Cellular radio access network and location updating in a cordless communications system

• US 6,397,065 B1
• Filed: 12/07/1999
• Issued: 05/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Telecommunications Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Soderbacka, Lauri, Numminen, Raili, Lahtinen, Lauri, Huotari, Seppo, Back, Juha, Einola, Heikki, Lindholm, Heikki, Huusko, Sami, Verkama, Markku, Timonen, Juha
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Lee
• Application Number:
  US09/367,606
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: 455/426,443,432,433,435,436,3.01
• US Class Current: 455/435.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A cellular radio access network and a location updating in a cordless communications system, in a cellular radio access network (1), which is connected to one or more core networks (2, 3, 4, 5) or services (SP2 to SP5), each of them having a dedicated mobility management. In a cell, identities of all those location areas are broadcast to which said cell belongs. A subscriber terminal (MS) sends to the radio access network only one location updating message irrespective of how many core networks (2, 3, 4, 5) or services (SP2 to SP5) have a simultaneously changing location area at a handover from one cell to another. On the basis of the information contained in the location updating message, the network (1) defines the core networks or services and location areas to which the location updating applies and sends a location updating message informing the new location of the subscriber or the subscriber terminal separately to each defined core network or service.

Claims

1. A location updating method in a cordless communications system, comprising a cellular-type radio access network connected to at least one of one or more core networks and one or more services, each of the one or more core networks and the one or more services having a dedicated location management with a dedicated location area configuration, the method comprising:

broadcasting in each cell of the radio access network identities of the location areas to which said cell belongs in said different location area configurations;

sending a location updating message from a subscriber terminal when some of the broadcast location area identities change at a handover from the area of an old cell to the area of a new cell;

sending only a single location updating message including information from a subscriber terminal irrespective of how many different location managements the location updating may concern;

determining the location managements to which the location updating concerns, on the basis of the information contained in the location updating message; and

sending a separate location updating message to each one of said determined location managements to update the location data of the subscriber or the subscriber terminal in each location management.

2. A location updating method in a cordless communications system, comprising a cellular-type radio access network connected to at least one or more core networks and one or more services, each of the one or more core networks and the one or more services having a dedicated location management with a dedicated location area configuration, the method comprising:

broadcasting in each cell of the radio access network identities of the location areas to which said cell belongs in said different location area configurations;

sending a location updating message from a subscriber terminal when some of the broadcast location area identities change at a handover from the area of an old cell to the area of a new cell;

sending only a single location updating message including information from the subscriber terminal irrespective of how many core networks have a simultaneously changing location area;

determining at least one of the one or more core networks and the one or more services and location areas to which the location updating applies on the basis of the information contained in the location updating message; and

sending a location updating message informing the new location of a subscriber or a subscriber terminal separately to at least one of each determined core network and each determined service.

3. A method according to claim 2, further comprising:

sending information on the new location area of one core network or service in said location updating message;

determining, on the basis of the location area of said one core network or service, possible new location areas of the other core networks, which areas have been changed for the location area of said one core network or service; and

sending a core network-specific location updating message informing the new location area of a subscriber or a subscriber terminal is sent separately to each determined core network or service.

4. A method according to claim 2, further comprising:

sending in said location updating message, an information on the new location area of one core network and an information on the other core networks in which the location updating should be performed simultaneously;

determining possible new location areas of said other core networks on the basis of said information; and

sending a core network-specific location updating message informing the new location area of the subscriber or the subscriber terminal separately to each determined core network.

5. A method according to claim 2, further comprising:

informing in said location updating message the new location areas of all core networks which have changed simultaneously at a cell handover; and

sending a core network-specific location updating message informing the new location area of the subscriber or the subscriber terminal is sent separately to each determined core network.

6. A method according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising:

maintaining in the radio access network a search table linking the location areas of the at least one of the different core networks and services,

said determining of possible new location areas of the other core networks comprising retrieving them from the search table.

7. A method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising:

using different location area identities for a core network service in the radio access network and at least one core network or service; and

performing a conversion of the location area identities to be sent to and received from the core network or a service provider in the radio access network.

8. A method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein at least one of the location areas of the different core networks and services are of different size and nested.

9. A method according to claim 8, further comprising:

sending an information on the smallest location area the corresponding core network or service of which the subscriber wants to have location updated, a location updating message from a mobile station;

determining those new location areas of the other core networks within which said smallest location area is situated; and

sending a core network-specific or service-specific location updating message informing the new location of the subscriber or the subscriber terminal separately to at least one of each defined core network and service.

10. A cellular radio access network connected to at least one of one or more core networks and to one or more services, each of the at least one of one or more core networks and one or more services having a dedicated location management with a dedicated location area configuration, the cellular radio access network comprising:

a plurality of cells, to each of which, radio access network identities of all those location areas to which a cell in question belongs are broadcast, wherein

subscriber terminals are arranged to send a location updating message to the radio access network when some of the broadcast location area identities changes at a handover from an area of an old cell to an area of a new cell,

at least one subscriber terminal is arranged to send only a single location updating message from a subscriber terminal irrespective of how many different location managements the location updating may concern,

the radio access network is arranged to determine the location managements to which the location updating concerns, on the basis of the information contained in the location updating message, and

the radio access network is arranged to send separate location updating message to each one of said determined location managements for updating the location data of the subscriber or the subscriber terminal in each location management.

11. A cellular radio access network connected to connected to at least one of one or more core networks and one or more services, each of the at least one of one or more core networks and one or more services having a dedicated location management with a dedicated location area configuration, in each cell of which radio access network identities of all those location areas to which the cell in question belongs are broadcast and subscriber terminals are arranged to send a location updating message to the radio access network when some of the broadcast location area identities changes at a handover from the area of an old cell to the area of a new cell,

wherein a subscriber terminal is arranged to send only a single location updating message, irrespective of how many core networks have simultaneously changing location area,

wherein the radio access network is arranged to determine on the basis of the information contained in the location updating message those core networks and/or services and location areas to which the location updating applies, and

wherein the radio access network is arranged to send a location updating message informing the new location of the subscriber or subscriber terminal separately to each defined core network or service.

12. A radio access network according to claim 11, wherein the location updating message contains an information on the new location area of one core network, and wherein the radio access network comprises a search table, from which it is possible to retrieve on the basis of the location area of said one core network the new location areas of the other core networks, which areas have been changed for the location area of said one core network.

13. A radio access network according to claim 11, wherein the location updating message contains an information on the new location area of one core network and an information on the other of at least one of the core networks and services in which location updating should be performed simultaneously, and wherein the radio access network comprises a search table, from which the new location areas of the other core networks defined in the location updating message can be retrieved on the basis of the location area of said one core network.

14. A radio access network according to claim 11, wherein the location updating message informs the new location areas of all core networks which have changed simultaneously at a cell handover.

15. A radio access network according to any of the claims 12 to 14, wherein in the radio access network and at least one core network, different location area identities are used for the location areas of the core network, and wherein the radio access network comprises a conversion table configured to perform a conversion between the location area identities of the radio access network and those of said at least one core network.

16. A radio access network according to any of the claims 12 to 14, wherein the location areas of the different core networks are of different sizes and nested in the radio access network.

17. A radio access network according to any of the claims 12 to 13, wherein the location areas of the different core networks are in the radio access network at least partly overlapping, and wherein said search table additionally contains an information on the base stations or cells within the area of which the location areas of the different core networks lie on each other.