CDMA inter-mobile switching center soft hand-off

• US 6,173,183 B1
• Filed: 07/16/1998
• Issued: 01/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ericsson AB (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Northern Telecom Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Boppana, Jyoti, Doctor, Satyajit, Sides, Steve, Abu-Amara, Marwan, Jalali, Ahmad
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Trinh, Sonny
• Application Number:
  US09/118,122
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 455/426, 455/445, 455/442, 455/443, 455/436, 455/422, 370/328, 370/338, 370/349, 370/401, 370/311
• US Class Current: 455/442
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00692 using simultaneous multiple data streams, e.g. cooperative multipoint [CoMP], carrier aggregation [CA] or multiple input multiple output [MIMO] allocation of physical resources in CoMP or in CA H04L5/0035
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/12 Reselecting a serving backbone network switching or routing node

Abstract

The present invention facilitates an inter-mobile switching center (MSC) soft hand-off by creating a communication link between the MSCs through the base station controllers (BSCs). The routers in the BSCs are linked to form a virtual router. This faster link between the BSCs enables the same protocol to be used for intra-MSC soft hand-off used for inter-MSC soft hand-off.

Claims

1. A method for addressing a plurality of cellular systems, including a source cellular system, each cellular system having an area of radio coverage and comprising a plurality of entities including at least one router having a plurality of communication ports, the method comprising the steps of:

allocating at least one communications port of the plurality of communication ports for each cellular system having overlapping radio signal coverage with the source cellular system;

reserving a router address range for each communication port; and

distributing the reserved router address ranges among the plurality of communication ports such that the reserved address ranges repeat in a predetermined, non-interfering pattern.

2. A cellular system that includes a source cellular system, the cellular system having an area of radio coverage, the system comprising:

at least one router having a plurality of communication ports;

a mobile switching center having means for allocating at least one communication port of the plurality of communication ports for each cellular system having overlapping radio signal coverage with the source cellular system; and

means for reserving a router address range for each communication port and distributing the reserved router address ranges among the plurality of communication ports such that the reserved address ranges repeat in a predetermined, non-interfering pattern.