Method of handoff within a telecommunications system containing digital base stations with different spectral capabilities
First Claim
1. A method of facilitating a remote station hand-off between single carrier base stations and multi-carrier base stations, comprising the steps of:
- determining that a remote station is receiving signals in a first frequency band in accordance with a single carrier protocol;
determining that said remote station is transmitting signals in a second frequency band in accordance with said single carrier protocol, wherein said second frequency band is substantially the same width as said first frequency band;
receiving signal strength measurements of various base stations in a first message from said remote station;
determining that at least one of said various base stations is single carrier compliant and that at least one of said various base stations is multi-carrier compliant; and
transmitting a second message to said remote station that indicates that said remote station should begin receiving signals in accordance with a multi-carrier protocol in a third frequency band that is larger than said first frequency band.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a digital wireless telecommunications system that includes a plurality of base station of differing spectral capabilities, and a plurality of remote stations capable of transmitting data to and receiving transmissions from the plurality of base stations. The invention herein provides a method for remote station hand-off between base stations of a narrower spectral capacity and base stations of a wider spectral capacity. A method is provided for a wireless telecommunications infrastructure to facilitate a remote station hand-off from a set of narrowband compliant base stations to at least one wideband compliant base station while a remote station is in the coverage area of both types of base stations. Additionally, the invention herein provides remote station apparatus, base station apparatus, and base station controller apparatus for performing the handoff methodology of the present invention.
-
Citations
23 Claims
-
1. A method of facilitating a remote station hand-off between single carrier base stations and multi-carrier base stations, comprising the steps of:
-
determining that a remote station is receiving signals in a first frequency band in accordance with a single carrier protocol;
determining that said remote station is transmitting signals in a second frequency band in accordance with said single carrier protocol, wherein said second frequency band is substantially the same width as said first frequency band;
receiving signal strength measurements of various base stations in a first message from said remote station;
determining that at least one of said various base stations is single carrier compliant and that at least one of said various base stations is multi-carrier compliant; and
transmitting a second message to said remote station that indicates that said remote station should begin receiving signals in accordance with a multi-carrier protocol in a third frequency band that is larger than said first frequency band. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
monitoring, from said at least one of said various base stations that is single carrier compliant, said second frequency band for signals transmitted by said remote station in accordance with said single carrier protocol in said second frequency band; and
transmitting from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant, signals in accordance with a multi-carrier modulation scheme to said remote station in said third frequency band.
-
-
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of transmitting, from said at least one of said various base stations that is single carrier compliant, at least one power control signals to said remote station in said first frequency band in accordance with said single carrier protocol.
-
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of monitoring, from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant, said second frequency band for signals transmitted in accordance with said single carrier protocol in said second frequency band.
-
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:
-
generating waveform signals, from said at least one of said various base stations that is single carrier compliant, in accordance with said multi-carrier modulation scheme; and
transmitting a portion of each of said waveform signals to said remote station in said first frequency band.
-
-
8. The method of claim 2, wherein said second message further indicates that said remote station should begin transmitting signals in accordance with said single carrier protocol in a fourth frequency band, said fourth frequency band being substantially the same width as said second frequency band, and the spectrum of said fourth frequency band being non-overlapping with the spectrum of said second frequency band.
-
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:
-
transmitting, from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant, signals in accordance with a multi-carrier modulation scheme to said remote station in said third frequency band; and
monitoring, from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant, said fourth frequency band for signals transmitted by said remote station in accordance with said single carrier protocol in said fourth frequency band.
-
-
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:
-
monitoring, from said at least one of said various base stations that is single carrier compliant, said fourth frequency band for signals transmitted by said remote station in accordance with said single carrier protocol in said fourth frequency band; and
monitoring, from said at least one of said various base stations that is single carrier compliant, said second frequency band for signals transmitted by other remote stations in accordance with said single carrier protocol in said second frequency band.
-
-
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:
-
generating waveform signals, from said at least one of said various base stations that is single carrier compliant, in accordance with said multi-carrier modulation scheme; and
transmitting a portion of each of said waveform signals to said remote station in said first frequency band.
-
-
12. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:
-
generating waveform signals, from said at least one of said various base stations that is single carrier compliant, in accordance with said multi-carrier modulation scheme; and
transmitting a portion of each of said waveform signals to said remote station in said first frequency band.
-
-
13. A method of facilitating a remote station hand-off between single carrier base stations and multi-carrier base stations, comprising the steps of:
-
determining that a remote station is receiving signals in a first frequency band in accordance with a single carrier protocol;
determining that said remote station is transmitting signals in a second frequency band in accordance with said single carrier protocol, wherein said second frequency band is substantially the same width as said first frequency band;
receiving signal strength measurements of various base stations in a first message from said remote station;
determining that at least one of said various base stations is single carrier compliant and that at least one of said various base stations is multi-carrier compliant; and
transmitting a second message to said remote station that indicates that said remote station should begin receiving messages in accordance with a multi-carrier protocol in a third frequency band that is larger than said first frequency band, and wherein said second message also indicates that said remote station should begin transmitting messages band in accordance with said multi-carrier protocol on a fourth frequency band that is larger than said first frequency band. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
monitoring, from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant, said fourth frequency band for signals transmitted in accordance with said multi-carrier protocol in said second frequency band; and
transmitting, from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant, signals in accordance with a multi-carrier modulation scheme to said remote station in said third frequency band.
-
-
16. A method of facilitating a remote station hand-off between single carrier base stations and multi-carrier base stations, comprising the steps of:
-
determining that a remote station is receiving signals in a first frequency band in accordance with a single carrier protocol;
determining that said remote station is transmitting signals in a second frequency band in accordance with said single carrier protocol, wherein said second frequency band is substantially the same width as said first frequency band;
receiving signal strength measurements of various base stations in a first message from said remote station;
determining that at least one of said various base stations is single carrier compliant and that at least one of said various base stations is multi-carrier compliant;
transmitting a second message to said remote station that indicates that said remote station should begin receiving messages in accordance with said single carrier protocol from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant in said first frequency band;
transmitting, from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant, signals in accordance with said single carrier protocol to said remote station in said first frequency band; and
monitoring, from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant, said second frequency band for signals transmitted in accordance with said single carrier protocol in said second frequency band.
-
-
17. In a network containing a set of base stations containing both single carrier and multi-carrier base stations, a base station controller apparatus comprising:
-
an interface for transmitting transmit messages to and receiving receive messages from said set of base stations, and wherein said receive messages comprises active set list messages. a control processor, communicatively coupled to said interface, for examining said active set list messages; and
said control processor further for setting up forward link channels to a first remote station in accordance with said active set list messages, wherein said forward link channels comprises a first forward link channel set up on one of said single carrier base stations, and wherein said forward link channels comprises a second forward link channel set up on said multi-carrier base stations. - View Dependent Claims (18)
-
-
19. A single carrier base station apparatus comprising:
-
a modulator, communicatively coupled to a transmitter, and communicatively coupled to a control processor, for modulating data in accordance with either a single carrier protocol or a multi-carrier protocol, and for providing modulated data to a transmitter;
said transmitter for wirelessly transmitting said modulated data in a single carrier frequency band;
an interface, communicatively coupled to said control processor, for receiving instructions from a base station controller; and
said control processor for examining said messages and for instructing said modulator whether to modulate said data in accordance with a multi-carrier protocol or a single carrier protocol based upon the content of said messages.
-
-
20. A remote station apparatus, comprising:
-
a modulator for modulating data in accordance with a multi-carrier protocol and in accordance with a single carrier protocol;
a demodulator for demodulating data in accordance with a multi-carrier protocol and in accordance with a single carrier protocol;
a control processor for determining, based upon the contents of a received handoff message, whether data should be modulated in accordance with said multi-carrier protocol or whether data should be modulated in accordance with said single carrier protocol;
said control processor for further determining, based upon the contents of said received handoff message, whether data should be demodulated in accordance with said multi-carrier protocol or whether data should be demodulated in accordance with said single carrier protocol;
said control processor communicatively coupled to said modulator, for instructing said modulator whether to modulate data in accordance with said multi-carrier protocol or whether to modulate data in accordance with said single carrier protocol; and
said control processor communicatively coupled to said demodulator, for isntructing said demodulator whether to demodulate data in accordance with said multi-carrier protocol or whether to demodulate data in accordance with said single carrier protocol.
-
-
21. An apparatus comprising:
-
a means for determining that a remote station is receiving signals in a first frequency band in accordance with a single carrier protocol;
a means for determining that said remote station is transmitting signals in a second frequency band in accordance with said single carrier protocol, wherein said second frequency band is substantially the same width as said first frequency band;
a means for receiving signal strength measurements of various base stations in a first message from said remote station;
a means for determining that at least one of said various base stations is single carrier compliant and that at least one of said various base stations is multi-carrier compliant; and
a means for transmitting a second message to said remote station that indicates that said remote station should begin receiving signals in accordance with a multi-carrier protocol in a third frequency band that is larger than said first frequency band.
-
-
22. An apparatus comprising:
-
a means for determining that a remote station is receiving signals in a first frequency band in accordance with a single carrier protocol;
a means for determining that said remote station is transmitting signals in a second frequency band in accordance with said single carrier protocol, wherein said second frequency band is substantially the same width as said first frequency band;
a means for receiving signal strength measurements of various base stations in a first message from said remote station;
a means for determining that at least one of said various base stations is single carrier compliant and that at least one of said various base stations is multi-carrier compliant; and
a means for transmitting a second message to said remote station that indicates that said remote station should begin receiving messages in accordance with a multi-carrier protocol in a third frequency band that is larger than said first frequency band, and wherein said second message also indicates that said remote station should begin transmitting messages band in accordance with said multi-carrier protocol on a fourth frequency band that is larger than said first frequency band.
-
-
23. An apparatus comprising:
-
a means for determining that a remote station is receiving signals in a first frequency band in accordance with a single carrier protocol;
a means for determining that said remote station is transmitting signals in a second frequency band in accordance with said single carrier protocol, wherein said second frequency band is substantially the same width as said first frequency band;
a means for receiving signal strength measurements of various base stations in a first message from said remote station;
a means for determining that at least one of said various base stations is single carrier compliant and that at least one of said various base stations is multi-carrier compliant;
a means for transmitting a second message to said remote station that indicates that said remote station should begin receiving messages in accordance with said single carrier protocol from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant in said first frequency band; and
a means for transmitting, from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant, signals in accordance with said single carrier protocol to said remote station in said first frequency band; and
monitoring, from said at least one of said various base stations that is multi-carrier compliant, said second frequency band for signals transmitted in accordance with said single carrier protocol in said second frequency band.
-
Specification