Femtocell call management
AssigneeAT&T Mobility II LLC
InventorsJeffrey Mikan, Justin McNamara, John Lewis, Fulvio Arturo Cenciarelli
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
When a call is received for a device within a femtocell area of coverage, all devices within the femtocell area of coverage are rung. The call is connected to the first device that picks up. All devices can be rung at the same time or in a predetermined order. The first device rung can be the device that was most recently moved or the device that was most recently active.
Claims9
A method comprising:
- detecting a plurality of devices within an area of coverage of a femtocell;
- determining at least one zone within the area of coverage;
- receiving a call for a designated one of the plurality of devices;
- determining in which zone, of the at least one zone, each of the plurality of devices is located;
- assigning a respective priority value to each of the at least one zone;
- and
- providing an indication of the call to all devices located within a respective zone of the at least one zone, consecutively, in priority value order, wherein the respective priority value assigned to each of the at least one zone differs depending upon a time of day, the method further comprising:
- determining a time of day;
- and
- providing an indication of the call to all devices located within the selected zone in accordance with the determined time of day.
A femtocell comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising executable instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to effectuate operations comprising:
- detecting a plurality of devices within an area of coverage of a femtocell;
- determining at least one zone within the area of coverage;
- receiving a call for a designated one of the plurality of devices;
- determining in which zone, of the at least one zone, each of the plurality of devices is located;
- assigning a respective priority value to each of the at least one zone;
- and
- providing an indication of the call to all devices located within a respective zone of the at least one zone, consecutively, in priority value order, wherein the respective priority value assigned to each of the at least one zone differs depending upon a time of day, the method further comprising:
- determining a time of day;
- and
- providing an indication of the call to all devices located within the selected zone in accordance with the determined time of day.
A computer-readable storage medium that is not a propagating signal, the computer-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to effectuate operations comprising:
- detecting a plurality of devices within an area of coverage of a femtocell;
- determining at least one zone within the area of coverage;
- receiving a call for a designated one of the plurality of devices;
- determining in which zone, of the at least one zone, each of the plurality of devices is located;
- assigning a respective priority value to each of the at least one zone;
- and
- providing an indication of the call to all devices located within a respective zone of the at least one zone, consecutively, in priority value order, wherein the respective priority value assigned to each of the at least one zone differs depending upon a time of day, the method further comprising:
- determining a time of day;
- and
- providing an indication of the call to all devices located within the selected zone in accordance with the determined time of day.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.