Method, system and arrangements for setting up and maintaining a WLAN connection within predictably moving vehicles

• US 8,681,753 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2006
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Kokkinen, Heikki, Kaaja, Harald, Kuoppala, Mika, Karhiniemi, Marko, Koivisto, Kari O.
• Primary Examiner(s): KHAJURIA, SHRIPAL K
• Application Number:
  US12/085,750
• Publication Number:
  US 20090219900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,673 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0027 Radio-based, e.g. using GSM-R
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/70 Details of trackside communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/26 Resource reservation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/32 by location or mobility data, e.g. speed data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/324 by mobility data, e.g. speed data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/18 based on predicted events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks

Abstract

Setting up and maintaining wireless communication connections with end user'"'"'s terminals (301) on board a predictably moving vehicle (303) is shown with mechanisms for correcting for Doppler effects. A central device (302) within the vehicle (303) acts as a hub of a wireless network. There are a number of fixed transceivers (304). A connection arrangement (305, 306, 705, 706, 1001, 1101, 1122) connects the fixed transceivers (304) to an external packet-switched data network. The central device (302) within the vehicle (303) is a mobile router (302) equipped with routing capability (407). The connection arrangement (305, 306, 705, 706, 1001, 1101, 1122) includes a connection (705, 706, 1001) between a number of fixed transceivers (304) and a fixed central device (305) The fixed central device (305) has routing capability (1007), and together with the mobile router (302) implement routing of packets between the packet-switched network and an end user'"'"'s terminal (301).

Claims

1. A wireless device comprising:

a mobile router configured to be located within a vehicle that has a predictable path of movement and configured to act as a hub of a wireless network on board the vehicle,

wherein the mobile router is configured to communicate with a fixed transceiver in a cell of which the mobile router resides during a predictable path of movement of the vehicle, and wherein the mobile router is equipped with routing capability,

wherein said mobile router is configured to implement routing of data packets between a packet-switched data network and at least one end user terminal operating in the wireless network on board the vehicle, and

wherein said mobile router is configured to perform a corrective measure in a radio connection between a transceiver of said mobile router and said fixed transceiver using a magnitude of a doppler shift of the radio connection and a determined speed at which the mobile router on board the vehicle is moving received from a speed determination unit, which corrective measure comprises dynamically selecting packet size based at least in part on the magnitude of the doppler shift, wherein a smaller packet size is selected when the magnitude of the doppler shift becomes larger and a larger packet size is selected when the magnitude of the doppler shift becomes smaller.

2. The wireless device according to claim 1, wherein as said speed determination unit, the mobile router comprises a positioning system receiver.

3. The wireless device according to claim 1, wherein as said speed determination unit, the mobile router comprises a connection from a train speedometer to said mobile router.

4. The wireless device according to claim 1, further comprising the mobile router configured to determine whether the speed at which the mobile router on board the vehicle is moving has increased more than a first limit threshold or decreased more than a second limit threshold,

wherein for a case the speed at which the mobile router is moving has increased more than the first limit threshold the selected packet size is made smaller, and

wherein for a case the speed at which the mobile router is moving has decreased more than the second limit threshold the selected packet size is made larger.

5. A method comprising:

establishing a wireless network around a mobile router on board a vehicle that has a predictable path of movement,

setting up a radio connection between a transceiver of the mobile router and one of a number of fixed transceivers, each of which has a geographical coverage area that constitutes a cell,

utilizing said radio connection to transfer data packets between the mobile router on board the vehicle and an external packet-switched data network,

maintaining routing tables at said mobile router on board the vehicle, in order to route data packets between the packet-switched data network and an end user'"'"'s terminal operative in the wireless network on board the vehicle,

determining a speed at which the mobile router on board the vehicle is moving relative to a fixed transceiver, and

performing a corrective measure in said radio connection on a basis of a magnitude of a doppler shift of the radio connection and the determined speed, which corrective measure comprises dynamically selecting packet size based at least in part on the magnitude of the doppler shift, wherein a smaller packet size is selected when the magnitude of the doppler shift becomes larger and a larger packet size is selected when the magnitude of the doppler shift becomes smaller.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the method further comprises:

enabling continuous connections between the mobile router on board the vehicle and the external packet-switched data network by directing downlink packets to a fixed transceiver with which the mobile router on board the vehicle is communicating, and additionally to another fixed transceiver, which is that fixed transceiver with which the mobile router on board the vehicle will be communicating next with a highest probability based at least on the predictable path of movement.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the determining comprises determining based at least on the predictable path of movement that the vehicle is moving from a cell of a fixed transceiver of a first subnetwork to a cell of an adjacent fixed transceiver belonging to a second subnetwork;

the method comprises tunnelling downlink data packets destined to the mobile router on board the vehicle from said first subnetwork to said second subnetwork for further transmission from said adjacent fixed transceiver belonging to said second subnetwork to the mobile router on board the vehicle.

8. The method according to claim 5, further comprising determining whether the speed at which the mobile router on board the vehicle is moving has increased more than a first limit threshold or decreased more than a second limit threshold,

wherein for a case the speed at which the mobile router is moving has increased more than the first limit threshold the selected packet size is made smaller, and

wherein for a case the speed at which the mobile router is moving has decreased more than the second limit threshold the selected packet size is made larger.

9. Apparatus comprising:

a control processor configured to cause said apparatus at least to;

establish a wireless network around a mobile router on board a vehicle that has a predictable path of movement;

set up a radio connection between a transceiver of the mobile router and one of a number of fixed transceivers, each of which has a geographical coverage area that constitutes a cell;

utilize said radio connection to transfer data packets between the mobile router on board the vehicle and an external packet-switched data network;

maintain routing tables at said mobile router on board the vehicle, in order to route data packets between the packet-switched data network and an end user'"'"'s terminal operative in the wireless network on board the vehicle;

determine a speed at which the mobile router on board the vehicle is moving relative to a fixed transceiver; and

perform a corrective measure in said radio connection on a basis of a magnitude of a doppler shift of the radio connection and the determined speed, which corrective measure comprises dynamically selecting packet size based at least in part on the magnitude of the doppler shift, wherein a smaller packet size is selected when the magnitude of the doppler shift becomes larger and a larger packet size is selected when the magnitude of the doppler shift becomes smaller.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising the control processor configured to cause the apparatus to determine whether the speed at which the mobile router on board the vehicle is moving has increased more than a first limit threshold or decreased more than a second limit threshold,

wherein for a case the speed at which the mobile router is moving has increased more than the first limit threshold the selected packet size is made smaller, and

wherein for a case the speed at which the mobile router is moving has decreased more than the second limit threshold the selected packet size is made larger.