said target cell;
storing said handoff call requests to said target cell in a queue for a predetermined period of time in response to a determination that no voice channels are available;
examining said queue for queued handoff requests when one or more voice channels becomes available in said target cell;
assigning queued handoff requests to voice channels that become available in said target cell during said time period; and
assigning new cell requests to said available voice channels in said target cell only when said queue is empty.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for ensuring that handoff requests take priority over new cell requests to engage voice channels assigned to a particular target cell are provided. A certain number of channels are reserved for handoff requests. However, if no channels, reserved or unreserved, are available, handoff requests to a particular target cell are stored in a corresponding queue for a predetermined period of time. Thus, when voice channels become available, they are seized in order to satisfy the handoff requests stored in that queue. If the handoff queue is empty, new call requests to a target cell may be assigned to available voice channels.
162 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method for ensuring that handoff call requests take priority over new call requests to engage voice channels assigned to at least one geographical target cell in a cellular mobile radiotelephone communications system, comprising:
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determining whether any voice channels are available for assignment to call requests for said target cell; storing said handoff call requests to said target cell in a queue for a predetermined period of time in response to a determination that no voice channels are available; examining said queue for queued handoff requests when one or more voice channels becomes available in said target cell; assigning queued handoff requests to voice channels that become available in said target cell during said time period; and assigning new cell requests to said available voice channels in said target cell only when said queue is empty. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. In a cellular mobile radiotelephone communications system having plural geographically-separated radio base stations serving corresponding plural geographical cells, a method for prioritizing new call and handoff requests to engage voice channels assigned to at least one target geographical cell, comprising:
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(a) reserving at said target cell a predetermined number of reserved voice channels for servicing only handoff requests; (b) queuing handoff requests to said target cell in response to a determination that no reserved or unreserved voice channels are available in said target cell; (c) assigning said queued handoff requests to voice channels that become available in said target cell; and (d) assigning new call requests to unreserved voice channels that become available in said target cell only when no handoff requests are queued in said queuing step. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A cellular mobile radiotelephone communications system for ensuring that handoff requests take priority over new call requests to occupy voice channels assigned to at least one geographical target cell, comprising:
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input means for receiving a signal representing the number of available voice channels; means, coupled to said input means, for preventing a new call request from seizing an available voice channel in said target cell in response to a determination that the number of available voice channels is less than a preset number; means, coupled to said input means, for allowing only a handoff request to seize an available voice channel in said target cell in response to the number of available voice channels being less than said preset number; means, coupled to said input means, for queuing handoff requests for said target cell in response to a determination that no voice channels in said target cell are available; means, coupled to said queuing means, for assigning queued handoff requests to the next available voice channel in said target cell; and means, coupled to said input means and to said queuing means, for allowing new call requests to seize available voice channels in said target cell only in response to a determination that no handoff requests are queued and that the number of available voice channels exceeds said preset number. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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Specification