Subscriber-controlled registration technique in a CDMA system

• US 7,072,316 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2003
• Issued: 07/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: IPR Licensing Incorporated (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: IPR Licensing Incorporated (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Proctor, James A. Jr., Ferguson, Dennis D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Chi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hoang, Thai
• Application Number:
  US10/435,927
• Publication Number:
  US 20040090931A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,149 Days
• Field of Search: 370/335, 370/342, 370329-333, 3702301-235, 370/237, 4554321-444
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0051 of dedicated pilots, i.e. pilots destined for a single user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/006 Quality of the received signal, e.g. BER, SNR, water filling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0231 based on communication conditions dynamic wireless traffic scheduling definition based on channel quality criteria H04W72/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/06 based on traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/10 using broadcasted information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point

Abstract

A subscriber controlled registration protocol, a subscriber monitors a congestion indicator signal broadcasted by a base station with which it desires to register. If the congestion indicator signal indicates that the base station is operating in a congested state, the mobile station selects another base station in the system. Otherwise, it attempts to register with the first selected base station.

Claims

1. A registration method in a mobile station, comprising

acquiring beacons in a communication system,

ranking the beacons according to quality of reception for each beacon,

selecting a highest of the ranked beacons,

receiving a congestion indicator signal associated with the selected beacon, the congestion indicator signal indicating a neighbor congestion level of a source of a neighboring beacon,

transmitting a registration request signal when the congestion indicator signal is in a first state, and

repeating until all acquired beacons are exhausted.

2. The registration method of claim 1 wherein the registration request signal is transmitted on an access channel associated with the selected beacon.

3. The registration method of claim 1 wherein the congestion indicator is broadcast in the selected beacon.

4. The registration method of claim 1, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

5. The registration method of claim 1, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a bit error rate (BER) of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

6. The registration method of claim 1, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by Ec/Io of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

7. The registration method of claim 1, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a combination of received signal strength indicator (RSSI), bit error rate (BER) and Ec/Io, measured at the mobile station.

8. A registration method as in claim 1 comprising:

when the congestion indicator signal is not in a first state, receiving an identifier of a second beacon, and

transmitting a registration request message on a channel associated with the second beacon.

9. The registration method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a congestion indicator signal associated with the second beacon, and,

if the quality of reception associated with the second beacon exceeds a predetermined threshold, transmitting a registration request message on a channel associated with the second beacon.

10. The registration method of claim 8, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

11. The registration method of claim 8, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a bit error rate (BER) of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

12. The registration method of claim 8, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by Ec/Io of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

13. The registration method of claim 8, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a combination of received signal strength indicator (RSSI), bit error rate (BER) and Ec/Io, measured at the mobile station.

14. A registration method in a mobile station, comprising:

acquiring beacons in a communication system,

ranking the beacons according to quality of reception for each beacon,

selecting a highest of the ranked beacons,

receiving a congestion indicator signal associated with the selected beacon, the congestion indicator signal indicating a neighbor congestion level of a source of a neighboring beacon,

transmitting a registration request signal when the congestion indicator signal is in a first state, and

repeating until a beacon is selected that is associated with a quality of reception that is below a predetermined threshold.

15. The registration method of claim 14 wherein the registration request signal is transmitted on an access channel associated with the selected beacon.

16. The registration method of claim 14, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

17. The registration method of claim 14, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a bit error rate (BER) of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

18. The registration method of claim 14, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by Ec/Io of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

19. The registration method of claim 14, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a combination of received signal strength indicator (RSSI), bit error rate (BER) and Ec/Io, measured at the mobile station.

45. A registration method as in claim 14,20,25,30,35,or 40 wherein the neighbor congestion level indicates the source of a neighboring beacon is not congested.

46. A registration method as in claim 45 wherein the neighbor congestion level is only included when the source of the beacon is congested.

47. A method as in claim 14,20,25,30,35, or 40 wherein a beacon is selected based upon the neighbor congestion level.

48. A method as in claim 14,20,25,30,35, or 40 wherein the congestion indicator signal also indicates a color code.

49. A method as in claim 48 additionally comprising:

comparing the color code from the congestion signal to an identified color code, and if the color codes do not match, aborting registration.

20. A registration method in a mobile station, comprising

acquiring beacons in a communication system,

ranking the beacons according to quality of reception for each beacon,

selecting a highest of the ranked beacons,

receiving a congestion indicator signal associated with the selected beacon, the congestion indicator signal indicating a neighbor congestion level of a source of a neighboring beacon,

transmitting a registration request signal on a channel associated with the selected beacon when the congestion indicator signal is in a first state, and

repeating until all acquired beacons are exhausted.

21. The registration method of claim 20, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

22. The registration method of claim 20, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a bit error rate (BER) of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

23. The registration method of claim 20, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by Ec/Io of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

24. The registration method of claim 20, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a combination of received signal strength indicator (RSSI), bit error rate (BER) and Ec/Io, measured at the mobile station.

25. A registration method in a mobile station, comprising:

acquiring beacons in a communication system,

ranking the beacons according to quality of reception for each beacon,

selecting a highest of the ranked beacons,

receiving a congestion indicator signal associated with the selected beacon, the congestion indicator signal indicating a neighbor congestion level of a source of a neighboring beacon,

transmitting a registration request signal on a channel associated with the selected beacon when the congestion indicator signal is in a first state, and

repeating until a beacon is selected that is associated with a quality of reception that is below a predetermined threshold.

26. The registration method of claim 25, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

27. The registration method of claim 25, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a bit error rate (BER) of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

28. The registration method of claim 25, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by Ec/Io of the beacon, measured at the mobile station.

29. The registration method of claim 25, wherein the quality of reception of a beacon is determined by a combination of received signal strength indicator (RSSI), bit error rate (BER) and Ec/Io, measured at the mobile station.

30. A registration method in a mobile station, comprising

acquiring at least one pilot channel in a communication system,

if more than one pilot channel is acquired,

ranking the pilot channels according to quality of reception for each pilot channel,

selecting a highest of the ranked pilot channels,

receiving a congestion indicator signal associated with the selected pilot channel, the congestion indicator signal indicating a neighbor congestion level of a source of a neighboring beacon,

transmitting a registration request signal on an access channel associated with the selected pilot channel when the congestion indicator signal is in a first state, and

repeating until all acquired pilot channels are exhausted.

31. The registration method of claim 30, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the pilot channel, measured at the mobile station.

32. The registration method of claim 30, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by a bit error rate (BER) of the pilot channel, measured at the mobile station.

33. The registration method of claim 30, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by Ec/Io of the pilot channel, measured at the mobile station.

34. The registration method of claim 30, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by a combination of received signal strength indicator (RSSI), bit error rate (BER) and Ec/Io, measured at the mobile station.

35. A registration method in a mobile station, comprising:

acquiring at least one pilot channel in a communication system,

if more than one pilot channel is acquired,

ranking the pilot channels according to quality of reception for each pilot channel,

selecting a highest of the ranked pilot channels,

receiving a congestion indicator signal associated with the selected pilot channel, the congestion indicator signal indicating a neighbor congestion level of a source of a neighboring beacon,

transmitting a registration request signal on an access channel associated with the selected pilot channel when the congestion indicator signal is in a first state, and

repeating until a pilot channel is selected that is associated with a quality of reception that is below a predetermined threshold.

36. The registration method of claim 35, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the pilot channel, measured at the mobile station.

37. The registration method of claim 35, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by a bit error rate (BER) of the pilot channel, measured at the mobile station.

38. The registration method of claim 35, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by Ec/Io of the pilot channel, measured at the mobile station.

39. The registration method of claim 35, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by a combination of received signal strength indicator (RSSI), bit error rate (BER) and Ec/Io, measured at the mobile station.

40. A registration method in a mobile station, comprising:

acquiring at least one pilot channel in a communication system,

if more than one pilot channel is acquired,

ranking the pilot channels according to quality of reception for each pilot channel,

selecting a highest of the ranked pilot channels,

receiving a congestion indicator signal associated with the selected pilot channel, the congestion indicator signal indicating a neighbor congestion level of a source of a neighboring beacon,

if only one pilot channel is acquired, selecting that one pilot channel; and

transmitting a registration request signal on an access channel associated with the selected pilot channel when the congestion indicator signal is in a first state

wherein the congestion indicator signal is received in a sync channel associated with a pilot channel.

41. The registration method of claim 40, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by a bit error rate of the pilot channel measured at the mobile station.

42. The registration method of claim 40, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by Ec/Io.

43. The registration method of claim 40, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the pilot channel, measured at the mobile station.

44. The registration method of claim 40, wherein the quality of reception of a pilot channel is determined by a combination of received signal strength indicator (RSSI), bit error rate (BER) and Ec/Io, measured at the mobile station.