Patent ID: 7046648

Claim:
In a wireless multi-cell communication system including a radio network controller (RNC), a plurality of Node-Bs, and at least one wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), a method of coordinating Node-Bs during handover, the method comprising: (a) the RNC initiating an inter-Node-B soft handover; (b) the WTRU establishing communication connections with at least two of the Node-Bs; (c) designating particular one of the Node-Bs as a primary Node-B, wherein the primary Node-B is configured to store negative acknowledgement (NACK) data packets and use soft combining to process transmissions, and the primary Node-B is also configured to transmit at least one of a positive acknowledgement (ACK) and a NACK to the WTRU, and transmit a correctly decoded data packet to the RNC; (d) designating the other one(s) of the Node-Bs as a non-primary Node-B, wherein the non-primary Node-B does not store NACK data packets and does not use soft combining to process transmissions, and the non-primary Node-B is not configured to transmit at least one of an ACK and a NACK to the WTRU; and (e) the RNC informing the Node-Bs that the particular Node-B is a primary Node-B.