Gateway apparatus, system and method

• US 8,873,545 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2010
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rakuten Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Ozawa, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): ROBERTS, BRIAN S
• Application Number:
  US13/147,978
• Publication Number:
  US 20110292878A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,716 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/12 Access point controller devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A gateway apparatus receives a call control signal and/or a packet that has voice data stored therein in a predetermined protocol or payload format from an access point, converts a protocol of the call control signal and/or a protocol or payload format of the packet into a circuit switched protocol used when an RNC connects to the circuit switching equipment for output to the circuit switching equipment, receives a call processing signal that uses the protocol as that used when the circuit switching equipment outputs to the RNC and a voice signal that uses the same protocol, converts protocol of the call processing signal and/or the voice signal for output to the access point.

Claims

1. A gateway apparatus that connects an access point to a preset node on a mobile circuit switched network to perform mutual communication, said gateway apparatus comprising

a conversion section that receives at least one of a call control signal and a packet that has voice data stored therein in a predetermined protocol or payload format from said access point, and

converts at least one of a protocol of said call control signal and a protocol or a payload format of said packet into a protocol being same as a circuit switched protocol which is used when a radio network controller (RNC) on said mobile circuit switched network connects to said preset node, for output to said preset node,

said conversion section receiving at least one of a call processing signal that uses a protocol being same as a protocol which is used when said preset node outputs to said radio network controller, and a voice signal that uses said same protocol, and converting at least one protocol of said call processing signal and said voice signal received, for output to said access point,

wherein the preset node includes a second gateway apparatus that interconnects the mobile circuit switched network and an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) network,

wherein the gateway apparatus and the second gateway apparatus interconnect a terminal connected to the access point and a terminal connected to the IMS network,

wherein, when no conversion is needed, the conversion section is configured to receive a circuit switching protocol frame, which is a circuit switched protocol, from the second gateway apparatus and to place the circuit switching protocol frame on an Realtime Transport Protocol/User Datagram Protocol (RTP/UDP) packet, and

wherein, when conversion is needed, the conversion section is further configured to receive conversion instructions on a per channel bases, to convert the circuit switching protocol frame into a Realtime Transport Protocol (RTP) payload format by reading a compression-encoded audio bit stream stored in an Radio Access Bearer (RAB) SubFlow of the payload of an IuUP protocol frame, to construct an RTP payload format header on a per channel basis according to the conversion information, and to store the compression-encoded bit stream in an RTP payload portion.

2. The gateway apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said preset node includes at least one of a circuit switching equipment provided on said mobile circuit switched network.

3. The gateway apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said conversion section includes

an audio transcoder unit that converts an audio compression encoding scheme of a voice signal.

4. The gateway apparatus according to claim 1, where said conversion section comprises

a security processing unit connected via a mobile network to said access point, said security processing unit performing security processing on a packet exchanged with said mobile network.

5. The gateway apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said access point includes at least one of a femtocell, Home NodeB, and Home eNodeB.

6. The gateway apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conversion section converts a protocol output by the access point into a same protocol as one output by the RNC.

7. A network system comprising:

an access point; and

a gateway apparatus that connects said access point to a preset node on a mobile circuit switched network to perform mutual communication, wherein said gateway apparatus includes

a conversion section that receives at least one of a call control signal and a packet that has voice data stored therein in a predetermined protocol or payload format from said access point, and

converts at least one of a protocol of said call control signal and a protocol or payload format of said packet into the a protocol being same as a circuit switched protocol which is used when a radio network controller (RNC) on said mobile circuit switched network, connects to said preset node, for output to said preset node, said conversion section receiving at least one of a call processing signal that uses a protocol same as a protocol which is used when said preset node outputs to said radio network controller and a voice signal that uses said same protocol, and converting at least one protocol of said call processing signal and said voice signal received, for output to said access point,

wherein the preset node includes a second gateway apparatus that interconnects the mobile circuit switched network and an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) network,

wherein the gateway apparatus and the second gateway apparatus interconnect a terminal connected to the access point and a terminal connected to the IMS network,

wherein, when no conversion is needed, the conversion section is configured to receive a circuit switching protocol frame, which is a circuit switched protocol, from the second gateway apparatus and to place the circuit switching protocol frame on an Realtime Transport Protocol/User Datagram Protocol (RTP/UDP) packet, and

wherein, when conversion is needed, the conversion section is further configured to receive conversion instructions on a per channel bases, to convert the circuit switching protocol frame into a Realtime Transport Protocol (RTP) payload format by reading a compression-encoded audio bit stream stored in an Radio Access Bearer (RAB) SubFlow of the payload of an IuUP protocol frame, to construct an RTP payload format header on a per channel basis according to the conversion information, and to store the compression-encoded bit stream in an RTP payload portion.

8. The network system according to claim 7, wherein said preset node includes at least one of a circuit switching equipment provided on said mobile circuit switched network.

9. The network system according to claim 7, wherein said access point includes at least one of a femtocell, Home NodeB, and Home eNodeB.

10. A gateway method by a gateway apparatus that connects an access point to a preset node on a mobile circuit switched network to perform mutual communication, said method comprising:

receiving at least one of a call control signal and a packet that has voice data stored therein in a predetermined protocol or payload format from said access point; and

converting at least one of a protocol of said call control signal and a protocol or payload format of said packet into a protocol being same as a circuit switched protocol which is used when a radio network controller (RNC) on said mobile circuit switched network connects to said preset node, for output to said preset node, said method further comprising;

receiving at least one of a call processing signal using a protocol being same as a protocol used when said preset node outputs to said radio network controller and a voice signal that uses said same protocol; and

converting at least one protocol of said call processing signal and said voice signal received, for output to said access point,

wherein the preset node includes a second gateway apparatus interconnecting the mobile circuit switched network and an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) network,

wherein the gateway apparatus and the second gateway apparatus interconnect a terminal connected to the access point and a terminal connected to the IMS network,

wherein, when no conversion is needed, the gateway apparatus receives a circuit switching protocol frame, which is a circuit switched protocol, from the second gateway apparatus and places the circuit switching protocol frame on an Realtime Transport Protocol/User Datagram Protocol (RTP/UDP) packet, and

wherein, when conversion is needed, the gateway apparatus receives conversion instructions on a per channel bases, to convert the circuit switching protocol frame into a Realtime Transport Protocol (RTP) payload format by reading a compression-encoded audio bit stream stored in an Radio Access Bearer (RAB) SubFlow of the payload of the an IuUP protocol frame, to construct an RTP payload format header on a per channel basis according to the conversion information, and to store the compression-encoded bit stream in an RTP payload portion.

11. The gateway method according to claim 10, wherein said preset node includes at least one of a circuit switching equipment provided on said mobile circuit switched network.