Method for making network direct system selection in a cellular communication system

• US 6,597,910 B1
• Filed: 05/12/2000
• Issued: 07/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Inventors: Ra, Woo-Tae
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thanh Cong
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, TUAN A
• Application Number:
  US09/569,750
• Time in Patent Office: 1,166 Days
• Field of Search: 455/432, 455/433, 455/435, 455/445, 455/406, 455/436, 370/335, 370/331
• US Class Current: 455/433
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/06 Registration at serving network Location Register, VLR or user mobility server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/24 between backbone network devices

Abstract

A method for performing the network direct system selection (NDSS) of a mobile station (MS) in a cellular communications system that includes the steps of: making a base station (BS) to include a dialed phone number designated for the NDSS in a CM SERVICE REQUEST message being transferred from the MS to a first MSC; making the first MSC to transmit a NDSS FEATURE REQUEST INVOKE message of the MS to the HLR upon confirming that the dialed phone number corresponds to the NDSS; making the first MSC to transmit a FEATURE REQUEST INVOKE CONFIRMATION message to the MS via the BS; making the HLR to transmit a QUALIFICATION DIRECTIVE message containing a service re-direction information to a first VLR coupled to the first MSC when the FEATURE REQUEST INVOKE message is accepted by the HLR; making the first VLR to confirm whether the QUALIFICATION DIRECTIVE message includes the service re-direction information; making the first VLR to transmit a SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message, consisting of the service re-direction information and a command to request the MS to report the return cause information when the NDSS failure occurs, to the MS; and, registering the location of the MS in a second VLR of a second MSC as directed by the SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message.

Claims

1. A method for performing the network direct system selection (NDSS) of a mobile station (MS) in a cellular communications system to connect said MS from one network to another network, comprising the steps of:

(a) transmitting, by said MS, a CM SERVICE REQUEST to be transferred to a first mobile switching center (MSC) in said one network;

(b) inserting, by a base station (BS), a dialed phone number intended for said NDSS to request a specific feature in said CM SERVICE REQUEST message prior to the transmission to said first MSC;

(c) transmitting a FEATURE REQUEST INVOKE message, by said MSC, to a home location register (HLR) upon receiving said CM SERVICE REQUEST for said NDSS;

(d) transmitting a FEATURE REQUEST INVOKE CONFIRMATION message, by said first MSC, to said MS via said BS;

(e) upon receiving said FEATURE REQUEST INVOKE message, transmitting, by said HLR, a QUALIFICATION DIRECTIVE message that includes a service re-direction information to a first visitor location register (VLR) coupled to said first MSC;

(f) confirming, by said first VLR, whether said QUALIFICATION DIRECTIVE message includes said service re-direction information;

(g) transmitting, by said first VLR, a SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message to said MS via said BS, said SERVICE REDIRECTION message including said service re-direction information and a command requesting said MS to report if said MS fails to connect to a second MSC in said another network; and

,

(h) registering the location of said MS in a second VLR of said second MSC of said another network in response to said SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said step (d) of transmitting said FEATURE REQUEST INVOKE CONFIRMATION message further comprising the step of generating, by said MS, a predetermined tone or visual message to notify the user of said MS of the acceptance of said NDSS FEATURE REQUEST INVOKE message by said HLR.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said step (f) of confirming whether said service re-direction information is included in said QUALIFICATION DIRECTIVE message is based on whether the identification (ID) of a MSC in said QUALIFICATION DIRECTIVE message matches the ID of said first MSC.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said step (g) of transmitting said SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message further comprising the steps of:

determining, by said first VLR, whether said MS is in an idle state; and

,

transmitting, by said VLR, said SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message to said MS via said BS if said MS is in said idle state.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said step (g) of transmitting said SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message further comprising the steps of:

determining, by said first VLR, whether said MS is in an idle state;

storing said SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message in said first VLR if said MS is not in said idle state; and

,

transmitting, by said first VLR, said SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message stored therein to said MS via said BS if said MS changes into said idle state.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said step (g) of transmitting said SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message further comprising the steps of:

determining, by the first VLR, whether said MS is in an idle state; and

,

deleting, by said first VLR, the subscriber information of said MS that is previously stored.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said step (h) of registering the location of said MS in said second VLR further comprising the steps of:

transmitting a LOCATION REVISION REQUEST message from said MS to said second VLR;

transmitting a LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message from said second VLR to said HLR and deleting the location registration information of said MS in said first VLR;

transmitting, by said HLR, a LOCATION REGISTRATION COMPLETION message to said second VLR; and

,

storing, by said second VLR, the location registration information of said MS and transmitting a LOCATION REVISION ACCEPTED message to said MS.

8. A method for performing the network direct system selection (NDSS) of a mobile station (MS) in a cellular communications system to register said MS in one network to another network, comprising the steps of:

(a) transmitting a LOCATION REVISION REQUEST message that includes a failure information of the previous NDSS attempt by said MS to a first visitor location to register (VLR) coupled to a first mobile switching center (MSC), via a base station (BS), in said one network;

(b) storing, by said first VLR, said prior failure information of said MS and transmitting a LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message that includes said prior failure information to a home location register (HLR);

(c) determining, by said HLR, whether said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message includes said prior failure information and determining whether said MS requires to be registered to said another network;

(d) updating, by said HLR, the location information of said MS and transmitting a LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION RETURN message that includes a service re-direction information if said MS requires to be registered to said another network;

(e) transmitting, by said first VLR, a SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message to said MS via said BS if said location REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION RETURN message includes said service redirection information, said SERVICE REDIRECTION message including said service re-direction information and a command requesting said MS to report if said MS fails to connect to a second MSC in said another network; and

,

(f) registering the location of said MS in a second VLR of said second MSC in said another network in response to said SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message from said first VLR.

9. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION RETURN message is determined to include said service re-direction information if the identification (ID) of an MSC in said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION RETURN message is different from the ID of said first MSC.

10. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein said step (h) of registering the location of said MS in said second VLR further comprising the steps of:

transmitting a LOCATION REVISION REQUEST message from said MS to said second VLR;

transmitting a LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message from said second VLR to said HLR and deleting the location registration information of said MS in said first VLR;

transmitting, by said HLR, a LOCATION REGISTRATION COMPLETION message to said second VLR; and

,

storing, by said second VLR, the location registration information of said MS and transmitting a LOCATION REVISION ACCEPTED message to said MS.

11. A method for performing the network direct system selection (NDSS) of a mobile station (MS) in a cellular communications system to connect said MS from one network to another network, comprising the steps of:

(a) transmitting, by said MS, a CM SERVICE REQUEST message for requesting a call generation to a first MSC in said one network, said CM SERVICE REQUEST MESSAGE including a phone number dialed by said MS;

(b) searching, by said first MSC, the subscriber information of said MS from a first VLR coupled to said MSC and determining whether said MS is registered for said NDSS;

(c) transmitting a LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message from said first VLR to said HLR if the subscriber information of said MS is stored in said first VLR or if said MS is registered for said NDSS;

(d) transmitting, by said HLR, a LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION RETURN message, which includes the subscriber information of said MS and a service re-direction information if said MS requires to be connected to said another network, to said first VLR;

(e) determining, by said first MSC, whether said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION RETURN message received in said first VLR includes said service re-direction information;

(f) if said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION RETURN message includes said service re-direction information, terminating the call connection between said first MSC and said MS and transmitting, by said first MSC, a SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message to said MS via said BS, said SERVICE REDIRECTION message including said service re-direction information and a command requesting said MS to report if said MS fails to connect to a second MSC in said another network; and

,

(g) generating a new call generation by said MS to said second MSC in response to said SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message.

12. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein said step (c) of transmitting said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message further comprises the steps of:

determining whether the subscriber information of said MS is stored in said first VLR; and

,

transmitting said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message from said first VLR to said HLR if there is no subscriber information of said MS previously stored in said first VLR.

13. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein said step (c) of transmitting said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message further comprises the steps of:

determining whether the subscriber information of said MS is stored in said first VLR; and

,

determining whether said MS is registered for said NDSS if the subscriber information of said MS is previously stored in said first VLR;

transmitting said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message from said first VLR to said HLR if said MS is registered for said NDSS.

14. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein said step (c) of transmitting said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message further comprises the steps of:

determining whether the subscriber information of said MS is stored in said first VLR;

transmitting said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message from said first VLR to said HLR if there is no subscriber information of said MS previously stored in said first VLR;

determining whether said MS is registered for said NDSS if the subscriber information of said MS is previously stored in said first VLR; and

,

transmitting said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message from said first VLR to said HLR if said MS is registered for said NDSS.

15. The method as defined in claim 11, further comprising the step of establishing a call set-up with said first MSC with said MS if the subscriber information of said MS is stored in said first VLR and if said MS is not registered for said NDSS.

16. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein said CM SERVICE REQUEST message includes a failure information of the previous NDSS attempt by said MS.

17. The method as defined in claim 16, wherein said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message includes said prior failure information received from said MS.

18. The method as defined in claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

determining, by said HLR, whether said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message includes said prior failure information; and

,

establishing, by said HLR, a call set-up with said first MSC with said MS if said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message includes said prior failure information.

19. The method as defined in claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

determining, by said HLR, whether said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message includes said prior failure information; and

,

at the request of an operator, treating said CM SERVICE REQUEST by said MS to said first MSC as failure if said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message includes said prior failure information.

20. The method as defined in claim 16, wherein said step (c) of transmitting said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION RETURN message further comprising the steps of:

determining, by said HLR, whether said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message includes said prior failure information; and

,

determining, by said HLR, whether said MS requires to be connected to a second MSC in said another network if said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message does not include said prior failure information.

21. The method as defined in claim 16, wherein said step (c) of transmitting said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message further comprising the steps of:

determining, by said HLR, whether said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message includes said prior failure information;

commanding, by said HLR, said first MSC to establish a call set-up with said MS if said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message includes said prior failure information; and

,

determining, by said HLR, whether said MS requires to be connected to a second MSC of said another network if said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message does not includes said prior failure information.

22. The method as defined in claim 16, wherein said step (c) of transmitting said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message further comprising the steps of:

determining, by said HLR, whether said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message includes said prior failure information;

commanding, by said HLR, the first MSC to treat said CM REQUEST from said MS as failure if said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICAITON message includes said prior failure information at the request of an operator; and

,

determining, by said HLR, whether said MS requires to be connected to a second MSC in said another network if said LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message does not include said prior failure information.

23. The method as defined in claim 16, wherein said subscriber information is determined to include said service re-direction information if the identification (ID) of an MSC in said service re-direction information is different from the ID of said first MSC.

24. The method as defined in claim 16, wherein said step (g) generating said new call generation by said MS to said second MSC in response to said SERVICE RE-DIRECTION message further comprising the steps of:

transmitting a second CM SERVICE REQUEST message from said MS to said second MSC via a second BS coupled to said second MSC;

requesting, by said second MSC, a second VLR coupled thereto for the subscriber information of said MS;

transmitting a second LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION message from said second VLR to said HLR;

deleting the subscriber information of said MS previously stored in said first VLR coupled to said first MSC;

transmitting a second LOCATION REGISTRATION NOTIFICATION RETURN message including the subscriber information of said MS from said HLR to said second VLR; and

,

establishing a call set-up between said second MSC and said MS using the subscriber information of said MS stored in said second VLR.