# US 8,570,880 B2 · Method and apparatus for receiving broadcast in a wireless multiple-access communications system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,570,880 B2 - Document ID: US8570880B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 10/913,068 - Filed: 2004-08-05 - Published: 2006-02-09 - Granted: 2013-10-29 - Earliest claimed: 2004-08-05 - Assignees: QUALCOMM Incorporated - Applicants: Michael-David Nakayoshi Canoy; Parag Arun Agashe; Qiang Wu; Ramakrishna Kintada; Senthilkumar Kaliannan Sundaram - Inventors: Michael-David Nakayoshi Canoy; Parag Arun Agashe; Qiang Wu; Ramakrishna Kintada; Senthilkumar Kaliannan Sundaram - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8570880B2 ## CPC - H04W 48/10: using broadcasted information - H04W 48/18: Selecting a network or a communication service - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract An access terminal an a wireless multiple-access network monitors multiple broadcast soft handoff groups simultaneously in order to select the best logical broadcast channels to decode based upon broadcast contents selected by a user of the access terminal. When in a traffic state the access terminal is able to decode one or more broadcast channels by decoding a unicast channel from a traffic server during one time slot and then decoding a broadcast channel from a broadcast server during another time slot. ## Claims ### Claim 1 In a multiple-access network, a method of operating an access terminal to receive broadcast content, comprising: receiving a plurality of transmissions of contents provided by a plurality of broadcast servers; determining a broadcast server weight for each of the broadcast servers by: determining a weight for each content provided by the broadcast server comprising: determining a weight based upon one or more measured qualities on each of the plurality of transmissions of contents provided by each of the plurality of broadcast servers for each content provided by the broadcast server; and combining a transmission weight comprising a combination of determined weights of the plurality of transmissions of contents with a value for at least one quality measure of the content to yield a weight for the content; and combining weights for contents provided by the broadcast server to yield the broadcast server weight; and ranking the broadcast servers by their respective broadcast server weights. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: decoding a transmission of content broadcast by the highest-ranking broadcast server. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further including decoding a transmission of content broadcast by a broadcast server selected from the ranked broadcast servers. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, in which determining a weight for each content comprises: determining the weight based upon one or more measured qualities for each transmission of the content; combining the weights for transmissions of the content to yield the transmission weight for the content; determining the value for at least one quality measure of the content; and combining the transmission weight for the content with the value for at least one quality measure to yield the weight for the content. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein each broadcast server is associated with a soft combine group of at least one serving server, in which each serving server of a soft combine group provides a transmission of a respective content provided by a broadcast server associated with the soft combine group, and wherein determining the weight for each transmission comprises: determining a value for at least one quality measure of the transmission for serving servers of a soft combine group. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one quality measure of the transmission is selected from the group including transmission type, transmission condition, and transmission power. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one quality measure of the content is selected from the group including content encoding rate, content timing, content cost, and content priority. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, in which the transmissions are on forward traffic channels received by the access terminal. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising: interrupting a unicast transmission on one of the forward traffic channels to receive a broadcast transmission on the forward traffic channel. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein interrupting includes periodically interrupting. ### Claim 11 An access terminal for use in a wireless multiple-access network, comprising: an Radio Frequency (RF) section to receive a plurality of transmissions of contents provided by a plurality of broadcast servers; a rank determination module configured to determine a broadcast server weight for each of the broadcast servers by: determining a weight for each content provided by the broadcast server comprising: determining a weight based upon one or more measured qualities on each of the plurality of transmissions of contents provided by each of the plurality of broadcast servers for each content provided by the broadcast server; and combining a transmission weight comprising a combination of determined weights for transmissions of the content with a value for at least one quality measure of the content to yield a weight for the content; and combining weights for contents provided by the broadcast server to yield the broadcast server weight; and a data structure configured to arrange the broadcast servers by their respective broadcast server weights. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The access terminal of claim 11, further comprising: means for decoding a transmission of content broadcast by the highest-ranking broadcast server. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The access terminal of claim 11, further comprising: means for decoding a transmission of content broadcast by a broadcast server selected from the ranked broadcast servers. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The access terminal of claim 11, in which the rank determination module comprises: means for determining the weight based upon one or more measured qualities for each transmission of the content; means for combining the weights for transmissions of the content to yield the transmission weight for the content; means for determining the value for at least one quality measure of the content; and means for combining the transmission weight for the content with the value for at least one quality measure the content to yield the weight for each content. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The access terminal of claim 14, wherein: each broadcast server is associated with a soft combine group of at least one serving server; each serving server of a soft combine group provides a transmission of a respective content provided by a broadcast server associated with the soft combine group; and the rank determination module comprises: means for determining a value for at least one quality measure of the transmission for each serving server of a soft combine group. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The access terminal of claim 15, wherein the at least one quality measure of the transmission is selected from the group including transmission type, transmission condition, and transmission power. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The access terminal of claim 15, wherein the at least one quality measure of the content is selected from the group including content encoding rate, content timing, content cost, and content priority. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The access terminal of claim 15, in which the transmissions are on forward traffic channels of the wireless multiple-access network. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The access terminal of claim 18, further including means for interrupting a unicast transmission on one of the forward traffic channels to receive a broadcast transmission on the forward traffic channel. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The method of claim 19, in which means for interrupting is for periodically interrupting the unicast transmission. ### Claim 21 In a cellular network, a method of operating an access terminal to receive broadcast content, comprising: receiving a plurality of transmissions of contents provided by a plurality of broadcast servers through a plurality of base transceiver stations of the network; determining a transceiver station weight for each of the base transceiver stations by: determining a weight for each content provided by the base transceiver station comprising: determining a weight based upon one or more measured qualities on each of the plurality of transmissions of contents provided by each of the plurality of broadcast servers for each content provided by the base transceiver station; combining a transmission weight comprising a combination of determined weights for transmissions of the content with a value for at least one quality measure of the content to yield a weight for the content; and combining weights of contents' provided by the base transceiver station to yield the base transceiver station weight; and ranking the base transceiver stations by their respective base transceiver station weights. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising: decoding a transmission of content broadcast by the highest-ranking base transceiver station. ### Claim 23 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising: decoding a transmission of content broadcast by a base transceiver station selected from the ranked base transceiver stations. ### Claim 24 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, in which determining a weight for each content comprises: determining the weight based upon one or more measured qualities for each transmission of the content; combining weights of transmissions of the content to yield the transmission weight for the content; determining the value for at least one quality measure of the content; and combining the transmission weight for the content with the value for at least one quality measure to yield the weight for the content. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) The method of claim 24, wherein: each base transceiver station is associated with a soft combine group of at least one serving sector; each serving sector of a soft combine group provides a transmission of a respective content provided by a base transceiver station associated with the soft combine group; and determining the weight for each transmission comprises: for serving sectors of a soft combine group, determining a value for at least one quality measure of the transmission. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one quality measure of the transmission is selected from the group including transmission type, transmission condition, and transmission power. ### Claim 27 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one quality measure of the content is selected from the group including content encoding rate, content timing, content cost, and content priority. ### Claim 28 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25, in which the transmissions are on forward traffic channels received by the access terminal. ### Claim 29 (depends on 28) The method of claim 28, further including interrupting a unicast transmission on one of the forward traffic channels to receive a broadcast transmission on the forward traffic channel. ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The method of claim 29, In which interrupting includes periodically interrupting. ### Claim 31 An access terminal for use in a wireless multiple access network, comprising: an Radio Frequency (RF) section to receive a plurality of transmissions of contents provided by a plurality of base transceiver stations; a rank determination module configured to determine a transceiver station weight for each of the base transceiver stations by: determining a weight for each content provided by the base transceiver station comprising: determining a weight based upon one or more measured qualities on respective one or more forward link broadcast channels for each content provided by the base transceiver station; combining a transmission weight comprising a combination of determined content weights for transmissions of the content with a value for at least one quality measure of the content to yield a weight for the content; and combining weights of contents provided by the base transceiver station to yield the base transceiver station weight; and a data structure configured to arrange the base transceiver stations by their respective base transceiver station weights. ### Claim 32 (depends on 31) The access terminal of claim 31, further including means for decoding a transmission of content broadcast by the highest-ranking base transceiver station. ### Claim 33 (depends on 31) The access terminal of claim 31, further including means for decoding a transmission of content broadcast by a base transceiver station selected from the ranked base transceiver stations. ### Claim 34 (depends on 31) The access terminal of claim 31, in which the rank determination module includes: means for determining the weight based upon one or more measured qualities for each transmission of the content; means for combining weights of transmissions of the content to yield the transmission weight for the content; means for determining the value for at least one quality measure of the content; and means for combining the transmission weight for the content with the value for at least one quality measure the content to yield the weight for each content. ### Claim 35 (depends on 34) The access terminal of claim 34, wherein: each base transceiver station is associated with a soft combine group of at least one serving sector: each serving sector of a soft combine group provides a transmission of a respective content provided by a base transceiver station associated with the soft combine group; and the rank determination module comprises: means determining a value for at least one quality measure of the transmission for each serving sector of a soft combine group. ### Claim 36 (depends on 35) The access terminal of claim 35, wherein the at least one quality measure of the transmission is selected from the group including transmission type, transmission condition, and transmission power. ### Claim 37 (depends on 35) The access terminal of claim 35, wherein the at least one quality measure of the content is selected from the group including content encoding rate, content timing, content cost, and content priority. ### Claim 38 (depends on 35) The access terminal of claim 35, in which the transmissions are on forward traffic channels of the wireless multiple-access network. ### Claim 39 (depends on 38) The access terminal of claim 38, further including means for interrupting a unicast transmission on one of the forward traffic channels to receive a broadcast transmission on the forward traffic channel. ### Claim 40 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, in which means for interrupting is for periodically interrupting the unicast transmission. ### Claim 41 A non-transitory processor-readable memory including processor-executable instructions encoded thereon for causing the processor to execute a method of operating an access terminal in a wireless multiple-access network, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a plurality of transmissions of broadcast contents provided by a plurality of base transceiver stations of the network; determining a base transceiver station weight for each of the base transceiver stations by: determining a weight for each content provided by the base transceiver stations comprising: determining a weight based upon one or more measured qualities on each of the plurality of transmissions of contents provided by each of the plurality of base transceiver stations for each content provided by the base transceiver station; and combining a transmission weight comprising a combination of determined weights of the plurality of transmissions of contents with a value for at least one quality measure of the content to yield a weight for the content; and combining weights of contents provided by the base transceiver station to yield the base transceiver station weight; and ranking the base transceiver stations by their respective base transceiver station weights. ### Claim 42 An access terminal for use in a wireless multiple-access network, comprising: means for receiving a plurality of transmissions of broadcast contents provided by a plurality of base transceiver stations of the network; means for determining a weight for each of the base transceiver stations by: means for determining a weight for each content provided by the base transceiver stations comprising: means for determining a base transceiver station weight based upon one or more measured qualities on each of the plurality of transmissions of contents provided by each of the plurality of base transceiver station for each content provided by the base transceiver station; and means for combining a transmission weight comprising a combination of determined weights of the plurality of transmissions of contents with a value for at least one quality measure of the content to yield a weight for the content; and means for combining weights of contents provided by the base transceiver station to yield the base transceiver station weight; and means for ranking the base transceiver stations by their respective base transceiver station weights.