Mobile switching center for providing wireless access Ho

• US 6,253,083 B1
• Filed: 07/21/1999
• Issued: 06/26/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Hacena, Farid, Bergren, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Congvan
• Application Number:
  US09/358,049
• Time in Patent Office: 706 Days
• Field of Search: 455/436, 455/437, 455/438, 455/439, 455/442, 455/464, 455/509, 455/424, 455/425, 455/433, 455/434, 370/331, 370/332, 370/329
• US Class Current: 455/437
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00835 Determination of neighbour cell lists
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/12 Access point controller devices

Abstract

The system for wireless communication connection handoff service addresses the CDMA radio congestion problem from the mobile switching center point of view, thereby providing a unified approach to the problem of access failures for CDMA wireless communication service. In operation, the mobile subscriber station forms a message and forwards it to the mobile switching center to indicate the signal strength of the various base stations that have responded to the access probe. The mobile switching center saves this data for later use when the mobile subscriber station moves out of range of the initially selected base station. The mobile switching center reviews the stored data and, if a CIC is available to one of the identified base stations, the channel is allocated and the stored data is flushed. Thus, the need for another probe sequence is avoided and the initially provided base station signal strength data is reused to process a call handoff.

Claims

1. A system for providing wireless communication connection handoff service to wireless subscribers, equipped with subscriber wireless stations, in a wireless communication system which comprises a mobile switching center that controls the operation of a plurality of base stations that communicate with said subscriber wireless stations, comprising:

means, responsive to receipt of a page response/setup request from one of said subscriber wireless stations, for storing data indicative of a plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations;

means for assigning a wireless communication channel from said mobile switching center to a first selected one of said identified plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations to enable said first selected one of said identified plurality of base stations to communicate with said one of said subscriber wireless stations;

means, responsive to a subsequently received request from a one of said subscriber wireless stations indicative of handoff request, for retrieving said stored data indicative of said plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations; and

means for assigning a wireless communication channel from said mobile switching center to a second selected one of said plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations to enable said second selected one of said identified plurality of base stations to communicate with said one of said subscriber wireless stations.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said means for storing comprises:

means for storing data from only a first of said at least one base station that transmits said page response.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said means for storing comprises:

means for storing data from a plurality of said at least one base station that transmits said page response.

4. A method for providing wireless communication connection handoff service to wireless subscribers, equipped with subscriber wireless stations, in a wireless communication system which comprises a mobile switching center that controls the operation of a plurality of base stations that communicate with said subscriber wireless stations, comprising the steps of:

storing in a memory, in response to receipt of a page response/setup request from one of said subscriber wireless stations, data indicative of a plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations;

assigning a wireless communication channel from said mobile switching center to a first selected one of said identified plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations to enable said first selected one of said identified plurality of base stations to communicate with said one of said subscriber wireless stations;

retrieving, in response to a subsequently received request from a one of said subscriber wireless stations indicative of handoff request, for retrieving said stored data indicative of said plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations; and

assigning a wireless communication channel from said mobile switching center to a second selected one of said plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations to enable said second selected one of said identified plurality of base stations to communicate with said one of said subscriber wireless stations.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said step of storing comprises:

storing data in said memory from only a first of said at least one base station that transmits said page response.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein said step of storing comprises:

storing data in a memory from a plurality of said at least one base station that transmits said page response.

7. A system for providing wireless communication connection handoff service to wireless subscribers, equipped with subscriber wireless communication devices, in a wireless communication system which comprises a mobile switching center that controls the operation of a plurality of base stations that communicate with said subscriber wireless communication devices, comprising:

means, responsive to receipt of a page response/setup request by at least one base station from a subscriber at a subscriber wireless communication device, for storing data contained in said page response/setup request indicative of a plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations and signal connectivity indications;

means for assigning a wireless communication channel, for use by said subscriber wireless communication device, to a first selected one of said plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations to enable said first selected one of said identified plurality of base stations to communicate with said one of said subscriber wireless stations;

means, responsive to a subsequently received request from said subscriber wireless communication device indicative of handoff request, for retrieving said stored data indicative of said plurality of stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations and signal connectivity indications; and

means for assigning a wireless communication channel for use by said subscriber wireless communication device to a second selected one of said plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations.

8. A method for providing wireless communication connection handoff service to wireless subscribers, equipped with subscriber wireless communication devices in a wireless communication system which comprises a mobile switching center that controls the operation of a plurality of base stations that communicate with said subscriber wireless communication devices, comprising:

storing in a memory, in response to receipt of a page response/setup request by at least one base station from a subscriber at a subscriber wireless communication device, data contained in said page response/setup request indicative of a plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations and signal connectivity indications;

assigning a wireless communication channel for use by said subscriber wireless communication device to a first selected one of said plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations to enable said first selected one of said identified plurality of base stations to communicate with said one of said subscriber wireless stations;

retrieving from said memory, in response to a subsequently received request from said subscriber wireless communication device indicative of handoff request, said stored data indicative of said plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations and signal connectivity indications; and

assigning a wireless communication channel for use by said subscriber wireless communication device to a second selected one of said plurality of base stations that are capable of serving said one of said subscriber wireless stations.