Hand-off management for cellular telephony

• US 5,539,744 A
• Filed: 02/28/1995
• Issued: 07/23/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sawkar, Anil S., Nanda, Sanjiv, Dravida, Subrahmanyam, Doshi, Bharat T., Sohraby, Kazem A., Chu, Helen
• Primary Examiner(s): MARCELO, MELVIN C
• Application Number:
  US08/395,546
• Time in Patent Office: 511 Days
• Field of Search: 370/60, 370/60.1, 370/94.1, 370/94.2, 370/95.1, 370/92, 379/59, 379/60, 379/63, 455/33.1, 455/33.2
• US Class Current: 370/397
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5605 Fibre
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5606 Metallic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5607 Radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5626 Network management, e.g. Intelligent nets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/563 Signalling, e.g. protocols, reference model
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/3081 ATM peripheral units, e.g. policing, insertion or extraction
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0478 Provisions for broadband connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections

Abstract

A telecommunications architecture using ATM based technology is disclosed that supports wireless communications. Some embodiments of the present invention may provide a mechanism for hand-off, which has fewer costs and restrictions than other hand-off schemes the in the prior art. In one embodiment a plurality of virtual circuit identifiers is created such that each is unambiquously associated with the others. The virtual circuit identifiers are then transmitted to a wireless terminal, via a first radio port. Subsequently, the wireless terminal transmits one of the virtual circuit identifiers to second radio port.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

creating a plurality of virtual circuit identifiers, each of which is associated with the others;

transmitting said virtual circuit identifiers to a wireless terminal via a first radio port;

receiving one of said virtual circuit identifiers from said wireless terminal via a second radio port.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicating concurrently with said wireless terminal via said first radio port and with the assistance of one of said virtual circuit identifiers and via said second radio port and a different one of said virtual circuit identifiers.

3. A method comprising:

creating at least a first virtual circuit identifier and a second virtual circuit identifier;

associating said first and second virtual circuit identifiers with each other;

transmitting said first and second virtual circuit identifiers to a wireless terminal via a first radio port as part of a telecommunications call;

receiving one of said first and second virtual circuit identifiers from said wireless terminal via a second radio port during said telecommunications call.