Method and apparatus for efficient signaling and usage of resources for wireless communications supporting circuit switched and packet switched sessions

• US 8,705,445 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2010
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Watfa, Mahmoud, Aghili, Behrouz, Olvera-Hernandez, Ulises, Tamaki, Nobuyuki, Adjakple, Pascal M., Tooher, John Patrick, Wang, Peter S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jay P
• Application Number:
  US12/915,942
• Publication Number:
  US 20110103277A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2125 Synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2126 using a reference station
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0638 Clock or time synchronisation among nodes; Internode synchronisation synchronization for ring networks H04L12/422; data switching networks with synchronous transmission H04L12/43
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0022 for transferring data sessions between adjacent core network technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00224 between packet switched [PS] and circuit switched [CS] network technologies, e.g. circuit switched fallback [CSFB]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0033 with transfer of context information

Abstract

Method and apparatus efficiently signal and use resources for wireless communications supporting circuit switched (CS) and packet switched sessions (PS). Signaling and interaction between the wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), and various network entities, such as the Mobility Management Entity (MME), the Visitor Location Register (VLR), and Base Stations (BS), are used to implement circuit switched fall back (CSFB) in a PS system.

Claims

1. A method, performed by a visitor location register (VLR), for avoiding an inter-system change for a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising:

deciding to abort a mobile terminating (MT) circuit switched fallback (CSFB) to the WTRU;

determining if a paging request to start the MT CSFB call has been sent; and

on a condition that the paging request has been sent, sending an abort message to a mobility management entity (MME) requesting the MME to cancel the MT CSFB call.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein deciding to abort the MT CSFB call is based on receiving a request to abort the MT CSFB call from the WTRU.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

starting a timer when the paging request to the WTRU to establish the MT CSFB call is sent, wherein the deciding to abort the MT CSFB call is based on the timer expiring before receiving a response from the WTRU.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the paging request is an SGsAP-Paging-Request message.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

on a condition that the paging request has not been sent, aborting the MT CSFB call.

6. A visitor location register (VLR) for avoiding an inter-system change for a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the VLR comprising:

circuitry configured to decide to abort a mobile terminating (MT) circuit switched fallback (CSFB) to the WTRU;

circuitry configured to determine if a paging request to start the MT CSFB call has been sent; and

on a condition that the paging request has been sent, the VLR further comprises circuitry configured to send an abort message to a mobility management entity (MME) requesting the MME to cancel the MT CSFB call.

7. The VLR of claim 6, further comprising:

circuitry configured to decide to abort the MT CSFB call based on receiving a request to abort the MT CSFB call from the WTRU.

8. The VLR of claim 6, further comprising:

circuitry configured to start a timer when the paging request to the WTRU to establish the MT CSFB call is sent, and circuitry configured to decide to abort the MT CSFB call based on the timer expiring before receiving a response from the WTRU.

9. The VLR of claim 6 wherein the paging request is an SGsAP-Paging-Request message.

10. The VLR of claim 6 wherein on a condition that the paging request has not been sent, the VLR further comprises circuitry configured to abort the MT CSFB call.

11. A method, performed by a Mobility Management Entity (MME), for avoiding an inter-system change for a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising:

receiving an abort message from a visitor location register (VLR) indicating to the MME to cancel a mobile terminating (MT) circuit switched fallback (CSFB) call to the WTRU;

on a condition that the MME has already received an extended service request (ESR) from the WTRU, sending a service reject message to the WTRU indicating that the MT CSFB call is aborted; and

sending no further messages to the WTRU.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

sending no further messages pertaining to the MT CSFB call to a mobile switching center (MSC).

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

sending an acknowledgment message to the VLR including a status information element (IE) indicating a result of the MT CSFB call being canceled.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

sending an abort request to other network nodes.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

sending a request to a Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) to abort a paging procedure.

16. A mobility management entity (MME) for avoiding an inter-system change for a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the MME comprising:

circuitry configured to receive an abort message from a visitor location register (VLR) indicating to the MME to cancel a mobile terminating (MT) circuit switched fallback (CSFB) call to the WTRU;

on a condition that the MME has already received an extended service request (ESR) from the WTRU, circuitry configured to send a service reject message to the WTRU indicating that the MT CSFB call is aborted; and

circuitry configured to send no further messages to the WTRU.

17. The MME of claim 16, further comprising:

circuitry configured to send no further messages pertaining to the MT CSFB call to a mobile switching center (MSC).

18. The MME of claim 16, further comprising:

circuitry configured to send an acknowledgment message to the VLR including a status information element (IE) indicating a result of the MT CSFB call being canceled.

19. The MME of claim 16, further comprising:

circuitry configured to send an abort request to other network nodes.

20. The MME of claim 16, further comprising:

circuitry configured to send a request to a Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) to abort a paging procedure.