Method and apparatus for facilitating handovers for a group of mobile radios
First Claim
1. A radio unit for use on board a vehicle transporting a group of mobile radios containing at least one mobile radio, comprising:
- a controller configured to identify active radio connections between corresponding mobile radios in the group and a first radio base station that will need to be handed over to a second radio base station, and radio transmitting circuitry configured to send a message to the second radio base station with the identified connections to prepare the second radio base station for handover of the identified connections.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Advance handover notice is given to a “target” base station of a group of mobile radio connections that will be soon be handed over the to the target base station from a current, “serving” base station. This advance notice permits the target base station to reserve resources and prepare for the handovers of the mobile radio connections. In addition, the handover operation is initiated earlier than it would be otherwise. Early handover initiation is possible because the route of the moving vehicle is known or is predictable, and therefore, the serving and target base stations are known or may be predicted in advance. In this way, the likelihood of successful handovers with no dropped calls is increased for mobile stations moving at high speed and/or together as a group.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A radio unit for use on board a vehicle transporting a group of mobile radios containing at least one mobile radio, comprising:
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a controller configured to identify active radio connections between corresponding mobile radios in the group and a first radio base station that will need to be handed over to a second radio base station, and radio transmitting circuitry configured to send a message to the second radio base station with the identified connections to prepare the second radio base station for handover of the identified connections. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A mobile radio system for providing handover of a group of mobile radios, comprising:
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an on-board radio unit for use on a vehicle transporting the group of mobile radios;
a first radio base station for supporting active connections to corresponding selected ones of the mobile radios in the group;
a second radio base station in the path of the vehicle; and
a base station controller coupled to the first and second radio base stations for coordinating handover of the active connections from the first radio base station to the second radio base station, wherein the on-board radio unit is configured to notify the second radio base station in advance of initiation of the handover. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for handing over mobile stations from a first radio base station to a second radio base station, comprising:
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monitoring active radio links between the mobile stations and the first radio base station;
selecting a group of the active radio links to be forced to make a handover from the first base station to the second base station;
transmitting a handover notification signal to the second base station; and
thereafter, initiating a handover of the selected group from the first base station to the second base station. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification