Multi-mode terminal for supporting media independent handover

• US 20060230151A1
• Filed: 04/06/2006
• Published: 10/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kwak, Yong Won, Lee, Jin, Kim, Yong Ho
• Application Number:
  US11/400,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20060230151A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/005 involving radio access media independent information, e.g. MIH [Media independent Hand-off]

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal for performing a handover to at least one of a homogeneous and heterogeneous network. Accordingly, media independent handover (MIH) is supported, by which a delay attributed to the occurrence of processing during handover between heterogeneous media-independent networks is reduced. Preferably, the present invention comprises at least one network interface module supporting a predetermined air interface, a heterogeneous network handover module configured to provide convergence of information from the at least one network interface module associated with the at least one of a homogeneous and heterogeneous network into a unified presentation, and a management module configured to process the unified presentation communicated with the heterogeneous network handover module to communicate with the at least one network interface module to facilitate handover.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal for performing a handover to at least one of a homogeneous and heterogeneous network, the mobile terminal comprising:

at least one network interface module supporting a predetermined air interface;

a heterogeneous network handover module configured to provide convergence of information from the at least one network interface module associated with the at least one of a homogeneous and heterogeneous network into a unified presentation; and

a management module configured to process the unified presentation communicated with the heterogeneous network handover module to communicate with the at least one network interface module to facilitate handover.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the heterogeneous network handover module comprises at least one media independent handover entity corresponding to the at least one network interface module.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the heterogeneous network handover module comprises a heterogeneous network handover submodule configured to provide convergence of information and at least one media independent handover entity corresponding to the at least one network interface module.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the heterogeneous network handover module comprises a first heterogeneous network handover module configured to communicate with the management module and a second heterogeneous network handover module configured to communicate between the first heterogeneous network handover module and the at least one network interface module.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the at least one network interface module comprises one of a wired-line broadband interface, a wireless broadband interface and a cellular interface.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein the broadband interface comprises at least one of a wireless local area network and a wireless metropolitan area network.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein the cellular interface comprises at least one of a WCDMA and a cdma2000.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the management module comprises at least one of a device manager, a mobility management protocol, an Internet protocol module, a transmission control protocol module and a user datagram protocol module.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the unified presentation of the heterogeneous network handover module is communicated to the management module through a service access point.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the heterogeneous network handover module communicates with the at least one network interface module through a management service access point and a control service access point.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the heterogeneous network handover module communicates with the at least one network interface module through one of a MAC sublayer management entity and a physical layer management entity.

12. A method for performing handover to at least one of a homogeneous and heterogeneous network, the method comprising:

supporting a predetermined air interface with at least one network interface module;

providing a heterogeneous network handover module for converging information from the at least one network interface module associated with the at least one of a homogeneous and heterogeneous network into a unified presentation; and

providing a management module for processing the unified presentation communicated with the heterogeneous network handover module to communicate with the at least one network interface module to facilitate handover.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the heterogeneous network handover module comprises at least one media independent handover entity corresponding to the at least one network interface module.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the heterogeneous network handover module comprises a heterogeneous network handover submodule configured to provide convergence of information and at least one media independent handover entity corresponding to the at least one network interface module.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the heterogeneous network handover module comprises a first heterogeneous network handover module configured to communicate with the management module and a second heterogeneous network handover module configured to communicate between the first heterogeneous network handover module and the at least one network interface module.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one network interface module comprises one of a wired-line broadband interface, a wireless broadband interface and a cellular interface.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the broadband interface comprises at least one of a wireless local area network and a wireless metropolitan area network.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the cellular interface comprises at least one of a WCDMA and a cdma2000.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the management module comprises at least one of a device manager, a mobility management protocol, an Internet protocol module, a transmission control protocol module and a user datagram protocol module.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the unified presentation of the heterogeneous network handover module is communicated to the management module through a service access point.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the heterogeneous network handover module communicates with the at least one network interface module through a management service access point and a control service access point.

22. The method of claim 12, wherein the heterogeneous network handover module communicates with the at least one network interface module through one of a MAC sublayer management entity and a physical layer management entity.