Patent ID: 7774000

Claim:
A method for capacity overload prevention of wireless access points (APs) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), the method comprising the acts of: monitoring, in transmission control equipment connected in the WLAN, a Quality of Service (QoS) requirement for data packet communications for mobile devices through each wireless AP of the WLAN; identifying, in the transmission control equipment, whether the QoS requirement for the data packet communications through each wireless AP is greater than a predetermined threshold, the predetermined threshold corresponding to a near-maximum capacity of the wireless AP where the QoS requirement for the data packet communications of the mobile devices will be compromised by decreased data rates or limited bandwidth; when the QoS requirement for the communications through one of the wireless APs is greater than the predetermined threshold corresponding to the near-maximum capacity of the wireless AP: instructing, by the transmission control equipment, a neighboring wireless AP which neighbors the wireless AP to increase its nominal radio frequency (RF) transmission power in order to increase its RF coverage area; instructing, from the transmission control equipment, the wireless AP to reduce its nominal RF transmission power in order to reduce its RF coverage area; and repeating the acts of instructing the neighboring wireless AP to increase its nominal RF transmission power and instructing the wireless AP to reduce its nominal RF transmission power, as necessary until the QoS requirement for mobile device communications through the wireless AP is below the predetermined threshold corresponding to the near-maximum capacity of the wireless AP, so that the QoS requirement for the data packet communications of the mobile devices is uncompromised.