METHOD OF SHARING MOBILE UNIT STATE INFORMATION BETWEEN BASE STATION ROUTERS

• US 20080268853A1
• Filed: 04/30/2007
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Sundaram, Ganapathy S., Rajkumar, Ajay, Bosch, Peter, Mullender, Sape J., Polakos, Paul Anthony
• Granted Patent: US 7,826,849 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/442
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections

Abstract

The present invention provides a method of operating a first base station router. The method may include transmitting state information associated with at least one inactive mobile unit to at least one second base station router. The state information is usable to initiate an active session with the at least one inactive mobile unit. The first base station router retains the state information for initiating an active session with the at least one inactive mobile unit and the least one second base station router is capable of initiating an active session with the at least one inactive mobile unit based on the state information when the state information is unavailable to the first base station router

Claims

1. A method of operating a first base station router, comprising:

transmitting state information associated with at least one inactive mobile unit to at least one second base station router, the state information being usable to initiate an active session with said at least one inactive mobile unit, the first base station router retaining the state information for initiating an active session with said at least one inactive mobile unit, said at least one second base station router being capable of initiating an active session with said at least one inactive mobile unit based on the state information in response to the state information becoming unavailable to the first base station router.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the state information comprises transmitting at least one of paging state information, security information, subscription information, home agent keys, identities, information that may be used to connect to signal gateways in the wireless communication system, or link layer state information.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the transmitted state information associated with said at least one inactive mobile unit is available to said at least one second base station router.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein whether the transmitted state information associated with said at least one inactive mobile unit is available to said at least one second base station router comprises determining whether said at least one second base station router has provided information indicative of a boot time of said at least one second base station router.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining whether the transmitted state information associated with said at least one inactive mobile unit is available to said at least one second base station router comprises determining that the transmitted state information associated with said at least one inactive mobile unit is available to said at least one second base station router when said at least one second base station router has provided information indicative of a boot time within a selected time period and the provided information indicative of the boot time indicates that said at least one second base station router has not been rebooted.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein determining whether the transmitted state information associated with said at least one inactive mobile unit is available to said at least one second base station router comprises determining that the transmitted state information associated with said at least one inactive mobile unit is not available to said at least one second base station router when said at least one second base station router has not provided information indicative of a boot time within a selected time period or when the provided information indicative of the boot time indicates that said at least one second base station router has been rebooted.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising at least one of:

re-transmitting the state information to said at least one second base station router in response to determining that the transmitted state information associated with said at least one inactive mobile unit is not available to said at least one second base station router; and

transmitting the state information to at least one third of a station router in response to determining that the transmitted state information associated with said at least one inactive mobile unit is not available to said at least one second base station router.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving a request for information from said at least one second base station router and providing at least one response to the request for information such that said at least one second base station router can determine, based on said at least one response, whether the state information is available to the first base station router.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the first base station router is communicatively coupled to at least one network for receiving information destined for said at least one inactive mobile unit.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the state information comprises transmitting the state information in response to said at least one mobile unit becoming associated with the first base station router.

11. A method of operating a first base station router, comprising:

receiving state information associated with at least one inactive mobile unit from at least one second base station router, the state information being usable to initiate an active session with said at least one inactive mobile unit, said at least one second base station router retaining the state information for initiating an active session with said at least one inactive mobile unit, and the first base station router retaining the state information for initiating an active session with said at least one inactive mobile unit in response to the state information becoming unavailable to the second base station router.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the state information comprises receiving at least one of paging state information, security information, subscription information, identities, home agent keys, information that may be used to connect to signal gateways in the wireless communication system, or link layer state information.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining whether the transmitted state information associated with said at least one inactive mobile unit is available to said at least one second base station router.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein determining whether the transmitted state information is available to said at least one second base station router comprises transmitting a request for information to said at least one second base station router.

15. The method of claim 14, comprising receiving information indicative of a boot time of said at least one second base station router in response to transmitting the request for information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein determining whether the transmitted state information is available to said at least one second base station router comprises determining that the transmitted state information is available to said at least one second base station router when said at least one second base station router has provided information indicative of a boot time within a selected time period and the provided information indicative of the boot time indicates that said at least one second base station router has not been rebooted.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein determining whether the transmitted state information is available to said at least one second base station router comprises determining that the transmitted state information is not available to said at least one second base station router when said at least one second base station router has not provided information indicative of a boot time within a selected time period or when the provided information indicative of the boot time indicates that said at least one second base station router has been rebooted.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising:

registering at least one state associated with said at least one inactive mobile unit in response to determining that the transmitted state information is not available to said at least one second base station router; and

transmitting the state information associated with said at least one active mobile unit to at least one third base station router in response to determining that the transmitted state information is not available to said at least one second base station router.

19. The method of claim 11, comprising providing, to said at least one second base station router, information that permits said at least one second base station router to determine whether the state information is available to the first base station router.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the state information comprises receiving the state information in response to said at least one mobile unit becoming associated with the second base station router.