Patent · US Expired

Controlling micro-roaming in a wireless LAN

US7440756B1 · kind B1 · utility

9Cited by
2References
11Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 21, 2004
Grant dateOct 21, 2008
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 18, 2024

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04W60/00
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention detects a micro-roaming client in a WLAN. Once a micro-roaming client is detected, APs coordinate with each other and assign the client to a specific AP. In an embodiment, a user-configurable anchor timer for micro-roaming clients is provided, so that when the timer has expired, the client is free to roam within the overlapping cell until it becomes anchored to an AP again. In various embodiments, environmental variables can affect APs to release an anchored client to roam again. These environmental variables may include low RSSI from the client, a high percentage of frame loss to the client, or a low data rate. The present invention also provides a new protocol that is resilient and self-sustaining with minimal user configuration required.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.