SERVICE QUALITY INDICATION ON A WIRELESS DEVICE

• US 20080188194A1
• Filed: 02/06/2007
• Published: 08/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cingular Wireless II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cingular Wireless II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Liu, Huitao
• Application Number:
  US11/671,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20080188194A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/226.4
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/23 Indication means, e.g. displays, alarms, audible means
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/309 Measuring or estimating channel quality parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/336 Signal-to-interference ratio [SIR] or carrier-to-interference ratio [CIR]

Abstract

A wireless device determines signal quality for a wireless signal according to both the received signal strength of the received wireless signal and the signal to interference ratio of the received wireless signal. The wireless device provides a signal quality indication corresponding to the determined signal quality to a user of the wireless device, e.g., on a display of the wireless device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a signal quality for a wireless signal received by a wireless device according to a received signal strength and a signal to interference ratio of the received wireless signal; and

providing a signal quality indication corresponding to the determined signal quality to a user of the wireless device.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising providing the signal quality indication on a display of the wireless device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein providing the signal quality indication includes displaying a variable number of bars according to the signal quality.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising comparing the received signal strength to a signal strength threshold value and then determining the signal quality according to the received signal to interference ratio.

5. The method as recited in claim 4 wherein determining the signal quality according to the received signal to interference ratio further comprises:

comparing the signal to interference ratio to a set of predetermined value ranges; and

determining the signal quality to correspond to a particular one of the value ranges into which the signal to interference ratio falls.

6. The method as recited in claim 4 wherein if the received signal strength is a predetermined amount above receiver sensitivity, then determining the signal quality indication to be in a range from a minimum signal quality indication to a maximum signal quality indication according to the signal to interference ratio.

7. The method as recited in claim 4 wherein if the received signal strength is below a predetermined amount above receiver sensitivity and above the receiver sensitivity, then determining the signal quality indication to be in a range from a minimum signal quality indication to a less than maximum signal quality indication according to the signal to interference ratio.

8. The method as recited in claim 4 further comprising monitoring a control channel in idle mode and a different channel in active mode to determine the received signal strength and the signal to interference ratio.

9. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising determining the signal quality using a weighted combination of the signal strength and the signal to interference ratio.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the signal quality indication comprises:

determining a signal quality indication characteristic, at least in part, according to the determined signal quality, the signal quality indication characteristic comprising at least one of a color, a length, a number of units, a brightness, a location, and a shape; and

displaying the signal quality indication according to the determined characteristic.

11. A wireless device comprising:

a wireless receiver operable to receive a wireless signal; and

wherein the wireless device is operable to determine a signal quality for the wireless signal according to a received signal strength and a signal to interference ratio of the wireless signal.

12. The wireless device as recited in claim 11 further comprising a user interface operable to provide a signal quality indication corresponding to the determined signal quality.

13. The wireless device as recited in claim 12 wherein the user interface comprises a display coupled to display the signal quality indication.

14. The wireless device as recited in claim 11 wherein the wireless device is further operable to compare the received signal strength to a signal strength threshold value and then determine the signal quality according to the received signal to interference ratio.

15. The wireless device as recited in claim 14 wherein if the signal strength is a predetermined amount above receiver sensitivity, then the signal quality is determined to be in a range from a minimum signal quality indication to a maximum signal quality indication according to the signal to interference ratio.

16. The wireless device as recited in claim 14 wherein if the signal strength is below a predetermined amount above receiver sensitivity and above the receiver sensitivity, then the signal quality is determined to be in a range from a minimum signal quality to a less than maximum signal quality indication according to the signal to interference ratio.

17. The wireless device as recited in claim 11 wherein the wireless device is operable to monitor a control channel in idle mode to determine the received signal strength and the signal to interference ratio and a different channel in active mode to determine the received signal strength and the signal to interference ratio.

18. The wireless device as recited in claim 11 wherein the wireless device is operable to determine the signal quality using a weighted combination of the signal strength and the signal to interference ratio.

19. The wireless device as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

a storage holding a set of predetermined range of values for signal to interference ratio;

wherein

the wireless device is operable to compare the signal to interference ratio to the set of the predetermined range of values for the signal quality; and

wherein the signal quality is determined to correspond to a particular one of the range of values into which the signal to interference ratio falls.

20. A wireless device comprising:

means for determining a signal quality for a wireless signal received by a wireless device according to a received signal strength and a signal to interference ratio of the received wireless signal; and

a user interface coupled to provide a signal quality indication corresponding to the determined signal quality to a user of the wireless device.