Hand-off trigger at access technology borders

• US 8,054,802 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Zou, Jialin, Burgess, John K.
• Primary Examiner(s): SCHEIBEL, ROBERT C
• Application Number:
  US11/976,802
• Publication Number:
  US 20090111468A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,471 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/14 Reselecting a network or an air interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/30 by measured or perceived connection quality data

Abstract

A method for hand-off trigger at access technology borders may include triggering a mobile station in communication with a first carrier having a first technology type to acquire synchronization with a second carrier having a second technology type if the mobile station enters a border area, the border area including at least one sector covered by at least two carriers having different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) including the first technology type and the second technology type.

Claims

1. A method for hand-off trigger at access technology borders, comprising:

acquiring, by a mobile station in communication with a first carrier having a first technology type, synchronization with a second carrier having a second technology type if the mobile station enters a border area, the border area including at least one sector covered by at least two carriers having different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) including the first technology type and the second technology type;

triggering a hand-off of the mobile station to the second carrier if

a channel condition of the second carrier is above a first threshold value, the mobile station fails to receive a second message in response to a first message sent to the first carrier in an expiring time interval, and a number of the first messages have already been sent to the first carrier; and

triggering the hand-off of the mobile station to the second carrier if the channel condition of the second carrier is above the first threshold value, the mobile station receives the second message in response to the first message sent to the first carrier within the expiring time interval, and the message indicates that a distance from the mobile station to the current base station of the first carrier is above the distance threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

triggering the mobile station in communication with the first carrier to acquire synchronization with the second carrier in response to a border indication broadcast from the first carrier, the border indication being associated with the at least two carriers having different Radio Access Technologies (RATs), and the border indication having been configured in the mobile station during an initial session configuration; and

if the mobile station is synchronized with the second carrier, the mobile station begins to monitor a broadcast overhead message from the second carrier, measures a pilot power of the second carrier, and conducts pre-registration to negotiate a session with the radio access network of the second carrier of the different radio access technology through the first carrier.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein

after the mobile station enters the border area, if a signal-to-noise ratio for the first carrier at a current border sector is at or lower than a signal-to-noise threshold, the mobile station sends the first message to the first carrier, and

the mobile station repeatedly sends the first message after the expiring time interval for the second message in response to a preceding first message expires up to the number.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein if the current base station of the first carrier receives the first message, the current base station measures the distance from the mobile station to the current base station using an arrival time of the first message and sends the second message back to the mobile station indicating the distance.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein if the mobile station receives the second message, the mobile station records the distance if the distance is a first distance measurement received and associates the first distance measurement with a longest time interval.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein, for each second message received by the mobile station, the mobile station determines the expiring time interval based on a linear pro-rating for a current distance measurement compared to the first distance measurement and the distance threshold to the longest time interval and a shortest time interval.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a handoff request message from the mobile station to an access network, wherein

after the access network receives the handoff request message from the mobile station and the hand-off of the mobile station to the second carrier is complete, the access network switches a session anchor to the second carrier from the first carrier, and

the mobile station switches from monitoring the first carrier for paging messages to monitoring the second carrier for paging messages if the mobile station receives an acknowledgment from the access network indicating the session anchor has been switched to the second carrier.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

triggering the hand-off of the mobile station to the second carrier if the mobile station exits the border area.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the mobile station begins to monitor an overhead channel of the second carrier after synchronization with the second carrier.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein if the mobile station receives an overhead message on the overhead channel which indicates the mobile station is exiting the border area, the hand-off of the mobile station to the second carrier is triggered.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

sending a handoff request message from the mobile station to an access network, wherein after the access network receives the handoff request message from the mobile station and the hand-off of the mobile station to the second carrier is complete, the access network switches a session anchor to the second carrier from the first carrier, and

the mobile station switches from monitoring the first carrier for paging messages to monitoring the second carrier for paging messages if the mobile station receives an acknowledgment from the access network indicating the session anchor has been switched to the second carrier.

12. A method for hand-off trigger at access technology borders, comprising:

monitoring, by a mobile station, paging from a first carrier after synchronization by the mobile station with a second carrier, such that the mobile station determines whether to send a handoff request;

triggering a hand-off of the mobile station in communication with the first carrier having a first technology type to the second carrier having a second technology type, the mobile station located in a border area, the border area including at least one sector covered by at least two carriers having different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) including the first technology type and the second technology type, if a link channel condition of the second carrier is above a first threshold value, the mobile station fails to receive a second message in response to a first message sent to the first carrier in an expiring time interval, and a number of the first messages have already been sent to the first carrier; and

triggering a hand-off of the mobile station to the second carrier if the link channel condition of the second carrier is above the first threshold value, the mobile station receives the second message in response to the message sent to the first carrier within the expiring time interval, and the first message indicates that a distance from the mobile station to a current base station of the first carrier is above a distance threshold.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein

after the mobile station enters the border area, if a signal-to-noise ratio for the first carrier at a current border sector is at or lower than a signal-to-noise threshold, the mobile station sends the first message to the first carrier, and

the mobile station repeatedly sends the first message after the expiring time interval for the second message in response to a preceding first message expires up to the number.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein if the current base station of the first carrier receives the first message, the current base station measures the distance using an arrival time of the first message and sends the second message back to the mobile station indicating the distance.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein if the mobile station receives the second message, the mobile station records the distance if the distance is a first distance measurement received and associates the first distance measurement with a longest time interval.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein, for each second message received by the mobile station, the mobile station determines the expiring time interval based on a linear pro-rating for a current distance measurement compared to the first distance measurement and the distance threshold to the longest time interval and a shortest time interval.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

sending a handoff request message from the mobile station to an access network, wherein

after the access network receives the handoff request message from the mobile station and the hand-off of the mobile station to the second carrier is complete, the access network switches a session anchor to the second carrier from the first carrier, and

the mobile station switches from monitoring the first carrier for paging messages to monitoring the second carrier for paging messages if the mobile station receives an acknowledgment from the access network indicating the session anchor has been switched to the second carrier.

18. A method for hand-off trigger at access technology borders, comprising:

monitoring, by a mobile station, paging from a first carrier after synchronization by the mobile station with a second carrier, such that the mobile station determines whether to send a hand-off request;

determining, by the mobile station, if the mobile station has exited a border area into an area not being served by the first carrier based on a overhead message on a overhead channel of the second carrier, the border area including at least one sector covered by at least two carriers having different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) including a first technology type and a second technology type, the mobile station having been synchronized with the second carrier upon entering the border area; and

triggering a hand-off of the mobile station in communication with the first carrier having the first technology type to the second carrier having the second technology type if the determining step determines that the mobile station has exited the border area.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the border area includes at least one cell covered by the at least two carriers having different Radio Access Technologies (RATs).

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the mobile station begins to monitor the overhead channel of the second carrier after synchronization with the second carrier.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein if the mobile station receives the overhead message on the overhead channel which indicates the mobile station is exiting the border area, the hand-off of the mobile station to the second carrier is triggered.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

sending a handoff request message from the mobile station to an access network, wherein

after the access network receives the handoff request message from the mobile station and the hand-off of the mobile station to the second carrier is complete, the access network switches a session anchor to the second carrier from the first carrier, and

the mobile station switches from monitoring the first carrier for paging messages to monitoring the second carrier for paging messages if the mobile station receives an acknowledgment from the access network indicating the session anchor has been switched to the second carrier.