Method and system utilizing a location caching strategy to locate nomadic users in a communication services system
First Claim
1. A method for locating nomadic users and completing calls to said users in a communications system by utilizing a per-user location caching strategy, said system having a switching center with which is associated a home database to which said users are assigned, a plurality of end offices for a plurality of registration areas, and visiting databases for said end offices, each registration area being assigned to and served by one of said visiting databases, said method comprising the steps ofcollecting data identifying the serving visiting database for a first registration area in which a user is located, said identifying data being obtained during the process of locating the user for a first call to the user from a second registration area,storing the identifying data in a second visiting database serving a second registration area,detecting a second call to the same user from the second registration area, andcompleting the call to the user by retrieving the data identifying the first visiting database from the second visiting database based on the identity of the user, utilizing the retrieved data to query the second visiting database to determine if the user is still located in the first registration area, and, if the user is still located in the first registration area, generating routing information to route the second call to the first registration area.
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Abstract
Method and system for locating nomadic users in a personal communication services (PCS) system by utilizing two strategies for locating such users and a per-user criterion for determining which, if any, of the two strategies should be used. The method and system augment basic two-level strategies for locating users specified in IS-41 and GSM standards of PCS systems. One strategy utilizes forwarding pointers and the other strategy utilizes per-user location caching. One per-user criterion is a call-to-mobility ratio (CMR) which is the ratio of the average rate at which a user receives calls to the average rate at which the user moves. A variation of this criterion is the local CMR (LCMR) which is the ratio of the average rate at which a user receives calls from a given registration area, to the average rate at which the user moves. The method and system reduce the average time and overhead required to locate and deliver information to such nomadic users.
66 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A method for locating nomadic users and completing calls to said users in a communications system by utilizing a per-user location caching strategy, said system having a switching center with which is associated a home database to which said users are assigned, a plurality of end offices for a plurality of registration areas, and visiting databases for said end offices, each registration area being assigned to and served by one of said visiting databases, said method comprising the steps of
collecting data identifying the serving visiting database for a first registration area in which a user is located, said identifying data being obtained during the process of locating the user for a first call to the user from a second registration area, storing the identifying data in a second visiting database serving a second registration area, detecting a second call to the same user from the second registration area, and completing the call to the user by retrieving the data identifying the first visiting database from the second visiting database based on the identity of the user, utilizing the retrieved data to query the second visiting database to determine if the user is still located in the first registration area, and, if the user is still located in the first registration area, generating routing information to route the second call to the first registration area.
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5. A system for locating nomadic users and completing calls in a Personal Communications Services (PCS) system by utilizing a per-user caching strategy, said system having a switching center with which is associated a home database to which users are assigned, a plurality of end offices for a plurality of registration areas in which a nomadic user may be located, and visiting databases for said end offices, each registration area being assigned to and served by one of said visiting databases, said system comprising
means for collecting data identifying a serving visiting database based on a user'"'"'s location in a first registration area, said identifying data being obtained during the process of locating the user for a first PCS call to the user from a second registration area; -
means for storing the identifying data in a visiting database serving a second registration area; means for detecting a second PCS call to the same user from the second registration area, and means for completing the call to the user by retrieving the data identifying the first visiting database from the second visiting database based on the identity of the user utilizing the retrieved data to query the second visiting database to determine if the user is still located in the first registration area, and, if the user is still located in the first registration area, generating routing information to route the second PCS call to the first registration area. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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Specification