Systems and Methods for Mobile Stations to Identify Radio Access Technologies

• US 20100278142A1
• Filed: 05/04/2009
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Rayavarapu, Venkata Ratriakar, Hole, David P., Suzuki, Takashi, Earnshaw, Andrew Mark, Wijayanathan, Maiyuran, Young, Gordon, Burbidge, Richard, Dwyer, Johanna L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,842,633 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0022 for transferring data sessions between adjacent core network technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00224 between packet switched [PS] and circuit switched [CS] network technologies, e.g. circuit switched fallback [CSFB]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0066 of control information between different types of networks in order to establish a new radio link in the target network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00835 Determination of neighbour cell lists
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/1443 between licensed networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points

Abstract

A mobile station capable of being served via a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT. The mobile station includes a component configured to receive a permission to identify a cell of the first RAT in absence of a first radio access type neighbour cell list for a serving cell of the second RAT. The mobile station also includes a component configured to identify a cell of the first RAT after receiving the permission.

Claims

1. A mobile station capable of being served via a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT, the mobile station comprising:

a component configured to receive a permission to identify a cell of the first RAT in absence of a first radio access type neighbour cell list for a serving cell of the second RAT; and

a component configured to identify a cell of the first RAT after receiving the permission.

2. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the first RAT comprises an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN).

3. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the permission is received in the form of a first identifying characteristic of a cell of a third RAT.

4. The mobile station of claim 3 wherein the mobile station is further enabled to associate the first identifying characteristic with a second identifying characteristic used by cells of the first RAT.

5. The mobile station of claim 3 wherein the first identifying characteristic comprises at least one of a GERAN broadcast control channel (BCCH) absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN), a UTRAN frequency, and a UTRAN frequency plus a primary scrambling code.

6. The mobile station of claim 4 wherein the second identifying characteristic comprises at least one of an E-UTRAN absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN) and an E-UTRAN absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN) plus a physical layer cell identity (PCID).

7. The mobile station of claim 3 wherein the third RAT and the second RAT are the same.

8. The mobile station of claim 2 wherein the mobile station is able to perform a circuit switched (CS) fallback operation, and receives permission to attempt to identify an E-UTRAN cell upon termination of the CS service.

9. The mobile station of claim 2 wherein the permission is received from a previous serving E-UTRAN cell.

10. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the permission is received from one of the first RAT or the second RAT.

11. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the permission is received prior to communication with a radio access network.

12. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the permission comprises dedicated priority information.

13. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the permission is stored on at least one of a subscriber identity module (SIM), a universal subscriber identity module (USIM), and a memory of the mobile station.

14. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the permission is received based on at least one of a mobility change and a cell change.

15. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the permission is based on a number of cell changes since the mobile station was last served by a cell of the first RAT.

16. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the permission is based on at least one of a geographic location and a velocity of mobility information.

17. The mobile station of claim 2 wherein the permission is based on the mobile station being in the same location area, tracking area, or routing area as when the mobile station initially left E-UTRAN service.

18. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the permission is based on the mobile station being in the same public land mobile network (PLMN) or equivalent PLMN as when the mobile station initially left service of the first RAT.

19. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the permission is communicated by non-access stratum (NAS) signaling.

20. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the permission is received from a user input.

21. The mobile station of claim 2 wherein the permission is received after the mobile station has successfully performed a combined attach procedure in an evolved packet system (EPS).

22. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the mobile station is capable of internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) voice service.

23. The mobile station of claim 2 further configured such that the mobile station will abstain from identifying an E-UTRAN cell in the event that the mobile station receives an E-UTRAN configuration status bit that indicates an absence of neighbouring E-UTRAN cells.

24. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the mobile station is further configured to receive an updated permission.

25. The mobile station of claim 24 wherein the updated permission is received in one of a device management object transmitted over the air and a signal from at least one radio access network.

26. The mobile station of claim 1 wherein the mobile station is further enabled to perform one of cell reselection and cell selection to a cell of the first RAT after receiving a second permission.

27. The mobile station of claim 26 wherein the second permission is received from an E-UTRAN cell.

28. The mobile station of claim 26 wherein the second permission comprises at least one of a flag, a token, and a bit identifier received in broadcast information.

29. The mobile station of claim 26 wherein the second permission comprises at least one of a flag, a token, and a bit identifier that is signaled point to point to the mobile station.

30. The mobile station of claim 26 wherein the second permission is the same as the first permission.

31. The mobile station of claim 26 wherein the second permission is determined according to a reselection rule stored in the mobile station.

32. The mobile station of claim 26 wherein the second permission is such that the mobile station may only select the cell of the first RAT on which the mobile station was most recently camped.

33. The mobile station of claim 26 further configured to delay a first time before reselecting to the cell of the first RAT.

34. The mobile station of claim 33 wherein the first time is dependent on the type of service on the second RAT that was terminated.

35. The mobile station of claim 26 further configured such that the mobile station will reselect to the E-UTRAN cell when no E-UTRAN measurement parameters structure is received in the second RAT.

36. The mobile station of claim 26 wherein the first RAT comprises an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN).

37. The mobile station of claim 26 wherein the second RAT comprises one of a universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) and a GSM/EDGE radio access network (GERAN).

38. A method implemented in a mobile station capable of being served via a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT, the method comprising:

receiving a permission to identify a cell of the first RAT in absence of a first radio access type neighbour cell list for a serving cell of the second RAT; and

identifying a cell of the first RAT after receiving the permission.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein at least one of the first RAT comprises an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) and the second RAT comprises one of a universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) and a GSM/EDGE radio access network (GERAN).

40. The method of claim 38 wherein the permission is received in the form of a first identifying characteristic of a cell of a third RAT, and wherein the method further comprises:

associating the first identifying characteristic with a second identifying characteristic used by cells of the first RAT.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein the first identifying characteristic comprises at least one of a GERAN broadcast control channel (BCCH) absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN), a UTRAN frequency, and a UTRAN frequency plus a primary scrambling code.

42. The method of claim 40 wherein the second identifying characteristic comprises at least one of an E-UTRAN absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN) and an E-UTRAN absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN) plus a physical layer cell identity (PCID).

43. The method of claim 38 further comprising:

performing cell reselection to an E-UTRAN cell after receiving a second permission.

44. A computer readable medium storing a computer program which, when executed by a component, performs a method implemented in a mobile station capable of being served via a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT, the method comprising:

receiving a permission to identify a cell of the first RAT in absence of a first radio access type neighbour cell list for a serving cell of the second RAT; and

identifying a cell of the first RAT after receiving the permission.

45. The computer readable medium of claim 44 wherein the first RAT comprises an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) and wherein the second RAT comprises one of a universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) and a GSM/EDGE radio access network (GERAN).

46. The computer readable medium of claim 44 wherein the permission is received in the form of a first identifying characteristic of a cell of a third RAT, and wherein the method further comprises:

associating the first identifying characteristic with a second identifying characteristic used by cells of the first RAT.

47. The computer readable medium of claim 46 wherein the first identifying characteristic comprises at least one of a GERAN broadcast control channel (BCCH) absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN), a UTRAN frequency, a UTRAN frequency plus a primary scrambling code, and an E-UTRAN absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN).

48. The computer readable medium of claim 46 wherein the second identifying characteristic comprises at least one of an E-UTRAN absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN) and an E-UTRAN absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN) plus a physical layer cell identity (PCID).

49. The computer readable medium of claim 44 wherein the method further comprises:

performing cell reselection to an E-UTRAN cell after receiving a second permission.