Method for transmitting information for inter-radio access technology handover

• US 8,291,625 B2
• Filed: 07/06/2009
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Jin, Park, Gi Won, Kim, Yong Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Phillips, Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): EBRAHIM, ANEZ C
• Application Number:
  US12/498,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20100008324A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,205 Days
• Field of Search: 370/331, 370/332, 370/389, 370/400, 455/434, 455/438, 455/437, 455/439, 455/436, 455/513, 455/574
• US Class Current: 37/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0066 of control information between different types of networks in order to establish a new radio link in the target network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/14 Reselecting a network or an air interface

Abstract

A method for transmitting and receiving inter-radio access technology (RAT) information for inter-RAT handover between a mobile station and a base station in a radio access system. A method for transmitting inter-RAT information for inter-RAT handover comprises: receiving a super frame header (SFH) including a flag indicating whether the inter-RAT information is transmitted in a current superframe and a start frame number field indicating a predetermined frame at which the inter-RAT information is transmitted, and if the flag is set, acquiring the inter-RAT information at a predetermined frame indicated by the start frame number field.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting inter-radio access technology (RAT) information for inter-RAT handover, the method comprising:

receiving, at a mobile station, a super frame header (SFH) including a broadcast channel (BCH), a flag indicating whether the inter-RAT information is transmitted in a current superframe and a start frame number (SFN) field indicating a predetermined frame at which the inter-RAT information is transmitted, wherein the flag is allocated to the BCH; and

when the flag is set, acquiring the inter-RAT information at the predetermined frame which is included in the current superframe,

wherein if the flag indicates that the inter-RAT information is not transmitted in the current superframe, the method further comprises;

transmitting, at the mobile station, a request message requesting the inter-RAT information to a base station, the request message including an urgent information field indicating whether acquisition of the inter-RAT information is urgent; and

receiving, at the mobile station, a response message including the inter-RAT information from the base station,

wherein the inter-RAT information is acquired by the base station from a target network information server, if the base station does not include the inter-RAT information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast channel (BCH) includes a primary broadcast channel and a secondary broadcast channel, and

wherein the flag and the start frame number (SFN) field are included in either the primary broadcast channel or the secondary broadcast channel.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the inter-RAT information is transmitted through an advanced air interface other RAT advertise (AAI_ORAT-ADV) message.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, if the flag indicates that the inter-RAT information is transmitted in the current superframe, the broadcast channel included in the super frame header (SFH) further includes the inter-RAT information.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the response message is transmitted to one or more mobile stations in broadcast form.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, if the base station does not include the inter-RAT information, the response message includes information about an expected time at which the inter-RAT information is to be transmitted instead of the inter-RAT information.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the super frame header (SFH) is a subframe header.

8. A method for transmitting inter-radio access technology (RAT) information for inter-RAT handover, the method comprising:

transmitting, at a base station, a superframe header (SFH) including a broadcast channel (BCH), a flag indicating whether the inter-RAT information is present in a current superframe and a start frame number (SFN) field indicating a predetermined frame at which the inter-RAT information is transmitted, wherein the flag is allocated to the BCH; and

when the flag is set, transmitting the inter-RAT information at the predetermined frame which is included in the current superframe,

wherein if the flag indicates that the inter-RAT information is not transmitted in the current superframe, the method further comprises;

receiving, at the base station, a request message requesting the inter-RAT information from a mobile station, the request message including an urgent information field indicating whether acquisition of the inter-RAT information is urgent;

and transmitting, at the base station, a response message including the inter-RAT information to the mobile station, and

wherein the inter-RAT information is acquired by the base station from a target network information server, if the base station does not include the inter-RAT information.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the superframe includes a broadcast channel including a primary broadcast channel and a secondary broadcast channel, and

wherein the flag and the start frame number (SFN) field are included in either the primary broadcast channel or the secondary broadcast channel.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the inter-RAT information is transmitted through an advanced air interface other RAT advertise (AAI_ORAT-ADV) message.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein, the super frame header (SFH) is a subframe header.