US 9,883,436 B2Granted

Method and apparatus for performing mobile handover based on an indication flag

AssigneeBritish Telecommunications public limited company

InventorsRuth Brown, Ian Mings, Maria Cuevas Ramirez

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Abstract

A handover process for enabling a user terminal to transfer a connect to a network from a route by way of a source access node to a route by way of a target access node, where the nodes are controlled by different respective control systems is initiated by establishing a link between the terminal and the target node and a data forwarding tunnel between the access nodes to allow data transmitted over a link from the network to the source node to continue to be transmitted to the terminal. The backhaul connection is then re-routed by co-ordination between the access control systems. The source node transmits a flag to the target node which identifies its respective access control system. This flag is forwarded by the target node to its respective access control system to allow it to set up a data link over which relocation instructions can be coordinated to set up a data link between the network and the target node, and to close the data link between the network and the source node.

Claims4

Dependent claims

A mobile communications access node for providing a communications connection between a user terminal and a network, the access node comprising:

a handover processor for processing handover requests, wherein the handover processor is configured to detect a signal, received from another access node associated with a first handover control system, to hand over a connection with a user terminal, and to forward the request to a second handover control system associated with the mobile communications access node;
a monitor to identify a presence of a flag in the request, the flag identifying the access node transmitting the request and a first handover control system with that access node, and indicative that the first handover control system is capable of co-operation with handover control systems of a class to which the second handover system belongs to effect a handover,
wherein the handover processor is responsive to handover requests in which the flag is not present to cause data destined for the user terminal to be redirected to a gateway for forwarding to a redirection address subsequent to completion of a handover,
wherein the handover processor is responsive to a request in which the flag is present to forward data to the access node identified by the flag;
a data receiver to receive data destined for the user terminal from the other access node;
a data transmitter to transmit data, received from the other access node, to the user terminal;
and wherein the handover processor is configured to generate a path switch request flagged to indicate to a further handover control system that the handover processor is capable of co-operation with another access point to effect a handover.

4 more elements

A handover method for causing a communications access connection between a user terminal and a core network to be diverted from a first routing by way of a source access node controlled by a first handover control system to a second routing by way of a target access node controlled by a second handover control system, the method comprising:

transmitting, by the source access node, a first path switch request to the target access node, wherein at least one of the source access node and the target access node is capable of generating and detecting flags indicative of the identity of the first control system from which the source access node is controlled;
initiating, by the source access node, forwarding of data addressed to the user terminal to the target access node for onward transmission to the user terminal;
forwarding the data to the second access control system to initiate a co-operative process between the source access control system and the target access control system to establish the second routing between the user terminal and the network upon the flag data being generated by the source node and detected by the target access node;
and
rejecting the first path switch request and transmitting a second path switch request from the source node to an access control system of the source node to initiate a path switch process mediated through the core network upon the target access node not detecting a flag in the handover request.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/127,555Filed 4 Mar 2015
Priority: EP 1425004921 Mar 2014
Published: US 2017/0142624 A118 May 2017
Granted: 30 Jan 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

H04W 36/0064
Transmission or use of information for re-establishing the radio link: of control information between different access points
H04W 36/125
Reselecting a serving backbone network switching or routing node: involving different types of service backbones
H04W 92/20
Interfaces between hierarchically similar devices: between access points
H04W
Wireless communication networks

Family

US 2017/0142624 A1Pre-grant publication · published 18 May 2017
US 9,883,436 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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