METHOD FOR OPTIMISING TRANSMISSION RESOURCES BY INTER-CELLULAR LOOP IN A MOBILE CELLULAR RADIO-COMMUNICATION NETWORK AND CORRESPONDING LOCAL NETWORK AND ADAPTORS

• US 20110039540A1
• Filed: 01/14/2009
• Published: 02/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cell & Sat
• Original Assignee: Cell & Sat
• Inventors: Mouly, Michel, Verhulst, Didier, Cheval, Pierrick
• Granted Patent: US 8,676,185 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/422.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/181 Transcoding devices; Rate adaptation devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/20 between access points

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for transmitting data exchanged by two terminals in a cellular radiocommunication network, each of the terminals being respectively associated with a base station of the cellular network. The method includes: identifying a shortened transmission path between the base stations, the shortened transmission path defining a direct transmission path for the data between the base stations without transiting via transcoding equipment present in the cellular radiocommunication network; and transmitting at least a portion of the data via the shortened transmission path, which is also called an intercellular loop-back operation.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting data exchanged by two terminals of a cellular radio-communication network, wherein each of said terminals is respectively associated to a base station of said cellular network, characterised in that the method comprises:

a step of identifying a short transmission path between said base stations, wherein said short transmission path defines a direct data transmission path between said base stations without passing via transcoding equipment present in said cellular radio-communication network, each of said base stations being respectively connected to local adaptor equipment;

a step of transmitting at least part of said data via said short transmission path passing through said local adaptor equipment, called inter-cellular loop operation.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said base stations of said cellular network are controlled by at least one base station controller, wherein said data comprises control information, according to a global control protocol of said cellular network, and user data that is representative of a communication between said terminals, and wherein the method further comprises a step of separating the data supplied by a first of said terminals into two sub-flows, wherein a first sub-flow comprises at least part of the control information, called a sub-flow for maintaining the communication at a global control level, and a second sub-flow, comprising at least part of said user data, called a sub-flow of user data.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the method comprises a step of analysing the content of all or part of signalling messages exchanged between said terminals, wherein said analysis step includes a step to search and detect in said content of said signalling messages information that indicates traffic activity.

4. The method according to claim 3, said step of analysing all or part of the signalling messages is implemented by a device situated upstream of at least one base station of the cellular network and downstream of a base station controller.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein said step for analysing all or part of the signalling messages is implemented inside a base station controller.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the base station is controlled by a base station controller that is part of a plurality of base station controllers and where the base station(s) are connected to the base station controllers via a meshed backhaul network, wherein the inter-cellular loop comprises transporting all or part of the data exchanged between said terminals without passing via a central connection network of said cellular network.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein a succession of the signalling messages forms a signalling flow, wherein the method includes a step of injecting into the signalling flow at least one item of information to trace at least one of said terminals, and to recognise at least one item of tracing information during said analysis step.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein only part of said data exchanged between terminals is transmitted to at least one transcoder.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said inter-cellular loop operation is implemented by a device that is situated upstream of at least one base station of the cellular network and downstream of a base station controller.

10. (canceled)

11. The cellular network according to claim 10, said at least one base station is controlled by at least one base station controller and wherein said at least one base station, or at least one set of base stations connected to a same item of equipment for transmitting to the at least one base station controller is advantageously equipped with said local adaptor equipment, which comprises:

means for detecting an inter-cellular loop requirement;

means for carrying out the inter-cellular loop;

means for detecting an inter-cellular unloop requirement;

means for carrying out the inter-cellular unloop;

means for implementing transmissions between the terminals through the cellular network.

12. The cellular network according to claim 10, wherein at least one loopable set composed of one base station, or one set of base stations connected to a same item of equipment for transmitting to the base station controllers is equipped with said local adaptor equipment, wherein said network comprises:

an optimising device, wherein said optimising device has means for detecting an inter-cellular loop requirement and/or inter-cellular unloop requirement between certain of said terminals of said loopable set;

wherein the optimising device has means for emitting an inter-cellular loop and/or inter-cellular unloop command to any adaptor device in a loopable set in which the optimising device has detected the loop and/or unloop requirement;

wherein each of said adaptor devices has means for carrying out the inter-cellular loop or inter-cellular unloop respectively controlled by the inter-cellular loop and/or inter-cellular unloop command.

13. An optimising device for transmission of data exchanged by two terminals, of a cellular radio-communication network, wherein each of said terminals is respectively associated to a base station of said cellular network, wherein the optimizing device comprises:

means for identifying a short transmission path between said base stations, wherein said short transmission path defines a direct data transmission path between said base stations without passing via transcoding equipment present in said cellular radio-communication network and to which each of said base stations is respectively connected;

means for detecting an inter-cellular loop or unloop requirement between at least certain of said terminals of a loopable set of said base stations;

means for emitting an inter-cellular loop and/or inter-cellular unloop command to any adaptor device in said loopable set in which the optimising device has detected the loop and/or unloop requirement.