METHOD, SYSTEM AND DEVICE FOR PROCESSING CIRCUIT SWITCHED SERVICES IN AN EVOLVED PACKET NETWORK

• US 20100272025A1
• Filed: 07/07/2010
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: YU, Yijun
• Granted Patent: US 8,493,934 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0022 for transferring data sessions between adjacent core network technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/18 Management of setup rejection or failure

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method, system and device for processing circuit switched (CS) services in an evolved packet network. The method includes: by a mobility management entity (MME), receiving a mobile terminated (MT) service indication from a mobile switching center (MSC); sending the MT service indication to user equipment (UE); and receiving an MT service response returned by the UE and performing subsequent operations according to the MT service response. In the method of the present invention, when an MT service arrives, the MME does not trigger the evolved NodeB (eNodeB) to hand over the packet switched (PS) services of the UE but notifies the UE of the MT service and performs subsequent operations according to the MT service response returned by the UE, thus avoiding the waste of network resources caused by a meaningless handover of PS services.

Claims

1. A method for processing circuit switched (CS) services in an evolved packet network, comprising:

receiving, by a mobility management entity (MME), a mobile terminated (MT) service indication from a mobile switching center (MSC);

sending, by the MME, the MT service indication to a user equipment (UE); and

receiving, by the MME, an MT service response returned by the UE and performing subsequent operations according to the MT service response.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the MT service response carries a user choice result and the step of performing subsequent operations comprises:

if the user choice result is to reject the MT service, returning, by the MME, an MT service reject message to the MSC;

if the user choice result is to hold the MT service, returning, by the MME, an MT service hold message to the MSC;

if the user choice result is to accept the MT service, triggering, by the MME, the UE to access a 2^nd generation or 3^rd generation (2G/3G) network; and

if the user choice result is null, judging, by the MME, the user choice result according to default settings.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the MT service indication comprises MT service related information.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

by the UE, receiving the MT service indication, notifying the user of the MT service, and returning an MT service response to the MME according to a choice of the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of sending the MT service indication to the UE comprises:

by the MME, querying a state of the UE, and sending the MT service indication to the UE if the UE is in active mode or activating the UE via an evolved NodeB (eNodeB) and sending the MT service indication to the UE if the UE is in idle mode.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of activating the UE via the eNodeB and sending the MT service indication to the UE comprises:

sending, by the MME, a second page message to the eNodeB;

broadcasting, by the eNodeB, the second page message to UEs in a cell managed by the eNodeB and receiving, by the MME, a service request returned by the UE; and

sending, by the MME, the MT service indication to the UE.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of activating the UE via the eNodeB and sending the MT service indication to the UE comprises:

sending, by the MME, a third page message that carries the MT service indication to the eNodeB; and

broadcasting, by the eNodeB, the third page message to UEs in a cell managed by the eNodeB.

8. A mobility management entity (MME), comprising:

a page message receiving unit, configured to receive a mobile terminated (MT) service indication from a mobile switching center (MSC);

an MT service notifying unit, configured to send the MT service indication to a user equipment (UE);

a response receiving unit, configured to receive an MT service response returned by the UE; and

a response processing unit, configured to perform subsequent operations according to the MT service response.

9. The MME of claim 8, wherein the MT service response carries a user choice result and the response processing unit comprises:

a first response processing unit, configured to return an MT service Reject message to the MSC if the user choice result is to reject the MT service; and

/or

a second response processing unit, configured to return an MT service Hold message to the MSC if the user choice result is to hold the MT service; and

/or

a third response processing unit, configured to trigger the UE to access a 2^nd generation or 3^rd generation (2G/3G) network if the user choice result is to accept the MT service or if the user choice result is null.

10. The MME of claim 8, wherein the MT service notifying unit comprises:

a UE activating unit, configured to activate the UE via an evolved NodeB (eNodeB);

a state querying unit, configured to;

query a state of the UE and trigger a sending unit if the UE is in active mode, or trigger the UE activating unit if the UE is in idle mode; and

the sending unit, configured to send the MT service indication to the UE if the UE is in active mode.

11. The MME of claim 10, wherein the MT service notifying unit comprises:

a page message sending unit, configured to send a second page message to the eNodeB; and

a service request receiving unit, configured to trigger the MT service notifying unit after receiving a service request returned by the UE.

12. The MME of claim 11, wherein the UE activating unit is an activating and notifying unit, configured to:

send a third page message that carries the MT service indication to the eNodeB.

13. A user equipment (UE), comprising:

a notification receiving unit, configured to receive a mobile terminated (MT) service indication sent by a mobility management entity (MME);

an notifying unit, configured to notify the user of the MT service after the notification receiving unit receives the MT service indication; and

a response sending unit, configured to return an MT service response to the MME according to a choice of the user regarding the MT service.

14. The UE of claim 13, further comprising:

an MT service processing unit, configured to process the MT service.

15. A system for processing circuit switched (CS) services in an evolved packet network, comprising a mobile switching center (MSC) and a mobility management entity (MME), wherein:

the MSC comprises a service indication sending unit, configured to send a mobile terminated (MT) service indication to the MME after receiving the MT service indication;

the MME comprises;

a page message receiving unit, configured to receive the MT service indication from the MSC;

an MT service notifying unit, configured to send the MT service indication to a user equipment (UE);

a response receiving unit, configured to receive an MT service response returned by the UE; and

a response processing unit, configured to perform subsequent operations according to the MT service response.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the MT service response carries a user choice result and the response processing unit comprises:

a first response processing unit, configured to return an MT service Reject message to the MSC if the user choice result is to reject the MT service;

a second response processing unit, configured to return an MT service Hold message to the MSC if the user choice result is to hold the MT service; and

a third response processing unit, configured to trigger the UE to access a 2^nd generation or 3^rd generation (2G/3G) network if the user choice result is to accept the MT service or if the user choice result is null.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising an evolved NodeB (eNodeB) and the MME further comprises:

a UE activating unit, configured to activate the UE via the eNodeB; and

a state querying unit, configured to;

query a state of the UE and trigger the MT service notifying unit if the UE is in active mode, or trigger the UE activating unit if the UE is in idle mode.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the UE activating unit comprises:

a page message sending unit, configured to send a second page message to the eNodeB; and

a service request receiving unit, configured to trigger the MT service notifying unit after receiving a service request returned by the UE.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the UE activating unit is an activating and notifying unit, configured to send a third page message that carries the MT service indication to the eNodeB.