Mobile communication system and method of matching current location information for a mobile station

• US 20020025814A1
• Filed: 08/17/2001
• Published: 02/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.), NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Murai, Kiyokazu
• Granted Patent: US 6,952,582 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/435.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/12 between location registers or mobility servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

In a mobile communication system which comprises a mobile station (1), a radio network (2) for radio transmission and reception to and from the mobile station, a home location register (HLR) (4) for managing, through a mobile services-switching center (3), current location information representative of a current location of the mobile station in a public telephone network, and a home agent (HA) (7) for managing, through a packet gateway (6), current location information representative of a current location of the mobile station in a packet data communication network, the home location register and the home agent are connected to each other through a communication channel (15) for transmission of update contents for the current location information managed by the home location register and the home agent. The home location register and the home agent are provided with location information update units (13, 14) responsive to the update contents for updating the current location information managed by the home location register and the home agent, respectively.

Claims

1. A mobile communication system which comprises a mobile station (1), a radio network (2) for radio transmission and reception to and from said mobile station, a home location register (4) for managing, through a mobile services-switching center (3), current location information representative of a current location of said mobile station in a public telephone network, and a home agent (7) for managing, through a packet gateway (6), current location information representative of a current location of said mobile station in a packet data communication network, wherein said home location register and said home agent are connected to each other through a communication channel (15) for transmission of update contents for the current location information managed by said home location register and said home agent and are provided with location information update units (13, 14) responsive to said update contents for updating the current location information managed by said home location register and said home agent, respectively.

2. A mobile communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said home location register is provided with a home agent register (10) which carries out, in said home location register, registration of identifying information of said home agent corresponding to said mobile station, said home location register being provided with a subscriber register (11) which remotely carries out subscriber registration of said mobile station into said home agent through said communication channel.

3. A mobile communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said home location register and said home agent is provided with a current location information conversion table (9) for converting an indication format of the current location information managed by said at least one of the home location register and the home agent.

4. A mobile communication system as claimed in claim 2, wherein connection between said home location register and said home agent via said communication channel is network connection utilizing a TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) network, the identifying information of said home agent comprising a network address of said home agent on said TCP/IP network.

5. A mobile communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said packet data communication network is an internet.

6. A current location information matching method for a mobile communication system which comprises a mobile station (1), a radio network (2) for radio transmission and reception to and from said mobile station, a home location register (4) for managing, through a mobile services-switching center (3), current location information representative of a current location of said mobile station in a public telephone network, and a home agent (7) for managing, through a packet gateway (6), current location information representative of a current location of said mobile station in a packet data communication network, said current location information matching method being for matching the current location information of said mobile station in said public telephone network and the current location information of said mobile station in said packet data communication network, wherein said method comprising the steps of:

connecting said home location register and said home agent to each other through a communication channel (15);

carrying out, in said home location register, updating of the current location information of said mobile station in said public telephone network in response to a current location report transmitted from said mobile station to said radio network during mobile communication on said public telephone network to inform an update content through said communication channel to said home agent; and

carrying out, in said home agent, updating of the current location information of said mobile station in said packet data communication network in response to a current location report transmitted from said mobile station to said radio network during packet data communication to inform an update content through said communication channel to said home location register.