Cellular communication system utilizing upgraded moving relays and methods useful in conjunction therewith

• US 10,455,477 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2016
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ELTA Systems Limited (Government of Israel)
• Original Assignee: ELTA Systems Limited (Government of Israel)
• Inventors: Shoshan, Yaakov, Schwartz, Adi, Koifman, Gil
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Dinh
• Application Number:
  US15/156,045
• Publication Number:
  US 20160345161A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,254 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15542 Selecting at relay station its transmit and receive resources selection of wireless resources by user or terminal H04W72/02; arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path by two-dimensional division of the resources H04L5/0003, or by allocating sub-channels H04L5/003
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/1555 Selecting relay station antenna mode, e.g. selecting omnidirectional -, directional beams, selecting polarizations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2606 Arrangements for base station coverage control, e.g. by using relays in tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 11/005 of intercell interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 11/0056 Inter-base station aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0018 based on latency requirement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2212/00 Encapsulation of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2517 using port numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0215 based on user or device properties, e.g. MTC-capable devices services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] H04W4/70; wireless resource selection or allocation plan definition based on terminal or device properties H04W72/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0268 using specific QoS parameters for wireless networks, e.g. QoS class identifier [QCI] or guaranteed bit rate [GBR] negotiating SLA or negotiating QoS H04W28/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/04 Reselecting a cell layer in multi-layered cells
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/22 using selective relaying for reaching a BTS [Base Transceiver Station] or an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/00 Local resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 : in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 : in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 : Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 : Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 : Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 : Setup of transport tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/085 : involving hierarchical organized mobility servers, e.g. hierarchical mobile IP [HMIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 : Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 : Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 : Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 : using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 : using dedicated repeater stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 : adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 : Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 : Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A moving cellular communication system comprising at least one upgraded moving relay including at least two base station functionalities and at least one mobile station functionality and a relay resource manager, all co-located, wherein each base station functionality from among the at least two base station functionalities of the upgraded moving relay is operative to communicate via antennae with at least one mobile station thereby to define a first radio link therebetween, and wherein each base station functionality has a connection to its co-located relay resource manager, wherein each mobile station functionality of the upgraded moving relay communicates via antennae with a unit which has base station functionality thereby to define at least one second radio link, respectively, wherein the relay resource manager in each individual moving relay comprises a radio resource manager; and functionality for exchanging information with relay resource managers is included in moving relays other than the individual moving relay.

Claims

1. A moving cellular communication system comprising:

at least one upgraded moving relay including at least one base station functionality and at least two mobile station functionalities, each of which includes a modem, and a relay resource manager, all co-located,

wherein the relay resource manager includes a routing and quality-of-service subsystem operative to communicate with at least one base station functionality and at least one of said mobile station functionalities and wherein the relay resource manager also includes a tunneling subsystem operative to provide tunnels for multi-hop encapsulation,

wherein each base station functionality of said upgraded moving relay is operative to communicate via antennae with at least one mobile station thereby to define at least one first radio link therebetween,

and wherein each base station functionality has a connection to its co-located relay resource manager,

wherein each mobile station functionality from among said at least two mobile station functionalities of said upgraded moving relay communicates via antennae with a unit which has base station functionality thereby to define at least two second radio links, respectively,

wherein the relay resource manager in at least one individual moving relay comprises;

a radio resource manager; and

functionality for exchanging information with relay resource managers included in moving relays other than said individual moving relay,

wherein the relay resource manager and at least some mobile stations are not all aboard a single moving object

wherein a Virtual S-GW (serving gateway) and Virtual mobility management entity (MME) are provided having corresponding standard S-GW and MME interfaces with the base station functionality and wherein when a remote core is used by the relay, the Virtual S-GW and Virtual MME emulate core functions as proxies thereby to allow the base station functionality to operate smoothly and seamlessly despite remoteness of the core.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said mobile station functionalities within an upgraded moving relay serves as a backup to other mobile station functionality of the same upgraded moving relay, and said relay resource manager is operative to switch communication from said other mobile station functionality to said backup mobile station functionality in response to meeting a mobile station handover criterion.

11. The moving cellular communication system according to claim 1 wherein said relay resource manager also includes a stand-alone subsystem.

14. The system according to claim 1 wherein said at least two mobile station functionalities operate substantially simultaneously.

15. The system according to claim 11 wherein said at least two mobile station functionalities operate substantially simultaneously.

19. The system according to claim 1 wherein the radio resource manager is operative to communicate with at least one relay resource manager included in moving relays other than said individual moving relay.

21. The system according to claim 11 wherein said base station functionality comprises software implemented functionality enabling relays to converse and/or exchange digital information between them or with a terrestrial network, via communication paths defined between respective pairs of base and mobile stations.

22. The system according to claim 1 wherein the Routing &

QoS (quality of service) subsystem communicates with the base station functionality using an M&

C (Management and Control) interface to command a change in base station functionality parameters including PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network).

23. The system according to claim 1 wherein the Routing &

QoS (quality of service) subsystem communicates with the base station functionality using an M&

C (Management and Control) interface to command the base station functionality to initiate a handover of at least one mobile station attached to said relay.

24. A system according to claim 1 wherein at least one moving relay gives different priorities to different mobile stations served thereby by using different bearers with different prioritizations that are allocated to a single mobile station functionality.

25. A system according to claim 1 wherein said functionalities are provided in accordance with a cellular communication standard and wherein said information includes information provided by said mobile station functionality in accordance with said standard.

26. A system according to claim 1 wherein said mobile station functionality comprises software implemented functionality to enable the relay to function as a mobile communication device.

27. A system according to claim 26 wherein said mobile station functionality comprises an application processor.

3. A method for providing moving cellular communication, the method comprising:

providing at least one upgraded moving relay including

at least one base station functionality,

a relay resource manager, and

at least two mobile station functionalities each of which includes a modem,

all co-located,

wherein each base station functionality of said upgraded moving relay is operative to communicate via antennae with at least one mobile station thereby to define at least one first radio link therebetween,

and wherein each base station functionality has a connection to its co-located relay resource manager,

wherein each mobile station functionality from among said at least two mobile station functionalities of said upgraded moving relay communicates via antennae with a unit which has base station functionality thereby to define at least two second radio links, respectively,

wherein providing the relay resource manager in each individual moving relay comprises;

providing a radio resource manager which includes a tunneling subsystem operative to provide tunnels for multi-hop encapsulation; and

providing functionality for exchanging information with relay resource managers included in moving relays other than said individual moving relay,

wherein the relay resource manager and at least some mobile stations are not all aboard a single moving object

wherein a Virtual S-GW (serving gateway) and Virtual mobility management entity (MME) are provided having corresponding standard S-GW and MME interfaces with the base station functionality and wherein when a remote core is used by the relay, the Virtual S-GW and Virtual MME emulate core functions as proxies thereby to allow the base station functionality to operate smoothly and seamlessly despite remoteness of the core.

4. The method according to claim 3 and also comprising supporting cellular communication over a many-to-one topology.

5. The method according to claim 3 and also comprising using said two mobile station functionalities to support cellular communication over a many-to-many topology.

6. The method according to claim 3 and also comprising using said two mobile station functionalities to perform at least one backhauling operation at a data rate which exceeds a data rate of a backhauling operation performed using only one of the two mobile station functionalities.

7. The method according to claim 3 and also comprising using said two mobile station functionalities to provide a larger number of bearers than would be available if cellular communication were supported by only one of the two mobile station functionalities.

8. The method according to claim 3 and also comprising using said two mobile station functionalities to provide hot redundancy.

9. The method according to claim 8 wherein said hot redundancy comprises sending backhauling data using said at least two mobile station functionalities a plurality of times rather than only once.

10. The method according to claim 3 and also comprising using said two mobile station functionalities to provide a plurality of alternate routes between mobile stations served by said at least one base station functionality, and a core of a cellular network to which the moving relay belongs.

12. The moving cellular communication method according to claim 3 wherein said relay resource manager also includes a stand-alone subsystem.

16. The method according to claim 12 wherein said at least two mobile station functionalities operate substantially simultaneously.

20. The method according to claim 3 and wherein each mobile station functionality also includes an antenna and a radio frequency front-end.

13. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium, which is not a transitory signal, having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for providing moving cellular communication, the method comprising:

providing at least one upgraded moving relay including

at least one base station functionality,

a relay resource manager which includes a tunneling subsystem operative to provide tunnels for multi-hop encapsulation, and

at least two mobile station functionalities each of which includes a modem,

all co-located,

wherein each base station functionality of said upgraded moving relay is operative to communicate via antennae with at least one mobile station thereby to define at least one first radio link therebetween,

and wherein each base station functionality has a connection to its co-located relay resource manager,

wherein each mobile station functionality from among said at least two mobile station functionalities of said upgraded moving relay communicates via antennae with a unit which has base station functionality thereby to define at least two second radio links, respectively,

wherein providing the relay resource manager in each individual moving relay comprises;

providing a radio resource manager; and

providing functionality for exchanging information with relay resource managers included in moving relays other than said individual moving relay,

wherein the relay resource manager and at least some mobile stations are not all aboard a single moving object

wherein a Virtual S-GW (serving gateway) and Virtual mobility management entity (MME) are provided having corresponding standard S-GW and MME interfaces with the base station functionality and wherein when a remote core is used by the relay, the Virtual S-GW and Virtual MME emulate core functions as proxies thereby to allow the base station functionality to operate smoothly and seamlessly despite remoteness of the core.

17. The product according to claim 13 wherein said at least two mobile station functionalities operate substantially simultaneously.

18. The product according to claim 13 wherein said relay resource manager also includes a stand-alone subsystem.