Cell-site broadcasting method using traffic channels and a control channel

• US 6,442,390 B1
• Filed: 07/06/1999
• Issued: 08/27/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Sano, Fumiharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Congvan
• Application Number:
  US09/347,449
• Time in Patent Office: 1,148 Days
• Field of Search: 455/450, 455/405, 455/434, 455/451, 455/452, 455/464, 455/509, 455/510, 455/511, 455/515, 455/517
• US Class Current: 455/450
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/563 of the wireless resources

Abstract

In a cell-site base station, a received broadcast message is stored in a memory and traffic channels and a control channel are monitored. If at least one traffic channel, a traffic channel is established and data is read from the memory and transmitted on the established channel to mobile stations. If a call request is placed on the established traffic channel during the broadcast transmission and if the control channel is available, the control channel is established instead of the traffic channel to continue the broadcast transmission. If at least one traffic channel becomes available, the control channel is replaced with a traffic channel to continue the broadcast transmission. For transmitting command messages from the base station to the mobile stations, a broadcast control channel is used.

Claims

1. A broadcasting method for a mobile communication system, wherein a broadcast control channel is used to transmit identity of a channel on which a broadcast message is transmitted from a base station to mobile stations, the method comprising:

establishing, in response to a broadcast request, a traffic channel when at least one traffic channel is available for transmitting the broadcast message from the base station to the mobile stations;

establishing a control channel for transmitting the broadcast message from the base station to the mobile stations when all traffic channels are not available and establishing the control channel instead of the established traffic channel if a call request is placed on the traffic channel when the transmission of said broadcast message is in progress;

determining usage ratio of the traffic channels of the base station; and

establishing a traffic channel instead of the established control channel if the usage ratio becomes smaller than a predetermined value during the time the transmission of the broadcast message is in progress.

2. A broadcasting method for a base station of a mobile communication system, said base station having a plurality of traffic channels and a control channel, comprising the steps of:

a) storing a received broadcast message in a memory;

b) determining whether at least one traffic channel is available and determining whether said control channel is available if all of said traffic channels are not available;

c) establishing a channel depending on channel availability of the step (b);

d) reading data from said memory and transmitting the data on the established channel;

e) if the established channel is a traffic channel and a call request is placed on the traffic channel, establishing said control channel instead of the traffic channel and performing the step (d) on remaining data in said memory; and

f) if at least one traffic channel is made available while the step (d) is being performed, establishing the available traffic channel instead of the control channel and performing the step (d) on remaining data in said memory.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step (c) comprises the step of transmitting identity of the established channel on a broadcast control channel from the base station to mobile stations.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step (e) comprises the step of suspending the transmission of said broadcast message when said call request is placed on the traffic channel if said remaining data is greater in volume than channel capacity of said control channel.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the step (b) comprises the steps of:

determining usage ratio of said traffic channels if said control channel is not available; and

comparing the usage ratio with a predetermined value, and wherein the step (c) comprises the step of establishing a traffic channel if the usage ratio is smaller than the predetermined value and performing the step (b) if the usage ratio is greater than the predetermined value.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the step (f) comprises the steps of:

determining usage ratio of said traffic channels;

comparing the usage ratio with a predetermined value; and

establishing said available traffic channel if the usage ratio is smaller than the predetermined value and performing the step (d) if the usage ratio is greater than the predetermined value.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein said mobile communication system is a code division multiple access system.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein said control channel is a stand-alone dedicated control channel.

9. A base station of a mobile communication system, wherein a broadcast control channel is used to transmit identity of a channel on which a broadcast message is transmitted from a base station, wherein the base station is arranged to:

establish a traffic channel if at least one traffic channel is available,

establish a control channel for transmitting the broadcast message to mobile stations when traffic channels are not available,

establish said control channel instead of the traffic channel for transmitting the broadcast message when a call request is placed on the traffic channel when the transmission of the broadcast message is in progress,

determine usage ratio of the traffic channels of the base station, and

establish a traffic channel instead of the established control channel when the transmission of the broadcast message is in progress if the usage ratio is smaller than a predetermined value.

10. A base station of a mobile communication system, said base station having a plurality of traffic channels and a control channel, comprising:

a memory;

a broadcast receiver for receiving a broadcast message from a network;

a control processor for storing the broadcast message in said memory, determining channel availability of at least one traffic channel and channel availability of said control channel if all of said traffic channels are not available, establishing a channel depending on the channel availability of said channels, reading data from said memory, and transmitting the data on the established channel,

said control processor establishing said control channel instead of the traffic channel if a call request is placed on the traffic channel during the time reading of said data from said memory is in progress, and reestablishing a traffic channel instead of the control channel if at least one traffic channel is made available during the time reading of said data is still in progress.

11. The base station of claim 10, wherein the control processor is arranged to transmit identity of the established channel on a broadcast control channel to mobile stations.

12. The base station of claim 10, wherein the control processor is arranged to suspend the transmission of said broadcast message when said call request is placed on the traffic channel if data remaining in said memory is greater in volume than channel capacity of said control channel.

13. The base station of claim 11, wherein the control processor is arranged to:

determine usage ratio of said traffic channels;

compare the usage ratio with a predetermined value; and

establish a traffic channel if the usage ratio is smaller than the predetermined value and read data from said memory for transmission on the established traffic channel if the usage ratio is greater than the predetermined value.

14. The base station of claim 11, wherein said mobile communication system is a code division multiple access system.

15. The base station of claim 11, wherein said control channel is a stand-alone dedicated control channel.

16. A mobile communication system comprising:

at least one base station operative to establish a plurality of traffic channels and a dedicated control channel; and

a plurality of mobile stations;

said at least one base station being operative to transmit control information to corresponding mobile stations on said dedicated control channel, and

said at least one base station being operative to transmit a broadcast message to said corresponding mobile stations on said dedicated control channel instead of on a traffic channel, in response to a broadcast request from said network, when an allocation is available for broadcasting said broadcast message in addition to said control information on said control channel such that traffic information is reduced by a corresponding amount on at least one of said traffic channels,

said at least one base station being in constant communication with each of said corresponding mobile stations via a broadcast control channel and being operative to transmit a command message on said broadcast control channel,

each of said corresponding mobile stations being in constant communication with said at least one base station via said broadcast control channel and being operative to receive said command message for establishing a channel to the base station in accordance with the command message.