Mobile communication system and mobile communication terminal

• US 7,706,327 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2005
• Issued: 04/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Toshihiro, Kobayashi, Motonari
• Primary Examiner(s): HSU, ALPUS
• Application Number:
  US11/218,599
• Publication Number:
  US 20060052121A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,694 Days
• Field of Search: 370/331, 370/338, 370/349, 455/435.1, 455/436
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A mobile communication system transfers a packet to a mobile communication terminal forming an adhoc network, through a core network, based on address information of the mobile communication terminal. The address information of the mobile communication terminal includes common information which is changed when a connection point between the adhoc network and the core network is changed, and individual information which is maintained unchanged even when the connection point between the adhoc network and the core network is changed. The packet is configured to be transferred based on the individual information in a communication within the adhoc network.

Claims

1. A mobile communication system which transfers a packet to a mobile communication terminal forming part of an adhoc network which includes a plurality of mobile communication terminals, through a core network, based on address information of the mobile communication terminal, wherein

a care-of address of the address information of the mobile communication terminal includes common information which is changed when a connection point between the adhoc network and the core network is changed, and individual information which is maintained unchanged even when the connection point between the adhoc network and the core network is changed;

and

the packet is configured to be transferred between at least two of the plurality of mobile communication terminals within the adhoc network based on the individual information and not the common information, independent of whether the adhoc network moves to a new connection point between the adhoc network and the core network.

2. A mobile communication terminal which is capable of forming part of an adhoc network which includes a plurality of mobile communication terminals, comprising:

an address information management unit configured to manage a care-of address of address information including common information which is changed when a connection point between the adhoc network and a core network is changed, and individual information which is maintained unchanged even when the connection point between the adhoc network and the core network is changed;

a core network communication unit configured to transfer a packet, based on the care of address of address information, in a communication through the core network;

an adhoc network communication unit configured to transfer a packet to another of the plurality of mobile communication terminals within the adhoc network, based on the individual information and not the common information, independent of whether the adhoc network moves to a new connection point between the adhoc network and the core network; and

a routing table management unit configured to store a routing table which associates the individual information of a destination mobile communication terminal with the individual information of a next hop mobile communication terminal.

3. A method of operating a mobile communication system to transfer a packet to a mobile communication terminal forming a part of an adhoc network through a core network, comprising:

periodically sending, common information identifying an access node from the access node in combination with broadcast information containing an address of a mobility management router operated in the core network;

generating, when the mobile communication terminal is going to communicate with the communication terminal existing out of the adhoc network, a care-of address of the mobile communication terminal itself based on the received broadcast information;

sending from the mobile communication terminal registration information including the care-of address of the mobile communication terminal itself and a home address of the mobile communication terminal itself to the mobility management router, and a home agent of the mobile communication terminal;

initiating at the mobility management router, in response to the registration information sent from the mobile communication terminal, to manage the care-of address and the home address of the mobile communication terminal; and

initiating at the home agent, in response to the registration information sent from the mobile communication terminal, to manage the address of the mobility management router as the care-of address of the mobile communication terminal;

the method further comprising;

in response to a connection point between the adhoc network and the core network changing, changing the common information and maintaining unchanged individual information of the care-of address of the mobile communication terminal.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the common information of the care-of address of the mobile communication terminal is changed, in response to the connection point between the adhoc network and the core network changing, further comprising:

sending, by an access node to which the adhoc network has moved, a common information identifying the new access node and broadcast information to all mobile communication terminals within the adhoc network, wherein the broadcast information contains an address of the mobility management router;

changing at the mobile communication terminals the previous common information identifying the previous access node to a new common information, identifying the new access node as received with the broadcast information; and

sending from the mobile communication terminals update information including the changed common information to the mobility management router.

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

changing at the mobility management router the common information identifying the previous access node to the new common information identifying the new access node for construction of a care-of address of the mobile communication terminals in the adhoc network.