Method and system for priority-based handoff

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9794848-B2
Application number	US-201213558308-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 25, 2012
Priority date	Jul 25, 2011
Publication date	Oct 17, 2017
Grant date	Oct 17, 2017

Abstract

A system and method are provided for wireless communication to operate with multiple network connections sequentially based on priorities. The system includes a first antenna configured to transmit and receive signals in WLAN and to be a modal antenna having multiple first modes corresponding to multiple first radiation patterns, respectively, a second antenna configured to transmit and receive signals in WWAN, the second antenna having at least one second mode; and a processor coupled to the first antenna and the second antenna. The second antenna may also be a modal antenna having multiple second modes.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A communication system adapted to operate with a plurality of network connections, comprising;
a first modal antenna,
the first modal antenna comprising:
an antenna radiating element positioned above a ground plane forming an antenna volume therebetween,
a first parasitic element positioned outside the antenna volume and adjacent to the radiating element, the first parasitic element being coupled to a first active element and the first active element being further coupled to the ground plane, wherein the first active element is adapted to vary a coupling between the first parasitic element and the ground plane, and
a second parasitic element positioned within the antenna volume, the second parasitic element being coupled to a second active element and the second active element being further coupled to the ground plane, wherein the second active element is adapted to vary a coupling between the second parasitic element and the ground plane;

the first modal antenna being selectively configurable about a plurality of possible first antenna modes, wherein the first modal antenna is adapted to produce a distinct radiation pattern in each of the first antenna modes, the first modal antenna being configured to communicate with one or more access points of a wireless local area network (WLAN);
a second antenna having at least one second antenna mode thereof, the second antenna being configured to communicate with one or more cellular base stations of a wireless wide area network (WWAN); and
a processor coupled to each of the first modal antenna and the second antenna;

wherein the processor is configured to:
identify one or more first connections associated with the one or more access points of the WLAN, respectively, and one or more second connections associated with the one or more cellular base stations of the WWAN, respectively, said first and second connections being available in an area where the communication system is located;
select one of the first and second connections for connecting the communication system to one of the WLAN or the WWAN networks; and
communicate signals to at least one of the first modal antenna and the second antenna to obtain a configuration thereof that satisfies a priority and provides an optimum signal level by selecting a mode and a network connection for the configuration for each time period.

2. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein
the priority comprises communication with the WLAN, and the configuration comprises a combination of a mode selected from the plurality of first modes and a network connection selected from the one or more first connections to have the network connection to the WLAN with the optimum signal level.

3. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein
the priority comprises an emergency, and the configuration comprises a combination of a mode selected from a group consisting of the plurality of first modes and the at least one second mode and a network connection selected from a group consisting of the one or more first connections and the one or more second connections to have the network connection with the optimum signal level.

4. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein
the priority comprises communication with the WWAN, and the configuration comprises a combination of a mode selected from the at least one second mode and a network connection selected from the one or more second connections to have the network connection to the WWAN with the optimum signal level.

5. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein
the priority comprises optimization of cost, and the configuration comprises a combination of a mode selected from a group consisting of the plurality of first modes and the at least one second mode and a network connection selected from a group consisting of the one or more first connections and the one or more second connections to have the network connection with an optimum cost and the optimum signal level.

6. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein
the priority comprises optimization of security, and the configuration comprises a combination of a mode selected from a group consisting of the plurality of first modes and the at least one second mode and a network connection selected from a group consisting of the one or more first connections and the one or more second connections to have the network connection with an optimum security level and the optimum signal level.

7. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein
the priority comprises a context-oriented preference, and the configuration comprises a combination of a mode selected from a group consisting of the plurality of first modes and the at least one second mode and a network connection selected from a group consisting of the one or more first connections and the one or more second connections to have the network connection meeting the context-oriented preference with the optimum signal level.

8. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein
the processor is further configured to perform a first test to identify the one or more first connections and the one or more second connections by sampling one or more channel quality metrics, wherein the channel quality metrics comprise data rate, signal-to-noise ratio, received signal strength indicator, signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio and throughput.

9. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein
the processor is further configured to perform a second test to select the mode and the network connection by sampling one or more channel quality metrics to assess the signal level, wherein the channel quality metrics comprise data rate, signal-to-noise ratio, received signal strength indicator, signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio and throughput.

10. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein
the processor is further configured to manage priorities based on at least part of a group consisting of information on network properties including security levels and costs, user's inputs and preferences, applications settings and rules, and conditions.

11. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein
the second antenna is configured to be a second modal antenna having a plurality of second modes corresponding to a plurality of second radiation patterns.

12. A method of wireless communication using a plurality of network connections sequentially, comprising steps of:
providing a wireless communication device including a first modal antenna,
the first modal antenna comprising:
an antenna radiating element positioned above a ground plane forming an antenna volume therebetween,
a first parasitic element positioned outside the antenna volume and adjacent to the radiating element, the first parasitic element being coupled to a first active element and the first active element being further coupled to the ground plane, wherein the first active element is adapted to vary a coupling between the first parasitic element and the ground plane, and
a second parasitic element positioned within the antenna volume, the second parasitic element being coupled to a second active element and the second active element being further coupled to the ground plane, wherein the second active element is adapted to vary a coupling between the second parasitic element and the ground plane;

the first modal antenna being configurable about a plurality of possible first antenna modes, wherein the first modal antenna is adapted to produce a distinct radiation pattern in each of the first antenna modes, the first modal antenna being adapted to communicate with one or more access points of a wireless local area network (WLAN), and the device further including a

Assignees

• Matsumori Barry
• Desclos Laurent
• Ethertronics Inc

Inventors

• Matsumori Barry
• Desclos Laurent

Classifications

• H04W36/24 Primary

  Reselection being triggered by specific parameters · CPC title

• H04W36/14

  Reselecting a network or an air interface · CPC title

• H01Q25/04

  Multimode antennas {(corrugated horns H01Q13/0208)} · CPC title

• H04W40/06

  based on characteristics of available antennas · CPC title

• H01Q3/44

  varying the electric or magnetic characteristics of reflecting, refracting, or diffracting devices associated with the radiating element · CPC title