Patent ID: 8358634

Claim:
A method of operating a wireless communication system, wherein a series of repeating overhead time cycles each comprise a plurality of time slots, and wherein the wireless communication system exchanges overhead information with wireless communication devices during individual ones of the time slots, the method comprising: assigning one of the overhead time cycles to one of the wireless communication devices, wherein the one of the wireless communication devices monitors the overhead time slots during the assigned one of the overhead time cycles and does not monitor the overhead time slots during the non-assigned overhead time cycles; exchanging user communications with the wireless communication devices; monitoring loading information for the overhead time cycles; monitoring movement information comprising a speed and a direction of the one of the wireless communication devices in a first wireless coverage area; processing the movement information to determine a time period that the one of the wireless communication devices is projected to remain within the first wireless coverage area; processing the loading information for the overhead time cycles and the time period that the one of the wireless communication devices is projected to remain within the first wireless coverage area to assign the one of the wireless communication devices to another one of the overhead time cycles; wirelessly indicating the other assigned one of the overhead time cycles to the one of the wireless communication devices.