System and method for a vehicular network service over a 5G network

• US 10,172,009 B1
• Filed: 04/05/2018
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Netsia, Inc. (Levent Yapilandirma Yönetimi Telekomünikasyon AS)
• Original Assignee: Netsia, Inc. (Levent Yapilandirma Yönetimi Telekomünikasyon AS)
• Inventors: Altay, Can, Atli, Ali Volkan, Civanlar, Seyhan, Ercan, Ali Ozer
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US15/945,941
• Time in Patent Office: 271 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/04 Traffic adaptive resource partitioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/085 Access point devices with remote components
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points

Abstract

In Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communications, the broadcast data towards the vehicles must use the network resources efficiently while the unicast data must arrive reliably with ultra-low-latency. Furthermore, the connections must remain network-attached while vehicles move rapidly. A system/method are described through which a vehicle with a special communications module and internal computer can connect to one or more 5G vehicular network slices (VNS) with multiple Radio Access Technologies (multi-RAT) in order to efficiently communicate with local or remote transportation information databases and applications, road safety and emergency infrastructures. The infrastructure of this disclosure uses the network-slicing feature of a 5G mobile network to carve out a vehicular data and control planes specialized to offer the vehicular service only. The vehicular network slice further comprises (i) Road Side Access Unit (RSAU), (ii) Vehicle Id registrar (VIR), (iii) Vehicular Slice Manager (VSM), and (iv) distributed Virtual Transportation Network Functions (VTNF).

Claims

1. A method implemented in a mobile network communications infrastructure enabling communications for a vehicle furnished with radio network access capabilities and able to connect to multiple operators,

the mobile network communications infrastructure comprised of at least a first and second operators, the first operator having a first default slice associated with its core network and the second operator having a second default slice associated with its core network,

the first and second operators also having a third and fourth slice, respectively, wherein each of the third and fourth slice:

(i) has identical properties between the first and second operators and (ii) comprising partitioned network capabilities that are specific to offering a vehicular service, and (iii) comprising either physically separate network functions from the first and second default slices, or network functions whose resources are shared with same or different functions of said first and second default slices;

the method comprising;

(a) the vehicle sending a registration request message and attaching, based on the registration request message, to a first access and mobility function (AMF) associated with the first default slice of the first operator, wherein the registration request message comprises an indicator denoting a desire to attach to the fourth slice;

(b) the first AMF verifying identity of the vehicle from the registration request message;

(c) upon successful verification in (b), the first AMF redirecting the registration request message to a second AMF of second default slice associated with the second operator;

(d) the second AMF querying the identity of the vehicle in a vehicle ID registrar database and authorizing the vehicle; and

(e) the second AMF then querying a policy control function to obtain vehicle policy indications and instructing the vehicle to use network functions of the fourth slice in accordance with the vehicle policy indications.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network functions comprise specialized virtual network transportation functions containing traffic related data and logic, wherein the specialized virtual network transportation functions being distributed within the core network, but used only by vehicles.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle first connects to a distributed radio access network (RAN) with multi-radio access technology distributed to edges of highways, said RAN further including 5G, 4G, 3G and WiFi radio access capabilities.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein each distributed RAN with multi-radio access technology further including co-located and dedicated slice network functions.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein multiple distributed RANs with multi-Radio Access Technology are served by a separate system comprised of dedicated slice network functions.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein multiple distributed RANs with multi-Radio Access Technology further connect to the core network wherein the slice network functions are an overlay.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle ID registrar is a database that comprises data pertaining to each vehicle, the data comprising a vehicle'"'"'s permanent ID picked from the following:

IMEI, PEI, and MAC address, wherein such a permanent ID is assigned to each vehicle at the time of manufacturing and stored in the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle ID registrar is a database implemented as any of the following:

a 5G-EIR, a 5G-UDR, or a separate network function.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle ID registrar is a database that further comprises non-permanent data picked from any of the following:

an IP address, a plate number, and owner'"'"'s information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of the method are implemented in computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out methods described above, as performed by all said network functions.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein method is implemented in computer program code stored in computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored within comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method.

12. An article of manufacture comprising non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer readable program code which, when executed by a processor implements a method implemented in a mobile network communications infrastructure enabling communications for a vehicle furnished with radio network access capabilities and able to connect to multiple operators,

the mobile network communications infrastructure comprised of at least a first and second operators, the first operator having a first default slice associated with its core network and the second operator having a second default slice associated with its core network,

the first and second operators also having a third and fourth slice, respectively, wherein each of the third and fourth slice:

(i) has identical properties between the first and second operators and (ii) comprising partitioned network capabilities that are specific to offering a vehicular service, and (iii) comprising either physically separate network functions from the first and second default slices, or network functions whose resources are shared with same or different functions of said first and second default slices;

the computer storage medium comprising;

(a) computer readable program code in the vehicle sending a registration request message and attaching, based on the registration request message, to a first access and mobility function (AMF) associated with the first default slice of the first operator, wherein the registration request message comprises an indicator denoting a desire to attach to the fourth slice;

(b) computer readable program code in the first AMF verifying identity of the vehicle from the registration request message;

(c) upon successful verification in (b), computer readable program code in the first AMF redirecting the registration request message to a second AMF associated with the second slice of the second operator;

(d) computer readable program code in the second AMF querying the identity of the vehicle in a vehicle ID registrar database and authorizing the vehicle; and

(e) computer readable program code in the second AMF then querying a policy control function to obtain vehicle policy indications and instructing the vehicle to use network functions of the fourth slice in accordance with the vehicle policy indications.

13. The article of manufacture of claim 12, wherein the network functions comprises specialized virtual network transportation functions containing traffic related data and logic, wherein the specialized virtual network transportation functions being distributed within the core network, but used only by vehicles.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 12, wherein the vehicle first connects to a distributed radio access network (RAN) with multi-radio access technology distributed to edges of highways, said RAN further including 5G, 4G, 3G and WiFi radio access capabilities.

15. The article of manufacture of claim 14, wherein each distributed RAN with multi-radio access technology further including co-located and dedicated slice network functions.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 14, wherein multiple distributed RANs with multi-Radio Access Technology are served by a separate system comprised of dedicated slice network functions.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 14, wherein multiple distributed RANs with multi-Radio Access Technology further connect to the core network wherein the slice network functions are an overlay.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 14, wherein the vehicle ID registrar is a database that comprises data pertaining to each vehicle, the data comprising a vehicle'"'"'s permanent ID picked from the following:

IMEI, PEI, and MAC address, wherein such a permanent ID is assigned to each vehicle at the time of manufacturing and stored in the vehicle.

19. A method implemented in a mobile network communications infrastructure enabling communications for a vehicle furnished with radio access capabilities and able to connect to multiple operators,

the mobile network communications infrastructure of each operator among the multiple operators being comprised of a first default slice associated with its core network and a set of slices, wherein:

(i) each slice in the set of slices using a different set of virtual data plane network functions and thereby each with different partitioned network capabilities that are specific to offering an aspect of a vehicular service, (ii) the set of slices being either comprised of a physically separate network functions from the first slice, or network functions whose resources are shared with same or different functions of the first slice,

the method comprising;

(a) the vehicle sending a registration request message and attaching, based on the registration request message, to a first access and mobility function (AMF) associated with the first default slice, wherein the registration request message comprises an indicator denoting a desire to use services of one or more slices within the set of slices;

(b) the first AMF communicating with a network slice selection function (NSSF), and identifying a second AMF associated with a second slice within the set of slices that is closest to the vehicle to trigger a redirection action of the registration request message for each specific service type in the indicator;

(c) the first AMF redirecting the registration request message to the second AMF;

(d) the second AMF querying the identity of the vehicle in a vehicle ID registrar database and authorizing the vehicle in the second slice identified in (b); and

(e) the second AMF then querying a policy control function to obtain vehicle policy indications and instructing the vehicle to use network functions of the second slice identified in (b) in accordance with the vehicle policy indications.