# US 9,521,590 B2 · Multi-bearer connection control > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,521,590 B2 - Document ID: US9521590B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/178,549 - Filed: 2014-02-12 - Published: 2015-08-06 - Granted: 2016-12-13 - Earliest claimed: 2014-02-06 - Assignees: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ) - Applicants: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ) - Inventors: Ralf Keller; Ann-Christine Sander - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9521590B2 ## CPC - H04W 36/00226: {wherein the core network technologies comprise IP multimedia system [IMS], e.g. single radio voice call continuity [SRVCC]} - H04W 36/00692: {using simultaneous multiple data streams, e.g. cooperative multipoint [CoMP], carrier aggregation [CA] or multiple input multiple output [MIMO] (allocation of physical resources in CoMP or in CA H04L5/0035)} - H04W 36/0027: {for a plurality of data sessions of end-to-end connections, e.g. multi-call or multi-bearer end-to-end data connections} - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract The present invention relates to a method of operating a radio access node (10) adapted to handle multiple bearers, a related radio access node (10), a method of operating a network control node (36) adapted to control the radio access node (10) handling multiple bearers, a communication system adapted to control multiple bearers, a computer program and a computer program product. Multiple bearers comprise a first packet switched bearer related to a voice service and at least one second packet switched bearer. Upon change of an operative condition for a first packet switched bearer a transfer of a voice service is initiated (S10) from the first packet switched bearer to a circuit switched bearer. This is followed by a decision (S12) on initiation of a handover for the second packet switched bearer, parallel to the transfer of the voice service, from a first packet switched access to a second packet switched access based on bearer control information indicating possibility of a parallel handover. The bearer control information is either pre-configured at the radio access node (10) or received from the network control node (36). ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of operating a radio access node that handles multiple bearers as an association between a user terminal and a packet switched network domain of a core network, wherein the multiple bearers comprise a first packet switched bearer related to a voice service and at least one second packet switched bearer, the method comprising: configuring bearer control information by registering, at the radio access node, at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service for the first packet switched bearer or the second packet switched bearer; initiating a transfer of the voice service from the first packet switched bearer to a circuit switched bearer upon change of an operative condition for the first packet switched bearer; and selectively initiating a handover of the at least one second packet switched bearer, concurrent in time with the transfer of the voice service, from a first packet switched access to a second packet switched access based on the bearer control information indicating possibility of a parallel handover, wherein the selectively initiating the handover comprises: comparing an allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service; and declining the parallel handover upon coincidence of the allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the change of the operative condition for the first packet switched bearer is a change of service coverage for the first packet switched bearer, a trigger from the core network, or a change of a traffic load on the first packet switched bearer above a predetermined threshold. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the selectively initiating a handover for the at least one second packet switched bearer comprises declining the initiation of the handover or affirming the initiation of the handover. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising configuring the bearer control information at the radio access node prior to the handling of the multiple bearers. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving, from a control node for the radio access node, the bearer control information as indication of the possibility of the parallel handover. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, wherein the indication is received when the user terminal changes from an idle mode to a connected mode. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, wherein the indication is received when the user terminal is in a connected mode. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, wherein the indication is received in response to a service request from the user terminal. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5 wherein the indication is received with respect to an established packet switched bearer. ### Claim 10 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, further comprising storing the bearer control information for subsequent handling of multiple bearers through the radio access node. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising forwarding the indication to a target radio access node for further handling of the voice service. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method according to claim 11, wherein the forwarding is executed by directly forwarding the indication to the target radio access node. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The method according to claim 11, wherein the forwarding is executed by sending the indication to the target radio access node via a control node for the radio access node. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the parallel handover is not initiated when the voice service is a priority voice service or an emergency voice service. ### Claim 15 A radio access node that handles multiple bearers as an association between a user terminal and a packet switched network domain of a core network, wherein the multiple bearers comprise a first packet switched bearer related to a voice service and at least a second packet switched bearer, the radio access node comprising: at least one interface to establish a transmission link, at least one processor, and a memory comprising instructions executed by the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: configuring bearer control information by registering, at the radio access node, at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service for the first packet switched bearer or the second packet switched bearer; initiating a transfer of the voice service from the first packet switched bearer to a circuit switched bearer upon change of an operative condition for the first packet switched bearer; and selectively initiating a handover of the at least one second packet switched bearer, concurrent in time with the transfer of the voice service, from a first packet switched access to a second packet switched access based on the bearer control information indicating possibility of a parallel handover, wherein the selectively initiating the handover comprises: comparing an allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service; and declining the parallel handover upon coincidence of the allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The radio access node according to claim 15, wherein the change of the operative condition for the first packet switched bearer is a change of service coverage for the first packet switched bearer, a trigger from the core network, or a change of a traffic load on the first packet switched bearer above a predetermined threshold. ### Claim 17 A method of operating a network control node that controls a radio access node handling multiple bearers as an association between a user terminal and a packet switched network domain of a core network, wherein the multiple bearers comprise a first packet switched bearer related to a voice service and at least one second packet switched bearer, the method comprising: generating bearer control information indicating a possibility for a handover of at least one second packet switched bearer from a first packet switched access to a second packet switched access, the possibility being expressed under condition that a transfer of the voice service is initiated from the first packet switched bearer to a circuit switched bearer upon change of an operative condition for the first packet switched bearer; and transmitting the bearer control information to the radio access node for selectively initiating the handover in response to comparing an allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service, and declining the handover upon coincidence of the allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service, wherein the bearer control information comprises the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service for the first packet switched bearer or the second packet switched bearer. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method according to claim 17, wherein the change of the operative condition for the first packet switched bearer is a change of service coverage for the first packet switched bearer occurs, a trigger from the core network, or a change of a traffic load on the first packet switched bearer above a predetermined threshold. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The method according to claim 17, wherein the bearer control information is transmitted when the user terminal changes from an idle mode to a connected mode. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The method according to claim 17, wherein the bearer control information is transmitted when the user terminal is in a connected mode. ### Claim 21 (depends on 17) The method according to claim 17, wherein the bearer control information is transmitted in response to a service request from the user terminal. ### Claim 22 (depends on 17) The method according to claim 17, wherein the bearer control information is transmitted with respect to an established packet switched bearer. ### Claim 23 A network control node that controls a network node handling multiple bearers as an association between a user terminal and a packet switched network domain of a core network, wherein the multiple bearers comprise a first packet switched bearer related to a voice service and at least a second packet switched bearer, the network control node comprising: at least one interface to establish a transmission link, at least one processor, and a memory comprising instructions executed by the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: generate bearer control information indicating a possibility for a handover of at least one second packet switched bearer from a first packet switched access to a second packet switched access, the possibility being expressed under condition that a transfer of the voice service is initiated from the first packet switched bearer to a circuit switched bearer upon change of an operative condition for the first packet switched bearer; and to transmit the generated bearer control information to the network node for selectively initiating the handover in response to comparing an allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service, and declining the handover upon coincidence of the allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service, wherein the bearer control information comprises the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service for the first packet switched bearer or the second packet switched bearer. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The network control node according to claim 23, wherein the change of the operative condition for the first packet switched bearer is a change of service coverage for the first packet switched bearer occurs, a trigger from the core network, or a change of a traffic load on the first packet switched bearer above a predetermined threshold. ### Claim 25 A communication system that controls multiple bearers as an association between a user terminal and a packet switched network domain of a core network, wherein the multiple bearers comprise a first packet switched bearer related to a voice service and at least one second packet switched bearer, the communication system comprising: a radio access node that handles multiple bearers as an association between a user terminal and a packet switched network domain of a core network, wherein the multiple bearers comprise a first packet switched bearer related to a voice service and at least a second packet switched bearer, the radio access node comprising: at least one interface to establish a transmission link, at least one processor, and a memory comprising instructions executed by the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: configuring bearer control information by registering, at the radio access node, at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service for the first packet switched bearer or the second packet switched bearer; initiating a transfer of the voice service from the first packet switched bearer to a circuit switched bearer upon change of an operative condition for the first packet switched bearer; and selectively initiating a handover of the at least one second packet switched bearer, concurrent in time with the transfer of the voice service, from a first packet switched access to a second packet switched access based on bearer control information indicating possibility of a parallel handover, wherein the selectively initiating the handover comprises: comparing an allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service; and declining the parallel handover upon coincidence of the allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service; and a network control node that controls a network node handling multiple bearers as an association between a user terminal and a packet switched network domain of a core network, wherein the multiple bearers comprise a first packet switched bearer related to a voice service and at least a second packet switched bearer, the network control node comprising: at least one interface to establish a transmission link, at least one processor, and a memory comprising instructions executed by the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: generate bearer control information indicating a possibility for a handover of at least one second packet switched bearer from a first packet switched access to a second packet switched access, the possibility being expressed under condition that a transfer of the voice service is initiated from the first packet switched bearer to a circuit switched bearer upon change of an operative condition for the first packet switched bearer; and to transmit the generated bearer control information to the network node. ### Claim 26 A computer program product comprising: a non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code embodied in the medium that when executed by at least one processor of a radio access node, causes the at least one processor of the radio access node perform operations comprising: configuring bearer control information by registering, at the radio access node, at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service for the first packet switched bearer or the second packet switched bearer; initiating a transfer of the voice service from the first packet switched bearer to a circuit switched bearer upon change of an operative condition for the first packet switched bearer; and selectively initiating a handover of the at least one second packet switched bearer, concurrent in time with the transfer of the voice service, from a first packet switched access to a second packet switched access based on bearer control information indicating possibility of a parallel handover, wherein the selectively initiating the handover comprises: comparing an allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service; and declining the parallel handover upon coincidence of the allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service. ### Claim 27 A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising program code to be executed by at least one processor of a network node, thereby causing the at least one processor of the network node perform operations comprising: generating bearer control information indicating a possibility for a handover of at least one second packet switched bearer from a first packet switched access to a second packet switched access, the possibility being expressed under condition that a transfer of the voice service is initiated from the first packet switched bearer to a circuit switched bearer upon change of an operative condition for the first packet switched bearer; and transmitting the bearer control information to the radio access node for selectively initiating the handover in response to comparing an allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service, and declining the handover upon coincidence of the allocation priority of the first packet switched bearer with the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service, wherein the bearer control information comprises the at least one allocation priority reserved for at least one specific type of voice service for the first packet switched bearer or the second packet switched bearer.