Patent ID: 6507572
Filing Date: 2003-01-14
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
A wireless communications method, comprising the steps of:(a) queuing packets of forward-link data at a data distribution function of a wireless communications system, wherein each packet of forward-link data has a sequence number; (b) transmitting the packets of forward-link data from the data distribution function to only a current primary base station of the wireless communications system; (c) queuing at the current primary base station the packets of forward-link data for transmission over an air interface; (d) determining at the current primary base station, before transmitting all of the packets of forward-link data queued at the current primary base station, that the current primary base station is to become an old primary base station and a different base station of the wireless communications system is to become a new primary base station; (e) transmitting from the old primary base station to the new primary base station a message indicating a particular sequence number identifying one or more remaining queued packets of forward-link data at the old primary base station, wherein packets associated with one or more sequence numbers prior to the particular sequence number define a first portion of the data for transmission over the air interface by the old primary base station and packets associated with the particular sequence number define a second portion of the data; (f) transmitting from the new primary base station to the data distribution function a request for one or more packets of forward-link data based on the particular sequence number; (g) transmitting from the data distribution function to the new primary base station the requested one or more packets of forward-link data based on the particular sequence number; and (h) queuing at the new primary base station the requested one or more packets of forward-link data for transmission of the second portion over the air interface, thereby enabling transmission of all of the forward-link data over the air interface without having to transmit the one or more remaining queued packets of forward-link data from the old primary base station to the new primary base station, and wherein the first portion of the data and the second portion of the data are not transmitted over the air interface in synchronism.