Method for determining signal quality of a communication channel
First Claim
1. A method for determining signal quality of a communication channel, the method comprising the steps of:
- determining a signal quality of a first portion of the communication channel to produce a first signal quality determination;
determining a signal quality of at least a second portion of the communication channel to produce at least a second signal quality determination, wherein the second portion of the communication channel comprises a portion of the communication channel independent of the first portion of the communication channel;
determining which signal quality determination of the first signal quality determination and at least the second signal quality determination is indicative of lowest signal quality; and
selecting a signal quality determination of the first signal quality determination and at least the second signal quality determination that is indicative of lowest signal quality as the signal quality of the communication channel.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A communication device (107) employs a method for determining signal quality of a communication channel (117) in a communication system (100). Upon receipt of a radio signal, a communication device (107), such as a portable radio, determines the signal quality of at least two portions (121, 124) of the communication channel (117) over which the radio signal was transmitted. The communication device (107) then determines which of the determined signal qualities is lowest and selects the lowest determined signal quality as the signal quality of the communication channel (117). The communication device (107) can then use the selected channel quality in the handoff decision-making process.
38 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for determining signal quality of a communication channel, the method comprising the steps of:
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determining a signal quality of a first portion of the communication channel to produce a first signal quality determination; determining a signal quality of at least a second portion of the communication channel to produce at least a second signal quality determination, wherein the second portion of the communication channel comprises a portion of the communication channel independent of the first portion of the communication channel; determining which signal quality determination of the first signal quality determination and at least the second signal quality determination is indicative of lowest signal quality; and selecting a signal quality determination of the first signal quality determination and at least the second signal quality determination that is indicative of lowest signal quality as the signal quality of the communication channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for determining signal quality of a time division multiplexed communication channel that includes a plurality of time slots per time frame, the method comprising the steps of:
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determining a carrier-to-interference plus noise ratio of a first time slot of the plurality of time slots to produce a first signal quality determination; determining a carrier-to-interference plus noise ratio of a second time slot of the plurality of time slots to produce a second signal quality determination, wherein the second time slot is a different time slot than the first time slot; and selecting a signal quality determination of the first signal quality determination and the second signal quality determination having a lesser carrier-to-interference plus noise ratio as the signal quality of the time division multiplexed communication channel. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A method for a communication device to determine that the communication device needs to be handed off from a first communication channel to a second communication channel, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a signal via the first communication channel to produce a received signal, wherein the first communication channel includes a plurality of channel portions; determining a signal quality of a first channel portion of the plurality of channel portions based on the received signal to produce a first signal quality determination; determining a signal quality of at least a second channel portion of the plurality of channel portions based on the received signal to produce at least a second signal quality determination, wherein the second channel portion comprises a different portion of the first communication channel than the first channel portion comprises; and when a signal quality determination of the first signal quality determination and at least the second signal quality determination indicates a signal quality that is lower than a desired signal quality, determining that the communication device needs to be handed off from the first communication channel. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for a base site to determine that a communication device needs to be handed off from a first communication channel to a second communication channel, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a signal via the first communication channel to produce a received signal, wherein the first communication channel includes a plurality of channel portions; determining a signal quality of a first channel portion of the plurality of channel portions based on the received signal to produce a first signal quality determination; determining a signal quality of at least a second channel portion of the plurality of channel portions based on the received signal to produce at least a second signal quality determination, wherein the second channel portion comprises a different portion of the first communication channel than the first channel portion comprises; and when a signal quality determination of the first signal quality determination and at least the second signal quality determination indicates a signal quality that is lower than a desired signal quality, determining that the communication device needs to be handed off from the first communication channel.
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Specification