Claims
- 1. A method for selecting an access point in a wireless communication system comprising mobile terminals and access points, each access point being capable of serving the mobile terminals within a service area of the access point, the method comprising the steps of:
sending at least one set of attributes from a first group of mobile terminals to the access point currently serving said group of mobile terminals, each of said mobile terminals sending a set that contains at least one attribute indicating the quality of a wireless link between the serving access point and the mobile terminal; based on the sets, forming a service report describing current service conditions in the service area of the access point; transmitting the service report to a second group of mobile terminals; in a mobile terminal belonging to said second group, examining at least one service report received; and in response to the examining step, selecting the access point to which a wireless link is to be established from said mobile terminal.
- 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sets contain the same attributes.
- 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first group contains mobile terminals of a predetermined type.
- 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the forming step includes the steps of (a) calculating the average load level of the access point over a preceding time period of a predetermined length and (b) inserting the average load level calculated into the service report.
- 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting step includes broadcasting the service report from the access point.
- 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting step includes sending the service report to a mobile terminal in response to a predetermined request received from said mobile terminal.
- 7. A method according to claim 1, wherein
the examining step includes the steps of (a) choosing an access point based on at least one predetermined attribute and (b) checking the service report of said access point, and the selecting step includes selecting said access point if the checking step indicates that the service report is acceptable.
- 8. A method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one attribute indicates the level of the signal received from the access point.
- 9. A method according to claim 2, wherein the forming step includes the steps of (a) calculating averages for at least some of the attributes received in the sets and (b) inserting the averages calculated in the service report.
- 10. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of retrieving the attributes from a management information base within the MAC layer of a mobile terminal belonging to said first group.
- 11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the forming step includes inserting into the service report information about at least one other access point.
- 12. A method according to claim 11, wherein said information includes data concerning the wireless links used by said at least one other access point.
- 13. A method according to claim 3, wherein the mobile terminals belonging to the first group are assigned an identifier by means of which said terminals can be identified from other terminals.
- 14. A method according to claim 1, wherein the forming step includes dividing the first group of mobile terminals into different categories with regard to a certain attribute and forming a service report describing current service conditions with respect to at least one of the categories.
- 15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the service report describes the current service conditions with respect to each of the categories.
- 16. A method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of
defining the category of the mobile terminal with respect to each service report received, wherein said mobile terminal belongs to the second group and the examining step includes examining each service report with respect to the category defined.
- 17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the examining step is performed at desired time intervals.
- 18. A method according to claim 17, further comprising the step of controlling an interval between two consecutive examining steps, wherein the interval is changed in response to a change in the category.
- 19. A method according to claim 18, wherein the controlling step further includes changing the interval when the category remains the same for a certain period.
- 20. A method according to claim 15, wherein said certain attribute indicates the level of the signal received from the serving access point.
- 21. A wireless communication system comprising mobile terminals and access points, each access point being capable of serving the mobile terminals within a service area of the access point, the system comprising:
reception means for receiving at least one set of attributes from a first group of mobile terminals, at least one of the attributes to indicate the quality of a wireless link between a particular mobile station and the access point serving said mobile station; processing means for forming, based on the sets, a service report describing current service conditions in the service area of the access point; transmission means for transmitting the service report to a second group of mobile terminals; and in each of the mobile terminals in said second group, (a) examination means for examining a service report received and (b) selection means, responsive to the examination means, for selecting the access point with which a wireless link is to be established.
- 22. A wireless communication system according to claim 21, wherein the processing means are configured to form a service report describing current service conditions in different categories, each category corresponding to a certain value range of a predetermined attribute.
- 23. A wireless communication system according to claim 22, wherein the examination means are configured (1) to define the category of the mobile terminal and (2) to examine the service report with respect to the category defined.
- 24. An access point for a wireless communication system, the access point comprising:
interface means for connecting the access point to a distribution system; a transceiver for communicating wirelessly with mobile terminals located within a service area of the access point, said transceiver being configured to receive sets of attributes from the mobile terminals, at least one of the attributes to indicate the quality of a wireless link between the serving access point and the respective mobile terminal; processing means for forming, based on the sets, a service report describing current service conditions in the service area of the access point; wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit the service report to at least one mobile terminal.
- 25. An access point according to claim 24, wherein the processing means are configured to form a service report describing current service conditions in different categories, each category corresponding to a certain value range of a predetermined attribute.
- 26. A mobile terminal for a wireless communication system, the mobile terminal comprising:
a transceiver for communicating with an access point of the wireless communication system via a wireless link; memory means for storing attributes relating to said link; collection means for collecting service reports from available access points, each service report describing current service conditions within a service area of a particular access point; examination means for examining the service report received by the mobile terminal; selection means, responsive to the examination means, for selecting the access point; and access means for establishing a wireless link with the access point selected.
- 27. A mobile terminal according to claim 26, further comprising
data collection means for retrieving predetermined attributes from the memory, at least one of the attributes to indicate the quality of a wireless link between the serving access point and the respective mobile terminal; wherein the transceiver is adapted to send the retrieved attributes to an access point.
- 28. A mobile terminal according to claim 26, wherein the mobile terminal is a mobile phone.
- 29. A mobile terminal according to claim 27, wherein the mobile terminal is a laptop computer.
- 30. A mobile terminal according to claim 26, wherein the examination means are configured (1) to define a category for the mobile terminal and (2) to examine the service report with respect to the category defined, each category corresponding to a certain value range of a predetermined attribute, wherein the value of the predetermined attribute experienced by the mobile terminal determines the category of the mobile terminal.
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/338,874, filed Jan. 9, 2003. The disclosure of the prior application(s) is hereby incorporated by reference.
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10338874 |
Jan 2003 |
US |
Child |
10411350 |
Apr 2003 |
US |