Methods and systems for scanning and locking onto a control channel via a multi-level search in a wireless communications system
First Claim
1. A method for a wireless terminal to select a control channel from a plurality of channels provided on a plurality of respective operating frequencies, the method comprising:
- scanning a first subset of the operating frequencies to locate a control channel that satisfies a first set of selection criteria;
identifying channels during the scan of the first subset of the operating frequencies that fail to satisfy the first set of selection criteria and that have an increased probability of satisfying a second set of selection criteria;
selecting a control channel from those control channels that satisfy the first set of selection criteria if such a control channel is located during the scan of the first subset of the operating frequencies;
determining an order in which a second subset of the operating frequencies are to be scanned based on the identified channels;
scanning the second subset of the operating frequencies in the determined order to locate a control channel that satisfies the second set of selection criteria; and
selecting a control channel that satisfies the second set of selection criteria.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems are provided for a wireless terminal to select a control channel from a plurality of channels provided on a plurality of respective operating frequencies in which a first group of the operating frequencies are first scanned to locate a control channel that satisfies a first set of selection criteria. During this scan, channels are identified that fail to satisfy the first set of selection criteria but that have an increased probability of satisfying a second set of selection criteria. If a channel that satisfies the first set of selection criteria is not located during the first scan, the wireless terminal determines an order in which a second group of operating frequencies are to be scanned based on the identified channels, and then scans the second group of operating frequencies in the determined order to locate a control channel that satisfies the second set of selection criteria.
67 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for a wireless terminal to select a control channel from a plurality of channels provided on a plurality of respective operating frequencies, the method comprising:
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scanning a first subset of the operating frequencies to locate a control channel that satisfies a first set of selection criteria;
identifying channels during the scan of the first subset of the operating frequencies that fail to satisfy the first set of selection criteria and that have an increased probability of satisfying a second set of selection criteria;
selecting a control channel from those control channels that satisfy the first set of selection criteria if such a control channel is located during the scan of the first subset of the operating frequencies;
determining an order in which a second subset of the operating frequencies are to be scanned based on the identified channels;
scanning the second subset of the operating frequencies in the determined order to locate a control channel that satisfies the second set of selection criteria; and
selecting a control channel that satisfies the second set of selection criteria. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for a wireless terminal to scan a plurality of public and private channels provided on a plurality of respective operating frequencies that are grouped into a plurality of frequency bands such that each frequency band includes multiple channels, the method comprising:
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scanning the operating frequencies that correspond to a subset of the private control channels;
identifying frequency bands that are operated by a home or a partner service provider during the scan of the operating frequencies that correspond to the subset of the private control channels; and
thenscanning the operating frequencies that correspond to public control channels on which the terminal has previously camped that are in frequency bands identified as being operated by the home or partner service providers; and
thenscanning the operating frequencies that correspond to public control channels on which the terminal has previously camped that are in frequency bands other than those identified as being operated by home or partner service providers; and
thenscanning the operating frequencies having the highest received signal strength values in a plurality of the frequency bands. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for selecting a control channel from a plurality of channels provided on a plurality of respective operating frequencies, comprising:
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means for scanning a first subset of the operating frequencies to locate a control channel that satisfies a first set of selection criteria;
means for identifying channels during the scan of the first subset of the operating frequencies that fail to satisfy the first set of selection criteria and that have an increased probability of satisfying a second set of selection criteria;
means for selecting a control channel from those control channels that satisfy the first set of selection criteria if such a control channel is located during the scan of the first subset of the operating frequencies;
means for determining an order in which a second subset of the operating frequencies are to be scanned based on the identified channels;
means for scanning the second subset of the operating frequencies in the determined order to locate a control channel that satisfies the second set of selection criteria; and
means for selecting a control channel that satisfies the second set of selection criteria. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. A wireless terminal comprising:
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a housing;
a transceiver positioned in the housing;
an antenna extending from the housing and coupled to the transceiver;
a user interface operatively coupled to the processor;
a controller positioned in the housing and coupled to the transceiver;
a memory unit positioned in the housing and operatively coupled to the controller;
wherein the memory unit includes a first updateable database of frequency bands identified during a control channel search as being operated by home or partner service providers; and
wherein the memory unit further includes a second updateable database of frequency bands identified during a control channel search as being operated by favored or neutral service providers. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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Specification