Application-layer handoff of an access terminal from a first system of an access network to a second system of the access network during a communication session within a wireless communications system

• US 9,344,942 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2013
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Santhanam, Arvind V., Song, Bongyong
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, STEVEN H D
• Application Number:
  US13/750,029
• Publication Number:
  US 20130136052A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,208 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0007 for multicast or broadcast services, e.g. MBMS multicast or broadcast application services H04W4/06; resource management for broadcast services H04W72/30; connection management for selective distribution or broadcast H04W76/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/14 Reselecting a network or an air interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/1446 wherein at least one of the networks is unlicensed
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/30 by measured or perceived connection quality data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/302 due to low signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/12 Application layer protocols, e.g. WAP [Wireless Application Protocol]

Abstract

Embodiments are directed to an application-layer handoff of an access terminal from a first system of an access network to a second system of the access network during a communication session within a wireless communications system. In an embodiment, the access terminal sets up a communication session on the first system. A multimedia client measures application-layer performance parameters for the communication session supported by the first system, and determines whether to handoff the communication session to a second system based at least in part on the application-layer performance parameters. If the multimedia client determines to handoff the communication session to the second system, the multimedia client initiates the handoff and the communication session is transitioned to the second system.

Claims

1. A method of operating an access terminal (AT) configured to participate in a communication session within a communications system, comprising:

participating in the communication session supported over a first system associated with a first physical layer;

monitoring application-layer performance parameters associated with the communication session over the first system, wherein the application-layer performance parameters include an outage duration (OD) during which no application-layer media frames are successfully received at the AT and a media error rate (MER) of the communication session that is measured by a client application of the AT at an application-layer;

determining, based at least in part on the monitoring, whether to hand off the communication session from the first system to a second system associated with a second physical layer; and

selectively handing off the communication session from the first system to the second system based on the determining.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first system and/or the second system corresponds to one or more of a WiFi system, a CDMA2000 1x system, a Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) system, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system, a time division multiple access (TDMA) system, a orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system, a long-term evolution (LTE) system, a broadcast and multicast service (BCMCS) system and/or a multimedia broadcast/multicast services (MBMS) system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the application-layer performance parameters further include whether a location of the access terminal (AT) satisfies a given relationship with respect to a defined location region, and/or a charging rate associated with the communication session supported over the first system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining determines to hand off the communication session from the first system to the second system based in part on the monitoring and also based in part on an availability and/or application-layer performance expectation of the second system in the event of a handoff.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and/or second systems supporting the communication session correspond to different connection mechanisms of an access network through which the AT communicates with an application server that is arbitrating the communication session between the AT and at least one other AT.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the application-layer performance parameters further include whether a location of the AT satisfies a given relationship with respect to a defined location region.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the monitoring includes:

determining the location of the AT;

comparing the determined location of the AT with the defined location region, the defined location region defining an area where the first system can support the communication session; and

attempting a handoff of the communication session from the first system to the second system if the comparison indicates that the determined location of the AT is not in the area where the first system can support the communication session.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the attempting is only performed if the second system is determined to be available for a handoff.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the attempting is only performed if an application-layer performance expectation of the second system is above a performance threshold.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the attempting is only performed if a priority of a user of the access terminal (AT) is sufficient to permit using the second system for the communication session.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring includes:

determining the MER during at least a portion of the communication session supported over the first system;

comparing the determined MER with a MER threshold; and

attempting a handoff of the communication session from the first system to the second system if the comparison indicates that the determined MER is above the MER threshold.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the attempting is only performed if the second system is determined to be available for the handoff.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the attempting is only performed if an application-layer performance expectation of the second system is above a performance threshold.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the attempting is only performed if a priority of a user of the AT is sufficient to permit using the second system for the communication session.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring includes:

determining the OD during at least a portion of the communication session supported over the first system;

comparing the determined OD with an OD threshold; and

attempting a handoff of the communication session from the first system to the second system if the comparison indicates that the determined OD is above the OD threshold.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the attempting is only performed if the second system is determined to be available for the handoff.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the attempting is only performed if an application-layer performance expectation of the second system is above a performance threshold.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the attempting is only performed if a priority of a user of the AT is sufficient to permit using the second system for the communication session.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the application-layer performance parameters further include a charging rate of the communication session supported over the first system.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the monitoring includes:

determining the charging rate during at least a portion of the communication session supported over the first system;

comparing the determined charging rate with a charging rate threshold; and

attempting a handoff of the communication session from the first system to the second system if the comparison indicates that the determined charging is above the charging rate threshold.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the attempting is only performed if the second system is determined to be available for a handoff.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the charging rate threshold corresponds to a charging rate associated with conducting the communication session over the second system.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the attempting is only performed if a priority of a user of the AT is sufficient to permit using the second system for the communication session.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining includes:

if the monitoring indicates that the application-layer performance parameters are not sufficient, evaluating application-layer performance expectations associated with conducting the communication session on each of a plurality of systems other than the first system; and

if the evaluating indicates at least one of the plurality of systems is expected to provide better application-layer performance than the first system, selecting one of the plurality of systems as the second system.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected system corresponds to a given system among a plurality of systems having a highest application-layer performance expectation.

26. The method of claim 1,

wherein the communication session over the first system is supported via a first Internet Protocol (IP) delivery scheme,

wherein the determining determines whether to hand off the communication session to a second IP delivery scheme that is supported by the second system, and

wherein the selectively handing off hands off the communication session from the first IP delivery scheme over the first system to the second IP delivery scheme over the second system based on the determining.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the first IP delivery scheme corresponds to multicast and the second IP delivery scheme corresponds to unicast.

28. The method of claim 27,

wherein the second system is unicast Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) or unicast Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or 1x or unicast Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), and

wherein the first system is broadcast and multicast service (BCMCS) or multimedia broadcast/multicast services (MBMS).

29. The method of claim 26,

wherein the first IP delivery scheme corresponds to unicast, and

wherein the second IP delivery scheme corresponds to multicast.

30. The method of claim 29,

wherein the first system is unicast Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) or unicast Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or 1x or unicast Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), and

wherein the second system is broadcast and multicast service (BCMCS) or multimedia broadcast/multicast services (MBMS).

31. An access terminal configured to participate in a communication session within a communications system, comprising:

means for participating in the communication session supported over a first system associated with a first physical layer;

means for monitoring application-layer performance parameters associated with the communication session over the first system, wherein the application-layer performance parameters include an outage duration (OD) during which no application-layer media frames are successfully received at the AT and a media error rate (MER) of the communication session that is measured by a client application of the AT at an application-layer;

means for determining, based at least in part on the monitoring, whether to hand off the communication session from the first system to a second system associated with a second physical layer; and

means for selectively handing off the communication session from the first system to the second system based on the determination.

32. An access terminal configured to participate in a communication session within a communications system, comprising:

logic configured to participate in the communication session supported over a first system associated with a first physical layer;

logic configured to monitor application-layer performance parameters associated with the communication session over the first system, wherein the application-layer performance parameters include an outage duration (OD) during which no application-layer media frames are successfully received at the AT and a media error rate (MER) of the communication session that is measured by a client application of the AT at an application-layer;

logic configured to determine, based at least in part on the monitoring, whether to hand off the communication session from the first system to a second system associated with a second physical layer; and

logic configured to selectively hand off the communication session from the first system to the second system based on the determination.

33. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program code, which, when executed by an access terminal configured to participate in a communication session within a communications system, causes the access terminal to perform operations, the program code comprising:

program code to participate in the communication session supported over a first system associated with a first physical layer;

program code to monitor application-layer performance parameters associated with the communication session over the first system, wherein the application-layer performance parameters include an outage duration (OD) during which no application-layer media frames are successfully received at the AT and a media error rate (MER) of the communication session that is measured by a client application of the AT at an application-layer;

program code to determine, based at least in part on the monitoring, whether to hand off the communication session from the first system to a second system associated with a second physical layer; and

program code to selectively hand off the communication session from the first system to the second system based on the determination.