SWITCHING BETWEEN RADIO ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES AT A MULTI-MODE ACCESS POINT

• US 20130102313A1
• Filed: 04/18/2012
• Published: 04/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Tinnakornsrisuphap, Peerapol, Yavuz, Mehmet, Giaretta, Gerardo
• Granted Patent: US 9,445,334 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/436
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/22 for handling the traffic
• 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 multi-mode access point supports different radio access technologies (e.g., Wi-Fi and cellular) for serving multi-mode access terminals. To provide improved service for such an access terminal, the access point may redirect the access terminal from a first type of radio access technology to a second type of radio access technology under certain circumstances. A decision to invoke such a redirection may be based on, for example, at least one of: traffic conditions on the first type of radio access technology, traffic conditions on the second type of radio access technology, and whether a backhaul for the access point is currently a bottleneck for access point communication.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

a first communication device configured to communicate with an access terminal using a first type of radio access technology;

a processing system configured to determine at least one indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with the first type of radio access technology, and further configured to determine to switch to a second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology based on the at least one indication; and

a second communication device configured to communicate with the access terminal using the second type of radio access technology as a result of the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the first type of radio access technology comprises Wi-Fi technology; and

the second type of radio access technology comprises cellular technology.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one indication is indicative of whether a communication channel established between the apparatus and the access terminal using the first type of radio access technology is congested.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the processing system is further configured to determine at least one second indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with a wide area network communication link for the apparatus; and

the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one second indication.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein:

the wide area network communication link comprises at least one backhaul link for the apparatus; and

the at least one second indication indicates whether the at least one backhaul link is a bottleneck for communications served by the apparatus.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein, if the at least one backhaul link is a bottleneck for the communications, the access terminal is redirected to an access point with at least one other backhaul.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein:

the processing system is further configured to determine at least one third indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with the second type of radio access technology; and

the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one third indication.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the processing system is further configured to identify at least one service used by the access terminal; and

the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one service.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to invoke the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by revoking an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the access terminal for the communication using the first type of wireless communication.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to invoke the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by disabling a service set identifier (SSID) advertized by the apparatus for the communication using the first type of radio access technology.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the disabled SSID is one of a plurality of SSIDs advertized by the apparatus for the first type of radio access technology.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to invoke the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by filtering traffic sent via the first type of wireless communication if the traffic is associated with a media access control (MAC) address assigned to the access terminal

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one indication comprises at least one of:

throughput, interference, a number of active devices, received signal strength indication (RSSI), a quantity of transmitted access messages, link condition, buffer status, or packet loss rate.

14. A method of communication for a multi-mode access point, comprising:

communicating with an access terminal using a first type of radio access technology;

determining at least one indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with the first type of radio access technology;

determining to switch to a second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology based on the at least one indication; and

communicating with the access terminal using the second type of radio access technology as a result of the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the first type of radio access technology comprises Wi-Fi technology; and

the second type of radio access technology comprises cellular technology.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one indication is indicative of whether a communication channel established between the access point and the access terminal using the first type of radio access technology is congested.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining at least one second indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with a wide area network communication link for the access point, wherein the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one second indication.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the wide area network communication link comprises at least one backhaul link for the access point; and

the at least one second indication indicates whether the at least one backhaul link is a bottleneck for communications served by the access point.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, if the at least one backhaul link is a bottleneck for the communications, the access terminal is redirected to another access point with at least one other backhaul.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising determining at least one third indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with the second type of radio access technology, wherein the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one third indication.

21. The method of claim 14, further comprising identifying at least one service used by the access terminal, wherein the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one service.

22. The method of claim 14, further comprising invoking the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by revoking an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the access terminal for the communication using the first type of wireless communication.

23. The method of claim 14, further comprising invoking the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by disabling a service set identifier (SSID) advertized by the access point for the communication using the first type of radio access technology.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the disabled SSID is one of a plurality of SSIDs advertized by the access point for the first type of radio access technology.

25. The method of claim 14, further comprising invoking the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by filtering traffic sent via the first type of wireless communication if the traffic is associated with a media access control (MAC) address assigned to the access terminal.

26. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one indication comprises at least one of:

throughput, interference, a number of active devices, received signal strength indication (RSSI), a quantity of transmitted access messages, link condition, buffer status, or packet loss rate.

27. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for communicating with an access terminal using a first type of radio access technology;

means for determining at least one indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with the first type of radio access technology;

means for determining to switch to a second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology based on the at least one indication; and

means for communicating with the access terminal using the second type of radio access technology as a result of the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein:

the first type of radio access technology comprises Wi-Fi technology; and

the second type of radio access technology comprises cellular technology.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the at least one indication is indicative of whether a communication channel established between the apparatus and the access terminal using the first type of radio access technology is congested.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for determining at least one second indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with a wide area network communication link for the apparatus, wherein the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one second indication.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising means for determining at least one third indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with the second type of radio access technology, wherein the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one third indication.

32. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for identifying at least one service used by the access terminal, wherein the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one service.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for invoking the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by revoking an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the access terminal for the communication using the first type of wireless communication.

34. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for invoking the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by disabling a service set identifier (SSID) advertized by the apparatus for the communication using the first type of radio access technology.

35. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for invoking the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by filtering traffic sent via the first type of wireless communication if the traffic is associated with a media access control (MAC) address assigned to the access terminal.

36. A computer-program product, comprising:

computer-readable medium comprising code for causing a computer to;

communicate with an access terminal using a first type of radio access technology;

determine at least one indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with the first type of radio access technology;

determine to switch to a second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology based on the at least one indication; and

communicate with the access terminal using the second type of radio access technology as a result of the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology.

37. The computer-program product of claim 36, wherein:

the first type of radio access technology comprises Wi-Fi technology; and

the second type of radio access technology comprises cellular technology.

38. The computer-program product of claim 36, wherein the at least one indication is indicative of whether a communication channel established between the access point and the access terminal using the first type of radio access technology is congested.

39. The computer-program product of claim 36, wherein:

the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the computer to determine at least one second indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with a wide area network communication link for the access point; and

the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one second indication.

40. The computer-program product of claim 39, wherein:

the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the computer to determine at least one third indication indicative of traffic conditions associated with the second type of radio access technology; and

the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one third indication.

41. The computer-program product of claim 36, wherein:

the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the computer to identify at least one service used by the access terminal; and

the determination to switch to the second type of radio access technology is further based on the at least one service.

42. The computer-program product of claim 36, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the computer to invoke the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by revoking an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the access terminal for the communication using the first type of wireless communication.

43. The computer-program product of claim 36, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the computer to invoke the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by disabling a service set identifier (SSID) advertized by the access point for the communication using the first type of radio access technology.

44. The computer-program product of claim 36, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the computer to invoke the communication using the second type of radio access technology instead of the first type of radio access technology by filtering traffic sent via the first type of wireless communication if the traffic is associated with a media access control (MAC) address assigned to the access terminal.