Apparatus and messages for interworking between unlicensed access network and GPRS network for data services

• US 7,606,190 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2005
• Issued: 10/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ribbon Communications Operating Company, Inc. (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Kineto Wireless Incorporated (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shi, Jianxiong, Gupta, Rajeev, Gallagher, Michael D., Markovic, Milan
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; CongVan
• Application Number:
  US11/128,461
• Publication Number:
  US 20050265279A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,622 Days
• Field of Search: 370328-329, 370/338, 370348-349, 370/352, 370/401, 370465-466, 370/469, 455/403, 455/435.1, 455/435.2, 455/552.1, 455/41.1, 455/466
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/00 Wireless channel access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/04 Large scale networks; Deep hierarchical networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

Methods for performing various operations via unlicensed mobile access (UMA) radio link control (URLC) messages in an unlicensed mobile access network (UMAN). The UMAN comprises a first radio access network that may be employed for accessing data services provided by a core network comprising a second radio access network. URLC messages are exchanged between mobile stations (MSs) and UMA network controllers (UNCs) to perform various operations associated with the UMAN. An MS may access the UMAN via a wireless access point (AP) that is communicatively coupled to a UNC via an IP network. The URLC messages are sent between MSs and UNCs using an Up interface comprising a set of layered protocols over an underlying IP transport.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating operations in an unlicensed mobile access network (UMAN), the method comprising:

establishing a dedicated connection between a mobile station (MS) and the UMAN via a UMA network controller (UNC);

establishing a TCP (transmission control protocol) session between the MS and the UNC;

sending unlicensed mobile access (UMA) radio link control (URLC) messages between the MS and the UNC to facilitate corresponding operations, each URLC message including,

a protocol discriminator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified; and

transferring GPRS (general packet radio service) signaling or SMS (short message service) messages between the MS and UNC using a URLC DATA message, the URLC DATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising signaling or SMS data to be transferred.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the URLC DATA message includes:

a required quality of service IE defining a throughput level used to perform the data transfer operation.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the URLC DATA message includes:

a temporary logical link identifier (TLLI) IE.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the URLC DATA message includes:

a packet flow identifier IE comprising information identifying a packet flow corresponding to the data transfer.

5. A method for facilitating operations in an unlicensed mobile access network (UMAN), the method comprising:

establishing a dedicated connection between a mobile station (MS) and the UMAN via a UMA network controller (UNC);

establishing a TCP (transmission control protocol) session between the MS and the UNC;

sending unlicensed mobile access (UMA) radio link control (URLC) messages between the MS and the UNC to facilitate corresponding operations, each URLC message including,

a protocol discriminator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified,

wherein the operations include performing a downlink flow control procedure between the UNC and the MS by;

at the MS, detecting downlink flow control conditions for downlink data transfer from the UNC to the MS;

calculating a downlink data rate that may be supported by the downlink flow control conditions; and

sending a URLC-DFC (Downlink Flow Control)-REQ message from the MS to the UNC including an information element specifying a downlink data rate to be employed for the downlink.

6. A method for facilitating operations in an unlicensed mobile access network (UMAN), the method comprising:

establishing a dedicated connection between a mobile station (MS) and the UMAN via a UMA network controller (UNC);

establishing a TCP (transmission control protocol) session between the MS and the UNC;

sending unlicensed mobile access (UMA) radio link control (URLC) messages between the MS and the UNC to facilitate corresponding operations, each URLC message including,

a protocol discriminator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified,

wherein the operations include transferring GPRS user data between the MS and the UNC using a URLC UNITDATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising the GPRS user data and sent over a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) transport.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the URLC UNITDATA message is transferred from the MS to the UNC.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the URLC UNITDATA message includes:

a required quality of service IE defining a throughput level used to perform the data transfer operation.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the URLC DATA message includes:

a temporary logical link identifier (TLLI) IE.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the URLC DATA message includes:

a packet flow identifier IE comprising information identifying a packet flow corresponding to the data transfer.

11. An unlicensed mobile access (UMA) network controller (UNC) to operate in a UMA network (UMAN) comprising a first radio access network, the UNC comprising:

a first network interface comprising an IP (Internet Protocol) Network interface;

a second network interface comprising an Up interface, via which UMA messages are to be transmitted to and received from a mobile station (MS) via an access point communicatively coupled between the MS and the UNC, the Up interface including a plurality of layers implemented over the IP network interface;

a third network interface, via which the UNC may be connected to a core network that is accessible to a second radio access network;

means for generating and/or processing a plurality of UMA radio link control (URLC) messages transmitted over the Up interface to perform corresponding operations,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified;

means for processing a URLC DATA message received from an MS, the URLC DATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising data to be transferred to the core network via the UNC; and

means for generating a URLC DATA message via which data is to be sent to the MS, the URLC DATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising the data.

12. An unlicensed mobile access (UMA) network controller (UNC) to operate in a UMA network (UMAN) comprising a first radio access network, the UNC comprising:

a first network interface comprising an IP (Internet Protocol) Network interface;

a second network interface comprising an Up interface, via which UMA messages are to be transmitted to and received from a mobile station (MS) via an access point communicatively coupled between the MS and the UNC, the Up interface including a plurality of layers implemented over the IP network interface;

a third network interface, via which the UNC may be connected to a core network that is accessible to a second radio access network;

means for generating and/or processing a plurality of UMA radio link control (URLC) messages transmitted over the Up interface to perform corresponding operations,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified; and

means for processing a URLC UNITDATA message received from an MS, the URLC UNITDATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising data to be transferred to the core network via the UNC and being sent over a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) transport; and

means for generating a URLC UNITDATA message via which data is to be sent to the MS, the URLC UNITDATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising the data and to be sent over a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) transport.

13. An unlicensed mobile access (UMA) network controller (UNC) to operate in a UMA network (UMAN) comprising a first radio access network, the UNC comprising:

a first network interface comprising an IP (Internet Protocol) Network interface;

a second network interface comprising an Up interface, via which UMA messages are to be transmitted to and received from a mobile station (MS) via an access point communicatively coupled between the MS and the UNC, the Up interface including a plurality of layers implemented over the IP network interface;

a third network interface, via which the UNC may be connected to a core network that is accessible to a second radio access network;

means for generating and/or processing a plurality of UMA radio link control (URLC) messages transmitted over the Up interface to perform corresponding operations,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified;

means for processing a URLC-DFC (Downlink Flow Control)-REQ message from an MS including an information element specifying a downlink data rate to be employed for a downlink portion of a URLC transport channel between the MS and the UNC; and

means for adjusting the downlink data rate to correspond to the downlink data rate specified in the URLC-DFC-REQ message.

14. A mobile station (MS), comprising:

a first wireless interface to access a first radio access network comprising a core network;

a second wireless interface to access a second radio access network comprising an unlicensed mobile access network (UMAN) via an access point (AP) using an unlicensed radio frequency;

an Up interface to communicate with the UMAN via a UMA network controller (UNC) communicatively coupled to the AP via an Internet Protocol (IP) network;

means for generating and/or processing a plurality of UMA radio link control (URLC) messages transmitted over the Up interface to perform corresponding operations,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified;

means for processing a URLC DATA message received at the MS from a UNC, the URLC DATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising data transferred from the core network via the UNC; and

means for generating a URLC DATA message via which data is to be sent to the core network via a UNC, the URLC DATA message including an LLC PDU comprising the data.

15. A mobile station (MS), comprising:

a first wireless interface to access a first radio access network comprising a core network;

a second wireless interface to access a second radio access network comprising an unlicensed mobile access network (UMAN) via an access point (AP) using an unlicensed radio frequency;

an Up interface to communicate with the UMAN via a UMA network controller (UNC) communicatively coupled to the AP via an Internet Protocol (IP) network;

means for generating and/or processing a plurality of UMA radio link control (URLC) messages transmitted over the Up interface to perform corresponding operations,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified;

means for processing a URLC UNITDATA message received at the MS from a UNC, the URLC UNITDATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising data transferred from the core network via the UNC and being sent over a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) transport; and

means for generating a URLC UNITDATA message via which data is to be sent to the core network via a UNC, the URLC UNITDATA message including an encapsulated LLC PDU comprising the data and to be sent over a UDP transport.

16. A mobile station (MS), comprising:

a first wireless interface to access a first radio access network;

a second wireless interface to access a second radio access network comprising an unlicensed mobile access network (UMAN) via an access point (AP) using an unlicensed radio frequency;

an Up interface to communicate with the UMAN via a UMA network controller (UNC) communicatively coupled to the AP via an Internet Protocol (IP) network;

means for generating and/or processing a plurality of UMA radio link control (URLC) messages transmitted over the Up interface to perform corresponding operations,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified;

means for detecting downlink flow control conditions for downlink data transfer from a UNC to the MS;

means for calculating a downlink data rate that may be supported by the downlink flow control conditions; and

means for generating a URLC-DFC (Downlink Flow Control)-REQ message including an information element specifying a downlink data rate to be employed for the downlink.

17. A computer-readable storage medium of an unlicensed mobile access (UMA) network controller (UNC) storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor, wherein said computer-readable storage medium does not comprise carrier signals, the computer program storing sets of instructions for:

generating and processing a plurality of UMA radio link control (URLC) messages sent from the UNC to a mobile station (MS) and received at the UNC from the MS via an access point (AP) communicatively coupled between the UNC and the MS,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified; and

receiving data from the MS using a URLC DATA message, the URLC DATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising the data, the LLC PDU being extracted from the URLC DATA message at the UNC to obtain the data.

18. A computer-readable storage medium of an unlicensed mobile access (UMA) network controller (UNC) storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor, wherein said computer-readable storage medium does not comprise carrier signals, the computer program storing sets of instructions for:

generating and processing a plurality of UMA radio link control (URLC) messages sent from the UNC to a mobile station (MS) and received at the UNC from the MS via an access point (AP) communicatively coupled between the UNC and the MS,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified; and

sending data to the MS using a URLC DATA message, the URLC DATA message generated at the UNC and including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising the data, the LLC PDU for being extracted from the URLC DATA message at the MS to obtain the data.

19. A computer-readable storage medium of an unlicensed mobile access (UMA) network controller (UNC) storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor, wherein said computer-readable storage medium does not comprise carrier signals, the computer program storing sets of instructions for:

generating and processing a plurality of UMA radio link control (URLC) messages sent from the UNC to a mobile station (MS) and received at the UNC from the MS via an access point (AP) communicatively coupled between the UNC and the MS,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified; and

receiving data from the MS using a URLC UNITDATA message, the URLC UNITDATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising the data and sent over a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) transport, the LLC PDU being extracted from the URLC UNITDATA message at the UNC to obtain the data.

20. A computer-readable storage medium of an unlicensed mobile access (UMA) network controller (UNC) storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor, wherein said computer-readable storage medium does not comprise carrier signals, the computer program storing sets of instructions for:

generating and processing a plurality of UMA radio link control (URLC) messages sent from the UNC to a mobile station (MS) and received at the UNC from the MS via an access point (AP) communicatively coupled between the UNC and the MS,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified; and

sending data to the MS using a URLC UNITDATA message, the URLC UNITDATA message generated at the UNC and including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising the data and sent over a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) transport, the LLC PDU for being extracted from the URLC UNITDATA message at the MS to obtain the data.

21. A computer-readable storage medium of an unlicensed mobile access (UMA) network controller (UNC) storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor, wherein said computer-readable storage medium does not comprise carrier signals, the computer program storing sets of instructions for:

generating and processing a plurality of UMA radio link control (URLC) messages sent from the UNC to a mobile station (MS) and received at the UNC from the MS via an access point (AP) communicatively coupled between the UNC and the MS,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified;

receiving a URLC-DFC (Downlink Flow Control)-REQ message from the MS including an information element specifying a downlink data rate to be employed for the downlink; and

employing the downlink data rate that is specified for the downlink.

22. A computer-readable storage medium of a mobile station (MS) storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor, wherein said computer-readable storage medium does not comprise carrier signals, the computer program storing sets of instructions for:

generating and processing a plurality of unlicensed mobile access (UMA) radio link control (URLC) messages sent from the MS to an unlicensed network controller (UNC) and received at the MS from the UNC via an access point (AP) communicatively coupled between the UNC and the MS,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified;

sending data to the UNC using a URLC DATA message, the URLC DATA message generated at the MS and including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) containing the data, the LLC PDU for being extracted from the URLC DATA message at the UNC to obtain the data; and

receiving data from the UNC using a URLC DATA message, the URLC DATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising the data, the LLC PDU being extracted from the URLC DATA message at the MS to obtain the data.

23. A computer-readable storage medium of a mobile station (MS) storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor, wherein said computer-readable storage medium does not comprise carrier signals, the computer program storing sets of instructions for:

generating and processing a plurality of unlicensed mobile access (UMA) radio link control (URLC) messages sent from the MS to an unlicensed network controller (UNC) and received at the MS from the UNC via an access point (AP) communicatively coupled between the UNC and the MS,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified; and

sending data to the UNC using a URLC UNITDATA message, the URLC UNITDATA message generated at the MS and including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising the data and sent over a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) transport, the LLC PDU for being extracted from the URLC UNITDATA message at the UNC to obtain the data; and

receiving data from the UNC using a URLC UNITDATA message, the URLC UNITDATA message including an encapsulated Logical Link Control Packet Data Unit (LLC PDU) comprising the data and sent over a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) transport, the LLC PDU being extracted from the URLC UNITDATA message at the MS to obtain the data.

24. A computer-readable storage medium of a mobile station (MS) storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor, wherein said computer-readable storage medium does not comprise carrier signals, the computer program storing sets of instructions for:

generating and processing a plurality of unlicensed mobile access (UMA) radio link control (URLC) messages sent from the MS to an unlicensed network controller (UNC) and received at the MS from the UNC via an access point (AP) communicatively coupled between the UNC and the MS,

wherein each of the URLC messages includes a set of basic information elements (IEs) including,

a protocol discriminator;

a skip indicator; and

a message type via which the message may be identified;

detecting downlink flow control conditions for receiving downlink data from the UNC;

calculating a downlink data rate that may be supported by the downlink flow control conditions;

sending a URLC-DFC (Downlink Flow Control)-REQ message to the UNC including an information element specifying a downlink data rate to be employed for the downlink; and

employing the downlink data rate that is specified for the downlink.