ADDRESSING METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR USE IN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
In a cellular communication network having a plurality of access points serving wireless terminals, methods and apparatus for facilitating handoff of a wireless terminal from a first access point to a second access point. In various embodiments, the process includes storing in a memory device at the wireless terminal a cell identifier, wherein the cell identifier includes a special character enabling the cell identifier to identify a plurality of access points to which the wireless terminal can be handed off; and the wireless terminal using the stored address information to determine access points to which a handoff may be implemented. One or more cell identifiers stored in the memory can be used as a neighbor list, which can be used to identify handoff possibilities or topographical adjacencies.
1 . In a cellular communication network having a plurality of access points serving wireless terminals, a method for facilitating handoff of a wireless terminal from a first access point to a second access point, the method comprising:
storing in a memory device at the wireless terminal a cell identifier, wherein the cell identifier includes a special character enabling the cell identifier to identify a plurality of access points to which the wireless terminal can be handed off; and
the wireless terminal using the stored cell identifier to determine access points to which a handoff may be implemented.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell identifier comprises:
a cell identification field configured to store a first data representation identifying a cell in the cellular network;
a location identification field adjacent the cell identification field and configured to store a second data representation identifying a location in the cellular network; and
wherein one of the first and second data representations is constructed from a least significant bit of its respective field and the other of the first and second data representations is constructed from the most significant bit of its respective field.
3 . The cell identifier of claim 1 , wherein the cell identification field and the location identifier field are a contiguous concatenated field and further comprising a partition in the concatenated field between the cell identification field and the location identifier field defining a bound to the number of bits in each field.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the special character comprises a wild card or a don't care character.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell identifier stored in the memory device at the wireless terminal is an access point neighbor list.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the access point neighbor list further comprises additional cell identifiers stored in the memory device.
7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the access point neighbor list identifies access point topological adjacencies in the communication network.
8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein some or all of the cell identifiers in the access point neighbor list comprise a special character.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing additional cell identifiers in the memory device at the wireless terminal to form a neighbor list at the wireless terminal to identify access points to which a handoff may be implemented.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein cell identifiers are assigned to access points in logical groupings based on handoff probabilities.
11 . A wireless terminal for use in a cellular communication network having a plurality of access points serving wireless terminals, the wireless terminal comprising:
a wireless transceiver configured to send communications to and receive communications from an access point;
a memory storing a cell identifier that includes a special character enabling the cell identifier to identify a plurality of access points to which the wireless terminal can be handed off; and
a control module configured to use the stored cell identifier to determine access points to which a handoff may be implemented.
12 . The wireless terminal of claim 11 , wherein the cell identifier comprises:
a cell identification field configured to store a first data representation identifying a cell in the cellular network;
a location identification field adjacent the cell identification field and configured to store a second data representation identifying a location in the cellular network; and
wherein one of the first and second data representations is constructed from a least significant bit of its respective field and the other of the first and second data representations is constructed from the most significant bit of its respective field.
13 . The wireless terminal of claim 11 , wherein the cell identification field and the location identifier field are a contiguous concatenated field and further comprising a partition in the concatenated field between the cell identification field and the location identifier field defining a bound to the number of bits in each field.
14 . The wireless terminal of claim 11 , wherein the special character comprises a wild card or a don't care character.
15 . The wireless terminal of claim 11 , wherein cell identifiers are assigned to access points in logical groupings based on handoff probabilities.
16 . The wireless terminal of claim 11 , wherein the cell identifier stored in the memory is an access point neighbor list.
17 . The wireless terminal of claim 16 , wherein the access point neighbor list further comprises additional cell identifiers stored in the memory.
18 . The wireless terminal of claim 16 , wherein the access point neighbor list identifies access point topological adjacencies in the communication network.
19 . The wireless terminal of claim 16 , wherein some or all of the cell identifiers in the access point neighbor list comprise a special character.
20 . The wireless terminal of claim 11 , further comprising storing additional cell identifiers in the memory device at the wireless terminal to form a neighbor list at the wireless terminal to identify access points to which a handoff may be implemented.
21 . An access point for use in a cellular communication network having a plurality of access points serving wireless terminals, the access point comprising:
a wireless transceiver configured to send communications to and receive communications from a wireless terminal, wherein communications sent to the wireless terminal include a cell identifier that includes a special character enabling the cell identifier to identify a plurality of access points to which the wireless terminal can be handed off such that the wireless transceiver can use the stored address information to determine access points to which a handoff may be performed.
22 . The access point of claim 21 , wherein the cell identifier comprises:
a cell identification field configured to store a first data representation identifying a cell in the cellular network;
a location identification field adjacent the cell identification field and configured to store a second data representation identifying a location in the cellular network; and
wherein one of the first and second data representations is constructed from a least significant bit of its respective field and the other of the first and second data representations is constructed from the most significant bit of its respective field.
23 . The access point of claim 21 , wherein the cell identification field and the location identifier field are a contiguous concatenated field and further comprising a partition in the concatenated field between the cell identification field and the location identifier field defining a bound to the number of bits in each field.
24 . The access point of claim 21 , wherein the special character comprises a wild card or a don't care character.
25 . The access point of claim 21 , wherein cell identifiers are assigned to access points in logical groupings based on handoff probabilities.
26 . The access point of claim 21 , wherein the cell identifier stored in the memory is an access point neighbor list.
27 . The access point of claim 26 , wherein the access point neighbor list further comprises additional cell identifiers stored in the memory.
28 . The access point of claim 26 , wherein the access point neighbor list identifies access point topological adjacencies in the communication network.
29 . The access point of claim 26 , wherein some or all of the cell identifiers in the access point neighbor list comprise a special character.