APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING POLICY AND TERMINAL DEVICE FOR CHANGING NETWORK IN HETEROGENEOUS NETWORKS

• US 20130073710A1
• Filed: 11/08/2011
• Published: 03/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SK Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: SK Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Gyu Min
• Granted Patent: US 8,612,567 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/17306 Intercommunication techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service

Abstract

Disclosed is a policy providing apparatus and a terminal device supporting an network change in heterogeneous networks. The terminal device accesses one network among two or more networks and uses a data service, and the policy providing apparatus recognizes service status information of the data service for the terminal device, generates a network change policy for inducing the terminal device to change the access network based on the recognized service status information, and provides the network change policy to the terminal device. Then, the terminal device determines whether it is possible to access a particular network required to be accessed based on the network change policy, and tries to access the particular network through the multi communication unit and changes the access network when it is possible to access the particular network.

Claims

1. A policy providing apparatus, comprising:

a device control unit configured to recognize service status information of a data service which is used by a terminal device through one network among two or more networks, generate a network change policy for changing the one network accessed by the terminal device based on the service status information, and provide the terminal device with the network change policy.

2. The policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the service status information comprises at least one of load state information of a wireless access node corresponding to the one network accessed by the terminal device, type information of an application executed in the terminal device, or network-specific performance information for each of the two or more networks.

3. The policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the device control unit is configured to acquire load state information of wireless access node corresponding to each of the two or more networks, determine certain wireless access node having load state information corresponding to a particular change criteria based on the load state information of wireless access node corresponding to each of the two or more networks, and recognize at least one terminal device accessing the certain wireless access node.

4. The policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the device control unit is configured to generate a network change policy based on the load state information of the certain wireless access node, and provide the network change policy to the at least one terminal device.

5. The policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the device control unit is configured to recognize the type information of the application executed in the terminal device, and the type information of the application is detected by the terminal device or a detection device for detecting the type information of the application.

6. The policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the device control unit is configured to generate a network change policy based on the recognized type information of the application, and provide the network change policy to the terminal device.

7. The policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the device control unit is configured to recognize network-specific performance information with respect to the terminal device, and the network-specific performance information is detected by a performance detection device based on transmission or reception of a test packet through each of the two or more networks with respect to the terminal device.

8. The policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 7, the device control unit is configured to generate a network change policy based on the recognized network-specific performance information, and provide the network change policy to the terminal device.

9. A terminal device, comprising:

a multi communication unit configured to support two or more networks;

an access control unit configured to, when a network change policy is received, determine whether it is possible to access particular network required to be accessed based on the network change policy, and access the particular network through the multi communication unit when it is possible to access the particular network, thereby changing current access network into the particular network.

10. The terminal device as claimed in claim 9 further comprising

a testing unit configured to transmit or receive a test packet through the two or more networks for detecting performance information of each of the two or more networks

11. An operation method of a policy providing apparatus, comprising:

recognizing service status information of a data service which is used by a terminal device through one network among two or more networks; and

generating a network change policy for changing the one network accessed by the terminal device based on the service status information, and providing the terminal device with the network change policy.

12. The operation method of the policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the service status information comprises at least one of load state information of a wireless access node corresponding to the one network accessed by the terminal device, type information of an application executed in the terminal device, or network-specific performance information for each of the two or more networks.

13. The operation method of the policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the step of recognizing the service status information comprises:

acquiring load state information of wireless access node corresponding to each of the two or more networks;

determining certain wireless access node having load state information corresponding to a particular change criteria based on the load state information of wireless access node corresponding to each of the two or more networks; and

recognizing at least one terminal device accessing the certain wireless access node.

14. The operation method of the policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the step of providing the network change policy comprises:

generating a network change policy based on the load state information of the certain wireless access node; and

providing the network change policy to the at least one terminal device.

15. The operation method of the policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the step of recognizing the service status information comprises:

recognizing the type information of the application executed in the terminal device, wherein

the type information of the application is detected by the terminal device or a detection device for detecting the type information of the application.

16. The operation method of the policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the step of providing the network change policy comprises:

generating a network change policy based on the recognized type information of the application; and

providing the network change policy to the terminal device.

17. The operation method of the policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the step of recognizing the service status information comprises:

recognizing network-specific performance information with respect to the terminal device, wherein

the network-specific performance information is detected by a performance detection device based on transmission or reception of a test packet through each of the two or more networks with respect to the terminal device.

18. The operation method of the policy providing apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the step of providing the network change policy comprises:

generating a network change policy based on the recognized type information of the application; and

providing the network change policy to the terminal device.

19. An operation method of a terminal device, comprising:

accessing one network among two or more networks;

determining, when a network change policy is received, whether it is possible to access particular network required to be accessed based on the network change policy; and

accessing the particular network when it is possible to access the particular network, thereby changing a current access network into the particular network.

20. An operation method of a terminal device as claimed in claim 19, further comprising the step of transmitting or receiving a test packet through the two or more networks for detecting performance information of each of the two or more networks.