Telecommunication system with centralized management

• US 20050147062A1
• Filed: 11/25/2002
• Published: 07/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3G Licensing S.A. (Fineur International S.A.)
• Original Assignee: France Telecom SA (Orange S.A.)
• Inventors: Charles, Oliver, Bertin, Philippe, Guillouard, Karine, Khouaja, Youssef
• Granted Patent: US 7,171,215 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/332
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/30 by measured or perceived connection quality data

Abstract

This invention concerns a telecommunication system SYST including: a mobile transmitter/receiver ERM,

• • a number of access points PA1i and PA2j, each capable of communicating with the mobile transmitter/receiver ERM situated in a coverage area ZA1i or ZA2j of the access point considered, and a communication network NW1 authorizing communications between said access points. The system according to the invention includes at least one mobility manager GM capable of determining, based on operating conditions of the access points, with which access point the mobile transmitter/receiver ERM should establish a communication. In the system according to the invention, a change in access point may not be carried out at the sole initiative of a mobile transmitter/receiver ERM, but is, on the contrary, carried out after analysis of an environment specific to said mobile transmitter/receiver ERM by the mobility manager GM.

Claims

1. ) Telecommunication system including:

at least one mobile transmitter/receiver,

a number of access points, each of which is capable of communicating with the mobile transmitter/receiver when said transmitter/receiver is situated in a coverage area of said access point, and

a communication network authorizing communications between said access points,

a system characterized in that it also includes at least one mobility manager capable of identifying, based on operating conditions of the access points, a specific access point with which the mobile transmitter/receiver must establish a communication, the mobile transmitter/receiver being equipped with measuring means to take at least one measurement of the quality of a communication it could establish with at least one neighboring point of a current access point with which said mobile transmitter/receiver is in communication, the measuring means being capable of being activated only when the quality of the communication between the mobile transmitter/receiver and the current access point falls below a predetermined reference threshold.

2. ) Telecommunication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile transmitter/receiver is equipped with storage means intended to store a reference threshold value following reception by the mobile transmitter/receiver of said value from the mobility manager.

3. ) Telecommunication system as claimed in one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the mobile transmitter/receiver is equipped with storage means intended to store, when it is in communication with the current access point, a list of neighboring access points of the current access point, said list having been transmitted to it by the mobility manager.

4. ) Telecommunication system as claimed in one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mobile transmitter/receiver is equipped with means for sending a request, called a handover request, to the mobility manager for the purposes of entering into communication with a neighboring access point of its current access point when a quality measurement has established that a communication with this neighboring access point would be of better quality than the communication with the current access point.

5. ) Telecommunication system as claimed in claim 4, wherein as the handover request includes results of quality measurements taken by the mobile transmitter/receiver, the mobility manager is equipped with means for:

analyzing said results,

deducing from this analysis and from the operating conditions of the access points the identity of a specific neighboring access point with which the transmitter/receiver is to enter into communication, and

transmitting said identity to said transmitter/receiver.

6. ) Telecommunication system as claimed in one of claims 1 to 5, wherein it also includes a database associated with the mobility manager and intended to contain information relating to the operating conditions of the access points.

7. ) Telecommunication system as claimed in one of claims 1 to 6, wherein it also includes at least two interface devices between the access points and the communication network, each interface device being able to communicate with a predetermined group of access points.

8. ) Telecommunication system as claimed in claim 7, wherein each access point is able to communicate only with a single interface device.

9. ) Telecommunication system as claimed in one of claims 7 or 8, wherein the mobility manager is installed in at least one interface device.

10. ) Device capable of fulfilling the functions of a transmitter/receiver included in a telecommunication system as claimed in one of claims 1 to 9.

11. ) Device capable of fulfilling the functions of the mobility manager included in a telecommunication system as claimed in one of claims 1 to 9.

19. ) Signal intended to be transmitted by a mobile transmitter/receiver to a mobility manager present in a telecommunication system that conforms to one of claims 1 to 9, including at least one result of a quality measurement of at least one communication that said mobile transmitter/receiver could establish with a neighboring access point of its current access point.

12. ) Data transmission method between:

at least one mobile transmitter/receiver,

a number of access points, each of which is capable of communicating with the mobile transmitter/receiver when said transmitter/receiver is situated in a coverage area of said access point, and

a communication network authorizing communications between said access points,

method characterized in that it includes at least one identification step by the mobility manager, based on operating conditions of the access points, of a specific access point with which the mobile transmitter/receiver must establish a communication, which method also includes a quality measuring step, executed by the mobile transmitter/receiver, of a communication it could establish with at least one neighboring access point of a current access point with which said mobile transmitter/receiver is in communication, the quality measuring step being executed only when the quality of the communication between the mobile transmitter/receiver and the access point falls below a pre-determined reference threshold.

13. ) Transmission method as claimed in claim 12, wherein it also includes a step in which the mobile transmitter/receiver stores a reference threshold value following receipt by said transmitter/receiver of said value from the mobility manager.

14. ) Transmission method as claimed in one of claims 12 or 13, wherein it includes a step in which when it is in communication with the current access point the mobile transmitter/receiver stores of a list of neighboring access points of the current access point, which list was transmitted to it by the mobility manager.

15. ) Transmission method as claimed in claim 14, wherein it also includes a step in which the mobility manager creates a list of neighboring access points, which list is established based on environmental information specific to the mobile transmitter/receiver for which said list is intended.

16. ) Transmission method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the environmental information specific to the mobile transmitter/receiver is particularly representative of profiles that conform to the following list:

membership of a user of the transmitter/receiver in a pre-determined group of users, and access authorization to at least one pre-determined access point granted to said group,

prior acquisition by the user of authorizations to communicate with different access points linked to communication networks of different kinds, or

geographic location of a user of the transmitter/receiver in a pre-determined area and access authorization to a least one pre-determined access point reserved for said zone.

17. ) Transmission method as claimed in one of claims 12 to 16, wherein it also includes a step for transmitting a handover request by the mobile transmitter/receiver to the mobility manager for the purposes of establishing a communication of said transmitter/receiver with a neighboring access point of its current access point when a quality measurement has established that a communication with this neighboring access point would be of better quality than the communication with the current access point.

18. ) Transmission method as claimed in claim 17, wherein as the handover request includes results of quality measurements taken by the mobile transmitter/receiver, the identification step includes, to be executed by the mobility manager:

a sub-step for analyzing said results,

a sub-step for deducing from this analysis and from the operating conditions of the access points the identity of a specific neighboring access point with which the transmitter/receiver is to enter into communication, and

a sub-step for transmitting said identity to said transmitter/receiver.