Handoff management in a multi-layer wireless network

• US 8,812,050 B1
• Filed: 05/05/2011
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Bencheikh, Ahmed
• Primary Examiner(s): SHARMA, SUJATHA R
• Application Number:
  US13/101,931
• Time in Patent Office: 1,202 Days
• Field of Search: 455/432.1, 455/435.2, 455/435.3, 455436-444, 455/525, 370/331, 370/332
• US Class Current: 455/525
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/04 Reselecting a cell layer in multi-layered cells
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/32 by location or mobility data, e.g. speed data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/324 by mobility data, e.g. speed data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/326 by proximity to another entity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B

Abstract

One or more short-range base stations in a network environment provide a substantially smaller coverage area than a long-range base station. The coverage area provided by each of the short-range base stations fully resides within or at least partially overlaps with the coverage provided by the long-range base station. Handoffs from the long-range base station to a respective short range base station, and vise versa, can be conditional on any number of one or more factors such as a speed of a mobile device through the network environment, a type of application and/or type of data transmitted over a respective communication link between the mobile device and the long-range base station, presence of one or more radio frequency layers in the network environment, mapping of a location of the mobile device to a speed limit value derived from a geographical map, etc.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

initiating communications over a communication link between a long-range base station and a wireless device in a network environment;

detecting that the wireless device moves in a vicinity of coverage provided by a short-range base station located in the network environment, the short-range base station configured to provide a substantially smaller region of coverage as compared to a region of coverage provided by the long-range base station; and

selectively initiating a wireless handoff of the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station depending on a type of data transmitted over the communication link between the wireless device and the long-range base station,

the method further comprising;

identifying a corresponding geographical region in which the wireless device resides;

mapping the corresponding geographical region to a speed value, the speed value indicating a rate at which subscribers typically travel through the corresponding geographical region; and

wherein selectively initiating the wireless handoff of the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station includes initiating the wireless handoff from the long-range base station to the short-range base station in response to detecting that the speed value assigned to the geographical region is below a threshold speed value.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the short-range base station is one of multiple short-range base stations, each of which provide substantially smaller coverage within the coverage provided by the long-range base station, the method further comprising:

while the wireless device moves through the region of coverage provided by the short-range base station;

preventing a wireless handoff of the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station; and

maintaining the communication link between the wireless device and the long-range base station.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein selectively initiating the wireless handoff includes:

in response to detecting that the communication link supports transmission of latency sensitive data between the long-range base station and the wireless device, preventing the wireless handoff from the long-range base station to the short-range base station while the wireless device moves through the region of coverage provided by the short-range base station.

4. The method as in claim 1, wherein selectively initiating the wireless handoff includes:

in response to detecting that the communication link supports transmission of non-latency sensitive data between the long-range base and the wireless device, initiating the wireless handoff from the long-range base station to the short-range base station while the wireless device is located within the region of coverage provided by the short-range base station.

5. The method as in claim 1, wherein the communication link is a first communication link and the first communication link supports transmission of a first type of data between the long-range base station and the wireless device, the method further comprising:

maintaining a second communication link between the long-range base station and the wireless device, the second communication link configured to support transmission of a second type of data;

in response to detecting that the first type of data is latency sensitive data, preventing the wireless handoff of the first communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station; and

in response to detecting that the second type of data is non-latency sensitive data, initiating a wireless handoff of the second communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station.

6. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

forwarding a neighbor list from the long-range base station to the wireless device, the neighbor list indicating that both a first base station and a second base station are in a vicinity of the wireless device;

providing notification to the wireless device that the first base station in the neighbor list is a neighboring long-range base station in a vicinity of the wireless device and that the second base station in the neighbor list is a neighboring short-range base station in a vicinity of the wireless device; and

wherein detecting that the wireless device moves in the vicinity of coverage provided by the short-range base station includes receiving a request from the wireless device to perform the wireless handoff of the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station, the short-range base station being the second base station identified in the neighbor list.

7. The method as in claim 1, wherein the coverage provided by the short-range base station is completely within the region of coverage provided by the long-range base station.

8. The method as in claim 1, wherein the coverage provided by the short-range base station resides completely within the region of coverage provided by the long-range base station;

and

wherein selectively initiating the wireless handoff of the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station includes;

controlling whether to execute the wireless handoff depending on the type of data.

9. A method comprising:

identifying a location of a wireless device in a wireless network environment;

mapping the location to a speed value; and

selectively initiating a wireless handoff of a communication link with the wireless device from a long-range base station to a short-range base station based at least in part on the speed value;

wherein mapping the location to the speed value includes;

detecting that the wireless device resides in a particular geographical region amongst multiple geographical regions, and identifying the speed value assigned to the particular geographical region.

10. The method as in claim 9, wherein the speed value is based at least in part on historical speeds of wireless subscribers that operate their respective wireless devices in a vicinity of the location.

11. The method as in claim 9, wherein mapping the location to the speed value includes identifying a maximum allowable vehicle speed limit for vehicles operated in a vicinity of the identified location;

and

wherein selectively initiating the wireless handoff includes preventing the handoff of the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station in response to detecting that the maximum allowable vehicle speed limit is above a threshold value.

12. The method as in claim 9, wherein mapping the location to the speed value includes:

identifying a geographical region of wireless coverage provided by the short-range base station;

identifying a maximum speed value for the geographical region, the maximum speed value indicating a maximum speed associated with wireless subscribers that operate their respective wireless devices in the geographical region; and

wherein selectively initiating the wireless handoff includes preventing the handoff to the short-range base station if the maximum speed value for the geographical region is greater than a threshold value.

17. The method as in claim 9,

wherein selectively initiating the wireless handoff includes:

in response to detecting that a magnitude of the speed value assigned to the particular geographical region is below a threshold speed value, handing off the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station.

18. The method as in claim 17, wherein each corresponding geographical region of the multiple geographical regions is assigned a respective speed value;

and

wherein the respective speed value assigned to the corresponding geographical region is derived based at least in part on historical speeds of wireless subscribers that operate their respective wireless devices in the corresponding geographical region.

19. The method as in claim 17, wherein the speed value assigned to the particular geographical region represents an anticipated maximum speed of the wireless device rather than an actual measured speed of the wireless device through the particular geographical region.

13. A computer system comprising:

a processor; and

a hardware storage resource coupled to the processor, the hardware storage resource storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the computer system to perform the operations of;

initiating communications over a communication link between a long-range base station and a wireless device in a network environment;

detecting that the wireless device moves in a vicinity of coverage provided by a short-range base station located in the network environment, the short-range base station configured to provide a substantially smaller region of coverage within a region of coverage provided by the long-range base station;

identifying a location of the wireless device in the network environment;

mapping the location to a speed value;

selectively initiating a wireless handoff of the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station based at least in part on the speed value; and

wherein mapping the location to the speed value includes;

detecting that the wireless device resides in a particular geographical region amongst multiple geographical regions, and identifying the speed value assigned to the particular geographical region.

14. The computer system as in claim 13, wherein the short-range base station is one of multiple short-range base stations, each of which provides substantially smaller coverage within the coverage provided by the long-range base station, the computer system further supporting operations of:

in response to detecting that a magnitude of the speed value is above a threshold value;

preventing the wireless handoff of the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station while the wireless device moves through the particular geographical region.

15. The computer system as in claim 13, wherein the short-range base station is one of multiple short-range base stations, each of which provide substantially smaller coverage within the coverage provided by the long-range base station, the computer system further supporting operations of:

in response to detecting that a magnitude of the speed value is below a threshold value, initiating a wireless handoff of the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station.

16. Non-transitory computer-readable storage having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when carried out by a processing device, causes the processing device to perform operations of:

initiating communications over a communication link between a long-range base station and a wireless device in a network environment;

detecting that the wireless device moves in a vicinity of coverage provided by a short-range base station located in the network environment, the short-range base station configured to provide a substantially smaller region of coverage as compared to a region of coverage provided by a long-range base station; and

selectively initiating a wireless handoff of the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station depending on a type of data transmitted over a communication link between the wireless device and the long-range base station;

identifying a corresponding region in which the wireless device resides;

mapping the corresponding geographical region to a speed value, the speed value indicating a rate at which subscribers typically travel through the corresponding geographical region; and

wherein selectively initiating the wireless handoff of the communication link from the long-range base station to the short-range base station includes initiating the wireless handoff from the long-range base station to the short-range base station in response to detecting that the speed value assigned to the geographical region is below a threshold speed value.