Patent ID: 8179843
Filing Date: 2012-05-15
Classification: H04B,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method of dynamically allocating communication channels of a network between a base station and a group of mobile stations, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a candidate mobile station not yet enrolled in the network with a test signal allowing the candidate mobile station to characterize a new channel between the base station and the candidate mobile station as a channel characterizing vector table characterizing the phase and amplitude of the test signal of multiple antennas; (b) transmitting to the candidate mobile station information characterizing existing channels in use between the base station and enrolled mobile stations by providing information for a channel-characterizing vector table for the enrolled mobile stations, the channel characterizing vector table having information about phase and amplitude for multiple antennas currently used for communication between the base station and the enrolled mobile stations; (c) calculating at the candidate mobile station, by using the collected channel characterizing vector tables for the enrolled and candidate mobile stations a network performance metric of communication indicating an aggregate quality of the network communication among the base station and multiple other enrolled mobile stations and the candidate station as if the candidate mobile station were enrolled, the aggregate quality being based at least in part on the information characterizing existing channels in use between the base station and the multiple other enrolled mobile stations; and (d) determining at either the base station or the candidate mobile station whether the candidate mobile station can join in the network using the new channel based on the network performance metric calculated by the candidate mobile station based at least one of a determination that the aggregate quality is above a predetermined threshold or the aggregate quality is above the aggregate quality of other candidate mobile stations.