Optimization of data handover to wireless wide area networks

• US 8,923,246 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2011
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc., Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation, Intel Mobile Communications GmbH (Intel Corporation)
• Inventors: Kreuchauf, Juergen, Zhu, Jing
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo, Ricky
• Assistant Examiner(s): JAHANGIR, KABIR U
• Application Number:
  US13/336,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20130163450A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,103 Days
• Field of Search: 370/311, 370/331, 370/338, 370/352, 370/450, 455/436, 455/574, 709/203, 709/206, 709/224, 709/227
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00837 Determination of triggering parameters for hand-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for managing a radio resource control state of a user equipment. A triggering module may be configured to determine whether a number of triggering conditions are satisfied. Also, responsive to satisfying the number of triggering conditions, a sustain module may be configured to initiate a sustain message. The sustain message may prevent the radio resource control state of the user equipment from changing states.

Claims

1. A method for managing a radio resource control state of a user equipment comprising a wireless wide area network (WWAN) radio and a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio, the method comprising:

determining when i) the user equipment via the WWAN radio has an established connection with a wireless wide area network in a dedicated control channel state, the dedicated control channel state comprising at least one dedicated uplink and at least one dedicated downlink channel allocated for communication between the user equipment and the wireless wide area network, and when ii) the user equipment has an established connection with a wireless local area network via the WLAN radio, whether a number of triggering conditions associated with the connection between the user equipment and the wireless local area network are satisfied;

determining a size of a data packet that is sufficient to keep the radio resource control state in a dedicated control channel state; and

responsive to satisfying the number of triggering conditions, initiating a sustain message,

wherein initiating the sustain message comprises sending the sustain message over the wireless wide area network via the WWAN radio,

wherein a size of the sustain message is the size of the data packet, and

wherein sending the sustain message over the wireless wide area network prevents a Radio Network Controller (RNC) of the wireless wide area network from transitioning the connection between the user equipment and the wireless wide area network from the dedicated control channel state to a connection state without any dedicated communication channels allocated for communication between the user equipment and the wireless wide area network.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring a time period between a change in the radio resource control state and a data packet most recently transmitted or received before the change in the radio resource control state to form an inactivity time measurement.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein initiating the sustain message comprises:

sending the sustain message over the wireless wide area network at a time from a previous sustain message that is less than the time period of the inactivity time measurement from the previous sustain message.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of triggering conditions comprises data that is being transmitted over a wireless local area network to be delay sensitive.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of triggering conditions comprises the user equipment being connected to and using a wireless local area network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of triggering conditions comprises a signal strength variation of a wireless local area network over a period of time being greater than a threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of triggering conditions comprises a battery level of the user equipment being above a threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of triggering conditions comprises a handover from a wireless local area network to a wireless wide area network occurring within a number of days less than a threshold.

9. A user equipment configured to manage a radio resource control state of a user equipment, the user equipment comprising:

a wireless wide area network (WWAN);

a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio;

a memory unit;

a processing unit connected to the memory unit;

a triggering module configured to determine, when i) the user equipment has via the WWAN radio an established connection with a wireless wide area network in a dedicated control channel state, the dedicated control channel state comprising at least one dedicated uplink and at least one dedicated downlink channel allocated for communication between the user equipment and the wireless wide area network, and when ii) the user equipment has an established connection with a wireless local area network via the WLAN radio, whether a number of triggering conditions associated with the connection between the user equipment and the wireless local area network are satisfied; and

a sustain module configured to;

identify a size of a data packet that is sufficient to keep the radio resource control state in a dedicated control channel state, and

initiate a sustain message in response to satisfying the number of triggering conditions by sending the sustain message over the wireless wide area network via the WWAN radio, wherein the sustain message prevents a Radio Network Controller (RNC) of the wireless wide area network from transitioning the connection between the user equipment and the wireless wide area network from the dedicated control channel state to a connection state without any dedicated communication channels allocated for communication between the user equipment and the wireless wide area network.

10. The user equipment of claim 9, further comprising:

measuring a time period between a change in the radio resource control state and a data packet most recently transmitted or received before the change in the radio resource control state to form an inactivity time measurement.

11. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein the sustain module initiating the sustain message comprises the sustain module being configured to:

sending the sustain message over a wireless wide area network at a time from a previous sustain message that is less than the time period of the inactivity time measurement from the previous sustain message.

12. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein the sustain module initiating the sustain message comprises the sustain module being configured to:

sending the sustain message over a wireless wide area network, wherein a size of the sustain message is the size of the data packet.

13. A computer program product comprising logic encoded on a non-transitory tangible media for managing a radio resource control state of a user equipment comprising a wireless wide area network (WWAN) radio and a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio, the logic comprising instructions for:

determining when i) the user equipment has an established connection in a dedicated control channel state with a wireless wide area network via the WWAN radio, the established connection in the dedicated control channel state comprising at least one dedicated uplink and at least one dedicated downlink channel allocated for communication between the user equipment and the wireless wide area network, and when ii) the user equipment has an established connection with a wireless local area network via the WLAN radio, whether a number of triggering conditions associated with the connection between the user equipment and the wireless local area network are satisfied;

identifying a size of a data packet that is sufficient to keep the radio resource control state in a dedicated control channel state; and

responsive to satisfying the number of triggering conditions, initiating a sustain message,

wherein the instructions for initiating the sustain message comprises instructions for;

sending the sustain message over the wireless wide area network via the WWAN radio,

wherein a size of the sustain message is the size of the data packet,

wherein the sustain message prevents a Radio Network Controller (RNC) of the wireless wide area network from transitioning the connection between the user equipment and the wireless wide area network from the dedicated control channel state to a connection state without any dedicated communication channels allocated for communication between the user equipment and the wireless wide area network.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, the logic further comprising instructions for:

measuring a time period between a change in the radio resource control state and a data packet most recently transmitted or received before the change in the radio resource control state to form an inactivity time measurement.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the instructions for initiating the sustain message comprises instruction for:

sending the sustain message over a wireless wide area network at a time from a previous sustain message that is less than the time period of the inactivity time measurement from the previous sustain message.