Wireless communications system having built-in packet data compression and support for enabling non-standard features between network elements

• US 7,920,590 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2002
• Issued: 04/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rockstar Consortium US LP (Rockstar Consortium Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Spyder Navigations LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Le, Khiem, Saifullah, Yousuf, Swami, Yogesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, IV, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shand, Roberta A
• Application Number:
  US10/194,521
• Publication Number:
  US 20040008650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,189 Days
• Field of Search: 370/463, 370493-495, 370/229, 370/235, 370/310, 370464-467, 709/232, 709/240
• US Class Current: 370/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5651 Reducing the amount or size of exchanged application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/04 Protocols for data compression, e.g. ROHC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A mobile station (100) and a compression/decompression node in a wireless network (5), preferably the GGSN 30 (30), agree on whether to apply compression/decompression, and what compression/decompression scheme to use either by pre-configuration (when the GGSN 30 is in the home network of the mobile terminal) or by signalling (when the GGSN 30 is in a visited or a roamed-to network). Additional information, such as a profile-specific dictionary, may be used to increase the compression efficiency, particularly during start-up. Dynamic data can also be accommodated. The compression/decompression may be turned on and off on a packet-by-packet basis, depending on whether the compression actually results in a smaller packet. A compressed/uncompressed indicator bit or bits can be inserted explicitly on a per packet basis, and/or the compressed/uncompressed indication can be derived implicitly. A desired data compression/decompression algorithm, or any desired Proprietary Feature, can be signaled, possible without requiring standardization changes, by using a Packet Data Protocol PDP Context Activation message with a predetermined Access Point Name (APN) message information element that is sent from a first network element to a second network element for at least identifying the desired compression/decompression algorithm. It another embodiment, for the case where Proprietary Feature capability is exchanged between a RAN and a UE network element, a transmission of an extension to a UE Capability Enquiry message is sent to the UE for identifying the Proprietary Feature.

Claims

1. A method for performing data compression in a wireless communication system, comprising:

(a) sending, from a first network element, a request message to a second network element, wherein the request message includes a pre-defined indicator of a data compression/decompression algorithm;

(b) receiving an accept message if the second network element supports the data compression/decompression algorithm;

(c) receiving a data packet at the first network element;

(d) if the second network element supports the data compression/decompression algorithm, compressing the received data packet at the first network element using the data compression/decompression algorithm;

(e) if the compressed data packet has a smaller size than the received data packet, transmitting the compressed data packet through a wireless link to the second network element; and

(f) if the compressed data packet has a larger size than the received data packet, transmitting the received data packet through the wireless link to the second network element, wherein the compressed data packet has a smaller size if a compression ratio, determined by dividing a first size of the received data packet by a second size of the compressed data packet, is greater than a threshold value.

2. A method as in claim 1, further comprising repeating (c)-(f) for a plurality of data packets.

3. A method as in claim 1, further comprising sending, from the second network element, a second request message to a third network element, wherein the second request message includes the pre-defined indicator of the desired data compression/decompression algorithm.

4. A method as in claim 3, where the first network element comprises a mobile station, the second network element comprises a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node, and the third network element comprises a gateway GPRS support node.

5. A method as in claim 3, where the first network element comprises a gateway general packet radio service (GPRS) support node, the second network element comprises a serving GPRS support node, and the third network element comprises a mobile station.

6. A method as in claim 3, where the first network element comprises a mobile station, the second network element comprises a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN), and the third network element comprises a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN), and where the SGSN and the GGSN are located in a non-home, roamed-to wireless network of the mobile station.

7. A method as in claim 1, wherein the threshold value is one.

8. A method as in claim 1, wherein the request message is a create packet data protocol request message.

9. A node in a communications system, configured to:

send a create packet data protocol (PDP) request to a second node, wherein the create PDP request includes a pre-defined indicator of a data compression/decompression algorithm;

receive an accept message if the second node supports the data compression/decompression algorithm;

receive a data packet;

if the second node supports the data compression/decompression algorithm, compress the data packet using the data compression algorithm;

if the compressed data packet has a smaller size than the received data packet, transmit the compressed data packet through a wireless link to the second node; and

if the compressed data packet has a larger size than the received data packet, transmit the data packet through the wireless link to the second node, wherein the compressed data packet has a smaller size if a compression ratio, determined by dividing a first size of the received data packet by a second size of the compressed data packet, is greater than a threshold value.

10. A node as in claim 9 where in the threshold value is one.

11. A method for performing data compression in a wireless communication system, comprising:

(a) sending a request message from a first network element to a second network element, wherein the request message includes an indicator of a data compression/decompression algorithm;

(b) receiving an accept message if the second network element supports the data compression/decompression algorithm;

(c) receiving a plurality of data packets at the first network element;

(d) if the second network element supports the data compression/decompression algorithm, compressing the received plurality of data packets at the first network element using the data compression/decompression algorithm;

(e) if a first number of the compressed plurality of data packets have a smaller size than the received plurality of data packets, transmitting the compressed plurality of data packets through a wireless link to the second network element; and

(f) if a second number of the compressed plurality of data packets have a larger size than the received plurality of data packets, transmitting the received plurality of data packets through the wireless link to the second network element, wherein a compressed data packet has a smaller size if a compression ratio is greater than a threshold value, wherein the compression ratio is determined by dividing a first size of the received data packet by a second size of the compressed data packet.

12. A method as in claim 11, further comprising, if the first number of the compressed plurality of data packets have a smaller size than the received plurality of data packets, receiving a data packet at the first network element;

compressing the received data packet at the first network element using the data compression/decompression algorithm; and

transmitting the compressed data packet through the wireless link to the second network element.

13. A method as in claim 11, further comprising, if the second number of the compressed plurality of data packets have a larger size than the received plurality of data packets, receiving a data packet at the first network element;

and transmitting the received data packet through the wireless link to the second network element.

14. A method as in claim 11, wherein the compressed data packet is transmitted with a compression indicator that indicates the data packet is compressed.

15. A method as in claim 14, wherein the compression indicator is included in a packet header.

16. A method as in claim 15, wherein the compression indicator is included in an internet protocol version field of the packet header.

17. A method as in claim 11, wherein the indicator of the data compression/decompression algorithm is included in an access point name field.

18. A method as in claim 11, wherein the request message is a create packet data protocol request message.