Method for operating a mobile radio network

• US 20030137931A1
• Filed: 10/29/2002
• Published: 07/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IPCom GmbH & Co KG
• Original Assignee: Karols Development Co LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Beckmann, Mark, Hans, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 7,466,708 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/216
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/02 Data link layer protocols

Abstract

A method of operating a mobile radio network (1) for adjusting the counter states of the packet data units to be transmitted in the convergence protocol layer protocol units (130, 135) of network entities (10, 50) of the mobile radio network (1). User data is transmitted from a first network entity (10) of the mobile radio network (1), in particular a mobile station (10), to a second network entity (50) of the mobile radio network (1), in particular a higher-level network unit (50), the user data being combined prior to transmission into at least one packet data unit in a first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130) of the first network entity (10); and the at least one packet data unit being transmitted from a first radio link control layer protocol unit (120) of the first network entity (10) to a second radio link control layer protocol unit (125) of the second network entity (50). If the transmission of the at least one packet data unit fails, the first radio link control layer protocol unit (120) transmits an error message to the first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130) after receiving a confirmation message confirming the failure from the second radio link control layer protocol unit (125).

Claims

1. A method of operating a mobile radio network (1) in which user data is transmitted from a first network entity (10) of the mobile radio network (1), in particular a mobile station, to a second network entity (50) of the mobile radio network (1), in particular a higher-level network unit, the user data being combined prior to transmission into at least one packet data unit in a first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130) of the first network entity (10);

and the at least one packet data unit being transmitted from a first radio link control layer protocol unit (120) of the first network entity (10) to a second radio link control layer protocol unit (125) of the second network entity (50), wherein, if the transmission of the at least one packet data unit fails, the first radio link control layer protocol unit (120) transmits an error message to the first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130) after receiving a confirmation message confirming the failure from the second radio link control layer protocol unit (125).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation message is received in the first radio link control layer protocol unit (120) as a response to a deletion message sent by the first radio link control layer protocol unit (120) to the second radio link control layer protocol unit (125), the first radio link control layer protocol unit (120) letting the second radio link control layer protocol unit (125) know, on the basis of the deletion message, which of the at least one packet data unit it will delete upon confirmation of the failed transmission by the confirmation message.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein multiple packet data units to be transmitted by the first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130) to the second network entity (50) are numbered sequentially in the order of their transmission and stored in a memory of the first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130), a counter in the first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130) being set according to the numbering of the packet data unit about to be sent.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the failed transmission of multiple packet data units and their numbers are communicated by the confirmation message of the first radio link control layer protocol unit (120);

and the first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130) receives these numbers from the first radio link control layer protocol unit (120), so that the packet data units assigned to these numbers are deleted from the memory of the first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130), the counter is decremented by the number of unsuccessfully transmitted packet data units, and a new packet data unit to be transmitted is numbered as a function of the counter status thus decremented.

5. The method according to claim 3, inasmuch as the latter refers to claim 2, wherein the failed transmission of a single packet data unit is communicated by the confirmation message of the first radio link control layer protocol unit (120);

and the first radio link control layer protocol unit (120) transmits the number of the packet data unit intended for deletion by the first radio link control layer protocol unit (120) to the first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130) on the basis of this notification, so that the packet data unit assigned to this number is deleted from the memory of the first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130), the counter is decremented by one, and a new packet data unit to be transmitted is numbered as a function of the counter status thus decremented.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein at least one packet data unit stored in the memory of the first convergence protocol layer protocol unit (130) and transmitted prior to receiving the notification of the failed transmission is assigned a new number as a function of the decremented counter status upon receipt of this notification.