Packet switched traffic management in a cellular telecommunications system

• US 5,742,588 A
• Filed: 09/18/1995
• Issued: 04/21/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unwired Planet LLC (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Andersson, Magnus, Thornberg, Carl Magnus, Grimlund, Olle Erik
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yao, Kwang Bin
• Application Number:
  US08/529,559
• Time in Patent Office: 946 Days
• Field of Search: 370/17, 370/60, 370/60.1, 370/94.1, 370/94.3, 370/85.7, 370/95.1, 370/95.3, 370/252, 370/230, 370/356, 370/231, 370/235, 370/329, 370/236, 370/335, 370/342, 455/33.1, 455/34.1, 455/34.2, 455/53.1, 455/54.1, 455/54.2, 379/59
• US Class Current: 370/236
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/56 based on priority criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/00 Wireless channel access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0875 with assigned priorities based access

Abstract

A method and system of packet switched traffic management in a cellular telecommunications system is provided. The invention comprises a packet switched radio channel (PRCH) manager for each cell of a cellular system and a PRCH controller for each PRCH in the cell. The PRCH manager interacts with and, controls one or more PRCH controllers. The PRCH manager performs the functions of evaluating service requests, handling a PRCH admission queue and managing the active PRCHs of the cell. The PRCH controllers perform the functions of supervising ongoing traffic, controlling admission and controlling traffic congestion for each individual PRCH. The invention allows a system operator to set a maximum tolerable delay for each PRCH and a priority for each packet call. By selectively choosing the maximum tolerable delays and priorities within the system, the system operator can reduce the probability that a PRCH user is subject to unacceptable packet transmission delay.

Claims

1. In a cellular telecommunications system comprising a plurality of packet radio channels wherein each packet radio channel is controlled by packet radio channel controller, and a plurality of transceiving stations, each of said transceiving stations capable of transmitting and receiving data packets and sharing a packet radio channel, a method of managing admission to the plurality of packet radio channel of said system, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving an indication that admission is needed to a packet radio channel for a packet call;

(b) sending an admission request to a first packet radio channel controller;

(c) receiving a response from the first packet radio channel controller;

(d) determining if said response indicates that said packet call is to be admitted to a packet radio channel associated with the first packet radio channel controller; and

(e) repeating steps (b), (c) and (d), for each of the plurality of packet radio channel controllers, until said response indicates said packet call is to be admitted to one of said packet radio channels, or until a negative response has been received from each of the plurality of packet radio channel controllers.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to a negative determination in said step of determining, the step of:

determining if said packet call is to be placed in a packet radio channel admission queue.

3. The method of claim 2 in which said step of determining if said packet call is to be placed in a packet radio channel admission queue comprises the step of:

determining if a required traffic value for said packet call plus a total requested traffic value for one or more packet calls in said admission queue, is within to a maximum allowed requested traffic value set for said admission queue.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising, in response to a positive determination in said step of determining if said packet call is to be placed in a packet radio channel admission queue, the step of:

placing said packet call in said admission queue.

5. The method of claim 3 in which said step of receiving comprises receiving a service request for a packet call.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising, in response to a negative determination in said step of determining if said packet call is to be placed in a packet radio channel admission queue, the step of sending a service denied message for said packet call.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising, in response to a positive determination in said step of determining if said packet call is to be placed in a packet radio channel admission queue, the steps of:

placing said packet call in said admission queue;

sending a service grant message for said packet call; and

sending a packet call suspend indication for said packet call.

8. The method of claim 3 in which said step of receiving comprises receiving a packet call expelled indication for a packet call.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising, in response to a negative determination in said step of determining if said packet call is to be placed in a packet radio channel admission queue, the step of sending a packet call detach indication for said packet call.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising, in response to a positive determination in said step of determining if said packet call is to be placed in a packet radio channel admission queue, the step of sending a packet call suspend indication for said packet call.

11. The method of claim 1 in which said step of receiving comprises receiving a service request for a packet call.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising, in response to a positive determination in said step of determining, the step of sending a service grant message for said packet call.

13. The method of claim 1 in which said step of receiving comprises receiving a packet call expelled indication for a packet call.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising, in response to a positive determination in said step of determining, the step of sending a packet call update for said packet call.

15. The method of claim 1 in which said system further comprises an admission queue for packet calls and said step of receiving comprises the steps of:

receiving an admission queue signal;

determining, in response to said admission queue signal, if said admission queue contains a packet call; and

generating said indication in response to a positive determination in said step of determining.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising, in response to a positive determination in said step of determining if said packet call is to be admitted to said at least one packet radio channels, the step of sending a packet call resume indication for said packet call.

17. In a cellular telecommunications system comprising a plurality of transceiving stations each capable of transmitting and receiving data packets and sharing a packet radio channel, a PRCH admission queue, and a PRCH resource manager, a method of managing packet radio channels, said method comprising the steps of:

evaluating the total required traffic for all packet calls in said admission queue; and

determining if a new PRCH is needed to handle the required traffic;

sending a PRCH setup request to said resource manager if a new PRCH is required to handle the required traffic;

determining if a packet radio channel exists with no packet calls if a new PRCH is not required to handle the required traffic; and

sending a PRCH release request to said resource manager if a packet radio channel exists with no packet calls.

18. The method of claim 17 in which said step of determining comprises:

determining if the total requested traffic for all packet calls in the admission queue exceeds a predetermined limit.

19. In a cellular telecommunications system comprising at least one packet switched radio channel and a plurality of transceiving stations, each of said transceiving stations capable of transmitting and receiving data packets and sharing a packet radio channel, said system further comprising a PRCH manager for managing traffic on said at least one packet radio channel, a method of managing packet radio channel resources, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving a packet radio channel setup request from said PRCH manager;

determining if adequate resources exist within said system to allow a new packet radio channel to be set up;

determining whether the traffic load on packet radio channels of surrounding cells requires additional resources; and

allocating previously unutilized resources for a new packet radio channel in response to a positive determination of adequate resources.

20. In a cellular telecommunications system comprising at least one packet switched radio channel and a plurality of transceiving stations, each of said transceiving stations capable of transmitting and receiving data packets and sharing a packet radio channel, said system further comprising a PRCH manager for managing traffic on said at least one packet radio channel, a method of managing packet radio channel resources, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving a release request from said PRCH manager;

determining whether said release request is to be granted; and

de-allocating resources allocated for one of said at least one packet radio channels in response to a positive determination.

21. In a cellular telecommunications system comprising at least one packet radio channel and a plurality of transceiving stations, each of said transceiving stations capable of transmitting and receiving data packets and sharing a packet radio channel, an apparatus for managing admission to said at least one packet radio channel, said apparatus comprising:

an evaluation means for receiving an indication that admission for a packet call is needed to a packet radio channel and generating at least one admission request;

at least one PRCH controller, each controlling an associated packet radio channel and for receiving an admission request from said evaluation means, determining whether said packet call is to be admitted to said associated packet radio channel and generating an admission granted signal if said packet call is to be admitted, or an admission denied signal if said packet call is not to be admitted;

an admission queue for storing a packet call identity for at least one packet call; and

a PRCH admission queue handler for determining whether to place said packet call identity on said admission queue in response to an admission denied signal being received from said at least one PRCH controller.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 in which said at least one PRCH controller comprises a plurality of PRCH controllers and said PRCH manager generates said admission requests sequentially, to a different one of said PRCH controllers, until an admission granted signal is received from one of said PRCH controllers or until an admission denied signal is received from each of said PRCH controllers.

23. The apparatus of claim 21 in which said PRCH admission queue handler further comprises:

means for determining if said admission queue contains at least one packet call identity in response to a timer signal; and

means for generating an indication that admission is needed for a packet call having a highest priority value in said admission queue if said admission queue contains at least one packet call identity and sending said indication to said evaluation means.

24. The apparatus of claim 21 in which said apparatus further comprises:

a PRCH management means for monitoring said PRCH admission queue and generating a PRCH setup request when the total requested traffic of all packet calls in said admission queue exceeds a predetermined level;

means for monitoring the number of packet calls on said at least one packet radio channel and generating a PRCH release request for each packet radio channel on which the number of packet calls is zero; and

resource manager means for receiving said PRCH setup request and adding a new packet radio channel to said at least one packet radio channel in response to said setup request and receiving said PRCH release request and releasing said packet radio channel on which the number of packet calls is zero to said resource manager in response to said release request.