Communication system

• US 9,107,129 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2011
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Serravalle, Francesca, Paterson, Robert, Tietz, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Ajibade Akonai, Olumide T
• Application Number:
  US13/816,215
• Publication Number:
  US 20130137438A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,460 Days
• Field of Search: 455/437, 455/450, 455/435, 455/436, 455/422.1, 455/423, 455/424, 455/453, 455/7, 455/11.1, 455/13.1, 370/331, 370/315
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/155 Ground-based stations H04B7/204 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2606 Arrangements for base station coverage control, e.g. by using relays in tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0247 based on conditions of the access network or the infrastructure network central resource management H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0289 Congestion control load shedding arrangements in network planning H04W16/08; performing reselection for handling the traffic H04W36/22; wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/22 for handling the traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 using dedicated repeater stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A relay communications system is described in which a base station receives a request from an MME that an overload procedure be started or stopped. The base station inserts the identity of the MME into the request and forwards the modified request to a relay node. The relay node then initiates or terminates the overload procedure in accordance with the request for mobile telephones which the MME that made the request serves, but not for mobile telephones which the MME does not serve.

Claims

1. A relay node for a communication system comprising a plurality of mobility management entities (MMEs), the relay node comprising:

a controller for associating a plurality of mobile devices with the relay node wherein each mobile device is served by an MME of said plurality of MMEs; and

a receiver for receiving, from a donor base station, a request that an overload action be performed and identity information representing an identity of an MME that requested the overload action,

wherein the controller is arranged to selectively perform said requested overload action in respect of the mobile devices associated with the relay node in dependence on the identity information representing an identity of an MME that requested the overload action.

2. A relay node as claimed in claim 1 wherein the requested overload action comprises initiating an overload procedure.

3. A relay node as claimed in claim 2 wherein the overload procedure comprises:

receiving a request to establish a connection from a mobile telephone associated with the relay node;

determining whether the mobile telephone that made the request is served by the MME having the identity represented by the identity information;

generating a message for rejecting said request to establish a connection or generating a message for accepting said request to establish a connection in dependence on whether the mobile telephone that made the request is served by the MME having the identity represented by the identity information; and

transmitting said generated message to the mobile telephone that made the request to establish a connection.

4. A relay node as claimed in claim 3 wherein the overload procedure initiated by the controller is further operable to determine a reason for the requested connection establishment request, and wherein said generating further comprises generating said message for rejecting said request to establish a connection or generating said message for accepting said request to establish a connection in dependence on said determined reason for the requested connection.

5. A relay node as claimed in claim 1 wherein the requested overload action comprises terminating an overload procedure.

6. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer implementable instructions for causing a programmable computer device to become configured as the relay node of claim 1.

7. A donor base station for a communication system comprising a plurality of mobility management entities (MMEs), the donor base station comprising:

a receiver for receiving, from an MME, a request that an overload action be performed;

a controller for generating identity information representing an identity of the MME that requested the overload action; and

a transmitter for transmitting, to a relay node, the request that the overload action be performed and the information representing an identity of the MME that requested the overload action.

8. A donor base station as claimed in claim 7, wherein the controller is arranged to insert said information representing an identity of the MME that requested the overload action into said request that the overload action be performed, whereby said information representing an identity of the MME that requested the overload action is transmitted as part of said request that the overload action be performed.

9. A donor base station as claimed in claim 7 wherein said request that the overload action be performed comprises a request for an overload procedure to be initiated.

10. A donor base station as claimed in claim 7 wherein said request that the overload action be performed comprises a request for an overload procedure to be terminated.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer implementable instructions for causing a programmable computer device to become configured as the base station of claim 7.

12. A method performed by a relay node in a communication system comprising a plurality of mobility management entities (MMES), the method comprising:

associating a plurality of mobile devices with the relay node wherein each mobile device is served by an MME of said plurality of MMEs;

receiving, from a donor base station, a request that an overload action be performed and identity information representing an identity of an MME that requested the overload action; and

selectively performing said requested overload action in respect of the mobile devices associated with the relay node in dependence on the identity information representing an identity of an MME that requested the overload action.

13. A method performed by a donor base station in a communication system comprising a plurality of mobility management entities (MMEs), the method comprising:

receiving, from an MME, a request that an overload action be performed;

generating identity information representing an identity of the MME that requested the overload action; and

transmitting, to a relay node, the request that the overload action be performed and the information representing an identity of the MME that requested the overload action.

14. A communications device for a communication system that comprises a plurality of mobility management entities (MMEs), a donor base station, a relay node, and a plurality of mobile devices associated with the relay node, the communications device being said relay node and comprising:

a receiver configured to receive, from the donor base station, a request that an overload action be performed for at least one of said plurality of MMEs and identity information representing an identity of an MME that requested the overload action; and

a controller configured to selectively perform said requested overload action in respect of the relay node in dependence on the identity information representing an identity of an MME that requested the overload action.

15. A communications device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the requested overload action comprises initiating an overload procedure, and wherein said overload procedure comprises:

receiving a request to establish a connection from a mobile telephone associated with the relay node;

determining whether the mobile telephone that made the request is served by the MME for which the overload action was requested;

generating a message for rejecting said request to establish a connection or generating a message for accepting said request to establish a connection in dependence on whether the mobile telephone that made the request is served by the MME for which the overload action was requested; and

transmitting said generated message to the mobile telephone that made the request to establish a connection.

16. A communications device as claimed in claim 14 wherein said communications device comprises said donor base station.

17. A communications device as claimed in claim 16 wherein the requested overload action comprises initiating an overload procedure, and wherein said overload procedure comprises:

receiving an indication that a connection has been established between a mobile telephone associated with the relay node and the relay node;

determining whether the mobile telephone for which the connection is established is served by the MME for which the overload action has been requested;

selectively generating a message for terminating said established connection in dependence on whether the mobile telephone for which the connection is established is served by the MME for which the overload action has been requested; and

transmitting any message so generated to the relay node.

18. A communications device as claimed in claim 17 wherein the message for terminating said established connection comprises an error indication.

19. A communications device as claimed in claim 17 wherein the message for terminating said established connection comprises a message for releasing a context of the mobile telephone.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer implementable instructions for causing a programmable computer device to become configured as the communications device of claim 14.

21. A method performed by a communications device in a communication system that comprises a plurality of mobility management entities (MMEs), a donor base station, a relay node, and a plurality of mobile devices associated with the relay node, the method comprising:

receiving, from the donor base station, a request that an overload action be performed for at least one of said plurality of MMEs and identity information representing an identity of an MME that requested the overload action; and

selectively performing said requested overload action in respect of the mobile devices associated with the relay node in dependence on the identity information representing an identity of an MME that requested the overload action,

wherein said communications device comprises said relay node.