Patent ID: 8355373
Filing Date: 2013-01-15
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. A method for base station assisted channel selection used to assist mobile node handset scanning and handoff between multiple base stations each having multiple channels and a medium access control protocol having timeslots for forwarding Internet Protocol packets between multiple base stations and mobile nodes in voice over the Internet protocol systems on a wireless network comprising: multiple base stations in electrical communication with the Internet and each of said multiple base stations continuously measuring and calculating uplink channel conditions for every Internet Protocol packet received on each of said multiple channels by maintaining a running average of measured interference on each of said timeslots and if said running average of measured interference exceeds a set threshold said timeslot is categorized as unusable and said base station then calculating a percentage of unusable timeslots to total timeslots per channel; one or more mobile nodes in wireless electrical communication with one of said multiple base stations using one of said multiple channels; said multiple base stations and said one or more mobile nodes each having a medium access control protocol containing sequentially numbered periodically repeating hyperframes made up of a determined number of multiple sequentially numbered superframes equal to the number of channels on the wireless network wherein the position of one of each of said multiple superframes in each hyperframe identifies only one of each of said multiple channels; each of said multiple base stations transmitting a beacon signal at the start of each said multiple superframes simultaneously on all of said multiple base stations' multiple channels; said beacon signal containing a base station identifier, a channel identifier determined by a combination of the sequential number of said hyperframe and sequential number of said superframe containing the transmitted beacon signal, and channel information containing uplink channel interference information comprising the percentage of unusable timeslots to total timeslots, voice capacity, data capacity, and mobile node registration capacity percentage information; and, wherein each of said one or more mobile nodes within transmission range of each of said multiple base stations uses the base station identifier, the channel identifier, and channel information containing uplink channel interference information comprising the percentage of unusable timeslots to total timeslots, voice capacity, data capacity, and mobile node registration capacity percentage information contained in said beacon signal to continuously select and store a subset of said multiple channels such that said subset of said multiple channels is used by said mobile node to scan for downlink channel conditions prior to selecting a channel for handoff.