Admission control method and device in mobile communication system

• US 7,292,863 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2003
• Issued: 11/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Chen, Lan, Kayama, Hidetoshi, Umeda, Narumi
• Primary Examiner(s): BEAMER, TEMICA M
• Application Number:
  US10/714,662
• Publication Number:
  US 20040097240A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,449 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422.1, 455/67.11, 455/464, 455/436, 455/445, 455/442, 455/440, 455/423, 455/452.2, 455/450, 455/435.2, 370/335, 370/468, 370/236, 370/237, 370/230, 370/401, 370/395.43, 370/395.21
• US Class Current: 455/452.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/743 Reaction at the end points
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/748 Negotiation of resources, e.g. modification of a request
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/765 triggered by the end-points
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/824 Applicable to portable or mobile terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/22 Negotiating communication rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/24 Negotiating SLA [Service Level Agreement]; Negotiating QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 using measured or perceived quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

A method is disclosed that is capable of appropriately assigning radio resource even when a propagation quality changes. After receiving the required communication rate from the mobile station, the base station measures the maximum used radio resource, and multiplies the maximum used radio resource by a factor α. Next, the base station subtracts the above result from the total radio resource and obtains the maximum assignable radio resource. Then, the base station calculates an admissible communication rate based on the maximum assignable radio resources. Then, if the required communication rate is less than or equal to the admissible communication rate, the base station admits the request.

Claims

1. A method of operating an admission control device in a mobile communication system capable of providing a first communication that guarantees a service quality and a second communication that does not guarantee the service quality at a mobile station, comprising:

sending a required service quality required by an application from the mobile station to the admission control device when the mobile station sends a service request, the mobile station configured to request one of the first communication which is a quantitatively guaranteed service and the second communication which is a relatively guaranteed service, according to a type of the application;

calculating, by the admission control device upon receiving a request for the first communication, a reference service quality as an admissible service quality, said reference service quality being a service quality when a propagation quality is lowest at the mobile station; and

admitting, by the admission control device, the service request from the mobile station if the required service quality is less than or equal to the reference service quality.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the step of calculating, the admission control device calculates an assignable radio resource and calculates the reference service quality based on the assignable radio resource.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the assignable radio resource is calculated by subtracting a radio resource being used by communications different from the first communication from a total available radio resource.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the assignable radio resource is calculated by subtracting a radio resource assigned to communications different from the first communication from a total available radio resource, said radio resource assigned to the communications allowing the communications to have the lowest propagation quality.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the required service quality is in a range from a lower limit to an upper limit;

and

the admission control device admits the service request of the mobile station if the reference service quality is in the range of the required service quality.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

sending the reference service quality to the mobile station by the admission control device if the required service quality is greater than the reference service quality.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the required service quality is in a range from a lower limit to an upper limit;

and the mobile station changes the required service quality to the reference service quality if the lower limit is less than or equal to the reference service quality, and changes the first communication to the second communication if the lower limit is higher than the reference service quality.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the admission control device preferentially assigns a radio resource to the first communication rather than to the second communication.

9. A mobile communication system comprising:

a mobile station; and

an admission control device for controlling admission of a service request from the mobile station and providing a first communication that guarantees a service quality and a second communication that does not guarantee the service quality, wherein

the mobile station includes a transmission unit configured to send a notification of a service quality required by an application to the admission control device when the mobile station sends a service request, the mobile station configured to request one of the first communication which is a relatively guaranteed service and the second communication which is a quantitatively guaranteed service, according to a type of the application; and

the admission control device includes;

a calculation unit configured to calculate, upon receiving a request for the first communication a reference service quality as an admissible service quality, said reference service quality being a service quality when a propagation quality is lowest at the mobile station; and

an admission unit configured to admit the service request from the mobile station if the required service quality is less than or equal to the reference service quality.

10. A mobile station for requesting a first communication that guarantees a service quality and a second communication that does not guarantee the service quality at the mobile station, the mobile station configured to request one of the first communication and the second communication, according to a type of an application that makes a service request from the mobile station, said mobile station comprising:

a transmission unit configured to send a required service quality required by the application to an admission control device when requesting the first communication which is a quantitatively guaranteed service, the admission control device controlling admission of a service request from the mobile station; and

a modification unit configured to change the required service quality to a reference service quality if the required service quality is less than or equal to the reference service quality, and to change the first communication to the second communication which is a relatively guaranteed service if the required service quality is higher than the reference service quality, said reference service quality being an admissible service quality when a propagation quality is lowest at the mobile station, which is calculated by an admission control device.

11. An admission control device for controlling admission of a service request, including a required service quality, from a mobile station, including one of a first communication that guarantees a service quality and a second communication that does not guarantee the service quality, comprising:

a calculation unit configured to calculate a reference service quality as an admissible service quality when receiving a request for the first communication which is quantitatively guaranteed service, said reference service quality being a service quality when a propagation quality is lowest at the mobile station; and

an admission unit configured to admit the service request from the mobile station if the required service quality is less than or equal to the reference service quality.

12. The admission control device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the calculation unit calculates an assignable radio resource and calculates the reference service quality based on the assignable radio resource.

13. The admission control device as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a measurement unit configured to measure a radio resource being used by communications different from the first communication;

wherein the calculation unit calculates the assignable radio resource by subtracting the used radio resource from a total available radio resource.

14. The admission control device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the calculation unit calculates the assignable radio resource by subtracting a radio resource assigned to communications different from the first communication from a total available radio resource, said radio resource assigned to the communications allowing the communications to have the lowest propagation quality.

15. The admission control device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the required service quality is in a range from a lower limit to an upper limit;

and the admission unit admits the service request of the mobile station if the reference service quality is in the range of the required service quality.

16. The admission control device as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

a transmission unit configured to send the reference service quality to the mobile station if the required service quality is greater than the reference service quality.

17. The admission control device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the determination unit preferentially assigns a radio resource to the first communication rather than to the second communication.

18. A computer readable storage medium encoded with computer program instructions that when executed by a processor perform steps for operating an admission control device that controls admission of a service request from a mobile station including one of a first communication guaranteeing a service quality and a second communication not guaranteeing the service quality, comprising the steps of:

calculating a reference service quality, as an admissible service quality when receiving a request for the first communication which is a quantitatively guaranteed service, said reference service quality being a service quality when a propagation quality is lowest at the mobile station; and

determining whether to admit the service request of the mobile station based on the reference service quality.