Method and device for improving network discovery and selection

• US 9,143,918 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2013
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Zhou, Qing, Yin, Yu, Wu, Wenfu, Chen, Haiyong, Pampu, Cornel
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Dung
• Application Number:
  US13/899,937
• Publication Number:
  US 20130252641A1
• Time in Patent Office: 853 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422.1, 455/432.1, 455/433, 4554351-4353, 455/404.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0055 Transmission or use of information for re-establishing the radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/385 of the core network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for improving Network Discovery and Selection suitable for a UE which is moving into a new TA, which comprises: receiving, by a MMF, a TAU request including the new TA from the UE; allocating, by the MMF, a new TA List according to the new TA in the TAU request; sending, by the MMF, the new TA List to the UE; sending, by the MMF, a TA information to a Mobility Policy Function, MPF, for updating mobility policy of the UE if the new TA is a special TA covered by different networks.

Claims

1. A method for improving Network Discovery and Selection suitable for a User Endpoint (UE), which is moving into a new Tracking Area (TA), comprising:

receiving, by a Mobility Policy Function (MPF), a new TA List from the UE, wherein the new TA list is a list of a plurality of TAs allocated to the UE by a Mobility Management Function (MMF); and

updating the mobility policy of the UE if the new TA is a special TA covered by different networks wherein the process of updating the mobility policy of the UE if the new TA is the special TA covered by the different networks comprises;

checking if there is a common TA in a special TA list table stored in the MPF and the new TA List;

sending a updated mobility policy to the UE, if there is the common TA in the special TA list table and the new TA List.

2. A Mobility Management Function (MMF) for improving Network Discovery and Selection suitable for a User Endpoint (UE), which is moving into a new Tracking Area (TA), comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a Tracking Area Update (TAU) request including a current location of the UE;

a storing unit, configured to store network topology information;

an allocating unit, configured to generate a new TA list according to the network topology information in the storing unit and the current location of the UE in the TAU request, wherein the new TA list is is a list of a plurality of TAs allocated to the UE by the MMF;

a TA information unit, configured to send TA information including the new TA list to update a mobility policy;

wherein the MMF further comprises;

a checking unit, configured to determine if the new TA is a special TA according to the new TA List and a special TA list table.

3. A Mobility Policy Function (MPF) for improving Network Discovery and Selection suitable for a User Endpoint (UE), which is moving into a new Tracking Area (TA), comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive TA information to update mobility to the UE;

a storing unit, configured to store mobility policies;

a updating unit, configured to get an updated policy from the storing unit and send the updated policy to the UE if the new TA is a special TA covered by different networks;

wherein the MPF further comprises;

a checking unit, configured to determine if the new TA is a special TA according to the new TA List and a special TA list table.

4. A method for improving Network Discovery and Selection suitable for a User Endpoint (UE), which is moving into a new Tracking Area (TA), comprising:

receiving, by a Mobility Management Function (MMF), a Tracking Area Update (TAU) request, including the new TA from the UE;

allocating, by the MMF, a new TA List according to the new TA in the TAU request, wherein the new TA List is is a list of a plurality of TAs allocated to the UE by the MMF;

sending, by the MMF, the new TA List to the UE;

sending, by the MMF, via the UE, the new TA List to a Mobility Policy Function (MPF), for updating mobility policy of the UE if the new TA is a special TA covered by different networks;

wherein the process of sending the TA information to the MPF comprises;

sending the TA information to the MPF via the UE,

determining if the new TA is the special TA, and

sending the special TA to the MPF if the new TA is the special TA.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the process of sending the TA information to the MPF further comprises:

sending the new TA list and a mobility policy request indicator to the MPF if the new TA is the special TA; and

sending the new TA list to the MPF if the new TA is not the special TA.