Patent ID: 7242936

Claim:
A multi-slope handoff method for controlling dynamic communication quality in wireless communications comprising the steps of: receiving pilot signals from a service pilot and nearby pilots; determining an aggregate strength of said pilot signals; and performing handoff operations if said aggregate strength is below a predetermined value or continuing to use of services associated with said service pilot otherwise, said handoff operations including: adjusting a slope of a corresponding one of a plurality of line segments in a piecewise linear add threshold function and adjusting a slope of a drop threshold function, said add threshold function and said drop threshold function being functions of said aggregate strength, each said slope being adjusted in accordance with a communication connection quality parameter; calculating an add connection trigger threshold and a drop connection trigger threshold from said respective add threshold function and said drop threshold function; and selecting a pilot to be connected from a set of pilots including said service pilot, said nearby pilots and pilots added and dropped in accordance with said add connection trigger threshold and said drop connection trigger threshold.