Radio access network apparatus and mobile communication system using the same

• US 20070015540A1
• Filed: 09/21/2006
• Published: 01/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Itaba, Naoto, Kojima, Masahiko, Sakata, Masayuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,693,524 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/560
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/10 Reselecting an access point controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/18 for allowing seamless reselection, e.g. soft reselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/12 Access point controller devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/20 between access points

Abstract

The radio access network for allowing to construct a system abundant in scalability in a W-CDMA mobile communication system. A RNC in the radio access network is physically separated into a C plane control equipment for controlling signaling and a U plane control equipment for processing user data, where the user data is transferred between a mobile terminal and a host device via only the U plane control equipment and a control signal is terminated by the U plane control equipment and the C plane control equipment. This allows a system abundant in scalability to be constructed, and even in the case of soft handover across the C plane control equipments, also enables the continuous use of the same U plane control equipment, thereby eliminating the conventional connection path for connecting between RNCs and preventing delay due to passing through the RNCs.

Claims

1. A mobile communications system comprising a controlplane controller, and a plurality of user plane controllers, wherein said control plane controller manages said plurality of user plane controllers.

2. The mobile communications system according to claim 1, wherein said control plane controller is physically separated from said plurality of user plane controllers.

3. The mobile communications system according to claim 1, wherein said control plane controller comprises a control processor, and radio resource control (RRC) means for controlling a radio resource.

4. The mobile communications system according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of user plane controllers comprises radio link control (RLC) means for controlling a radio link, and media access control (MAC) means for controlling a media access.

5. The mobile communications system according to claim 4, wherein each of said plurality of user plane controllers further comprises broadcast/multicast control (BMC) meansfor controlling broadcast or multicast.

6. The mobile communications system according to claim 4, wherein each of said plurality of user plane controllers further comprises selective synthesis means for synthesizing radio paths selectively.

7. The mobile communications system according to claim 1, further comprising a mobile terminal.

8. A method of controlling a mobile communications system, which comprises a control plane controller and a plurality of user plane controllers, comprising a step of, in said control plane controller, managing said plurality of user plane controllers.

9. A mobile communications system comprising a plurality of control plane controllers, and a user plane controller, wherein said plurality of control plane controllers manage said user plane controller.

10. The mobile communications system according to claim 9, wherein said plurality of control plane controllers are physically separated from said user plane controller.

11. The mobile communications system according to claim 9, wherein each of said plurality of control plane controllers comprises a control processor, and radio resource control (RRC) means for controlling a radio resource.

12. The mobile communications system according to claim 9, wherein said user plane controller comprises radio link control (RLC) means for controlling a radio link, and media access control (MAC) means for controlling a media access.

13. The mobile communications system according to claim 12, wherein said user plane controller further comprises broadcast/multicast control (BMC) means for controlling broadcast or multicast.

14. The mobile communications system according to claim 12, wherein said user plane controller further comprises selective synthesis means for synthesizing radio paths selectively.

15. The mobile communications system according to claim 9, further comprising a mobile terminal.

16. A method of controlling a mobile communications system, which comprises a plurality of control plane controllers and a user plane controller, comprising a step of, in said plurality of control plane controllers, managing said user plane controller.

17. A control plane controller comprising a control processor, and radio resource control (RRC) means for controlling a radio resource, wherein said control plane controller manages a plurality of user plane controllers.

18. A user plane controller comprising radio link control (RLC) means for controlling a radio link, and media access control (MAC) means for controlling a media access, wherein said user plane controller is managed by a plurality of control plane controllers.

19. The user plane controller according to claim 18, further comprising broadcast/multicast (BMC) means for controlling broadcast or multicast.

20. The user plane controller according to claim 18, further comprising selective synthesis means for synthesizing radio paths selectively.