Methods and apparatus for flexible forward-link and reverse-link handoffs
The disclosed embodiments provide for methods and systems for selecting sectors for handoff in a communication system. According to one aspect, the method includes monitoring an indicia of transmit power on a plurality of RL control channels directed to a plurality of sectors, and selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff. The disclosed embodiments also provide for methods and systems for indicating a selected serving sector for handoff in a communication system. According to one aspect, the method includes sending a first signal to a first sector to indicate the first sector as a serving sector for a forward-link handoff, and sending a second signal to a second sector to indicate the second sector as a serving sector for a reverse-link handoff.
1. A method of selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for RL handoff in a communication system, comprising:
monitoring an indicia of transmit power on a plurality of RL control channels directed to a plurality of sectors; and
selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indicia comprises an amount of RL transmit power, and the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indicia comprises a rate of transmit power “up” or “down” commands send by the plurality of sectors, and the candidate comprises a sector associated with the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indicia comprises an amount of RL transmit power on some RL control channels and a rate of transmit power “up” or “down” commands send by the plurality of sectors on some RL control channels.
5. A method of selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for RL handoff in a communication system, comprising: sending a signal to a plurality of sectors; receiving feedbacks from the sectors in response to the signal; and selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff based on the received feedbacks, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the signal comprises a channel quality indicator (CQI) and the feedbacks comprise erasure indicators, and the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest erasure rate.
7. A method of selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for a RL handoff in a communication system, comprising:
sending a signal to a plurality of sectors;
measuring a received power of the signal at the sectors; and
selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff based on the measured received power, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the candidate comprises a sector with highest received power.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the signal comprises a pseudo-random noise (PN) sequence.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
monitoring a level of received power of a first signal being sent by a plurality of sectors;
monitoring a level of performance for a second signal being sent to the plurality of sectors; and
selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a FL handoff, based on the level of the received power and the level of performance.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the candidate comprises a sector with highest level of received power and acceptable level of performance.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein level of performance comprises erasure rate.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first signal comprises a pilot signal and the second signal comprises channel quality indicator (CQI) signal.
14. A method for indicating a selected serving sector out of a plurality of sectors for handoff in a communication system, comprising:
sending a first signal to a first sector, wherein sending the first signal comprises sending an actual channel quality indicator (CQI) and a second signal to remaining sectors, indicating the first sector for a forward-link handoff; and
sending a third signal to a second sector, wherein sending the third signal comprises sending an actual request (REQ) and a fourth signal to remaining sectors, indicating the second sector for a reverse-link handoff.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein sending the second signal comprises sending a reserved channel quality indicator (CQI) and sending the fourth signal comprises sending a reserved request (RLQ).
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein sending the first signal comprises sending the channel quality indicator (CQI) along with a reserved bit “ 1 ”, sending the second signal comprises sending the channel quality indicator (CQI) along with a reserved bit “ 0 ”, sending the third signal comprises sending the request (REQ) along with a reserved bit “ 1 ”, and sending the fourth signal comprises sending the a request (REQ) along with a reserved bit “ 0 ”.
17. An apparatus for selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for RL handoff in a communication system, comprising:
means for monitoring an indicia of transmit power on a plurality of RL control channels directed to a plurality of sectors; and
means for selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the indicia comprises an amount of RL transmit power, and the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power.
19. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the indicia comprises a rate of transmit power “up” or “down” commands send by the plurality of sectors, and the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
20. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the indicia comprises an amount of RL transmit power on some RL control channels and a rate of transmit power “up” or “down” commands send by the plurality of sectors on some RL control channels.
21. An apparatus for selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for RL handoff in a communication system, comprising:
means for sending a signal to a plurality of sectors;
means for receiving feedbacks from the sectors in response to the signal; and
means for selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff based on the received feedbacks, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
22. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the signal comprises a channel quality indicator (CQI) and the feedbacks comprise erasure indicators, and the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest erasure rate.
23. An apparatus for selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for a RL handoff in a communication system, comprising:
means for sending a signal to a plurality of sectors;
means for measuring a received power of the signal at the sectors; and
means for selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff based on the measured received power, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
24. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the candidate comprises a sector with highest received power.
25. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the signal comprises a pseudo-random noise (PN) sequence.
26. The apparatus of claim 17 , further comprising:
means for monitoring a level of received power of a first signal being sent by a plurality of sectors;
means for monitoring a level of performance for a second signal being sent to the plurality of sectors; and
means for selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a FL handoff, based on the level of the received power and the level of performance.
27. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the candidate comprises a sector with highest level of received power and acceptable level of performance.
28. The apparatus of claim 27 , wherein level of performance comprises erasure rate.
29. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the first signal comprises a pilot signal and the second signal comprises channel quality indicator (CQI) signal.
30. An apparatus for indicating a selected serving sector out of a plurality of sectors for handoff in a communication system, comprising:
means for sending a first signal to a first sector , wherein sending the first signal comprises means for sending an actual channel quality indicator (CQI) and a second signal to remaining sectors, indicating the first sector for a forward-link handoff; and
means for sending a third signal to a second sector, wherein sending the third signal comprises means for sending an actual request (REQ) and a fourth signal to remaining sectors, indicating the second sector for a reverse-link handoff.
31. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein means for sending the second signal comprises sending a reserved channel quality indicator (CQI), and means for sending the fourth signal comprises means for sending a reserved request (REQ).
32. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein means for sending the first signal comprises means for sending the channel quality indicator (CQI) along with a reserved bit “ 1 ”, means for sending the second signal comprises means for sending the channel quality indicator (CQI) along with a reserved bit “ 0 ”, means for sending the third signal comprises means for sending the request (REQ) along with a reserved bit “ 1 ”, and means for sending the fourth signal comprises means for sending the request (REQ) along with a reserved bit “ 0 ”.
33. Computer-readable medium embodying means for implementing a method of selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for RL handoff in a communication system, the method comprising:
monitoring an indicia of transmit power on a plurality of RL control channels directed to a plurality of sectors; and
selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
34. The medium of claim 33 , wherein the indicia comprises an amount of RL transmit power, and the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power.
35. The medium of claim 33 , wherein the indicia comprises a rate of transmit power “up” or “down” commands send by the plurality of sectors, and the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
36. The medium of claim 33 , wherein the indicia comprises an amount of RL transmit power on some RL control channels and a rate of transmit power “up” or “down” commands send by the plurality of sectors on some RL control channels.
37. A computer-readable medium embodying means for implementing a method of selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for RL handoff in a communication system, the method comprising:
sending a signal to a plurality of sectors;
receiving feedbacks from the sectors in response to the signal; and
selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff based on the received feedbacks, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
38. The medium of claim 37 , wherein the signal comprises a channel quality indicator (CQI) and the feedbacks comprise erasure indicators, and the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest erasure rate.
39. A computer-readable medium embodying means for implementing a method of selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for a RL handoff in a communication system, the method comprising:
sending a signal to a plurality of sectors;
measuring a received power of the signal at the sectors; and
selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff based on the measured received power, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
40. The medium of claim 39 , wherein the candidate comprises a sector with highest received power.
41. The medium of claim 39 , wherein the signal comprises a psudo-random noise (PN) sequence.
42. The medium of claim 33 , the method further comprising:
monitoring a level of received power of a first signal being sent by a plurality of sectors; monitoring a level of performance for a second signal being sent to the plurality of sectors; and selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a FL handoff, based on the level of the received power and the level of performance.
43. The medium of claim 42 , wherein the candidate comprises a sector with highest level of received power and acceptable level of performance.
44. The medium of claim 43 , wherein level of performance comprises erasure rate.
45. The medium of claim 42 , wherein the first signal comprises a pilot signal and the second signal comprises channel quality indicator (CQI) signal.
46. A computer-readable medium embodying means for implementing a method for indicating a selected serving sector out of a plurality of sectors for handoff in a communication system, the method comprising:
sending a first signal to a first sector, wherein sending the first signal comprises sending an actual channel quality indicator (CQI), and a second signal to remaining sectors, indicating the first sector for a forward-link handoff; and
sending a third signal to a second sector, wherein, sending the third signal comprises sending an actual request (REQ), and a fourth signal to remaining sectors, indicating the second sector for a reverse-link handoff.
47. The medium of claim 46 , wherein sending the second signal comprises sending a reserved channel quality indicator (CQI) and sending the fourth signal comprises sending a reserved request (REQ).
48. The medium of claim 46 , wherein sending the first signal comprises sending the channel quality indicator (CQI) along with a reserved bit “ 1 ”, sending the second signal comprises sending the channel quality indicator (CQI) along with a reserved bit “ 0 ”, sending the third signal comprises sending the request (REQ) along with a reserved bit “ 1 ”, and sending the fourth signal comprises sending the request (REQ) along with a reserved bit “ 0 ”.
49. A processor programmed to execute a method of selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for RL handoff in a communication system, the method comprising:
monitoring an indicia of transmit power on a plurality of RL control channels directed to a plurality of sectors; and
selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
50. A processor programmed to execute a method of selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for RL handoff in a communication system, the method comprising:
sending a signal to a plurality of sectors;
receiving feedbacks from the sectors in response to the signal; and
selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff based on the received feedbacks, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
51. A processor programmed to execute a method of selecting a reverse-link (RL) serving sector for a RL handoff in a communication system, the method comprising:
sending a signal to a plurality of sectors;
measuring a received power of the signal at the sectors; and
selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a RL handoff based on the measured received power, wherein the candidate comprises a sector associated with the lowest amount of RL transmit power and the highest rate of transmit power “down” commands.
52. The processor of claim 49 further comprising:
monitoring a level of received power of a first signal being sent by a plurality of sectors;
monitoring a level of performance for a second signal being sent to the plurality of sectors; and
selecting one of the sectors as a candidate for a FL handoff, based on the level of the received power and the level of performance.
53. A processor programmed to execute a method for indicating a selected serving sector out of a plurality of sectors for handoff in a communication system, the method comprising:
sending a first signal to a first sector, wherein sending the first signal comprises sending an actual channel quality indicator (CQI) and a second signal to remaining sectors, indicating the first sector for a forward-link handoff; and
sending a third signal to a second sector, wherein sending the third signal comprises sending an actual request (REQ) and a fourth signal to remaining sectors, indicating the second sector for a reverse-link handoff.