Base station controlled handoff method and apparatus
First Claim
1. A base station for use in a wireless communication network including a switching center and one or more neighbor base stations, said switching center having access to subscriber-specific parameters and operable to generate subscriber-specific information therefrom, said base station comprising:
- a) a radio for communicating with a wireless terminal using radio signals;
b) a circuit connected to the radio for converting radio signals to digital signals, said circuit operable to provide the digital signals to the switching center;
c) a base station controller operable to select a handoff candidate from the one or more neighbor base stations based on one or more neighbor base station signal quality measurements and subscriber-specific information received from the switching center; and
transmit a request signal to the handoff candidate requesting a handoff.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A handoff method and apparatus are disclosed for use in a wireless communication network in which a base station servicing a call selects a handoff candidate base station based in part on subscriber-specific information. For example, in some wireless networks, certain subscribers can only access a limited number of base stations and the subscriber-specific information identifies such access limitations. A central control processor provides the subscriber-specific information to the base station servicing the call during the course of the call. The base station is then operable to select a handoff candidate from the one or more neighbor base stations based on one or more neighbor base station signal quality measurements and subscriber-specific information.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A base station for use in a wireless communication network including a switching center and one or more neighbor base stations, said switching center having access to subscriber-specific parameters and operable to generate subscriber-specific information therefrom, said base station comprising:
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a) a radio for communicating with a wireless terminal using radio signals; b) a circuit connected to the radio for converting radio signals to digital signals, said circuit operable to provide the digital signals to the switching center; c) a base station controller operable to select a handoff candidate from the one or more neighbor base stations based on one or more neighbor base station signal quality measurements and subscriber-specific information received from the switching center; and transmit a request signal to the handoff candidate requesting a handoff. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A switching center coupled to a plurality of base stations, each base station associated with one or more neighbor base stations, said switching center comprising:
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a) a digital control switch for receiving call signals from one or more base stations, the digital control switch operable to provide the call signals to a communications network; b) a central control processor that is operable to, upon notification of a base station status change for a call, generate a first list comprising neighbor base stations associated with one or more base stations servicing the call, generate from the first list a second list of subscriber ineligible neighbors based on subscriber-specific parameters, and provide an update signal containing data representative of the second list to a primary base station. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of performing a handoff during a call in a wireless communication system, the wireless communication system comprising a switching center, a first base station servicing the call prior to handoff, and a second base station, said method comprising:
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a) executing the handoff between the first base station and the second base station, wherein the second base station is added to service the call; b) notifying the switching center that the handoff has occurred; c) employing the central control processor to determine a list of neighbor base stations which are ineligible for a subsequent handoff; and d) forwarding the list to at least one base station servicing the call after execution of the handoff. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification