Method and apparatus for performing a demotion in a cellular communications network

• US 8,606,290 B2
• Filed: 09/02/2010
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.), Board of Regents of the University of Michigan (University of Michigan)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gerber, Alexandre, Mao, Zhuoqing, Qian, Feng, Sen, Subhabrata, Spatscheck, Oliver, Wang, Zhaoguang
• Primary Examiner(s): KIM, WESLEY LEO
• Application Number:
  US12/874,458
• Publication Number:
  US 20120058773A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,195 Days
• Field of Search: 455/450, 455/452.2, 455/453, 370/310, 370/311, 370/328
• US Class Current: 455/452.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states

Abstract

A method, computer readable medium and apparatus for performing a demotion in a cellular communications network are disclosed. For example, the method receives a packet indicating that a batching transfer is completed, determines if a background packet was received after receiving the packet indicating that the batching transfer is completed and demotes a state of a state machine implemented by a radio network controller to a lower state if the background packet was not received.

Claims

1. A method for performing a demotion in a cellular communications network, comprising:

receiving, by a processor, a packet indicating that a batching transfer is completed;

determining, by the processor, if a background packet was received after receiving the packet indicating that the batching transfer is completed, wherein the background packet is different from a foreground packet, wherein the background packet comprises a packet that is not part of the batch transfer and the foreground packet is a packet that is part of the batch transfer; and

demoting, by the processor, a state of a state machine implemented by a radio network controller to a lower state if the background packet was not received.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a current state.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

when the current state is a CELL_DCH state, determining whether the background packet was received within a predefined time period; and

demoting to the lower state if the background packet was received in a time greater than the predefined time period.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the predefined time period comprises a combination of a max idle time of the CELL_DCH state and a max idle time of a CELL_FACH state and wherein the lower state comprises an idle state.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the predefined time period comprises a max idle time of the CELL_DCH state and wherein the lower state comprises a CELL_FACH state.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

when the current state is a CELL_FACH state, determining whether the background packet was received within a predefined time period; and

demoting to the lower state if the background packet was received in a time greater than the predefined time period.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the predefined time period comprises a max idle time of the CELL_FACH state and wherein the lower state comprises an idle state.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations for performing a demotion in a cellular communications network, the operations comprising:

receiving a packet indicating that a batching transfer is completed;

determining if a background packet was received after receiving the packet indicating that the batching transfer is completed, wherein the background packet is different from a foreground packet, wherein the background packet comprises a packet that is not part of the batch transfer and the foreground packet is a packet that is part of the batch transfer; and

demoting a state of a state machine implemented by a radio network controller to a lower state if the background packet was not received.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising:

determining a current state.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising:

when the current state is a CELL_DCH state, determining whether the background packet was received within a predefined time period; and

demoting to the lower state if the background packet was received in a time greater than the predefined time period.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the predefined time period comprises a combination of a max idle time of the CELL_DCH state and a max idle time of a CELL_FACH state and wherein the lower state comprises an idle state.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the predefined time period comprises a max idle time of the CELL_DCH state and wherein the lower state comprises a CELL_FACH state.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising:

when the current state is a CELL_FACH state, determining whether the background packet was received within a predefined time period; and

demoting to the lower state if the background packet was received in a time greater than the predefined time period.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the predefined time period comprises a max idle time of the CELL_FACH state and wherein the lower state comprises an idle state.

15. An apparatus for performing a demotion in a cellular communications network, comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

receiving a packet indicating that a batching transfer is completed;

determining if a background packet was received after receiving the packet indicating that the batching transfer is completed, wherein the background packet is different from a foreground packet, wherein the background packet comprises a packet that is not part of the batch transfer and the foreground packet is a packet that is part of the batch transfer; and

demoting a state of a state machine implemented by a radio network controller to a lower state if the background packet was not received.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

determining a current state.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

when the current state is a CELL_DCH state, determining whether the background packet was received within a predefined time period; and

demoting to the lower state if the background packet was received in a time greater than the predefined time period.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the predefined time period comprises a combination of a max idle time of the CELL_DCH state and a max idle time of a CELL_FACH state and wherein the lower state comprises an idle state.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the predefined time period comprises a max idle time of the CELL_DCH state and wherein the lower state comprises a CELL_FACH state.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

when the current state is a CELL_FACH state, determining whether the background packet was received within a predefined time period comprising a max idle time of the CELL_FACH state; and

demoting to an idle state if the background packet was received in a time greater than the predefined time period.