Method and apparatus for selecting a base station
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving a first broadcast burst from a first base station of a radio communications system at a user terminal, the first broadcast message including a first broadcast information sequence including an index of how much unused capacity is available at the first base station;
receiving a second broadcast burst from a second base station of the radio communications system at the user terminal, the second broadcast burst including a second broadcast information sequence including an index of how much unused capacity is available at the second base station; and
selecting a base station of the radio communications system at the user terminal for communication of data between the selected base station and the user terminal based on the first and second broadcast information sequences.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, the present invention comprises receiving a first broadcast burst from a first base station of a radio communications system, the first broadcast message including a first broadcast information sequence representing the power with which the first broadcast burst was transmitted, and measuring the received signal strength of the first broadcast burst. The invention further comprises receiving a second broadcast burst from a second base station of the radio communications system, the second broadcast burst including a second broadcast information sequence representing the power with which the second broadcast burst was transmitted, and measuring the received signal strength of the second broadcast burst. The invention further includes selecting a base station of the radio communications system for communication of data based on the first and second broadcast information sequence and the received signal strength of the first and second broadcast bursts.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving a first broadcast burst from a first base station of a radio communications system at a user terminal, the first broadcast message including a first broadcast information sequence including an index of how much unused capacity is available at the first base station;
receiving a second broadcast burst from a second base station of the radio communications system at the user terminal, the second broadcast burst including a second broadcast information sequence including an index of how much unused capacity is available at the second base station; and
selecting a base station of the radio communications system at the user terminal for communication of data between the selected base station and the user terminal based on the first and second broadcast information sequences. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
sending a system access request burst having a timing relationship with the predetermined frame, wherein the base station to which the burst is directed is based on the timing relationship.
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5. The method of claim 1 wherein the sequence including an index of how much unused capacity is available at the respective base station, represents the transmit and receive bit rates of each modem of each respective base station over a period of a few minutes measured against maximum possible loading.
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6. The method of claim 5, wherein the index of how much unused capacity is available at the respective base station takes into account the number of amplifiers and diversity antennas available at the base station.
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7. The method of claim 1, wherein the broadcast information sequence includes a code to identify the base station.
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8. The method of claim 7, wherein the code to identify the base station comprises a base station color code.
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9. The method of claim 1, further comprising measuring the timing of receiving the first broadcast burst and measuring the timing of receiving the second broadcast burst and wherein selecting a base station further comprises selecting a base station based on the measured timing.
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10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first and second broadcast bursts are synchronized to a common timing reference.
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11. The method of claim 10 wherein the common timing reference is a satellite clock transmission received by a satellite receiver at each base station.
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12. The method of claim 1, wherein the broadcast information sequence includes a power sequence that is related to the power with which the burst was transmitted from the respective base station and wherein selecting a base station further comprises selecting a base station based on the power sequence.
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13. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting a base station comprises selecting a base station based on whether a communications session with a base station is in progress and the identity of the base station with which the communication session is in progress.
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14. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting a base station further comprises:
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building a map of base stations for which broadcast bursts have been received;
inserting data from the broadcast information sequences received from each base station into the map; and
scoring each base station based on the data inserted into the map.
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15. The method of claim 14 wherein inserting data further comprises scaling the data using scaling values appropriate to each item of data that is inserted.
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16. The method of claim 14 further comprising measuring attributes of each received broadcast burst and inserting the measurement into the map and wherein scoring each base station further comprises scoring each base station based on the data inserted into the map and based on the measurements inserted into the map.
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17. The method of claim 16 wherein measuring attributes comprises measuring the signal strength at which each broadcast burst is received.
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18. The method of claim 16 wherein measuring attributes comprises measuring the time delay with which each broadcast burst is received.
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19. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
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receiving a first broadcast burst from a first base station of a radio communications system, the first broadcast message including a first broadcast information sequence including an index of how much unused capacity is available at the first base station;
receiving a second broadcast burst from a second base station of the radio communications system, the second broadcast burst including a second broadcast information sequence including an index of how much unused capacity is available at the second base station; and
selecting a base station of the radio communications system for communication of data based on the first and second broadcast information sequences. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
building a map of base stations for which broadcast bursts have been received;
inserting data from the broadcast information sequences received from each base station into the map; and
scoring each base station based on the data inserted into the map.
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26. A user terminal comprising:
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means for receiving a first broadcast burst from a first base station of a radio communications system, the first broadcast message including a first broadcast information sequence including an index of how much unused capacity is available at the first base station;
means for receiving a second broadcast burst from a second base station of the radio communications system, the second broadcast burst including a second broadcast information sequence including an index of how much unused capacity is available at the second base station; and
means for selecting a base station of the radio communications system for communication of data based on the first and second broadcast information sequences. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A method comprising:
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transmitting a first broadcast burst from a first base station of a radio communications system, the first broadcast message including a first broadcast information sequence representing the power with which the first broadcast burst was transmitted and the traffic load carried by the first base station as indicated by an index of how much unused capacity is available at the first base station;
transmitting a second broadcast burst from a second base station of the radio communications system, the second broadcast burst including a second broadcast information sequence representing the power with which the second broadcast burst was transmitted and the traffic load carried by the second base station as indicated by an index of how much unused capacity is available at the second base station;
receiving a system access request burst from a remote terminal of the radio communications system indicating a base station selection for communication of data based on the first and second broadcast information sequences. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A broadcast channel in a radio communications system, the channel comprising:
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a repeating frame shared by a plurality of base stations, the frame having a plurality of slots, each base station being assigned to a slot;
a predetermined timing assigned to each slot, so that each slot of the frame is synchronized at all base stations; and
a broadcast burst for each base station, for transmission in the respective assigned slot, the burst having a broadcast information sequence, the broadcast information sequence representing the power with which the respective broadcast burst was transmitted and the traffic load carried by the respective base station as indicated an index of how much unused capacity is available at the respective base station. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41)
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42. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
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transmitting a first broadcast burst from a first base station of a radio communications system, the first broadcast message including a first broadcast information sequence representing the traffic load carried by the first base station as indicated an index of how much unused capacity is available at the first base station;
transmitting a second broadcast burst from a second base station of the radio communications system, the second broadcast burst including a second broadcast information sequence representing traffic load carried by the second base station as indicated by an index of how much unused capacity is available at the second base station;
receiving a system access request burst from a remote terminal of the radio communications system indicating a base station selection for communication of data based on the first and second broadcast information sequences. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification